Our Beliefs and Values

Hartwood Ministries adheres to the following doctrine:

The sole basis of our belief is the Bible, composed of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe that scripture, in its entirety, originated with God, who inspired it through His chosen human instruments. Scripture this speaks with the authority of God, and at the same time, reflects the backgrounds, styles, and vocabularies of the human authors. We hold that the scriptures are infallible in all they teach. They are the unique, full, and final authority on all matters of faith and practice; there are no other writings similarly inspired by God. Proper interpretation of the scriptures requires applying the normal rules of grammar, and taking into account the literary context, historical-cultural setting, and the literary genre of the passages to be studied.

We believe in one living, true, and holy God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit – each of whom possesses equally all the attributes of deity and the characteristics of personality. God is the creator and preserver of all things, infinite in His being and perfection. By His sovereign power, he continues to sustain His creation. By His providence, he is operating throughout history to fulfill His redemptive purposes.

We believe that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man. He is the eternal second person of the Trinity who was united forever with a true human nature by a miraculous conception and virgin birth. He lived a life of perfect obedience to God the Father, and voluntarily atoned for the sins of all people by dying on the cross as their substitute. This satisfied divine justice and secured salvation for all who would trust in Him alone. He rose from the dead in the same body, though now glorified, in which he lived and died. He ascended into heaven where he intercedes for his people and rules as Lord of all creation. He will come again to earth, personally and visibly, to consummate his sovereign rule and the eternal plan of God.

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He was sent into the world by the Father and the Son to apply to humanity the saving work of Christ. He enlightens the minds of sinners, awakens in them a recognition of the need of a Savior, and regenerates those who believe. At the point of salvation, he indwells every believer to become the source of their assurance, strength, and wisdom. He uniquely endows each believer with gifts for the building up of the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit guides believers in understanding and applying the truths of Scripture. His power and control are appropriated by faith, making believers able to lead lives of Christlike character, and to bear fruit to the glory of the Father.

We believe that people were created in the image of God in order to bring honor and glory to Him. But through rebellion against the Creator, humans fells from their sinless state in a condition of sin, death, and alienation from God. Thus, they are unable to please God on their own. The entire human race is born into this state of sin and death, sinful both by nature and by natural choice, and, apart from God’s grace and mercy, incapable of entering into a relationship with God. Thus all stand in need of God’s saving grace.

This is wholly the work of God’s free grace, and not the result, in whole or in part, of human works or goodness. God offers salvation to all people on the basis of Jesus’ death on the cross in payment for their sin. Jesus triumphed over death in His resurrection, and now occupies His position of exaltation at God’s right hand. To obtain salvation, a person must repent of sin, trust in Jesus alone as Savior, and acknowledge the risen Christ as Lord of his or her life (see the scripture references in Romans 10:9-10; John 1:12, 3:16).

The Church is a spiritual fellowship, created by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, with the risen Christ as its Lord. There is one true universal church comprised of all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The scripture commands believers to gather together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of baptism and communion as the ordinances established by Jesus Christ, fellowship, service to the body through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to the world. Wherever God’s people meet regularly in obedience to this command, there is local expression of the universal church. Its members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the one ultimate goal of glorifying God.

Death seals each person’s eternal destiny. All people will experience a resurrection of the body and God’s judgment that will determine the fate of each individual. Unbelievers will be separated from God until eternal condemnation for their own rejection of Christ, thereby rejecting God. Believers will be received into eternal communion with God, and will be rewarded for works done in this life.

Scripture, correctly interpreted, is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. We recognize that the church cannot bind the conscience of individual members in areas where scripture is silent or unclear. We expect every individual to seek to be obedient to the Spirit’s guidance in those areas, for we believe that each Christian is ultimately responsible to, and will be held accountable by, the Lord Himself.

Every marriage and every family is a true gift from God! Each one is special in it's own unique way of loving and caring for one another. Marriage is a holy union of one man and one woman in which they commit, in God’s name, to build a loving, covenantal fruitful relationship that will last a lifetime. When a marriage is true to God’s loving design, it brings spiritual, physical, emotional, economic, and social benefits not only to the couple and family, but also to the church and the surrounding community. To have a strong and bold country, we must have healthy churches and other religious institutions. To have these healthy institutions, we must have emotionally healthy families in the church. And, families cannot be strong and healthy without proper covenantal adherence to God's calling for their lives individually, and as a couple in covenant with their Creator.

For those doctrines not explicitly outlined above, we allow freedom of belief and the freedom to disagree. However, in keeping with Jesus’ desire for his disciples and the pervasive teaching of the New Testament, we greatly prize unity in the body, and insist that associates do not vigorously promote doctrines not listed above, such that they may cause dissension and divisions within the body.