Our Beliefs as a Body of Christ
The church that meets as Pleasant Hill Baptist Church exists as a community and body of believers who are followers of Jesus Christ. The foundation of our faith, life, and practice begins with a relationship with God our creator, whose love for us provided salvation, redemption, and personal relationship in His Son, Jesus Christ. We believe that we were created in the image of God and that God desires to have an intimate, personal relationship with us and also yearns for us to know Him, love Him, to worship, adore Him, and to serve Him as His vessels of love and blessing.
We believe that God manifests Himself and speaks both through His Word, the Bible, and through the Holy Spirit who indwells each and every believer who has been saved by the shed blood of Jesus on Calvary's cross. We believe that the Bible is the inspired, authoritative, infallible, living and active Word of God and that we have in this Word of God an authentic, reliable record of God's truth and purposes which, when responded to in faith, leads to restored relationships with God and with our fellow human beings. Pleasant Hill Baptist Church subscribes to The Baptist Faith and Message (adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention, June 14, 2000) as a broad-range summary description of our Christian faith.
Here are some of the essential elements of our faith:
God
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has existed eternally in three persons and chooses to manifest Himself in these three ways: as God the Father, as God the Son, and as God the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
(Genesis 1:1, 26-27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; and 2 Corinthians 13:14)
Jesus
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who is fully God and fully human in His incarnation. He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all humanity by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to heaven and will return again to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
(Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5; 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 1:3-4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13)
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the very Spirit of God, fully divine, manifested in the life of every believer from the moment of salvation. He is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. The Christian seeks to live under His daily control.
(2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13; 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18)
The Bible
The Bible is the divinely inspired, authoritative, infallible, living and active Word of God to all men. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the ultimate source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. In it we find a guideline for right relationship with God and God's creation, and a blueprint for personal, emotional, and spiritual growth.
(2 Timothy 1:13; 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:2-21; Psalm 119:105, 160; 12:6; Proverbs 30:5)
Humanity
Humanity is designed and made by God in His image. We have been created as cognitive, moral, ethical, and physical beings and have been equipped by God for both relationship with Him and with one another. Both male and female are gifted by the Creator with characteristics which equip them for the purpose for which they have been created: relationship, dominion, and responsibility. Although God designed us to have fellowship with Him, we became alienated from God through disobedience. As a result, all human beings are born with a sinful nature and choose to sin against God. We are incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through our own efforts.
(Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6; 59:1-2; Romans 3:23; 5:22; Colossians 1:21; 2 Corinthians 5:17)
Eternity & Eternal Security
Our soul, the essence of our being, was created by God to exist forever. That forever is spent in one of two places: eternally present and in union with God because of His forgiveness and salvation or eternally separated from God because of sin and unbelief. At the moment that our physical body dies, those who are saved are immediately taken to heaven. Those who have rejected God's gift of salvation will spend eternity separated from God in hell. Because God gives man eternal life through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and eternal power of God that gives this security.
(John 3:16; 5:11-13, 10:29; 1 John 2:25; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25; 10:10-14; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
Salvation
Salvation is God's gift of redemption and reconciliation to Himself and is offered freely to all who accept, by faith alone, Jesus Christ as God's and receive Him as Lord and Savior. We can never make up for our sin with self-improvement or good works. It is only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness that you can be saved from sin's penalty. Eternal life begins the moment you receive Jesus Christ into your life by faith.
(Romans 5:1; 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12; 14:6; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26)
The Church
A local church is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, described as the Body of Christ. The universal church includes all of the redeemed of all the ages of every language, nationality, and people group. The local church operates under the Lordship of Christ and exists to worship God, lift up the name of Jesus, care for one another, and extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. All members are gifted and mandated by the Holy Spirit to exercise the gifts of the Spirit under the principle of the priesthood of believers to carry out the God's purposes in and through the church.
(Acts 8:1; 1 Corinthians 12:27-28; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:22-32; 1 Peter 5:1-4)
The church that meets as Pleasant Hill Baptist Church exists as a community and body of believers who are followers of Jesus Christ. The foundation of our faith, life, and practice begins with a relationship with God our creator, whose love for us provided salvation, redemption, and personal relationship in His Son, Jesus Christ. We believe that we were created in the image of God and that God desires to have an intimate, personal relationship with us and also yearns for us to know Him, love Him, to worship, adore Him, and to serve Him as His vessels of love and blessing.
We believe that God manifests Himself and speaks both through His Word, the Bible, and through the Holy Spirit who indwells each and every believer who has been saved by the shed blood of Jesus on Calvary's cross. We believe that the Bible is the inspired, authoritative, infallible, living and active Word of God and that we have in this Word of God an authentic, reliable record of God's truth and purposes which, when responded to in faith, leads to restored relationships with God and with our fellow human beings. Pleasant Hill Baptist Church subscribes to The Baptist Faith and Message (adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention, June 14, 2000) as a broad-range summary description of our Christian faith.
Here are some of the essential elements of our faith:
God
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has existed eternally in three persons and chooses to manifest Himself in these three ways: as God the Father, as God the Son, and as God the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
(Genesis 1:1, 26-27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; and 2 Corinthians 13:14)
Jesus
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who is fully God and fully human in His incarnation. He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all humanity by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to heaven and will return again to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
(Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5; 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 1:3-4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13)
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the very Spirit of God, fully divine, manifested in the life of every believer from the moment of salvation. He is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. The Christian seeks to live under His daily control.
(2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13; 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18)
The Bible
The Bible is the divinely inspired, authoritative, infallible, living and active Word of God to all men. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the ultimate source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. In it we find a guideline for right relationship with God and God's creation, and a blueprint for personal, emotional, and spiritual growth.
(2 Timothy 1:13; 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:2-21; Psalm 119:105, 160; 12:6; Proverbs 30:5)
Humanity
Humanity is designed and made by God in His image. We have been created as cognitive, moral, ethical, and physical beings and have been equipped by God for both relationship with Him and with one another. Both male and female are gifted by the Creator with characteristics which equip them for the purpose for which they have been created: relationship, dominion, and responsibility. Although God designed us to have fellowship with Him, we became alienated from God through disobedience. As a result, all human beings are born with a sinful nature and choose to sin against God. We are incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through our own efforts.
(Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6; 59:1-2; Romans 3:23; 5:22; Colossians 1:21; 2 Corinthians 5:17)
Eternity & Eternal Security
Our soul, the essence of our being, was created by God to exist forever. That forever is spent in one of two places: eternally present and in union with God because of His forgiveness and salvation or eternally separated from God because of sin and unbelief. At the moment that our physical body dies, those who are saved are immediately taken to heaven. Those who have rejected God's gift of salvation will spend eternity separated from God in hell. Because God gives man eternal life through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and eternal power of God that gives this security.
(John 3:16; 5:11-13, 10:29; 1 John 2:25; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25; 10:10-14; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
Salvation
Salvation is God's gift of redemption and reconciliation to Himself and is offered freely to all who accept, by faith alone, Jesus Christ as God's and receive Him as Lord and Savior. We can never make up for our sin with self-improvement or good works. It is only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness that you can be saved from sin's penalty. Eternal life begins the moment you receive Jesus Christ into your life by faith.
(Romans 5:1; 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12; 14:6; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26)
The Church
A local church is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, described as the Body of Christ. The universal church includes all of the redeemed of all the ages of every language, nationality, and people group. The local church operates under the Lordship of Christ and exists to worship God, lift up the name of Jesus, care for one another, and extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. All members are gifted and mandated by the Holy Spirit to exercise the gifts of the Spirit under the principle of the priesthood of believers to carry out the God's purposes in and through the church.
(Acts 8:1; 1 Corinthians 12:27-28; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:22-32; 1 Peter 5:1-4)