Statement of Faith

The Bible

We believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, being verbally and plenary inspired of Him in all its parts, and that it is the supreme and final authority for all human conduct, creeds, and opinions. Independent Baptist Church exclusively uses the King James Version 1611 as God’s Preserved Word for the English-speaking people. (II Tim. 3:16-17, II Peter 1:19-21, Hebrews 1:1, Psalm 119:89)

God

A. We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Gen. 1:1, Isa. 6:1-9, Eph. 2:18, II Cor. 13:14, Matt. 28:19)

B. We believe in the absolute deity of Jesus Christ who is co-equal and co-existent with the Father and the Spirit in eternality, deity, and attributes; that through the incarnation He was miraculously begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of Mary, who was a virgin, taking upon Him the form and nature of humanity and is very God of very God, and very man of very man; that He was crucified for our sins, raised for our justification, and coming again to receive us unto Himself. (Jn. 1:1-3, I Jn. 5:20, Luke 1:26-39, Matt. 1:20)

C. We believe in the personality of the Holy Spirit who indwells all true believers today the moment they receive Jesus Christ as their Savior, and seals them unto the day of redemption. (Acts 5:3-4, Rom. 10:13, I Cor. 1:1-2, I Cor. 6:19-20, Eph. 1:13-14, Eph. 4:32, Jn. 7:37-39)

Creation

We believe that God created the heavens and the earth, including all life; giving it the power to reproduce after its own kind, and this by direct creation and not the process of evolution. (Gen. 1:1-2, Gen. 2:25, Col. 1:16-17, Jn. 1:1-3, Eph. 3:9)

Satan

We believe that Satan is a distinct personality who was perfect in his ways from the day God created him until sin was found in his heart and he tried to exalt himself above God. He is the “unholy god of this age, the accuser of the brethren, the deceiver of the nations, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience, that old Serpent, the Devil who is destined to eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire.” (Matt. 4:1-11, II Cor. 4:4, Rev. 20:10, Isa. 14:9-17, Ezek. 28:11-19)

Man

We believe that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned and thereby incurred both physical and spiritual death (eternal separation from God), and that human beings are born with a sinful nature and are sinners in thought, word, and deed. (Gen. 1:26, Rom. 3:23, Eph. 2:1-3, Eccl. 7:20)

Atonement

We believe that the Lord Jesus died for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the basis of His shed blood. (Jn. 3:16, Rom. 5:6-8, Rom. 3:23-26, I Cor. 15:3-4, II Cor. 5:21, Eph. 5:2)

Salvation

We believe that all those who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born of the Holy Spirit and thereby become the children of God. (Jn. 1:12-13, Jn. 3:3, Jn. 3:36, Gal. 3:26, Rom. 8:14-17)

Security of the Believer

We believe that all true believers in Jesus Christ have received eternal life and shall never come into condemnation, but are passed from death unto life. We are kept by the power of God through Christ and therefore after we have accepted salvation through Christ we cannot lose or forfeit it. (Rom. 8:38-39, Jn. 10:27-30, Eph. 1:13-14, I Pet. 1:3-5, Phil. 1:6, Jude 24)

Resurrection of Christ

We believe that Christ was bodily resurrected from the dead, that in His body He ascended into Heaven to represent us as High Priest and Advocate. (I Pet. 1:3-5, I Jn. 2:1-2, Heb. 9:24-25, Heb. 7:24-25)

Resurrection of Man

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, that the righteous dead shall rise first to everlasting blessedness, and the wicked dead unto everlasting, conscious punishment. (Job 19:25-27, Jn. 5:28-29, Dan. 12:2, Rev. 20:12)

The Return of Christ

We believe in the bodily, personal, imminent return of Jesus Christ, who will come in the air for His bride, the saved (saints), before the Tribulation, and will return with His own after the Tribulation to judge the living nations and set up His Millennial Kingdom. (I Cor. 15:51-53, I Thess. 4:13-18, Jn. 14:1-6, Matt. 24:27-31, Matt. 25:31-46)

The Church

A. Jesus Christ is the foundation and protector of the church. Matt. 16:18, Ephesians 5:24-25, Colossians 1:18

B. The church is made up of a saved and scripturally baptized (immersed) membership. Acts 2:41, 47, Matt. 28:18-20

C. The purpose of the church is to preach the Gospel, baptize believers, disciple believers, and administer the ordinances of Christ. Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, I Corinthians 11:2

D. The church is the institution God has established for the saved, baptized believers, to practice their spiritual gifts and edify one another. I Corinthians 12:1-10, Romans 12:5-8, Ephesians 4:10-13

E. The officers of the church are pastor (bishop) and deacons. I Timothy 3:1-9, Acts 6:1-7, I Timothy 3:8-13

F. The Word of God is the sole authority for faith and practice of the church. II Timothy 3:16-17, I Timothy 4:15-16

G. The church has the absolute right of self-government, free from any interference of a hierarchy of individuals or organizations, hence in all matters of membership, policy, government, ownership of property, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final. Matthew 18:15-18, I Timothy 4:15-16

The Ordinances

We believe the ordinances of a New Testament church are baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

A. Baptism: We believe that believer’s baptism is the immersion of the believer (one who is personally trusting Christ for salvation) in water showing his faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior, and pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the believer’s first step of obedience to Christ after salvation. It is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and should precede the partaking of the Lord’s Supper. (Matt. 3:16, Jn. 3:23, Acts 8:36- 39, Rom. 6:3-6, Col. 2:12)

B. The Lord’s Supper: We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration of His death “until He come,” and should be preceded by solemn self-examination. (I Cor. 11:23-28)