What We Believe
This statement of faith is an affirmation of what this local church believes to be the teaching of Scripture on key doctrinal issues. For further inquiry, please refer to the 2000 “Baptist Faith and Message,” a statement of faith associated with our denominational affiliation. Also, the 1833 “New Hampshire Confession” is an informative and important historical statement of faith for the Baptist denomination and is, in many respects, helpful for the Church today.
I. God
There is one living and true God, the creator of the universe (Exod. 15:11; Isa. 45:11; Jer. 27:5). He is revealed in the unity of the Godhead as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who are equal in every divine perfection—one in essence, three in person. (Exod. 15:11; Matt 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14).
A. God the Father is the supreme ruler of the universe. He providentially directs the affairs of history according to the purposes of His grace (Gen. 1; 19:1; Ps. 104; Heb. 1:1-3).
B. God the Son is the Savior of the world. Born of the virgin Mary (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:26- 35), He declared His deity among men (John 1:14, 18; Matt. 9:6), died on the cross as the only sacrifice for sin (Phil. 2:6-11), arose bodily from the grave (Luke 24:6-7; 24-26; 1 Cor. 15:3-6), and ascended back to the Father (Acts 1:9-11; Mark 16:19). He is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for believers (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25) until He returns to fulfill His mission of redemption (Acts 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:16-18).
C. God the Holy Spirit is the spirit of God. He convicts of sin (John 16:8-11), teaches spiritual truths according to Scripture (John 16:12-15), permanently indwells believers (Acts 5:32; John 14:16-17, 20, 23), and confers on every believer at conversion the ability to render effective spiritual service (1 Peter 4:10-11).
II. The Scriptures
A. The Scriptures are God’s special revelation. When it is interpreted correctly, and in its original autographs, it is completely without error in all that it intends to communicate. It was written by divinely inspired men as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21).
B. The Scriptures provide the standard for the believer’s faith and practice (2 Tim. 3:16-17), reveal the principles by which God will judge all (Heb. 4:12; John 12:48), and express the true basis of Christian fellowship (Gal. 1:8-9; 2 John 9-11).
III. Creation
A. The World—God created all things for His own pleasure and glory, as revealed in the biblical account of creation (Gen. 1; Rev. 4:11; John 1:2-3; Col. 1:16).
B. Humanity—God created humanity in His own image. As the crowning work of creation, every person is of dignity and worth and merits the respect of all other persons (Ps. 8; Gen. 1:27; 2:7; Matt. 10:28-31).
IV. Depravity
Although humanity was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26; 2:17), they fell through sin and that image was marred (Rom. 5:12; James 3:9). In its unregenerate state, humanity is void of spiritual life, is under the influence of the sin, and lacks the power to be reconciled to God (Eph. 2:1-3; John 1:13). The sin nature has been transmitted to every member of the human race, with the exception of the man Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:23; 1 Pet. 2:22). Because of the sin nature, humanity possesses no divine life and is essentially and unchangeably depraved apart from divine grace (Rom. 3:10-19; Jer. 17:9).
V. Salvation
A. The Meaning of Salvation—Salvation is the gracious work of God whereby He delivers undeserving sinners from sin and its results (Matt. 1:21; Eph. 2:8-9). In justification, He declares righteous all who put faith in Christ as Savior (Rom. 3:20-22), giving them freedom from condemnation, peace with God, and full assurance of future glorification (Rom. 3:24-26).
B. The Way of Salvation—Salvation is based wholly on the grace of God apart from works (Titus 3:5; Eph. 2:9). Anyone who will exercise repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved (Acts 16:30-32; Luke 24:47; Rom. 10:17).
C. The Provision of Salvation—Christ died for the sins of the whole world (John 1:29; 3:16; 1 John 2:1-2). Through His blood, atonement is made without respect of persons (1 Tim. 2:4-6). All sinners can be saved by this gracious provision (Heb. 2:9; John 3:18).
D. Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom—God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom are two inseparable factors in the salvation experience (Eph. 2:4-6). These two Biblical truths are in no way contradictory. God, in His sovereignty purposed, planned, and executed salvation in eternity while man’s freedom enables him to make a personal choice in time, either to receive this salvation. or to reject it (Eph. 1:9-12; 1:13-14; John 1:12-13).
E. Sanctification—All believers are set apart unto God (Heb. 10:12-14) at the time of their regeneration (1 Cor. 6:11). They will grow in grace (2 Pet. 1:5-8) by allowing the Holy Spirit to apply God’s Word to their lives (1 Pet. 2:2), conforming them to the principles of divine righteousness (Rom. 12:1- 2; 1 Thess. 4:3-7) and making them partakers of the holiness of God (2 Cor. 7:1; 1 Pet. 1:15- 16).
F. Security—All believers are eternally secure in Jesus Christ (John 10:24-30; Rom. 8:35-39). They are born again (John 3:3-5; 1 John 5:1; 1 Pet. 1:23), made new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17; 2 Pet. 1:4), and indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9; 1 John 4:4), enabling their perseverance in good works (Eph. 2:10). A special providence watches over them (Rom. 8:28; 1 Cor. 10:13), and they are kept by the power of God (Phil. 1:6; 2:12-13; 1 Pet. 1:3-5; Heb. 13:5).
VI. Church
A. The Nature of the Church—A New Testament Church is a local congregation (Acts 16:5; 1 Cor. 4:17) of baptized believers in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:41) who are united by covenant in belief of what God has revealed and in obedience to what He has commanded (Acts 2:41-42). The New Testament also speaks of the Church in a universal context, i.e. the Body of Christ from all the ages (Eph. 1:22; 5:32; Col. 1:18).
B. The Autonomy of the Church—The Church acknowledges Jesus as its only Head (Eph. 5:23; Col. 1:18) and the Holy Bible as its only rule of faith and practice (Isa. 8:20; 2 Tim. 3:16-17), governing itself through certain democratic principles (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Cor. 5:1-5) under the oversight of its pastors (Acts 20:28; Heb. 13:7, 17, 24).
C. The Ordinances of the Church—The Church’s two ordinances are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer as a confession of his or her faith in Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:4) and is a prerequisite to church membership and participation in the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:41-42). The Lord’s Supper is the sacred sharing of the bread of communion and the cup of blessing by the assembled church (Acts 20:7) as a memorial to the crucified body and shed blood of Jesus Christ (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). Both ordinances must be administered by the authority of a New Testament church (Matt. 28:18-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).
D. The Officers of the Church—Pastors (i.e. elders, bishops) and deacons (i.e. servants) are the permanent officers divinely ordained in a New Testament church (Phil. 1:1). Each church may select persons to fill those offices under the leading of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:1-6; 20:17-18) according to scriptural qualifications (1 Tim. 3:1-13).
E. The Ministry of the Church—Its mission is to spread the good news of the gospel (Matt. 28:19; Luke 24:45-47), baptize those who believe (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 35-38) and help them mature in the faith through discipleship (Matt. 28:20; Acts 2:42) and loving discipline (Matt. 18:17-18; 1 Cor. 5:1- 5).
VII. Last Things
A. Return—Our risen Lord will return personally in bodily form to receive His redeemed unto Himself and to judge in righteousness. His return is imminent (1 Thess. 4:13-17; Rev. 22:20).
B. Resurrection of the Dead—After Jesus returns, all of the dead will be raised bodily—the righteous unto eternal life and the wicked unto damnation (John 5:24-29; 1 Cor. 15:20-28; 1 Cor. 15:51-58).
VIII. Last Things
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. God has created marriage to be the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime, and it is intended to portray the relationship between Christ and His church. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord, and parents are to raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord (Gen 1:26–28; 2:16-18, 21- 24, 3:1-13; Deut 6:4–9; 1 Cor 11:7-9; Eph 5:21–6:4; Col 3:18-19; Tit 2:3-5; 1 Pet 3:1-7).