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ESSENTIAL
CHRISTIAN BELIEFS
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God
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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.
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Genesis 1:1, 26, 27, 3:22
2 Corinthians 13:14
1 Peter 1:2
Matthew 28:19
Psalm 90:2
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Jesus
Christ
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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.
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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
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Holy
Spirit
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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.
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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
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God's
Word
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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. The Bible is inspired
by God, and is the truth without any mixture of error. It is the sole
authority for life.
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2
Timothy 1:13; 3:16
2 Peter 1:20-21
Psalm 119:105, 160; 12:6
Proverbs 30:5
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Human
Beings
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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.
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Genesis 1:27
Psalm 8:3-6
Romans 3:23
Isaiah 53:6a; 59:1-2
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Salvation
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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.
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Romans 6:23
Titus 3:5
John 14:6; 1:12
Galatians 3:26 Ephesians 2:8-9
Romans 5:1
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Eternal
Security
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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.
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John 10:29
Ephesians 2:1-10
1 Peter 1:3-5
Hebrews 7:25; 10:10, 14
2 Timothy 1:12
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Eternity
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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.
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John 3:16
Romans 6:23
Revelation 20:15
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BAPTIST
BELIEFS
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Baptism
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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.
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Mark
1:9-11
Matthew 28:18-20
Mark 16:15-16 Acts 8:12
Matthew 3:13-17
Colossians 2:12
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Lord's
Supper
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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 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.
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1
Corinthians 1:21-32 1
Corinthians 5:11-13
Matthew 26:29
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Priesthood
of the
Believer
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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.
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Revelation
1:5-6
Ephesians 4:11-12 1 Timothy 2:5
Romans 12:1
1 Peter 2:5
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Church
Government
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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 the Southern Baptist Convention. This means that we
cooperate with other Baptist Churches in pooling and sharing money for
the support of missionaries and ministries at home and around the
world. This plan is called the Cooperative Program.
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Acts
15
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