“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”
That’s a classic quotation explaining how to approach Christian belief. It's a good thing to keep in mind when discussing important matters of belief.
Our Beliefs
Mount Hermon Baptist Church teaches long held and biblical Christian beliefs such as (but not limited to):
Belief in one triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God’s Creation of a good world
Human sinfulness, and God’s faithfulness and salvation
The incarnation of Jesus: that he is fully God and fully human
His perfect life
His suffering death on the cross, and rising again on the third day, according to the scriptures
His coming again at the last day
The Spirit’s inspiration of the Bible, sanctifying of believers, and calling together of the church
That is, Mount Hermon Baptist Church believes what Christians throughout the ages have proclaimed and held dear throughout the ages. These essentials are vital.
However, we know there are many areas of contention – where there are disagreements among churches and denominations. We might wonder: what are essentials? And what are non-essentials? One essential: Jesus is our cornerstone, and the author and perfecter of our faith (Psalm 118:22; Hebrews 12:2).
Still, we do not have a hyper-detailed list written by the church to share here. Any statement of beliefs, however short or long, would have to be affirmed by the whole gathered church. And we have not had a meeting where we, all together, approved any such statement.
Yet, we also understand when people are looking at churches they wonder: “What kinds of things do they believe and teach there?” Without suggesting every member of Mount Hermon Baptist Church would sign on to the document without any changes, some of our closest denominational partners affirm the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message. You can view it here. This confession serves as a general expression of what many (though not all) Baptists believe.