Lighthouse Bible Church
STATEMENT OF MISSION AND PURPOSE
Mission
Our mission is to obey Christ’s command to His church:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
Purpose
Our purpose is to worship God by the clear preaching of the Gospel and the careful teaching of His Word.
“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” 2 Timothy 4:2
Lighthouse Bible Church
STATEMENT OF FAITH
Section 1: The Holy Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, God-breathed, infallible, and inerrant in the original writings.
Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21
Section 2: God
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – all three eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory, and having the very same attributes and perfections.
Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6
Section 3: Jesus Christ
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.
Luke 1:35; John 1:1, 14; 1 John 2:1-2
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for mankind as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that the sufficiency of His atoning sacrifice to accomplish the redemption and justification of all who trust in Him is assured by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.
Romans 3:24-25; Colossians 1:13-14; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 2:24
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God the Father, where, as our high priest, He fulfills His ministry of representative, intercessor, and advocate.
Acts 1:9; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25, 9:24; 1 John 1:1-2
Section 4: The Holy Spirit
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 Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption.
John 16:7-11; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 1:13-14
We believe that He is the divine teacher who guides believers into all truth; and, that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit.
John 16:13-14; Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27
Section 5: The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.
Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:23, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12
Section 6: Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.
Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10; John 1:12; 1 Peter 1:18-19
Section 7: The Eternal Security of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever.
John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:38-39; 1 Peter 1:3-5
Section 8: The Believer’s New Nature
We believe that through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, God creates in every saved person a new nature which empowers the believer to experience victory over sin and the flesh.
Romans 6:4, 12-14; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20-21; 1 Peter 1:14-16
Section 9: Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as to not bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded by God.
Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11
Section 10: Missions
We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind.
Mark 16:15; Acts 1:7-8; Romans 10:13-15
Section 11: Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and, that the gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and, that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established.
1 Corinthians 12:4-12; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12
We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accordance with His perfect will.
John 15:7; 1 John 5:14-15; James 4:14-15
Section 12: The Church
We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born again persons of this present age.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:22-27; 1 Peter 1:22-23
We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures.
Matthew 16:18; Acts 14:27, 20:17, 28; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9
We believe in the autonomy of the local church, free of any external authority or control.
Acts 15:19-31; 1 Corinthians 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4
We believe in the ordinances of believer’s water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as scriptural means of testimony for the Church Age.
Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:8; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Section 13: Satan
We believe that Satan is a fallen angel, and the cause of the fall of man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and all mankind; and, that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire.
Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11, 25:41; Revelation 20:10
Section 14: The Second Coming of Christ
We believe in the “Blessed Hope,” the personal, imminent, pretribulational, and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom.
Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:9; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6
Section 15: The Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.
Matthew 25:31-40; John 5:28-29, 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13
We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:7-8; Philippians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Revelation 20:4-6
We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery 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.
Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; Revelation20:11-15