Beliefs

…about God

There is one, true God who created the heavens, the earth, and everything that exists. God is the Father, Son, and Spirit in perfect unity and that all have been present since before the creation of the universe. Satan has been in opposition towards God since the first humans walked the earth, and he introduced the world to sin when he tempted man and woman with a decision that would separate all of humanity from God.

God has always desired to be in full relationship with His creation. When the first man and woman sinned, this relationship was fractured and man and woman became separated from God. Since that decision of disobedience and sin, man has been prone to sin and has been in need of grace and mercy. The effects of sin left the world and humanity separated from God and in need of redemption. Only through Jesus Christ can redemption be found and God's intended relationship with humanity be restored.

Jesus is the son of the one true God. He is often referred to as the Christ. He existed from the beginning, became a man, lived a perfect life, died for our sins, rose from the grave three days later, reigns over all, and is the savior of his followers (John 1:1,14). It is because of His perfection as a human, that He was able to become the perfect atoning sacrifice for the world.

It is through the sacrifice of Himself that He has brought redemption to the world and humanity. It is through His sacrifice that atonement was provided for the sins of the world. It is through His sacrifice that He gave humanity access to this salvation. And it is by His resurrection that He proved that He had power over sin and death.

Upon our confession and submission, Jesus promised that we would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to us to guide us and help us as we live as Christians in this world. The Holy Spirit empowers us and gives us gifts to minister to those around us and participate in the mission of God to bring redemption to this world.

...about Salvation and Forgiveness

Salvation means that we have something we need to be saved from and since everyone has sinned, God sent Jesus as an offering. We accept God's saving grace through faith, repentance, confession, and baptism. By doing this, we are united with Christ's death and brought into a right relationship with God (Romans 6:1-18; 8:1-4). Out of love, we remain obedient until death.

All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The penalty of sin is death. We see this in our own lives and in the world around us. Because of this, we are in need of a Savior. We need someone who has conquered sin and death to conquer those realities in our own lives in order to bring us back into relationship with God. In order to be saved from sin and death and to be brought back into relationship with God, we must be justified and sanctified. When we confess Jesus as Lord, we relinquish control and power to the Son of God who conquered sin and death and he then conquers those realities in our own lives. We believe that in this confession, we are justified before the Lord through faith. We believe that as a part of this confession, we are to be baptized.

Just as the Lord took the Israelites through the waters from a life of slavery and death to a new life of freedom to become a new people, He takes the believer from a life of slavery to sin and death through the waters into a new life to become a new creature. When we submit to the Lord in this way, we are sanctified by the blood of Jesus which washes us clean of all sin and guilt. We believe that through baptism; we are buried with Christ, becoming one with Him in his death, and raised to walk a new life. Baptism is not something that we do as a believer, but it is rather something that is done to us. We submit our lives to the Lord, and in so doing, we are brought into a new life of freedom to live in relationship with the Lord. We believe that in this way we are justified and sanctified before the Lord.

You see, God doesn't expect us to be perfect, but He wants us to try. Messing up is a given and when you say yes to Jesus, ALL of your sins are taken away. The power of God is awesome and the same power that spoke creation in to existence has the power to forgive your sins. We see many people in the Bible who were forgiven even though they had done very bad things. David killed men and committed adultery, and in Acts, we see David referred to as a "man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22). God wants you. He desires all to come to repentance and is patiently waiting for you (2 Peter 3:9).

…about Baptism

The purpose of baptism is to be saved from our sins. Baptism is symbolic of Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commands us to be baptized and then sets the example when he was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17). In Mark 16:15-16, we see that belief and baptism go hand in hand. Additionally, Acts 2:38 shows us that forgiveness comes after repentance and baptism.

When baptism is used in the Bible, the literal meaning is to immerse; to completely bury in water. In Romans 6:3-4, Paul speaks about baptism and compares it to the burial of Christ. Going under the water is symbolic of being buried and coming out of the water is symbolic of Christ's resurrection.

There is no biblical age requirement when it comes to baptism. You should get baptized when you know what sin is and how that sin separates you from God (Romans 6:23). You should get baptized when you are ready to make a lifelong commitment to God and serve Christ.

The innocence of a baby is beautiful and pure and it's amazing that families dedicate their children to the Lord. Baptism and following Jesus is something that we must be able to understand. If you were baptized as a baby or you didn't know what you were being baptized for, we believe that you should be baptized again. In Mark 16:15-16, we see that belief and baptism go hand in hand. And in Acts, the Ethiopian eunuch was unaware of what he was studying (the book of Isaiah), so he needed someone to explain it to him. Phillip came and explained what the eunuch was reading and then went into the water with the eunuch to baptize him (Acts 8:26-39).

There is nothing special about the water or place. In the Bible, people were baptized in different places. As long as there is enough water to be completely immersed in, you're good. We have baptized people in lakes, pools, and the baptistry in our building.

Baptism is about the relationship between you and God, rather than you and the other person in the water. In the Bible, we see men of faith baptizing those who wanted to live for God. Although this is the example we have, the Bible doesn't place a special emphasis on the person baptizing someone.

Wear whatever you are comfortable getting wet. There is no special emphasis given to baptismal attire in the Bible but we do recommend swim shorts and an extra shirt. We have baptism clothing available if you do not have something to wear.

Do you have to attend at Western Hills to be baptized? No, we baptize many people who don't attend our services and that's ok. We do think it's important that you find a church home. Jesus created the church to be your spiritual family.

For the Western Hills Church specifically, NO, not unless you want to. In Matthew, we see that Christ calls the church, "my church" (Matthew 16:18). In Acts 2, we see that those who were baptized were added to Christ's church. When we are baptized we become members of His church.

…about the Bible

The Lord has also given us the Holy Bible as a guide and a means to know His desires for our lives and the world. The Holy Bible is the word of our God given to men through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the perfect, inspired word of God and that it is sufficient alone to lead us to faith and obedience. It is the role of every believer and the church, by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Bible, to be the hands and feet of Jesus to others as the body of Christ in this world. The Lord has called us into partnership with Him to bring healing to the world and to proclaim the good news of the gospel until Jesus returns.

One day Jesus will return to fully reconcile the world unto himself. When this occurs, the Lord will honor the choice each one has made to confess Jesus as Lord and live with Him forever or to deny Him and be separated from Him for all eternity.