Ethical Positions
1. Israel
We believe in the sovereign selection of Israel as God’s eternal covenant people, that she is now
dispersed because of her disobedience and rejection of Christ, that she will be re-gathered in the
Holy Land and, after the completion of the Church, she will be saved as a nation at the second
advent of Christ. (Gen. 13:14-17; Ezek. 37; Rom. 11:1-32).
2. Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their
Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly
and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations. (Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; 2 Cor. 6:14-17; 2 Tim.
3:1-5; 1 Jhn. 2:15-17; 2 John. 9-11; 1 Cor. 6:19-20).
3. Civil Gov’t and the Three Institutions Created by God.
We believe that civil gov’t is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human
society; that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed; except in
things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who us the only Lord of the conscience and
coming Prince of the Kings of the earth.
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions:
1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all
(including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God
has given each institution specific biblical responsibilities and balanced these responsibilities
with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the
church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective biblically assigned spheres of
responsibility under God. (Rom. 13:1-7; 2 Sam. 23:3; Ex. 18:21; Acts 4:19-20; 5:20; 23:5; Mt.
22:21; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pt. 2:13-14; Dan. 3:17-18).
4. The Role of Missions
We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all
nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and
language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all
available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. (Mt. 28:19-20;
Mk. 16:15; Lk. 24:46-48; Jhn. 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20).
5. Giving/Tithing
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is
obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as
a basis for giving, and that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and
cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel.
We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once
the gift has been made. (Gen. 4:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Gal.
6:6; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 Jhn. 3:17).
6. Marriage and Sexuality
We believe that the term marriage has only one legitimate meaning, and that is marriage
sanctioned by God, which joins one man and one woman in a single, covenantal union as
delineated by Scripture. Christi marriage is a representation of Christ’s relationship to His bride,
the church. Marriage ceremonies performed in any facility owned, leased, or rented by this
church will be only those ceremonies sanctioned by God, joining one man with one woman as
their genders were determined at birth. Hornerstown Baptist Church will only recognize
marriages between a biological man and a biological woman. Whenever there is a conflict
between the church’s position and any new legal standard for marriage, the church’s statement of
belief, doctrines, and biblical positions will govern. (Gen. 2:24; Eph. 5:22-23; Mark 10:6-9; 1
Cor. 1:7-9).
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of
marriage as defined above. We believe that any other type of sexual activity, identity, or
expression that lies outside of this definition of marriage, including those that are becoming more
accepted in their culture and courts, are contradictory to God’s natural design and purpose for
sexual activity. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5; Lev. 19:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9-10; 1 Thess.
4:1-8; Heb. 13:4).
7. Family Relationships
We believe that men and woman are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has
ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and in the
church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be leaders (pastor and
deacon) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the
church. (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12).
We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society.
The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the
Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are
an heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral
values and leading them, through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline. (Gen.
1:26-28; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Ps. 127:3-5; Mark 10:6-12; 1 Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4;
Col. 3:18-21; Heb. 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7).
8. Abortion
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human
being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. We reject
any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection,
birth or population control are acceptable. (Job. 3:16; Ps. 51:5; 139:14-16; Is. 44:24; 49:1, 5;
20:15-18; Lk. 1:44).
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9. Euthanasia
We believe that the direct taking of an important human life is a moral evil, regardless of the
intention. Life is a gift of God and must be respected from conception until natural death. Thus
we believe that an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to
eliminate suffering constitutes a murder contrary to the will of God. Discontinuing medical
procedures that are extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be a legitimate
refusal of over-zealous treatment. (Ex. 20:13; 23:7; Mt. 5:21; Acts 17:28).
10. Authority of the Statement of Belief
The statement of belief does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and
final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the forgoing statement of belief
accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore is binding upon all members, staff,
and volunteers. All literature, whether print or electronic, used in the church shall be in complete
agreement with the statement of belief. All activities permitted or performed in any facilities
owned, rented, or leased by this church or engaged in by any member of the church staff
(volunteer or paid) and decisions of administration of this church shall not conflict with the
statement of belief. In all conflicts regarding interpretation of the statement of belief, the pastor
and deacon board, on behalf of the church, have the final authority.