What We Believe
Crosby New Hope Baptist Church is a New Testament Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a member of the Sothern Baptist Convention, the General Baptist Convention of Texas and the Union Baptist Association in Houston. A breif summary of "What We Believe" follows, however, for a fuller understanding of our beliefs we refer you to "The Baptist Faith and Message: A Statement Adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention June 14, 2000" (C) 2000 Southern Baptist Convention, LifeWay Church Resources, Nashville, TN. A copy is available upon request. Just send us an email requesting a copy.
God:
We believe in the Trinity. God is one God in three persons-God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit. Each is fully God. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary. He is fully God and fully man. He lived a perfect and sinless life making Him the only permanent and acceptable sin-offering for our redemption. He died on the cross to pay the debt of our sins. On the third day following his crucifixion, by the power of God, Jesus was raised from the dead with a glorified body to live eternally. He appeared to the Apostles and others as the person who was with them before his death on the cross. Forty days later Jesus ascended into heaven to take His place at the right hand of God the Father where He is our Mediator with God the Father. Jesus effected the reconciliation between every true believer and God. Jesus lives in the heart of every true believer. To find out more about how you can become a believer in Jesus Christ and recieve the guarantee of eternal life click on the tab "How to be Saved."
Prayer:
Prayer is simply speaking to God out loud or silently in our minds. We believe prayer must be an integral part of the life of the believer. Nothing is too small or unimportant to take to God in prayer, afterall He is our Heavenly Father. What father doesn't want to hear from his children? The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Phillipians 4:6 says, Be careful for nothing: but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Jesus taught us to pray. Through prayer we have direct access to God the Father. We believe God hears and answers every prayer according to His will.
The Bible:
We believe the Holy Bible is God's revelation of Himself to mankind and was written to lead people to redemption and salvation by placing thier faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible was written by holy men of God under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, therefore God is its author. Because God inspired the writers, we believe the Bible to be absolute truth, without any error, totally trustworthy, and is to be used as our guide to determining the will of God for us in all matters of life.
Mankind:
The human being is the only living creature that God created in His own image. Mankind was made body, soul and spirit. The first man created was Adam and Adam, along with his wife Eve, committed sin. Since that time all mankind has been born with a sin nature. Mankind is separated from God by this sin nature. The only remedy for repairing the separation between mankind and God is Jesus Christ. God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to live a perfect sinless life so that He could offer Himself as the perfect, acceptable sin offering to God the Father for the forgiveness of sin. So, on the cross of Calvary, by shedding of His blood, Jesus made possible the redemption of mans soul to eternal life in heaven rather than spending eternity in Hell. Every person who calls on the name of Jesus to be saved, will be saved according to the Bible. Acts 4:12, Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper:
We believe the Bible teaches there are two Ordinances of the New Testament Church: The first is the Ordinance of Baptism of the believer by immersion. Baptism is to be carried out upon any person who makes a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Baptism is an act of obedience that follows salvation. Baptism cannot save anyone. Salvation is by God's grace in response to your putting your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Eph. 2:8). The second ordinance is the Ordinance of the Lord's Supper which is celebrated in obedience to the Lord's command. By observing the Lord's Supper we show rememberance of the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior.
The Church:
The Church is made up of all people who have professed faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They also obediently followed His command to be baptized as a sign of having put their faith and trust in Jesus. As Baptist, we believe that the church is a local, autonomous congregation of baptized believers who covenant in faith and fellowship of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Marriage, Family and Divorce:
Marriage: Marriage is ordained of God to recognize the covenant union of a man and a woman only. It is to be a life time commitment to each other and can only be broken by death of either the husband or wife. We do not believe in same sex marriage, it is contrary to the Word of God. (Romans1:18-32)
Family:
The marriage of a man and woman, forming a family, is the foundational building block of society. The family may enlarge by birth of a child or adoption of children, as God wills.
Divorce:
Divorce is recognized in the New Testament as justifiable only in the case of adultry by either husband or wife. Unfortunately, marriage is not free from the destructive forces of sin. As with all sin, divorce can be forgiven by our Heavenly Father, however, the consequences of the sin, including divorce, will not be escapable. The Good News is that God is a God of healing and restoration of broken lives and broken marriages. Some of the finest families in churches are those who God has brought together out of the ashes of divorce.