Below is a summary of beliefs we subscribe to as a church. It is taken from the Baptist Faith and Message (1963), a general statement of what most Baptists believe.

 

The Bible

The Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God’s revelation of himself to all people. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.

God

God reveals himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

As Father, God reigns with care over his universe, his creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace.

Jesus is the eternal Son of God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived perfectly as both God and man and in his death on the cross, he made provision for the redemption of people from sin. He was raised from the dead and appeared to his disciples before ascending into heaven and is now at the right hand of God. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to complete His redemptive mission.

The Holy Spirit is the spirit of God. He inspired people to write the Scriptures and enables people to understand truth. He points people to Jesus, convicts people of sin, enables salvation, cultivates Christian character and bestows spiritual gifts. His presence in the Christian is proof of one’s standing with God.

Mankind

Mankind was created by God in His own image and is the crowning work of creation. By free choice, mankind sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. As a result, people have inherited a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Only God’s grace can redeem people from this state. In spite of sin, people still possess dignity and are worthy of respect and Christian love as God’s image-bearers.

Salvation

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole person and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In salvation, believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus as they repent in faith and turn from their sin toward God. Once this new birth has taken place, believers can then progress in sanctification as they are set apart and used by God for his purposes.

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The Church

A New Testament church is an autonomous body associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the two ordinances of Christ, and seeking to extend the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The New Testament also speaks of the church as the body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages.

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Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

Christian baptism is the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.

The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

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Last Things

God, in his own time and in his own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to his promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all people in righteousness.