Howard's Creek

I.  The Trinity



We teach that there is but one living and true God, an infinite all-knowing Spirit, perfect in all His attributes, one in essence, eternally existing in three Persons--Father, Son and Holy Spirit--each deserving equal worship and obedience (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 45:5-7; 1 Cor. 8:4; John 4:24; Matt. 18:19; 2 Cor. 13:14)



God the Father.  We teach that God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace.  He is the creator of all things.  As the absolute and omnipotent ruler in the universe, He is sovereign in creation, providence and redemption.  His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind.  He is creator of all men, but He is spiritual Father only to believers.  He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ; and He adopts as His own all those who come to Him; and He becomes, upon adoption, Father to His own (Psalm 145:6-8; 1 Cor. 8:6; Gen 1:1-31; Eph. 3:9; Psalm 103:19; Rom. 11:36; Col. 1:16; Gen 1:27; Eph. 4:6; Rom. 8:14; 2 Cor. 6:18; John 1:12; Rom. 8:15; Gal 4:5; Heb. 12:5-9)



God the Son.  We teach that Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, possesses all the divine excellencies, and in these is co-equal, co-substantial, and co-eternal with the Father.  We teach that God the Father created "the heavens and the earth and all that is in them" according to His own will, through His Son, Jesus Christ, by whom all things continue in existence and in operation.  We teach that our Lord Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and was virgin born; that he was God incarnate; and that the purpose of the incarnation was to reveal God and to redeem men.  We teach that our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through the shedding of His blood and sacrificial death on the cross, and that His death was voluntary, vicarious, substitutionary, propitiatory, and redemptive.  We teach that Jesus Christ rose from the dead literally and bodily and by so doing validated His deity and made sure the way of salvation.  We teach that Jesus Christ literally and bodily ascended into Heaven and is presently at the right hand of God the Father, where he now mediates as our Advocate and High Priest.  We teach that Jesus Christ will return to receive the church, which is His body, unto Himself at the rapture and, returning with His church in glory after the tribulation, will establish His millennial kingdom on earth.  We teach that the Lord Jesus Christ is the One through whom God will judge all mankind.  As the mediator between God and man, the head of His body the church, and the coming universal King who will reign on the throne of David.  Our Lord Jesus Christ is the final Judge of all who fail to place their trust in Him as Lord and Savior (John 10:30; 14:9;1:3; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:2; Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23,25; Luke 1:26-35; John 1:1, 14; Psalm 2:7-9; Isa. 9:6; John 1:29; Phil. 2:9-11; Heb. 7:25-26; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; John 10:15; Rom. 3:24-25; 5:8; 1 Pet. 2:24; Matt. 28:6; Luke 24:38-39; Acts 2:30-31; Rom. 4:25;8:34; Heb. 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 20)



God the Holy Spirit.  We teach that the Holy Spirit is a divine person possessing all the attributes of personality and deity including intellect, emotions, will, eternality, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence and truthfulness.  In all the divine attributes He is co-equal and co-substantial with the Father and the Son.  We teach that it is work of the Holy Spirit to execute the divine will with relation to all mankind.  We recognize His sovereign activity in creation, the incarnation, the written revelation and the work of salvation.  The broad scope of His divine activity includes convicting the world of sin, righteousness and judgment; glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ; and transforming believers into the image of Christ.  We teach that the Holy Spirit is the supernatural and sovereign agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ.  The Holy Spirit also indwells, sanctifies, instructs, empowers for service and seals them unto the day of redemption.  We teach that every believer possesses the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit from the moment of salvation, and it is the duty of all those born of the Spirit to be filled with (controlled by) the Spirit.  We teach that the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church.  The Holy Spirit glorifies neither Himself nor His gifts by ostentatious displays, but He does glorify Jesus Christ by implementing His work of redeeming the lost and building up believers in the most holy faith when these gifts are dicovered and implemented in ministry (1 Cor. 2:10-13; Eph. 4:30; 1 Cor. 12:11; Heb. 9:14; Psalm 139:7-10; Isa. 40:13-14; Rom. 15:13; John 16:13; Matt. 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; Heb. 10:15-17; Gen. 1:2; Matt. 1:18;2 Pet. 1:20-21; John 3:5-7; 16:7-9; Rom. 8:29; Eph. 2:22; 1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 8:9; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13; 2 Pet. 1:19-21; 1 John 2:20,27; John 16:13-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; 2 Cor. 3:18).

 

II. The Scriptures



We teach that the Bible is God's complete written revelation to man, and thus the sixty-six books of the Bible given to us by the Holy Spirit constitute the plenary (inspired equally in all parts) Word of God.  We teach that the Word of God is verbally inspired in every word, absolutely inerrant in the original documents, infallible and God-breathed.  We teach the literal, grammatical-historical interpretation of Scripture which affirms the belief that the opening chapters of Genesis present creation in six literal days.  We teach that the Holy Spirit so superintended the human authors that, through their individual personalities and different styles of writing, they composed and recorded God's word to man without any error in the whole or in the part.  We teach that, whereas there may be several applications of any given passage of Scripture, there is but one true interpretation.  The meaning of Scripture is to be found as one diligently applies the literal grammatical-historical method of interpretation under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.  It is the responsibility of believers to ascertain carefully the true intent and meaning of Scripture, recognizing that proper application is binding on all generations.  (1 Cor. 2:7-14; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; 2 Tim. 3:16; Gen 1:31; Ex. 31:17; Matt. 5:18;24:35; John 10:35; 16:12-13; 17:17; 1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; Heb. 4:12; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; John 7:17)



III. Man and Salvation



Man.  We teach that man was directly and immediately created by God in His image and likeness.  Man was created free from sin, but through Adam's sin of disobedience man incurred the penalty of physical and spiritual death and became inherently corrupt and incapable of doing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace.  This sin nature has been transmitted to the entire human race, except for Jesus Christ, thus every person is born into sin and is separated from God.  All men are thus sinners by nature and by choice.  The only way man can be reconciled to God is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross apart from any merit of man (Gen. 1:26-27; 3:6; Rom. 3:9-12; 5:8-12; Eph. 2:8-9)



Salvation.  We teach that salvation is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works.  We teach that salvation is sufficient for the entire world but only efficient to those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  We teach that once a person receives Jesus Christ he or she is kept by God's power and is thus secure in Jesus Christ forever.  We teach that it is privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion for sinful living and carnality.  We teach that separation from sin is clearly taught throughout the Bible and that out of deep gratitude for the undeserved grace of God granted to us and because our God is so worthy of our total consecration, all the saved should live in such a manner as to demonstrate our adoring love to God so as to not bring reproach upon our Lord and Savior.  (John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 Tim. 4:10; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 5:12-13; Eph. 4:30; Rom. 8:35-39; 6:15-22; 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13, 25-26; Titus 2:11-14; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 5:9-13)



IV. The Church



We teach that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one unified body, the church, the bride of Christ, of which Christ is the Head.  We teach that the formation of the church began on the day of Pentecost and will be completed at the coming of Christ at the rapture.  The church is thus a unique spiritual organism designed by Christ, made up of all born-again believers in this present age.  The church is distinct from Israel.  We teach that the establishment and continuity of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament and that members of the one spiritual body are directed to associate themselves together in local assemblies.  We teach that the one supreme authority for the church is Christ Jesus and that church leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship are appointed through Him as found in Scripture.  The biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the local assembly are males, who are called bishops, overseers, pastors, elders and deacons, all of whom mush meet biblical qualifications.  We teach the importance of discipleship, soul-winning, mutual accountability of all believers to each other, as well as the need for discipline of sinning members of the congregation in accord with the standards of Scripture.  We teach the autonomy of the local church, free from any external authority or control, with the right of self-government and freedom from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations.  We teach that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other for the presentation and propagation of the faith.  We teach that the purpose of the church is to exalt God, encourage Christians toward spiritual maturity, equip Christians for ministry, and evangelize the world for Christ.  We teach that two ordinances have been committed to the local church: baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. (1 Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 5:23-32; Col. 1;18; Acts 2:1-21, 38-47; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Eph. 2:11-3:6; Rom. 9:10-11; Acts 14:23,27; 20:17,28; Gal. 1:2; Heb. 10:25; Eph 1:22; 4:11; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Matt. 18:5-14; Titus 1:5; Acts 2:38-42)

 

V. Eschatology



We teach the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation, pre-millennial coming of Jesus Christ to receive to Himself all believers, the church, the body of Christ.  This rapture of the church will be followed by the tribulation which will be a time of judgment on the whole earth.  We teach that the tribulation will be climaxed by the literal, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth to begin His reign in the millennial age.  We teach a bodily resurrection of all men; the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to eternal punishment.  We teach that those who die before Christ comes will go to be with Him and will wait there in consciousness for their bodies and souls to be reunited at the first resurrection when they will be glorified with the Lord Jesus Christ.  We teach that those who die without Christ will exist in conscious agony in Hell until the second resurrection when their bodies and souls will be reunited to appear at the Great White Throne Judgment.  They will then be cast into the Lake of Fire to suffer forever in a conscious sate of torment away from the presence of God.  (Zech. 14:4-11; Matt. 25:29-30; Mark 9:47-48; Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; John 5:28-29; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23;3:21; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-16;20:11-15)



VI. Gifts of the Spirit



We teach that the Holy Spirit has given spiritual gifts to all believers for the purpose of building up the body of Christ and bringing glory to God.  The gifts are to be exercised in love and emphasize the need for unity.  We teach the miraculous use of languages and interpretation of languages in its biblical and historical setting.  That is, languages (tongues) were an evangelistic tool used for the purpose of spreading the gospel and as a confirmation that the gospel was intended for the Gentile as well as the Jew.  The languages were unknown to the speaker but known by the hearers.  We teach that it is contrary to God's word to teach that speaking in an unknown tongue is the evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit.  The unity of the body of Christ is of utmost importance; therefore, only a language readily understood by the congregation is to be used in public worship.  (1 Cor. 12:4; 11, 18, 21-25; Eph. 4:11-16; Acts 2:4-8; Gal. 5:22-24; 1 Cor. 12:1;14:40)



VII. Satan



We teach that the one time highest angel, Lucifer, sinned through pride and rebelled against God.  He was therefore cast out of Heaven along with a host of other angels who followed Him in rebellion.  Some of those angels that fell became demons and are active with Satan to carry out his evil purposes.  Other angels who fell are reserved in chains under darkness until the day of judgment.  Satan enticed man to sin by rebelling against God.  He is referred to in the Scriptures as the father of lies, the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air, and the head of all the fallen angels.  He has already been judged by God and defeated by Christ on the cross, and will be condemned forever to the Lake of Fire when Jesus comes back in glory.  (Gen. 3:1-19; Psalm 148:2,5; Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:11-19; Matt. 8:16; Luke 20:36; John 8:44; 1 Cor. 6:3; Eph. 6:10-12; Col. 1:16; Heb. 2:14; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 7:12; 20:10)