Statement of Faith
The Church of God (Anderson, Ind.) holds strong to the teaching that we have no authority but Christ, and no creed but the Bible. As an affiliated congregation, we at Hillside Church stand in agreement with the following statements of faith:
- We believe there is one God, who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three separate, but coequal-equal persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:1-2,26-27; Deuteronomy 6:4; John 1:1-3, 14 and 4:24; Hebrews 1:1-8)
- We believe Jesus Christ is both truly God and truly human. He died upon the cross for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the basis of His shed blood. He arose from the dead in fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures, is now at the right hand of the Father on high as our great High Priest, and will come again to consummate His kingdom of righteousness and peace. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18, 20-25; John 1:1; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-19; Hebrews 10:19-22)
- We believe the Holy Spirit is the divine Person sent to indwell, guide, teach and empower every believer for ministry. He is also sent to convince the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. (John 14:16,17 & 26; 16:8-15; Acts 1:8 and 4:29-31)
- We believe that the Old and New Testaments are the true revelation, the word of God. They were inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of human kind. They constitute the divine and only rule for Christian faith and practice. (Joshua 1:8; John 20:30-31; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
- We believe that humans, created in the image of God, fell through disobedience, thereby incurring both physical and spiritual death. All humans are born with a sinful nature and separation from the life of God. Humans can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the total depravity of humankind and the enabling grace of God through the preaching of the gospel. (Genesis 1:26, 27 and 3:1-19; Psalm 14:1-3; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 1:18-21)
- We believe that salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all people, and those who repent and believe in Him are born-again of the Holy Spirit. They are made alive in Christ by grace, receive the gift of eternal life, and have the right to be called children of God. (Luke 19:10; John 1:12 and 3:3-7; Ephesians 2:5-8; 2 Peter 3:9)
- We believe the Holy Spirit has endowed the Church with spiritual gifts for the purpose of building up each other with love in Christ and bringing the Gospel message to a lost world. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are an essential aspect of church life and are a definite part of the spiritual inheritance of all true believers. (Romans 12:5-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31 and 14:1-40; Ephesians 4:7-16)
- We believe that it is God’s will that every believer be sanctified completely, which means to be separated from unto God from sin and the world. We are sanctified at our conversion, yet we are in the process of being sanctified. (Romans 12:1,2; 1 Thessalonians 5:23,24)
- We believe that the Church is an expression of the Kingdom of God and the kingdom is God’s rule in the lives of true believers. The Church universal consists of all true Christians from every age, race and nation, who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and have been redeemed through His blood and born-again of the Holy Spirit. The local church is any body of believers in a specific locality who are joined together by Christ, for the worship of God, edification through the Word of God, prayer, fellowship, the equipping of the saints for the work of service, the proclamation of the Gospel, ministry to one another and others through love and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and observance of the ordinances of baptism and communion. (Matthew 29:19; Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30; Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 10: 24-26; Revelation 19:5-9)
- We believe in the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ where a personal and visible Jesus will return just as He left. There will be a judgment of the just and the unjust. For the former there will be a resurrection to life and for the latter there will be a resurrection to judgment, leading to eternal punishment. (Matthew 24:35-51; John 5:24-29; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:12-28; Revelation 20:12-15; 22:7, 12, 20)