The Scriptures
I believe that the Bible, in its sixty six Old and New Testament books, is verbally inspired by God, perfect, complete, without error, and should be the final authority for determining practices and principles of faith.
(II Timothy 3:16, II Peter 1:18-21)
The Godhead
1. The Trinity
I believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
(I Corinthians 8:6, John 10:30, John 14:16-17)
2. God, the Father (person and work)
I believe God the Father is that member of the Godhead that would decide before the world began to send His own son to be a sacrifice for the sins of mankind, lay the guilt of that sin upon Him, reject Him for that sin, lay our penalty of death upon Him, raise Him from the dead, seat Him at His own right hand, and commit all judgment unto Him. I believe His attributes, which include power, authority, perfection, love, and grace are most vividly shown in these actions.
(II Timothy 1:8-10, John 5:19-23, Hebrews 12:2)
3. God, the Son (person and work)
I believe Jesus Christ was born of a virgin being fully God and fully man, that He was willingly the sacrifice for the sins of mankind, He defeated death to live evermore, is our great High Priest, serves as advocate for His own before His Father, is preparing a place for the Saints, and will return to the earth to serve as King of Kings.
(Luke 1:30-35, 22:42, Revelation 1:18, Hebrews 4:14-15, John 1:1-14, 14:1-3, Revelation 20:4)
4. God, the Holy Spirit (person and work)
I believe the Holy Spirit is that Comforter that Jesus promised to His disciples, He is that person of the Godhead that convicts of sin and directs toward God’s best. He makes it possible for His saints to determine the spiritual meaning of scripture, for He is that one that moved upon the hearts of men to write the scripture, and prophesy. He comes to live inside every believer, giving them gifts that will be for the edification of the body of Christ.
(John 14:16-17, 26, II Peter 1:21, Ephesians 4:11-13)
Creation
I believe God created the universe in six literal, twenty-four-hour days, resting on the seventh. All material in the world was created from nothing, with no assistance from purely natural phenomenon.
(Genesis 1-2:3)
Man (Creation, Fall, and Destiny)
I believe man was created in the image of God. Man’s first representative, Adam, sinned against God, which brought the penalty of death upon the world. It is God’s will that man be spared this penalty by embracing His son, the only perfect sacrifice for sin. Those who trust Him are promised an eternal home with God, those who do not will forever suffer the torments of Hell.
(I Corinthians 15:21-22)
Sin (Origin, Extent, and Effect)
I believe the first man, Adam, brought sin and death into the world through disobedience to God’s command. The sin of this first man has been imputed to all other men since that time, so that all men are now born in sin, being sinful in their own thoughts, words and deeds. The stain and penalty of this imputed and continuing sin can only be removed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Apart from that removal, all men are destined for an eternity in Hell, separate from God.
(Genesis 2:16-17, 3:6, Isaiah 59:1-2, John 3:18)
Angels (Original Estate, Activity, and Destiny)
1. Satan
I believe Satan was cast out of heaven for setting his heart on the overthrow of God, only to bring glory to himself. He is that great deceiver that came to Eve in the garden to undermine God’s authority and bring destruction to man, and God’s creation. I believe he is a liar, a murderer, an accuser of the saints, and is constantly going about, seeking to destroy lives. His final destination is the lake of fire.
(Ezekiel 28:11-19, I Peter 5:8-9)
2. Demons
I believe demons are sinful angels, cast from the presence of God and bound in chains awaiting judgment. Some are the assistants of Satan and carry out his work in the lives of people. Their final destination will also be the lake of fire.
(II Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6)
Eternity
1. Heaven
I believe Heaven is that place that God has reserved for those that love Him and embrace His son Jesus Christ. It is a place where the Saints of God will fellowship with and worship their Savior with glorified bodies, free from the weight and penalty of sin.
(II Corinthians 5:1-3)
2. Hell
I believe Hell is a place of torment, a torment that is real, painful, and everlasting. It is a place of complete separation from God, and the destination of those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Luke 16:22-24)
Judgment and the Future State of Man
1. The Unbeliever
I believe those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, turning from their sin and embracing Him as their Savior are destined to spend eternity in Hell, separated from God.
(John 3:18)
2. The Unreached
I believe those who are unreached with the gospel are destined for Hell, assuming they have not embraced Jesus Christ. Understanding God’s will is that all come to repentance, I must do all I can to proclaim the gospel, leaving the responsibility for those out of my reach to God and His abundant mercy.
(Romans 1:18-20, II Peter 3:9)
3. The Believer
I believe those who have genuinely placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ share His inheritance in the kingdom of God. Jesus himself is preparing them a place in Heaven, where they will eternally be with Him, worshiping in glorified bodies, free from sin and sorrow.
(John 5:24)
4. Infants
I believe infants are unable to come to the knowledge of the truth and are therefore exempt from accountability to God for rejection of Christ. I believe infants are born in sin, yet God, in His loving character, takes into account their lack of intellectual knowledge, choosing not to lay this sin to their charge.
(II Samuel 12:19-23)
Salvation
1. Salvation
I believe salvation is defined by a rescue from the penalty of sin through faith in Jesus Christ. We are called to embrace the salvation God offers through Christ, and proclaim that offer of salvation to every creature.
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
2. Regeneration
I believe regeneration takes place at the moment of salvation, when a sinner is resurrected from the grave of sinfulness and made new and alive in Christ Jesus. It is that which we would call second birth, marking the beginning of an entirely new life, free from slavery to sin, bondage to the power of death, being newly indwelled with the living Spirit of God.
(Ephesians 2:11-17, John 1:12-13, 3:1-21)
3. Justification
I believe justification is the act of being made right with God apart from your own merit, through the merit and action of Jesus Christ. Our just penalty for sin is death; our just redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only one able to reconcile us to God through His own blood.
(Acts 13:38-39, Romans 3:22-28)
4. Redemption
I believe man was separated from God through Adam’s sin, and therefore must be brought back into a proper relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Redemption is the event that occurs when we are saved that restores us to that former relationship with our Father in Heaven.
(Ephesians 1:5-7)
5. Faith
I believe faith is a genuine trust in something we cannot see, touch or otherwise recognize by our physical senses. It is a belief that can only come about through knowledge and understanding of scripture and its application to our lives regarding God and His way of salvation. Faith is necessary for salvation.
(Ephesians 2:8-9, Hebrews 11:6)
6. Repentance
I believe repentance is a turning from sin that is sincere and lasting. It requires the repentant soul to reject their own desires and embrace God’s will both at the time of salvation, and in any other instance in which their actions are unrighteous.
(Mark 2:17)
7. Grace
I believe grace is an unmerited favor that God gives to us, that is not based on our own behavior or characteristics, but rather on the behavior and characteristics of His son Jesus Christ. He offers this favor to us freely, if we will embrace and serve Him.
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
8. Propitiation
I believe propitiation is what took place when Jesus suffered and died on the cross to take our place, he replaced us on the cross, and was therefore the propitiation for our sins.
(Romans 3:22-28, I John 2:1-2)
9. Imputation
I believe that people are sinful, and therefore unrighteous in our standing before God. We cannot make ourselves righteous, and must rely on God to impute the righteousness of Christ to us; it is because of Christ that we are declared righteous.
(Romans 4:17-25)
10. Forgiveness
I believe our sins have been forgiven by God when we have genuinely repented and placed our faith and trust in Christ. When we are forgiven, we are no longer responsible for paying the penalty for our sinfulness, which is death.
(Ephesians 1:5-8)
11. Sanctification
I believe sanctification is that process of being conformed daily to the image of Christ; it is the initial step of being set apart from the world, and for God, and the ongoing process of being further set apart each day.
(Ephesians 5:26, John 17:17)
12. Spirit Baptism
I believe we are baptized in the Spirit of God at the time of salvation; we die to our old spirit, which is of the flesh, and become alive to the Holy Spirit.
(I Corinthians 12:12-14)
13. Eternal Security
I believe those who know Christ are eternally secure in Him, and that their salvation cannot be taken away, forfeited, or rejected, for it is not our own to lose. It is held by the power of God, who cannot let go, nor break His promise to grant eternal life.
(Romans. 8:1, John 10:28-29, I Peter 1:35)
14. Apostasy
I believe God has made it clear that we are to live by His word, which should be accurately read, understood, and applied to our lives. Apostasy is a perversion of the correct understanding of scripture, formulated to deceive and persuade people to turn from God, rather than embrace the truth and live a Godly, separated life.
(Galatians 1:6-9)
15. Glorification
I believe we will be glorified by God when we are with Him, seeing Him as He is, and sharing in His own glory, because we are partakers of His own inheritance. Our glorification will include the removal of the curse of sinfulness from our bodies, minds, and hearts, allowing us to share fully in a state of glorification in Heaven.
(Romans 8:16-1)
Eschatology
1. Order of Events
I believe that the church will be taken out of this world before a seven year tribulation period begins. Jesus will call us to meet Him in the air with the sound of a trumpet. A great and powerful man will soon come to world prominence and unite all nations with lies. He will exalt himself as God and be worshiped by many. Three and a half years into this seven year period much terrible judgment will come to the earth as a result of sin. When the judgment is ended, Christ will return with His saints to destroy the wicked and bind Satan. This war will be followed by a thousand years of peace with the reign of Jesus Christ on the earth. Following this peaceful reign, Satan will be loosed, and soon destroyed by fire. The dead will then stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment, where those who are not found written in the book of life will be cast into the Lake of Fire, and those found written in the Book of Life will be blessed with the privilege of dwelling with Christ for eternity in a new Heaven and new earth.
(John 14:1-3, I Thessalonians 4:13-18, II Thessalonians 2:1-12, Revelation 4-21)
Ecclesiology
1. The Local Church
I believe a church is a baptized congregation of true believers in Jesus Christ.
(Acts 2:41-47)
2. Scriptural Offices
I believe the church has two offices: Pastor and Deacon.
(Titus 1:5-9, I Timothy 3:1-13, Acts 6:1-7)
3. Mission of the Local Church
I believe the church is entrusted with the Great Commission that Jesus Christ gave which included preaching the gospel, teaching all that He commanded, and baptizing. The church is also responsible for sending missionaries that will evangelize, disciple, and begin new local churches.
(Mark 16:15-16, Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 13:1-3, 14:31-23, 26-27)
4. The Gospel
I believe the gospel is defined in I Corinthians 15:1-4, in that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day.
5. Local Church Ordinances
I believe the church has two ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper/Communion.
(Matthew 28:18-20, I Corinthians 11:23-30)
6. Local Church Membership
I believe people should be welcomed into the church on the basis of faith is Jesus Christ, belief in the doctrines of the assembly, current obedient walk with Him, and scriptural baptism.
(Acts 2:41-47)
7. Local Church Government
I believe a Pastor or Pastors (sometimes called Bishops/Overseers/Elders) should be the spiritual leaders of a congregation, Deacons should be servants, and each member should participate by using their spiritual gifts for the edification of the body. All members are to be accountable to the Pastors, and the Pastors are to be accountable to the church as a whole. We see in Acts 6, that Deacons were chosen by the agreement of the “whole multitude,” and I believe many other business decisions should be made by congregational vote.
(Acts 6:1-7)
8. Associations, Conventions and Councils
I believe no outside organization should be directly involved in authorizing, legitimizing, sponsoring, or dictating what any individual church stands for, allows, or decides. Any association a church has with another organization should be for the purpose of fellowship in the truth alone. Authorities should not be set up outside the local assembly to determine the beliefs or behavior of that assembly.
9. Authority
I believe Christ is the head of the church. I believe the Bible should be the final authority for the church on matters of faith and practice.
(II Timothy 3:16)
10. Relation to the State
I believe that members of the church should individually submit themselves to the ordinances of man as long as those ordinances do not directly contradict the teaching of scripture. The local church as should not make choices based on the dictates of the government, nor should it answer to it as an authority on matters of faith and practice. The government of the church and the government of the state should be strictly separate.
(I Peter 2:13-17)
Separation
1. Personal
I believe a person should be separate from the characteristics, attitudes, and actions of the world. We should also be careful not to align ourselves with error, false teachings, consistently disobedient Christians, or causes that undermine the teaching of scripture.
(II Corinthians 6:14-17, II John)
2. Ecclesiastical
I believe a church should separate itself from the world, by basing its ministry solely upon the dictates of scripture. It should defend against a diminished witness by remaining separate from entities, causes, and believers that encourage perverse doctrine, disobedience, or worldly thinking.
(Ephesians 5:24-27)
Baptist Distinctives
I believe the Baptist Distinctives include, but are not limited to: Biblical authority, autonomy of the local church, priesthood of the believer, obedience to the two ordinances, individual soul liberty, saved and baptized church membership, adherence to the two offices, separation of church and state, and personal and ecclesiastical separation.
Personal Convictions
1. Bible Translations
I generally use the King James Version for preaching and teaching. This is not due to any belief in the superiority of its preservation or translation. I read and refer to several other versions in personal study and preparation for teaching.
2. Church Music
I believe Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs are permissible and beneficial for use in church ministry. Music that is influenced by worldliness or crafted to appeal to the flesh should not be used. I take a generally conservative, traditional approach to all personal and ministry-related music selection.
(Colossians 3:16, I John 2:15)