Harbinger's Doctrine

We believe that the Bible is the only written revelation from God to man. The Bible is a collection of 66 individual books, all equally and fully from God in all parts. The original documents are totally without error and have their source in God. Therefore, the truth of Scripture stands in judgment of men; never do men stand in judgment of it.

We believe that the Bible constitutes the ultimate, trustworthy rule in all matters of faith and practice. Additionally, while the Bible is not primarily intended to be a science or history book, when it speaks on such matters, it does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact.

We believe that God spoke in His written Word by a process of dual authorship. That is, the Holy Spirit so superintended the human authors of Scripture as they wrote, that--through their individual personalities and different styles of writing--they composed and recorded God's precisely-intended message to man, without error in the whole or in the part. The Bible is the word of God in the words of men, thus, it is expressed in a variety of forms: historical narrative, prophetic literature, divine edicts, poetry, and personal correspondence.

We believe that there is but one, true interpretation of every biblical text, though there may be many applications of any given passage. While there are passages in the Bible that we, as an audience thousands of years removed from the original context, find to be elusive in their message, Scripture is, overall, understandable to one diligently seeking to understand the content of the Bible (figures of speech, idioms, grammar, syntax, linguistic forms) in its original context. While interpretation is largely a human endeavor, an appreciation of Scripture's message that goes beyond a rote explanation of the meaning of a given text is a work of the Holy Spirit within a person.

We believe that there is only one, living, and true God , perfect in all His attributes, one in essence, and eternally existing in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person of the Godhead is each equally worthy of both worship and obedience.

God the Father

We believe that God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, decrees and directs all things according to His own purpose and grace. He created all things from nothing by a sheer act of His will. His designation as "father" involves both His functional rank within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind. God relates to believers in a paternal way, that is to say, He is a spiritual Father. God is indisputably sovereign over all creation. He has decreed all things that come to pass for His own glory, and He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events. While Scripture affirm that God's sovereign rule is pervasive, the Bible simultaneously affirms that He is neither the author of, nor does He approve of sin. Additionally, while Scripture affirms God's absolute sovereignty, it also asserts that all people are accountable for their real choices and actions before God.

God the Son

We believe that Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, possesses all the divine excellencies, and in these He is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father. Jesus is not merely a great teacher or human prophet, but He is God incarnate. All things were created through Jesus Christ by God the Father, and Jesus now upholds the created order. When God the Son came to this earth in human flesh, He did not lay aside His deity, but laid aside the prerogatives of deity. Jesus, in His incarnation, accepted all the essential characteristics of humanity and so became fully man while remaining fully God.

We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, and that the purpose of the incarnation was to glorify God by revealing Him to men, redeeming repentant sinners, and ruling over God's kingdom.

God the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, possessing all the attributes of personality and deity, including intellect, emotions, will, eternality, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, and truthfulness. In all the divine attributes He is co-equal and consubstantial with the Father and the Son.

We believe that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to execute the divine will with relation to all mankind. We recognize His sovereign activity in creation, the incarnation, written revelation, and the work of salvation. We believe that while the work of the Holy Spirit was manifest throughout the Old Testament, His work became most evident in this age at Pentecost, when He came from the Father as promised by Christ to initiate and complete the building of the church. The broad scope of His divine activity includes: convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ; dispensing gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ; and transforming believers into the image of Christ.

Original Sin

We believe that in Adam's sin of disobedience to the revealed will of God, man lost his innocence, incurred the penalty of death, and became subject to the wrath of God. All descendants of Adam are inherently corrupt and utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace. All men born after Adam are sinners by nature, by choice, and by divine declaration. Left to himself, mankind is hopelessly and irreconcilably alienated from God.

Merciful Grace

We believe that salvation is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, and not on the basis of human effort or righteous works.

Regeneration

We believe that regeneration is a supernatural work of God where He infuses spiritual life to a spiritually-dead sinner. Regeneration is an instantaneous action and is accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit upon a repentant and believing sinner.

Election

We believe that election is the act of God where He chose, before creation, certain individuals to be rescued from their sin. We believe that the doctrine of election does not negate the responsibility of each man to turn from his sin and trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ for salvation. Nevertheless, since sovereign grace includes the means of receiving the gift of salvation as well as the gift itself, God's elective purposes will inevitably come to pass. All whom the Father calls to Himself will trust in Him for salvation, and the Father will receive all who trust Him for salvation. We believe that election is an expression of unmerited favor from God, and that favor is not conditioned upon any predisposition found in the sinner, but is solely of His sovereign grace and mercy.

Justification

We believe that justification is the act of God whereby he declares the one who trusts in Christ to be righteous. Justification is something declared of a believer, based on the perfectly righteous life of Jesus Christ, not the actual righteous of its recipient. Those who have been justified have had their account of sin wiped clean, unrighteousness is no longer imputed to their account, and they are declared to be friends of God.

Sanctification

We believe that sanctification is the act of God whereby He causes every believer to be positionally set apart unto God and progressively become more like Christ. Every believer will--though at differing rates, in spite of periods of downfall, and to differing degrees--become increasingly more Christ-like. Every saved person is involved in a daily conflict with fleshly desires, but adequate provision is made for victorious, spiritual living by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Any claim of total eradication of sin in this life is unscriptural, for sanctification is a process that culminates only in the termination of life as we currently know it.

Security

We believe that all those whom the Father elects to be saved will be both preserved by God's power and will ultimately persevere in faith belief forever. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word. However, the doctrine of security precludes Christian sinful indulgence, and encourages holy living as a demonstrable outworking of God's electing work.

Separation

We believe that separation from sin is clearly called for throughout the Old and New Testaments, and that the Scriptures clearly indicate that in the last days apostasy and worldliness shall increase. We believe that, out of deep gratitude for the undeserved grace of God granted to us, and because our glorious God is so worthy of our total consecration, all believers should live in such a manner as to demonstrate our adoring love to God and so as not to bring reproach upon our Lord and Savior.

Salvation's Purpose

We believe that the ultimate goal of salvation is to honor, glorify and enjoy God, living our lives for Him and to put His mercy and grace on display for eternity. While this is certainly accomplished in the present, the consummate display of God's glory in the salvation of His people will occur in the age to come. Salvation is primarily a deliverance from the ravages and penalties of sin. We deny the popular notion that salvation is primarily designed to deliver believers from material poverty and physical sickness in this age. While we affirm that the Lord blesses some with great wealth for the furtherance of His kingdom and we truly believe that the Lord is able to heal physical maladies in this age; we resolutely reject the fashionable doctrine that such blessings are entitlements to be demanded by "faith," rather than sovereignty-bestowed gifts.

We believe that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual Body, the church, the bride of Christ, over which Christ is the Head.

We believe that the establishment and continuity of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures, and that the members of the one spiritual Body are directed to associate themselves together in local assemblies.

We believe that the one, supreme authority for the church is Christ and that church leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship are all appointed through His sovereignty. The biblically-designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are elders (also called bishops, pastors, and pastor-teachers) and deacons, both of whom must meet certain, biblical qualifications. We teach that these leaders lead or rule as servants of Christ and have His authority in directing the church, insofar as they are congruent with biblical doctrine.

We believe in the importance of discipleship, that is, the mutual accountability of all believers to each other, as well as the need for discipline of sinning members of the congregation in accord with the standards of Scripture.

We believe in the autonomy of the local church, free from any external authority or control, with the right of self-government and freedom from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations. We believe that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other for the presentation and propagation of the faith.

We believe that angels are created beings and not to be worshiped. Although they are a higher order of creation than man, they are created to serve God and to worship Him. Holy angels currently do this.

We believe that Satan is also an angel, not a cosmic, equal counterpart to the God of the Bible in a dualistic universe. Satan is the open and declared enemy of God and man, declared in Scripture to be the wicked prince of this world, who has been defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Satan is not the taskmaster of hell, but will, like all of its future residents, be eternally punished there for his wickedness.

We believe that being a Christian involves more than external identification with a particular religion or merely affirming a particular value-system. There are a plethora of gospel-alternatives offered nowadays that claim to be the true gospel. A popular misconception is that the salvation God offers is a deliverance from poverty and a promise of earthly prosperity. Another is that one may be a recipient of Jesus' saving activity, without that salvation evidenced through conformity to Christ-likeness.

Consider the following truths found in Scripture:

1. God Is Sovereign Creator. Contemporary thinking says man is the product of evolution. But the Bible says we were created by a personal God to love, serve, and enjoy endless fellowship with Him. The New Testament reveals it was Jesus Himself who created everything (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). Therefore, He also owns and rules everything (Psalm 103:19). That means He has authority over our lives and we owe Him absolute allegiance, obedience, and worship. God Is Holy. God is absolutely and perfectly holy (Isaiah 6:3), therefore He cannot commit or approve of evil (James 1:13). God requires holiness of us as well. First Peter 1:16 says, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." Mankind Is Sinful. According to Scripture, everyone is guilty of sin: "There is no man who does not sin" (1 Kings 8:46). That doesn't mean we're incapable of performing acts of human kindness. But we're utterly incapable of understanding, loving, or pleasing God on our own. (Romans 3:10-12).

2. Sin Demands a Penalty. God's holiness and justice demand that all sin be punished by death: (Ezekiel 18:4). That's why simply changing our patterns of behavior can't solve our sin problem or eliminate its consequences. Jesus Is Lord and Savior. The New Testament reveals it was Jesus Himself who created everything (Colossians 1:16). Therefore He owns and rules everything (Psalm 103:19). That means He has authority over our lives and we owe Him absolute allegiance, obedience, and worship. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved." Even though God's justice demands death for sin, His love has provided a Savior who paid the penalty and died for sinners (1 Peter 3:18). Christ's death satisfied the demands of God's justice and Christ's perfect life satisfied the demands of God's holiness (2 Corinthians 5:21), thereby enabling Him to forgive and save those who place their faith in Him (Romans 3:26).

3. The Character of Saving Faith. True faith is always accompanied by repentance from sin. Repentance is agreeing with God that you are sinful, confessing your sins to Him, and making a conscious choice to turn from sin (Luke 13:3,5; 1 Thessalonians 1:9) and pursue Christ (Matthew 11:28-30; John 17:3) and obedience to Him (1 John 2:3). It isn't enough to believe certain facts about Christ. Even Satan and his demons believe in the true God (James 2:19), but they don't love and obey Him. True saving faith always responds in obedience (Ephesians 2:10).