We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men supernaturally inspired;
that it is truth without any mixture of error for its matter; and therefore is,
and shall remain to the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation
of the will of God to man; the true center of the Christian union; and the
supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be
tried.
1. By “The Holy Bible” we mean that collection of sixty-six books from Genesis
through Revelation, which does not only contain the Word of God, but IS the
very Word of God.
2. By “inspiration” we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy
men of old, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, in such a definite way that
their writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from error,
as no other writings have ever been or ever will be inspired.
3. We further believe that God, through the Holy Spirit, has committed himself
to the Divine and providential preservation in English of the “pure words” of
God (Psalm 12:6-7; Psalm 119:89, Proverbs 30:5). We further believe
that the Authorized Version published in 1611 is that providentially-preserved
Word of God, to the exclusion of all other English versions.
(II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19-21; Psalm 119:89; Proverbs 30:5)
We believe that there is one, and only one, loving and true God, an
infinite, intelligent Spirit, the Maker and supreme Ruler of heaven and earth;
inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence
and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost, equal in every divine perfection, and executing
distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.
(Exodus 20:2-3; Colossians 2:9; Genesis 17:1; Philippians 2:5-6; Revelation
4:11; I John 5:7)
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, equal with God the
Father and God the Son and of the same nature; that He was active in the
creation; that in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the Evil
One until God’s purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of judgment, and
of righteousness; that He bears witness to the truth of the gospel in preaching
and testimony; that He is the agent in the New Birth; that He seals, endues,
guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps the believer.
(John 14:16-17; Matthew 28:19; John 3:5-6; Genesis 1:2; John 14:26)
We believe that a Baptist church is a congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel, said church being understood to be the “pillar and ground of the truth,” 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, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. We believe the true mission of the church is found in the Great Commission; first, to make individual disciples; second, to build up the church; third, to teach and instruct as He has commanded.
We hold that the 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 leader is Christ through the Holy Spirit; that it is
scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the
faith and for the furtherance of the gospel; that every church is the sole and
only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; and that on all
matters of membership, policy, government, discipline, and benevolence, the
will of the local church is final.
(Acts 2:41; I Timothy 3:15; Ephesians 4:11; Acts 18:8; Acts 5:42; I Timothy
3:1-13)
We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the
new birth is a miraculous transaction whereby the sinner becomes a new creature
in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new
birth the one dead in trespasses and sins is made a partaker of the divine
nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new birth is
brought about in a manner above our comprehension, not by culture, not by
character, not by the will of man, but wholly and solely by the power of the
Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary
obedience to the Gospel; that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of
repentance and faith and newness of life.
(John 3:3-5; II Corinthians 5:17; I John 5:11-13; Colossians 2:12-13; John
1:11-13)
We believe in the freeness of God’s grace; that the blessings of salvation
are made free to all by the gospel; that it is the immediate duty of all to
accept those blessings by a cordial, penitent, and obedient faith; and that
nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own
inherent depravity and willful rejection of the Gospel, which rejection
involves him in an aggravated condemnation.
(I Thessalonians 1:4; Colossians 3:12; Romans 8:29; John 3:15-16, 18, 36;
Revelation 22:17; Isaiah 55:13)
We believe that Christian baptism is the complete immersion of a believer in
water, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, to show forth in
a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour; that it pictures our death to sin and resurrection
to a new life, is the obedient submission of the child of God, and does not
constitute in part or in whole salvation or redemption; that it is a
prerequisite to the privileges of a church relationship and to the Lord’s
supper.
(Acts 8:36-39; Matthew 3:6, 16; Matthew 28:19; John 3:23)
We believe that the members of the church, by the sacred use of unleavened
bread and the unfermented fruit of the vine, are to commemorate together the
undying love of Christ, preceded always by solemn self-examination.
(I Corinthians 11:23-28)
We believe that Satan was once holy, and enjoyed heavenly honors; but through
pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell and drew after him a host of
angels; that he is now the malignant prince of the power of the air, and the
unholy god of this world. We hold him to be man’s great tempter, the enemy of
God and His Christ, the accuser of the saints, the author of all false
religions, the chief power behind the present evil world, the lord of the
antichrist, and the author of all powers of darkness — destined,
however, to final defeat at the hands of God’s own Son and to the judgment of
an eternal justice in Hell, a place prepared for him and his angels.
(Isaiah 14:12-15; Revelation 12:9; I Peter 5:8; II Corinthians 4:4; Ezekiel
28:14-17; II Corinthians 11:13-15)
We believe in the Genesis account of creation, and that it is to be accepted
literally, not allegorically nor figuratively; that man was created directly in
God’s image and after His own likeness; that man’s creation was not a matter of
evolution nor evolutionary change of species, nor development through interminable
periods of time from lower to higher forms; that all animal and vegetable life
was made directly, and God’s established law was that they should bring forth
only “after their kind.”
(Genesis 1:1, 11, 24, 26-27; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:1-3; John 1:1-3)
We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker, but
by voluntary transgression he fell from his sinless and happy state, in
consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint, but by
choice, and therefore under just condemnation without defense nor excuse.
(Genesis 3:1-6, 24; Romans 3:10-19, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3)
We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Ghost, in a miraculous
manner; born of Mary, a virgin, as no other man was ever born or can ever be
born of woman; and that He is both the Son of God, and God the Son.
(Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25)
We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace, through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, who by appointment
of the Father, freely took upon Him our nature, yet without sin, honored the
divine law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full and
vicarious atonement for our sins; that His atonement consisted not in setting
us an example by His death as a martyr, but was the voluntary substitution of
Himself in the sinner’s place, the Just dying for the unjust, Christ the Lord,
bearing our sins in His own body on the tree; that, having risen from the dead,
He is now enthroned in heaven and uniting in His wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfection, and that He is
in every way qualified to be the only suitable, compassionate, and
all-sufficient Saviour.
(Ephesians 2:8; Romans 3:24; John 3:16; Philippians 2:7;
II Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 1:1-3)
We believe that those who are born again become “new creatures in Christ
Jesus” and because of the “operation made without hands,” are eternally secure
in the grace of God and have been given eternal salvation. We believe that they
are forever sealed and shall never “come into condemnation”; that grand
attachment to Christ is the mark which distinguishes them from superficial
professors; that a special providence watches over their welfare; and that they
are kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal salvation.
(II Corinthians 5:17; John 10:28-29; Colossians 2:11-12;
Romans 8:1, 35-39; I Peter 1:3-5)
We believe that repentance and faith are solemn obligations and inseparable
graces, wrought in our souls by the quickening Spirit of God; that they occur
when we willfully and knowingly turn from our sin and by faith receive the Lord
Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
(Acts 20:21; Acts 2:37-38; Romans 10:9-13; II Corinthians 7:10)
We believe in and accept the sacred Scriptures upon these subjects at their
full value. Of the resurrection we believe that Christ rose bodily “the third
day according to the Scriptures”; that He alone is our “merciful and faithful
high priest in things pertaining to God”; “that this same Jesus which is taken
up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go
into heaven…” bodily, personally, and visibly; that the "dead in Christ
shall rise first"; that the living saints “shall all be changed in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump;” “that the Lord God
shall give unto Him the throne of His father David;” and that “Christ shall
reign a thousand years in righteousness until He hath put all enemies under His
feet.” We are therefore pre-millennial and pre-tribulational
as it pertains to the return of Christ.
(Matthew 28:1-7; I Corinthians 15; Revelation 20:1-6; Acts 1:3, 11;
I Thessalonians 4:13-16; Revelation 19:11-16)
We believe that the command to give the Gospel to the world is clear and
unmistakable, and this Commission was given to the churches.
(Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; John 20:21; Romans 10:13-15)
We believe that 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, not pay, the
tithe.
(I Corinthians 16:2; Acts 4:34-37; II Corinthians 8:7; Hebrews 7:2, 4;
Leviticus 27:30; Malachi 3:10)
We believe that civil government is of Divine appointment, for the interests
and good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayed for,
conscientiously honored and obeyed, except in things opposed to the will of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience and the coming Prince
of the kings of the earth.
(Romans 13:1; I Peter 2:13, 14, 17; Philippians 2:10-1)
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the
righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith, justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus, and sanctified by the Spirit of our God, are truly
righteous in His esteem; that all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief
are in His sight wicked and under the curse; and that this distinction holds
among men both in and after death, in the everlasting joy of the saved in
heaven and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost in hell.
(I Peter 1:18; Romans 1:17; Romans 6:23; Luke 16:25; Revelation 20:15; II
Corinthians 5:1-8; Matthew 7:13-14; I John 5:12