WHAT WE BELIEVE

ABOUT THE BIBLE: We believe that the Scriptures, that is the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the original autographs, and therefore totally reliable and authoritative for Christian faith and life.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20-21)

• Inerrancy – The teaching that since the Scriptures are given by God, they are free from error in all their contents, including doctrinal, historical, scientific, geographical, and other branches of knowledge.


• Inspiration – The act of the Holy Spirit in which He superintended the writers of Scripture so that, while writing according to their own styles and personalities, they produced God’s Word written, authoritative, trustworthy, and free from error in the original writings.


• Authoritative – God’s Word has governing power over our lives. It should direct our decisions and behavior and holds more influence than any other person or writing.

ABOUT THE TRINITY: We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The definition of the Trinity —Three in person, one in essence.
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

“Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:18-19)

• The Trinity in the Old Testament -- The use of plural pronouns referring to God (Genesis 1:1, 26; Isaiah 6:8) The O.T. does not reveal the Trinity but allows for the later revelation of it.


• The Trinity in the New Testament – There is confirmation in the N.T. that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are God.
  
  a. The Father is God (John 6:27; Eph. 4:6)
  b. Jesus Christ is God (Heb. 1:8)
  c. The Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4)

ABOUT JESUS: We believe in the deity and the pre-existence of Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, and in His virgin birth, sinless life, miraculous works, atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, priestly ministry, and in His personal, imminent return and reign.

• Pre-Existence (John 1:1-2)


• God’s only begotten Son (John 3:16)


• Virgin Birth (Luke 1:30-35)


• Sinless Life (Hebrews 4:15) – Also known as the Impeccability of Christ.


• Miraculous Works (John 3:2; 20:30-31)


• Atoning Death (1 Timothy 2:5-6)


• Bodily Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15)


• Ascension into heaven (Acts 1:9-11)


• Priestly Ministry (Hebrews 7:17)


• Imminent Return (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)


• Reign (Rev. 19; 11-21; 20:4)

ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT: We believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit, who convicts men of sin, regenerates and indwells those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Convicts of sin (John 16:8-11)


• Regenerates (Titus 3:5) – The Spirit transforms our life at conversion and continually renews the life of the Christian.


• Indwelling of the Spirit (Romans 8:9; Gal. 5:22,23)


• Baptism of the Spirit takes place at salvation (Rom. 6:3-4)

ABOUT MAN: We believe that man was created in the image of God; that he sinned, and thereby incurred not only physical death, but spiritual death as well, which is total separation from God; and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature which condemns them and leads them to personally sin in thought, word and deed. (Genesis 1:27; Ephesians 2:1; Psalms 51:5; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12)

• Adam’s original state was one of unconfirmed holiness. This was discarded by Adam’s sin however, man still maintains aspects of God’s image and likeness. (James 3:9)


• We are not born into innocence. We are born sinners who do not have to learn how to sin. (Psalm 51:5)

ABOUT SALVATION: We believe that Jesus Christ died as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the entire world; and that all who believe in Him are justified on the basis of His shed blood.

• Salvation is provided through Christ’s ransom (Eph. 1:7; Matt. 20:28)


• Salvation is by Faith Alone (Eph. 2:8,9)


• God declares us righteous through Christ (Rom. 3:24)

ABOUT THE RESURRECTION: We believe in the resurrection of all men, those who are saved unto life eternal and those who are lost unto eternal condemnation.

• All men live forever. The question is where will they spend eternity?


• The hope of the rapture (1 Thessalonians. 4:13,18)


• Believers are resurrected and will give account for their actions before the judgment seat of Christ. (2 Corinthians. 5:10)


• All non-believers are resurrected and appear before the Great White Throne Judgment. (Rev. 20:11-15)

ABOUT THE CHURCH: We believe in the universal church as a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all born again persons are members. We believe that the ordinances of the universal church were appointed by the Lord and that their observances are a continuing obligation. These ordinances are believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Arguments could be made to support various modes of believer’s baptism, but we view immersion as the most biblically consistent, and therefore the preferred mode that will be practiced at North Highlands Bible Church. (Matthew 16:18; Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 18:8)

• Baptism is symbol of our identity in Christ. We are now followers of Him.


• Believer’s baptism is a public proclamation of our faith decision to follow Christ

ABOUT THE GIFTS: We believe that there were certain foundational and/or sign gifts given to believers in the early church by the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues, healing, miracles, and prophecy. We do not teach or encourage the validity of these gifts today. We contend there is strong biblical evidence that demonstrates that the sign gifts have ceased. (1 Corinthians 13:8; 14:2-12)

• God gives everyone spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7)


• God does perform miracles today. However, no one individual has the power to heal. That comes from God. The sign gifts of the book of Acts were supernatural gifts necessary to authenticate that Christianity was from God.


• Spiritual gifts are given to edify the whole body of Christ not just the individual. (1 Corinthians 14:5)


• God may allow a person to speak an unlearned language to share the message of Christ.