fellowship baptist church STATEMENT OF FAITH

Section    1.    The Scriptures

We believe that the Holy Bible as originally written was verbally and plenary inspired and the product of Spirit controlled men, and therefore is truth without any admixture of error for its matter. We believe the Bible to be the center of true Christian unity and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions shall be tried.

(2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:19-21) For the sake of unity, consistency, and to avoid confusion, the King James Version (KJV) or the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible will be used in the doctrinal statement, testimony, and teaching ministry of this church.

Section   2.    The True God

We believe there is one and only one living and true God, an infinite, sovereign 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 Spirit, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption .

(Exod. 20:2,3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Rev. 4:11)

Section   3.    Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal, unchanging Son of God; that he is Divine, and the many names and titles implying Deity are used of Him, and that the fact of Him being God is as firmly established as the Father; that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary; that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit; that in His birth, Jesus Christ submitted to the conditions of human life; that He died for the sins of all man; that His death was predetermined, voluntary, vicarious, sacrificial, expiatory, propitiatory, redemptive, and substitutionary; that Jesus arose from the dead, physic ally, according to the scriptures by many infallible proofs; that after forty days, Jesus ascended into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us; and that there He will remain until He comes to rapture all believers.

(Heb. 13:8; Acts 9:17; 16:31; 3:14; Matt. 1:23, 4:18; Phil. 2:6,7; 2 Pet. 2:22; Jn. 3:36

Acts 8:23; Jn. 10:17; 1 Pet. 3:18, 11; 2 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 3:13; 1 Jn. 4:10; Gal. 4:4, 5

1 Pet. 2:24; Acts 1:1-3; Rom. 8:34; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17)

Section    4.    The Holy Spirit

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 righteousness, and of judgment; 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; (Jn.14:16, 17; Matt. 28:19; Heb. 9:14; Jn. 14 :26;

Luke 1:35; Gen.1: 1--3; Jn. 16:8-11; ActsS:30-32; Jn. 3:5,6; Eph. 1:1 3, 14; Mark 1 :8

Jn. 1:33; Acts 11:16; Luke 24:49; Rom. 8:14, 16, 27; 15 :19)

that the gifts of tongues and healing were "sign gifts" until the Scriptures were completed; and that these gifts ceased at that time. (Heb. 2:4; 1 Cor. 13:8)

Section   5.    The Devil, or Satan

We believe in the personality of Satan; that he is the unholy "god of this age"; that he is the ruler of all the powers of darkness; and that he is destined to the: judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire. (Matt 4:1-11; 2 Cor. 4:4; Rev. 20:10)

Section   6.    Creation

We believe the Genesis account of creation as being neither allegory nor myth, but a literal l, historical account of the direct, immediate creative acts of God  without  any  evolutionary process ; that man , spirit soul and body, was created by a direct work of God and not from previously existing forms of life; and that all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race. (Gen. 1 & 2; Col. 1:16, 17; Jn 1:3)

Section   7.    The Fall of Man

We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his maker; but by voluntary transgression, Adam fell from his sinless and happy state, and all men sinned in him, in consequence of which all men are totally depraved, are partakers of Adam's fallen nature, and are sinners by nature and by conduct; and therefore, are under just condemnation without defense or excuse. (Gen. 3:1-6, 24; Rom. 3:10-19, 5:12, 19; 1:18, 32)

Section   8.    The Virgin Birth

We believe that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Spirit in a miraculous manner, born of the virgin Mary, as no other man was ever born or can ever be born of a woman, and that He is both the Son of God and God the Son. (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; Jn. 1:14

Heb. 1:18)

Section   9.    The Atonement for Sin

We believe that salvation of sinners is divinely initiated and wholly of grace through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, who, by the 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 a 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.    (Jonah 1:9; Eph. 2:8; Acts 15:11; Rom. 3:24, 25: Jn. 3:16; Matt. 18 :11

Phil. 2:7,8; Heb. 2:14; Isa. 53:4-7; 1 Jn. 4:10; 1 Cor. 15 :3; 2 Cor. 5:21)

Section   10.    Resurrection and Priesthood

We believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, in His ascension into heaven, where He now sit s at the right hand of the Father as our High Priest. (Matt.28:6.7; Luke 24:39; Jn. 20:27; 1 Cor. 15:4; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:2-6, 51; Acts 1:9-11; Rev. 3:21; Heb. 8:6, 12:1, 7:25; 1 Tim. 2:5,

1 Jn. 2:1; Heb. 2:17; 5:9, 10)

Section   11.    Grace in The New Creation

We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new creation is brought about by our sovereign God in a manner above our comprehension, solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience, faith and newness of life. (Jn. 3:3; 2 Cor. 5:17; 1 Jn. 5:1

Jn. 3:6, 7; Acts 16:30-33; 2 Pet. 1:4; Rom. 5:23; Eph. 2:1, 5; 2 Cor. 5:19; Col. 2:13; Jn. 3:8)

Section   12.    Justification

We believe that justification is the judicial act of God whereby He declares us to be righteous through faith in Christ Jesus; that justification includes the pardon of sin and the imputation of God' s righteousness; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer's blood.

(Acts 13:39; Isa. 53:11; Zech. 13:1; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Rom. 5:1, 9; 8:1)

Section   13.    Repentance

We believe that repentance is a change of mind and purpose toward God prompted by the Holy Spirit; that is characterized by godly sorrow for sin as offensive to God and ruinous to the soul; and that true repentance is inseparably related to true faith.

(Luke 13:1-3; 15:7; Acts 8:22; Rom. 2:4; 2 Cor 7:10; Acts 20:21)

Section   14.    Faith and Salvation

We believe that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition of salvation. (Acts 16 :31) Section    15.    Sanctification

We believe that sanctification is the divine setting a part of the believer unto God accomplished

in a threefold manner:

1: an eternal act of God, based upon redemption in Christ, establishing the believer in a position of holiness at the moment that he trusts the Savior,

2: a continuing process in the saint as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to the life,

3.    the final accomplishment of this process at the Lord's return.

(Heb 10:10; 3:1; Jn. 17:17; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Cor. 1:3 0; Eph. 5:25, 26; 1 Thess. 4:3, 4; 5:23, 24

Eph. 5:27; 1 Jn. 3:2; Jude 24, 25; Rev. 22:11)

Section     16.    The Security of the Saint

We believe that all who are truly born again are kept by God the Father for Jesus Christ. (Phi l. 1 :6; Jn. 10:28, 29; Rom. 8:35-39; Jude 1) 

Section   17.    The Church

We believe in the unity of all true believers in the Church, which is the Body of Christ, which was established on the Day of Pentecost, and that all believers, from Pentecost to the Rapture, both Jews and Gentiles, are added to this Church by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

We believe that this Church is manifested through the local church which is a congregation of immersed believers associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word; and that its officers are pastors and deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the Scripture. We believe the true mission of the church is the faithful witnessing of Christ to all men as we have opportunity. We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; that the one and only superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit t; 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 each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; and that on all matters of membership, of polity , of government, of discipline, of benevolence, the will of the local church is final.

(Eph. 3:1-6; 1 Cor. 12 :12, 13; Acts 2:41, 42; 1 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22, 23; 4:11; Acts 20:17-28

l Tim. 3: 1-7; Col. 1:18; Eph. 5:23, 24; Acts 15:13-28)

Section   18.    Baptism and The Lord's Supper

We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, under the authority of the local church, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem of faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior, through Whom we died and rose to a new life; that baptism is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership. We believe that the Lord's Supper is the commemoration of His death until He comes and should be preceded always by solemn self-examination. We believe that the Biblical order of the ordinances is baptism and the Lord ' s Supper, and that participants should be immersed believers.

(Acts 8:36, 38, 39; Jn. 3:23; Rom. 6:3-5; Matt. 3:16; Col. 2:12; 1 Cor. 11:23-28

Matt. 28:1 9, 20; Acts 2:41, 42)

Section   19.    Separation

We believe in obedience to the Biblical commands to separate entirely from worldliness and ecclesiastical apostasy unto God.

(2 Cor. 6:14; 7:1; 1 Thess. 1:9, 10; 1 Tim. 6:3-5; Rom. 16:17; 2 Jn. 9-11)

Section    20.    Civil Government

We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society and 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 King of kings.

(Rom 13:1-7; 2 Sam. 23:3; Exodus 18:21, 22; Acts 23:5; Matt. 22:21; Acts 5:29; 4:1 9, 20

Dan. 3: 17, 1 8)

Section    21.    The Rapture and Subsequent Events

We believe in the imminent, premillennial return of Christ for His Church, and that at that moment that the dead in Christ shall be raised in glorified bodies, and the living in Christ shall be

given glorified bodies without tasting death, and all shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air

before the seventieth week of Daniel.

(1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:42A4, 51-54; Phil. 3:20, 21; Rev. 3:10)

We believe that the Great Tribulation, which follows the Rapture of the church, will be culminated by the revelation of Christ in power and great glory to sit upon the throne of David and to establish the millennial reign.

(Dan. 9:25-27; Matt.24:29-31; Luke l :30-33; Isa. 9:6, 7; 11:1-9; Acts 2:29, 30

Rev. 20:1-4, 6)

Section    22.    The Righteous and The Wicked

We believe that there is a judgment seat before which all men must stand, both the righteous and the wicked. We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between them. Only those who are justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Spirit of God are truly righteous in His esteem. We believe in the reward of everlasting life and felicity for those e who accept Christ as Lord and do homage to His Name and faithfully follow His Word. We also believe that all those who continue in impenitence and unbelief are in God's sight wicked and under the curse; and that this distinction holds both in and after death. Therefore, according to God's Word: " Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life shall be cast into ... " everlasting and conscious suffering in the Lake of Fire.

(Mal. 3:18; Gen. 18:23; Rom. 6:17, 18; 1 Jn. 5:19; Rom. 7:6; 6:23; Prov. 14 :32; Luke 16:25

Matt. 25:34-41; Jn. 8:21; Rev. 20:14, 15; Rev. 20:11-15; Rev. 20:5, 6; Rev. 21 :8)