New to New Heights-Pueblo? Plan Your Visit TODAY!
New to New Heights-Pueblo? Plan Your Visit TODAY!
Plan Your Visit TODAY!
New here? Plan Your Visit TODAY!
BELIEFS
STATEMENTS OF FAITH
We accept the Bible, including the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament as the written word of God. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. The Bible, including all the books of the Old Testament and New Testament, is Holy Scripture and the inspired true word of God. It is fully authoritative and our only trustworthy guide for life and faith. We are constantly evaluating and reforming ourselves in view of God’s Word.
(Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32, Proverbs 30:6; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 1:1-2, 2 Peter 1:20-21; Revelation 22:19)
We believe that there is one true, good, and living God who is of one substance, power, and eternal purpose yet eternally existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Trinity is without division of nature, essence, or being. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; and the Holy Spirit eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. The persons of the Trinity are equal in every divine perfection. They execute distinct but harmonious functions in the work of creation, history, providence, and redemption. God the Trinity possesses all life, glory, goodness, and blessedness in and of Himself.
(Genesis 1:1,26; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; John 1:1,3; 4:24; 5:26; 15:26; Acts 7:2; Romans 1:19,20; 9:5; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:5,6; Colossians 2:9; 1 John 5:7)
We believe in God the Father, an everlasting, infinite, perfect personal being who is the sovereign and rightful ruler of all that exists. The Father is perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. God created all things and upholds, directs, disposes, and governs all creatures, actions, and things by His wise and holy providence according to his infallible foreknowledge and the immutable counsel of His own will. God, in His ordinary providence, makes use of all natural and spiritual means yet is free to work without, above, and against them at His pleasure. He does this to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and grace. He is sufficient in Himself, not standing in need of any creature that He has made. He conducts Himself with steadfast mercy towards humanity. He draws men to Himself through His Son, forgiving the sin and delivering from death those who come to Him through Christ for salvation. The Father hears and answers prayer according to His wisdom, love, and providence. He will carry out all things in their proper time and order that they would consummate in Jesus Christ to reveal the supremacy of His name and purposes especially including the power of His love.
(Job 22:2-3; 34:10; Psalm 139; Isaiah 55:10-11; Daniel 3:27; Hosea 1:7; 2:21-22; Matthew 4:4; 23:9; Luke 10:21-22; John 3:16; 6:27; Acts 17:24-28, 31; Romans 1:7; 4:19-21; Colossians 1:16-17; 1 Timothy 1:1,2; 2:5,6; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:4-6)
We believe in Jesus Christ. Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself the demands and necessities of human nature and identifying Himself completely with mankind, yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience; and in His death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of all mankind from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and mankind. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.
(Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 53:1-12; Matthew 1:18; 3:17; 16:16; Luke 1:35; 22:70; John 1:1-18; 11:25-27; 14:6; 17:1; 20:1; Acts 2:22-24; Romans 1:3-4; 5:6-21; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; Hebrews 1:3; 7:25; 13:8; Revelation 19:16)
We believe in the Holy Spirit, eternally one with the Father and Son, who convicts and convinces the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He inspired men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination, He enables mankind to understand the truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls all mankind to the Savior and effects regeneration. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the assurance of God to bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the Church in worship, evangelism, and service He enables believers to live in union with Christ and God the Father.
(Genesis 1:2; Psalm 51:11; Ezekiel 37:14; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 3:16; 12:28-32; Luke 4:18-19; John 4:24; 14:16,17,26; 15:26-27; 16:8-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4; Romans 8:9-16; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11; 3:16; 6:19; 12:13; 2 Corinthians 3: 6; Galatians 5:22-26; Ephesians 6:11-18; Titus 3:5)
We believe that mankind was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning, mankind was innocent of sin and was endowed by the Creator with freedom of choice. Adam and Eve, the first humans, received a command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which allowed them, while they kept it, to remain joyfully whole in their communion with God and have dominion over the earth and all living things. By his free choice, man sinned against God by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and brought sin into the human race. By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion with God and so became dead in sin and wholly corrupted in all their parts and faculties of soul, spirit, and body. They thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death which is separation from God. Man transgressed the command of God and fell from his original innocence; whereby his descendants inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin; and as soon as they are capable of moral choice, become transgressors and are under condemnation. Since this original corruption, we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good. We are thus wholly inclined to all evil and from this disposition proceeds all actual sin. For this reason, we believe all human beings are born with a sinful nature. This corruption of nature, during this life, remains in those that are saved; and although it is, through Christ, pardoned and mortified, it is never completely overcome until our glorification. Only the grace of God can bring mankind into His holy fellowship and enable one to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created mankind in His own image, and in that Christ died for all; therefore, every person possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
(Genesis 1:27-30; 2:7, 16-17; 3:1, 6-8, 11, 13, 23; 5:3; 6:5; 8:21; Job 14:4; 15:4; Psalm 8:3-6; 51:5; Ecclesiastes 7:29; Jeremiah 17:5, 9; Matthew 15:19; Acts 17:26; Romans 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12, 15-19; 7:5,8, 14, 17-18, 23, 25; 8:7; 11:32; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, 45, 49; 2 Corinthians 11:3; Galatians 5:17; Ephesians 2:1-3; Colossians 1:21; Titus 1:15; James 1:14-15; 1 John 1:8,10)
We believe God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. Men and women are equal in essence, dignity, and value but are distinct by divine design. As part of God’s good, created order, men and women are to have different yet complementary roles and responsibilities in the home and church. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. We believe rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.
We believe God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between one man and one woman who are married to each other. We believe God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged outside of a marriage between one man and one woman. We believe any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God.
We believe God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. We renounce any hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual and consider them not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of New Heights Baptist Church.
(Genesis 1:26-27; Matthew 5:16; 15:18-20; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31; Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:8-11, 18; 7:2-5; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; Hebrews 13:4)
We believe that all men have defied God and have chosen to go their own independent way and, thereby, stand condemned by God. We believe that God, by His sovereign choice and His love for mankind, sent Jesus into the world to bring people back into fellowship with God, and that this salvation, with its forgiveness of sin, is a gift, wholly a work of God’s grace, not the result of human works, and that this salvation must be personally appropriated by repentance and faith. We believe that salvation includes every divine action on behalf of the believer, from his deliverance out of the lost estate to his final presentation in glory conformed to the image of Christ.
(1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 5:25-27; Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; Titus 2:11-13).
A. The believer was saved when, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, was spiritually born again as a child of God.
(Luke 7:50; Acts 28:30-31; John 1:12; I Corinthians 1:28; 2 Corinthians 2:25; Ephesians 2:8; 2 Timothy 1:9).
B. The believer is being saved from the dominion of sin, divinely preserved and sanctified.
(Romans 6:1-14; 8:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 2:20; 4:19; Philippians 1:19; 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:13).
C. The believer will be saved from the presence of sin when presented faultless in glory.
(Romans 13:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:8; Hebrews 1:14, 9:28; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 John 3:1-3).
We believe that Heaven is a real place of eternal blessedness prepared by God for those who have been saved by grace through the shed blood of Christ.
We believe that Hell is a real place of eternal suffering for those whose names are not written in the book of life. There is no intermediate state in which the unsaved can atone for his own sins.
(Luke 16:19-31; John 14:1-6; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; Revelation 7:13-17; 20:11-15; 21:22-27)
The Church consists of all who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation and is the spiritual body of Christ. This includes all the redeemed of the ages, believers from among all peoples from every tribe, tongue, and nation. The primary purpose of the Church is to worship God and glorify Him by building up believers and effectively reaching the world with the gospel of Christ. We believe that Christ is the King, the High Priest, and a Holy Prophet of the church. God ordained the ministry of the local church to include taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world and thereby accomplish His redemptive purposes among all peoples. The local congregation is a gathering of believers who are associated by the New Covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Spirit; observe the ordinances of Christ; are governed by His laws; and exercise the gifts, rights, and privileges within them by the power of the Word and the Holy Spirit.
Its only proper officers are Elders and Deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are defined in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. As a covenanted gospel community, we seek by God’s grace to bear one another’s burdens, celebrate one another’s victories, meet one another’s needs, and invest in one another’s spiritual maturity—regardless of any apparent or real differences that may tend toward division (background, socio-economic statuses, race, interest, etc.).
We, therefore, seek to be actively involved in one another’s lives, even as we open our own lives to receive others. Practically, we cultivate this community involvement through regular, disciplined gatherings in both large and small groups. As a reflection of God receiving us into his fellowship, and as an expression of the grace and love available through Christ Jesus, we likewise eagerly extend this community and care to those outside the church.
(Genesis 2:18; Matthew 16:15-19; John 17; Acts 2:41-42, 47; 3:22-23; 4:32-37; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 14:23,27; 15:1-30; 16:5; 20:17-32; Romans 1:11-12; 12:1-21; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 7:17; 9:13- 14; 12:1-31; 2 Corinthians 1:6-7; Galatians 6:2; Ephesians 2:11-22; 4:1-16; Philippians 1:5; 2:1-12 Colossians 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 2:8; 1 Timothy 3:1-15; 4:14; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 4:14; 8:1; 10:24-25; James 2:1-13; 1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 John 3:11-24; Revelation 2-3; 21:2-3.)
According to the Bible, church membership is a commitment every Christian should make to attend, love, serve, and submit to a local church. Our goal is not to grow as fast as we can. Our goal is to grow as healthy as we can. We are very deliberate in our membership process. Every member of New Heights Baptist Church is carefully counseled to determine whether or not they truly understand and have experienced Biblical conversion. Our goal here is not elitism. We simply wish to avoid giving false assurance to those who are not truly regenerate. Our mission is not to get as many people to “walk the aisle” as possible. We desire to see true conversion. We constantly proclaim and explain the gospel and take our time with people struggling to understand what it means to follow Christ. We are especially careful with children and would never manipulate or rush any child. Membership in our body requires a tangible commitment to our purposes and our vision as outlined in our membership class. Everyone is welcome to attend our church and participate in our times of celebration and encouragement. It is our intention, however, to call all believers in our midst into our membership.
(Matthew 16:18; John 17:21-23; Acts: 2:41-47; Romans 6:13; 12:1-21; 1 Corinthians 1:2-12; 12:1-31; Galatians 6:2; Ephesians 4:15-16; 5:23-30; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 13:17)
We believe God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions.
(Matthew 25:24-30; Romans 1:14; James 1:17)
The call and holy privilege of every child of God and of all churches of Jesus Christ is to go and make disciples of the nations). God creates transformed lives evidenced by purity, holiness, and growth in Christ-like character by means of new birth. The Holy Spirit imputes the love of Christ into the hearts of believers, thus transforming their love toward others, for His Name’s sake. This results in children of God who actively seek to take the Gospel to sinners and who share in carrying out the Great Commission. The highest purpose for evangelism and missions is that the name of Jesus Christ and the glory of His kingdom be taken to the ends of the earth until He returns.
(Matthew 9:37-38; 24:14; 28:18-20; Romans 1:5; 10:13-15; 2 Timothy 4:51; Peter 2:9; Revelation 22:17)
We practice the Christian ordinance of baptism, in which one who has repented of their sins and trusted Christ alone for salvation is immersed in water, into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Baptism, which does not save, is an act of obedience, commitment, and proclamation, indicating the believer's identification with Christ and his Church. This identification with the crucified, buried, and risen Christ signifies the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in a new and holy life. It is likewise a testimony to the believer’s faith in the final resurrection of the dead. In baptism, the church testifies to the faith and repentance expressed by the believer and commits to encourage and assist the believer in this new life in Christ. God likewise acts through baptism to remind believers of his saving grace and call them continually to faithful obedience.
As with water baptism, the Lord’s Supper is a Christian ordinance that the Lord Jesus has given to His church. The Lord’s Supper is a sign to those partaking and observing of the death of Christ for sinners, of His sustaining work in our lives, and of future participation in the Wedding Feast to come in the New Creation. Those partaking in the table participate in this ordinance through the breaking and eating of bread and the drinking of the fruit of the vine. This bread and this cup point to our Lord’s body and blood. Followers of Christ should partake in the Lord’s Supper under the authority of the local church, insofar as they have received Christ’s atoning work by faith, examined themselves in repentance, and remain in good standing with their local church. As baptism is the ordinance that Christ has given as a sign connected with entrance into the community of faith, the Lord’s Supper is an ongoing ordinance given to the community of faith; thus it should be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian’s life as a continual reminder of Christ’s atoning work, imminent return, and as a sign of unity in the church. IDC observes this sacrament weekly, as was the pattern of the NT church and in keeping with Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian church to “proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
(Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35- 39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12)
We believe the Holy Spirit empowers spiritual gifts as God wills to His children. These gifts are designed to testify to the presence of the Kingdom and distributed to equip the saints for worship and ministry to build up the body of Jesus Christ. The miracles and revelatory gifts dispensed to the apostles and prophets of the early church are active today. The use of spiritual gifts is for the purpose of edification within the body that it would be built up in Christ. We believe that God uses these spiritual gifts to display His glory and anointing in individual saints for the work of His ministry established in the timeless message of the Bible.
(Acts 2:1-4; Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-11; 14:12; Ephesians 4:11-12).
We believe in the personal, imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The time of His coming is nowhere revealed; therefore, it is the duty of all believers to live in readiness since His coming will be sudden. When He comes, He will claim His Body, the one true Church. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all mankind; those who have been saved by faith in Christ out of every age in time will dwell forever with Christ (Heaven); those who have rejected Christ will spend eternity in the lake of fire (Hell), along with the devil and his angels.
(Daniel 12:2; Matthew 24:27-31, 36;25:31-46; 26:64; John 5:28-29; 6:40; 14:3; Acts 1:11; Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:12-28; 35-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 5:2; 2 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 9:28;1 Peter 5:4; I John 2:28; Revelation 20:1-15; 21:21).