THE BIBLE
The Bible is God’s message to mankind. For that reason, we give the Bible the supreme place of authority. The Bible, consisting of both Old and New Testaments is the revealed Word of God. It is inspired by God and is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice. It was given by inspiration of God and written by men, as they were guided by the Holy Spirit. It is therefore inerrant and infallible. Scripture is our sole authority on all matters of doctrine and conduct. (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21).
GOD
God is triune. There is one God eternally existent in three persons- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is the Creator, Sustainer and Governor of all things material and spiritual. Ps. 102: 24, 25 (Father); Col. 1: 13-16 (Son); Gen. 1: 2 (Spirit). The three persons of the Godhead are distinct personalities yet are co-equal each executing distinct but harmonious operations in the work of creation and redemption. God is spirit – invisible, personal, self-existent, eternal, and omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and unchanging. God is not limited or localized by time and space. He is sovereign in creation, providence and redemption. (Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 28:19, Ephesians 1:5-6, Ephesians 4:4-6, Hebrews 9:14).
- God the Father is Holy and cannot overlook or be associated with evil in any way. God is love and has shown His love and mercy to all people by sending His Son, the Lord Jesus, to this earth to redeem mankind, reconcile the world to himself and pay the penalty for sin (1 John 4:8-10).
- God the Son, Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, entered human history as a man – Christ Jesus He was born of the Virgin Mary, having been supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was truly God and man. He lived a perfect and sinless life and died on the cross having offered Himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. His death was voluntary, vicarious, substitutionary and propitiatory. He rose bodily from the dead, ascended to His Father’s right hand in heaven and intercedes for His redeemed people, as our great High Priest. The Lord Jesus Christ will come again, and the final judgement of mankind has been committed to Him. (Matthew 1:20, Luke 1:34, 35, 24:39, John 5:22,10:30, Acts 10:42, 1 Timothy 3:16, 1 Peter 2:24, Ephesians 1:20, Hebrews 4:14-16, 9:24).
- God the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead and has been sent by the Lord Jesus as our Comforter and instructor. He permanently indwells those who have believed God’s testimony concerning His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ and accepted Him as personal Saviour. The Holy Spirit is God’s seal of ownership upon every believer, guaranteeing their security until the day of Redemption. The function of the Holy Spirit is to instruct believers in things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ to transform them into His likeness and to equip and empower them for service. The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the father and the Son. (John 14: 16-18, 14:26, 15:26-27, Romans 10:9, Luke 12:10, Ephesians 1:13, 14; 4:30, Romans 8:9, 2 Timothy 1:14, I Cor 2:13,14, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; Galatians 5:22-26, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
MAN
Man was originally created in the image of God. As a result of sin, the natural man is at enmity with God and is subject to death- both physical and spiritual. Sin brought guilt and death upon all Adam’s descendants. (Genesis 1:26, 27, Genesis 2:7, 17, I Corinthians 15:21, 22, Romans 3:9-23, Ephesians 2:1- 3).
SALVATION
Man is freed from the condemnation of sin by accepting, through faith, the atonement that Jesus Christ made at Calvary. Man’s acceptance of this requires both his repentance of past sin and his acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as well as Saviour. Salvation results not only in deliverance from final judgement in the life to come but also in the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit for the deliverance from sin in this present life.) Salvation is wholly of God by grace through faith, and not by human efforts. Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of mankind. The salvation He offers is eternally secure. (Matthew 1:21, Mark 1:15, John 3:16, 5:24 8:34-36, Romans 6:7-11, Galatians 1:4, Ephesians 2:8-9).
THE CHURCH
The Church is composed of all persons who truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church and, as such, He directs the activities of His Church on earth. The local church is the expression of the Church universal and is an autonomous body of believers, who gather as a corporate testimony to the Lordship of Christ and to the oneness of the Body of Christ, directly responsible to the Lord alone, under the leadership and guidance of elders. The two ordinances commissioned to the church are believers’ baptism and the Lord’s supper. (Galatians 3:27; Colossians 1:18)
RETURN OF CHRIST
The hope of the church is to dwell with our Lord. Paul tells the believers in Thessalonica that the Church will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air – the dead in Christ will rise first, followed by those who are alive and remain. After an interval of at least seven years which will be a period of tribulation and rule by the Antichrist, at a day and hour known only to the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ shall come again to earth, personally, bodily and visibly to establish His millennial kingdom of righteousness and peace After the millennial kingdom, unbelievers will be raised, judged and condemned to everlasting conscious punishment and eternal separation from God, and the believers in Jesus Christ will enter eternity to worship God, and to reign with him forever and ever (Rev. 22:3-5, 1 Thess. 4:16-17, Rev. 20:1-6, 11-15).
For any further information with regard to this Statement of Faith or for information on Hilltop Chapel, please email hbctoronto@gmail.com and one of the elders will be happy to respond.