About God...
God is the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
About the Father...
He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. He reigns with providential care over the universe and the flow of human history goes according to His purposes and plan.
About Jesus...
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus has eternally existed and became man at His incarnation. He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He bodily 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.
About the Holy Spirit...
He is the third person of the Trinity. He guides men into all truth; exalts Christ; convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; cultivated Christian character; comforts believers; bestows spiritual gifts by which believers serve God; and, seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the lives of believers is the assurance of God to bring us into the fullness of the stature of Christ.
About Scriptures...
The Bible is God’s Word 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. Because it is inspired by God, it has salvation for its end and is truth without any mixture of error.
About Human Beings...
People are made in the image of God and are the supreme object of God’s creation. All of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called sin. Sin separates people from God and causes many problems in life.
About Salvation...
Salvation is God’s free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement of good works. Only by trusting Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into this life by faith.
About Eternal Security...
Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot “lose” your salvation. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by self –effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.
About 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 separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence.
About Baptism by Immersion...
We believe that scriptural baptism must be: (1) by being completely immersed under the water, and (2) must be after salvation, not before salvation. Jesus was immersed and all baptisms in the New Testament were by immersion. These two facts set the standard for baptism today. Baptism has no saving power but is the first act of obedience symbolizing: (1) the believer’s faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus; (2) the believer’s death to sin and resurrection to walk anew in Christ; and (3) the Christian’s belief that he will die, be buried, and that Jesus will resurrect him from the dead.
About the Lord’s Supper...
The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers remember the death of the Lord Jesus and anticipate His second coming. The bread is symbolic of His body and the juice represents His blood.
For a more detailed explanation of our beliefs, read the Baptist Faith and Message at www.sbc.net.
