| ESSENTIAL
CHRISTIAN BELIEFS |
| God |
There is one God. He is
the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He eternally exists in three
personalities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three
are co-equal and one. He is perfect in His many attributes of holiness,
love, power, knowledge, justice, and mercy. |
Genesis 1:1, 26, 27, 3:22
2 Corinthians 13:14
1 Peter 1:2
Matthew 28:19
Psalm 90:2 |
| Jesus
Christ |
Jesus Christ is God's
Son. He is co-equal with the Father. He is both God and man. He was
born of a virgin. He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as
the perfect sacrifice for the sins of His people by dying on a cross.
He died to become a substitutionary atonement for the sins of His
people. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His
power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and
will return again someday to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord
of Lords. |
Matthew 1:22-23
Romans 1:3-4
Hebrews 4:14-15
Isaiah 9:6
Acts 1:9-11
John 1:1-5; 14:10-30, 14:16-17 |
Holy
Spirit
|
The Holy Spirit is
co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is the divine helper,
assistant, counselor and instructor. He is present in the world to make
man aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every
Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with
power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in
doing what is right. He gives every believer a spiritual gift when they
are saved. As Christians, we seek to live under His control daily. |
2 Corinthians 3:17
Acts 1:8
Ephesians 1:13; 5:18
John 16:7-13; 14:16-27
1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16
Galatians 5:25 |
| God's
Word |
The Bible is
God’sWord to us. It was written by human authors, under the
supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of
truth for Christian beliefs and living. The Bible is inspired by God,
and is the truth without any mixture of error. It is the sole authority
for life. |
2 Timothy 1:13; 3:16
2 Peter 1:20-21
Psalm 119:105, 160; 12:6
Proverbs 30:5 |
| Human
Beings |
Human beings are made in
the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. As the supreme
object of God’s creation, we were designed for dignity.
However, Adam’s sin catapulted the creation into a fallen
state, and plunged all his descendants into depravity. Thus, all of us
are marred by rebellion and disobedience toward God, which is called
“sin.” Sin separates people from God and causes
many problems in life. |
Genesis 1:27
Psalm 8:3-6
Romans 3:23
Isaiah 53:6a; 59:1-2 |
| Salvation |
Salvation is
God’s free gift to us. We receive this gift through
repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone. Repentance means turning
away from our sin and turning towards Christ. Faith means trusting in
Christ alone for the remission of our sins. When we place our faith in
Jesus Christ, His perfect obedience is credited to us so that God sees
us as the righteousness of Christ. Every person who truly is saved is
eternally secure in the Lord Jesus Christ and will spend eternity in
heaven, while those who die in their sins will spend eternity in hell. |
Romans 6:23
Titus 3:5
John 14:6; 1:12
Galatians 3:26 Ephesians 2:8-9
Romans 5:1 |
| Eternal
Security |
God gives us eternal life
through Jesus Christ. If you have made a genuine commitment of faith in
Jesus,you cannot lose your salvation. Salvation is maintained by the
grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian.
God’s grace and power enable us to persevere in faith until
the end. |
John 10:29
Ephesians 2:1-10
1 Peter 1:3-5
Hebrews 7:25; 10:10, 14
2 Timothy 1:12 |
| Eternity |
People were created to
exist forever.We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin,
or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be
eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real
places of eternal existence. |
John 3:16
Romans 6:23
Revelation 20:15 |
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| BAPTIST
BELIEFS |
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| Baptism |
Baptism is a picture and
an illustration—a symbolic act. Baptism by immersion best
illustrates the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ on our
behalf and our subsequent faith in Him. It is not necessary for
salvation, but is strongly associated with salvation as it best
illustrates our new identity with Jesus Christ.
We believe in believer’s baptism. A person must first
exercise faith in Jesus Christ, believing that He died for their sins,
was buried, and rose from the dead. An infant or person who does not
understand God’s plan of salvation cannot make that kind of
commitment. The Scriptural order is belief first followed by baptism.
Baptism is limited to those who have personally believed in Jesus
Christ as Savior. |
Mark1:9-11
Matthew28:18-20
Mark16:15-16
Acts 8:12
Matthew3:13-17
Colossians2:12
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| Lord's
Supper |
The
Lord’s Supper is an ordinance
of the church. It was instituted when the Lord had the Passover meal
before His crucifixion. We observe the Lord’s Supper on a
regular basis in remembrance of Jesus Christ's atonement for our sins.
It is a proclamation of His death and an assurance of His second
coming. We ask only those who have made a profession of faith in Jesus
Christ to participate in the Lord’s Supper. The elements of
bread and grape juice are used as symbols of Christ’s body
that was broken and His blood that was shed for the remission of our
sins. |
1Corinthians
1:21-32 1
Corinthians5:11-13
Matthew26:29
|
Priesthood
of the Believer |
Each
person is able to come to God for
himself or herself. There is no need for a third party to tell a person
how to pray, how to interpret Scriptures,or how to vote in church. All
believers are ministers of servants of God. Therefore the church does
not have a distinctive class of priests.All members are made
“priests unto God” by the death of Christ. The
church is a holy priesthood chosen by God to offer up spiritual
sacrifices. There is only one mediator between God and man, and that is
Jesus Christ. |
Revelation1:5-6
Ephesians4:11-12
1 Timothy 2:5
Romans12:1
1Peter
2:5
|
| Church
Government |
We
believe in the local autonomy of the
church. Each church has the right to manage its affairs with no central
authority except that of Christ Himself. Freedom does not rule out
cooperation. We are a cooperating church with many other church bodies
and organizations which stand on the truth of God's Word and whose
purpose is to spread the gospel message. |
Acts 15 |
