About
HOLY BIBLE
The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired by God, infallible and inerrant. Believers are to love the law and meditate on it daily, as it is all that we need for life and godliness.
(2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26; 2 Peter 1:3-4; Psalm 1:2; Psalm 119:97)
GOD / THE TRINITY
There is only one living and true God. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.
(1 John 5:7; Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 3:7-11)
GOD THE FATHER
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. God is a Holy and Just Father, as well as a God of Love! He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise.
(Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15-11; 20:1; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7)
GOD THE SON
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. The blood that Jesus shed on the cross was sinless and is 100% sufficient to cleanse mankind of all sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.
(John 1:1-14; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:35; 1 John 3:4-5; Hebrews 7:26; Acts 2:22; 10:37-38; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Corinthians 15:4; Matthew 28:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:4; Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:24; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2; 1 Peter 4:5; Romans 14:9; 2 Timothy 4:1; I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5, 5:9; Colossians 1:20; Romans 5:9; John 1:29)
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures and He illuminates His Word to enable our understanding of truth. He exalts Christ. He draws us to the Saviour and convicts all of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. At the moment of regeneration, He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts to build, sanctify, and empower the Church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
(Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalm 51:11; 139:7; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13: Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:2; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17)
FAITH & REPENTANCE: THE RESCUING (SALVATION) OF HUMANITY
Humanity was created good and upright by God, but by voluntary transgression we all fell. Our only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The only means of salvation is Jesus the Messiah. He died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins and rose from the dead on the third day according to Scripture to infuse humanity with His resurrection life. He offers each of us a pardon for our sins and wants us to become beloved children of God. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ: His death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts. Repentance is the commitment to turn away from sin in every area of our lives and to follow Christ, which allows us to receive His redemption and to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Thus, through repentance we receive forgiveness of sins and appropriate salvation. When we put our faith in Christ, it triggers a spiritual chain reaction. We become the temple of the Holy Spirit. Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We become citizens of heaven. We are given eternal life. We are adopted and become children of God. Our sins are forgiven and forgotten. We are credited with the righteousness of Christ. We are born again. God takes ownership of us. We receive an eternal inheritance. The evidence of salvation is twofold. The internal evidence is the direct witness of the Holy Spirit. The external evidence is the fruit of the Spirit and being transformed into the image of Christ. Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God’s Word and His Spirit in order to complete the development of Christ's character in us. It is through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a Godly life. The true Christian is made new, seeking to please God through obedience even in suffering.
(Acts 4:12; John 14:6; 1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews 9:26; 1 John 4:9–10; John 1:12; Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22; Acts 2:21, 3:19; 1 John 1:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Revelation 3:5; Philippians 3:20–21; John 3:16; Galatians 4:4–7; Hebrews 8:12; Romans 4:4–5; John 3:3; 1 Corinthians 6:20; Ephesians 1:13–14; 1 Peter 1:3–5; Romans 8:16; Galatians 5:22–23; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 6:14-18; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3; Romans 8:29, 12:1-2; Hebrews 2:11; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Matthew 16:24-25)
RESURRECTION
Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead into a glorified body three days after His death on the cross. In addition, both the saved and the lost will be resurrected; they that are saved to the resurrection of eternal life and they that are lost to the resurrection of eternal damnation.
(Luke 24:16, 36, 39; John 2:19-21, 20:26-28, 21:4; Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:42, 44; Philippians 1:21-23, 3:21)
HEAVEN
Heaven is the eternal dwelling place for all believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those whose names are written in the Book of Life will be resurrected and stand at the judgment seat of Christ to be rewarded for their good deeds and enjoy God in the new Heaven and new Earth for all eternity.
(1 Corinthians 4:5; Revelation 21:1-4; Matthew 5:3, 12, 20, 6:20, 19:21, 25:34; John 17:24; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 11:16; I Peter 1:4)
HELL
After living one life on earth, all unbelievers (those who reject God’s salvation through Jesus Christ) will be judged by God and sent to the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and the fallen angels, away from the presence of the Lord.
(Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:12-15, 21:8; 2 Thessalonians 1:9)
SECOND COMING
Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His Kingdom. This will occur at a date undisclosed by the Scriptures.
(Matthew 24:30, 26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8; Revelation 1:7)
WORSHIP, PRAYER, & SACRAMENTS
Worship – Our reasonable service to God is to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to Him. We worship God through grateful submission, humble service, and holding Him in reverence above everything. The incarnation, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus makes possible our engagement with God in spirit and truth, which culminates in the unceasing worship of the new creation. We glorify God by enjoying Him, loving Him, trusting Him, and by obeying His will, commands, and law. While God calls us individually to worship, He has always planned to have a people who would bring Him glory in this life and the next. Thus corporate worship of those redeemed by God in a community gathered together is a necessity.
(Romans 12:1; James 4:7; Matthew 16:33; John 4:23-24; Hebrews 10:19-22, 24-25; Deuteronomy 11:1; Exodus 19:5-6; 1 Peter 2:9-10; Acts 2:42; Colossians 3:16; Psalm 100:1-2; Psalm 34:1-3)
Prayer – Prayer is pouring out our hearts to God in praise, petition, confession of sin, and thanksgiving. We pray to God with love, perseverance, and gratefulness, in submission to His will, knowing that, for the sake of Christ, he always hears our prayers. We are called to pray for the suffering, the sick, and for one another as we confess our sins to one another and praise God in thanksgiving together.
(Psalm 62:8; Philippians 4:6-7; Matthew 6:9-13; Psalm 63:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; James 5:13-16)
Baptism – The Scriptures teach that all who repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are to be baptized by immersion in water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Baptism is a public profession of faith in Christ. Baptism is symbolic of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It’s a declaration to the world that we have died to sin and have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life.
(Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; 10:47-48; Romans 6:4)
The Lord's Supper – It is a unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of the bread and the cup (representing the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross and a celebration of God’s salvation for believers.
(Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25)
LIFE, MARRIAGE & HUMAN SEXUALITY
Life – We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being made in the likeness of God.
(Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 139:1-18; Isaiah 44:24; Jeremiah 1:5)
Marriage – We believe marriage is defined in the Bible as a covenant, a sacred bond between one man and one woman, instituted by and publicly entered into before God.
(Matthew 19:4-6)
Human Sexuality – We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman; that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex; and that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance.
(Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)
THE CHURCH AND HER MISSION
The Church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus’ Great Commission. Every person who is born of the Spirit is an integral part of the Church as a member of the body of believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church has a threefold purpose: to worship God, to evangelize the world as His missionaries, and to equip God’s people for ministry.
(1 Corinthians 12:12–28; 14:12; Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:18–20; John 17:8; Ephesians 4:11–16)
THE FIVE SOLAS
Imbedded in our statement of faith are the following five critical Christian doctrines. For centuries before the Protestant Reformation, these truths were largely neglected, even denied by most professing Christian leaders.
I. Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone)
The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured.
II. Sola Gratia (Grace alone)
In salvation we are rescued from God’s wrath by His grace alone. God’s spontaneous and unmerited favor is granted through the calling and regenerating work of the Holy Spirit who releases us from our willful bondage to sin and enables us to repent and believe in Christ.
III. Sola Fide (Faith alone)
Justification is by grace alone through faith alone. Justification can never be the reward or result of human works or merit, nor does it grow out of an infusion of Christ’s righteousness.
IV. Solus Christus (because of Christ alone)
Our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary death alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.
V. Soli Deo Gloria (for the Glory of God alone)
God glorifies Himself in all that He does. Therefore, we should acknowledge His highest purpose and live for His glory alone.
BAPTIST FAITH & MESSAGE
Additionally, we affirm the Baptist Faith & Message (https://bfm.sbc.net).