Verbal Inspiration
We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired by God and are inerrant in the original writings and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and practice. (II Timothy 3:16 – 17)
The Trinity
We believe in the Triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each person being equal yet there being not three Gods but One. (Genesis 1:1; John 10:30)
Virgin Birth
We believe in the Virgin Birth, the sinless life and the deity of Jesus Christ the Lord. (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:35; John 8:46; Hebrews 7:26)
Blood Atonement
We believe in the shed blood of Jesus Christ as the only ground of atonement for sins. (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 9:14)
Resurrection and Ascension
We believe in the bodily resurrection and Lordship of Jesus, His ascension into Heaven and His present advocacy and High Priesthood in the presence of God for us. (Acts 2:23; I Corinthians 15:23; Acts 1:9; I John 2:1; Hebrews 8:1 – 2)
Second Coming
We believe in the “Blessed Hope” the personal, imminent, pre-tribulational and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to the earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom. (I Thessalonians 4:13 – 18; Zechariah 14:4 – 11; Romans 5:9; I Thessalonians 1:10; I Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10; Revelation 19:11 – 16)
Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person, who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, and that He regenerates, indwells, enlightens and empowers the truly saved. (John 16:8; I Corinthians 3:16; I Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:13; I John 2:27)
Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a real personality, that he was created perfect but fell through pride, that he is the author of the fall and arch enemy of God and the souls of men. (Job 1:6 – 7; Ezekiel 28:14 – 15; Isaiah 14:12 – 13)
Total Depravity
We believe that the fall of our first parents caused the total depravity and lost condition of all men by nature. (Romans 3:19; Romans 5:12, 19)
Justification
We believe that men are justified in the single ground of faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 13:38 – 39) This is entirely by grace through faith and not by works so that boasting is excluded. (Ephesians 2:8 – 9; Titus 3:5)
Eternal Security of Believers
We believe in the eternal security and assurance of all the truly saved. (John 10:28 – 29; Romans 8:33 – 34, 38 – 39; Philippians 1:6; Jude 24 – 25)
Two Natures
We believe that those who are born again posses two natures and that they may be victorious over the old through the power of the new, but eradication of the old nature (before death or the rapture) is unscriptural. (Romans 6:13; 8:12 – 13; Galatians 5:16 – 25; Ephesians 4:22 – 24; Colossians 3:10; I Peter 1:14 – 16; I John 3:5 – 9)
The One Body
Though differing in minor matters of doctrine and practice – yet all truly saved of this dispensation are members of the body of Christ, the true church. (I Corinthians 12:12 – 13; Hebrews 12:23) This is equally true that “two cannot walk together except they be agreed” (Amos 3:3) therefore for the purpose of the unity of the local assembly only such as can subscribe to this doctrinal statement shall be admitted as members.
Separation from the World
We believe that all saved are called into a life of separation from all worldly and sinful practices. (Romans 12:1; James 4:4; I John 2:16; II Corinthians 6:14)
The Eternal State
We believe in the resurrection of all men; the eternal conscious punishment of every unsaved person (Matthew 25:46; Revelation 22:11) and the eternal happiness of every saved person (John 14:1 – 6; Philippians 3:20; Revelation 21:1 – 4)
Missions
Faith Baptist Church shall set its own Missions Program cooperating only with those missions and missionaries carrying out the New Testament methods and following New Testament doctrines.
Bible Translations
The Bible we use in Faith Baptist Church is the King James Version as in the old Scofield Reference Bible.
Creation
We believe the Genesis account of creation as being neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of the direct immediate creative acts of the Lord without any evolutionary process; that the Lord created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods (Genesis 1 – 2; Exodus 20:11; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). We reject all alternative theories of human origin including but not limited to evolution, the gap theory, the day-age theory and theistic evolution as unscriptural theories of origin.
The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
We believe Jesus Christ to be the one and only Savior of mankind; to be eternally God and to possess all the attributes of Deity (John 1:1, 1:18); to be virgin born (Matthew 1:23 – 25; Luke 1:26 – 35); to be God incarnate (John 1:14, 1:29); that the purposes of the incarnation were to reveal God, to redeem mankind and to rule over God’s kingdom (Psalm 2:7 – 9; Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, 43:11; Micah 5:2). We believe that Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life, at the end of which He was offered for all mankind as a substitutionary sacrifice for man’s sin; the sacrifice was a just payment to God for the forgiveness of sin (Romans 3:19 – 25, 5:6 – 15; Philippians 2:5 – 11; I Timothy 2:5, 3:16; Titus 2:10 – 15; Hebrews 7:26, 9:24 – 28; I Peter 1:19). We believe that Jesus Christ ascended into heaven after His resurrection to be seated at the right hand of the Father and is now waiting for the time of receiving His church at the rapture of the church (I Thessalonians 4:13-18): At the end of the seven-year Tribulation period, He will return to the earth to rule and reign as King for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-6).
Sin
We believe that all men are born with an inherited sin nature received from our common ancestor – Adam (Romans 5:12); that because of his sin nature, man is a sinner by choice, and he is totally incapable of reforming himself or ceasing from sin by his own power (Romans 3:10 – 26; Romans 7:23); that sin is the
transgression of the law of God (I John 3:4); that sin separates man from God (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 6:23); that there is no remission of sin apart from the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the repentance of man from his sin (Luke 24:46 – 47).
Salvation
We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace, a free gift of God in the person of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8 – 9); that salvation is received individually by a repentance from sin and a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12; I Peter 1:18 – 19); that through His mediation the Son of
God, by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Himself our nature, yet without sin; that He honored the divine law with His personal obedience; that by the shedding of His blood in death He made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins (Hebrews 9:15 – 28, 10:19, 12:24; Revelation 1:5).
Eternal Security
We believe that the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever; there is nothing that anyone can do to lose or have taken from them the gift of eternal life. (John 6:37 – 40; 10:27 – 30; Romans 8:1, 38 – 39; I Corinthians 1:4 – 8; I Peter 1:4 – 5)
Church
We believe that the church began with the calling out of the twelve apostles by Jesus Christ and was empowered on the day of Pentecost (Matthew 16:16 – 18; Acts 2:41 – 42); that the local church is composed of members who have been saved and baptized according to the command of Christ and have voluntarily united together for the purposes of worship, fellowship and service (I Corinthians
12:13) that Jesus Christ gave Himself for the church and that He is the only true head (Ephesians 1:20 – 23; 3:3 – 11; Colossians 1:18). We believe that the establishment and continuation of the local church is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament (Acts 14:27; II Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:2); that its mission is the spread of the gospel to all men and to earnestly contend for the faith. We believe that its officers are Pastor and deacons whose qualifications and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures (I Timothy 3:1 – 13; Titus 1:5 – 11); that the local church has the absolute right of self government free from the interference of an hierarchy of individuals or organizations, religious or governmental; that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel. On all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline and of benevolence, the will of the local church is final.
Church Ordinances
We believe that there are two Christian ordinances and that they are symbolical, not sacramental: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Baptism
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; that it sets forth in picture the essential facts in redemption – the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ; that it gives testimony to what has taken place in the heart of the believer – death to sin and resurrection to walk in newness of life; that baptism after salvation is an act of obedience and is a prerequisite for local church membership. (Matthew 28:19 – 20; Romans 6:3 – 5; Acts 2:41; 8:12, 26 – 39)
Lord’s Supper
We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of the Lord’s death to be observed until He comes; that the elements, the bread and the fruit of the vine are only symbols of His broken body and shed blood; that our observance of it is a pictorial testimony of the believer’s fellowship with the crucified Savior and should be preceded by solemn heart searching and self judgment. (Matthew 26:26 – 30; I Corinthians 10:16 – 21; 11:17 – 34)
Stewardship
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of the Lord’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church – in tithes and offerings, in talents and in time; that the Lord has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to support the local church, to provide relief to those in need and to spread the Gospel (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9 – 10; Malachi 3:10; Acts 4:34 – 37; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 8:2 – 9; 9:6 – 7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; I Timothy 5:17 – 18; I John 3:17).
Family Relationships
We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before the Lord but that the Lord has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and in the church; that the husband is to be the leader of the home and men are to be the leaders (Pastors and deacons) of the church (accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church). (Galatians 3:28; I Timothy 2:8 – 15; 3:4 – 5, 12) We believe that the Lord has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society; that Biblical marriage is the joining of one man and one woman who, by a solemn vow before the Lord, pledge fidelity solely to their mate for the rest of their lives (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4 – 6; Romans 7:2); that the husband is to love his wife as Jesus Christ loves the church; that the wife is to submit herself to the Biblical leadership of her husband as the church submits to the
headship of Jesus Christ; that children are an heritage from the Lord; that parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values and leading them through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline, including Biblical corporal correction (Genesis 1:26 – 28; Deuteronomy 6:4 – 9; Psalm 127:3 – 5; Proverbs 19:18; 22:15; 23:13 – 14; Mark 10:6 – 12; I Corinthians 7:1 – 16; Ephesians 5:21 – 33; 6:1 – 4;Colossians 3:18 – 21; Hebrews 13:4; I Peter3:1 – 7).
Divorce and Remarriage
We believe that the Lord disapproves of divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of the Lord in Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of Pastor or deacon. (Malachi 2:14 – 17; Matthew 19:3 – 12; Romans 7:1 – 3; I Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:5 – 6)
Human Sexuality
We believe that the Lord has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage; that any form of deviant sexual behavior including but not limited to adultery, homosexuality, lesbianism, incest, fornication and pornography are sinful perversions of the Lord’s gift of sex. (Genesis 2:24; 19:5 – 7, 13; 26:8 – 9; Leviticus 18:1 – 30; Romans 1:26 – 32; I Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1 – 8; Hebrews 13:4)
Abortion
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being; that abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life; that abortion is murder (Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; 139:14 – 16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15 – 18; Luke 1:44).
Government
We believe that the Lord has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church and 3) the state; that every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable unto the Lord and governed by His Word; that the Lord has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced these responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other; that the home, the church and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective biblically-assigned spheres of responsibility under the Lord (Romans 13:1- 7; Ephesians 5:22 – 24; Hebrews 13:17; I Peter 2:13 – 14).
Music
We believe that the purpose of music in the church is to honor and glorify the Lord and to edify Christians (Ephesians 5:18 – 19; Colossians 3:16; I Corinthians 10:31); that the Lord is holy and all music and lyrics used in the church must deliver a message that is in keeping with His holy character (Ephesians 5:10 – 11; I Peter 1:14 – 16; I John 2:15 – 17).
AUTHORITY FOR DOCTRINE AND STATEMENT OF FAITH
The Bible itself is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. This excludes all manmade systems of theology, confessions of faith and traditions from being either authoritative or prescriptive for our practice. The King James Version of the Bible is the best preserved Word of God for the English speaking people and is the only acceptable translation to be used for preaching and teaching in this church. The Doctrine and Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. We do believe, however, that the forgoing Doctrine and Statement of Faith accurately represent the teaching of the Bible and, therefore, are binding upon all members.