What We Believe
STATEMENT OF FAITH AND COVENANT
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
We believe that the Old and New Testament Scriptures are the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed and are, therefore, the final authority for life and faith. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning, and all issues of interpretation and meaning shall be determined by context and comparing Scripture with Scripture. The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official and only English translation used by the church.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
THE GODHEAD
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit-each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 14:10, 26; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 5:7)
THE PERSON AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men.
(Isaiah 7:14, 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-8)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary death, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.
(Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
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; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:24, 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2)
THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, indwelling, and sealing the believer unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14)
We believe that He is the divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 1:17-18, 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27)
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer for use within local Church ministry. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip and mature the saints in local Churches to do the work of the ministry. (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12)
We believe that the baptism in the Holy Spirit was a one-time event, designed by God to empower His Church with divine ability to do His work of evangelizing the world. Through that empowerment, the early Churches were able to “turn the world upside down” through their preaching and discipleship. The effects of that baptism continue on in Churches through the ages. (Acts 2)
We believe that the Holy Spirit was given as the Comforter to walk along beside His Churches after Christ left the Earth. Jesus Christ had been a literal, guiding presence for His Church while on the Earth; after His death, the Holy Spirit took up that Office and began His work of guiding the Churches of the Lord. (John 14:16, 26, 16:26, 16:7, 13)
We believe that the miraculous sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and healing, were temporary and designed to accredit God’s messengers and the Scripture as it was given in the New Testament period. Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of salvation or the filling of the Spirit. Ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, although God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of the believers for physical healing. The sign gifts vanished away by the end of the first century AD. (1 Corinthians 1:22, 13:8, 14:21-22)
THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God; but that in Adam’s willful sin the human race fell, inherited a sin nature, and became alienated from God. Man is depraved and wicked and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. However, man is not depraved to the extent that he is unable to will and choose; he is fully capable of response to the promptings and conviction of the Holy Spirit.
(Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23, 5:12, 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 4:17-19)
SALVATION
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received through repentance and personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that all sins, except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, are forgivable.
(Matthew 12:31-32; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 1:9)
THE ETERNAL SECURITY AND ASSURANCE OF BELIEVERS
We believe that once a person is saved, he is kept by God’s power and remains secure in Christ forever.
(John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:4-5)
We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.
(Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
THE CHURCH
We believe that the local Church is a body of baptized believers, organized and covenanted together to carry out the Great Commission. Christ founded His Church during His personal, Earthly ministry. Local Churches are pictured as the body and the espoused bride of Christ in Scripture.
(1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27)
We believe that the establishment and perpetuity of local Churches by Church authority is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament.
(Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
We believe in the autonomy of local Churches free of any external authority or controls; any affiliations, societies, organizations, associations, or agencies this Church affiliates with to further the objectives stated in the Purpose Statement are not authoritative in matters of Church practice or belief.
(Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4)
We believe that the Scriptural offices of Churches today consist of Pastor, and Deacon. Those serving in these offices must meet a Scripturally defined set of qualifications.
(Titus 1:5-9; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Ephesians 4:11; Acts 6:2)
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for Churches in this age. We recognize believers’ baptism by immersion as long as it has been administered by the authority of a Church of like faith and order. We believe in ‘closed communion;’ thus, participation in the Lord’s Supper is restricted to the specific membership of this local Church.
(Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 8:36-38; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
SEPARATION
We believe that believers should maintain a godly testimony and live in such a way that their lives do not bring reproach upon their Savior or His Church. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations, and to refrain from all immodest and immoderate appearances. We stand against any and all philosophies that seek to destroy or undermine the truth of Biblical Christianity, and believe the Scripture leads us to expose them and warn against them.
(Leviticus 19:28; Romans 12:1-2, 14:13; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)
THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, imminent return of Christ, Who will rapture His saints prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom, which was promised to the nation of Israel.
(Psalm 89:3-4; Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6)
CREATION
CREATION
CREATION
We believe that the Genesis account of creation is neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of God’s creation of the universe. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11)
MISSIONS
CREATION
CREATION
We believe that God has given His Churches a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ, we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20
GIVING
CREATION
GIVING
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to financially support his local Church. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the Church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of his tithe or offering once the gift has been made. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17)
COVENANT
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and on profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, we do now, in the presence of God and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another, as one body in Christ.
We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this Church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to give it a sacred preeminence over all institutions of human origin; and to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of this Church, the relief of the poor, and the spreading of the Gospel through all nations.
We also engage to maintain family and personal devotions; to educate our children in the truth of God’s Word; to seek the salvation of our families, acquaintances, and all others; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful to our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid excessive anger, tattling, backbiting, and all gossip regarding personal issues of Church members, Church leadership, or Church practices; to abstain from worldly and sinful amusements; to be free from all oath-bound secret societies and partnerships with unbelievers; to abstain from the sale or use of tobacco, intoxicating beverages, pornography, and the abuse of drugs; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the Kingdom of our Savior.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy of speech; to be slow to take offense, quick to forgive, and always ready to secure reconciliation without delay.
We moreover engage, that when we remove from this place, we will as soon as possible unite with another Baptist Church of like faith and practice where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.