What We Believe

This is the official Statement of Faith at Selah Hills Church.  All of our teaching & ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical truths.

WE BELIEVE that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (The Bible) are the Word of God, fully inspired without error and the infallible rule of faith and practice. The Word of God is the foundation upon which the church operates and is the basis for which the church is governed. We believe that the Word of God supersedes any earthly law that is contrary to the Holy Scriptures (Is. 28:13; Neh. 8:8; Jn 17:17; II Tim. 3:16-17; Heb. 4:12; I Peter 1:23-25; II Peter 1:3-4, 21)

WE BELIEVE that there is one living and true GOD, eternally existing in three persons; The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory. We believe that this triune God created all, upholds all, and governs all things (Gen. 1:1, Deut. 6:4; Is. 44:8, 48:16; Matt. 28:19-20; Jn. 10:30; Heb. 1:3)

WE BELIEVE in the person of God the Father, an infinite, eternal, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, sovereign wisdom, power and love; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all those who come to Him through Jesus Christ.  
(Deut. 33:27; Ps. 90:2, 102:27; Jn 3:16, 4:24; I Tim. 1:17; Tit. 1:3)

WE BELIEVE in the person of Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit is both fully God and fully man. We believe in His virgin birth; incarnation; sinless life; miracles and teachings; His substitutionary, atoning death upon the cross; His physical, bodily resurrection; His ascension into Heaven, His perpetual intercession for His people and His personal, visible return to Earth (Is. 7:14; Mic. 5:2; Matt. 1:23; Mk. 16:19; Lk. 1:34-35; Jn. 1:1-2, 8:58, 11:25; I Cor. 15:3-4; I Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:8; I Jn. 1:2; Rev. 1:8)

WE BELIEVE in the person of the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower for ministry all who believe in Christ. 
(Jn. 16:8-11; Acts 1:8; Rm. 8:26, 15:13, 15:16; II Cor. 3:18; Heb. 9:14)

WE BELIEVE the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, & guide (Jn 14:16-17, 16:8-13; Rm 8:26)

WE BELIEVE we are called to be filled with the Holy Spirit, which is different and distinct from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, which occurs at the moment of salvation. 
(Acts 2:4; Acts 4:8; Acts 4:31; Eph. 5:18)

WE BELIEVE in the present-day ministry of the Holy Spirit in regard to the exercise of all biblical gifts according to the instructions and guidelines given to us in God’s Word. The Bible’s lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations at various times as seen fit by the grace of God. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. We believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of Biblical parameters 
(I Cor. 12-14; Rm. 12; Eph. 4; 1 Pet. 4:10)

WE BELIEVE that mankind is created in the image and likeness of God; that mankind fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. We believe that all people are sinners by nature and by choice, falling short of God’s standard and breaking His commandments - and therefore are under God’s righteous judgment. Yet, God saves and gives new life to all who come to Him in repentance and faith, trusting in the person and atoning work of Jesus Christ. At the cross, Jesus Christ died in our place as our substitute, absorbing God’s wrath that should have come upon us. Because Jesus died for the sins of the world, the invitation to believe is open to all, and whoever desires may come unto Jesus for new life and the forgiveness of sins (Gen. 1:27; Matt. 11:28; Jn 3:16; Acts 3:19, 20:21; 1 Cor. 15:20–23; Rm. 3:23; Eph. 2:1-3, 8-9; I Jn 2:2; Rev. 22:17)

WE BELIEVE we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; His death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts and that there is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. We believe that repentance of sins, as well as faith in Jesus Christ, are both necessary requirements for salvation (Eph. 2:8-9; Gal. 2:16, 3:8; Tit. 3:5; Rm. 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Heb. 9:22)

WE BELIEVE sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God's Word and His Spirit in order to complete the development of Christ's character in us. It is through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a godly life (1 Thess. 4:3, 5:23; 2 Cor. 3:18, 6:14-18, 2 Thess. 2:1-3, Rm. 8:29, 12:1-2, Heb. 2:11)
 

WE BELIEVE the church is the Body of Christ with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus' great commission to evangelize the lost world. Every person who is born of the Spirit is an integral part of the church as a member of the body of believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture (Matt. 16:15-19; 18:15-20; Jn 17:11, 20-23; Acts 2:41-42,47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 13:1-3; 14:23,27; 15:1-30; 16:5; 20:28; Rm. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14; 12; Eph. 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11,21; 5:22-32; Phil. 1:1; Col.1:18; 1 Tim. 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14; Heb. 11:39-40; 12:23; 1 Pet. 5:1-4; Rev. 2-3; 21:2-3)

WE BELIEVE that God created mankind and that He created them male and female. As such, He created them different so as to complement and complete each other. God instituted monogamous marriage between male and female as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. Therefore, we perform marriages in accordance with the Bible consistent with the Old and New Testament.
(Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4-6; Jn 4:16-18; Rm. 1:18-32; I Cor. 5:11, 6:9-11, 6:18-20, 7:1-3, 7:8-9; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7; I Tim. 1:9-11)

WE BELIEVE that “biological sex” and “gender identity” coincide with one another.  Someone born as a biological male, is a man. Someone born as a biological female, is a woman - as intended by God (Matt. 19:4)

WE BELIEVE that the Lord, Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances for the church: the water baptism of believers and Communion.

WE BELIEVE that the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Water baptism signifies that the believer is buried with Christ and is risen with him to walk in newness of life. While water baptism is not what saves an individual, it is an integral and immediate step of obedience upon the regenerate life of a new believer (Matt, 28:19; Acts 2:38)

WE BELIEVE that the Lord’s Supper (Communion) was instituted by the Lord himself exclusively for believers to be taken in a symbolic manner. In the observance of the Lord’s Supper, believers are to partake of the elements by: examining oneself; remembering Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross; and by professing their union and ongoing faith in Christ as their only Lord and Savior.  (Matt. 26 Mk. 16; Lk. 22; Acts 8:6-38; 10:47-48; I Cor. 11)

WE BELIEVE in a literal Heaven and a literal Hell, and that all those who repent and place their faith, hope and trust in Jesus Christ will spend eternity in Heaven with the Lord. Those who reject Jesus’ free gift of salvation will spend eternity separated from the Lord in Hell. 
(Matt. 5:3, 5:22, 18:9, 25:31-34; Mk. 9; Lk. 12; Jn. 3; Heb. 12; I Pet. 1:4; Rev. 14:10-11, 20:11-15)

WE BELIEVE in an imminent rapture of the church. The rapture of the church is the event in which God “snatches away” all believers from the earth in order to make way for His righteous judgment to be poured out on the earth during the tribulation period. God will resurrect all believers who have died, give them glorified bodies, and take them from the earth, along with all living believers, who will also be given glorified bodies at that time. The rapture is to be distinguished from the second coming. At the rapture, Lord Jesus comes “in the clouds” to meet us “in the air.” At the second coming, Lord Jesus descends all the way to the earth to establish his millennial kingdom (1 Cor. 15; 1 Thess. 4)

WE BELIEVE that God, in His own time and His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. We believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which is His personal, visible return to Earth and the establishment of His millennial kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, and eternal blessing of the righteous in heaven, and endless separation of the wicked in hell (Matt. 16:27; Acts 1:11; Rev. 19-20)

WE BELIEVE that heaven and earth will pass away and they will be replaced by the new heavens and the new earth. This new creation will be the eternal dwelling place of all believers in Jesus Christ and will be completely free from sin, evil, sickness, shame, suffering, and death. Everything will be restored as God originally intended it to be in the Garden. A major feature of the new earth will be the “New Jerusalem.”  This glorious city represents the final state of redeemed mankind forever in fellowship with God. 
(Is. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:13; Mk. 13:31; Rev. 21-22)