A vital part of any church, regardless of its social status, its standing in the community, or its services, is the doctrine to which it holds and stands upon. In a day where many churches are minimizing the importance of doctrine, we at Heritage realize the extreme importance in maintaining a Biblical view of the doctrines of the local church. Below you will find a list of just a few of the major doctrines, and what we believe here at Heritage. If you would like to know where we stand on a paritcular doctrine that is not listed below, please feel free to contact us.
We
believe that the Bible is the
inerrant, infallible, inspired Word of God and that it is our final
authority
for all matters of faith and practice. We believe that God
has preserved
His Word in the King James Version of the Bible for the
English-speaking
people. (II
Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter
1:20-21)
We believe in the virgin birth, sinless life, deity, vicarious death, bodily resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we believe in Christ’s personal, imminent and pre-millennial return. (Luke 1:30-55; Hebrews 4:15; I Peter 2:22-24; John 1:1, 14; I John 5:20; II Corinthians 5:21; I Corinthians 15:3, 4; Acts 1:11)
We
believe in one Triune God,
eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit – co-equal
in power and glory. (Deuteronomy
6:4; II
Corinthians 13:14)
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, and that He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Agent of the new birth and that He indwells every true child of God, sealing them until the day of redemption. (John 16:7-11; Rom 8:9; Eph 4:30)
We believe that man was created in innocence but by voluntary transgression fell from his sinless state, and, consequently, all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint but by choice and are therefore under just condemnation without excuse before God. (Genesis 5:1, 2; Genesis 3:1-7, 24; Romans 5:10-19)
We believe that Satan is a living, personal being and that he is the author of sin, as well as the cause of the Fall of Man. We believe that he is the god of this world and the prince of the power of the air; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and, that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Isaiah. 14:12-15; John 8:44; 2 Corinthians. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; Rev. 20:10)
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word. However, we believe that the Scriptures clearly forbid the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (John 10:27-30; Romans 8:38-39; Galatians 5:13)
We believe that the visible local church was founded by Jesus Christ and that it consists of a group of believers baptized by immersion who have assembled together to fulfill the Great Commission; holding the absolute right of self-government directed by the Holy Spirit and answerable only to Christ. We further believe that there are two ordinances: baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. (I Timothy 3:15; Ephesians 4:15; Hebrews 10:25; Matthew 28:19-20)
We believe in the pre-millennial return of Christ for His church at which time all believers in this age will be gathered together with Him in the air to receive immortal bodies, to be judged, and to be with Him forever. We further believe that Scripture teaches this gathering to be imminent and therefore pre-tribulational. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:51-57; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:1-11; Rev. 3:10)
This doctrinal statement does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final authority for all that we believe.