A Bible Baptist is one who believes in a supernatural Bible, which tells of a supernatural Christ, Who had a supernatural birth, Who spoke supernatural words, Who performed supernatural miracles, Who lived a supernatural life, Who died a supernatural death, Who rose in supernatural splendor, and Who will one day return in supernatural glory to establish a supernatural kingdom on earth.
Section 1 – The Bible
We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men supernaturally inspired; that it has truth without any admixture of error for its matter; and 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.
A. By “The Holy Bible” we mean the collection of sixty-six books, from Genesis to Revelation, which as originally written and providentially preserved does not only contain and convey the Word of God, but IS the very Word of God. At times these words were spoken and later written; at times they were simply written. Either way, they are the words of God.
B. By “inspiration” we mean that the books of the Bible were written in such a definite way that those writings are as certainly the words of God as they would be if God had penned them Himself. No other writings can claim to be inspired as the Bible is inspired. Inspiration is not just a work of the past but is also a work of the present. When the words of God are read or heard, the Holy Spirit gives them by inspiration.
C. As God inspired His Word, we believe that God preserved His Word in the form of the Authorized King James Version. We believe the King James Version to be the infallible and inerrant Word of God.
We believe that the absolute, sole, authoritative rule for faith and practice is the perfect, preserved word of God, which, for English speaking people, is the Authorized King James Version.
Ps 12:6,7; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:19-21; Jn12:48-50; Acts 1:16; Ps 119:89, 105, 130, 160; Jn 17:17; 1 Pet 1:23; Matt 24:35; Lk 24:25-27; 44-45; Rom 15:4; Lk 16:31; Prov 30:5-6; Rom 3:4; Ps. 19:7-11
Section 2 – Dispensationalism
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose.
Gen 1:28; 1 Cor 9:17; 2 Cor 3:9-18; Gal 3:13-25; Eph 1:10; Eph 3:2-10;Col1:24-25, 27; Rev 20:2-6
Section 3 – The True God
We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit, the maker and supreme ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love; and that in the unity of the Godhead, there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.
Ex 20:2-3; Deut 6:4-5; Mk 12:30; Gen 17:1; Is 43:10-12; 1 Cor 8:6; Eph 4:6; Jn 4:24; Ps 147:5; 83:18; 90:2; Jer 10:10; Ex 15:11; Rev 4:11; 1 Tim 1:17; Rom 11:33; Matt 28:19; 1 Jn 5:7; Matt 3:16-17; 2 Cor 13:14; Jn 1:1, 14; 10:30; 7:5; Phil 2:5-6; Jn 15:26; 1 Cor 12:4-6; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor 3:17; 1 Cor 2:10-11; Eph 2:18
Section 4 – Jesus Christ
We believe that 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. We believe that God manifested himself in the flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ, who is both the Son of God and the Son of man. We believe that he lived a perfectly sinless life on this earth.
1 Tim 3:16; Is 7:14; Lk 1:35; Jn 1:1-2, 14; Mk 1:1; Matt 1:1, Matt 9:6; Gal 4:4-5; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.
Phil 2:5-8; Eph 1:7; 2 Cor 5:19-21; 1 Pet2:24; Rom3:24-25; 1 Pet 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; 2:31-36; Heb9:24,7:25; Rom 8:34; 1 Jn 2:1-2
Section 5 – 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; that He was active in the creation; that He reproves the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; that He bears witness to the Truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the New Birth; and that He indwells, comforts, seals, fills, guides, teaches, sanctifies, helps and assures the Believer; that he intercedes for the Believer, reveals the scripture to him, and endues him with power.
We believe that baptism by the Holy Ghost into the body of Christ occurs at salvation and that there is no verse in the Bible that commands believers that they must speak in tongues or perform miracles in order to prove that they are baptized by the Holy Ghost or filled with the Spirit.
Matt 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor 3:17; Gen 1:1-3; Ps 104:30; Jn 16:8-11; 15:26-27; Acts 5:30-32; Jn 1 :33; Heb 9:14; Jn 3:5-6; Eph 1:13; Jn 14:16-17; Acts 4:31; Jn 16:13; Rom 8:14; Jn 14:26; 2 Thes 2:13; 1 Pet 1:2; Rom 8:16; Rom 8:26-27; 1 Cor 2:10-16; Lk 24:49; 1 Cor 12:13; Acts 11:16
Section 6 – The Devil
We believe that Satan was once holy, and enjoyed heavenly honors as the anointed cherub that covered the throne; that through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, he fell and drew after him a host of angels; that he is now the malignant prince of the power of the air, and the unholy god of this world. We hold him to be man’s great tempter, the enemy of God and His Christ, the author of all false religions, the chief power back of the present apostasy, the lord of the antichrist, the accuser of the saints, and the author of all the powers of darkness, though he is transformed into an angel of light. We believe that he is destined, however, to final defeat at the hands of God’s own Son, and to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire, a place prepared for him and his angels.
Ezek 28:13-17; Is 14:12-15; Eph 2:2; Jn 14:30; 2 Cor 4:4; 1Thes 3:5; Matt 4:1-11; Matt 13:25, 37-39; 1 Pet 5:8; Lk 22:3-4; Mk 13:21-23; 1 Jn 4:3; 2 Jn 7; 1 Jn 2:22; Rev 13:13-14; 2 Thes 2:3-10; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; Rev 12:7-10; 1 Jn 3:8; Rev. 19:20; 20:1-3, 10; Jude 6; 2 Pet. 2:4; Matt 25:41
Section 7 – Creation
We believe in the Genesis account of creation, and that it is to be accepted literally, and not allegorically or figuratively; that man was created directly in God’s own image and after His own likeness; that man’s creation was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary change of species or development through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms; and that all animal and vegetable life was made directly and God’s established law was that they should bring forth only “after their kind.”
Gen 1-2; Jn 1:1-3; Mk 13:19; Heb 11:3; Col 1:15-17; Rom 1:20; Acts 17:28-29; Col 2:8; 1 Tim6:20; Rom1:22-27
Section 8 – Man
We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his maker, but by voluntary transgression fell from his sinless an d happy state, in consequence of which all men and women are now sinners, not by constraint, but of choice, and are therefore under just condemnation without defense or excuse.
Gen 3:1-6; Rom 5:12, 19; Rom 3:10-19; Eph 2:1-3; Gal 3:22; Rom 1:18; Rom 1:32; Rom 1:20
Section 9 – The Atonement for Sin
We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace; through the mediatory office of the Son of God, who by appointment of the Father, freely took upon Himself our nature, yet without sin, honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins; that His blood atonement consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, but was the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner’s place, the just dying for the unjust, Christ, the Lord, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree; that, having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in heaven and uniting in His wonderful person the most tender sympathies with divine perfection. He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, a compassionate, and an all-sufficient Savior.
Eph 2:8; Acts 15:11; Jn 3:16; Matt. 18:11; 1 Tim 2:5; Heb 9:12-15; Phil 2:7; Heb 2:14; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22; Is 53:4-7; Rom 3:25; 1 Jn 4:10; 1 Cor 15:3; Heb 9:22; Col 1:14; Eph 1:7; 2 Cor 5:21; Jn 10:18; Phil 2:8; Gal 1:4; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Pet 3:18; Is 53:11-12; Heb 12:2; 1 Cor 15:20; Heb 7:25; 1 Jn 2:2
Section 10 – The New Creature
We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth makes us new creatures in Christ Jesus; that the new birth is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new birth is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, not by culture, not by character, nor by the will of man, but wholly and solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with the divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel; and that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life.
Jn 3:3; 1 Jn 5:1; Jn 3:6-7; 2 Cor 5:17; Eph 2:1; Col 2:13; Rom 6:23; Jn 1:12-13; Gal 5:22; Eph. 5:9; 2 Pet 1:4;1 Jn 3:1-3; Phil 3:21
Section 11 – Free Salvation
We believe in God’s electing grace; that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the gospel; that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial, penitent and an obedient faith; and nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the gospel; which rejection involves him in an aggravated condemnation. We believe in salvation by grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on Calvary plus nothing. Therefore, we do not believe that works are necessary for salvation, although once a person is saved, he should be careful to maintain good works.
Rom 5:15-18; 1 Thes 1:4; 1 Pet 1:2; Tit 1:1; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5; Rom 10:9-10, 13; Is 55:6-7, Jn 3:15-16; 1 Tim 1:15; Heb 2:3; Jn 3:18, 36; Tit 3:8
Section 12 – Justification
We believe that the great gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is justification; that justification includes the pardon of sin, and the gift of eternal life on principles of righteousness; 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 as His righteousness is imputed to us; and that the sinner is justified the moment he receives Jesus Christ.
Acts 13:39; Rom 8:1; 5:9; 5:1; Tit 3:5-7; Rom 1:17; Gal 2:16, 3:11; Rom 4:1-8; 1 Cor 6:11
Section 13 – Repentance and Faith
We believe that Repentance and Faith are solemn obligations, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the quickening Spirit of God, thereby; being deeply convicted of our guilt, danger, helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy; at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ and openly confessing Him as our only and all-sufficient Savior.
Acts 20:21; Mk 1:15; Lk 13:3, 5; 18:13; Acts 26:20; 1 Thes 1:9; Ps. 51:1-4; Is 55:6-7; Rom 10:9-10, 13; Lk 12:8
Section 14 – The Church
We believe that the church, which is the body of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again Christians. The Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation and head of the Church and the head of every true local church.
Eph 1:22-23; Col 1:18, 24; Eph5:23-24, 30-32; 1 Cor12:13
We believe that a local Baptist Church is a congregation of baptized Believers associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel, said church being understood to be the citadel and propagator of Divine and Eternal Grace; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its officers of ordination are pastors (also referred to in Scripture as elders), and deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures; and we believe the true mission of the church is found in the Great Commission: first, to make individual disciples; second, to edify the church; and third, to reach others and instruct them as He has commanded. We do not believe in the reversal of this order; we hold that the local church has the right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; that the one and only superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit; that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; that every church is the sole and only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; and on all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline, of benevolence, the will of the local church is final.
Acts 2:41-42; 1 Cor 11:2; Col 1:18; Eph 5:23-24; Acts 14:23; Acts 20:17-28; 1 Pet 5:1-4; 1 Tim 3:1-13; Acts 6:5-6; Eph 4:11-16; Matt 28:19-20; 1 Cor 12:4; 1 Cor 12:8-11
Section 15 – Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a Believer in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, with the authority of the local church, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation and to the Lord’s Supper, in which the members of the church, by the sacred use of bread and the fruit of the vine are to commemorate together the dying love of Christ, preceded always by solemn self-examination. We maintain an open communion. We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper constitute the only two scriptural ordinances for the church, but that neither has any saving power.
Matt 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; Acts 8:36-39; Acts 10:47-48; Matt 3:16; Rom 6:3-5; 1 Cor11:23-33
Section 16 – The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. 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.
Jn 5:24; Jn 6:37-40; Jn 10:27-30; Rom 8:1; 38-39; 1 Cor 1:4-8; 1 Pet 1:4-5; Rom 13:13-14; Gal5:13; Tit2:11-15
Section 17 – The Righteous and the Wicked
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and sanctified by the Spirit of God, are truly righteous in His esteem; while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked, and under the curse, and this distinction holds among men both in and after death, in the everlasting felicity of the saved and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost
Mal 3:18; Gen 18:25; Prov 11:31; Rom 6:23; Rom 6:16-18; 1 Pet 1:18-19; Rom. 1:17; 1 Cor 15:22; 1 Jn 5:19; Gal 3:10; Rom 7:6; Prov 14:32; Lk 16:25; Matt 25:34,41, 46; Jn 8:21; Matt 7:13-14
Section 18 – Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God.
Eph 5:22-24; 1 Cor 11:3; Eph 6:1-3; Col 1:18; 1 Pet 5:1-4; Matt 18:17-18; 1 Cor 14:40; Rom 13:1-7; 1 Pet 2:13-14; Matt 22:21; Acts 4:19-21; 2 Sam 23:3; Ex18:21; Heb13:17
Section 19 – Resurrection, Return of Christ, and Related Events
We believe in and accept the sacred Scriptures upon these subjects at their full face value. Of the Resurrection, we believe that Christ rose bodily the third day according to the Scriptures; that He alone is our merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God; that “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” – bodily, personally, and visibly; that at the rapture of the church the dead in Christ shall rise first; that the living saints shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; that at the Second Coming of Jesus the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David; and that Christ shall reign a thousand years in
righteousness until He hath put all enemies under His feet.
Matt 28:6-7; Mk 16:6, 19; Lk 24:2, 4-6; Lk 24:39; Jn 20:27; 1 Cor 15:4; Acts 1:9-11; Lk 24:51; Heb 8:1, 6; Rev 3:21; Heb 12:2; 1 Tim 2:5; 1 Jn 2:1; Heb 2:17; 5:9-10; Jn 14:3; 1 Thes 4:16-17; 1 Cor 15:42-44; 15:50-55; Matt 24:27, 42; Heb 9:28; Lk 1 :31-33; Is 11:4-5; Ps 72:8; Rev 20:1-4, 6; 1 Cor 15:25
Section 20 – Missions
We believe that the command to give the gospel to the world is clear and unmistakable and this commission was given to the church. It is the church’s clear responsibility to carry out this commission by sending forth those whom God has called. The equipping and supplying of these “missionaries” is solely the duty of the church.
Matt. 28:18-20; Mk 16:15; Jn 20:21; Rom10:13-15; Acts 1:8; Acts 13:1-3
Section 21 – The Grace of Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. 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 the tithe or offering once the gift has been made.
Gen 14:20; Heb 7:2-4; Lev 27:32; Prov 3:9-10; 1 Cor 16:1-2; 2 Cor 9:6-8; 2 Cor 8:8-12; Acts20:35
Section 22 – Human Sexuality
We believe that God has commanded that a man and a woman shall not engage in intimate sexual activity outside of marriage. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, and adultery are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman.
Gen 2:24; Heb 13:4; Eph 5:22-33; Rom 7:2-3; 1 Cor 7:10-11; Gen 26:8-9; Lev 18:1-30; 1 Cor 5:1-5; 6:9-10; 1 Thes 4:1-8; 1 Cor 6:13-16; Gen 19:5, 13; Rom1:26-28; 1 Cor5:11-13
Section 23 – Family Relationships
We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church. We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are “an heritage of the Lord.” Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values and leading them through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline, including Scriptural corporal correction.
Gen 1:26-28; Gal 3:28; Col 3:18-19; 1 Pet 3:1-7; Eph 5:21-33; 1 Cor 7:1-16; 1 Tim 2:8-15; Mk 10:6-12; Ps 127:3-5; Eph 6:1-3; Ex 20:12; Col 3:20-21; Eph 6:4, Deut 6:4-9; I Tim 3:4-5, 12; Prov 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14
Section 24 – Divorce and Remarriage
We believe that God disapproves of and forbids divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the defined grounds of the Scripture. These grounds are fornication and desertion. These instances of divorce clearly involve an innocent party. It must be noted that there are many divorced who have since truly repented of wrongdoing. The position of this church is that in the above instances, the role of this church is not punitive. Divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service deemed appropriate by this church’s leadership, including the positions of pastor, assistants to the pastor and deacons.
Mal 2:14-17; Matt 19:3-12; 1 Cor 7:1-16, 27-28, 39; Rom 7:1-4; Hos 2:1-2; 1 Tim 3:2, 12; Tit 1:6
Section 25 – Abortion
We believe that human life begins at conception and the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion IS murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, and birth or population control are acceptable.
Job 3:16; Ps 51:5; Is 44.24; 49:1, 5; Jer 1:5; 20:15-18; Lk1:44
Section 26 – Love
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow Believers, but also those who oppose us. We are to deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions and practices, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such. We further believe that, in the instances of violent attack, war, and assault, the Believer should react in an appropriate manner to defend the innocent. This is also in keeping with our responsibility to a God-ordained government.
Lev 19:18; Matt 5:44-48; Lk 6:31; Jn 13:34-35; Rom 12:9-10, 17-21; Rom 13:8-10; Phil 2:2-4; Titus 3:2; 1 Jn 3:17-18; Lk 22:36-38
Section 27 – Lawsuits Between Believers
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christian individuals or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe that the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander.
I Cor. 6:1-8; Eph 4:31-32