Essential Beliefs of Junius Heights

We believe God made him, who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21)

• The gospel is the good news by which all sinful mankind must be saved. For sin has entered the world, as evidenced by darkness and evil on the macro levels of brokenness in the world, seen in the works of the devil, and found in micro levels of the thoughts and intentions of our own hearts. Creation which was fractured absolutely by the fall, and man who was separated from God by sin, God himself has come to redeem. At the incarnation of God the Son, a perfect human had arrived, a perfect man to take the place of all men beneath the judgment of God against sin. For a perfect and holy God cannot be united with anything or anyone that is unholy. At the cross, Jesus was the perfect sacrifice by which perfect justice could be executed, reunifying man to God. Here at the cross is where the sin of the world was transferred to Christ. He was lovingly substituted for you and me, and in His death, we find life. This ultimate victory over death was proven and secured by Jesus’ resurrection from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. Hope and peace today and life eternal in Christ Jesus are gifts of grace for all those whose trust is in Jesus and this gospel we proclaim.

We believe in one God eternally existing as one essence and three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each of whom is fully God, yet together are also one God. 

• Each person of the Trinity has precisely the same nature and attributes and is worthy of precisely the same worship, honor, and praise. The entire Christian faith is bound together with the confession of God’s Trinitarian nature (Matt. 28:18-20).

•  We believe in God the Father, the creator of heaven and earth. We believe in the Son, God from God, eternally begotten but not made, who in history assumed to himself a human nature for the sake of our salvation (John 1:14; Heb. 1:3). He is fully God and fully man. Through him all things came into being and were created. He was before all things, and in him all things hold together by the word of his power (Col.1:15-20). He suffered, died, was buried, resurrected, ascended, and sits at the right hand of the Father until He returns for the final judgment and consummation of the Kingdom (Rev. 20:11-15). We believe in the Holy Spirit, who exists eternally, proceeds from the Father and the Son, and is sent by the Father and Son to give new life (John 15:26-27). The Holy Spirit unites believers to Jesus Christ in faith, brings about the new birth and dwells within the regenerate (Eph. 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit has come to glorify the Son who in turn came to glorify the Father. He will lead the Church into a right understanding and rich application of the truth of God’s Word. He is to be respected, honored and worshiped as God, the third person of the Trinity.

• The triune God–Father, Son, and Spirit, is the Creator of all things, visible and invisible. As the immortal and eternal Creator, He sovereignly rules over all His creation (Ps. 24:1).

We believe God has made himself known to the world first by creation, second by the Scriptures, and third and absolutely in the advent of Jesus the Messiah.

• We believe that God has made himself known to His creation. He has revealed himself to us in his Son, the incarnate Word (Heb.1:1-2; John 1:1-5), in Scripture, the inspired Word (2 Tim. 3:16), and in creation (Ps. 8; Rom. 1:20).

• We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the perfect revelation of God. Jesus Christ is the “image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15), “the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3) and a perfect reflection of God the Father (John 5:19).

• We believe the Scriptures, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, are the Spirit-breathed Word of God and are therefore without error in their original writings. These writings alone constitute the verbally inspired Word of God, which is absolutely authoritative, infallible, and free from error. The Scripture is sufficient for all that God requires for us to believe and do and is therefore to be believed as God’s instruction in all that it teaches, obeyed as God’s command in all that it requires, and trusted as God’s pledge in all that it promises (Is. 40:6-8). As God’s people hear, believe, and obey the Word, they are equipped as disciples of Christ and witnesses to the gospel (Rom. 10:14-17).

We believe God created the world from nothing and governs all things at all times and in all places.

• God created the heavens and the earth from nothing (Gen. 1:1-2; Ps. 24:1). God’s creative work is the overflow of the love present within the Trinitarian fellowship. Creation, as designed by God, was good (Gen. 1:3-31). God upholds the universe by the Word of his power, and He holds the world and all its effects together in himself (Col. 1:17). Because He is Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, it is his nature to have complete understanding of all events and timelines of human history. He has foreknowledge of both the good and the bad. God provides for and presides over everything in the created order, overseeing all aspects of creation, including every moment of our lives (Acts 17:24-28).

We believe all humanity is created in the image of God and possesses intrinsic dignity and worth.

• God made humanity—male and female—in his own image (Gen. 1:27-30). Set apart as his image bearers, every human being is sacred. All men and all women, bearing the image of God, are meant to represent God in His creation (1 Cor. 10:31). God declares the created order to be very good, distinguishing men and women as His agents to care for, manage and govern over it. They enjoy equal access to God by faith in Christ Jesus and are both called to move beyond passive self-indulgence to significant private and public engagement in family, church, and civic life.

We believe sin has fractured all things, leaving the world in desperate need of salvation.

• Through the temptation of Satan, humanity transgressed the command of God and fell from its original holiness and righteousness (Gen. 3). Now the entire human race inherits a corrupt nature that is opposed to God and his law (Rom. 3:9-20). Therefore, all humans are under condemnation. The depravity of humanity is radical and pervasive. It extends to the mind, will, body and affections. Unregenerate humanity lives in hostility toward God under the dominion of sin and Satan (Eph. 2:1-3; Rom. 5:8; 8:7-8). We are at enmity with God until the point of regeneration when, by the Holy Spirit, God imputes to man the righteousness of Christ Jesus (Rom. 5:12-19).

We believe salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

• We believe that, due to universal death through sin, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless born again (John 3:5-8); that salvation is only by grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8-9); all who receive the Lord Jesus Christ through faith are declared righteous by God and become children of God (Heb.10:19-25).

• We believe the Scriptures teach that regeneration, or the new birth, is that act of God by which the Holy Spirit imparts a new nature and a new spiritual life, not before possessed, and the person becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus (Gal. 2:20). 

We believe in the sovereignty of God in salvation. 

• The salvation of humanity is fundamentally the work of God. Before the foundation of the world, God elected His people, setting His affection and grace upon them (Rom. 8:29-30). In love God predestined His people for adoption. Apart from the intervention of God, an individual cannot choose of his own accord to worship God and pursue righteousness (Rom. 3; Eph. 2:1-3). God’s sovereignty in salvation is comprehensive: from first to last, all of salvation is the work of God.

We believe the Church is the body of Christ sent into the world on mission to reflect the glory of God.

• God by His Word and Spirit creates the Church, calling sinful humanity into the fellowship of Christ’s body (1 Cor. 12:12-31). By the same Word and Spirit, God guides and preserves this newly redeemed humanity. The Church is made up of those who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have personally believed the gospel. The Church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The ministry of the Church is an extension of the mission of Jesus in the power of the Spirit. 

• The ultimate mission of the Church is to bring glory to God by making disciples (Matt. 28:18-20). The Church is called to make disciples through worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the ordinances, fellowship, the exercise of individual gifts and talents, and the proclamation of the gospel, both in the local community and throughout the world.

We believe marriage is a gift from God for his glory and our good. 

• Adam and Eve were created to image the Creator for the world to see and in marriage depict the mysterious relationship between Christ and his Church (Eph 5:21-33. They were made to partner with each other in a one-flesh union under the covenant of marriage, which is the only God-ordained pattern of sexual relations for humanity (Genesis 2:18-25). In God’s wise purposes, men and women are not simply interchangeable, but rather they complement each other in mutually enriching and sanctifying ways. While marriage is a good gift, it is not more valuable in God’s kingdom than singleness. Marriage will not be practiced in heaven (Matt 22:23-32), nor is it required for a fulfilled life and ministry within the Church (1 Cor 7:25-35).

We believe Jesus Christ is returning to the world in the future to judge the living and the dead.

• The consummation of all things includes the future, physical, visible, personal, and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the glorification of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heaven and the new earth. In the consummation, Satan with his hosts and all those outside Christ are finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, enduring eternal punishment (Rev. 20:7-15). But the righteous in glorious bodies will live and reign with Christ forever, serving him and giving him unending praise and glory. Then the eager expectation of creation will be fulfilled (Rom 8:19), and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God, who makes all things new (Rev. 21:1-5).

• The Lord’s Supper is to be observed by those who have become followers of Christ. This symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of his blood on our behalf and is to be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian life as a sign of continued participation in the atoning benefits of Christ’s death. As we come to the table with a humble and receptive posture and an attitude of faith and self-examination, we remember and proclaim the saving death of Christ. By the Holy Spirit that unites us, we receive spiritual nourishment for our souls. This regular practice signifies our oneness with other members of Christ’s body and with Christ himself (Matt. 26:26-29; Luke 24:30-31; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).

• The precedent we find in the New Testament is baptism by immersion into water following conversion. Baptism by immersion is meant to symbolically depict the believer’s real union to Christ in His death and resurrection (Rom. 6:1-14). For more on this, consider attending one of our baptism classes or contact admin@jheights.org

• The gifts of the Holy Spirit that we see on display in the New Testament are still active within the life of the church. Nothing in Scripture indicates these gifts ended with the close of the New Testament nor with the death of the last apostle (1 Cor. 12:1-11). We believe when practiced and interpreted biblically they are given to edify the church and advance the gospel. 

• Men and women are absolutely equal in essence, dignity and value and are distinct by divine design. As part of God’s good, created order, men and women are to have different yet complementary roles and responsibilities in the home and church (Eph 5:22-33; Titus 1).

• As seen in the Acts of the Apostles, the church has been historically led by a team of qualified men in the office of elder (1 Tim. 3:1-7). We practice this form of church governance.