WHAT WE TEACH
THE BIBLE
We teach that the Bible, composed of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is God’s revelation to us, written by human authors who were supernaturally guided by the Holy Spirit. As the very word of God, it is without error in the original manuscripts and serves as our supreme and final authority in all matters about which it speaks. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
THE TRINITY
We teach that God is One, the only God, eternally existing in three equal persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each completely and fully God. (Gen. 1:1; Deu. 6:4; Ps. 18:30-31, 147:5; Matt. 28:19; Luke 3:22; John 4:24, 5:23, 10:30, 14:9; Acts 5:3-4; 2 'Cor. 13:14; Heb. 1:1-3)
GOD THE FATHER
We teach that the Father is fully God and His fatherhood is eternal and personal. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and of all who believe in Christ. (Gen. 1:1; Matt. 6:9; 2 Cor.1:3; Eph. 4:6)
GOD THE SON
We teach that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is fully God and fully man, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect, complete sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He physically rose from the dead, demonstrating His victory over sin and death and ascended to heaven where He is at the throne of the Father, interceding for us. One day, He will return to earth to reign as King of Kings. (Matt. 1:18-25; John 1:1-2, 14; 3:16-18; Acts 1:9-11; Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:20; 2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 1:20; Phil. 2:5-11; Heb. 4:14-15; 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2)
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
We teach that the Holy Spirit is equal in deity and person with the Father and the Son. As the living Spirit, He moved the human authors of the Bible to write God’s Word. He makes people aware of their need for Jesus Christ, performs the miracle of new birth and comes to live in every Christian the moment they trust in Jesus Christ. He unites all Christians into the one Body of Christ, providing each of them with power for service, understanding of spiritual truths and comfort in life’s trials. He is also given to the Christian as a pledge sealing us for the day of redemption (Jn. 3:3-8; 14:16-17; 16:7-11; Acts 5:3-4; Rom. 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 2:13; 12:11-13; 2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13, 4:30; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
HUMAN BEINGS
We teach that all people are created in the image of God, to be like Him in character. However, we are all marred by sin, both from Adam's original sin as well as our own sinful acts. Our sin alienates us from God, makes us liable for His judgment and ultimately results in eternal death apart from God’s salvation. (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 1:18-23; 3:23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:18-19; 1 Pet. 1:15-16)
SALVATION
We teach that eternal salvation from sin, death and hell is the free gift of God's grace, and is based solely upon man's personal faith and belief in Jesus Christ. He voluntarily died as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins and arose bodily from the dead, thus guaranteeing our own resurrection to eternal life. This salvation is not received by, nor based on , any sacrament, merit, or good work on our part. This one who receives Christ's salvation is eternally secure. (John 1:11-13, 3:16, 5:24, 10:28-30, 14:6; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:23-26, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 7:24-25; 1 Peter 1:18019, 1 John 5:11-13)
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
We teach that before salvation, we were enslaved to sin, but at salvation the dominant power of sin in our lives is broken. Beginning at salvation, God begins to progressively work within believers to make us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives. The Christian life is a process of cooperating with God's sanctifying work in our lives by our obedience to Christ and deepening our relationship with Him. It is God's will that we continually grow over the course of our lives until we get to heaven and then are made perfect in Christ. (1 Cor. 6:11; Rom. 6:1-8; 1 Thess. 5:23; Phil 1:6, 2:13)
BAPTISM
We teach that baptism is an important part of the Christian walk and is an act of obedience to Jesus Christ. Christ Himself, both modeled it and commanded it in His ministry. We believe that baptism is a picture of salvation, but is not necessary for salvation and therefore is merely an outward sign of an inward reality. Because of the significance of baptism, we believe that baptism is an important event for the community to witness. We practice baptism by immersion. The method of total immersion most clearly shows the meaning of baptism as identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. We do not practice infant baptism. Since water baptism pictures a spiritual relationship with Christ beginning at salvation and since salvation can only happen through a personal confession of faith in Jesus Christ, no person should be baptized until he/she is able to personally understand and respond to the Gospel. (Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:12; Matthew 28:19-20a)
THE CHURCH
We teach that the Church is the family of God, the Body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit and that it is expressed in local churches. It was created by God to display His glory on the earth by reaching out to people who do not know Him, lifting up worship to Him, loving one another as His family, growing in maturity to be like Christ and serving others in His name. We believe that the Church is the primary instrument through which God is working in the world today. The Church celebrates baptism and the Lord’s Supper until Christ returns. (Matt. 26:26-29; 28:18-20; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 12:27; 2 Cor. 6:18; Eph. 1:22-23; 3:10; Col. 1:18)
FUTURE EVENTS
Physical Death
We teach that physical death involves no loss of our immaterial consciousness (Revelation 6:9-11), that the soul of the redeemed passes immediately into the presence of Christ (Luke 23:43; Philippians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:8), that there is a separation of soul and body (Philippians 1:21-24), and that, for the redeemed, such separation will continue until the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17), which initiates the first resurrection (Revelation 20:4-6), when our soul and body will be reunited to be glorified forever with our Lord (Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:35-44, 50-54). Until that time, the souls of the redeemed in Christ remain in joyful fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:8).
We teach the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life (John 6:39; Romans 8:10-11, 19-23; 2 Corinthians 4:14), and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Daniel 12:2; John 5:29; Revelation 20:13-15).
We teach that the souls of the unsaved at death are kept under punishment until the second resurrection (Luke 16:19-26; Revelation 20:13-15), when the soul and the resurrection body will be united (John 5:28-29). They shall then appear at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) and shall be cast into hell, the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41-46), cut off from the life of God forever (Daniel 12:2; Matthew 25:41-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).
The Rapture of the Church
We teach the personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ before the seven-year tribulation (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Titus 2:13) to translate His church from this earth (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-5:11) and, between this event and His glorious return with His saints, to reward believers according to their works (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10).
The Tribulation Period
We teach that immediately following the removal of the church from the earth (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) the righteous judgments of God will be poured out upon an unbelieving world (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 9:27; 12:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12; Revelation 16), and that these judgments will be climaxed by the return of Christ in glory to the earth (Matthew 24:27-31; 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12). At that time the Old Testament and tribulation saints will be raised and the living will be judged (Daniel 12:2-3; Revelation 20:4-6). This period includes the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 24:15-31; 25:31-46).
The Second Coming and the Millennial Reign
We teach that, after the tribulation period, Christ will come to earth to occupy the throne of David (Matthew 25:31; Luke 1:31-33; Acts 1:10-11; 2:29-30) and establish His messianic kingdom for 1,000 years on the earth (Revelation 20:1-7). During this time the resurrected saints will reign with Him over Israel and all the nations of the earth (Ezekiel 37:21-28; Daniel 7:17-22; Revelation 19:11-16). This reign will be preceded by the overthrow of the Antichrist and the False Prophet, and by the removal of Satan from the world (Daniel 7:17-27; Revelation 20:1-7).
We teach that the kingdom itself will be the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel (Isaiah 65:17-25; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Zechariah 8:1-17) to restore them to the land that they forfeited through their disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). The result of their disobedience was that Israel was temporarily set aside (Matthew 21:43; Romans 11:1-26), but will again be awakened through repentance to enter into the land of blessing (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:22-32; Romans 11:25-29).
We teach that this time of our Lord’s reign will be characterized by harmony, justice, peace, righteousness, and long life (Isaiah 11; 65:17-25; Ezekiel 36:33-38), and will be brought to an end with the release of Satan (Revelation 20:7).
The Judgment of the Lost
We teach that following the release of Satan after the 1,000-year reign of Christ (Revelation 20:7), Satan will deceive the nations of the earth and gather them to battle against the saints and the beloved city, at which time Satan and his army will be devoured by fire from heaven (Revelation 20:9). Following this, Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10), whereupon Christ, who is the Judge of all men (John 5:22), will resurrect and judge the great and small at the Great White Throne Judgment.
We teach that this resurrection of the unsaved dead to judgment will be a physical resurrection, whereupon receiving their judgment (John 5:28-29), they will be committed to an eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:11-15).
Eternity
We teach that after the closing of the millennium, the temporary release of Satan, and the judgment of unbelievers (2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 20:7-15), the saved will enter the eternal state of glory with God, after which the elements of this earth are to be dissolved (2 Peter 3:10) and replaced with a new earth, wherein only righteousness dwells (Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 20:15; 21:1-27; 22:1-21). Following this, the heavenly city will come down out of heaven (Revelation 21:2) and will be the dwelling place of the saints, where they will enjoy forever fellowship with God and one another (John 17:3; Revelation 21-22). Our Lord Jesus Christ, having fulfilled His redemptive mission, will then deliver up the kingdom to God the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24-28), that in all spheres the triune God may reign forever and ever (1 Corinthians 15:28
MARRIAGE, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY
We teach that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Gen. 1:26-27) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.
We teach that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union as delineated in Scripture. (Gen. 2:18-25) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.
We teach that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matt. 15:18-20;1 Cor. 6:9-10)
We teach that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Humboldt Bible Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the Humboldt Bible Church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Humboldt Bible Church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matt 5:16; Phil. 2:14-16; 1 Thess. 5:22)
We teach that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 6:9-11)
We teach that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Humboldt Bible Church.