Doctrinal Statement
We adopt the following excerpts from the "Baptist Faith &
Message" as our doctrinal statements. These express the core of our
Christian faith, which are commonly held among Southern Baptists.
God - There is one and only one living and true God. The eternal
God reveals Himself to us as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with
distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or
being.
The Scriptures - The Holy Bible was written by men divinely
inspired and is the record of God's revelation of Himself to man. It is
the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions
should be tried.
Man - Created by the special act of God, in His own image. By
his free choice, man sinned against God and brought sin into the human
race. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and
enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God.
Salvation - Involves the redemption of the whole man, and is
offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by
His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its
broadest sense, salvation includes regeneration, sanctification and
glorification. God's purpose of grace is to receive all who come to Him by
faith in Jesus Christ. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and
sanctified by His spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace,
but shall persevere to the end.
The Church - A New Testament Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is
a local body of baptized believers, who are associated by covenant, in the
faith and fellowship of the gospel. The Church is also the body of Christ,
which includes all the redeemed.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper - Christian baptism is the
immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's
faith in a crucified, buried and risen Savior, the believer's death to
sin, the burial of the old self, and the resurrection to walk in newness
of life in Jesus Christ. The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience
whereby believers, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the
vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second
coming.
Additional Resources:
The Southern Baptist Convention provides a side-by-side
comparison of the 1925, 1963 (amended) and 2003 versions of the
Baptist Faith and Message so that you can see how this document has
changed over time. Also, a highlighted
comparison of the 1963 (amended) and 2000 versions may help you
quickly grasp the differences between the two latest versions.
