"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." - Romans 1:16

Core Beliefs

The following are the core beliefs of Good Hope Baptist Church based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.

THE BIBLE

The Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God; therefore, it is infallible. It is the written record of His supernatural revelation of Himself to man, absolute in its authority, complete in its revelation, final in its content, and without any errors in its teachings.

Psalm 119:160, Proverbs 30:5, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:19-21

GOD

God is One God and Creator and Ruler of all. He has eternally existed, and He reveals Himself in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.

Matthew 6:9, John 1:14-18, John 5:19-24, John 16:7-11, Ephesians 1:3-6; 13-14, Ephesians 2:10, Galatians 5:22-25, Colossians 1:15-20

JESUS

Jesus Christ, as the Scriptures affirm, is the Son of God and Son of man. He was born of a virgin and is Himself very God.

Matthew 6:9, John 1:14-18, John 5:19-24, John 16:7-11, Ephesians 1:3-6; 13-14, Ephesians 2:10, Galatians 5:22-25, Colossians 1:15-20

Jesus Christ will come again to earth the second time personally, bodily, and visibly. His coming will precede the age of universal peace and righteousness foretold in the Scriptures

Hebrews 9:28, Acts 1:11, I Thessalonians 4:16, Colossians 2:9, Matthew 26:64; Revelation 1:7, Mathew 24:29- 30 and 42, II Thessalonians 2:7-8, Revelation 20:1-6

HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is a divine person, eternal, underived, possessing all the attributes of personality and deity. He executes the divine will and is sovereign in His activity. He is the promise revealed in fullness at Pentecost, initiates and completes the building of the body of Christ, the Church. He convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgement; glorifies Christ and transforms believers. He is the administrator of all spiritual gifts, indwells every believer and refuses to bring attention to Himself.

1Corinthians 2:10-13, Ephesians 4:30, 1Corinthians 12:11, Psalms 139:7-10, Acts 1:5; 2:4, 1Corinthians 12:4-11, Hebrews 2:1-4

SALVATION

Salvation is only by grace, a free gift of God, through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus, who died for our sins according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3). Those who thus receive Christ by faith have their sins forgiven (Ephesians. 1:7), their hearts cleansed (Acts 15:9), are born of the Spirit, become children of God (John 1:12, 13), and are made new creatures in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17).

RESSURECTION

Our Lord Jesus rose from the dead in the same body that was laid to rest in the tomb. (John 20:25-27).
The bodies of all believers who die will be raised from the dead, and they will receive an incorruptible body like unto His glorious body. (I Corinthians 15:53, Philippians 3:21).
All other men shall be raised unto "the resurrection of judgment" (John 5:28, 29).

MANKIND

Man was created as the direct creation of God, made in His image and likeness; that by personal disobedience to the revealed will of God, man became a sinful creature. All men in their natural state are lost, alienated from God, spiritually dead: "All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" and under divine judgement

Genesis 1:27, Genesis 3:26, Psalms 51:5, Romans 3:23 Romans 5:12, and 19, Galatians 3:11

THE FAMILY

God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human
society. Marriage is the unity of one man and one woman in covenant
commitment for a lifetime. The husband and wife are of equal worth
before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage
relationship models the way God relates to His people. Children, from
the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; Proverbs 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Matthew 5:31-32; Mark 10:6-12; 1Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7

THE CHURCH

All who place their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by Christ through the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual body, the church. The church is the bride of Christ in which Christ is the head.

To help us govern, Christ has given a leadership structure of elders, bishops, and pastors. Christ has appointed within this structure a plurality of leaders. He has given the church servants known as deacons to help in the distribution of needs. The role of the congregation is to affirm leaders, receive and dismiss members, settle disputes within church discipline and be active in their part of the priesthood of believers

Corinthians 12:12-13, 2 Corinthians 11:2, Colossians 1:18, Acts 11:30, Philemon 1:1, Titus 1:5, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Acts 6:1-7, 1 Timothy 3:8-13, Romans 16:1, Ephesians 4:7-12, 1 Timothy 5:17-20, 2 Corinthians. 2:6-8

CHRISTIAN LIVING

Christians, born of the Spirit, are to live the new life in the present power of the Spirit. "If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk" (Gal. 5:16-25, Col. 2:6). The Christian’s responsibility and his normal attitude of life is to yield himself to God (Rom. 6:13), trusting God to keep him.

Christian "living" includes Christian service, the winning of souls around us, and the preaching of the Gospel in the uttermost parts of the earth. In carrying on this work there is needed the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit which is granted to every believer as he yields and trusts (Acts 1:8, I Corinthians 12:7, Ephesians 3:20, Acts 5:32). And in all of this service, prayer is to have the central place (John 14:12-14, Ephesians 6:18, 19).