Statement of Faith
PREAMBLE
We the members of Rose Hill Baptist Church, desiring to worship according to New Testament teaching, and believing that the Lord has commissioned us to evangelize the world, and that He has instructed us to remain independent of denominational control, do by God's grace ordain and establish the following articles by which we mutually agree to be governed in the affairs of our church. Rose Hill Baptist Church is committed to preserve Scriptural beliefs and morals in the face of societal influences seeking to discredit God's Word the Bible, degrade the Biblical family, pervert the moral values of our nation, and intimidate God's people from speaking God's truth in love.
PURPOSE
The purpose of RHBC is the salvation of souls, the edification of Christians through the teaching and preaching of God's Word, the world-wide proclamation of God's saving grace as revealed in the shed blood and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, the promotion of Godly worship, the administration of ordinances of the New Testament, the defense of the faith once delivered (Jude 3), and the educating of believers in accordance with Holy Scripture (Matt 28:19-20).
STATEMENT OF FAITH
(A) The Holy Scriptures
(1) We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for the Word of God concerning faith and life. The thirty-nine (39) books in the Old Testament and the twenty-seven (27) books in New Testament, totaling sixty-six (66) books, are the complete and divine revelation of God to man. (2Tim 3:16-17; 2Pet 1:20-21)
(2) The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official translation used by RHBC.
(B) Dispensationalism
We believe the Scriptures literally interpreted reveal divinely decreed dispensations, or historical spiritual ages, that define man's changing responsibilities. These dispensations do not reveal different ways of salvation, but rather reveal discrete 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; Ex 20:1-17; Dan 2:31-45; 1Cor 9:15-23; 2Cor 3:9-18; Gal 3:13-25; Eph 1:10; 3:2-10; Col 1:24-25, 27; Rev 20:2-6)
(C) The Godhead
We believe in one triune God, existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each co-eternal in being, perfection and holiness, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and possessing the same attributes and perfections; but separate in personalities. (Deut 6:4; Matt 3:16-17; Matt 28:19; John 14:10, 26; 2Cor 13:14; 1Jn 5:7)
(D) The Person and Work of God the Father
We believe that God the Father is sovereign. We believe that God the Father has always existed and will always exist. We believe that we pray to God the Father, through the intercession of His Son, and aided by the intercession of the Holy Spirit. (Rom 15:6; 1Cor 8:6; 2Cor 1:2-3; Gal 1:1, 3; Eph 4:6)
(E) The Person and Work of the Lord Jesus 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. (Isa 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2Cor 5:19-21; Gal 4:4-5; Phi 2:5-8)
(2) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His suffering and 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; 1Pet 1:3-5; 2:24)
(3) We believe that the Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, Christ fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; 9:24; 1Jn 2:1-2)
(F) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
(1) We believe that the Holy Spirit 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 the Lord Jesus Christ, and indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (Titus 3:5; John 16:8-11; Rom 8:9; 1Cor 12:12-14; 2Cor 3:6; Eph 1:13-14)
(2) We believe that the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, sent by God the Father after the Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected, and sent into each believer's heart upon being born again. (John 14:26; 16:7)
(3) We believe that the Holy Spirit 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; 1Jn 2:20,27)
(4) We believe that the Holy Spirit bestows spiritual gifts to every believer, using evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the Church. (Rom 12:3-8; 1Cor 12:4-11, 28; Eph 4:7-12)
(5) We believe that certain gifts of the Holy Spirit were temporarily given as signs, such as speaking in tongues and healing. Speaking in tongues has never been the common or necessary sign of the baptism or of the filling of the Holy Spirit. Ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation at our death, or at the rapture in the resurrection, though God can choose to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (1Cor 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
(G) Creation
We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject Darwinian evolution and all other unscriptural theories of origin. We believe that God created man in His own image and likeness. (Gen 1-2; Ex 20:11)
(H) Heaven
We believe in a literal, eternal heaven where Jesus is today preparing a place for His believers. (John 14:1, 2) We believe that only those who have been born again through faith in and acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior will be able to enter heaven. (Eph 2:5-6; John 14:6)
(I) The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, 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. We believe that he is the god of this world, who has blinded the minds of non-believers and that he is in constant battle against Christians. (Job 1:6-7; Isa 14:12-17; Matt 4:2-11, 25:41; 2Cor 4:4; Eph 6:11-12; Rev 20:10)
(J) Hell and the Lake of Fire
We believe in a literal hell and in an eternal lake of fire (Matt 25:41; Rev 20:13-15), in everlasting destruction (2Th 1:9), and in everlasting punishment (Matt 25:46).
(K) The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that although man was created in the image and likeness of God, in Adam's sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became lost and 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)
(L) Salvation
We believe that salvation is of the Lord (Ps 62:1-2) on the merit of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 1:7) and is a free gift (Eph 2:8-9; Rom 6:23), which excludes any possible merit on the basis of works of men (Eph 2:8-9; 2Tim 1:9; Titus 3:5). We believe that every person who wants to be saved must repent (Acts 2:38) and accept Christ by faith (Acts 16:31; Rom 10:9-10).
(M) The Eternal Security and Certainty of Believers
(1) We believe that once a person has been saved, then he can never go to hell and he is eternally secure in the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom 8:1; 38-39; 1Cor 1:4-8; 1Pet 1:4-5)
(2) We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the certainty of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word. However, we believe that God's Word forbids Christians to use their liberty as an occasion to sin. (Rom 13:13-14; Gal 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
(N) 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; from all sinful pleasures, practices, and associations; and to refrain from all immodest and immoderate appearances. (Lev 19:28; Rom 12:1-2; 14:13; 1Cor 6:19-20; 2Cor 6:14-7:1; 2Tim 3:1-5; 1Jn 2:15-17; 2Jn 9-11)
(O) The Church and Ordinances
(1) We believe that the New Testament Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of the Lord Jesus Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons who unite together to serve God in prayer, worship, obedience, and fellowship. (Acts 2:42; 1Cor 12:12-14; 2Cor 11:2; Eph 1:22-23; 5:25-27)
(2) We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is taught and defined in the New Testament. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
(3) We believe in the autonomy of the local church, governed and controlled by its members only. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom 16:1,4; 1Cor 3:9, 16; 5:4-7,13; 1Pet 5:1-4)
(4) We believe the local church is commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ to evangelize, baptize, and teach. (Matt 28:19-20)
(5) We recognize water baptism by immersion, and the Lord's Supper, as the two Scriptural ordinances of obedience in this, the Church age. (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38; 1Cor 11:23-26)
(a) Baptism: We believe that baptism is the Christ-ordained symbol of the believer's identification with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Matt 28:19; Rom 6:4-5). We believe that the only scriptural mode of baptism is by immersion in water (Mark 1:10).
(b) Lord's Supper: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ commanded us to keep the Lord's Supper to memorialize His death (1Cor 11:24-26). We believe that unfermented wine (i.e. grape juice; Prov 20:1) and bread should be used to symbolize Christ's blood and body.
(P) The Rapture
We believe in the imminent (Matt 24:42; Rev 22:7, 12, 20), pre-tribulational and pre-millennial (1Th 5:9; Rev 3:10) return of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt 24:42, 44), at which time the true Church will meet Him in the air (1Th 4:16-18).
(Q) The Tribulation
We believe that immediately after the Rapture, the world shall undergo seven years of unprecedented tribulation. (Dan 12:11)
(R) The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Millennium
We believe that at the end of the tribulation, the Lord Jesus Christ will personally, physically, and visibly return with His saints to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom, which is promised to the nation of Israel. (Ps 89:3-4; Dan 2:31-45; Zech 14:4-11; Acts 1:11; 1Th 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
(S) 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 in heaven with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body will be reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord in the New Jerusalem. (Luke 23:43; 2Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23; 3:21; 1Th 4:1617; Rev 20:4-6)
(3) We believe that the souls of unbelievers go, at death, to conscious punishment and torment in hell 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; 2Th 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev 20:11-15)
(T) Governance under God
We believe that God has created and ordained all earthly authority to consist of three basic institutions: 1) the local church, 2) the home, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities; and all, including the authorities themselves, are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each of these institutions specific Biblical responsibilities and has limited each institution from infringing upon the others; the local church, the home, and the state are each 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; 1Pet 2:13-14)
(U) Christian Love
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward those who are not believers, those who oppose us, and those who engage in sinful actions. We are to deal graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly with all people. 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 of obtaining personal justice, except for self-defense (see paragraph DD). Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and to pray for any person who engages in 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; 2Tim 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1Jn 3:17-18)
(V) Missions
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 accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. As ambassadors of Christ, we must use all available means to evangelize all people of the world and must 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; 2Cor 5:20)
(W) Giving
(1) 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, though New Testament believers are at liberty. Both tithes and additional offerings are to be given sacrificially and cheerfully for the spread of the Gospel, the support of the local church, and the relief of those in need. (1Cor 16:1-3; 2Cor 9:7; Mark 12:41-44)
(2) We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of his tithe or offering once given, if the money is being spent according to the RHBC Constitution and Bylaws. (Gen 14:20; Prov 3:9-10; Acts 4:3437; 1Cor 16:2; 2Cor 9:6-7; Eph 4:28; 1Tim 5:17-18; 1Jn 3:17)
AUTHORITY OF STATEMENT OF FAITH
The Bible, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We believe that our Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible and therefore is binding upon all RHBC members. All literature, whether print or electronic, used by RHBC shall be in complete agreement with the Statement of Faith except when being used specifically to demonstrate error.
COVENANT
Being led by the Holy Spirit of God, we do now most solemnly and joyfully enter into this covenant with one another, as one body in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We engage therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of Rose Hill Baptist Church in Scriptural knowledge and holiness; to regularly attend its weekly services; to submit to its discipline; and to contribute regularly to the support of its ministry.
We also engage to conduct regular family and personal devotions; to bring up our children in the Christian way of life; to seek the salvation of our family and friends; to be just in our dealings and faithful in our engagements; to be exemplary in our manner of living; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Savior.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love, to remember each other in prayer, to aid each other in sickness and distress, to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech, and to be slow to take offense but always to be ready for reconciliation, mindful of the rule of our Savior to secure reconciliation without delay.
We also engage that when we move from this place we will promptly seek and, as soon as reasonably possible, unite with a church of like faith and practice.
Humbly confessing our sins, we pray for grace and strength to keep this covenant in letter and in spirit to the glory of God.
We the members of Rose Hill Baptist Church, desiring to worship according to New Testament teaching, and believing that the Lord has commissioned us to evangelize the world, and that He has instructed us to remain independent of denominational control, do by God's grace ordain and establish the following articles by which we mutually agree to be governed in the affairs of our church. Rose Hill Baptist Church is committed to preserve Scriptural beliefs and morals in the face of societal influences seeking to discredit God's Word the Bible, degrade the Biblical family, pervert the moral values of our nation, and intimidate God's people from speaking God's truth in love.
PURPOSE
The purpose of RHBC is the salvation of souls, the edification of Christians through the teaching and preaching of God's Word, the world-wide proclamation of God's saving grace as revealed in the shed blood and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, the promotion of Godly worship, the administration of ordinances of the New Testament, the defense of the faith once delivered (Jude 3), and the educating of believers in accordance with Holy Scripture (Matt 28:19-20).
STATEMENT OF FAITH
(A) The Holy Scriptures
(1) We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for the Word of God concerning faith and life. The thirty-nine (39) books in the Old Testament and the twenty-seven (27) books in New Testament, totaling sixty-six (66) books, are the complete and divine revelation of God to man. (2Tim 3:16-17; 2Pet 1:20-21)
(2) The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official translation used by RHBC.
(B) Dispensationalism
We believe the Scriptures literally interpreted reveal divinely decreed dispensations, or historical spiritual ages, that define man's changing responsibilities. These dispensations do not reveal different ways of salvation, but rather reveal discrete 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; Ex 20:1-17; Dan 2:31-45; 1Cor 9:15-23; 2Cor 3:9-18; Gal 3:13-25; Eph 1:10; 3:2-10; Col 1:24-25, 27; Rev 20:2-6)
(C) The Godhead
We believe in one triune God, existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each co-eternal in being, perfection and holiness, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and possessing the same attributes and perfections; but separate in personalities. (Deut 6:4; Matt 3:16-17; Matt 28:19; John 14:10, 26; 2Cor 13:14; 1Jn 5:7)
(D) The Person and Work of God the Father
We believe that God the Father is sovereign. We believe that God the Father has always existed and will always exist. We believe that we pray to God the Father, through the intercession of His Son, and aided by the intercession of the Holy Spirit. (Rom 15:6; 1Cor 8:6; 2Cor 1:2-3; Gal 1:1, 3; Eph 4:6)
(E) The Person and Work of the Lord Jesus 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. (Isa 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2Cor 5:19-21; Gal 4:4-5; Phi 2:5-8)
(2) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His suffering and 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; 1Pet 1:3-5; 2:24)
(3) We believe that the Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, Christ fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; 9:24; 1Jn 2:1-2)
(F) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
(1) We believe that the Holy Spirit 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 the Lord Jesus Christ, and indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (Titus 3:5; John 16:8-11; Rom 8:9; 1Cor 12:12-14; 2Cor 3:6; Eph 1:13-14)
(2) We believe that the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, sent by God the Father after the Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected, and sent into each believer's heart upon being born again. (John 14:26; 16:7)
(3) We believe that the Holy Spirit 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; 1Jn 2:20,27)
(4) We believe that the Holy Spirit bestows spiritual gifts to every believer, using evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the Church. (Rom 12:3-8; 1Cor 12:4-11, 28; Eph 4:7-12)
(5) We believe that certain gifts of the Holy Spirit were temporarily given as signs, such as speaking in tongues and healing. Speaking in tongues has never been the common or necessary sign of the baptism or of the filling of the Holy Spirit. Ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation at our death, or at the rapture in the resurrection, though God can choose to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (1Cor 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
(G) Creation
We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject Darwinian evolution and all other unscriptural theories of origin. We believe that God created man in His own image and likeness. (Gen 1-2; Ex 20:11)
(H) Heaven
We believe in a literal, eternal heaven where Jesus is today preparing a place for His believers. (John 14:1, 2) We believe that only those who have been born again through faith in and acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior will be able to enter heaven. (Eph 2:5-6; John 14:6)
(I) The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, 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. We believe that he is the god of this world, who has blinded the minds of non-believers and that he is in constant battle against Christians. (Job 1:6-7; Isa 14:12-17; Matt 4:2-11, 25:41; 2Cor 4:4; Eph 6:11-12; Rev 20:10)
(J) Hell and the Lake of Fire
We believe in a literal hell and in an eternal lake of fire (Matt 25:41; Rev 20:13-15), in everlasting destruction (2Th 1:9), and in everlasting punishment (Matt 25:46).
(K) The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that although man was created in the image and likeness of God, in Adam's sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became lost and 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)
(L) Salvation
We believe that salvation is of the Lord (Ps 62:1-2) on the merit of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 1:7) and is a free gift (Eph 2:8-9; Rom 6:23), which excludes any possible merit on the basis of works of men (Eph 2:8-9; 2Tim 1:9; Titus 3:5). We believe that every person who wants to be saved must repent (Acts 2:38) and accept Christ by faith (Acts 16:31; Rom 10:9-10).
(M) The Eternal Security and Certainty of Believers
(1) We believe that once a person has been saved, then he can never go to hell and he is eternally secure in the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom 8:1; 38-39; 1Cor 1:4-8; 1Pet 1:4-5)
(2) We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the certainty of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word. However, we believe that God's Word forbids Christians to use their liberty as an occasion to sin. (Rom 13:13-14; Gal 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
(N) 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; from all sinful pleasures, practices, and associations; and to refrain from all immodest and immoderate appearances. (Lev 19:28; Rom 12:1-2; 14:13; 1Cor 6:19-20; 2Cor 6:14-7:1; 2Tim 3:1-5; 1Jn 2:15-17; 2Jn 9-11)
(O) The Church and Ordinances
(1) We believe that the New Testament Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of the Lord Jesus Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons who unite together to serve God in prayer, worship, obedience, and fellowship. (Acts 2:42; 1Cor 12:12-14; 2Cor 11:2; Eph 1:22-23; 5:25-27)
(2) We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is taught and defined in the New Testament. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
(3) We believe in the autonomy of the local church, governed and controlled by its members only. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom 16:1,4; 1Cor 3:9, 16; 5:4-7,13; 1Pet 5:1-4)
(4) We believe the local church is commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ to evangelize, baptize, and teach. (Matt 28:19-20)
(5) We recognize water baptism by immersion, and the Lord's Supper, as the two Scriptural ordinances of obedience in this, the Church age. (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38; 1Cor 11:23-26)
(a) Baptism: We believe that baptism is the Christ-ordained symbol of the believer's identification with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Matt 28:19; Rom 6:4-5). We believe that the only scriptural mode of baptism is by immersion in water (Mark 1:10).
(b) Lord's Supper: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ commanded us to keep the Lord's Supper to memorialize His death (1Cor 11:24-26). We believe that unfermented wine (i.e. grape juice; Prov 20:1) and bread should be used to symbolize Christ's blood and body.
(P) The Rapture
We believe in the imminent (Matt 24:42; Rev 22:7, 12, 20), pre-tribulational and pre-millennial (1Th 5:9; Rev 3:10) return of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt 24:42, 44), at which time the true Church will meet Him in the air (1Th 4:16-18).
(Q) The Tribulation
We believe that immediately after the Rapture, the world shall undergo seven years of unprecedented tribulation. (Dan 12:11)
(R) The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Millennium
We believe that at the end of the tribulation, the Lord Jesus Christ will personally, physically, and visibly return with His saints to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom, which is promised to the nation of Israel. (Ps 89:3-4; Dan 2:31-45; Zech 14:4-11; Acts 1:11; 1Th 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
(S) 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 in heaven with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body will be reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord in the New Jerusalem. (Luke 23:43; 2Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23; 3:21; 1Th 4:1617; Rev 20:4-6)
(3) We believe that the souls of unbelievers go, at death, to conscious punishment and torment in hell 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; 2Th 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev 20:11-15)
(T) Governance under God
We believe that God has created and ordained all earthly authority to consist of three basic institutions: 1) the local church, 2) the home, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities; and all, including the authorities themselves, are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each of these institutions specific Biblical responsibilities and has limited each institution from infringing upon the others; the local church, the home, and the state are each 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; 1Pet 2:13-14)
(U) Christian Love
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward those who are not believers, those who oppose us, and those who engage in sinful actions. We are to deal graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly with all people. 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 of obtaining personal justice, except for self-defense (see paragraph DD). Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and to pray for any person who engages in 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; 2Tim 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1Jn 3:17-18)
(V) Missions
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 accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. As ambassadors of Christ, we must use all available means to evangelize all people of the world and must 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; 2Cor 5:20)
(W) Giving
(1) 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, though New Testament believers are at liberty. Both tithes and additional offerings are to be given sacrificially and cheerfully for the spread of the Gospel, the support of the local church, and the relief of those in need. (1Cor 16:1-3; 2Cor 9:7; Mark 12:41-44)
(2) We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of his tithe or offering once given, if the money is being spent according to the RHBC Constitution and Bylaws. (Gen 14:20; Prov 3:9-10; Acts 4:3437; 1Cor 16:2; 2Cor 9:6-7; Eph 4:28; 1Tim 5:17-18; 1Jn 3:17)
AUTHORITY OF STATEMENT OF FAITH
The Bible, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We believe that our Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible and therefore is binding upon all RHBC members. All literature, whether print or electronic, used by RHBC shall be in complete agreement with the Statement of Faith except when being used specifically to demonstrate error.
COVENANT
Being led by the Holy Spirit of God, we do now most solemnly and joyfully enter into this covenant with one another, as one body in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We engage therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of Rose Hill Baptist Church in Scriptural knowledge and holiness; to regularly attend its weekly services; to submit to its discipline; and to contribute regularly to the support of its ministry.
We also engage to conduct regular family and personal devotions; to bring up our children in the Christian way of life; to seek the salvation of our family and friends; to be just in our dealings and faithful in our engagements; to be exemplary in our manner of living; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Savior.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love, to remember each other in prayer, to aid each other in sickness and distress, to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech, and to be slow to take offense but always to be ready for reconciliation, mindful of the rule of our Savior to secure reconciliation without delay.
We also engage that when we move from this place we will promptly seek and, as soon as reasonably possible, unite with a church of like faith and practice.
Humbly confessing our sins, we pray for grace and strength to keep this covenant in letter and in spirit to the glory of God.