What We Believe

Parkway Bible Church is a non-denominational Bible church that believes in, and is based upon, the historic Christian faith.

 

The Bible

We believe the 66 books of the Old and New Testament, comprising the Holy Bible, are the inspired Word of God. We believe the Holy Spirit supervised the writers of the Scriptures in what they wrote so that, using their own personalities, the very words recorded in the original manuscripts are the inerrant revelation of God. We believe the Bible not only contains the Word of God but actually is God’s Word and, therefore, is the complete and final authority for belief and behavior. We believe this inspiration extends equally and fully to all parts of Scripture: historically, poetically, doctrinally, and prophetically. (2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 1:21; 1 Corinthians 2:13; John 17:17.)

God

We believe there is one and only one true and living God, an infinite Spirit who is the Maker and Supreme Ruler of the universe. We believe the Scriptures reveal Him to be holy, sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, immutable, and full of love, justice, goodness, mercy, and truth. Although there is only one God, we believe that in the unity of the Godhead there are three eternal and coequal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe these members of the Trinity are the same in substance, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections, but are distinct in subsistence, executing different but harmonious functions. (Mark 12:29; John 4:24; Matthew 3:16-17; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14.)

Jesus Christ

We believe Jesus Christ is the pre-existent and eternal Son of God who became man in order to reveal God and redeem humanity. We believe He was supernaturally conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. In His person, we believe the Lord Jesus combined forever full and undiminished deity with true and perfect humanity to become the God-man. We believe Christ died on the cross as a substitute for sinful humanity, was buried, arose bodily from the tomb, ascended into Heaven where He ministers on behalf of the saints, and will someday come again for His own. (John 1:18; 8:58; Matthew 1:23; Colossians 1:15-17; 1 Timothy 1:15; 3:16.)

Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, fully coequal with God the Father and God the Son in terms of divine being, but distinct from the Father and the Son in His personhood. We believe the Holy Spirit actively ministers to the world. This ministry includes restraining evil, convicting the unsaved of sin, and bestowing God’s goodness on mankind. We also believe He ministers to every believer in Jesus Christ in numerous ways: regenerating, sealing, indwelling, baptizing into the Body of Christ, and giving spiritual gifts. Other ministries to believers include filling, assuring, teaching, guiding, and comforting. (Acts 5:3-4; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-9; John 16:7-11; Matthew 5:45; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 1:13; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 12:13; Ephesians 3:20; 1 Corinthians 14; James 5:14; Ephesians 5:18; Romans 8:14, 16; John 16:7, 13.)

Angelic Beings

We believe God created an order of spirit beings (without physical bodies) known as angels, before the formation of the world and for the purpose of worshipping and serving Him. Angels possess individual personalities and are intelligent and powerful. They are inferior to God but superior to humans. These angels (also known as elect or holy angels) carry out the will of God by ministering to humankind. (Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:6; 2 Peter 2:11; Isaiah 14:12-15; 1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 6:12; Hebrews 1:14.)

Satanic Beings

We believe Lucifer was one of the highest ranking of all the angelic beings, but he sinned through pride and rebelled against God, thereby becoming Satan (or the adversary.) We believe that Satan’s declared purpose is to oppose the plan of God and promote his own evil designs by deceiving and attacking humanity. In carrying out his work, Satan is aided by other fallen angels known as demons or evil spirits. We believe these demons can influence and tempt people, exerting a greater degree over unbelievers (Isaiah 14:12-20; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:3; Acts 5:3; Ephesians 6:11-12; Matthew 4:24.)

Creation

We believe the Triune God, according to His sovereign will and for His own glory, created the heavens and the earth without the use of pre-existent material. We also believe all living things came into being by a direct creative act of God and not by random process. Creation has an existence distinct from Him and yet is always dependent on Him. (Genesis 2:4; Proverbs 16:4; Acts 17:24; Colossians 1:16-17.)

Man/Woman

We believe God fearfully and wonderfully created each person as male or female. These two, distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Having been made in God’s image, each human life, from conception to natural death, is precious to God. Each human is deserving of equal dignity, value, and worth. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God fully and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. This command has no qualification and extends to each person regardless of gender, culture, ethnicity, or socio-economic status (Genesis 1:26-27; Deuteronomy 10:17-19; Psalm 139:13-16; Luke 10:25-37; Acts 17:26; Galatians 3:28; James 2:1-13; Revelation 5:9-10; 7:9.)

Humanity

We believe each person was created in the image and likeness of God in a state of innocence. Through deliberate disobedience, we believe humanity fell from a sinless state and as a consequence lost their fellowship with God and became subject to spiritual and physical death. We believe that through Adam’s transgressions the entire human race has inherited a corrupt nature which is essentially evil and unable to please God. (Genesis 1:26-27; 3:24; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3.)

Sin

We believe sin is anything contrary to the character of God. Every person, we believe, is alienated from God because of his depraved nature as well as personal acts of sin. We believe each person born into the world is separated from God and completely incapable of meriting salvation and avoiding the judgement of God. The sin nature, we believe, is never eradicated, even for those who are born into the family of God, but it remains until the end of life on earth. However, we believe God has made provision for forgiveness of sin through the blood of Jesus Christ and victory over sin through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. (Romans 3:10, 23; 6:23; Ephesians 4:18; 1 John 1:8-10; Galatians 5:16-17.)

Heaven & Hell

We believe heaven is a real place of eternal blessedness prepared by God for those who have been saved by grace through the shed blood of Christ. We believe hell is a real place of eternal suffering for those whose names are not written in the Book of Life. There is no intermediate state in which the unsaved can atone for his own sins. (John 14:1-6; Revelation 7:13-17; 20:11-15; 21:22-27; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; Luke 16:19-31.)

Salvation

We believe that salvation from the penalty and power of sin is provided only through the blood of Jesus Christ, which He shed on the cross when He was made sin for us and died in our place. There is nothing a person can do, we believe, to attain this salvation through good works, moral achievement, or religious status. We believe the one and only condition for salvation is personal faith in Jesus Christ as one’s own substitute for, and Savior from, sin. At the time of salvation, we believe a person is spiritually regenerated, his sins are forgiven, God’s righteousness is imputed to him, and he is declared righteous in the sight of God. This salvation, we believe, is complete and a present possession of all believers which remains theirs forever. All who have trusted Christ as Savior are kept secure and will never lose their salvation. (1 Peter 1:18-19; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 4:32; Romans 5:1; 8:38-39.)

The Church

We believe the Church is a unique organism composed of individuals who have placed their faith in Christ as Savior. The Church began, we believe, on the day of Pentecost and will continue its distinct purpose until the Rapture. We believe the Church exists in both a universal aspect, as the Body of Christ, and in a local assembly of believers. The local church, we believe, has the twofold purpose of the edification of believers and the evangelization of the lost. The two ordinances of the church are water baptism, which we practice by immersion, and the Lord’s Supper, which we believe to be a memorial of Christ’s death and is open to all believers. (1 Corinthians 12:13; Acts 2:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Colossians 4:16; Ephesians 4:7; Hebrews 13:17; Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-28.)

Marriage & Sexuality

We believe marriage is a picture of Christ’s relationship with His Bride – the Church. It is defined throughout Scripture as a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman. God designed sexual intimacy for a marriage relationship and does not endorse or condone it in any other context. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5; Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-5; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 18; 7:2-5; Ephesians 5:21-33; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Timothy 1:10.)

Dispensations*

We believe God administers His purpose in the world through mankind under varying dispensations or stewardships, such as the period of Mosaic law, the present age of grace, and the future millennial kingdom. We believe these dispensations span the entire history of mankind but that dispensations are not different ways of salvation. Rather, they are ways of life which test the obedience of people to God’s revealed will during a particular time. We believe it is necessary to observe the dispensational distinction in order to properly understand the teaching of the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 10:32; Ephesians 1:10; 3:2; Galatians 4:2; Luke 12:42; Hebrews 12:22-23.)

Future Things*

We believe the next event in God’s prophetic calendar is the Rapture of the Church when living and dead Christians will be caught up to meet the Lord and receive rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Following the Rapture, we believe a seven-year period of Tribulation will commence upon the earth at which time God’s wrath will be poured out on mankind. We believe God’s millennial kingdom will be ushered in by Jesus Christ when He returns to the earth in power and glory to rule sovereignly over the world for a thousand years. The unsaved dead of all ages, we believe, will be raised after the millennium to face the judgement of the Great White Throne and will be cast into the lake of fire where there will be eternal punishment. We believe the redeemed of all ages will exist in an eternal state of joy and bliss in the new heavens and new earth where they will worship and serve God forever. (John 14:3; Hebrews 10:37; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Matthew 24:21-31; Revelation 20-22.)

*Strict agreement with these doctrines is not required for partnership at Parkway; however, we affirm these beliefs as our interpretations of what is taught in scripture and have established them as the official positions of our Church.

 

– Parkway’s full Principles & Practices