Hilltop Lakes Chapel Core Beliefs

What We Believe

We believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into Hades. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the quick and the dead. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Church universal, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.  Amen

Bible

THE AUTHORITY AND POWER OF THE BIBLE

We affirm the divine inspiration, truthfulness, and authority of both Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety as the only written word of God, without error in all that it affirms, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. We also affirm the power of God's word to accomplish his purpose of salvation. The message of the Bible is addressed to all people. God's revelation in Christ and in Scripture is unchangeable. Through the Bible, the Holy Spirit still speaks today and works in the minds and hearts and lives of those who abide in God's word. The Holy Spirit illumines the minds of God's people in every culture to understand the Scriptures and how the teachings of Scripture apply to their lives.

(II TIM. 3:16; II PET. 1:21; JOHN 10:35; ISA. 55:11; 1 COR. 1:21; ROM. 1:16, MATT. 5:17,18; JUDE 3; EPH. 1:17,18; 3:10,18)

God

We believe in one God, Creator of all, holy, sovereign, eternal, existing in three equal Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

The Uniqueness of Christ

We affirm that there is only one Savior and only one gospel, although there is a wide diversity of evangelistic approaches. We recognize that everyone has some knowledge of God through his general revelation in nature, but we deny that this can save, for people suppress the truth by their unrighteousness. We also reject as derogatory to Christ and the gospel every kind of syncretism and dialogue which implies that Christ speaks equally through all religions and ideologies. Jesus Christ, being himself the only God-man, who gave himself as the only ransom for sinners, is the only mediator between God and people. There is no other name by which we must be saved. All men and women are perishing because of sin, but God loves everyone, not wishing that any should perish but that all should repent. Yet, those who reject Christ repudiate the joy of salvation and condemn themselves to eternal separation from God. To proclaim Jesus as "the Savior of the world" is not to affirm that all people are either automatically or ultimately saved, still less to affirm that all religions offer salvation in Christ. Rather it is to proclaim God's love for a world of sinners and to invite everyone to respond to him as Savior and Lord in the wholehearted personal commitment of repentance and faith. The name of Jesus Christ has been exalted above every other name; we long for the day when every knee shall bow to him and every tongue shall confess him Lord.

(GAL. 1:6-9;ROM. 1:18-32; I TIM. 2:5,6; ACTS 4:12; JOHN 3:16-19; II PET. 3:9; II THESS. 1:7-9;JOHN 4:42; MATT. 11:28; EPH. 1:20,21; PHIL. 2:9-11)

The Holy Spirit

We believe in the absolute and essential deity, and in the personality of the Holy Spirit

• Who convinces of sin, of righteousness and of judgment
• Who regenerates, indwells, seals, sanctifies, illuminates and comforts those who believe in Jesus Christ
• Who baptizes believers at conversion into the Body of Christ and bestows upon them His gifts sovereignly as He wills and fills those yielded to Him

Inter-denominational Fellowship

The chapel is an inter-denominational Christian congregation within which each person enjoys a shared faith in the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We strive to maintain the “unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” and to love one another as Christ loves us. We believe that Jesus Christ is Lord of Heaven and Earth and is the Head of his church. We believe that the Bible is God’s unique, inspired word and that as Christians, we are to abide in Christ’s word and obey its teachings. Our differences in background and practice, including denominational backgrounds, enrich our fellowship as we serve Christ together, united in him and in the great themes of the faith.

Salvation

We believe that salvation is by the sovereign grace of God

• That by the Father, Christ voluntarily suffered a propitiatory death
• That justification is by faith alone in the all-sufficient sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ
• That those whom God has effectually called shall be divinely preserved and ultimately perfected in the image of the Lord

MISSION