>back
to About
What
We Believe
Urban Hills affirms the Holy Bible as the inerrant, inspired Word
of God and as the only basis for beliefs. We accept the following
doctrinal statement of basic Christian beliefs, as a general statement
of our faith, with the first seven being essential to salvation.
About God - God is the creator and ruler
of the universe. He eternally exists in three persons: the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one
God. Genesis 1:1,26,27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; I Peter 1:2;
II Corinthians 13:14
About Jesus Christ - Jesus is the Son
of God. He is co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus
lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice
for the past, present and future sins of all people by dying on a
cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His
power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will
return to earth and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Matthew
1:22,23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5, 14:6,10-30; Hebrews 4:14,15; I Corinthians
15:3,4; Romans 1:3,4; Acts 1:9-11; I Timothy 6:14,15; Titus 2:13
About the Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit
is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the
world to make individuals aware of their need for Jesus. He also lives
in every Christian from the moment of salvation. The Holy Spirit provides
the power for righteous living and understanding of spiritual truth.
He gives every believer a spiritual gift when they are saved. The
Holy Spirit seeks to bring believers to completion. II Corinthians
3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16,17; Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 2:12, 3:16;
Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18
About the Bible - The Bible is God’s
Word to all. Human writers, under the supernatural guidance of the
Holy Spirit, wrote it. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian
beliefs and living. Because God inspires it, it is truth without any
mixture of error. II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20-21; II Timothy 1:13;
Psalm 119:105,160, 12:6; Proverb 30:5
About Human Beings - People are made
in the image of God and are the supreme object of God’s love.
He created humankind male and female; the gift of gender is part of
the goodness of God’s creation. In the beginning, people were
innocent and endowed by the Creator with freedom of choice. By their
free choice, people sinned against God and brought sin into the human
race. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all
of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called
“sin”. People are separated from God by sin. Genesis 1:27;
Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1,2
About Salvation - Salvation is God’s
free gift of grace, but we must accept it. Good works or self-improvement
can never cleanse our sins. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s
offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from eternal death, which
is separation from God. When we turn in faith from our self-ruled
life to a Christ-focused life we are saved. Eternal life with God
begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his or her life.
Believers are eternally secure in their salvation because of the grace
and keeping power of God. Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8,9; John 14:6,
1:12; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1; John 10:29,30; II Timothy
1:2; Hebrews 7:25; 10:10,14; I Peter 1:3-5
About Eternity - People were created
to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God
by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To
be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union
with Him is eternal life in heaven. Heaven and Hell are real places
of eternal existence. John 3:16; John 2:25; John 5:11-13; Romans 6:23;
Revelation 20:15
About The Church - A New Testament church
of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized
believers, associated by agreement in the faith and fellowship of
the gospel. The church observes believer’s baptism and the Lord’s
Supper, exercises the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them
by His Word, and seeks to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ,
which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from
every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. Matthew 16:15-19;
18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42,47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 13:1-3; 14:23,27; 15:1-30;
16:5; 20:28; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14;
12; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11,21; 5:22-32; Philippians 1:1;
Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 3:1-15; 4:14; Hebrews 11:39-40; 1 Peter
5:1-4; Revelation 2-3; 21:2-3
About End Times - God, in His own time
and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According
to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in
glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge
all people in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to
Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their
resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will
live forever in Heaven with the Lord. Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 16:27;
18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-48;
Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11;
17:31; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-28,35-58; 2 Corinthians
5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18;
5:1ff.; 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8;
Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:28;
3:2; Jude 14; Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13
About Believer's Baptism - Believer’s
baptism is a public act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith
in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to
sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness
of life in Christ Jesus. Believer’s baptism is water baptism
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is a testimony
to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. It is prerequisite
to the privileges of church membership. Matthew 3:13-17; 28:19-20;
Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 3:23; Acts 2:41; 8:35-39; 16:30-33;
Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12
