Core Beliefs
At Center Hill Baptist Church, our beliefs are rooted in the Bible and reflect historic Christian and Baptist teaching. The following statement summarizes the essential doctrines that guide our faith, worship, and mission.
The Bible
The Holy Bible was written by men who were divinely inspired and is the record of God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction, having God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth—without any mixture of error—for its message.
The Bible reveals the principles by which God judges us and is the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tested. Jesus Christ is the central focus and the true key to understanding Scripture.
The Bible reveals the principles by which God judges us and is the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tested. Jesus Christ is the central focus and the true key to understanding Scripture.
God
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being—the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and in all other perfections, and He alone is worthy of our highest love, reverence, and obedience.
The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, yet without division of nature, essence, or being.
The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, yet without division of nature, essence, or being.
God the Father
God the Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all-powerful, all-loving, and all-wise.
God is Father in truth to all who become His children through faith in Jesus Christ, and He is fatherly in His attitude toward all people.
God is Father in truth to all who become His children through faith in Jesus Christ, and He is fatherly in His attitude toward all people.
Jesus Christ, the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and fulfilled the will of God, taking upon Himself the demands and necessities of human nature while remaining without sin.
Through His personal obedience, He honored the divine law. By His death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of humanity from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the same person who had been with them before His crucifixion.
Jesus ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where He serves as the one Mediator between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to complete His redemptive mission. Today, He dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.
Through His personal obedience, He honored the divine law. By His death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of humanity from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the same person who had been with them before His crucifixion.
Jesus ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where He serves as the one Mediator between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to complete His redemptive mission. Today, He dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures and today illuminates the truth so that people may understand it. He exalts Christ and convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
The Holy Spirit calls people to the Savior, brings about regeneration, cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows spiritual gifts for service through the church. He seals believers until the day of final redemption and empowers both the individual Christian and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
The Holy Spirit calls people to the Savior, brings about regeneration, cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows spiritual gifts for service through the church. He seals believers until the day of final redemption and empowers both the individual Christian and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
Man
Man was created by the special act of God in His own image and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning, man was innocent of sin and endowed with freedom of choice. Through that freedom, man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race.
As a result, all people inherit a nature inclined toward sin and become sinners by choice, falling under condemnation. Only the grace of God can restore man to fellowship with Him and enable the fulfillment of God’s creative purpose.
Every human life is sacred because each person is created in the image of God and because Christ died for all. Therefore, every person possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
As a result, all people inherit a nature inclined toward sin and become sinners by choice, falling under condemnation. Only the grace of God can restore man to fellowship with Him and enable the fulfillment of God’s creative purpose.
Every human life is sacred because each person is created in the image of God and because Christ died for all. Therefore, every person possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Salvation
Salvation is the redemption of the whole person and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. By His blood, Christ obtained eternal redemption for the believer. Salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification.
Regeneration (the new birth) is a work of God’s grace in which believers become new creatures in Christ. It is a change of heart brought about by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, leading to repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ.
Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal of sinners who repent and believe in Christ, bringing them into a relationship of peace and favor with God.
Sanctification begins at regeneration and continues throughout the believer’s life. Through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, believers are set apart for God’s purposes and grow toward spiritual maturity.
Glorification is the culmination of salvation and the final, eternal state of the redeemed.
Regeneration (the new birth) is a work of God’s grace in which believers become new creatures in Christ. It is a change of heart brought about by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, leading to repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ.
Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal of sinners who repent and believe in Christ, bringing them into a relationship of peace and favor with God.
Sanctification begins at regeneration and continues throughout the believer’s life. Through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, believers are set apart for God’s purposes and grow toward spiritual maturity.
Glorification is the culmination of salvation and the final, eternal state of the redeemed.
God's Purpose of Grace
Election is the gracious purpose of God by which He regenerates, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with human freedom and includes all the means necessary to bring about God’s purposes. Election displays God’s sovereign goodness and excludes all boasting, promoting humility instead.
All true believers will persevere to the end. Though believers may fall into sin through neglect or temptation, they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
All true believers will persevere to the end. Though believers may fall into sin through neglect or temptation, they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are united by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. The church observes the ordinances of Christ, submits to His teaching, exercises the gifts given by God, and seeks to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, and resurrection to new life in Christ.
The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience in which church members partake of the bread and the fruit of the vine to remember the death of Christ and to anticipate His return.
The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience in which church members partake of the bread and the fruit of the vine to remember the death of Christ and to anticipate His return.