Who Are We?

Our Beliefs

MISSION STATEMENT

mission_statement
EVANGELIZE

Northside believes in the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19. We believe that it is not only our responsibility, but our privilege as a Church to reach out to those who have no knowledge of Jesus Christ and introduce them to His life-changing powers.

EQUIP

Northside believes that is order for its people to be effective evangelists to the world, they must be equipped with the teachings of the Bible. For this reason we hold fast to biblical doctrine and sound theological teaching so that those who join our fellowship can be prepared for "every good work", as Scripture commands (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

ESTABLISH

Northside desires for its members to not only serve within the church, but to be leaders in the community as well. The Christian life must be lived outside of the four walls of the church building. It is our desire that the people of Northside will be strong, courageous and bold as they point others to Christ with their lives.

STATEMENTS OF FAITH

 The statements below do not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe.

Abortion

We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder.

(Job 3:16; Psa. 51:5; 139:14-16; Isa. 44:24; 49:1,5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44).

Baptism and the Lord's Supper

We believe that scriptural baptism is the immersion of a born-again believer in water to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem of our faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to new life; that it is a prerequisite to church membership. We believe that the Lord's Supper is a commemoration of His death until He comes to be participated in by baptized believers, and should always be preceded by a period of self-examination.

(Acts 8:36-39; John 3:23; Rom. 6: 35; Matt. 3:16; Col. 2:12; I Cor. 11:23-28).

Divorce and Remarriage

We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one spouse dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons or persons marrying divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor, pastoral staff or deacon. A pastor or deacon may not be considered for office if they have married a divorced wife.

(Mal. 2:14-17; Matt. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; I Tim. 3:2, 12 Titus 1:6)

Final Destinies

We believe that the souls of believers in Christ do at death immediately pass into His presence (1) and there remain until the resurrection of the body at the rapture when. soul and body reunited shall stand before Christ to be judged of their Christian works for the giving of rewards, and they shall then be associated with Christ forever in glory (2). The souls of unbelievers remain after death in burning Hell until the final resurrection at the end of the millennium for judgment; the result of this judgment will be that all will be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power(3).

(1) II Cor. 5:6; Phil. 1:23 (2) II Cor. 5:10; I Cor. 3:11-15; I Thess. 4:13-18 (3) Luke 16:19-20; II Thess. 1:6-9; Rev. 20:11-15

God the Father

We believe in God, the Father, and rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men(1), that He hears and answers prayer (2), and that He saves from sin and eternal damnation all who come to Him through Jesus Christ (3). We believe He has a paternal relationship to believers only(4).

(1) Dan. 2:21; 4:17 (2) John 15:16 (3) John 6:44; 3:16,18 (4) Rom. 8:15; John 8:41-44

God the Holy Spirit

We believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit (l) who convicts (2), regenerates (3), baptizes (4), indwells (5), seals (6) and fills (7). We believe Spirit baptism takes place at the time of regeneration (8) and that the filling of the Spirit is manifested by the fruits of the Spirit rather than by any specific spiritual gift(9).

(1) Acts 5:3-4 (2) John 16:8-11, 14:26 (3) Titus 3:5 (4) I Cor. 12:12-13 (5) I Cor. 6:19-20 (6) Eph. 1:13 (7) Acts 4:31; Eph. 5 (8) Acts 10:44-47, 11:16 (9) Gal. 5:16; Acts 4:31

God the Son

We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son(1), born of a virgin (2), sinless in His life (3), who atoned for the sins of the world by His death, burial, and bodily resurrection (4). We believe in His ascension into Heaven (5), His perpetual intercession for His people (6), His personal coming in the air for His church (1), and His return to earth at the close of the tribulation to establish his millennial kingdom (8).

(1) John 3:16 (2) Matt. 1:23 (3) I Pet. 2:21-22 (4) I Cor. 15:3-4 (5) Acts 1:9 (6) Heb. 7:25 (7) I Thess. 4:1318 (8) Rev. 19:11-16; Rev. 3:10

Human Sexuality

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of God's gift of sex. Any employee of the church becoming pregnant or causing pregnancy as a result of consensual intercourse, outside of the marriage relationship, shall be terminated from employment. (1) We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (2) We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God, but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church. (3)

(1) Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; I Cor. 5:1; 6:9; I Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4; Rom. 7:2; I Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23 (2) Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2 I Cor. 7:10, Eph. 5:22-23 (3) Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12

Humanity

We believe that all men are sinners by nature (l) and under the condemnation of God (2) . The only remedy for this condition is Holy Spirit regeneration through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ as payment for one's sins (3). We believe regeneration is the irrevocable act of God, thus securing the believer for all eternity (4). We believe the Bible does not teach that God created any person for the purpose of condemnation (5)

(1) Eph. 2:3; Rom. 3:9-20; 5:12 (2) John 3:18, 36 (3) I Pet. 1:18-22; John 3:8, 14; Heb. 9:22 Rom. 8:35-39; John 10:28-29 (5) John 3:16; II Pet. 3:9

Lawsuits between Believers

We believe that Christians should not bring civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian's insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander

(I Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32).

Missions

We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us.

(Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20).

Separation

We believe that separation is a doctrine as well as a practice and that the separation principle runs through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. We believe that true spiritual fellowship is the result of a common faith and practice. We believe there are four aspects of Biblical separation.

    A.  Political separation - the separation of the local church from the state.

    B.  Personal separation - the separation of the believer from worldly pursuits that are in opposition to serving God. (1)

    C.  Ecclesiastical separation - the separation of the church from apostasy. Each local church is independent and autonomous and must be free from interference by any other ecclesiastical authority. We believe we are to reprove apostates rather than recognize them to rebuke rather than to reason with them, to reject rather than to receive or unite with them. This includes but is not limited to the World and National Council of Churches and the Baptist World Alliance. (2)

    D.  Practical separation - the separation of the believer from an erring brother. We believe that we must separate from those who continue in disobedience to the Word of God, but with a desire for, and a goal toward, restoration of the believer to full fellowship. (3)

(1) Josh. 24:15; Eph. 5:15-18; I John 2:15-17; II Cor. 6:14-7:1; Titus 3:10; John 10:11. (2) II Cor. 6:14-17; II John 10-11; II Tim. 4:2-4. (3) II Thess. 3:6,14,15; Rom. 16:17; I Cor. 5:11.

Spirit Beings

The Bible

We believe that the sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired Word of God in the original autographs (1), that it was written by men controlled by the Holy Spirit (2), and therefore without error. It is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. (1) II Tim. 3:16-17 (2) II Pet. 1:20-21

The Church

We believe in the Church (1), a living spiritual body, of which Christ is the head (2) and of which all regenerated people are members (3). We believe that a local church is a company of believers in Jesus Christ (4), baptized by immersion after an acceptable confession of faith (5) associated for worship, work and fellowship (6), and having two offices, pastor and deacon (1). We believe that to these visible churches were committed, for observance throughout the church age, the ordinances of baptism by immersion, the Lord's Supper (8), and that God has laid upon these churches the task of witnessing to a lost world to accept Jesus Christ as Savior (9), and of building up the saints in the faith once for all delivered (10).

(1) Matt. 16:18 (2) Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:16; Eph. 4:15. 5:23 (3) I Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 5:30 (4) Acts 2:41-42; (5) Acts 10:47-48 (6) Acts 2:42; Heb. 10:25; (7) Phil. 1:1; (8) Matt. 26:16-20; Rom. 11:23-26 (9) Acts 1:6; Matt. 26:16-20 (10) Eph. 4:7, 11-16; Jude 3.

The Trinity

We believe in the Trinity of the Godhead; there is one God(1) eternally existing in three equal but distinct persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (2).

(1) Deut. 6:4 (2) Matt. 28:18-19; II Cor. 13:14

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