HARVEST BIBLE CHURCH
UNION COUNTY, PA
WHAT WE BELIEVE
The following doctrines are firmly held by our church for the sake of clarity and unity in the faith, providing a brief summary of our foundational beliefs. For greater detail of the biblical truths which are taught at Harvest Bible Church, please refer to the document linked below, What We Teach.
​The Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, are the inspired Word of God; without error in the original writings. We believe that this inspiration extends equally and fully to all parts of the Scriptures; that they are the complete revelation of God’s will for the salvation of men, and are the supreme and final authority in every area of faith and life. The meaning of Scripture is to be found as one diligently applies the literal, contextual, grammatical-historical method of interpretation under the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
We teach that there is one God eternally existing in three persons (the Trinity): the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each having precisely the same nature, divine attributes, and perfections; worthy of the same worship and obedience.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Matthew 28:19-20; John 1:1-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14
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 only absolute and omnipotent (all-powerful) ruler of the universe, Who has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass. He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. He has graciously chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own.
Psalm 145:8-9; I Corinthians 8:6; Psalm 103:19; Romans 11:36; Ephesians 1:3-1
We teach that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is fully God and fully man with indivisible oneness with God the Father. He is eternally coexisting with the Father, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He became flesh and dwelt among us as God incarnate. In his incarnation he laid aside his right to the full prerogatives of coexistence with God and took on an existence appropriate to a servant to humankind never divesting his divine attributes, assuring in his humanity his impeccability and his immutability.
We teach that the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophesied Messiah, performed miracles while on earth, died on the cross as the only sufficient substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all mankind; that his crucified body was buried and raised from the dead, and He appeared to many before ascending into heaven where he is seated at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest, Advocate, and Mediator. We also believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ for His church. The Lord Jesus Christ is the one through whom God will judge all mankind
Philippians 2:5-8; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 4:15, 13:8; Luke 1:35; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-16; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 1 Peter 1:18-20; Hebrews 8:1, 9:28, 10:10-14; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 John 2:1; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; John 5:22-23; Revelation 20:11-15
We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ . We teach that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, eternally active, began a unique work in the world on the Day of Pentecost, when He came as promised by the Son to initiate and complete the building of the body of Christ, the Church universal. His activities include convicting the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment; regenerating, indwelling, sanctifying, instructing, giving spiritual gifts, and transforming believers into the image of Christ thus glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that at the moment of salvation every believer is indwelt and baptized by the Holy Spirit. As a result every believer is responsible to yield to the control of the Holy Spirit, so that he may experience the filling of the Spirit for direction and empowerment for service.
John 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:7-15; Acts 1:5, 2:4; Romans 8:9-11, 29,12:6-8; Ephesians 1:13, 2:22, 4:7-16, 5:18; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 13; 1 John 2:20, 27; John 16:14; 1 Peter 4:10
We teach that man (male and female) was created in the image of God for the glory of God and for eternal fellowship with God. However, man sinned, thereby severing fellowship with God and incurring God’s enmity, wrath, and curse on all creation, resulting in physical and spiritual death. All human beings are born with a sin nature and are totally depraved, not only by constraint, but by choice and therefore under just condemnation without defense or excuse. Man’s only hope is found in the grace of God through the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Genesis 1:27, 3:1-24; Isaiah 43:7; Romans 3:23, 5:12, 19, 6:23, 7:18, 8:7-8, 19-22; Colossians 1:16; Ephesians 2:1-3, 14-16; 1 Corinthians 1:9, 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 3:3-7, 36
We teach salvation is the work of God where sinful man is delivered from condemnation and receives eternal life. It is accomplished by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone and cannot be earned or maintained by human effort; it results in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ when a person repents of his sin and believes in the sinless life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for his sin. Those entering into this relationship by faith are eternally born-again, justified, and have become children of God. We believe the Holy Spirit baptizes a person who believes into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation.
Ephesians 1:13-14, 2:8-10, 4:30; Romans 3:21-28, 5:1, 6:23, 8:16, 10:8-13, 14:9; John 1:12-13, 3:5-6, 16, 10:27-28,17:3, 20:30-31; Acts 2:36, 4:10-12; James 1:19-27, 2:14-26
We believe in the "blessed hope": the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ. His return has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer. We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost. The saved are raised to eternal, conscious bliss in heaven, and the lost are raised to eternal, conscious torment in hell.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:34; John 14:2; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Revelation 2:7; Matthew 8:11; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 13:49-50; Mark 9:47-48; Luke 12:5; Revelation 21:8
We teach that Christian sanctification is the continuing work of God where the individual believer perseveres in his salvation by consciously and constantly pursuing Christlikeness under the power of the Holy Spirit. This occurs through the transformation of the inner man by the renewing of the mind with the Word of God, the replacing of habits of the old man with the disciplines of the new man, and by abiding in the love of God. The result is God being glorified through a holy life and the expansion of the visible local church. This process does not lead to perfection while in mortality but will conclude at the believer’s glorification into eternity.
Romans 12:1,2; John 15; 1 John 1:1-9; Galatians 5:16-26; Colossians 3:1-4, 12-17; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-4; Philippians 3:13-16; Ephesians 5:1-20
The Bible teaches that all believers are saints, set apart unto God and are thus responsible to live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior. As Christians we should obey the Word of our Lord, seek the things which are above, walk as He walked, and accept as our responsibility the duty and privilege of bearing the Gospel to a lost world. A victorious and fruitful Christian life is possible only for those who have presented themselves wholly to Christ and walk by the power of the Holy Spirit, which all believers are called to do.
"I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Romans 12:1
"Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." Galatians 5:16
"Be not drunk with wine ...but be filled with the Spirit." Ephesians 5:18
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Romans 12:1-2; 1 Peter 1:14-19; 2 Timothy 2:19; Titus 2; 1 Timothy 6:1; 1 John 2:3; Colossians 3:1; Ephesians 5:23; Matthew 28:19-20; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18.
We believe 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. (Genesis 1:26-27) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe 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. (Genesis 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 Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; Hebrews 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 believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of this Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the members of our church and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by this Church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:22)
We believe 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; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
We believe 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 this Church.
Genesis 1:26-28, 2:24; Psalm 127 and 128; 139:13-16; Matthew 19:1-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Ephesians 5:22-33; Hebrews 13:4
We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life.
We teach that the Church is a unique spiritual organism made up of all born-again believers which began on the Day of Pentecost. The Church is the body and the bride of Christ, of which Christ is the head. The purpose of the Church is to make disciples, who will bring glory to God. We believe every Christian is called to be vitally connected and committed to the local church, so that they can minister according to his or her spiritual giftedness and practice the “one anothers” as commanded in the New Testament for the building up of the body in love while maintaining the unity of the Spirit. The Scriptures command believers to gather together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the ordinances (baptism and communion), fellowship, service to the body through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to the world in fulfillment of the command of Christ to make disciples of all believers (Ephesians 5:23; Romans 12:1; Acts 2:42-46; I Corinthians 14:26; Matthew 28:18-20). We believe in the autonomy of the visible local church with the right to self-government by a plurality of biblically qualified Elders, under Christ and over the congregation, as servant leaders.
Matthew 28:18-20; John 13:34-35; Acts 1:8, 2:1-21, 2:38-47, 14:23, 20:17, 20:28; 1 Corinthians 10:32, 11:23-25, 12:12-13, 15:58; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22, 3:1-6, 21, 4:7-16, 5:23-32; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 5:17-22; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 10:25, 13:7, 17; 1 Peter 5:1-5; 1 John 1:3
We teach the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. Whereby, the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, as they consciously await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body will be reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. In addition, the souls of the 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 then shall be cast into the Lake of Fire to suffer everlasting, conscious punishment.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:9; Hebrews 9:27-28; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-15, 21:1-8; Luke 16:19-28; Matthew 25:41-46; John 14:1-3; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Jude 6,7
We teach that there are only two ordinances to be observed by the Church: Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that water baptism is an outward testimony of God’s work in the believer, and it portrays the believer’s union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, which is demonstrated best through immersion. It serves as an initial step of identification and fellowship into the visible local church. We believe that Jesus Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper to commemorate and proclaim His death until His return. Neither ordinance is a means of earning or maintaining salvation.
Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-4; Matthew 26:26-30; 1 Corinthians 11:17-30; Mark 15:16; Ephesians 2:8-9
What We
Teach
The following document provides a more comprehensive look at what is taught at Harvest Bible Church.