Meteor Hills Bible Church
"Holding Forth The Word Of Life"
What We Believe
Sec. 1 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES: We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments in their entirety, to be the verbally inspired Word of God. They are the final authority for faith and practice. The Scriptures are inerrant in the original manuscripts, infallible and God-breathed. (I Corinthians 2:12-13; II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
Sec. 2 A LITERAL HERMENEUTIC: We believe the scriptures should be interpreted in the normal, literal sense in order to understand what the original author meant to communicate to his intended audience. This includes respect to the both the immediate and greater context of Scripture; careful consideration of grammar and the meaning of the words used; respecting the historical context in which it is written. (Mt 5:18)
Sec. 3 THE GODHEAD: We believe that God is Triune; that there are three eternal, co-equal, divine persons in the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and these three are one God. They are identical in nature and attributes and are worthy of our worship and obedience. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:18; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14)
Sec. 4 THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST:
A. 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 a virgin, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14, 18; Philippians 2:5-9; Hebrews 1:3, 8)
B. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; that His shed blood is the only atonement for sin; and that all who by personal faith trust Him as Savior are freely justified and stand before God accepted in Christ. This justification is made sure by the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (Romans 3:24-25; I Corinthians 15:14-19; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12, 10:10,12,14; I Peter 1:3-5, 18-19, 2:24)
C. 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 church of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-11; Romans 8:34; I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25: I John 2:1)
D. We believe in that “Blessed Hope,” the personal, imminent, pretribulational and premillennial coming of Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom. (John 14:1-2; I Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:14; Revelation 1:7)
Sec. 5 THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:
A. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead 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; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:13-14; Titus 3:5)
B. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth and that it is the privilege of all believers to be controlled by the Spirit. He is the believer’s abiding Comforter, ever present to testify of Christ, seeking to occupy us with our Lord instead of with ourselves or our experiences. (John 14:16,26; 16:13-14; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18; I John 2:20, 27)
Sec. 6 CREATION AND FALL OF MAN:
A. We believe that in the recent past (thousands of years) God spoke and the heavens, earth, and all therein came into being. Creation took six literal days and was perfect. (Genesis 1:1-31; Exodus 20:11; John 1:1-3; Romans 1:20, 8:20-22)
B. We believe that God created Adam directly from the dust of the earth and Eve from Adam’s rib. (Genesis 2:7, 2:21-22; Psalm 139:14; Mark 10:6)
C. We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23, 5:12-14; Eph. 2:1-12)
Sec. 7 SALVATION:
A. We believe that salvation is the gift of God; given wholly apart from any human work or merit; that in grace He bestows eternal life upon any person who by faith trusts the Lord Jesus Christ as his own Savior from sin; that such a person passes immediately out of spiritual death into spiritual life, becoming a child of God. (John 1:12, 3:16, 5:24; Acts 16:31; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9)
B. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are secure in Christ forever. It is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation because of the full and complete atonement made at the cross, and because of the sure testimony of God’s Word; which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (John 6:37; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:38-39; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 1:13-14; I John 5:13)
Sec. 8 THE TWO NATURES OF THE BELIEVER: We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. (Romans 6:13, 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; I Peter 1:14-16)
Sec. 9 SEPARATION: We believe that all the saved are called to live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded by God. (Romans 12:1-2; Romans 16:17; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1; Ephesians 5:11; II Timothy 2:19, 3:1-5; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11)
A. Having thus said, heeding the warnings of scripture to beware of apostasy, the following are doctrines and/or movements that we believe are contrary to God’s Word, and therefore reject:
1. The doctrines known as ‘Lordship Salvation’; ‘Perseverance of the Saints’; ‘The Openness of God’; ‘Limited Atonement’, and 'Replacement Theology'
2. The Church growth movements called the ‘Ecumenical Movement’; the ‘Seeker-Friendly’ or Seeker-Sensitive’ movement; and the ‘Emergent Church’ movement.
Sec. 10 MISSIONS: We believe that it is incumbent upon all believers to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all men everywhere. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:18-20)
Sec. 11 SPIRITUAL GIFTS:
A. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of His gifts; and that each believer is engifted by the indwelling Holy Spirit; and that speaking in tongues and working of sign miracles, which were evident in the apostolic age, gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established. (I Corinthians 12:4-11, 13:8-10; Ephesians 4:7-12; Hebrews 2:3-4)
B. We believe that when it is God’s will and when it is accomplished for His eternal glory, He will perform physical healing in answer to the prayer of faith. (John 14:12-14, 15:7; I John 5:14-15)
Sec. 12 THE CHURCH:
A. We believe the Church had its beginning on the day of Pentecost and will continue on this earth until the Rapture; and that this beginning was a new entity in God’s program and is not to be confused with Israel in the Old Testament. (Acts 2:1-4, 41-47, 4:32-37; Ephesians 2:14-22)
B. We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age; and that Jesus Christ is the Head of the body; and that the entire body is to be subservient to Him. (I Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:22-27; Colossians 1:15-19)
C. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament; and that fellowship in such churches is based upon a common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior; and that no unregenerate person should ever be received into membership of a local church. (Acts 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
D. We believe that the Lord has committed two ordinances to the local church, namely, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
1. Water baptism is the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. This is distinctly a believer’s baptism that pictures the identification of the believer with the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord. It does not in any way grant the forgiveness of sins or confer grace to the individual. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41-42, 8:36-38)
2. The Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ to commemorate His death for us. The elements used are symbolic of our Lord’s body and blood and do not grant life or convey grace to the participant. Believers are to practice this ordinance until Christ comes again. (Luke 22:19-20; I Corinthians 11:23-34)
E. We believe that the local church is autonomous and, consequently, free of any external authority or control. We also believe in the separation of church and state. (Acts 4:17-20, 5:28-32, 13:1-4, 20:28; I Peter 5:1-4)
Sec. 13 DISPENSATIONALISM: We believe that the Scriptures, interpreted in their natural, literal sense, reveal divinely determined dispensations. These dispensations are not ways of salvation but are rather divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; II Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 3:1-7; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation 20:2-6)
Sec. 14 SATAN: We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, and the cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Isaiah 14:12-15; Luke 4:1-13; II Corinthians 4:3-4; I Peter 5:8; Jude 6; Revelation 12:10, 20:10)
Sec. 15 FUTURE EVENTS: We believe the order of future events will be as follows:
A. The Rapture of the Church: This event is imminent and involves the catching away of the true church, the body and bride of Christ. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18)
B. The Tribulation: This is a period of approximately seven years following the rapture of the Church when God’s wrath will be poured out upon the world. During this period of time the Anti-Christ will be revealed. Great persecution and purging will come to Israel. This period is referred to in Scripture as the time of Jacob’s trouble. (Jeremiah 30:4-7; Daniel 12:1; II Thessalonians 2:3-10; Revelation 3:10)
C. The Second Advent and the Millennium: Jesus Christ will return with His Church, bring an end to the tribulation and rescue Israel from the Gentile world powers. Satan will be bound, and Christ shall reign for a period of one thousand years. It will be a reign of absolute righteousness and peace. (Isaiah 11:1-9, Zechariah 14:1-4,9,12-15; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-7)
D. The Great White Throne: Unsaved from all ages will be resurrected bodily, judged for their sins, and cast into the lake of fire to be in conscious torment forever. (Revelation 20:11-15)
E. The New Heavens and the New Earth: All who have trusted Jesus Christ for salvation will enjoy eternal bliss with God. ( II Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1)
Sec. 16 THE ETERNAL STATE:
A. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.
B. 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. (I Corinthians 15:51-54; II Corinthians 5:1-8; Philippians 1:23, 3:20-21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6)
C. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery 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 torment. (Luke 16:19-26; John 3:18, 36; II Thessalonians 1:6-10; Revelation 20:11-15)
Sec. 17 THE SUPREMACY OF SCRIPTURE: The preceding doctrinal statement is meant to be a summary “of those things which are most surely believed among us.” It is only that—a summary. It is neither intended to be a definitive statement of all revealed truth, nor to exhaust all that the Scriptures say concerning those doctrines listed. Final authority, therefore, must rest not in this summary, but in the whole body of revealed truth, the Holy Scriptures, commonly known as the Bible. (Isaiah 8:19-20, 55:8-11; II Timothy 2:15, 3:16-17)
