In further clarification of the Statement of Faith, the Doctrinal Statement of this Church is as follows:

Section 1. THE SCRIPTURES:

The Bible shall be our final source for both belief and practice.

A. The Bible, consisting of 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament, is without error in its original writing. Each word (verbally) and every part (plenarily) was given by God through the instrumentality of holy men. The Bible is both divine and human in its origin and yet remains incapable of error (infallible) and trustworthy in all its content.

B. A translation of the Scriptures retains the authority of the original only to the extent that it faithfully conveys the words and message of the original writing. Interpretation of the scriptures shall be based on the historical, grammatical, normative use of the language at the time they were written.

(Proverbs 30:5; John 17:17; II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 22:18-19).

 

Section 2. THE TRIUNE GOD:

There has been and forever will be only one living and true God. He is an infinite, eternal, sovereign Spirit. He is the Maker and Supreme Ruler of Heaven and earth. He is beyond description in His glorious holiness. He is worthy of all honor, confidence, and love. In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons: God, the Father; God, the Son (the sinless, only begotten son of the Father); and God, the Holy Spirit (a person, not a force). These three are equal in every divine perfection. They execute distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption and in everything they do.

(Exodus 20:2,3; I Corinthians 8:6; II Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 4:11).

 

Section 3. SATAN:

The Bible calls Satan the unholy god of this age. He is the ruler of all the powers of evil (darkness). Unlike God, Satan is a created being and is not omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent. Originally, he was the most glorious of all God's creatures. Through pride and by an act of his will, he sought to establish himself as the equal of God. He thus fell and is incapable of redemption. At the resurrection of Christ, Satan was judged and cast out of his position. At the end of time he will again be judged by God. He will exist forever in a state of eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire 

(Matthew 4:11; II Corinthians 4:4; I John 4:4, Revelation 20:10).

 

Section 4. CREATION:

The Genesis account of creation is a literal, historically accurate account of the direct work of God. The work was completed in six days, and He rested on the seventh, with each day being 24 hours in duration. It is neither allegory nor myth. All creation began by the spoken command of God. It did not evolve from previously existing matter or forms of life. All humanity descended from the historical Adam and Eve, the first parents of the entire human race.

(Genesis 1 & 2; Colossians 1:16, 17; John 1:3).

 

Section 5. THE FALL OF MAN:

Adam was created in innocence (without sin) and was subject to God, his Maker. By voluntary disobedience, Adam fell from his sinless and happy state. As Adam's descendants, all of humanity are sinners by nature and by conduct. At birth, we all inherit Adam's fallen nature and incur the guilt of his sin. By choice, we each rebel and sin against God. As a result, both individually and as a race, mankind is totally depraved, under the just condemnation of God, and without defense or excuse.

(Genesis 3:1-6, 24; Romans 1:18-32; 3:10-19; 5:12-19).

 

Section 6. THE VIRGIN BIRTH:

Jesus was begotten of the Holy Spirit in a miraculous manner as no one else ever was or ever shall be. He was born of the virgin, Mary. He is both the Son of God and the Son of Man.

(Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:14; Hebrews 1:8).

 

Section 7. THE ATONEMENT FOR SIN:

The salvation of sinners is divinely initiated and is entirely by grace. It is accomplished exclusively through the mediatorial office of the Son of God. Jesus freely took upon Himself our nature, and yet He remained personally without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience. By His death He made a full atonement for the sins of the whole world. His atonement consisted in the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner's place: the Just dying for the unjust. The atonement was not obtained by Jesus' setting us an example by dying as a martyr. This was Christ, the Lord, bearing our sin on the cross.

(Isaiah 53:4-5; Jonah 2:9; Matthew 18:11; John 3:16; Acts 15:11; Romans 3:24-25; I Corinthians 15:3; II Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 2:7-8; Hebrews 2:14; I John 4:10).

 

Section 8. RESURRECTION AND PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST:

On Resurrection Sunday, in His physical body, Jesus Christ arose from the grave. He later ascended into Heaven. He now sits at the right hand of the Father as our only Intercessor and High Priest.

(Matthew 28:6-7; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:2-6; John 20:27; Acts 1:9-11; I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 2:17; 5:9-10; 7:25; 12:2; I John 2:1; Revelation 3:21).

 

Section 9. THE NEW BIRTH:

In order to be saved, a sinner must be born again. This new birth is an instantaneous event and not a process. Salvation is by grace through faith, plus nothing. In the new birth, the person "dead in trespasses and in sins" is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life. This is a free gift of God. Personal salvation is brought about by our sovereign God in a manner totally beyond our comprehension. It is accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit working in connection with divine truth (the Word of God), in a way that secures our voluntary obedience to the gospel.

A. An individual is saved when he or she recognizes that:

1. he or she is a sinner, and

2. unable to earn or merit salvation, and

3. he or she puts his or her trust for salvation completely and only in Christ as the Son of God, in His finished work on the cross of Calvary, and in His resurrection from the dead.

B. The evidence of salvation in a person's life appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith and newness of life

(John 3:3; II Corinthians 5:17; I John 5:1; John 3:6-7; Acts 16:30-33; II Peter 1:4; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1, 5; II Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 2:13; John 3:8).

 

Section 10. JUSTIFICATION:

Justification is the gracious and judicial act of God by which He declares us to be righteous. It is accomplished because the righteousness of Christ is received through faith in Him. Justification includes the forgiveness of all our sin (past, present and future) and the crediting (imputation ) of Christ's righteousness to our account. This is solely through faith in the redeeming death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

(Acts 13:39; Isaiah 53:11; Zechariah 13:1; II Corinthians 5:18-21; Romans 5:1-9; 8:1).

 

Section 11. REPENTANCE AND FAITH:

Biblical repentance is a willful change of mind and purpose toward God and is produced by the Holy Spirit. It is often characterized by godly sorrow for sin because sin is offensive to God and ruinous to both the soul and the body. True repentance is inseparable related to true faith.

(Luke 13:1-3; 15:7; John 6:29; Acts 8:22; 16:31; Romans 2:4; 5:1; II Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 2:8-9).

 

Section 12. SANCTIFICATION:

Sanctification is the divine, threefold action of setting apart a believer unto God.

A. Initial sanctification is an eternal act of God. At the moment of redemption through faith in Christ, Justification places the believer in a position of absolute holiness.

B. Progressive sanctification is a continuing process in the believer as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to his or her life, conforming the believer to the likeness of Christ.

C. Final sanctification, the final phase of this process, will take place at the Lord's return, at which time the believer shall be glorified.

(Hebrews 3:1; 10:10-14; John 17:17; II Corinthians 3:18; I Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 5:25-26; I Thessalonians 4:3-4; 5:23-24; Ephesians 5:27; I John 3:2; Jude 24-25; Revelation 22:11).

 

Section 13. THE SECURITY OF ALL BELIEVERS:

All who are truly born again can never again become lost. The power of God keeps believers secure in Christ. Sin in the believer's life disrupts fellowship with God, but it can never cause the loss of salvation. 

(John 10:28-29; Romans 8:35-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; Philippians 1:6; I John 5:13).

 

Section 14. THE CHURCH:

There is a unity of all true believers in the one universal church, the Body of Christ. The universal church was established on the Day of Pentecost. All believers in Christ, from Pentecost to the Rapture, both Jews and Gentiles, are at the moment of salvation added to this universal church by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This baptism is the judicial placement of every believer into the body of Christ, and occurs as a part of initial sanctification. This universal church is to be represented by the local church.

A. The local church is an organized congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel; who observe the ordinances of Christ; who teach the Word; who are governed by His laws; and who exercise the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word. Family Baptist Church is organized as a local New Testament Baptist Church. A New Testament Baptist Church:

1. is an organized body of believers who have been immersed upon a credible profession of faith in Jesus Christ,

2. has two scriptural offices (Pastors and Deacons),

3. is organized and operates as a congregational structure,

4. has banded together for work, worship, the observance of the ordinances and the worldwide proclamation of the gospel,

5. is a local church with the absolute right, under God, of self-government free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations,

6. has one and only one Head, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit,

7. believes that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the gospel, where each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation, and

8. on all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline, and of benevolence the will of each local church is final. 

(Ephesians 3:1-6; I Corinthians 123:12-18; Acts 2:41-47; I Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:11; Romans 12:3-8; I Timothy 3:1-7).

 

Section 15. CHURCH ORDINANCES

Two church ordinances are established by the New Testament: baptism and the Lord's Supper.

A. Christian baptism is the complete immersion of a believer in water. It is conducted under the authority of the local church. Its purpose is to:

1. identify that believer publicly with the person, message, and church of our Lord Jesus Christ;

2. demonstrate the believer's obedience to the command of God;

3. demonstrate in a visible way the believer's association by faith with the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord.

4. be an early step of obedience in the Christian's life and is, therefore, a prerequisite to the membership in the local church.

B. The Lord's Supper (communion) is the commemoration of Christ's death until He returns. It is administered under the authority of the local church. It should always be preceded by solemn self-examination. The Lord's table is not a denominational table. We invite anyone to participate who is saved, in fellowship with the Lord, and associated with a New Testament local church of like faith and practice. 

(I Corinthians 11:17-32; Romans 6:1-4; Matthew 28:19-20).

 

Section 16. SEPARATION:

The Bible commands us as individuals and as a local church to separate unto God and from worldliness and doctrinal error.

A. This separation should always be done in brotherly love and for the glory of God.

B. Unity through Christ cannot be obtained by the compromise of biblical principles. 

(II Corinthians 6:14; 7:1; I Thessalonians 1:9-10; I Tim 6:3-5; Rom 16:17; II John 9-11). 

 

Section 17. CIVIL GOVERNMENT:

Civil government is of divine appointment for the safety, interests, and good order of human society. Government officials are to be prayed for, honored, and obeyed. It is the duty of every Christian to abide by all the laws and statutes of civil government except, for those things contrary to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only Lord of the conscience and the coming King of Kings.

(Romans 13:1-8; II Samuel 23:3; Exodus 18:21-22; Acts 23:5; Matthew 22:21; Acts 4:19-20; 5:29; Daniel 3:17-18.)

 

Section 18. THE RAPTURE AND SUBSEQUENT EVENTS:

A. The Rapture: The return of Christ for His Church (the Rapture) is imminent (could occur at any moment), pre-tribulational, and pre-millennial. At that moment those who believed in Christ before they died shall be raised in glorified bodies. Immediately after the living in Christ shall be given glorified bodies without experiencing death. Together they shall all be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

(I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:42-44, 51-54; Philippians 3:20-21; Revelation 3:10.)

B. Subsequent to the Rapture: At some time after the Rapture, the events of the seventieth week as reported in the book of Daniel (also called the seven-year tribulation) will begin. This is a time of testing for Israel and of punishment of the wicked world. The tribulation will culminate in the public return (the revelation) of Jesus Christ in power and great glory (His second coming). He will then sit upon the throne of David and establish His literal 1000-year (millennial) reign.

(Daniel 9:25-27; Matthew 24:29-31; Luke 1:30-33; Isaiah 9:6; Acts 2:29-30; revelation 20:1-4,6.)

 

Section 19. ISRAEL:

God has sovereignly elected Israel as His chosen people. He has made an eternal covenant with them. Israel is now dispersed because of her national disobedience and her rejection of Christ. After the rapture of the Church, Israel will be restored into the Promised Land. During this re-gathering she will undergo seven years of tribulation. Those Jews who survive the tribulation without taking the mark of the Anti-Christ will welcome the returning Jesus Christ to the throne of David in His Millennial Kingdom. We believe in the biblical command to "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."

(Genesis 13:17-18; Psalm 122:6; Jeremiah 31:27-40; Ezekiel 37; Romans 9-11.)

 

Section 20. THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED:

There is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked. Only those who are justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Holy Spirit of God are truly righteous by God's standards. All who continue in the natural state of unbelief are wicked in His sight. At death there is everlasting and eternal blessedness for the saved in the presence of Christ. There is everlasting existence and conscious eternal suffering for the lost in the Lake of Fire. 

(Malachi 3:18; Genesis 18:23; Romans 6:17-18; I John 5:19; Romans 6:23, 7:6; Proverbs 14:32; Luke 16:25; Matthew 25:23-41; John 8:21; Revelation 20:14-15.)

 

Section 21. SPIRITUAL GIFTS:

The Holy Spirit makes a local church function as a New Testament local church. To do this, He gives spiritual gifts to believers so that the Church may function with power and efficiency. The gifts and gifted individuals were and are determined by the direct biblical need of the Church. Some offices and gifts were foundational in nature (to get the Church started) and some offices and gifts are functional in nature (to keep the Church going). Not all the offices or gifts of the first century church are needed or operative today.

A. The foundational gifts include the offices of apostle and prophet, and the sign gifts of speaking in tongues, healing and revelatory prophecy. These gifts were temporary and are not operative today.

B. The functional gifts include teaching, preaching, mercy, love, peace and perhaps many more. These gifts are still given today. All believers have been given at least one gift with which to serve the church. All gifts, working together, promote a balanced ministry in the church.

C. Although a local church is to be a "charismatic" church, since the word "charismatic" means "grace gift," we do not believe that the modern day tongues and gifts movement is biblically or theologically correct.

(I Corinthians 12-13; Romans 12; Eph 4:7-11; I Peter 4:7-11.)

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