FBC Pikeville HEARTS is inclusively a Christian homeschooling group. We are a ministry of a Christian church and agree with their statement of faith and policies. We are Christian in our approach to this group, homeschooling, and life in general. The leadership of this group agrees to a statement of faith prior to serving and agrees to make their decisions for the group based upon it. We require all families to uphold these statements, even if they are not in full agreement with them. Teachers and leaders will be required to adhere to them in all their areas of service. All our class offerings will be from a biblical worldview.
1. The Holy Bible (the Old and New Testaments) is the very Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts and therefore wholly without error as originally given of God, altogether sufficient in themselves as our only infallible and authoritative rule of faith and practice. (Matthew 5:18; John 10:35; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
2. There is only One Triune God who is personal, spirit, and sovereign; perfect, infinite, and eternal in His being, holiness, love, wisdom, and power; absolutely separate and above the world as its Creator, yet everywhere present in the world as the Upholder of all things; self-existent and self-revealing in three distinct Persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – each having a distinct ministry in God’s relation to His creation and people. (Mark 12:29; Jogn 4:24; John 14:9; Psalm 135:6; Psalm 18:30; Psalm 147:5; Deuteronomy 33:27; Genesis 1:1; Psalm 104; John 5:26; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
3. The Lord Jesus Christ is the second Person of the Triune God, the eternal Word and the Only Begotten Son; that without any change in His divine Person, He became man by the miracle of the Virgin Birth, thus to continue forever as both true God and true man, One Person with two natures; that as Man, He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin; that as the perfect Lamb of God, He gave Himself in death upon the cross; becoming there the sin of the world, and suffering its full penalty of Divine wrath in our stead; that He arose bodily from the grave and was glorified; that as our great High Priest He ascended up into Heaven, there to appear before the face of God as our Advocate and Intercessor. (John 1:1; John 3:16; John 1:14; John 8:46; John 1:29; John 20:25-28; Titus 2:13; Romans 9:5; Matthew 1:23; Matthew 20:28; Colossians 2:9; Revelations 22:16; Hebrews 4:15; Isaiah 53:5-6; Galatians 3:13; Galatians 4:4-5; Hebrews 9:24; 1 John 2:1)
4. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Triune God, and the Divine Agent in nature, revelation and redemption; that He convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment; that He regenerates, indwells, baptizes, seals, and anoints all who become children of God through Christ; that He further empowers, guides, teaches, sanctifies, and fills believers who daily surrender to Him. (Acts 5:3-4; Genesis 1:2; Psalm 104:30; 1 Corinthians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 3:18; John 16:7-14; John 3:5; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:30; Ephesians 3:16; Romans 8:14; John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 6:11)
a. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
5. All men are, by nature and choice, sinful and lost. Man is the direct creation of God, made in His image and likeness; that by personal disobedience to the revealed will of God, man became a sinful creature and the father of a fall race which is universally sinful in both nature and practice, thus alienated from the life and family of God, under the righteous judgment and wrath of God, and has within himself no possible means of salvation. (Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:7; Genesis 2:18-25; Genesis 3:1-24; Genesis 5:3; Matthew 19:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Ephesians 2:3; Ephesians 4:18; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12; John 8:42-44)
a. We believe that man came by direct creation of God and not by evolution. (Genesis 1-2; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17)
b. We believe that God is the giver of life and all human life is sacred and to be protected. (Genesis 1:27; Job 12:9-10; Psalm 139:13-16; Exodus 20:13; Psalm 82:3-4)
6. Salvation is attained by Grace through Faith; that salvation is the free gift of God, neither merited nor secured in part or in whole by any virtue or work of man, but received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in Whom all true believers have as a present possession the gift of eternal life, a perfect righteousness, and sonship in the family of God; deliverance and security from all condemnation; every spiritual resource needed for life and godliness and the Divine guarantee that they shall never perish; that this salvation affects the whole man; that apart from Christ there is no possible salvation. (Romans 6:23; Romans 4:4-5; Romans 11:16; Titus 3:5-8; John 6:28-29; John 5:24; Galatians 3:26; John 10:27-30; 2 Peter 1:3; Acts 4:12)
7. Righteous living and godly works are not a means of salvation in any sense, but are proper evidence and fruits of salvation; and therefore, as Christians, we should obey the Word of our Lord, seek the things which are above, walk as He walked, accept as our solemn responsibility the duty and privileges of bearing the Gospel to a lost world; remembering that a victorious and fruitful Christian life is possible only for those who, in gratitude for the infinite and undeserved mercies of God, have presented themselves wholly to Christ.(1 John 3:9-11; 1 John 4:19; 1 John 2:6; 1 John 5:4; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 2:14; Titus 3:8; Matthew 7:16-18; 1 Corinthians 15:10; John 14:23; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Romans 12:1-2)
8. We believe in the existence of Satan, who originally was created a holy and perfect being, but through pride and wicked ambition rebelled against God, thus becoming utterly depraved in character; the great adversary of God and His character; the great adversary of God and His people; leader of all other evil angels and spirits; the deceiver and god of this present world; that his powers are vast, but strictly limited by the permissive will of God, Who overrules all his wicked devices for good; that he was defeated and judged at the cross, and therefore his final doom is certain; that we are able to resist and overcome him only in the armor of God, by the blood of the Lamb and through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Ezekial 28:13-19; Isaiah 14:13-17; 1 Timothy 3-7; John 8:44; Matthew 4:1-11; Matthew 12:24-26; Matthew 25:41; Revelations 12:10; Revelations 20:10; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Job 1:1-22; Luke 22:31-32; Ephesians 6:12-18)
9. We believe in the pre-tribulational, pre-millennial, second coming of Christ: that His return from Heaven will be personal, visible, and glorious, a blessed Hope for which we should constantly watch and pray, the time being unrevealed but always imminent; that when He comes, he will first, by resurrection of the dead and translation of the living, remove from the earth His waiting Church; then pour out righteous judgments of God upon the unbelieving world, afterwards descend with His Church and establish His glorious and literal rule over all the nations for a thousand years. (Acts 1:8-11; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 6:1-17; Revelation 22:20; Mark 13:33-37; Titus 2:11-13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 14:24-28; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; Luke 1:32-33; Zechariah 12:10; Isaiah 2:1-4; Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 20:4-6)
10. We believe in the future life, bodily resurrection and eternal judgment: that the spirits of the saved at death go immediately to be with Christ in Heaven, that their works shall be brought before the Judgment Seat of Christ for the determination of rewards which will take place at the time when Christ comes for His own; that the spirits of the unsaved at death descend immediately into Hades where they are kept under punishment until the final day of the Great White Throne Judgment, at which time their bodies shall be raised from the grave; that they shall be judged and cast into Hell, the place of final and everlasting punishment. (Philippians 1:21-23; Philippians 3:20-21; 2 Corinthians 5:8; 1 Corinthians 20:11-15; Mark 9:43-48; Jude 13)
11. We believe in the priesthood of all believers: that Christ is our Great High Priest and through Him every born again person has direct access into God’s presence without the need of a human priest; that the believer has the right and responsibility to personally study and interpret the Scriptures guided by the Holy Spirit. (Hebrews 4:14; 1 John 2:1; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:5-6; Hebrews 4:14-16)
12. We believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ: that He alone is Head of the Body of Christ, into which all true believers are immediately baptized by the Holy Spirit; that all members of this one spiritual body should assemble and identify themselves in local churches. (Romans 10:9; Ephesians 5:25-26; 1 Corinthians 12:12-23; Hebrews 10:25)
13. We believe that a New Testament Church is a local assembly of born again, immersed believers united in organization to practice New Testament ordinances; to meet together for worship, prayer, fellowship, teaching and a united testimony, and to actively engage in carrying out the Great Commission. (Hebrews 10:25; Acts 2:41-47; Matthew 28:18-20)
14. We believe that each New Testament Church is free to govern itself without ecclesiastical interference and should cooperate with other churches as the Holy Spirit leads; that it is responsible to follow the pattern of the New Testament Church and is directly accountable to God. We also believe in the separation of Church and State, with each having definite and distinct spheres of responsibility. (Matthew 22:17-22; Acts 14:27; Acts 20:17; 1 Corinthians 12:27; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Romans 13).
15. We believe that Baptism is by immersion of believers, thus portraying the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; that the Lord’s Supper is the partaking of the bread and the cup by the believer as a continuing memorial of the broken Body and shed Blood of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:20; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32; Matthew 26:26-30).
We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31.) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the policies of FBC PIKEVILLE HEARTS.