We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interest and good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayed for and conscientiously honored and obeyed except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience and the coming Prince of the kings of the earth. It is God's revelation to man, inerrant as originally written by Spirit-controlled men. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of Gods creation. To acknowledge that all work performed within the scope of employment will be owned by Boston Baptist College. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. We also believe in the personal, visible, and glorious return of Christ to the earth with His saints at the end of the Great Tribulation. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. The Church. Statement of Faith. We believe He arose bodily from the dead on the third day in the same body in which He suffered and died. The college desires to help students who face all types of sexual temptation, encouraging single students to live chaste, celibate lives and married students to live together as God intends. It is a solemn and beautiful emblem that declares our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior as well . We specifically affirm the following doctrinal truths: The Scriptures In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Christ, the Lord, bore our sin in His own body on the crossthe just dying for the unjust. The Family. Parents are to demonstrate to their children Gods pattern for marriage. Baptists: 10 Important Things to Know About The Church Beliefs All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. ; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:122:13. There is no other "way" (religion, etc.) Church and state should be separate. Arabic 11:79; 1 Tim. As stated in Matthew 4:4 (ESV): But He answered, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. We are to observe and do all things Christ has commanded us (teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. If I were to ask you to defend your decision on being a Baptist, what would you say? Chinese Genesis 12:13; Exodus 19:58; 1 Samuel 8:47, 1922; Isaiah 5:17; Jeremiah 31:31ff. We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men supernaturally inspired; that it has truth without any admixture of error for its matter; and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man; the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate persons life. Baptist Faith and Message - Wikipedia Mission Statement, Faith Baptist Church. Statement of Faith This doctrinal statement reflects the broad, mainstream, conservative evangelical tradition which is consistent with the teachings of the Bible and which has stood the test of history and experience. Christian unity in the New Testament sense is spiritual harmony and voluntary cooperation for common ends by various groups of Christs people. We do consider the knowledge, belief, and acceptance of the truth as set forth in this doctrinal statement to be essential to sound faith and practice. They are for the strengthening of God's people (the Church) and proof of God's existence and power to unbelievers. We believe that justification is the judicial act of God declaring us to be righteous through faith in Christ Jesus. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-14; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:8-9), We believe that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and as a substitutionary sacrifice. Reaffirmation of most historical Baptist convictions. In His incarnation He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. With these thoughts in mind, it is an honor to be considered a Baptist, but we must take heed lest we fall. We believe that the great Gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is justification; that justification includes the pardon of sin and the gift of eternal life on principles of 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. How are you different from a Methodist, a Presbyterian, an Episcopal, a Pentecostal, or a Catholic? Throughout our history we have been a confessional people, adopting statements of faith as a witness to our beliefs and a pledge of our faithfulness to the doctrines revealed in Holy Scripture. Gods provision for holy living is in the believers identification with Christ as Savior, the indwelling Person and power of the Holy Spirit, the believers submission to Him, and the powerful Word of God. Matthew 3:1317; 26:2630; 28:1920; Mark 1:911; 14:2226; Luke 3:2122; 22:1920; John 3:23; Acts 2:4142; 8:3539; 16:3033; 20:7; Romans 6:35; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 21; 11:2329; Colossians 2:12. Vietnamese. 12. Examples of such work would include course material, books or articles written, video presentation, online courses, or software developed. Faith Baptist Church - A Bible-believing Church in Montgomery, NY It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. Traditional Southern Baptist churches generally do not have elders; therefore, the issue of women elders is not generally an issue within those congregations. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. However, for more contemporary churches which have elders, the interpretation has been extended to this office as well, thus prohibiting women from being elders. To maintain professional and mentoring relationships with students while never violating propriety or losing the capacity to lead or discipline students objectively avoiding preferential treatment of any student at all times. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that we find our roots of faith in the same fertile soil as millions of others who have gone before us is a matter of Gods sovereigntynothing more! And with Mr . In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. ; 4:3137; 13:23; 15:135; 1 Corinthians 1:1017; 3:515; 12; 2 Corinthians 89; Galatians 1:610; Ephesians 4:116; Philippians 1:1518. As terms of relationship at any level within our faith community, Boston Baptist College prohibits all members of the college community from public advocacy or promotion for any position that sex outside of a biblically defined marriage is morally acceptable. The change was made over concerns that some groups were elevating the recorded words of Jesus[d] in Scripture over other Scriptural passages (or, in some cases, claiming that Jesus' silence on an issue held priority over other passages explicitly discussing a topic, an example being homosexuality). We believe in God's electing grace; that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the Gospel; that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial, penitent, and obedient faith; and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the Gospel; which rejection involves him in an aggravated condemnation. We believe that such only are real believers as have placed saving faith in Christ; that a special Providence watches over their welfare; that they are kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal salvation; and that the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors is spiritual fruit produced as they abide in Christ. 18. Temple Baptist Church - Knoxville, TN - Pastor Clarence Sexton Genesis 1:2628; 2:1525; 3:120; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:49; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:2628; Psalms 51:5; 78:18; 127; 128; 139:1316; Proverbs 1:8; 5:1520; 6:2022; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:1314; 24:3; 29:15, 17; 31:1031; Ecclesiastes 4:912; 9:9; Malachi 2:1416; Matthew 5:3132; 18:25; 19:39; Mark 10:612; Romans 1:1832; 1 Corinthians 7:116; Ephesians 5:2133; 6:14; Colossians 3:1821; 1 Timothy 5:8, 14; 2 Timothy 1:35; Titus 2:35; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:17. ; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1, 8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:2728; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority of faith and life. Our statement of faith stands firmly within historic Christian orthodoxy, confessing the great doctrines of the Trinity and the incarnation of Christ as set forth in the Nicene and Chalcedonian creeds. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:45-48; Acts 1:8), We believe in the existence and personality of angels, both holy angels and fallen angels (demons). He was literally and physically raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the Person who was with them before His crucifixion. Standing, as Jesus does, with the outcast . . We stand in the line of the historic Protestant tradition. ; 10:21; Luke 4:1821; 10:2737; 20:25; John 15:12; 17:15; Romans 1214; 1Corinthians 5:910; 6:17; 7:2024; 10:2311:1; Galatians 3:2628; Ephesians 6:59; Colossians 3:1217; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; Philemon; James 1:27; 2:8. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ. The official SBC website, when referencing the Scripture, uses the. It summarizes key Southern Baptist thought in the areas of the Bible and its authority, the nature of God as expressed by the Trinity, the spiritual condition of man, God's plan of grace and salvation, the purpose of the local church, ordinances, evangelism, Christian education, interaction . A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of Gods grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. 9. It is to be preceded always by solemn self-examination. The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is Gods revelation of Himself to man. Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7ff. (Luke 13:1-3; Luke 15:7; Acts 8:22; Acts 20:21; Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:10), We believe that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition for salvation. We believe that the Church, which is the Body of Christ, was begun on the Day of Pentecost. We also believe that the husband is to be the head of the home and, together with his wife, has the responsibility to bring up their children in the caring guidance, counsel, and discipline of the Lord. (Exodus 20:1; 32:16; Jeremiah 30:2; Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21), We believe there is one and only one living and true God. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of all mankind from sin. ; Psalms 2:7ff. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. An adequate system of Christian education is necessary to a complete spiritual program for Christs people. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of the Father, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. This phase of His coming is known as the Revelation of Jesus Christ. 1714 SE 36th Ave; Ocala . "[3], The BF&M was revised in 1963 (under the chairmanship of pastor-theologian Herschel H. Hobbs), amended in 1998 (with the addition of Section XVIII on The Family), and again revised in 2000 under the chairmanship of pastor-author and former three-time SBC President Adrian Rogers; the 2000 revisions incorporated sociological as well as theological changes and were considered the most controversial. We believe that a Baptist church is a congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its officers of ordination are pastors or elders, whose Salvation is received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work. Isaiah 2:4; Matthew 5:9, 3848; 6:33; 26:52; Luke 22:36, 38; Romans 12:1819; 13:17; 14:19; Hebrews 12:14; James 4:12. We believe in the Genesis account of creation; that it is to be accepted literally, and not allegorically or figuratively; that man was created directly in God's own image and after His own likeness; that man's creation was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary change of species, or developments through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms; that all animals and vegetable life were made directly; and that God's established law was that they should bring forth only "after their kind.". It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 16:27; 18:89; 19:28; 24:27, 30, 36, 44; 25:3146; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:4348; Luke 12:40, 48; 16:1926; 17:2237; 21:2728; John 14:13; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:2428, 3558; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:2021; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:1418; 5:1ff. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the complete and . We believe God brought all creation into being in six literal 24-hour days and that He rested on the 7th day. We believe the scriptures teach that giving is one of the fundamentals of the faith; that God is the Source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; that tithing is a Bible principle, and that the storehouse for the tithe in this present age is the common treasury of the church; that we are under obligation to serve God with our time, talents . Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6: . A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. The living in Christ shall then be caught up to meet the Lord in the air without tasting death, and all shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air before the seventieth week of Daniel. St. Paul - Statement of Faith We believe that Satan was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honors; but, through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell and drew after him a host of angels; and that he is now the malignant prince of the power of the air, and the unholy god of this world. Activities on the Lords Day should be commensurate with the Christians conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. ", Those words are commonly referred to as the "red letter words", based on the. The Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) is the statement of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The will of the local church is final on all matters of membership, policy, procedure, government, discipline, and benevolence. We further believe the wedding ceremony is an act of worship before God where one man and one woman are joined in holy matrimony. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemers cause on earth. 3 Examples of Using A Church Statement of Faith 2. Statement of Faith The sole basis of our beliefs is the Bible, God's infallible written Word, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. The church should not resort to the civil power to carry on its work. (Genesis 2:18-25; Leviticus 18:1-30; Matthew 19:3-9; Romans 1:26-32; 1 Corinthians 5:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Corinthians 7:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4). The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. Moreover, the cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the causes of missions and general benevolence, and should receive along with these the liberal support of the churches. They shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting punishment. Sexual misconduct that is prohibited includes (but may not be limited to) disorderly lewd conduct, indecent or obscene conduct or expression, involvement with pornography, premarital sex, adultery, pedophilia, homosexual conduct and all forms of same-sex dating, or any other conduct that violates biblical standards. The Holy Bible, God's Inspired Word, is the Absolute and Supreme Authority. (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8-10; Philippians 1:23; Philippians 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Revelation 20:4-6), We believe the souls of unbelievers remain in conscious misery after death until the second resurrection when the soul and body are reunited and they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment.