We do not set aside or under-value any other doctrine of the Bible, but the knowledge, belief, and practice of the truths as stated in this Statement of Faith we deem necessary for sound doctrine; therefore, we require its acceptance for church membership.
What we believe regarding:
A. The Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Bible was written by Holy Spirit-controlled men who were supernaturally inspired; that it has truth without any admixture of error for its matter; and that it therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man, the true center of Christian Union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.
- By “the Holy Bible,” we mean that collection of sixty-six books, from Genesis to Revelation, which was originally written does not only contain and convey the Word of God, but is the very Word of God.
- By “inspiration,” we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy men of old, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, in such a definite way that their writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or will be inspired.
- We recognize that the King James version is trustworthy, accurate, and reliable, and we shall as long as this church stands require it to be used in the pulpit and in the Sunday School classroom.
Psalm 12:6,7; Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 30:5,6; Isaiah 8:20; Luke 24:44,45; II Timothy 3:16,17; II Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 22:18,19
B. The True God
We believe that God is supreme in His person, eternal in His being, absolute in His attributes, glorious in His perfection, and sovereign in His will. God is clearly distinguished from things which have no life, He is a person. God is the Creator of man and the entire universe, and upholds all things by the Word of His power. We believe also in the Trinity. The father is the fullness of the Godhead invisible; the Son is the fullness of the Godhead manifested; and the Holy Spirit is the fullness of the Godhead in His executive agency. We believe that They are co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, and co-equal in power and glory. God in His person possesses omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and immutability.
Genesis 1:1, 26; Matthew 3:16, 17; Matthew 28:19; I Corinthians 12:4-6; II Corinthians 13:14; I John 5:7
- Regarding the person and work of God the Father, we believe in God the Father, perfect in holiness, boundless in love, infinite in wisdom, and measureless in power. He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; He hears and answers prayers; and He saves by faith those who come to Him through Jesus Christ His Son. Psalm 99:9, Psalm 147:5, Isaiah 44:24, John 14:13,14, John 3:16
- Regarding the person and work of God the Son, we believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God; that He pre-existed with the Father and became man, without ceasing to be God. He was begotten of the Holy Spirit, in a miraculous manner; was born of the virgin Mary as no other man was ever born or can ever be born of woman; and that He is both the Son of God, and God the Son. Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:1,2
We believe that God t was sinless in His nature and life and infallible in His teaching; that he accomplished our redemption, making atonement for our sins through His substitutionary death on the cross according to the Scriptures; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. I Corinthians 15:3,4; I Peter 2:24; Romans 4:25; I John 2:2; I Corinthians 5:2; Galatians 1:4
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. Acts 1:9, 10; Hebrews 9:24; Romans 8:34; I John 1:1, 2
We believe in the “Blessed Hope,” the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to the earth with His saints to establish His Millennial Kingdom. Titus 2:10; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Zechariah 14:4-10; Revelation 3:10; Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 20:1-6; I Thessalonians 1:10
- Regarding the person and work of God the Holy Spirit, we believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, equal with God the Father and God the Son, and of the same nature. We believe that He was active in the creation; that in His relation to the unbelieving world, He restrains Satan until God’s purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of judgment, and of righteousness; that He bears witness to the Truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the New Birth; that He indwells the believers at the moment of salvation and is their constant source of strength and power; that He seals, guides, teaches, comforts, sanctifies, and helps the believer; and that He witnesses of and glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 5:3,4; John 14:16,17; John 14:26; John 16:8-15; Romans 8:16, 26-27; I Peter 1:2; Ephesians 1:13
C. Satan
We believe in the personal existence of Satan, the Devil, who was created a perfect angelic being; who willfully led a host of other angels in rebellion against God before the world began; who is the author of sin, sickness, and all false religions; who is the accuser of saints and tempter of all men; and who shall be destroyed in the lake of fire with his followers at the end of the millennium.
We further believe that he is the deceiver and god of this present world; that his powers are vast, but strictly limited by the permissive will of God, Who overrules all his wicked devices for good; that he was defeated and judged at the cross, and that therefore his final doom is certain; and that we are able to resist and overcome him only in the armor of God, by the blood of the Lamb, and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Job 1:6-12; I Peter 5:8,9; Revelation 12:9-12; II Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; James 4:7; I Thessalonians 3:5; Revelation 20:10
D. Creation
We believe in the Genesis account of creation as neither allegory nor figurative, but a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate creative acts of God without any (organic or theistic) evolutionary process. We believe that man was created directly in God’s own image and after His own likeness, and not from previously existing forms of life; that all animal and vegetable life was made directly; and that God’s established law was that they should bring forth only “after their kind.”
Genesis 1:1, 11, 24-27; Genesis 2:21-23; Exodus 20:11; John 1:3; Romans 1:20; Hebrews 11:3
With respect to the fall of man, we believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker; that by his own free choice and willful decision, he fell into sin and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death, which is eternal separation from God. We believe that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are totally depraved; that man does not possess any qualities whereby he might reconcile himself to God or save himself from the eternal consequence of sin. Man in his sinful condition is under just condemnation without defense or excuse.
Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 5:12; Romans 3:10, 23; Galatians 3:22
E. Salvation
We believe that salvation of sinful man is wholly by God’s grace and not by man’s works, and that Jesus Christ came into the world to make full atonement for sinners by His shed blood, vicarious death on the cross, bodily resurrection from the grave, and ascension into Heaven again to intercede for believers.
We believe that man must personally repent of his sins and accept Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior to receive the free gift of eternal life and power over sin; that believers are indwelled immediately by the Holy Spirit of God upon faith in Jesus Christ; that man can be saved only once; and that there is no other way of salvation for sinful man.
Ephesians 2:8, 9; Romans 10:9,10; Titus 3:5; Acts 4:12; John 1:12,13
F. Eternal Life
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept eternally by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. We believe once saved, always saved.
John 10:27-30; I John 2:24,25; I John 5:11-13; I Peter 1:5; Jude 24; John 5:24; I John 3:36
G. Repentance
We believe that repentance is a change of mind and purpose toward God, prompted by the Holy Spirit. We believe that it is characterized by godly sorrow for sin as offensive to God and ruinous to the soul, and that true repentance is inseparably related to true faith in Jesus Christ.
Mark 1:15; Luke 13:1-3; Acts 17:30; Acts 20:2; Romans 2:4; II Corinthians 7:10
H. Justification
We believe that justification is the judicial act of God whereby He declares us to be righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. We believe that justification included the pardon of sin; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood, and that His righteousness is imputed unto us.
Isaiah 53:11; Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1,9; Romans 8:1; II Corinthians 5:18-21; Titus 3:7
I. Sanctification
We believe that sanctification is the divine setting apart of the believer unto God accomplished in a threefold manner: first, as an act of God based upon redemption in Christ, establishing the believer in a position of holiness at the moment he trusts the Savior; second, as a continuing process in the saint as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to the life, and third, as the final accomplishment of this process at the Lord’s return.
Hebrews 10:10-14; John 17:17; I Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 5:25-27; I Thessalonians 4:3,4; I Thessalonians 5:23; I John 3:2; Jude 24
J. Separation
We believe that it is not a prerogative of Christians, but an explicit command to all believers to separate themselves from all forms of godlessness, apostasy, compromise, and worldliness.
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all worldly and sinful pleasures and practices is commanded by God.
We further believe that the Scriptures plainly teach that Christians should not marry or have other entangling alliances with unbelievers; that Christians should not fellowship with those who deny the faith.
We do not associate with nor embrace liberal theology, Neo-Orthodoxy, Neo-Evangelicalism, the Charismatic tongues movement, Ecumenicalism, Calvinism, Arminianism, or the ungodly philosophy of Humanism.
II Chronicles 19:2; Amos 3:3; Romans 16:17; Romans 12:1,2; II Corinthians 6:14-18; II Thessalonians 3:6; John 2:15-17; II John 7-11
K. Priesthood of All Believers
We believe that Christ is our Great High Priest, and that through Him, every born again person has direct access to God’s presence without the need of a human priest; and that the believer has the right and responsibility to personally study and interpret the Scriptures, guided by the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 5:5-10; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 10:19-22; II Timothy 2:15; II Peter 1:19-21
L. Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God is Sovereign in the bestowal of all His gifts; that the gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and that speaking in tongues (languages) and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established.
We believe these gifts were temporary sign gifts for the lost people of Israel and were given to spread the Gospel message in all languages, and that these gifts have ceased since the completion of the Word of God.
We further believe that the Bible is the complete revelation of God to man; and that man does not need, nor does he receive, extra-biblical revelation apart from the Word of God.
Acts 2:1-11; I Corinthians 12:4-11; I Corinthians 13:8-10; I Corinthians 14:22; Acts 5:12; Ephesians 4:11,12; Hebrews 2:3,4; Revelation 22:18,19
M. The Church
We believe that a Baptist church is a congregation of saved, baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel observing the ordinances of Christ, meeting together for worship, prayer, fellowship, and teaching, united in testimony, and actively engaged in carrying out the Great Commission.
We hold that the local church has absolute right of self-government, free from the interference, control, or dictates of any religious hierarchy of individuals or organizations; that Christ is the one and only Head and Superintendent of the church; and that in all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline, and of benevolence, the will of the local church is final.
Acts 2:41,42; I Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22,23; Colossians 1:18
N. The Ordinances
We believe there are only two ordinances given to the local church by Christ: Believer’s Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper; and that both of these ordinances have no saving merit. We believe that as Christ gave these ordinances to the local church, that the local church alone has the authority to administer them.
- We believe that baptism is for believers only and that the mode of baptism practiced by this church shall be by immersion, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, through whom we died to sin and rose to a new life. We believe that baptism is a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper. Matthew 28:19,20; Acts 2:41; Acts 10:47,48; Acts 16:33; Acts 18:8; Matthew 3:16; John 3:23; Romans 6:4; Colossians 1:12
- We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial service commemorating the death of our Lord on Calvary; that the use of unleavened bread and fruit of the vine are symbols of Christ’s broken body and shed blood; that partaking is only for truly regenerated believers; and that faithful self-examination should precede its observance. I Corinthians 11:23-32; Matthew 26:26-29
|
