Authority – We believe the
authority to administer spiritual matters including teaching, belongs to the
local church. The Heritage Baptist
Institute is operated as a teaching ministry of Heritage Baptist Church of
Missouri City, Texas.
The church owns and governs the operations of the school. All matters concerning teachers, subjects and
policies are under the authority of the church.
School activity is under direct oversight of a five member board of
trustees elected by the church.
1.
We believe in the plenary verbal inspiration and inerrancy
of the whole Bible as originally written, and that it is the all-sufficient
rule of faith and practice. (Psalm 119:160; 2 Timothy 3:16,17)
2.
We believe in the personal triune God; Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, equal in Divine perfection. (Matthew 28:19)
3.
We believe in the Genesis account of creation. (Genesis
chapters 1-2)
4.
We believe Satan is a fallen angel, the archenemy of God and
man. The unholy god of this world, and
that his destiny is the eternal lake of fire. (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel
28:11-19; Mathew 25:41; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 6:10-17; Revelation 20:10)
5.
We believe in the virgin birth and sinless humanity of Jesus
Christ. (Matthew 1:10-20; 2 Corinthians
5:21; 1 Peter 2:22)
6.
We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. (John 10:30; John
1:4,5,8; 2 Corinthians 5:19)
7.
We believe the Holy Spirit is the divine administrator for
Jesus Christ in His churches. (Luke 24:49; John 14:16-17; Acts 1:4,5,8; Acts
2:1-4)
8.
We believe that miraculous spiritual gifts were done away
when the Bible was completed, and that the abiding spiritual gifts are faith,
hope and love. (1 Corinthians chapters 12-14)
9.
We believe man was created in the image of God and lived in
innocence until he fell by voluntary transgression from his sinless state, the
result being that all mankind are sinners.
10. We believe that
the suffering and death of Jesus Christ was substitutionary
for all mankind, and is efficacious only to those who believe. (Isaiah 53:6;
Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 2:24, 3:18; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:2)
11. We believe in the
bodily resurrection and ascension of Christ and the bodily resurrection of His
saints. (Matthew 28:1-7; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:42-50; 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18)
12. We believe in the
pre-millennial, personal, bodily return of Christ as the crowning event of the
Gentile age. This event will include the
resurrection of the righteous, and the Millennium will be followed by the resurrection
of the unrighteous to eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (John 14:1-6; 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation chapters
19,20:4-6,11,15, 21:8)
13. We believe that
the depraved sinner is saved wholly by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and
the requisites to regeneration are repentance toward God and faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ (Luke 13:3,5; John 3:16,18; Acts 20:21; Romans 6:23; Ephesians
2:8,9) and that Holy Spirit convicts sinners, regenerates, seals, secures and
indwells every believer. (John 3:6; John 16:8,9; Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians
6:19,20; Ephesians 4:30; Titus 3:5)
14. We believe all
who trust Jesus Christ for salvation are eternally secure in Him and shall not
perish. (John 3:36; 5:24; 10:27-30; Romans 8:35-39; Hebrews 10:39; 1 Peter 1:5)
15. We believe God
deals with believers as His children and the He chastises the disobedient and
rewards the obedient. (Matthew 16:27, 25:14-23; John 1:12; Hebrews 12:5-11; 2
John chapter 8; Revelation 22:12)
16. We believe Jesus
Christ established His church during His ministry on earth and that it is
always a local, visible assembly of scripturally baptized believers, in
covenant relationship to carry out the commission of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
each church is an independent, self-governing body, and no other ecclesiastical
body may exercise authority over it. We
believe Jesus Christ gave the Great Commission to New Testament churches only,
and promised the perpetuity of His churches. (Matthew 4:18-22, 16:18, 18:15-18,
28:19-20; Mark 1:14-20; John 1:35-51; Ephesians 3:21)
17. We believe there
are two pictorial ordinances in the Lord’s churches: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Scriptural baptism is the immersion of
penitent believers in water, administered by the authority of a New Testament
church in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial ordinance,
restricted to members of the church observing the ordinance. (Matthew 28:19-20;
Acts 8:12,38; Romans 6:4; 1 Corinthians 5:11-13, 11:1-2, 17:20,26)
18. We believe there
are two divinely appointed offices in a church, pastor and deacons, to be
filled by men whose qualifications are set forth in Titus and Timothy.
19.
We
believe all associations, fellowships and committees are, and properly should
be, servants of and under control of, the churches. (Matthew 20:25-28)
20.
We
believe in the complete separation of church and state. (Matthew 22:21) and
affirm our belief in civil obedience unless the laws and regulations of civil
government run contrary to the Holy Scriptures (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-15)