Our Adherence to Historic Confessions
The global church throughout history has produced various doctrinal statements that have helped to summarize and clarify key doctrines of the Christian faith. Some are historic confessions that outline important doctrines derived from the Bible and reaffirmed during and after the Protestant Reformation. Others are more modern responses to various challenges that have been leveled against biblical Christianity in more recent decades.
-
The doctrine of Gospel Hope is in keeping with the Apostles Creed. The Apostles’ Creed was not written by the Apostles of Jesus Christ, but it is believed to be a summary of the sum and substance of the teaching of the Apostles. The earliest version found is A.D. 215. The current version is circa 542 A.D.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ,
His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.[1]
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic [2] church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.End Notes:
1. “Descended into hell” does not refer to literally going down into hell, the place of torment. The Greek word used in the creed is hades, which speaks of the realm of the dead. Jesus rose from the dead after being in the realm of the dead.
2. The word “catholic” refers not to the Roman Catholic Church, but to the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
-
Gospel Hope stands on a reformed foundation as reflected in the Second London Confession of 1689. While we differ on a few details, such as its teaching on the "Christian Sabbath,"[1] and the identification of the Roman Catholic Pope as “the Antichrist” [2], we are in hearty agreement with its Reformed and baptistic theology.
End Notes:
1. We do not consider Sunday to be the “Christian Sabbath” to which some form of OT or NT regulations apply. However, we do believe that the designation of a day for us to commit together to worship as a congregation corresponds to Biblical pattern and is a vital part of church life.
2. We view the Pope as “an antichrist” since he teaches a false gospel that rejects salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, but we see no scriptural warrant for identifying him as “the Antichrist.”
-
What we believe about the Bible determines what we believe about everything! The International Council on Biblical Inerrancy drafted and adopted this statement in 1978, and it has been a helpful resource for defining the evangelical position on the inspiration and inerrancy of God’s Word. Gospel Hope affirms The Chicago Statement.
-
Gospel Hope affirms The Danvers Statement, which was prepared by several evangelical leaders at a meeting of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood in Danvers, Massachusetts to address "widespread uncertainty and confusion in our culture regarding the complementary differences between masculinity and femininity," and its influence and implications in the Church.
-
Gospel Hope affirms The Nashville Statement, which was written to address an increasingly common belief in our society "that human identity as male and female is not part of God’s beautiful plan, but is, rather, an expression of an individual’s autonomous preferences." Through a series of affirmations and denials, the Statement provides Biblical definition and clarity to a subject that our culture injects with ambiguity and ever-changing mandates. The challenge to the Church is unavoidable, but our foundation is solid: "We did not make ourselves. We are not our own. Our true identity, as male and female persons, is given by God."
-
Gospel Hope affirms this important document as further clarification on race and ethnicity (as well as on manhood and womanhood and human sexuality). Here are some key statements from this document that relate to race, ethnicity, and social justice:
• We deny that Christian belief, character, or conduct can be dictated by any other authority, and we deny that the postmodern ideologies derived from intersectionality, radical feminism, and critical race theory are consistent with biblical teaching.
• Although families, groups, and nations can sin collectively, and cultures can be predisposed to particular sins, subsequent generations share the collective guilt of their ancestors only if they approve and embrace (or attempt to justify) those sins.
• We deny that anything else, whether works to be performed or opinions to be held, can be added to the gospel without perverting it into another gospel. This also means that implications and applications of the gospel, such as the obligation to live justly in the world, though legitimate and important in their own right, are not definitional components of the gospel.
• We deny that political or social activism should be viewed as integral components of the gospel or primary to the mission of the church.
• We reject any teaching that encourages racial groups to view themselves as privileged oppressors or entitled victims of oppression. While we are to weep with those who weep, we deny that a person’s feelings of offense or oppression necessarily prove that someone else is guilty of sinful behaviors, oppression, or prejudice.
• We deny that only those in positions of power are capable of racism, or that individuals of any particular ethnic groups are incapable of racism.
