Having placed our faith totally in the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation, believing in the teachings and practices of Baptists and in the distinctive principles for which they have always stood; we join together as a body of baptized believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
21 Articles of Belief
Men divinely inspired wrote the Holy Bible. Authored by God, its purpose is salvation, and is truth without any mixture of error. It reveals the principles by which God will judge us. Therefore, it is, and always will be, the true center of Christian union, and the standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tested.
2 Tim. 3:16-17; Prov. 30:5-6; Rom. 2:12; Jn. 12:47-48
There is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit, Whose Name is JEHOVAH, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth. He is indescribably glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love. In the unity of the Godhead there are three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are equal in every way, but perform distinct, harmonious functions in the great work of redemption.
Jn. 4:24; Ps. 83:18, 147:5; Ex. 15:11; Mk. 12:30; Rev. 4 :11 ; Matt. 28 :19
Man was created in holiness under the law of his Maker; but by choosing to sin, fell from that holy state. As a result, all mankind are now sinners. Being by nature utterly devoid of the holiness required by the law of God, they are positively inclined to evil and therefore under just condemnation to eternal punishment, without defense or excuse.
Gen. 1:27, 1:31, 3:6-24; Is. 53:6; Eph. 2:3; Ezek. 18:19-20; Rom. 1:20, 3:10, 3:19, 5:19
God choosing to save men is His eternal purpose. Through His grace He regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners. By it He demonstrates His sovereign goodness, being infinitely free, wise, holy, and unchangeable. Grace excludes all boasting by us, and promotes humility, love, praise, trust, and active imitation of His free mercy. It encourages our greatest effort in sharing the Gospel, and its effects will be evident in all who truly believe. It is the basis for a Christian’s assurance of salvation, and that assurance demands and deserves living a life pleasing to God.
2 Tim. 1:8-9, 2:10; 1 Thess. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; Rom. 8:30
Salvation of sinners is totally of grace, through the shed blood and the mediation by the Son of God. Christ obeyed the will of the Father and although He was without sin, received our punishment and by His death made a full atonement for sins. Having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in heaven. He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, compassionate, and an all-sufficient Savior.
Eph. 2:8; Jn. 3:16; Phil. 2:6-7; Isa. 53:4-5; Heb. 7:25; Col. 2:9
Regeneration, or the new birth, is the change brought about in the soul by the Holy Spirit. It imparts a new nature and spiritual life. The person becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus, and a holy disposition is given to the mind. The will is subdued, the power of sin broken, and desire changed from love of sin and self to a love of holiness and God. The change is instantaneous, brought about solely by the power of God, in a manner incomprehensible to reason. The evidence of it is found in a changed temperament, the fruits of righteousness, and a newness of life. Without it salvation is impossible.
Jn 1:13, 3:3, 3:6; 1 Pet. 1:23; Jas. 1:18; 2 Cor. 5:17; 1 Jn. 2:29; Eph. 4:24; Col. 1:13, 2:13; Rom. 6:13; 1 Cor. 6:11
Repentance is a personal act, prompted by the Spirit, and consists of a godly sorrow for sin, because it is offensive to God and disastrous to the soul. It is accompanied by prayer for pardon, by sincere hatred of sin, and persistent turning away from all that is evil and unholy.
Matt. 3:1-2, 4:17; Mk. 1:5; Acts 3:19, 5:31, 17:30, 20:21; 2 Cor. 7:10; Lk. 24:47; Rom. 2:5; Is. 55:7
Faith, brought about by the Spirit, is the means through which Christ is received by the soul as its sacrifice and Savior. It is an assent of the mind and consent of the heart, consisting mainly of belief and trust. God’s Words are unconditionally accepted and believed as true, while Christ is completely trusted for salvation. By it the believer is brought into a vital relationship with God, freely justified, and lives aware of His constant presence. Faith reveals Christ to the would as a willing and sufficient Savior and commits the heart and life to Him.
Acts 16:11; Rom. 1:17, 3:22, 5:1, 10:4; Heb. 11:1, 11:6; Jas. 2:23; Jer. 17:7; Ps. 34:22, 125:1; 2 Cor. 5:7
Making the guilty blameless is a gift Christ gives to those who believe in Him. Justification includes the pardon of sin and the promise of eternal life. It is bestowed, not through any good acts that we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood. By virtue of that faith, His perfect righteousness is freely imputed to us, bringing us into a state of peace and favor with God, and securing us every other blessing needed for time and eternity.
Jn. 1:16; Acts 13:29; Rom. 5:1-2, 5:9
Adoption is a gracious act by which the Father, for the sake of Christ, accepts believers as His children, by a new and spiritual birth. They become members of the family of God and heirs of an inheritance reserved in heaven for them.
Rom. 8:14-16; Gal. 3:26, 4:5-7; Eph. 1:15; 1 Jn. 3:1; Heb. 12:7; 1 Pet. 2:9
Sanctification is the process by which, according to the will of God, we share in His holiness. It is a progressive work that began at regeneration and is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, Who is the Sealer and Comforter. Sanctification is accomplished by the continual application of the Word of God, self-examination, self-denial, prayer, and in the practices of disciplines and duties.
1 Thess. 4:3, 5:23; Prov. 4:18; Phil. 2:12-13; 1 Tim. 4:7
Those who are truly regenerate, being born of the Spirit, will not utterly fall away and finally perish, but will endure unto the end. Their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark that distinguishes them from those who only profess to believe. God specially watches over them, and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Jn. 6:39, 8:31; 1 Jn. 2:19; Rom. 8:28; Phil. 1:6
A local church is a congregation of immersed believers, associated by the covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its officers are pastors and deacons, whose qualifications and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. The true mission of the church is the faithful witnessing of Christ to all men as we have opportunity. The local church has the absolute right of self-government free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations, and the one and only Superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit. It is Scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel. Each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation. On all matters of membership, policy, government, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final.
Acts 2:41; 2 Cor. 8:5; 1 Cor. 11:2; Phil. 1:1
Christian Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer in Christ, in the Name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit. It is a beautiful illustration of our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior and a picture of our death to sin and resurrection to a new life. It is a prerequisite to church membership.
Acts 2:41-42, 8:36-37; Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:4
The Lord’s Supper is a provision of bread and juice as symbols of Christ’s body and blood in commemoration of the suffering and death of the Lord. Partaken of by believers, after faithful self-examination, it demonstrates their faith and participation in the merits of His sacrifice and their assurance of eternal life through His resurrection from the dead.
Lk. 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:26-28
God appoints civil governments for the interest and good order of human society. Public officials are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed, except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is above all and over all. Civil rulers have no rights of control over, or of interference with, religious matters.
Rom. 13:1-7, 14:4; 1 Pet. 3:13; Matt. 10:28, 22:21, 23:10; Acts 5:29; Rev. 19:16
There is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked. Only those who through faith are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and sanctified by the Spriit of God are truly righteous in His esteem, while all those who continue in unrepentance and disbelief are, in His sight, wicked and under the curse. This distinction holds among men both in this life and after death.
Mal. 3:18; Rom. 16:17; 1 Jn. 2:29, 5:19; Gal. 3:10; Prov. 14:32; Lk. 16:25
We believe in the bodily, personal, premillennial return of Jesus Christ and that He will come before the seven-year tribulation period to take away His Church, coming only in the air. Believers who have died will be bodily resurrected at the coming of Christ for His Church and taken up with transformed living saints to meet the Lord in the air. He will return with His Church at the close of the tribulation to judge the living nations and to set up His kingdom on earth. The wicked dead will be raised at the close of the millennial kingdom and stand in their bodies at the Great White Throne of judgment to receive their final doom.
1 Thess. 4:13-18; Matt. 25:31-46; Rev. 7:9-17, 19:11-12; Jn. 5:21-30
Marriage was ordained by God at Creation as the sacred union of one Man and one Woman. All sexual relations must therefore be reserved for that union. Christian marriage is a representation of Christ’s relationship to His Church.
Gen. 1:26-28, 2:24; Matt. 19:1-10; 1 Cor. 6:9-11, 6:18; Eph. 5:22-23; Heb. 13:4; Prov. 6:27-33
Like any of the sexual sins outside of marriage, homosexuality is an unrighteous lifestyle choice that is inconsistent with the life of a believer.
1 Cor. 6:9-11; 1 Jn. 3:9-10; Rom. 1:26-27; Gen. 19:1-13; Lev. 18:22, 20:13
Children are a blessing from the Lord. Thus all human life is sacred and worthy of protection from the moment of conception.
Ps. 22:9-10, 94:21, 127, 128, 139:13-16; Jer. 1:5; 2 Kgs. 24:4; Prov. 6:17
The command to give the Gospel to the world is clear and unmistakable, and this Commission was given to the churches.
Matt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15; Acts 1:8; Jn. 20:21; Rom. 10:13-15
Scriptural giving is one of the fundamentals of the faith/ We are commanded to bring our gifts into the storehouse (common treasury of the church) upon the first day of the week. Under grace we give, and do not pay, the tithe. Abraham gave a tenth part of all – Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils (Heb. 7:2, 4), and this was four hundred years before the law, and is confirmed in the New Testament.
2 Cor. 8:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Matt. 23:23; Lev. 27:30; Mal. 3:10