What do we believe?

Below is a brief version of our Statement of Faith. This sums up the essentials of orthodox Christianity that one must affirm when pursuing membership at Hope Church. For a full version of our Statement of Faith, see here.

We believe that…

  • There is only one God (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 45:5-6, Jn. 17:3; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; 1 Tim. 2:5).

  • God is triune. God is three distinct Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, co-existent, co-equal, and co-eternal. Each Person is fully God (Gen. 1:26; Deut. 6:4; Ps. 45:6-7, 110:1; Matt. 3:13-17, 28:17-20; 1 Cor. 8:4-6, 12:4-6).

  • The Scriptures are true, authoritative and sufficient (Ps. 19:7-11; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).

  • Satan and his angels rebelled and waged war against God and were cast out of heaven. They have been waging war against God and His people, the Church, ever since. We live in contested space (Matt. 13:24-39; Lk. 10:18; 2 Cor. 2:11; Eph. 6:10-20; 1 Pet. 5:8; Rev. 12:7-17)

  • We are, along with all humanity (Christ excluded), by birth and action sinners [1] (Gen. 6:5; Ps. 51:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:23; 5:8, 12-21; 7:18; Eph. 2:1-3).

  • The deserved penalty for sin is death, both physical and spiritual (Gen. 2:15-17, 3:19; Rom. 5:12; 6:23; Jam. 1:14-15).

  • Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, was born of a virgin and is both fully God and fully human (Matt. 1:20; Lk. 2:52; Jn. 1:1-4, 14; Col. 1:15-20; Heb. 1:1-3).

  • Jesus Christ died as a righteous substitute to pay the penalty for sins (Jn. 1:29; 10:1-18; Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 1:4; 1 Pet. 3:18).

  • Jesus Christ physically rose from the dead (Matt. 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-8; Lk. 24:1-53; Jn. 20:1-31; 1 Cor. 15:12-34).

  • Jesus Christ physically ascended into heaven and will one day physically return (Jn. 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:16; Heb. 9:28; 1 Jn. 3:2; Rev. 1:7).

  • There will be a future physical resurrection of the dead. Those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone will be raised to eternal reward.[2] Those who have not trusted in Jesus Christ will be raised to eternal punishment (Matt. 25:31-46; Jn. 5:28-29; Acts 20:21, 24:15; 1 Jn. 1:9).

  • Only by trusting in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone can a person be reconciled to God and experience true life and joy (Jn. 3:18, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Rom. 3:21-26; 1 Tim. 2:5-6).

  • The Holy Spirit regenerates and forever indwells the believer, bearing witness that the believer is an adopted child of God (Jn. 1:12; Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 3:26, 4:4-7; Eph. 1:13-14; Tit. 3:4-7).

  • Believers in Jesus have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God in order to bring God glory through the advance of His kingdom in the world (Matt. 28:18-20; Luke 9:2; 1 Cor. 4:20, 10:31; 2 Cor. 10:3-4; Eph. 6:10-20; Col. 1:13; 2 Thess. 1:5, 11-12).

[1] We recognize that Adam and Eve were not “born” and were not created sinful; rather, they became sinful through their action.

[2] This is not intended to deny the salvation of Old Testament saints, but is instead a recognition that they were saved through faith in Jesus Christ, though the content of that faith was less clear than it is for us on this side of the cross and resurrection.