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Articles Of Faith Due to the various different religious organizations which profess to take the Bible as their guide as we do; yet differ with us in doctrine, faith and practice; we feel constrained to set forth a distinctive declaration of what we believe; not as a substitute for any part of the Holy Scriptures, but as defenders of what are the fundamental doctrines of the word of God. The True God We believe that there is one, and only one living and true God; an infinite, intelligent, sovereign spirit whose name is Jehovah; the creator and supreme ruler of Heaven and earth, who is inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence and love. That in the unity of the Godhead there are three Divine persons; the father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; equal in divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. The Holy Scriptures We believe that men, divinely inspired, wrote the holy bible and that the written work is the perfect treasure of heavenly instruction under the authorship of Almighty God; has salvation for its end and truth without any mixture or error for its matter. That it reveals the principles by which God will judge us and is therefore, and shall remain to the end of the world the true centre of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions should be tried. The Creation of the Universe We believe that the Biblical Genesis account is to be accepted literally; not figuratively or allegorically. That God created man in his own image and not by or through the process of evolution from lower species; that all animals and vegetable life was likewise directly created and placed under Gods inviolable (incorruptible and incorrigible) law, that they should bring forth after their kind. The Personality of Satan We believe that the Devil or Satan is a personal evil spirit, formerly an Holy Angel from which estate by transgression he fell, drawing with him a Host of Angels he being their leader and the prince of the power of darkness of this world. He is the enemy of God, the tempter and accuser of the saints; the possessor of the power of death; and as allowed by God, author of all evil and of all false religions, the Master power broker of the present apostasy; that he is destined to final defeat and eternal destruction in the lake of fire. The Fall and Depravity of Man We believe that man was originally created upright and finitely perfect, but by voluntary transgression he fell from his happy and holy estate in consequence of which disobedience and the threatened death was then and there inflicted, losing totally all spiritual life and becoming dead in trespasses and sins and becoming subject to the power of the Devil. The sin of Adam was imputed to his entire race and the corrupt nature has been transmitted to all his posterity by ordinary generation resulting in all descendants of Adam, being by nature a child of wrath, totally destitute of spiritual life, at enmity with God wholly inclined to evil and without strength or hope unless saved by Christ and made alive by the Holy Spirit. The Eternal Purpose of God We believe that election is the eternal personal unconditional purpose of God, according to which he graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves lost sinners and in being perfectly consistent with the free agency of man it comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the most glorious display of Gods sovereign goodness being infinitely free, wise, holy and unchangeable; it utterly excludes boasting and promotes humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God and active imitation of His free mercy. It encourages the use of means in the highest degree, that it may be ascertained by its effects in all who truly believe the Gospel that it is the foundation of Christian assurance and that to ascertain it with regard to ourselves, demands and deserves the utmost diligence. The Way to Salvation We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit in a miraculous manner, born of the Virgin Mary, without human father. He, by the appointment of the Father freely took upon Himself our nature, yet without sin, honored the Divine law by perfect obedience and by His vicarious death made full atonement for the sins of all the Elect. Having risen from the dead He is now enthroned at the right hand of God in Heaven; uniting in His wonderful Person the most tender of sympathies with divine perfections. He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, compassionate, all sufficient Savior and the full benefit of which is received by Faith alone in the shed blood of Christ and that no repentance, no faith, no feeling, no resolutions, no sincere efforts, no submission to rules and regulations of any Church, no baptism nor any other such thing can in the least way add to the value of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Grace of Regeneration We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated; (Born Again) Such regeneration consists in giving Holy disposition to the mind that is accomplished in a manner above our comprehension by the power of the Holy Spirit, in connection with divine truth so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel and that its proper evidence appears in the Holy fruits of repentance, faith and the newness of life. The Blessings of the Gospel We believe that the great Gospel blessing, which Christ guarantees to those who believe in Him, is salvation, which is inclusive of all redemptive acts of God on behalf of the Elect. Effectual Calling is the Divine act of God effectually and irresistibly calling of the Elect to obtain Salvation purchased for them by His atonement. Justification; the Divine Act whereby He purchased through the shed blood of Christ and by His mighty power, the freedom of the believer from the power and dominion of sin. Grace; the Divine disposition of God, wherein He saves, not upon any merit of their own, but wholly by the work and merit of Christ. Propitiation; Divine act whereby Christ is offered as the sinners substitute. Imputation; Divine act whereby God assigns the righteousness and excellence of Christ into the believer. Forgiveness; Divine act whereby the sins of the believer are remitted. Sanctification is Divine act whereby God imparts His holiness to the inner, newly born man and that man is set apart to the service of God. Glorification; Divine act whereby the mortal part of man will be changed into a state and condition of immortality. The Work of Missions We believe Jesus Christ gave the New Testament Church, as an institution, a world wide age lasting commission to make disciples of all nations. That people everywhere are responsible to repent and believe the Gospel and that none of the elect will be saved without hearing and receiving the Gospel and the heathen without the Gospel are lost and will be judged by the light of nature and conscience. It is the duty of every New Testament Baptist Church to support Biblically qualified missionaries who have presented a doctrinal statement and mission fund disclosure statement and who are sent through the authority of a local church, as directed by the Holy Spirit and the majority vote of the church membership. Repentance and Faith We believe that repentance and faith are inseparable and sacred duties provided to the sinner by Gods abundant Mercy/Grace; where by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, deeply convicts us of our guilt, danger, helplessness and of the way to Salvation and the need to turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession and supplication for mercy. At the same time, we do heartily receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet, Priest, King and all sufficient Savior. The Perseverance of the Saints We believe that only are the real believers to endure unto the end and our persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes us from superficial believers; that a special providence watches over our welfare and that we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. The Harmony of the Law and the Gospel We believe that the Law of God is His eternal and unchangeable rule for his moral government; that it is Holy just and good and the inability the scripture ascribes to fallen man to fulfill its precepts has arisen entirely from mans love of sin. That deliverance and restoration for man through one Mediator/Intercessor to honest obedience of the holy law is one truth of the Gospel and is the means through Gods grace that allows connection with the establishment of a New testament Church. The New Testament Church We believe that a New Testament Church is a local visible congregation, of scripturally baptized believers associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel. Observing ordinances instituted by Christ as the head and governed by his laws alone and such an assembly is representative of the body of Christ in its locality in which all the regenerated should affiliate. This is the one true church in the world today and in which its Officers of ordination are Pastors and Deacons. Each assembly has the absolute right to self Government as led by the Holy Spirit and is free from all interference from any organization, group, convention, association or individual. Scriptural cooperation between like assemblies for the spreading of the Gospel and the Doctrines of the Word of God is the individual responsibility of each assembly and they alone shall determine the measure and method of cooperation. Christ’s promise to build His Church is fulfilled in these Churches only, are essential to preserve the apostolic faith and practice; so organized during his earthly ministry. That these Churches and all those that descend from her were given the Great Commission and that these sound New Testament Baptist Churches alone possess divine authority. We brand as unscriptural, open communion, alien baptism, pulpit affiliation with heretical ministers, mission boards, ecumenicalism, unionism, modernism, modern conventions and associations, one church dictatorship, preacher dictatorship and all kindred evils arising from these practices. The Ordinance of Baptism We believe that Bible Baptism is the immersion into water a penitent believer: it is conducted through the Divine authority of a true New Testament Baptist church in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Not in order to obtain the remission of sin, but to declare that the believer is saved by the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and so depicts in a most solemn way his death to sin and resurrection to walk in newness of life, which is a prerequisite to church membership and participation in the Lords Supper. As the ceremonial washing of sin is only pictorial it is essential for the Baptism to be validated, and as such must be performed by authority of a True New Testament Church. Any church that knowingly conducts alien immersion is not a Scriptural Baptist Church and their ordinances are not valid. The Lords Supper We believe that the Lords Supper is not a sacrament, but a solemn symbolic ordinance placed in the church by our Lord whereby members of the local church observe the ordinance by the use of unleavened bread and wine, commune not with one another, but the Lord, by which it shows forth not our love for each other; but of our Lords death till He comes. That the one loaf of the supper points to the unity of the body observing it and such unity is essential to the scriptural observance of the ordinance. The Lords Day We believe that the first day of the week is the Lords Day, that it is to be kept sacred to religious purposes whereby Christians should refrain from all secular labor and worldly recreations and that we should use all devout means of Grace, both private and public to be drawn closer to God and to be provoked to Holier living in preparation for the rest which remains for the people of God. Civil Government We believe civil Government is by divine appointment and arrangement in the best interests of and good order for Human Society. Magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed except in matters opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Prince of the Kings of earth and the only Lord of mans conscience. Godly Living We believe born again believers should abstain from all appearance of evil and are to live soberly, righteously and Godly in this present evil world. We are to be careful to maintain good works and are to seek in every possible way to serve the Jesus Christ and to walk worthy of our high and heavenly calling. Failure will result in chastisement and continued disobedience proves us a stranger to the saving grace of God. The Righteous and the Wicked We believe there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked, that such that have faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, sanctified by the Spirit of our God and are truly righteous in His esteem. While all who continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked and under the curse which distinction holds both in and after death. The Resurrections We believe there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked and of one thousand intervening years between the resurrection of the righteous and of the wicked. The dead in Christ shall rise first and at the end of the one thousand years thee wicked will be raised and judged. The Rapture of the Church We believe the rapture of the church to be a premillennial event. At the rapture, all those who sleep in Christ will be raised in glorified bodies and all saints who live and remain on the earth will be translated, not to see death and will be caught up with them in the air. The Second Coming of Christ We believe that the second coming of Christ is premillennial, bodily visible and will consist of two stages. His pretribulational appearance in the air and his post tribulation coming to the earth. At the rapture, all those who sleep in Christ will be raised in glorified bodies and all saints who live and remain on the earth will be translated, not to see death and will be caught up with them in the air. At His coming to earth he will sit on the throne of his glory for the first time, judging all people then living on the earth. Receiving the righteous into his Kingdom and sending the unrighteous into everlasting fire. His throne is the throne of David. During the seven years of tribulation and the reign of the Antichrist, the woes depicted in the book of Revelations will be poured out. During this time on earth, the Judgment seat of Christ and the marriage of the Lamb will take place in Heaven. At the conclusion of the seven year period our Lord will return to the earth with all the saints for the battle of Armageddon. Satan will be bound a thousand years and the saints will reign a thousand years with Christ on earth. The Final States We believe the earth will be redeemed from the curse of sin and fitted as the eternal dwelling place of the people of God through the process of purification by fire and the finally impenitent souls and resurrected bodies of the incorrigibly wicked will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where their punishment shall endure forever. |
