Local church

We believe that the local church is the pillar and ground for all church age doctrines (1 Timothy 3:15).The local church is a body of called out believers in Christ who assemble for teaching and fellowship with God which consists in prayer and the Lord's Table (Acts 2:42). The local church is to protect the Word of God through sound bible based teaching. The local church is also the base from which missionaries are sent forth to teach the gospel (Acts 1:8, 20:1ff, Hebrews 10:25). Paul and his team were missionaries sent out to preach the gospel (Galatians 1:2, 1 Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, Acts 13-28).

We believe the Bible teaches that the offices of Pastor-Teacher and Deacons are to be filled by males only. We do not believe in females holding the position of pastor or deacon. Any other office in the church may be held by an appointed man or woman. ( 1 Timothy 3:1-16, Acts 6, 1 Timothy 2:12, Ephesians 4:11-16, Acts 20, Titus 1:6-9, 1 Peter 5:1-5, Revelation 2-3). The moderator of all business meetings will be the chairman of the Board of Deacons.

The head of the Board is the Pastor-Teacher and he appoints deacons as the congregation makes known their candidates. He seeks to appoint men of integrity and who are trustworthy based upon their past performance, attendance in prayer and Bible classes, enthusiasm about the ministry and reputation among the congregation members.

The Pastor-Teacher shall work with the Deacons in the decision making processes required to keep the ministry operating.

Universal church

We believe that the universal church to be the body of spiritually born again believers in Christ. The universal church will become the bride of Christ at the Rapture (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14).

Separation

We believe that all believers are called into a life of biblical study and mental separation from the views of the world system. There is no agreement with the righteousness of God and the unrighteousness of the world, between God's light and the world's darkness, between belief and unbelief (2 Corinthians 6:11–14).

Believers are to maintain spirituality by confession of sins (1 John 1:9) which enables the Holy Spirit to lead the believer into biblical truth. The believer submits to God and is able to reject Satanic viewpoint, human good, human arrogance, sin patterns, cults and religious trends (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15–17, Romans 6:13; 2 Timothy 2:3–4; 14–26; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; Hebrews 13:13; Romans 16:17–18; 2 Corinthians 6:11–12; Proverbs 1:10–19).

We reserve the right to separate from any person or religious organization, fellowship, or denomination and any secular group, organization, or fellowship who disagrees with any part of the West Houston Bible Church Constitution.

Spirituality

We believe that spirituality is an absolute. A believer is either spiritual or carnal at any given moment in time. One cannot be both spiritual and carnal simultaneously. When a believer confesses his sin(s) to God the Father then he is forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). The filling of the Spirit then occurs and the Spirit is then able to teach the believer the truths of the Word of God (Ephesians 5:18; Romans 5:5). The filling of the Spirit is not an emotional or ecstatic experience. It has nothing to do with speaking in tongues, seeing visions, or hearing voices. Rather, it is an absolute which is described in the Bible by synonyms such as "yield" (Romans 6:11-13), "confess" (1 John 1:9), "present" (Romans 6:13), "mortify yourselves" (Colossians 3:5), "strengthen the hands that hang down" (Hebrews 12:12), "walking in the light" (1 John 1:7), "awake you that sleep" (Ephesians 5:14), and "judge yourselves" (1 Corinthians 11:31–32). All spiritual production in time depends upon the filling of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23).

Love is a fruit of the Spirit and therefore true spirituality is described in 1 Corinthians 13.

Spiritual gifts

We believe that all spiritual gifts were given by Christ during His ascension (Ephesians 4:8) and that the Holy Spirit assigns as He desires (1 Corinthians 12:13). There are temporary and permanent spiritual gifts. The temporary gifts ceased in 96 A.D. with the completion of the Canon of Scripture. The documentation for these ceasing of temporary gifts is found in 1 Corinthians 13:8 where the word "perfect" is in the neuter gender which refers to the completion of the Bible. In James 1:25 the Bible is referred to as the "perfect law of liberty". The gifts that ceased were: Apostle, prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, miracles, healings, tongues, interpretation of tongues, distinguishing of spirits, and the gift of faith. Anyone claiming to have any or all of these gifts today is misinformed and into false doctrine.

The permanent spiritual gifts still in use after A.D. 96 are: Evangelist, pastor-teacher, teacher, administration, exhortation, financier or giving, counseling or showing mercy, helps for men, helps for women. The purpose of these permanent gifts is to insure the cooperation and smooth function of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27–31; Romans 12).

Second Coming or Second Advent of Christ

We believe that the Second Coming of Christ will be seven literal years after the beginning of the tribulation (Zechariah 14:4–11; Matthew 24:27-51; 2 Thessalonians 1:7–10, Revelation 20:6). He returns to set up His millennial kingdom upon the earth which was offered at the first advent but postponed due to rejection by the Jewish nation. Those believers who survive the Tribulation will enter into His kingdom and will rule the earth. Those who are unbelievers will be cast into Hades for 1,000 years to await the Great White Throne Judgment.

Eternal state

We believe that the soul and human spirit of those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation at death will immediately pass into His presence and remain there in conscious bliss until the resurrections. At the rapture, the dead church age believers will be joined with their resurrection bodies and then the living church age believers receive their resurrection bodies. At the second coming, the Tribulation and Old Testament believers receive their resurrection bodies. At the end of the Millennium the millennial believers receive their resurrection bodies (1 Corinthians 15:23–24, 2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23). All these believers will remain with the Lord throughout eternity in a state of happiness.

The unbelievers from all human history will be collected, judged at the Great White Throne judgment, and sentenced to the lake of fire where they will spend eternity in conscious agony. They will not be annihilated but will be punished in everlasting flames in complete separation from the glory and fellowship of the Lord. (Luke 16:19-26, 23:43; 2 Thessalonians 1:7–9, Jude 1:6-7; Revelation 20:11–15)

The responsibility of believers

We believe that each believer must grow in grace doctrine and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. The believer's daily life must be consistent with the Lord's plan and will. This brings glory to the Lord. (2 Peter 3:18).

Every believer is responsible to be an ambassador for Christ which means witnessing to the lost when the opportunity arises. (2 Corinthians 5:17–21).

Every believer is a royal priest and therefore responsible to function in prayer for himself and others (1 Peter 2:5, 7, 9). The believer priest will offer spiritual sacrifices to the Lord in order to fulfill his priesthood (Hebrews 13:10–18).

Every believer is responsible to fulfill the laws of divine establishment, nationalism, and patriotism to his country. We are told to pay our taxes and uphold the laws of the land. (Romans 13:1–8; 1 Peter 2:13–20). Believers are told to be submissive to the government and laws of the land (1 Peter 2:13–20, 1 Timothy 2:1–2). In application to this principle we honor and respect the Constitution of the United States, the three branches of government, the laws of the land, and we pray for those who have promised to protect and serve the people of this land.