Doctrinal Statement
What we Believe
(A)
Concerning The Scriptures
We believe in the verbal and plenary inspiration[1]
of Scripture: that the Bible is the Word of God[2]:
that the Scriptures are without error in the original writings[3] and are the only complete, sufficient and
authoritative revelation of His will for all Christian knowledge, faith and
practice[4]
(B)
Concerning The Living God
We believe that there is only one true and living God[5]
Who is the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all things[6]
; that He is an Infinite, Eternal, Perfect, Self-existing Spirit[7] ; that within the unity of the Godhead there are three
Persons, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit[8];
that They are equal in essence and in every Divine attribute[9]; and that They have distinct but harmonious work[10].
(C)
Concerning The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine person[11];
that He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment[12]; that He is the Supernatural Agent in
regeneration[13]; that He baptizes all
believers into the body of Christ[14];
that He seals, indwells, fills, guides, instructs, enables and empowers the
believer for godly living and service[15].
(D)
Concerning The Son of God
We believe that Jesus is true God and true man[16],
having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary[17]; that He is the Divinely appointed
mediator between God and man[18]3; that,
having taken upon Himself a sinless
human nature, He perfectly fulfilled the Law of God[19],
suffered and died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners[20]; that He was buried, and bodily arose on the third day[21]; that He ascended to the right hand of
His Father where He makes intercession for His people[22].
(E)
Concerning God's Sovereignty
We believe that God, from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to
pass[23]; that neither good nor evil
happens to anyone by chance or without His control[24];
that whatever happens to the elect is by His appointment, for their ultimate
good and His eternal glory[25].
(F)
Concerning The Creation
We believe in the Genesis account of creation[26];
that the six days of creation in Genesis chapter one were solar (twenty-four
hour) days[27]; that all animal and
vegetable life were created directly and that God's established law is that
they bring forth only "after their kind"[28];
that man was created directly in God's image and did not evolve from any lower
form of life[29].
(G)
Concerning Satan
We believe that Satan is a created being and a fallen angel[30]; that he is the author of sin and influential cause of
the fall[31]; that he is the ruler of all
powers of darkness and the enemy of God and man[32];
that he was defeated by the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus[33]; and that he is destined to be
eternally punished in the lake of fire[34].
(H)
Concerning The Fall
We believe that Adam was created without sin and in the image of God[35]; that through the temptation of Satan,
and by one willful transgression, he fell from his original state of innocence[36]; that all his posterity inherit a
corrupt and sinful human nature and are now sinners by birth, choice, and act[37], justly under condemnation and are both
unwilling and unable to remedy their lost condition[38].
(I)
Concerning Election
We believe that God, before the foundation of the world, chose the Son to
be the vicarious sacrifice for the destiny of death passed upon all
men, to the praise and glory of His grace[39];
that He leaves the resistant to His gracious gift in their sin and to
their just condemnation, to the praise and glory of His justice[40]; that election to eternal life is not because of
foreseen merit in the believer, but only because of His merciful grace [41].
(J)
Concerning Salvation
We believe that the substitutionary death of Jesus
and His resurrection provide the only grounds of justification for those who
believe[42]; that those who exercise
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are justified, their sin is forgiven and they
are freed from condemnation[43]; that the
perfect righteousness of The Lord Jesus is imputed to them[44]; that they are regenerated (born again), given new
life in Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit[45];
that such true believers may grow in the grace and knowledge of their Savior[46] and that they shall be kept by God's
power and are thus eternally secure in Christ[47].
(K)
Concerning Sanctification
We believe that sanctification is the Divine setting apart
of the believer unto God accomplished in a threefold manner: first, as an act
of God, based upon redemption in Christ, whereby the believer is placed in a
position of holiness at the moment he is regenerated[48];
second, as a continuing process, based upon the indwelling of the Holy Spirit,
whereby the believer grows in the grace and knowledge of Christ as he yields to
His control[49]; third, as a glorifying
transformation, based upon the resurrection, whereby the believer will be made
like Christ and thus fully experiences and manifest what he positionally
is in Christ[50]. We further believe that
there is no complete eradication of indwelling sin in the continuing process of
sanctification[51];
(L)
Concerning Tongues
We believe that speaking in tongues is not a sign of either regeneration or
sanctification and that the New Testament gift of tongues has ceased[52].
(M)
Concerning The Final State of Man
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to glory and
everlasting life, and the reprobate to judgment and everlasting punishment[53] ; that the souls of the redeemed are,
at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious
bliss they await the resurrection of Life, when spirit, soul and body are
reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord[54];
that the souls of the reprobate remain, after death, in conscious misery until
the resurrection of Judgment, when spirit, soul and body are reunited and they
appear before the Great White Throne and are cast into the Lake of Fire, not to
be annihilated but, to suffer everlasting conscious punishment[55].
(N)
Concerning The Church
We believe that the Church is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again
persons of this present age[56]; that the
establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught in the New
Testament Scriptures[57]; that the local
church is an autonomous body, free of any external authority or control[58]; that its ordinances are believer's
water baptism and the Lord's Supper[59];
that its only Scriptural officers are bishops (also called elders or pastors)
and deacons[60]; that the primary duty of
the local church is to glorify God though worship, evangelism, discipleship and
edification of the brethren[61].
(O)
Concerning The Ordinance of Baptism
We believe that the ordinance of Biblical baptism is the immersion in water of
a believer[62],
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit[63]; to proclaim symbolically our faith and identity in
the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, showing our death to sin and
resurrection to new life[64].
(P)
Concerning The Ordinance of The Lord's Supper
We believe that the ordinance of the Lord's Supper is to commemorate the
establishment of the New Covenant accomplished in the sacrificial offering of
the Lord's body and the shedding of His blood[65];
that it is a memorial which proclaims the Lord's death while anticipating His
return[66] and a communion of believers
symbolic of their common faith in Christ[67]:
and that it should not be partaken in a disrespectful manner[68].
(Q)
Concerning The Sanctity of Human Life
We believe that since man was created in the image and likeness of God, all
human life is therefore sanctified[69];
that life begins at the moment of conception and that all pre-born children,
regardless of viability, are in every way human[70];
that every person, regardless of age, health, or usefulness to society, has the
right and responsibility to live-out the natural course of their life[71]; that abortion, infanticide, euthanasia
and all other unjustified acts of ending human life are an offense to God[72].
(R)
Concerning Future Events
We believe in the "Blessed Hope", the personal, imminent, pre-tribulational, pre-millennial appearance of Christ to
rapture His Church[73]; that His
righteous judgment will then be poured out on a non-believing world during the
Tribulation (the seventieth week of Daniel)[74];
that the climax of this era will be the physical return of Jesus Christ to the
earth in great glory to introduce the Davidic Kingdom[75];
that Israel will be saved and restored as a nation[76];
that Satan will be bound and the curse will be lifted from the physical
creation[77]; that following the
Millennium, the Great White Throne judgment will occur[78],
followed by the creation of a new heaven and new earth which will begin the
eternal state for all of God's people[79].
(S)
Concerning Marriage
We believe that marriage has only one meaning sanctioned by God, the
lifelong relationship between one man as husband and one woman as wife in a
single, exclusive union[80].
We acknowledge the secular status of civil marriage, but additionally view
marriage from a moral and religious perspective that transcends all social
interests.
Calvary Baptist Church shall not recognize same sex marriages or allow the
pastor to perform same sex marriages.
[1] 2 Tim. 3:16; Matt. 5:18; Gal. 3:16
[2] 2 Pet. 1:19-21; Acts 3:21: Jude 3:
Hebrews. 1:1-3
[3] Prov. 30:5, 6; John 17:17;
Rev. 22:18, 19
[4] 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Rom. 1:16; 1
Cor.10.6-12. Eph 6:17: 2 Pet. 3:15-16; Acts 17:11
[5] Deut. 6:4-5; Jer. 10:10
[6] Heb. 3:4; Ps. 139:1-16
[7] John 4:24; James 1:17: Hebrews 1:12
[8] Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19; John 1:1; 2 Cor.
13:14; Ps. 2:2; Isa. 63:10
[9] John 10:30; 17:5; Phil.
2:5-6; 1 Cor. 8:6
[10] John 3:16; 15:26
[11] Acts 5:3-4; 13:2; Rom.
15:30; Eph. 4:30
[12] John 16:8-11
[13] John 3:3-8; Titus 3:5
[14] 1 Cor. 12:12-13; Gal. 3:27-28
[15] Eph. 1:13; 4:30; 2 Cor. 1:22; John 14:16-17;
Rom. 8:9, 11, 14; Eph. 5:18; John 16:13; 14:26; 1 Cor. 12:4-7
[16] John 1:1, 14; 4:6-8; 8:58; 17:5;
19:28; Luke 4:2; Phil. 2:6-7
[17] Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:20-25; Luke 1:30-35; Gal.
4:4-5
[18] Ps. 110:4; Heb 4:14; 5:5-6; 8:1-2
[19] 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 2:8; Heb. 5:8-9
[20] Isa. 53:4-5; Matt. 18:11; 20:28; John 3:16;
Rom. 3:25-26; 1 Cor. 15:3; Heb. 2:9, 14; 9:14-15
[21] Matt. 28:1-10; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:6-7; John
20:9; Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:3-8
[22] Acts 1:9; Heb. 1:3; 4:14; 7:25; 8:1; Rom. 8:34
[23] Isa. 14:24; 26-27; 46:9-11; 55:11; Dan. 4:35;
Ps. 115:3; 135:6; Matt. 28:18; Eph. 1:11; Acts 2:23; 4:28: Heb. 6:17
[24] Gen. 50:20: Job 1:8-2:10; Prov. 16:33; Acts
2:23
[25] Gen. 50:20; Rom. 8:28; Job 42:10-17
[26] Gen. 1:1-2:25; Heb. 11:3; John 1:3; Col.
1:16-17; Ps. 33:6-9; Neh 9:6; Rev. 4:11
[27] Ex. 20:11; Ex. 31:17
[28] Gen. 1:11-12. 21, 24-25
[29] Gen. 1:26; Ps. 100:3
[30] Ezek. 28:11-19
[31] John 8:44; Gen. 3:1-7
[32] Matt. 12:24; 4:1-11; Eph. 6:10-18;
1 Pet. 5:8
[33] Gen. 3:15; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8
[34] Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10
[35] Gen. 1:27-31; Ecc.
7:29; Gen. 22:16-17
[36] Gen. 3:6-7; Rom, 5:12, 19
[37] Gen. 8:21; Ps. 51:5; 58:3; Isa. 53:6:
John 3.6. 18-19: Rom. 3:8-18, 23; 5:12; Gal. 3:22; James 2:10
[38] Ezek. 18:20; Matt.5:39-40; John 3:18,
8:43-47, Gal 3.10; Eph. 2:1-3,12; 4:17-19; Rom. 1:20,
32; 8:7: 1Cor. 1:8; 2:14
[39] John6:65; 15:16; 17:9; Acts
13:48; Rom. 8:29-33; 9:11-13,23; 11:7-8; Eph.
1:4; 1 Thess. 1:4; 5:9; 2 Thess. 2:13-14
[40] Prov. 16:4; Rom. 9:17-22; 11:7-8;
1 Pet. 2:8; Jude 4
[41] Rom. 8:28-30; Eph. 1:4; 2:8-10; Phil. 2:13; 2
Tim, 1:9; Titus 3:5
[42] Isa. 53:4-6; Matt. 20:28; John 3:16;
Rom. 3.25-26; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Heb. 2:9-10, 14; 9:14-15
[43] Rom. 5:1-2; 9; 8:1; Acts 10:43; Titus
3:7; 1 John 2:12
[44] 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:24-26; 4:23-25;
5:17.19: Phil. 3:9 1 Cor. 1:30
[45] Rom. 5:5; 8:9: John 3:3-8: 1 Pet.
1:23: 1 Cor 2:14; Col. 3:10; 2 Cor. 5:17
[46] Gal, 5:16; 22-25; Eph. 4:24; Coi. 3:1-2, 8-17: 1 Pet. 2:2: 2 Pet. 3:18
[47] John 6:37-39; 10:27-29;
Phil. 1:6; Heb 7:24-25: Jude 24-25
[48] Acts26:18; 1 Cor. 1:30:
6:11: Phil 11. Col. 1:2: Heb
10:10: 13:12
[49] John 17:17; Rom
6:19, 22: 2 Cor 318: Eph
415 5 8 25-27; Phil. 1:9-11; Col. 3:1-17; 1
Thess. 4:3. 7; 1 Pet. 1:15
[50] Col. 3:4; Phil.
3:20-21; 1 John 3 2. Jude 24
[51] Phil. 3:12-16; Gal.
5:17; Rom. 7:18-25
[52] Acts 10:46; Acts 2:8: 1 Cor.
14:19: 1 Cor 12 30. 1 Cor 138
[53] Matt. 25:46; John 11:25-26; 5:28-29:
Rev 20:5-6; 12-13
[54] Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil.
1:23; 3:21; 1 Thess. 4 16-17; Rev. 20:4-6
[55] Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:
19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15
[56] Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27; 1 Cor. 12:12-14
[57] Acts. 14:27; 20:17,28-32;
1 Tim. 3:1-13. Titus 1:5-11
[58] Matt. 18:15-20; Acts 13:1-4;
20:28; Rom 161-4; 1 Cor
3:9. 16: 5:4-7,13; 1 Pet. 5:1-4
[59] Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42:
18:8: 1 Cor. 1123-34
[60] 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9
[61] Matt. 28:19-20; Gal. 6:10; Heb. 13:1; 1
Pet. 47-11
[62] Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:16; John
3:22-23. 4.1-2: Acts 2 38 812,36-39;
16:32-34; 18:8
[63] Matt. 28:19
[64] Acts 22:16; Rom. 6:4; Gal.
2:20; Col. 2:12: 1 Pet 3.20-21
[65] Matt. 26:26-28; 1 Cor. 11:25; Heb.
8:7-13
[66] 1 Cor. 11:26; Matt. 26:29
[67] 1 Cor. 10:17
[68] 1 Cor. 11:27-34
[69] Gen. 1:26; 9:6; Ps. 100:3; Isa.
64:8
[70] Ps. 139:13-16; 22:9-10;
71:6; Luke 141 44
[71] Ex. 21:22-23
[72] Gen. 9:6; Ex. 21:22-23
[73] Titus 2:13; 1 Thess. 4:14-17
[74] Dan. 9:24-27; 12:1; Matt. 24:9-26:
2 Thess 2.1-12. Rev 6:1-19:6
[75] Zech. 14:4; Rev. 19:11-16
[76] Rom. 11:26-27
[77] Rev. 20:2-3
[78] Rev. 20:11-15
[79] Rev. 21:1
[80]Genesis 1:27-28; 2:18-25; Psalms 128:3; Matthew
19:4-5; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 7:32-34; Ephesians 5:22-31; Colossians 3:18-19; 1
Peter 3:1-7
