North Houston Baptist Church
Summary Doctrinal Statement
The Bible
We believe the Holy Scriptures as contained in the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God -- inerrant, infallible, powerful, and God-breathed (Ps. 19:7-11; II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:16-21).
God the Father
We believe in God the Father -- perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, and measureless in power. We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Christ Jesus (Mt. 6:9; Isa. 40:28; Job 42:2; Prov. 5:21; Jer. 33:3; Jn. 14:6).
Jesus Christ
We believe in the Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and propitious death through His shed blood, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, His personal, pretribulational return for His saints, and His pre-millennial return in power and glory with His saints to establish His eternal reign in righteousness (Jn. 1-14; 14:6; Isa. 7:14; Mt. 1:18-25; Jn. 10:36; Heb. 2:9; Jn. 6:44-69; Jn. 3:1-18; Rom. 3:25; Rev. 1:5; Heb. 9:22; I Pet. 1:18-19; Acts 3:12-26; Jn. 20; Heb. 9:25; I Cor. 15:12-28; I Thess. 4:13-18; I Cor. 15:50-55; Acts 1:11; Tit. 2:13; Mt. 25:31-46).
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead. We believe He is sent into the world to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. We believe all born-again people are baptized into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. We believe in the indwelling of all believers by the Holy Sprit. We believe the Holy Spirit teaches, guides, and protects the believer in this life (Jn. 16:7-11; I Cor. 12:13; Rom. 8:14-27).
God the Trinity
We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Jn. 1:18; I Cor. 2:9-10). The Father is God (Rom. 1:7). The Son is God (Heb. 1:8). The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4).
Personality of Satan
We believe in the personality of Satan, "that old serpent called the Devil, and Satan which deceiveth the whole world" (Rev. 12:9-10; Mt. 4:2-11; Isa. 14:12-17; Jn. 8:24).
Heaven and Hell
We believe that Heaven is a place of eternal blessedness, and the destination of the saved. We believe that Hell is a place of literal, conscious, eternal suffering and the destination of the unbeliever (II Cor. 5:1-10; Rev. 20:1-15; 21:2).
Mankind and Sin
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that through Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, became alienated from God, and is totally unable to retrieve its former condition. We believe in the universality and exceeding wickedness of sin. We believe man is a sinner both by nature and by choice (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; Eph. 2:12; Ezek. 18:4; Rom. 3:10-26; 6:23).
Salvation
We believe that salvation is by grace through faith alone in the finished, redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross and through His resurrection (Eph. 2:8-9; Jn. 1:12-13; 3:18, 36; Rom. 5:1). We believe that there is no genuine salvation without repentance of sin which is generated by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God (Jn. 16:7-11; II Cor. 7:10). We believe that man is regenerated by the Holy Spirit as the Holy Spirit makes application of the Word of God to the life of the lost sinner (Jn. 16:7-11). We believe that the believer is set apart as God's property at the moment of salvation and that he continues to become more Christ-like as he is progressively sanctified by the Spirit of God until, finally, he is completely sanctified at the resurrection when he is conformed to Christ's resurrection body (I Cor. 6:11; II Pet. 3:18; I Thess. 5:23).
Eternal Security
We believe in the perseverance of the saints and that every born-again believer is eternally secure in our Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 10:27-29).
Separation from the World
We believe that all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ are called to a life of separation from worldly and sinful practices, and unto the Lord as His personal property (Jms. 4:4; Rom. 12:1-2; I Jn. 2:15-16; II Cor. 6:14-18).
Evangelism
We believe that the commission of the true church of Christ is to be fundamental, evangelistic, and missions-minded; therefore, we believe in carrying the gospel to every creature; baptizing believers in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and teaching them to obey the commands of our Lord (Mt. 28:16-20).
Good Works
We believe that all born-again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ should be careful to maintain good works (Eph. 4:1; Tit. 2:11-14; 3:1-11).
The Church
We believe that the Church Universal consists of all those who truly believe and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We believe in the local church -- independent, autonomous, indigenous, free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority, and subject only to the authority and Lordship of Christ, its head. We believe that there are two ordinances of the church: baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. We believe that both of these are for the purpose of symbolizing the identification of the believer with the Lord Jesus Christ and that they have no saving merit in themselves. We believe that the church is subject to the powers that be, as long as those God-appointed powers do not require the church to disobey God (I Cor. 1:2; Mt. 16:16-18; 28:19; Rom. 6:1-6; I Cor. 11:23-32; Lk. 22:15-20; Rom. 13; Tit. 3:1; Acts 5:29).
Last Things
We believe in the literal, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in a literal bodily resurrection from the dead of believers unto life everlasting, and of unbelievers unto condemnation and the Lake of Fire forever. We believe that God will make a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness for the enjoyment of His redeemed for all eternity (I Cor. 15:51-58; I Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 20:11-15; 21-22; II Pet. 3:13).
