We believe the Holy Bible is the
very Word of God, and that the full, final and complete revelation of God's will
to man is contained in the 66 books we have today. We believe the author of
the Bible is God the Holy Spirit, and by inspiration we mean the plenary, verbal
inspiration, that Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy
Spirit. We believe that the only correct translation is the King James version.
We reject the modern paraphrased versions, the modern common version and
others which delete the pure meaning of redemption and do injustice to the Deity
of Christ. We believe and teach that the Bible is the final authority in all
matters of faith and practice.
2. Creation
We believe the
Genesis record of creation is literal, and not allegorical or figurative; that
God personally created the Heaven and the earth in a direct act, that He
brought forth all original matter out of nothing in 6 literal days. We believe
that man was created directly in God's own image and not by the hypothesis
of any kind of evolution. God's established law says that all species shall
bring forth "after their kind."
3. The Fall of Man
We believe that man was created in
innocence and holiness and by voluntary transgression of the Lord's command,
fell from the state in which he was created and as a consequence became a
sinner alienated from God and brought upon himself and all mankind just
condemnation. Man is now, by virtue of his fallen nature, void of holiness.
positively inclined to evil and actually condemned to eternal ruin without
excuse.
4. The Salvation of Man
We believe and teach that salvation is
by God's grace and that salvation is free to all through the Gospel, that it is
the duty of all to accept, by faith, that Salvation, and those who
voluntarily reject salvation will face eternal separation from God in a literal
place of punishment called Hell, and eventually the Lake of Fire, in the
scriptures. When a sinner repents and receives Jesus Christ as His personal
Saviour he receives eternal life. The believer is, therefore, saved
eternally. This salvation wrought by grace then assures us that we are preserved
in Christ by the power of God and no man can pluck the saved from the
Father's hand. Salvation is Everlasting, and the glorious truth "once saved,
always saved" is true.
5. The Church
We believe and teach that the local,
visible assembly of called out believers into a public place of worship and
service is the only one found in the New Testament. We do not believe in an
invisible or universal church. The local New Testament Baptist church is the
only one authorized to carry out the great commission. The first New
Testament church was founded by Jesus Christ during His own personal ministry,
and entrance into the local church is by scriptural baptism. We believe and
teach that the Local New Testament Baptist church is an independent congregation
and is not governed or controlled by an ecclesiastical hierarchy ... The
will of the Local Church is final.
6. The Ordinances
We believe that Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the only two local church ordinances set forth in the local
church by Jesus Christ. Scriptural Baptism began with the John the Baptist.
John's baptism was not Old Testament dispensation or an intermediate but New
Testament baptism. Our Lord Jesus Christ accepted this baptism himself and
accepted those that John baptized into the church that He organized during His
own personal ministry.
A. Baptism - Believer's baptism, to be
scriptural, must involve: 1) The Proper candidate, the one who has been Born
Again. 2) The Proper Mode or Method - this is immersion. 3) The Proper
Design or Motive - to show the death. burial and resurrection of the believer to
a life in Christ. and to make him a member of Christ's assembly. 4) The
Proper Administrator or authority to administer scriptural baptism.
B.
The Lord's Supper - We believe the Lord's Supper is a memorial supper
administered by the authority and instruction of the local Baptist church. It
symbolizes the broken body and the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, only
members of the local church whose spiritual lives are in a right
relationship with God are qualified participants in the Lord's Supper
service. We also teach and believe that there is no saving power or grace in
either Baptism or the Lord's Supper.
