WE ARE A CONFESSIONAL CHURCH
High Pointe is a confessional church. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, having dedicated themselves to the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42). In fact, the early Christians confessed certain doctrinal truths together, as seen in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and Colossians 1:15-20. Today, High Pointe simply follows in their example. So then, to be a “confessional church” means that, together as a body, we “confess” or “hold to” specific truths of the Christian faith.
As confessional Christians, the 1853 New Hampshire Confession serves as our statement of faith. To be sure, this confession does not explain all that our members believe, but it is a summary of the basic beliefs required for membership at High Pointe. In addition, we understand the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 to reflect a fuller explication of our Statement of Faith and a faithful application of it to contemporary issues related to the life and discipline of our church.
As confessional Christians, the 1853 New Hampshire Confession serves as our statement of faith. To be sure, this confession does not explain all that our members believe, but it is a summary of the basic beliefs required for membership at High Pointe. In addition, we understand the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 to reflect a fuller explication of our Statement of Faith and a faithful application of it to contemporary issues related to the life and discipline of our church.
HOW WE DISTINGUISH BETWEEN DOCTRINE (BELIEFS)
At High Pointe, we believe that all that the Bible teaches (doctrine) is important. But for the glory of Christ, the unity of the church, and our mission, we understand that we must distinguish between those doctrines that are essential to Christianity, those that distinguish us as a church, and those that Christians are free to differ on. We distinguish these doctrines in three categories: core, characteristic, and charity beliefs.
Core Beliefs
CORE beliefs are those doctrines that represent historic and evangelical Christianity. In other words, they are beliefs that are required for someone to be a Christian. CORE beliefs include: the deity of Christ, salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, the Trinity, etc.
Characteristic Beliefs
CHARACTERISTIC beliefs are those doctrines that characterize HPBC. In other words, there are other true churches filled with true Christians who might believe differently than we do on these beliefs. CHARACTERISTIC beliefs include: believer’s baptism, congregational government, etc.
*Required for membership at HPBC is believing the CORE and CHARACTERISTIC beliefs summarized in our Confession of Faith.
Charity Beliefs
CHARITY beliefs are those beliefs that Christians can agree to disagree on. In other words, we will seek to be charitable with one another on these particular beliefs. CHARITY beliefs include: alcohol consumption, details on the timing of the second coming of Christ, the Sabbath vs. the Lord’s day, etc. First Corinthians 8 and Romans 14 teach us how we relate to one another regarding charity beliefs.