What We Believe at Lewisville Bible Church
The Holy Scriptures
The Bible is the authoritative Word of God. Every word is verbally inspired (God-breathed) and without error in the original manuscripts. As God’s written revelation to humans, it is our supreme and final authority for all truth and for every human’s life (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 3:14-16).
The Godhead
We believe in the one living and true God, who is one in essence, but eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – each of whom possess equally all the attributes of deity and characteristics of personality, and with each having specific works to perform. Each is co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. We believe that God is a personal, relational being who is the creator and sustainer of the universe (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
We believe that God the Son, Jesus Christ, became a human being through His miraculous conception in a virgin by the Holy Spirit. He is, therefore, perfect and complete deity and perfect humanity, these being united without mixture, fully God and fully man, in one person forever. He came to reveal the Father and to redeem sinful man. We believe that He lived a sinless life and voluntarily and vicariously paid for the sins of all mankind by dying on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice. We believe in the resurrection of His crucified body, in His ascension to heaven, in His present ministries in heaven as our advocate and Perfect High Priest, and in His future literal and physical return to earth (John 1:1-3, 14, 18; 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:20; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2; Revelation 22:20).
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God and that He has come to reveal and glorify Christ, to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He regenerates, indwells, seals, and empowers believers to live holy lives. The Holy Spirit baptizes us into one body and intercedes for us when we do not know how to pray as we should. As believers we can quench the Holy Spirit, but we can never lose the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (John 14:25-26;15:26-27;16:8-11; Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14, 5:18-21).
The Depravity of Mankind
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God for the purpose of having fellowship with Him and to glorify Him. We believe that man sinned from the beginning, bringing separation and death. In Adam’s sin, mankind inherited a sin nature, became alienated from God, and all are in need of being reconciled to God (Genesis 1:26-27; Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 3:22-23, 5:12).
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is entirely apart from good works or any human effort. It can only be received by grace through faith in Christ as God and Savior from sin. This free gift of salvation results in Eternal Life and in our adoption as God’s child. Jesus also describes this event as being Born Again (John 1:12, 3:16, 20:30-31; Ephesians 2:8-10).
The Two Natures of the Believer
We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We are commanded to set our minds on the things of the Spirit and not on the things of the flesh (Romans 6:12-13, 7:14-25; Galatians 5:16-17; Colossians 3:1-2; 1 Peter 2:11).
The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all persons who have believed in Jesus Christ, having become recipients of eternal life, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure forever. Nothing, including our own choices, can separate us from God’s love. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word. Scripture clearly forbids the abuse of God’s grace as license to willfully sin (John 10:27-30; Romans 6:1-2, 8:35-39; Hebrews 13:5-6).
The Church
The Church Has Been Established by God and is to bring glory to Christ. We believe the church universal, is the body and bride of Christ, and is made up of all persons from Pentecost to the rapture who believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. We believe that Jesus Christ is the head of the church. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught in the New Testament. The Church is a spiritual organism being built by God into a spiritual house and it is not simply an organization (Matthew 16:16-18; Acts 16:5; II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23).
The Existence of Satan
We believe that Satan is real and exists today. Satan and the other fallen angels are the enemies of God and of God’s people. He is the father of lies and seeks to destroy or devour those who belong to Christ. He shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire (Job 1:6-7; Matthew 4:1-11, 25:41; 1 Peter 5:8-9; Revelation 20:1-3, 10).
End Times
We believe in the personal, imminent, return of Christ to rapture His church. We believe that Christ will then graft Israel back in as His people through whom He will reach the world during the Great Tribulation. We believe that Christ will, at the end of this Tribulation, return as a conquering King to establish His 1000-year reign on this earth. At the end of this time, Christ will bring forth the New Heaven and New Earth where all those who belong to Him will live for eternity (1 Thessalonians 1:5-10, 4:13-18, 5:9; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-6).
The Eternal State
We believe that the souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do, at death, immediately go home to be with the Lord until the resurrection of the body at the Rapture. During this time, they are conscious and are being comforted. At the Rapture of the church, we shall be given a new immortal, imperishable, undefiled and glorious body and we shall continue in His presence throughout eternity. The souls of unbelievers remain conscious after death in misery until the final judgment at the Great White Throne at the close of the millennium when soul and body, reunited, shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power for all eternity (Luke 16:19-26; 1 Corinthians 15:50-53; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; Revelation 20:11-15).
Marriage, Sexuality, and Purity
We believe that God has ordained marriage to be between one man and one woman for life. We believe that God has created each person with their biological sexuality as a part of their essence, having been fearfully and wonderfully made by God as either male or female as evidenced by DNA. We believe that God has called us to maintain sexual purity both as singles and as married couples. Any and all sexual contact outside of marriage is sin, including pornography (Genesis 1:27, 2:24-25; Psalm 139:13-14; Matthew 5:21-22, 19:3-6; I Thessalonians 4:3-8; Hebrews 13:4).
The Responsibility of Believers
We believe that all believers should seek to walk in such manner as not to bring reproach upon their Lord and Savior. We believe that we should be in the world, but not like the world. We believe that it is the obligation of every believer to witness, by life and by word, to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all the world – this includes being a witness to both the saved and the unsaved. We believe that it is the responsibility of all believers to remember the work of the Lord in prayer and to participate with their abilities and resources as the Lord has prospered them (Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).