Our Purpose

(1) To Win the Lost

We believe the Bible teaches that Jesus’ sole purpose was to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke19:10). To see people saved was the entire purpose of Calvary. The main thrust of the early church in the book of Acts was to see people saved by preaching the gospel from house to house and then to see them grow in the Lord. The Bible teaches of a literal Hell with literal fire where the lost will spend eternity away from God. This is clearly taught in Luke 16:19-21 and Revelation 20:11-15. God is concerned about us reaching the unsaved (see Luke 15), and so are we. Our thrust and daily objective is to reach the world for Christ. This is the Great Commission and our Great Purpose (see Matthew 28:19-20).

(2) To Salvage the Straying

We believe God has a purpose and a plan for every life, no matter how confused or complicated by sin that life may be. God can use you! Whether a new Christian or someone who has been unchurched or backslidden, God has a revised plan for those who stray…but He is still full of love and concern. We believe God has a place for you in His plan no matter what situation you find yourself.

(3) To Equip the Saints

We believe church is also a place to help young Christians to grow into maturity. This is what we refer to as discipleship. Hopewell Baptist Church wants to be an incubator of spirituality that makes it conducive to growth and a place of safety away form the wiles of the devil. The Bible is taught faithfully and practically for our personal application. We want you to know what you believe, why you believe it, and how to live it.

 

Our Beliefs

The Holy Scriptures

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and breathed out by God, and therefore are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are complete and divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning. The Kings James Version of the Bible shall be the official and only translation used by the church (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

The Godhead

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons – three Persons, one God. These three members of the Trinity are 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. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 14:10, 26)

The Person and Work of Christ

(1) 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; II Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 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; Romans 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 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 ministries of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2)

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

(1) 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; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 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. (Ephesians 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. (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 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. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that 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 Corinthians 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)

The Fallen Nature 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; and, that all men are sinners by birth and by choice, and, of themselves, utterly unable to remedy their lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19)

Salvation

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 and that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process. (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19)

The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

(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; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 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. (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)

The Church

(1) We believe Jesus started the local new Testament Church. These church members practiced “Acts” Christianity. We believe the church Jesus started is exactly what the local independent Baptist churches are today. He began only one church.

(2) We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons who have been baptized and join the membership of that church. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27)

(3) 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 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)

(4) 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; Romans 16:1, 4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4)

(5) We recognize water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

Separation

We believe that all the saved should live in a manner that does not bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded of God. (Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)

The Last Days

We believe in that “blessed hope,” the personal 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. (Psalm 89:3-4; Daniel 2:32-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 10:11-16; 20:1-6)

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 (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:26; Revelation 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 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 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 (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)

 

* Please contact us for our full, official list of doctrines and beliefs. You can also contact us if you have any questions or need any clarification.