Articles of Faith
1. God
We believe that there is one, and only one, true and living God;
that He is absolute in nature, perfect in attributes, holy in
character, the maker and supreme ruler of heaven and earth; that
He is infinite in wisdom, marvelous in power, and amazing in
love; that He is holy, righteous, and true, worthy of all
confidence and love; that He unites in Himself the infinite, the
eternal, and the Almighty Three – God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit; that the three persons of the
Godhead subsist in the same divine nature, essence and being; and
that they are co-existent and co-equal in every divine attribute,
each one executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great
work of redemption.
Gen. 1:1; Deut. 4:39; Mark 12:29; Gen. 17:1; Matt. 5:48; Isa.
6:3; I Chron. 29:11-12; Ps. 103:19;
Rom. 11:33-34; Matt. 19:26; Ps. 19:9; Matt. 28:19; I Pet. 1:2-3;
I Jn. 5:7; Ex. 3:14; Gen. 1:26; Titus 3:3-7.
2. The Divine Trinity
1. God the Father: We believe that God the
Father is the first person set forth in the Divine Trinity; that
He is almighty, merciful, and just; that He is holy, righteous,
and true; that He is eternally existent, glorious in nature,
possessing the attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and
omnipresence; and that He, in harmony with His divine office,
loves, provides, and protects, thus exercising providential
watchcare over the sons of men, and especially a fatherly care
over the children of God.
Matt. 28:19; Gen. 17:1; Matt. 19:26; Ps. 19:9; Isa. 6:3; Ps.
100:5; Prov. 15:3; Ps. 139:1-6, 13-14; Ps. 103:13; Matt. 6:25-30;
Matt. 10:29-31; Matt. 7:11.
2. God the Son – Virgin Born: We believe
that god the Son is the second person set forth in the Divine
Trinity; that He is Very God of Very God; that He is almighty,
merciful, and just; that He is holy, righteous, and true; that He
is eternally existent, glorious in nature, possessing the
attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence; that
God the Father, through the Holy Spirit, is actually and
eternally His divine father, and Mary the Virgin is actually and
innocently His human mother; and that He, in harmony with His
divine office, mediates, seeks, and saves, thus exercising the
mediatorial office of redemption.
Matt. 28:19; Jn. 1:1-3; Isa. 9:6; Matt. 28:18; Titus 3:5-6; Jn.
8:15-16; II Cor. 5:21; Heb. 13:8; Phil. 2:6; Jn. 2:24; Matt.
28:20; Luke 1:35; Luke 2:7-14; I Tim. 2:5-6; Luke 19:10; Jn.
3:16.
3. God the Holy Spirit: We believe that God the
Holy Spirit is the third person set forth in the Divine Trinity:
that He is almighty, merciful, and just; that He is holy,
righteous, and true; that He is eternally existent, glorious in
nature, possessing the attributes of omnipotence, omniscience,
and omnipresence; that He restrains the world, the flesh and the
devil; that He witnesses to the Truth, convicts the lost, extols
the Christ, and testifies to the righteous judgments of God; that
He, in harmony with His divine office, comforts, teaches,
testifies, preaches, guides; regenerates, empowers, sanctifies,
and anoints, thus exercising the quickening role in the works of
saving the lost and the supervising role in the life of the
saved.
Jn. 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-13; Heb. 9:14; I Pet. 4:14; Isa.
40:12-15; I Cor. 2:10-12; Ps. 139:7-12; II Thes. 2:6-7; Jn. 3:6;
Eph. 1:13-14; Acts 1:8; I Pet. 1:2; Isa. 61:1.
3. The Devil
We believe that Satan is an actual person, and not an imaginary
influence; that he once enjoyed high heavenly honors and glorious
heavenly privileges; that he, through pride, ambition, and
self-will attempted to betray the Almighty and brought down upon
his head the judgment of God; that he operates today as the god
of this world and the prince of the power of the air; that he is
a diabolical inventor, and arch-deceiver, and the father of all
lies; that he is the greatest enemy, the mightiest tempter, and
the most relentless accuser of the saints; that he shall one day
be incarnated in the person of the Anti-Christ and in that role
will finally meet the Christ in the battle of Armageddon; that
there "The seed of woman shall bruise the serpents'
head;" and that he shall eventually be cast into the lake of
fire, the eternal place of punishment, prepared for the devil and
his angels.
Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Ezek. 28:12-19; Isa. 14:12-27; Gen. 3:14; II
Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; Matt. 24:11;
II Thes. 2:7-11; Jn. 8:44; I Pet. 5:8; Gen. 3:1-6; Rev. 12:10;
Dan. 7:8; Rev. 19:20; Gen. 3:15;
II Cor. 11:13-15; Jn. 14:30.
4. The Holy Bible
We believe that the Holy Bible is a supernatural Book; that it is
the very God-breathed Word; that it is the full, the final, and
the complete revelation of God's will to man; that it has God the
Holy Spirit for its author, salvation for its end, and truth
without any admixture of error for its matter; that it was
written by holy men of old as they were moved by the Holy Spirit;
that it is verbally inspired and a perfect treasure of holy
instruction; and that it reveals the principles by which God will
judge us, and is, therefore, the true center of Christian union,
and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and
opinions shall be tried. We believe the Authorized King James
Version of 1611 to be the preserved Word of God for the English
speaking people, faithful and true to the original autographs;
that other versions are inferior and flawed, with some being
outright perversions of God's Word; that other versions are
totally unnecessary, as the King James is not only faithful, but
an absolutely effective conveyance of God's message to mankind.
Ps. 119:89; II Tim. 3:16-17; Rev. 22:18-19; Jn. 17:17; Jn.
3;32-34; II Pet.1:20-21; I Pet.1:10-12; Zeph. 1:1; Ps. 19:7-11;
Ex. 20:3-17; Ps. 1:2; Jn. 12:48.
5. Creation
We believe that the Genesis record of creation is literal, and
not allegorical or figurative; that God
personally created the heaven and the earth in six literal days;
that He miraculously brought forth all
original matter out of nothing; that He actually fashioned all
organic forms as specific creations subject to limited changes
within the specie; that He definitely ordained each specie to
bring forth after its kind; that He finally formed man out of the
dust of the ground, not by any process of evolution but by
instant action, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life
and man became immediately a living soul; that He created man in
the image and likeness of God; that His every creative act was
complete and perfect in itself; and that not one of His creations
was conditioned upon antecedent changes naturally wrought during
interminable periods of time.
Gen. 1:1; Jn. 1:1-3, 14; Heb. 11:3; Gen. 1:21, 24-27; Gen. 2:7;
Col. 1:16.
6. The Fall of Man
We believe that man, originally created in holiness and actually
associated with God in innocence under His law, did, by voluntary
transgression of the Lord's command, fall from the high and happy
state in which he was created, and as a consequence, became a
sinner alienated from God and brought upon himself and all
mankind just condemnation; and that he is now, by virtue of his
fallen nature, utterly devoid of holiness, positively inclined to
evil, and actually condemned to eternal ruin, without defense or
excuse.
Gen. 1:26-27; Ecc. 7:29; Gen. 3:6; 3:23-24; Ezek. 18:4; Rom.
5:12; 1:21-23; 3:10-18; Rev. 21:8.
7. The Blood Atonement
We believe that the lost sinner is guilty and already under just
condemnation; that he is by nature alien to God and because of
sin condemned to die; that atonement for sin was effected through
the mediatorial office of the Son who by divine appointment,
freely took upon Himself our nature, yet without sin; that He,
through obedience during His earthly walk, personally honored the
divine Law by keeping it, and, through His death on the cross,
actually satisfied the penalty of the offended Law by suffering
in the sinner's stead; that He, through His obedience and
sacrificial death, made full and vicarious atonement for all sin;
that He died, the just for the unjust, bearing our sins in His
body on the tree; and that His blood shed on the cross of Calvary
provides for eternal cleansing, for pardon, for peace and rest.
Isa. 53:6; Rom. 6:7; 8:23; I Tim. 2:5-6; Heb. 2:17; II Cor. 5:21
Matt. 5:17-18; I Pet. 2:24; Heb. 10:10-12; I Pet. 3:18; Rev. 1:5;
Isa. 55:7; Jn. 14:27; Matt. 11:28; I Jn. 1:7; Eph. 1:7; Heb.
9:22.
8. Repentance and Faith
We believe that repentance and faith are solemn and inseparable
prerequisites of salvation; that they are inseparable graces
wrought in the heart by the quickening Holy Spirit; that the
alien sinner, being deeply convicted of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment to come by the personal ministry of the Holy
Spirit, and by Him having his understanding enlightened so that
he can see the way of salvation through Christ, does actually
repent, turning to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and
supplication, and does actually believe, surrendering himself
wholeheartedly to the Lord Jesus, immediately receiving Him as
personal and all-sufficient Saviour and openly confessing Him
before all men.
Acts 20:21-22; Mark 1:15; Acts 11:18; Eph. 2:8; Jn. 6:44; Jn.
16:8-11; Matt. 3:1-2, 8; Acts 3:19;
Luke 13:3; 18:9-14; Acts 9:6; Rom. 10:10.
9. Salvation by Grace
We believe that grace is elective and saving; that it embraces
the personal triune and redemptive ministry of God the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit; that it comprehends all of the labors put
forth by the Almighty in the interest of perfect righteousness
and the salvation of the lost soul; that it and it alone, saves
even unto the uttermost all who repent toward God and believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ; and that salvation thus wrought is wholly
by grace, "The free gift of God." requiring neither
culture nor works in any form to secure it or to keep it; that it
is God's plan that those who are saved be "Holy and without
blame before him in love;" that ALL who
believe will receive the adoption, which is related to the
redemption of the body (cf. Rom. 8:22-23), when all our
inheritance based upon sonship is received; that predestination
pertains to God's plan that we be conformed to the image of
Christ; that we are to begin that process in this life, but God's
sovereign purpose will be performed in perfection when all who
have been saved are changed and are in the presence of Christ.
II Tim. 1:8-9; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-7; I Pet. 1:2-5; Matt.
23:37; Rom. 8:28-30; Heb. 7:25; Acts 20:20-21; Rom. 6:23; 11:6;
5:20; Isa. 1:18; 55:1.
10. Regeneration
We believe that in order to be saved lost sinners must be
regenerated, or born again; that regeneration is a recreative
act, far beyond comprehension, wrought in the believer's heart by
the direct personal ministry of the Holy Spirit; that it is
instantaneous, miraculous, and not evolutionary or cultural; that
it embraces the divine acts of cleansing the heart from all
inward sins and of pardoning the soul of all outward guilt, in
connection with the work of begetting a new creature in Christ
Jesus; that the dead sinner is made to live through the new
birth, becoming thereby a regenerated spirit, possessing eternal
life, the gift of God; that the new birth comes after the Holy Spirit secures voluntary
repentance and belief in the gospel; that it is the actual
impartation of the divine life, not a mere transformation of the
human life; and that the proper evidence of regeneration appears in the holy fruits of obedient followers of
the Lord Jesus.
Jn. 3:3-5,7; II Cor. 5:17; Jn. 3:8, 3:16; 1:12-13; Isa. 1:18;
Titus 3:5-7; Eph. 2:1, 5; Rom. 6:23; Jn. 16:8-11; Matt. 7:16-18;
James 2:17-20.
11. Justification
We believe that justification is one of the great gospel
blessings secured through Christ for all who trust Him; that it is a legal and divine decree, declaring the believing sinner
just; that it is thus a state of being free from condemnation,
including forgiveness for inward sins and pardon from outward
sins; that it secures through faith freedom from legal bondage,
exemption from the wrath of God, and possession of peace which
passes all understanding; that it is bestowed, not in
consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done,
but solely upon the evidence of faith in God and the Redeemer's
blood; and that it brings us into a state of unchanging peace and
favor with God and secures every other blessing needful for time
and for eternity.
Rom. 3:24-25, 28; 8:33; 8:1; Jn. 5:24; Rom. 4:3-8; 6:6; 5:9; 5:1;
Phil. 4:7; Rom. 8:31-33; Gen. 15:6; Heb. 2:4.
12. Security of the Believer
We believe that salvation wrought by grace is everlasting; that
the saved soul journeying through the valley of the shadow of
death need fear no evil; that the Holy Spirit-begotten and born
are kept by the power of God; that the believer in Christ Jesus
shall not be brought into judgment; that no one can lay anything
to the charge of God's elect; that they are securely held in both
the hand of the Father and the Son; and that the age-old Baptist
doctrine, "Once saved, always saved," is heavenly and
gloriously true.
Jn. 3:16; 3:36; 5:24; 6:35, 44; Ps. 23:4; Isa. 37:23-24; Phil.
1:6; I Pet. 3:5; Jn. 5:24; Rom. 8:1; Jn. 10:27-29; Rom. 8:35-39;
II Tim. 1:12.
13. Sanctification
We believe that sanctification is a divine work of grace; that it
is not a state of sinless perfection attained through a
"second blessing" or through a special "Baptism of
the Holy Ghost;" that it is an act of grace by which the
believer is separated unto God and dedicated unto His righteous
purpose; that by it we enter into divinely appointed privileges
and thus become larger partakers of His holiness; that it is a
progressive work, begun in regeneration, and carried on in the
life of every believer by the presence and the power the Holy
Spirit and the Word of God, and that it is nurtured only by
heaven's appointed means, especially by the Holy Spirit, the Word
of God, and the saved through his self-examination, obedience,
self-denial, watchfulness, and prayer.
I Thes. 4:3; 5:23; Rom. 15:16; Jer. 1:5; Prov. 4:18; Jn. 17:17;
II Cor. 3:18; I Jn. 2:29; Rom. 8:5;
I Tim. 4:5; Luke 9:23; Matt. 24:42; 7:7-11.
14. The Resurrection
We believe that Christ Jesus arose bodily from the grave on the
first day of the week, which day we now observe as the Lord's
Day, a day of worship; that His miraculous emergence from the
tomb forecasted a like bodily resurrection for every member of
the Adamic race; that the dead in Christ, those of the first
resurrection, shall be raised, and we which are alive and remain
shall be changed and taken out of this world preceding the seven
years of tribulation; that those who are of the Bride of Christ
will be united to the Bridegroom at the marriage to be witnessed
by the friends of the Bridegroom (Jn. 3:29; Rev. 19:9) who will
share in the marriage supper of the Lamb after being rewarded at
the Judgment Seat of Christ, and await completion of the first
resurrection as the dead Tribulation saints are rewarded at the
close of the seven years; that all the saved will then rule and
reign with Christ in His Millennial Kingdom; that the Bride of
Christ is the local Baptist church; that those who are saved and
not members of a local Baptist church will be present as
"Friends of the Bridegroom;" that the dead in
trespasses and sins, or the dead out of Christ, shall rise at the
close of the Millennium; and that they shall be brought before
the Great White Throne Judgment and there face the Judge of the
quick and the dead.
Matt. 28:6; Luke 24:1-12; I Cor. 15:12-22; I Thes. 4:13-18; Rev.
20:5-6; 11:15; Dan. 12:3; I Sam. 2:6; Isa. 26:19; Hosea 13:14;
Isa. 25:6-8.
15. The Lord's Return
We believe that Christ Jesus is coming back again; that His
return shall be personal, audible, visible, and bodily and that
the saved shall be caught up together with Him in the clouds;
that this return shall precede the tribulation and millennium;
that He shall return to earth at the end of the tribulation; and
He shall at that time turn the tables on Satan, take up the
throne of David, put down all His enemies, rule with a rod of
iron, triumph over sin, and give the world an example of
righteous government during His thousand years of personal reign
on earth.
Job 18:25-26; Isa. 9:6-7; Zech. 14:4; Mal. 4:2; Luke 1:31-33;
Matt. 25:31-34; Rev. 19:11-21; Acts 1:11; I Thes. 4:16-17; Rev.
1:7; II Pet. 3:10; Rev. 20:4-6; Rev. 19:20; 20:1-3, 10; Isa. 9:7;
I Cor. 15:25-27; Ps. 2:9; Rev. 12:5; 19:15; I Jn. 3:8; Ps.
72:1-20.
16. The Righteous and the Wicked
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference
between the righteous and the wicked. We believe the righteous
are they who believe in Christ Jesus, are justified by faith, and
sanctified by the Holy Spirit and the Word; that the righteous
are heirs of God and joint-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ; and
that eternal life, the gift of God, is the matchless possession
of the just. We believe that the wicked are they who do not
believe in Christ Jesus, condemned because of unbelief and
corrupted by the god of this world; that the unjust spurn the
privileges of God's grace, choosing the life of sin and
rebellion; and that eternal damnation is the inescapable portion
of the unjust.
Mal. 3:16-18; Jn. 3:6; Rom. 3:22, 24; 4:3; 1:17; 8:1-17; Acts
20:32; Jn. 15:3; Rom. 8:17; 6:23; II Cor. 4:4; Rev. 21:8; Matt.
23:37; Prov. 29:1; Matt. 25:41.
17. The Local Church
We believe that a Baptist Church, according to divine purpose and
plan, is a visible, local, organized body; that it is composed of
baptized believers associated together by a covenant of faith and
fellowship in the Gospel; that New Testament validity flows from
strict obedience to essential principles of New Testament Law;
that it is a sovereign, independent, democratic, and militant
body; that its ministry is gloriously blessed with the presence
and leadership of the Holy Spirit and the light and revelation of
the written Word; that its work should ever be from within to
without and never from without to within; that it is a
self-governing body and is the sole judge, under the limitations
of the Scriptures, of the measure and method of co-operation;
that it is the only ecclesiastical tribunal the Lord has on
earth; that its judgment concerning membership, missions,
benevolence, and support is final; that it was personally founded
by Christ Jesus during His ministry on earth; that it is the only
organization with authority to administer the Lord's Supper and
Baptism; that it is subject to His laws and is the custodian of
His ordinances; that the perpetuity of our
faith, our doctrines and practices, ordinances and ordinations,
has been effected through the Holy Spirit personally planting and
preserving local Baptist Churches of like faith and order down
through the centuries even until now; that the local Church is
the only body with authority to carry out the Lord's work upon
the earth in this age, and as such, all authority over
membership, affairs, and missions is autonomous to the local
Church; that the only organization authorized to do mission work
is the local Church, and that the pattern of Acts 13 is the only
one sanctioned and permitted by God; that the authority to send
out missionaries is not in name or formality only, but is a
matter of the practical aspects of sending, supervising, and
authorizing missionaries to win souls, baptize, and teach, with
the goal of establishing a New testament Baptist church; that no
place in Scripture allows for mission boards, fellowships, or
conventions to do this work; that a sponsoring church is
responsible for the activities and doctrine of missionaries
authorized by her, and is responsible to the missionary for his
needs and well-being; that the Local church cannot surrender this
authority and responsibility to any organization and remain
faithful to Scripture. We
believe that the Bride of Christ is comprised of only, and all the members who
have been scripturally baptized into a New Testament Baptist Church, and that
Christ will present this Bride to Himself at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
We totally reject the false doctrine of the universal invisible
church.
Matt. 28:19-20; I Cor. 1:1-3; Acts 2:41-42; II Cor. 8:5; Matt.
16:19; 18:15-17; Jn. 14:16-17, 26; Acts 1:8; 13:1-4; Matt.
18:17-18; Matt. 26:19-20; I Tim. 3:15; Mark 3:13-14; Luke
6:12-13. cf Eph.5:27 & Rev.19:21 & Rev.21:9
18. The Ordinances
We believe that Baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordinances
personally set in the church of the living God by the Lord Jesus
Christ. We believe that Baptism is the burial of a believer in
water by the authority and instruction of the local Baptist
church; that it symbolizes the death and the burial and the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ; that it also typifies the
believer's death to sin, the burial of his old nature, and his
resurrection unto a new life; and that it is administered in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; that Baptism places a believer into the membership of a
New Testament Baptist Church. We
believe the Lord's Supper is a memorial spread and administered
by the authority and instruction of the local Baptist church;
that participation in the observance of the Lord's supper is
restricted to a closed communion within the membership of our
local Baptist church; that it symbolizes the broken body and the
shed blood of the Son of God; that its observance points backward
to the crucified Lord on Calvary and forward to the returning
Lord in glory; that the elements of the Lord's Supper are
unleavened bread and grape juice, referred to as "The
cup" and "The fruit of the vine;" We believe that
these ordinances
are not sacraments, but are sacred symbols, pointing to the
world's only Saviour, and bidding the sons of men to look unto
and everlasting fellowship with the King of kings and Lord of
lords when He shall return to take over the reins of all
government.
Matt. 26:26-29; 28:19; Rom. 6:3-5; Matt. 16:19; Acts 10:47; Acts 2:41-42; I Cor. 11:23-26; Prov. 20:1; Isa. 28:7; Lev. 10:9-10.
19. Church Administration
We believe that the local Baptist church and the State should be
kept completely separate; that civil officers should be prayed
for, conscientiously honored and obeyed; that diligence should be
had in seeking the will of God in all church matters; that
missionary endeavor should ever be executed from within the local
church to without; that pastors and deacons are the only divinely
appointed church officers; that the Lord's Day, the first day of
the week should be honored by the saints; that the Bible
teachings should be constantly and consistently fostered by local
Baptist churches; that members should be voted into the
fellowship of the local body by the local body; that unruly
church members should be prayerfully and Scripturally disciplined
by the local Baptist church; and that letters of membership
should be granted to sister local Baptist churches of the same
faith and practice.
Acts 1:8; 13:1-35; Rom. 13:1-7; Acts 14:23; 6:1-6; 2:42; Rev.
1:10; Matt. 16:19; Acts 10:47; Matt. 18:15-17; Acts 15:19-27;
18:27; Rom. 16:1-2; Matt. 28:19-20.
20. Church Co-operation
We believe that it is the privilege and the right of local
Baptist churches to co-operate with each other in carrying out
the commission of the Lord; that such co-operation is righteously
effected only when the principles of Christ are preserved in the
work fostered; and that all associated endeavors of local Baptist
Churches should be carried on in such a way as to preserve the
sovereign integrity of each local Baptist Church in all matters
of faith and practice.
II Cor. 8:1-6, 16-24; II Jn. 1-4; Matt. 16:18-19; Acts 15:19-27.
21. Civil Government and Religious Liberty
We believe that civil government is of divine
appointment, for the interests and good order of human society;
and that all civil authorities are to be prayed for,
conscientiously honored and obeyed; except only in the things
opposed by the Word of God which reveals the will of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience, and the
Prince of the kings of the earth. That church and state should be
separate, the state owing the church protection and full freedom.
No ecclesiastical group or denomination should be preferred above
another by the state. The state should not impose taxes for the
support of any form of religion. A free church in a free state is
the Christian ideal.
22. Heresy and Apostasy
We believe in total and complete separation as taught in
the Word of God, from all heresy and ecclesiastical apostasy. We
believe the Scripture teaches that we are to:
Try them, I John 4:1. Mark them, Rom. 16:17. Rebuke them, Titus
1:13. Have no fellowship, Eph. 5:11. Withdraw ourselves, II Thes.
3:6. Receive them not, II John 10,11. Have no company with them,
II Thes. 3:14. Reject them, Titus 3:10. Separate ourselves, II
Cor. 6:17.
23. Missions
The command to give the gospel to the world is clear and
unmistakable and this Commission was given to the churches, not
individuals.
Mat. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, John 20:21, Rom. 10:13-15
24. Giving
Scriptural giving is one of the doctrines of the faith.
II Cor. 8:7
We are commanded to bring our gifts into the storehouse (common
treasury of the church) upon the first day of the week. I Cor.
16:2
We are commanded to bring the tithe into the common treasury of
the church. Jesus said concerning the tithe "these ye ought
to have done". Mat. 23:23.
"Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils" Heb.7:2,4, this
was four hundred years before the law.
Lev. 27:30. "The tithe ... is the Lord's".
Mal.3:10. "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that
there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith
the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven
and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough
to receive it."