WHAT WE BELIEVE
You will find a place to call home at HBC. We are a community of baptized believers who have become a Christian family. As an Independent Baptist Church, we believe the Bible is our sole authority for faith and practice. We gather to worship God, exalt Jesus Christ, love one another, and bring others to Christ.
THE SCRIPTURES
The Bible teaches the verbal and plenary inspiration of Scripture. The Bible teaches that it is the Word of God; that it was written by men who were moved by the Holy Spirit so that their writings were supernaturally, verbally, and plenarily inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be. They are the complete, final, and supreme revelation of the will of God to man, and so are supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:19-21). We believe these principles to be true. We believe the Authorized King James Version Bible is the preserved and infallible Word of God for the English-speaking people.
THE TRUE GOD
The Bible teaches there is one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we believe this to be true.
GOD THE FATHER
The Bible teaches that God the Father is perfect in holiness, boundless in love, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. The Bible teaches that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayers, and that He saves from sin and death all that come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, His son.
The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is God the Son, pre-existent with the Father, begotten by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, fully God and fully man, sinless in His nature and life, infallible in His teaching, making atonement for the sins of the world by His substitutionary death on the cross. The Bible teaches His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, His perpetual intercession for His people and His glorious Second Advent according to promise. The Bible teaches the promise of His second coming includes: first, “The Blessed Hope” of the believer, namely, the personal, premillenial, and pretribulational return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to rapture His church according to I Thessalonians 4:13-18: second, His return later to earth with His saints to set up His millennial reign.
GOD THE SON
GOD THE
HOLY SPIRIT
The Bible teaches the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that He came from God to convince and convict the world of sin or righteousness and of judgement: and to regenerate, sanctify, indwell, and comfort and empower those who believe in Jesus Christ (John 16:7-11).
MAN
The Bible teaches that man was created in the image of God; that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also that spiritual death which is separation from God. The Bible teaches that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become sinners in thought and deed by choice (Rom. 3:10-23; Rom. 5:12).
SATAN
The Bible teaches the reality and personality of Satan (Luke 10:18). We believe this principle to be true.
SALVATION
The Bible teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who by faith receive Him as their personal Saviour, are justified on the ground of His blood shed on Calvary and His resurrection from the dead and are born again of the Holy Spirit, and thereby become the children of God (I Cor. 15:3-7).
THE CHURCH
CHURCH & STATE
The Bible teaches that every human being has direct relations with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith; that each church is independent, indigenous, and autonomous, and must be free from any interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that, therefore the church and state must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from the dictation or patronage of the other.
EVANGELISM & MISSIONS
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every Church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the Gospel of Christ. The Granite State Baptist Church believes that our responsibility to carry out the Great Commission through personal evangelism and through home and foreign mission projects is among our greatest responsibilities as a Church during this day (John 4:35, Matthew 28:18-20, II Corinthians 5:20).
CHRISTIAN LIVING
The Bible teaches that every saved person should strive to be Christ-like by walking in the Holy Spirit, fully and constantly yielding his members to the indwelling Christ, so that he may always in life and word show forth the praises of Him who has called him out of darkness into His marvelous light. The Bible teaches a separated life for all believers as set forth in II Corinthians 6:14-7:1, including separation from unequally yoked marriages and worldly societies that are not that which would bring glory to our Saviour’s name.
STEWARDSHIP
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual, all that we have and are, we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole word, a holy trusteeship in the Gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. Believers are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God in helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, proportionately, sacrificially, and by faith (Matthew 23:23, Hebrew 7:4-8, I Corinthians 16:2, II Corinthians 9:7, Acts 20:35).
LAST THINGS
The Bible teaches the bodily resurrection of both the saved and unsaved. These take place at different times. Bodily resurrection of the saved before the Tribulation Period at the Rapture (Judgement Seat of Christ) and the bodily resurrection of the unsaved following the millennium at the Great White Throne Judgement. The saved to eternal life and blessedness in Heaven and the unsaved to eternal, conscious suffering and woe in Hell (John 5:29).
ASSURANCE
The Bible teaches the eternal security of the believer (John 10:27-29).
ORDINANCES
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the ordinances of the Church. Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior; the believers death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection of the dead. It has no saving power, only as an answer of a good conscience toward God (I Peter 3:21). Baptism comes after profession of faith in Christ as the Son of God (Acts 8:36-37). The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the Church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine (unfermented), memorialize the death of Jesus Christ and anticipate His second coming (I Corinthians 11:14-28).
SOCIAL ORDER
The Christian should work to provide for the orphans, the needy, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. He should oppose every form of greed, selfishness, and vice. In order to promote these ends, Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth. It should be realized that social change must be the result of changed hearts. Therefore, the greatest contribution the Church can make to social betterment is to bring individual men to a heart changing encounter with Jesus Christ (James 1:27, Titus 3:8, 14).
The Bible teaches the verbal and plenary inspiration of Scripture. The Bible teaches that it is the Word of God; that it was written by men who were moved by the Holy Spirit so that their writings were supernaturally, verbally, and plenarily inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be. They are the complete, final, and supreme revelation of the will of God to man, and so are supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:19-21). We believe these principles to be true. We believe the Authorized King James Version Bible is the preserved and infallible Word of God for the English-speaking people.
THE SCRIPTURES
THE TRUE GOD
The Bible teaches there is one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we believe this to be true.
GOD THE FATHER
The Bible teaches that the church is a local company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible confession of faith, and associated for worship, word, and fellowship. The Bible teaches that to these churches was committed for perpetual observance, two ordinances – the baptism of believers by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. The Bible teaches that God has laid upon these churches the task of preaching the Gospel to every creature, and the edification of the individual members of the Body of Christ (Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:47; I Cor. 11:23-32).
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The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Corinth. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8).
(2) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
(3) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2).
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Corinth. 12:12-14; 2 Corinth. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14).
(2) We believe that He is the divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27).
(3) We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Corinth. 12:4-11, 28; Eph. 4:7-12).
(4) We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit. Ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing (1 Corinth. 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22).
GOD THE
HOLY SPIRIT
Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God; but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19).
Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations, and to refrain from all immodest and immoderate appearances, piercings, and bodily markings (Lev. 19:28; Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 Corinth. 6:19-20; 2 Corinth. 6:14-7:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11).
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that all sins, except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, are forgivable (Matt. 12:31-32; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:9).
SALVATION
THE CHURCH
(1) We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons (1 Corinth. 12:12-14; 2 Corinth. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27).
(2) We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).
(3) We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4; 1 Corinth. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet. 5:1-4).
(4) We recognize water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38; 1 Corinth. 11:23-26).
The Eternal State
(1) We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13).
(2) We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinth. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6).
(3) We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15).
We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, premillenial imminent return of Christ, Who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel (Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; 1 Thess. 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6).
The Second Coming
Eternal Security of the Believer
(1) We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1; 38-39; 1 Corinth. 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:4-5).
(2) We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).
Family Relationships
(1) We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12).
(2) We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are an heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values and leading them, through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline, including Scriptural corporal correction (Gen. 1:26-28; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Ps. 127:3-5; Prov. 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mark 10:6-12; 1 Corinth. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4, Col. 3:18-21; Heb. 13:4; 1 Pet. 3:1-7).
We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ, we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinth. 5:20).
EVANGELISM & MISSIONS
Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to financially support his local church. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of his tithe or offering once the gift has been made (Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Corinth. 16:2; 2 Corinth. 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17).
Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. We believe that we must obey the state unless it requires us to act contrary to our faith at which time we must obey God rather than the state (Matt. 22:15-22; Acts 5:29; Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Titus 3:1-2; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).
We believe that Satan is a person, is Lucifer, a fallen angel, and is the Devil, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10).
Satan
Creation
We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin (Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11).
(1) We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, son, and Holy Spirit; that it sets forth in picture the essential truths of the Gospel-the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; that it gives testimony to what has taken place in the believer-death to sin and resurrection to walk in newness of life; and, that baptism after salvation is an act of obedience and is a prerequisite for local church membership (Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 6:4; Acts 2:41, 8:12, 26-39).
(2) We believe that the Lord’s supper is a commemoration of the Lord’s death to be observed till He comes; that the elements-the bread and the fruit of the vine are only symbols of His broken body and shed blood, and that our observance of it is a pictorial testimony of the believer’s fellowship with the crucified Savior, and should be preceded by solemn heart-searching and self-judgment (Matt. 26:26-30; 1 Corinth. 10:16-21, 11:17-34).
ORDINANCES
Human Sexuality
(1) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one naturally-born man and one naturally-born woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1: 26-29; 1 Corinth. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4).
(2) We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one naturally-born man and one naturally-born woman for life (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Corinth. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23).
Divorce and Remarriage
We believe that God disapproves of and forbids divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon (Mal. 2:14-17; Matt. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6).
Abortion
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical or mental well being of the mother are acceptable (Job 3:16; Ps. 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44).
Euthanasia
We believe that the direct taking of an innocent human life is a moral evil, regardless of the intention. Life is a gift of God and must be respected from conception until natural death. Thus we believe that an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder contrary to the will of God. Discontinuing medical procedures that are extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be a legitimate refusal of over-zealous treatment (Ex. 20:13, 23:7; Matt. 5:21; Acts 17:28).
Love
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward both those who are not believers, those who oppose us, and those who engage in sinful actions. We are to deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or the use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Rom. 12:9-10; 17-21; 13:8-10; Phil. 2:2-4; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1 John 3:17-18).
Lawsuits Between Believers
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander (1 Corinth. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32; Matt. 18:15-17).
THE SCRIPTURES
The Holy Scriptures.
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed and, therefore, are the final authority for faith and conduct. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning, and all issues of interpretation and meaning shall be determined by the pastor. The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official and only translation used by the church (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).
The Godhead
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 14:10, 26; 2 Corinth. 13:14).
Dispensationalism
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather are divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these dispensations—the law, the church, and the kingdom—are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture (Gen. 1:28; 1 Corinth. 9:17; 2 Corinth. 3:9-18; Gal. 3:13-25; Eph. 1:10; 3:2-10; Col. 1:24-25, 27; Rev. 20:2-6).