What We Believe

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Bible, as it is in truth, the Word of God. (I Thessalonians 2:13). We believe in verbal, plenary inspiration in the original writings, and God’s preservation of His pure words to every generation (II Timothy 3:16, Psalms 12:6-8).

The King James Version of the Bible is the only English version we accept and use. The Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Received Text of the New Testament (Textus Receptus) are those texts of the original languages we accept and use; The Bible is our sole authority for faith and practice.

• We believe that the infinite, immutable, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel created the world in six literal days, sustains all that lives, and is superior to any entity or power that exists in the heavens or the earth (I John 3:20; Job 42:2; Psalm 90:2, 139:7-10; Isaiah 40:28; Malachi 3:6; Romans 13:1).
• We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14).

• 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 (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; 7:14; Philippians 2:5-8; Galatians 4:4-5).
• We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His finished work on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I 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; Hebrews 9:24, 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2).
• We believe that our “Blessed Hope” is that Jesus Christ will one day, literally, personally, and visibly return in the clouds for His Saints, both sleeping (dead) and alive in a premillennial, pre-tribulation rapture. We believe that He will return with those Saints after a seven year tribulation to defeat Satan and reclaim the city of Jerusalem and the world in His second coming to establish His thousand year reign on earth (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; Revelation 19:11-21, 20:1-6; Psalm 89:3-4).

• We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Person who reproves the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; II Corinthians 3:6; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14).
• We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayer of believers for physical healing (II Corinthians 12:12; I Corinthians 13:8; Hebrews 2:3-4; Mark 16:17-20; I Corinthians 1:22, 14:21-22).

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12).

The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image and is mindful of him, and in that Christ died for man; therefore every individual possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. (Psalm 8:4-9; Colossians 3:9-11).

We believe that the clear message of salvation is repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). We believe that salvation is “by grace” plus nothing minus nothing. We believe that men are justified by faith alone and are accounted righteous before God only through the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; I Peter 1:18-19)

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. We believe that eternal life is the present possession of every believer (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5; Jude 1, 2).

We believe that the Baptist Church is to be in accordance with the body of doctrine from the New Testament Church in Scripture. This idea of establishing local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).

We believe that each local church has the absolute right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that the one and only superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:41,42; Colossians 1:17,18; Acts 6:5-6)

We believe that its pastor, leadership, and deacons should follow the qualifications that are clearly defined in the scriptures. (Ephesians 4:11-15; I Timothy 3:1-13; Hebrews 13:7-17)

We believe it is the mission of the church to preach the Gospel to all of mankind, to baptize all those that believe the Gospel, to disciple and teach all those that believe, and to build up the church the Bride of Christ, as He has commanded. (Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 10:13-17; Ephesians 4:11-16)

• We believe that baptism by immersion in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, is a non-redemptive act of obedience that pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 3:13-15; Acts 2:41)
• We believe communion is a picture of the sacrifice of the Savior on the cross and can be partaken of based on three qualifications: Salvation, Baptism, and being found in the Unity of Christ. (I Corinthians 11:17-29)

We believe that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God. We believe that holiness is the act of a believer separating him/herself from the darkness of this world and unto the light of the Word of God (II Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1, 2, 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1).

We believe that the believer will be resurrected to eternal life, and the unbeliever will be resurrected to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28, 29, 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13).

We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:4-6; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17).

We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into a literal Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting, conscious punishment (Luke 16:19-26; Matthew 25:41-46; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:11-15).