Our Beliefs

The following topics will help you gain a better understanding of what we believe at Zion Hill Baptist Church. While these topics don't cover everything, they do present some of our core beliefs. If you have questions about Zion Hill or the information presented, please contact us as shown at the bottom of this page.

God

We believe that God eternally exists in three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) — He has always existed and will always exist (without change). We further believe that God is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and omnipresent (at all places at all times). We understand from God's Word (The Bible) that God is completely and wholly righteous and has never done anything wrong.

The Bible

We believe The Bible (as contained in the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) is the inerrant (without error), infallible (not misleading or deceptive) and divinely inspired (God-breathed) revelation of God to man. We further believe that the 1611 Authorized King James Bible is the only English Bible suitable for use by English-speaking people today. We view the Bible as authoritative and instructive for all aspects of life.

Broken Fellowship

We believe that the first man (Adam) and the first woman (Eve) were created by God and placed in the Garden of Eden to fellowship with God and be stewards of His creation. Not long afterwards, Satan appeared to Eve as a serpent and tempted her to break God's law (sin by eating the forbidden fruit). Both Adam and Eve gave in to the temptation thereby breaking fellowship with God.

Refer to: Genesis Chapters 1-3

The consequence of Adam and Eve's sin was that God placed a curse on his creation and drove Adam and Eve from the Garden. We believe that every descendant of that first man and woman inherited a desire to sin against God and that none have ever lived a perfect, sinless life. See Romans 3:23 .

We believe that our sins separate us from God and rightly condem us to separation from Him in this life and in eternity hereafter. Further, God's righteousness requires that our every sin must be fully punished. It is a penalty we can never satisfy — to pay it ourselves, we must endure eternal separation from God while suffering forever in the Lake of Fire.

The Sin Bearer

God loves us in spite of our sinful nature and has provided a way for us to escape the awful penalty of sin. He (God the Father) sent Jesus (God the Son) to live a perfect, sinless life among men and to sacrifice that life on Calvary as payment in full for the sins of all mankind. See 1 Peter 2:24

Jesus was able to live that perfect, sinless life because He was not a descendant of Adam. Unlike each one of us, He did not inherit the desire to sin against God (a sin nature) through an earthly father. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. See Luke 1:26-35 .

God's Love For Us

The greatest theme in the Bible is God's plan to save fallen mankind and restore that broken fellowship to Himself. We believe that God placed every person's sins on Jesus while He was on the cross and then fully punished Him in our place. See Isaiah 53:6 . On Calvary God fully demonstrated his great love for fallen mankind while fully satisfying the righteousness of God.

God's redemptive plan for mankind is based solely on Jesus' suffering in our stead. The Bible makes it plain that we can never make things right with God through our own works. See Isaiah 64:6 and Ephesians  2:8-9 . We are saved from our sins and restored to fellowship with Him through a sincere turning from our sins (repentance) and faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. True belief in Jesus' death, burial and resurection (the Gospel) is the one way that God has provided to save sinners. See Acts 4:12 .

The New Birth

We believe that a person can be saved and experience the new birth only through the convicting presence of the Holy Spirit and a personal expression of repentenance (for past sins) and faith in the completed work of Jesus on the cross. See John 6:44 .

The Holy Spirit

From the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit lives within every true believer throughout the rest of their life. See 1 Corinthians 6:19 and Ephesians 1:13-14 . The Holy Spirit works and ministers in the lives of the saved much as a father helps his children to grow and prosper. His ministry includes the following helps for the child of God:

The Church

The New Testament Church began on the Day of Pentecost fifty days after Jesus' death on the cross. See Acts 2 . The Church is made up of all saved believers since that Day of Pentecost through the future "catching up" of living saints at Jesus' promised return for His Church. See 1 Thessalonians 4:17 .

Throughout the Church Age local assemblies (churches) are commanded to observe two ordinances: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. We believe that Biblical Baptism is by immersion in water after a person is saved. See Acts 8:26-39 . This form of baptism properly reflects the believers identification with the death, burial and resurection of Jesus.

Local churches are also commanded to observe the Lord's Supper to commemorate His sacrificial death on the cross until He comes for His Church. See Matthew 26:26-28 . It is up to each local church to determine how often to observe the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is only for baptized believers who are in good standing in the local church. See 1 Corinthians 11:23-27 .