What We Believe

Genesis 1:11,26–27; 2:21–23 • Jeremiah 10:12 • John 1:3 • Hebrews 11:3

We believe in the Genesis account of creation, that man was created in God's own image and after his likeness. The Creator of the universe was God the Father designing and making everything in 6 days; then on the 7th day rested. All animal life, plant life, waters, mountains, stars, space, and atmosphere were made directly by God. He established authority by commanding that they should bring forth after their kind as found in Genesis. God spoke everything into existence.

Psalm 83:18 • 90:2 • 147:5 • Matt. 28:19 • Mark 12:30 • John 1:1–4 • Eph. 2:18

We believe in the one, true, living, intelligent, creator, and sovereign ruler of heaven and earth. He is perfect and worthy of all glory and honor. God is eternally existent in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all three are one and distinct. Each person has distinct but equal offices in the great work of salvation.

Genesis 1:13 • Matt. 3:11 • Luke 1:35; 3:16 • Romans 8:14,16,26–27

The Holy Spirit is a divine person, who is equal with God the Father and God the Son. He was active in the work of creation. The duty of the Holy Spirit is to regenerate, indwell, and set believers apart for a holy life. It is to teach, to convict man of sin, to comfort, and to endue believers with the power for the work of his ministry. He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel.

2 Tim. 3:16–17 • 2 Peter 1:16–21 • Psalm 19:7–11 • Isaiah 8:20

We believe the Bible is verbally inspired, infallible, inerrant, authoritatively written, and the revealed Word of God. This is found for the English speaking people in nothing other than the King James Version.

By the Word of God we mean the collection of 66 books beginning with Genesis and ending in Revelation. This book does not contain the Word of God but IS the very words of God Almighty.

The Word of God was written by men supernaturally inspired. Holy men of old spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. God would move in the lives of these men in such a way that what was written was divinely and verbally inspired without error. These men wrote from their perspectives and personalities; they were not forced by the Holy Ghost but led.

The King James Bible is the preserved Word of God that God has so richly given to the English speaking people. God gave the church the responsibility of protecting and propagating the Word. The translators of the KJV had a high view of God and used formal equivalency as their method. These men took their duties seriously, scrutinizing every passage at least 14 times. They believed the book and were masters in 5–6 languages. No other work was done in such seriousness by such scholarly men.

God in His Word said, "heaven and earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away." Through the ages God has chosen to preserve His very words and in the KJV we possess the complete, preserved, and without error Word of God.

Genesis 3:15 • Isaiah 7:14 • Matt. 1:18–25 • Mark 1:1 • Luke 1:35 • Gal. 4:4

The Son of Man, Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit in a miraculous way, conceived in Mary, a virgin. No other man could be born like this. He is the Son of God and is God. Jesus humbled himself by coming to this earth as a man and being born in a lowly manger. Christ was willing to do all of this and even die to show His love for mankind.

John 1:29 • Romans 3:25 • 1 Cor. 15:3 • Ephesians 1:7

Salvation was offered to man through the finishing work of Jesus Christ. God in his great love made a way for us to escape that eternal death through His only Begotten Son, Jesus. Jesus came to this earth, lived amongst men, did miraculous things, and died on a cross for the atonement of sin for all mankind. This death was all a part of God's amazing plan of redemption. The shed blood of Jesus was our atonement. This was a once and for all sacrificial atonement. The forgiveness of sin could only be given through a sinless, spotless lamb.

Genesis 3:1–6,24 • Romans 1:18,20,28,32 • Ephesians 2:1,3

Man was created during the age of innocence under the law of his Creator God the Father. By his own choice, man decided to transgress by disobeying God's one command of not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man and woman were in perfect harmony with God and had the freedom to choose life or death. They went after their own fleshly desires and gave into temptation. The woman was first tempted, gave in and then gave to her husband. When Adam sinned, mankind from that point forward was born sinners, not by constraint, and placed under the condemnation without excuse. We have the same fate and judgment from God if we reject Christ.

Romans 3:23–24; 6:23 • John 3:18–19

The Gospel is freely given to all that accept it in and through Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23–24 tells that though all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, we all can be justified freely by his grace. Jesus died on Calvary's cross and rose on the third day, so that even the vilest of sinners in the world could be saved from a life of darkness and sin. You are not saved through works or election but through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Salvation is always referred to as a free gift in the scripture. It will never cost you.

Romans 4:1–8; 5:1 • Galatians 3:6–14

Justification is that act of God by which, on the basis of the meritorious work of Jesus Christ received through faith, He declares the sinner righteous. This declaration is not based on any works of man but solely on the righteousness of Christ imputed to the believer. We are not made righteous by what we do but by what Christ has done on our behalf.

Matt. 4:17 • Mark 1:15 • 1 John 1:9 • Proverbs 3:5–6 • Ephesians 2:8–9

Repentance and faith are not the same but are connected in the work of salvation. Repentance is when a person comes to the realization that they are helpless in themselves without God and turn away from their sin towards God. Faith is putting your control aside and putting your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 11 tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Both are essential to the individual that desires to be saved. An individual must repent and believe in faith.

1 Corinthians 15:1–4,22–23 • John 5:28–29 • Acts 24:15

We believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day. This is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Without the resurrection there is no gospel. Christ conquered sin and death and rose in the same body that was buried. Likewise, all the dead will one day be raised. The saved will be raised to life eternal, and the unsaved will be raised to stand before God in judgment.

John 5:24; 10:27–30 • Romans 8:38–39 • Philippians 1:6

We believe in the eternal security of the believer. Salvation is not a temporary decision but an eternal relationship between God and His child. He promises through His Word that no person, no thing, and nothing shall separate us from the love of God. He who began a good work in you WILL perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Once a person has truly believed on Christ, they are forever kept by the power of God. A true believer cannot lose their salvation.

Isaiah 14:12–17 • Ezekiel 28:13–17 • Matthew 4:1–11 • Revelation 12:9; 20:10

We believe that Satan is a real person and not merely an influence or a concept. He is a fallen angel who rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven. He is the enemy of God, the accuser of the brethren, and the deceiver of the nations. He has great power and seeks the destruction of mankind. However, he is a defeated enemy. Christ's death and resurrection sealed his doom, and he will one day be cast into the lake of fire for eternity.

Matt. 3:6; 28:19–20 • John 3:23 • 1 Corinthians 11:23–28

There are two ordinances in a New Testament church: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Ordinances are pictures that God put in place to teach us important doctrine. Baptism is not a celebration, but rather a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. This is done to show the believer's first step of obedience towards a walk with God. Baptism is by immersion only. The Lord's Supper is the other ordinance. The purpose behind this is to preach the Lord's sacrifice for sin until he returns. The sacred use of the bread and vine are to commemorate the dying love of Christ. This is done following self-examination.

Acts 1:11 • 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 • Revelation 20:1–6

We believe in the personal, bodily, and imminent return of Jesus Christ. He will return to rapture His church before the Great Tribulation. He will return again at the end of the Tribulation to establish His millennial kingdom on earth. Every event surrounding His return will occur literally and exactly as the Scripture records.

Matthew 16:18 • Acts 2:41–42; 20:28 • 1 Corinthians 12:28

The New Testament church is a called out group of believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and have followed in believer's baptism. They are joined together for the purpose of edification, exhortation, and evangelism as commanded by Christ in the Great Commission.

Jesus established the church during His earthly ministry with the disciples; they were empowered on the Day of Pentecost. The Baptist church is a congregation of baptized believers associated by the same faith and fellowship. They observe the two ordinances and exercise the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by the Word. The church has two offices: pastor and deacons. The church has the right of self-government, and is free from any authority of people or organization. The church's only authority is the head of the church, Jesus Christ.

Matthew 25:46 • John 5:28–29 • Revelation 20:11–15; 21:1–4

There is a real heaven and a real hell. Those who have trusted in Christ will spend eternity in the presence of God. Those who have rejected Christ will spend eternity separated from God in a place of eternal punishment. Hell is not a metaphor or a state of mind. It is a real place of real consequence for those who die without Christ. This truth should be the great motivator for every Christian to share the gospel.

Romans 13:1–7 • Acts 5:29

God has given us governmental authority. He is the one who allows these leaders to be put in place. We are responsible, according to Romans 13, to submit ourselves to those God puts in places of authority. It is our duty as Christians to pray for them that they may have wisdom to make decisions that honor God. Unless they completely go against our God-given duties as Christians, we are to submit to them. The Bible says that rebelling against this God-given authority is rebelling against God. We must respect those God allows in civil government and walk honestly before God and man.

Philippians 4:15–19 • Numbers 18 • 1 Corinthians 16:2 • Acts 2:45

Giving is a reminder of all that we have received in the Lord Jesus Christ. Giving is a promise from God. Luke 6:38 says, if we give, it will be given unto us. Paul told the church of Philippi that God will supply all their needs. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. What we have is already His. Giving is vitally important to the work of the local church. Jesus' finishing work on the Cross should be a model for the church that we should give sacrificially. Giving pleases God, and He is deserving of it all.

Genesis 1:26–27,31; 2:18–25 • Ephesians 5:3–5 • Colossians 3:5 • 1 Timothy 1:8–11

From the very beginning of time, God created man and woman for the purpose of becoming one flesh in marriage. According to Genesis, once marriage takes place, it is God's desire that the two would reproduce and replenish the earth. God designed sex to be enjoyed by a husband and wife through the marriage relationship. The concept of marriage was never intended for those of the same sex, but rather was strictly meant for a man and a woman. Any sexual activity outside of the bonds of marriage is sinful and against God's will. The Word of God makes it clear that you must be sexually abstinent until marriage. Any form of fornication, pornography, or homosexuality is a perversion of God's will.

Matthew 28:19–20 • Acts 1:8

The main goal of the New Testament independent Baptist Church is to preach the Gospel to every creature. The responsibility does not end with seeing souls saved. It is also their job to disciple these new converts and teach them to follow Christ. Every ministry of the local church ought to be done decently and in order. The Great Commission is to be done through the church. Just as the church in Acts sent out Paul and Barnabas as the first missionaries, we must send out missionaries as well. There ought to be a desire in every pastor's heart to have their church involved in faith promise missions, supporting the works of missionaries in country and abroad.