OUR DOCTRINE
Take some time to read and consider what we believe at Hickory Bible Church.
If you have questions that aren’t answered here, please contact us.
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We believe in the one true and living God, infinite in glory, eternal in being, and unchanging in character—perfect in wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. He is the creator of all things, the sustainer of life, and the sovereign Lord who orders all events for His glory and will one day judge the world in righteousness.
This God exists eternally in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each fully divine, united in essence, and worthy of our wholehearted love, trust, worship, and obedience. (Exodus 34:6–7; Deuteronomy 6:4; Job 11:7–9; Psalm 9:7-8; 90:2; Isaiah 45:5–6; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19–20; John 17:3; Mark 12:29; John 1:1–4; Acts 5:3–4; 17:28; Ephesians 1:11; James 1:17; Revelation 4:11)
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We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God as the eternally begotten Son of God. He is the exact expression of the Father’s nature, who took on human nature without ceasing to be divine, thus is truly man and truly God. Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, He lived a sinless life of perfect obedience, revealing God in word and deed. As the second person of the Trinity, He came to redeem sinners, bearing the wrath of God in our place through His death on the cross. He rose bodily on the third day, defeating sin and death, ascended to the Father’s right hand, and now intercedes for His people as our faithful High Priest. One day, He will return in glory to judge the world and reign forever as Lord and King. (John 1:1; 1:14; 1:18; 14:8–9; Acts 1:3, 9; 1 Corinthians 15:12–19; Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:1-3; 7:25–26)
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We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is fully God—equal in essence with the Father and the Son, yet distinct in person. His primary ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He regenerates the sinner through an act of divine grace, bringing them to saving faith in Christ. At the moment of salvation, the Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ, permanently indwelling, guiding, instructing, filling, and empowering them for godly living. He illumines the Scriptures, enabling believers to grasp divine truth through prayer, meditation, and obedience. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, that salvation is deliverance from sin’s penalty, secured by Christ’s death and resulting in His life within us. (Mark 13:11; John 14:26; 16:8-14; Romans 5:5; 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 12:13; Ephesians 1:22-23)
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We believe that the Holy Scriptures, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, are the verbally inspired Word of God, inerrant in their original writings, infallible in their instruction, and eternal in their truth. They are God’s complete and sufficient revelation, carrying divine authority for the total well-being of mankind. As the final standard for faith and practice, the Scriptures speak with clarity and power to every issue of life, offering counsel, correction, and comfort to the soul. We affirm the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible—that every word is God-breathed and given for our trust and obedience. Through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, believers are enabled to understand and apply the Word, growing in wisdom, holiness, and joyful submission to the Lord who speaks through it. (Psalm 19:7-14; 119:97-104; 119:160; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 4:4; 5:18; John 5:46-47; 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:19)
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We believe that Adam was created in innocence, under the law of his Maker, but through voluntary transgression fell from his sinless state, bringing guilt and corruption upon all humanity. As a result, every person is a sinner—by inheritance and by personal choice—and stands under just condemnation, without defense or excuse. Scripture teaches that all are totally depraved, unable to please God, and in desperate need of a Savior. Sin is not merely outward rebellion but a pervasive inward condition—a lack of conformity to God’s law in act, habit, attitude, disposition, motivation, and mode of existence. The flesh, as Paul often describes it, is the sinful nature that governs fallen humanity. The particular expressions of sin are many and varied, but all flow from a heart estranged from God.
The testimony of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, consistently reveals the depth of human sin and the holiness of God, magnifying our need for redemption and the mercy found in Christ alone. (Genesis 3:1-6; Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 12:30-37; Mark 7:20-23; Romans 1:18; 1:32; 3:10-19; 5:12-21; 7:7-25; 8:5-8; 14:23, Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians. 2:1-3; 4:17-19; Hebrews 3:12; James 2:10-11; 1 John 3:4; 1 John 5:17) -
Justification - We believe that God is holy and mankind is not, leaving every human being hopeless without a Savior. By His sovereign grace, God chooses to save, and it is His kindness, forbearance, and patience that lead sinners to repentance. All glory for the salvation and eternal security of every believer belongs to God alone. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, died for our sins and rose again according to the Scriptures, offering Himself as our representative and substitutionary sacrifice. Those who repent and trust in Him as Savior and Lord are justified by faith—declared righteous on the basis of Christ’s finished work, born again by the Holy Spirit, adopted into God’s family, and made eternally secure. This assurance rests not on human merit, but entirely on God’s decisive grace. (Isaiah 6:3; Matthew 5:48; Romans 2:4; 3:10; 3:21-23; 5:8; 6:23; 10:9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 4:4-7; Ephesians 1:7-14; 2:1-9; Colossians 1:20; James 2:10; Jude 1:24-25)
Sanctification - We believe that obedience, good works, and spiritual fruit do not earn salvation but reveal its reality. The believer, united to Christ, grows in holiness through daily communion with Him—by the Word, prayer, worship, and service. Sanctification is the Spirit’s ongoing work, shaping the believer into Christlikeness. As the believer matures, love for Christ deepens, and the life increasingly reflects the character of the One who redeemed it. This growth in grace leads to spiritual maturity and a fuller enjoyment of fellowship with the Lord. (Luke 6:46; John 14:21; Romans 6-7, Ephesians. 5:2; Philippians. 2:5-13; Colossians 1:28; James 2:17-18; 1 Peter. 2:21)
Glorification - We believe that all who truly trust in Christ are immediately His—redeemed, sealed, and secure. Nothing can separate the believer from the love of God or remove them from Christ’s hand. The Holy Spirit marks each believer with a seal, guaranteeing a future inheritance in heaven. This hope is certain, reserved in glory, and protected by the power of God. One day, every child of God will be fully glorified—freed from sin, perfected in holiness, and welcomed into eternal joy in the presence of the triune God. (Luke 23:42-43; John 10:27-29; Acts 2:40-41; Acts 16:30-34; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 Peter 1:4-5; Revelation 21)
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We believe in the bodily resurrection of all people—both the saved and the lost. The redeemed are raised to eternal, conscious joy in the presence of God, welcomed into the heavenly dwelling prepared by Christ. The unredeemed are raised to eternal, conscious torment, separated forever from the mercy and grace of God.
Scripture speaks plainly of hell as a place of judgment, described by our Lord Jesus as “eternal fire,” where “their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched”—a vivid image drawn from Gehenna, the burning refuse outside Jerusalem, used to portray the unending spiritual ruin of those who reject God.
We believe in the blessed hope: the personal, physical return of the Lord Jesus Christ. His coming is not only a future certainty but a present call to holiness, shaping the life and service of every believer. Christ’s return will bring final justice, eternal reward, and the full unveiling of His glory. For those in Christ, it is the consummation of hope; for those outside of Him, it is the confirmation of judgment. In light of this, we proclaim the gospel with urgency and live with joyful anticipation of the day when faith shall become sight.(Matthew 8:12; 10:28; 13:49-50; 25:34; Mark 9:47-48; Luke 12:5; John 14:2; 2 Corinthians 5:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:13-14; Revelation 14:9-11; 21:8)

