Introduction to Our Beliefs

The Bronx Household of Faith (BHOF) is a Christ-centered church that is theologically Reformed and wholeheartedly biblical. Here’s what we mean by that:

We are Christ-centered, because what unites us is the good news that no matter who we are or what we’ve done—and no matter how good we think we are or try to be—we are reconciled to the God who made us only through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ.

We believe that Jesus is who he claimed to be: the eternal Son of God. He took on our human nature, lived the truly good and pure life we have all failed to live, died a sinner’s death in our place, rose victoriously from the dead, and now rules over history until his glorious return. God calls all people to turn to Jesus and trust in him alone for forgiveness, cleansing, and hope. In the meantime, God’s Spirit equips and empowers those who trust in Christ to learn from him and live for him. Christ is the center of the good news we celebrate and recommit ourselves to as a church when we gather together.

We are a church, meaning we are a group of people loved by God, united to Christ by faith, and united with each other because of him. We gather to worship him each Sunday, and we seek to help each other trust in and live for him every day. God’s design for every church is that he be glorified through our worship and our lives together, and that others be drawn to trust, worship, and follow Jesus through our love and testimony.

We are Reformed in the sense that we are not trying to make up a new way to know, worship or serve God, but have learned from the biblical insights of Christ’s followers who have gone before us, particularly the men and women of the early church and the Protestant Reformation. We share their conviction that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and to the glory of God alone.

We are biblical in the sense that we are convinced God’s Word (the Bible) is just that—God’s words, God revealing the truth about himself in human language. The Bible is the final standard and only authoritative source of what we must believe and how we are to live. It is the primary way God’s Spirit makes Christ known and transforms lives for God’s glory.

Doctrinal Statements

There are many helpful summaries of the Bible’s doctrine that have shaped and informed our understanding of the Christian Faith.

The elders of our church are particularly committed to the convictions articulated in The 1658 Savoy Declaration of Faith and Order and the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith.

Additionally, each member of the Bronx Household of Faith subscribes to the beliefs laid out below, which we consider to be essential to faithful Christian belief and practice:

 

BHOF’s Statement of Faith:

As members of the Body of Christ and The Bronx Household of Faith in particular, we do solemnly, humbly, and joyfully confess:

<God>

There is but one, living and true, eternal, all-powerful, unchangeable, loving, and holy God.

That though there is complete unity in the Godhead, there is also diversity; that is, we worship one God who eternally exists in three distinct persons:

God the Father upholds, directs, and governs all of creation, including humanity.

God the Son, that is, Jesus Christ, in submission to the will of the Father, while still retaining all the attributes of deity, became a man, suffered, died, and rose again bodily from the dead in order that He might redeem from sin and death a people for His name.

God the Holy Spirit, in compliance with the will of the Father and the Son, works in the lives of believers to encourage, convict, and empower them towards exalting our risen Lord.

<Scripture>

That God has revealed Himself in a special way through His Holy Scriptures which are so inspired as to make every word true in their original manuscripts, thus making it fully authoritative in matters of faith and practice.

<Humanity, Sin, and Personal Salvation>

That as human beings we are created, male and female, in the image of God; that this is the foundation of both the sanctity of human life, which begins at conception, and the sanctity of marriage, which is between one man and one woman, instituted at the dawn of creation and affirmed by our Lord, for the purpose of companionship and procreation whereby it nurtures all other societal relationships as well as providing the basis for human government. Moreover, we believe God immutably creates each person as male or female, which reflect the image and nature of God. Rejecting one’s biological sex rejects the created image of God.

That as human beings we are made in the image of God; but because of the sin of Adam and Eve, our representatives, we have inherited their sinful nature, while at the same time being responsible before God for our own actions.

Our repentance from sin and personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, whereby He is our only hope and comfort in life; and it is only through Him that we receive forgiveness of sin, the gift of eternal life, and adoption as children of God and joint heirs with Christ.

<The Church>

That we have been baptized with water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, understanding by this that we are members of His visible church, for which Christ, after ascending into heaven, has given to each of us, spiritual gifts for the edification of the Body of Christ, thus making each of us responsible for the physical and spiritual well-being of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The fellowship of believers in the church, which embraces biblical doctrine, worships the triune God, administers the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper, exercises discipline, manifests the gifts of the Holy Spirit, adorns its profession by holiness and love, and proclaims the Christian gospel in word and deed to the world.

Our identity in Christ with believers in all ages whose faith has been rightly expressed in the historic creeds such as the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Chalcedonian Creed, and others which uphold the true nature of God as He is revealed in the Scriptures.

<Christ’s Return>

The visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory and power.

The resurrection of the redeemed to the enjoyment of God forever in His presence, and the resurrection of the unredeemed to judgment and everlasting punishment.