As there are many controversial doctrinal issues, it is our desire at Lighthouse Bible Church that we diligently seek to understand God’s truth in such a way that truly represents God’s nature and character as well as His intent. While we will stand firm on the positions we believe to be representative of the Scriptures, we will also seek to be teachable and flexible if our position is found to be biblically deficient. Some of the more prominent issues include:

The Inerrancy of the Bible

The Bible is the word of God, written without error in its original writing (2 Tim. 3:16). It is therefore free from affirming anything that is untrue or contrary to fact (Ps. 119:160). As the measure of truth given from God to man, it stands uniquely as the standard for life, practice, and doctrine (John 17:17).

Literal, Grammatical, Historical Interpretation of the Bible

We seek to understand the original author’s intended meaning, believing it to be understandable by the original audience and accessible to us through studying the grammar, context, and genre (Acts 17:11). While there are symbols and figures of speech as a literary device or in accordance with the genre, we do not seek to interpret beyond what the original author intended to communicate.

Literal Recent Six Day Creation of the Earth

God’s work of creation in the physical universe was completed in six 24-hour days as recorded in Genesis 1 and reiterated throughout Scripture (Exo. 20:11; Heb. 4:4). Although not specified in Scripture, it is possible that God created the universe with age, just as he did with Adam.

God’s Sovereignty in Salvation

God has set his love on certain individuals by his free and sovereign choice, which he made in eternity past (Eph. 1:4). This was done on the basis of nothing in themselves but solely because of the pleasure of God’s will to save them from sin and damnation and to inherit the blessings of eternal life through the mediatorial work of Christ (Eph. 2:8-9).

Lordship Salvation

Saving faith is characterized by repentance of sin and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord as well as Savior (Rom. 10:9). Repentance begins with the sinner’s humble acknowledgment of his sin and need for forgiveness (Ps. 51:1). Understanding the offensiveness of his sin before God produces great mourning, sorrow, and even shame and humiliation (Job 42:6). His disgust with himself and his unrighteousness leads him to renounce his wickedness and to decisively turn away from a life of sin (Isa. 55:7). As he turns from his former way of life, he turns to trust and serve the God who is worthy of all worship (1 Thess. 1:9-10). In Christ he finds forgiveness and is restored to fellowship with his Creator (1 John 2:1). Finally, from a heart of gratitude, he resolves to live in obedience to the revealed will of God, empowered by the work of the Holy Spirit. The evidence of his inward repentance is thus manifested in his external deeds (Matt. 3:8).

Local Church Membership

To become a member of a church is to formally commit oneself to a local body of believers who have joined for specific, divinely ordained purposes (1 Cor. 12. 27-28). These purposes include receiving instruction from God’s Word, serving and edifying one another through the proper use of spiritual gifts, participating in the ordinances, praying, and proclaiming the gospel to those who are lost (Acts 2:42-47). In addition, when one becomes a member of a church, he submits himself to the care and the authority of the biblically qualified elders whom God has placed in that assembly (Heb. 13:17).

Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

God created gender and human sexuality (Gen. 1:27). Gender is not vague, flexible, or personally determined by preference, accident, or through evolutionary process. It is defined permanently at conception and revealed at birth (Luke 1:36).

God commands women to present themselves as women, and men to present themselves as men, calling the contrary an “abomination” (Deut. 22:5). Deviating from God’s plans for gender and sexuality is rebellion against God.

Additionally, man and woman were created differently. God formed man from dust, but he formed woman out of the man’s rib (Gen. 2:7, 22). The differing roles that men and women have in society, the family, and the church are grounded in the differences between men and women that God instituted at creation (1 Tim. 2:13-15).

Biblical Marriage and the Sin of Homosexuality

Marriage has only one definition, and it is sanctioned by God: the union of one man and one woman (Matt. 19:4-5). Marriage is to be a public, formal, and officially recognized covenant between a man and a woman. Prolonged conjugal cohabitation does not establish and is not equivalent to marriage (John 4:18). Where a valid marriage has been established prior to faith in Christ, the couple should keep the covenant and remain married (Matt. 19:6).

Biblical Counseling

Through the Holy Spirit and Scripture, God has given us everything we need pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3).

1. First, Scripture is sufficient, when properly interpreted, to address the heart of any counseling situation (1 Tim. 3:15-17). It reveals all that one needs to know how he can please the Lord, and how to live in a God-honoring way regardless of the circumstances (Ps. 119:9).
2. Second, Scripture is also the authoritative source with which all truth claims must be evaluated, including claims made by science and history (John 17:17; Mark 12:26-27). As a result, we must reject all counseling theories that use presuppositions, principles, and/or methodologies that are inconsistent with the proper interpretation of the biblical text (1 Tim. 1:4).
3. Third, genuine heart change is effected entirely on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. This is spurred on in our counseling through the ministry of prayer and the word of God (Col 3:16)

Cessation of the Miraculous Sign Gifts

Scripture teaches that miracles served to authenticate the messenger of God and ultimately God’s message (2 Cor. 2:12). However, when the book of Revelation was recorded by John, the canon of the New Testament and the total revelation of Scripture from God was completed. After AD 95, God had no reason to perform miracles through men because he was no longer revealing truth that needed to be authenticated; the canon closed with the completion of Revelation (Rev. 22:18). Therefore, God’s work of miracles and temporary gifts through men ceased (1 Cor. 13:8-10).

Pretribulational, Premillennial Eschatology

We teach that the seventieth week of Daniel (Dan. 9:27) has not yet been fulfilled, but is for the future. This includes the events of Matthew 24 and the judgments of seals, trumpets, and bowls described in Revelation 6-18. Not only is the millennial kingdom of Revelation 20 future, so too is the tribulation period that precedes the millennium. 

Believer’s Baptism

In order to symbolize that internal reality of salvation, the New Testament calls believers to be baptized in water as a public testimony to their faith in and solidarity with the Lord Jesus (Acts 2:38). Water baptism, then, is the outward, post-conversion demonstration of an inward reality that has already occurred at conversion. In Christ, baptism not only signifies a turning away from sin but also serves as a public affirmation of one’s identification and union with him in his death, burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-4).