STATEMENT OF FAITH

A. Scriptures. We believe the Scriptures, consisting of the Old and New Testaments alone, to be the verbal plenary inspired Word of God in the original writings. We believe the King James Version is the preserved Word of God in the English language and will be used exclusively in all ministries of this local church. We believe the Bible is inerrant and that it is the supreme and final authority on all matters of faith and practice.

Psalm 12:6; Psalm 119:89; II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:21

B. Godhead. We believe in one God who exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that they are equal in every divine perfection and are executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.

Matthew 28:19; John 14:7-12; John 16:7

C. Jesus Christ. We believe Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, begotten by the Holy Spirit: that He is fully God and fully man. We believe Jesus shed His blood to atone for our sins, willingly gave His life as a ransom for all, was bodily raised from the dead and ascended into Heaven, where He now makes intercession for us, and is coming again to receive His own.

Matthew 1:18-21; John 1:1-2; Acts 1:8-11; Colossians 1:19-20

D. Holy Spirit. We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine person, the third person of the Godhead, and that He convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment, that He indwells the believer at the moment of regeneration, and that He fills and empowers believers for service as they yield themselves and surrender to His will.

John 15:26; John 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18

E. Creation. We believe that the universe and all that it contains was created by the spoken Word of God according to the seven day Genesis account of creation, and that it is to be accepted literally. Man was created directly in God’s own image and after His likeness, making him distinct from all other living creatures. Man’s existence was not a product of random chances, nor evolutionary change of species. Exodus 20:11; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 11:3; John 1:3; Genesis 1:1&24&26-27; 2:21-33; Revelation 10:6

F. Sin. We believe that man, who was created in God’s image, became a sinner through voluntary disobedience to God’s Word, and that through one man’s sin the curse of sin came upon all humankind, resulting in not only physical, but also spiritual death. There is not one without sin, therefore all are in need of a Saviour.

Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:14-15.

G. Heaven. We believe in a immortal and incorruptible place called Heaven which is prepared for all who have accepted Christ by grace through faith; it is an inheritance pure and undefiled in which the saved go to dwell in the presence of the Lamb either in the moment of death or after the rapture. John14:1-3; Hebrews 11:6; I Corinthians 2:9; Philippians 3:20-21; I Peter 1:4; II Corinthians 5:8; Revelation 7:9

H. Hell We believe in a literal place called Hell which was prepared for the devil and his angels; but since the fall of Adam has become a place of eternal punishment for the ungodly who have rejected the Truth of the Gospel. It is a place of everlasting fire, torment, and outer darkness where the soul and body are forever destroyed while in complete alienation from God. Matthew 25:41; 10:28; 8:12; Revelation 20:15; Luke 16:24

I. Salvation. We believe sinful humankind can only be saved by grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, that through His resurrection we have the free gift of eternal life, and that by the power of God we are secure in Christ, eternally saved. The blood of Christ cleanses from all sin - past, present, and future, and is sufficient to save anyone who will believe. John 10:27-30; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9

J. Security of the Believer We believe that those who receive Jesus Christ as Saviour are eternally secure. The security of the believer is not conditioned upon one’s circumstances, emotional experiences or strength. The believer’s security rests in the finished work of Jesus Christ and God’s taking that responsibility as His own. John 10:27-30; Romans 8:31-34&38-39; I John 2:1-2; 5:11-13

K. Church. We believe that a local church is an organized body of believers baptized by immersion upon credible confession of faith in Jesus Christ, recognizing only two offices (pastor and deacon), sovereign in polity, and bonded together for work, worship, mutual edification, observance of the ordinances, and the worldwide proclamation of the Gospel. The church is autonomous, with Christ as its head. Matthew 16:18-19; Matthew 28:19-20; I Corinthians 12:12-31; Hebrews 10:25

L. Baptism. We believe that baptism is one of two ordinances committed to the local New Testament Church, that immersion is the only scriptural method, and salvation it’s only prerequisite. It is a step of obedience and a symbol that publicly identifies the believer with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans 6:1-5; Acts 2:41; Acts 8:36-38

M. Lord’s Supper. We believe the Lord’s Supper to be a church ordinance in commemoration of the Lord’s death till He comes again. The unleavened bread representing His body, and the cup (non-alcoholic grape juice) symbolic of His blood are the elements used. The Lord’s Supper should be partaken of by believers who are scripturally baptized and members of this church and that only after careful self-examination. I Corinthians 11:23-32

N. Last Things. We believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ to raise the dead in Christ, and rapture His saints out of this world, following which there will be a seven-year period of tribulation upon the earth, after which Christ will return with His saints to set up His millennial kingdom, a literal 1000 year period, during which Satan shall be bound. At the close of the millennium, Satan is again loosed for a short season, but is

afterward banished forever to the Lake of Fire. The unsaved will be judged to eternal condemnation at the Great White Throne, and the saved will enjoy eternity with the Lord in Heaven. Matthew 24; I Corinthians 15:51-52; I Thessalonians 4:13-17; Revelation 6-16; Revelation 20.

O. Civil Government. We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interest and good order of human society; that government officials are leaders for whom we are to pray, conscientiously honour and obey, except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ as laid forth in His Word. II Samuel 23:3; Exodus 18:21; Acts 23:5; 4:19-20; Matthew 22:21; Daniel 3:18; I Timothy 2:1-3

P. The Baptist Faith. We believe that Baptists are the original Christians. We did not commence our existence at the Reformation, we were reformers before Luther or Calvin were born; we never came from the Church of Rome, for we were never in it, but we have an unbroken line up to the Apostles themselves. We have always existed from the very days of Christ, and our principles, sometimes veiled and forgotten, like a river which may travel underground for a little season, have always had honest and holy adherents. Persecuted alike by Romanists and Protestants of every sect, yet there never has existed a government holding Baptist principles which persecuted others; nor, I believe, any body of Baptists ever held it to be right to put the consciences of others under the control of man. We have ever been ready to suffer, as our martyrologies will prove, but we are not ready to accept any help from the State, to prostitute the purity of the Bride of Christ to any alliance with Government, and we will never make the Church the despot over the consciences of men. (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

Present Trends in Doctrine & Practice.
 

NEO-ORTHODOXY - This theological persuasion is a futile attempt to reconcile, .The higher scientific Biblical criticism with the true Biblical interpretation. Such an appeal to Biblical revelation is based on half-truths and as such is false and deceptive. We utterly reject this method and position.
 

NEO-EVANGELICALISM - This movement, while claiming to be fundamental in theology, has actually compromised the underlying principles of the Christian faith. It questions inspiration and literal interpretation; it accepts liberals as Christians, takes a new attitude toward the ecumenical movement, promotes ecumenical evangelism, denies both ethical and ecclesiastical separation, restructures eschatology, and over-stresses the

social aspects of the Gospel. We hold this stand to be unscriptural.
 

ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT - The attempt to unite the different faiths today on the basis of the least common denominator of doctrine is a betrayal of the unity of believers based upon sound doctrine of the historic Christian faith. Its dialogue with other religions is dialectical. Its method of operation is subversive and shows a tendency to totalitarianism. Its concept of an ecclesiastical kingdom is not supported by Scripture. We reject all cooperation with this movement.

THE TONGUES MOVEMENT - We believe that the gift of tongues was given as a sign to Israel and like the gifts of Apostleship and prophecy, which were for the founding of the church, is therefore not being given today. We believe that the current resurgence of the practice of tongues, which is not Scripturally regulated and which is usually divisive, is not the Scriptural gift.