What we believe:
What we believe about the Bible
· God the Spirit worked through individual authors, using their own distinctive personalities, to produce the Bible. When we say that the Bible is inspired by God, we mean that every word of the Bible – all 66 books – is exactly what God intended to be written. As originally written, the Bible contained no errors, even when it touched on scientific or historical matters. The differences that exist between translations today do not affect any of the Bible’s teachings. God has supernaturally guided the transmission of the text of Scripture down through the centuries so that we can say with total confidence that we possess the written Word of God. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20, 21)
· God is not giving us new Scriptures today. All we need to live our lives is contained in the books of the Old and New Testaments. (Revelation 22:18)
· The Bible will remain forever and will serve as the basis to judge those who have not lived in obedience to it. (John 5:45; 12:48)
· The Bible is the sole authority for what the church should do and for how we Christians should live our lives, raise our families, and conduct ourselves among non-Christians. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17)
What we believe about God
· God exists; he always has and always will. No other God exists but the God of the Bible. (Isaiah 44:6; 45:6, 7; 57:15)
· God is one spirit being, yet he exists in three distinct persons, each of them fully God: Father, Son, and Spirit. (John 4:24; John 1:1; Acts 5:3,4)
· God is working all things out for his own glory. This includes the good things that happen as well as the bad things. (Romans 8:28; Ephesians 1:3-14)
· God is controlling all things to his predetermined end. That he does this while holding human beings accountable for the decisions they make is a mystery beyond our ability to understand. (Daniel 4:34, 35; Acts 2:23)
· God is holy, completely without sin of any kind. He demands nothing less than perfection from his moral creatures. His righteous anger is justly poured out on all who do not conform to his commands. At the same time, God is full of compassion on sinful people and he abounds in love, grace and kindness upon those who do not deserve it. God is never capricious in what he does, never acts with partiality or prejudice towards people, but always acts according to what is true and right. (1 Peter 1:16; Romans 1:18-31; James 1:13, 14; 1 John 4:7, 8; Psalm 136; Romans 2:11; Revelation 15:3)
· God knows everything, including everything that will happen before it happens. He is all-powerful, and he is present everywhere at the same time in the fullness of his being. (Isaiah 44:7, 8; Genesis 17:1; Psalm 139:1-12)
What we believe about the Father
· When the Bible speaks about all things in heaven and earth glorifying God, it does so primarily in relation to God the Father. The Father's glory results from the working out of his predetermined plan for everything that happens. (Ephesians 1:3-14; Philippians 2:9-11)
· Because the Father loved sinners so much, he sent both his Son and the Spirit to save mankind. (John 3:16; 14:16, 17)
· When we speak of Christians being “God’s children,” this is no figure of speech. The life we live originates in God’s own life. Not only do we share his life, but we also enter into a relationship in which we experience his continual care for us. (John 1:12, 13; 3:3; Romans 8:14-17)
· The Father's care for us as his children includes his disciplining us. While this can be at times hard for us, we are thankful for it because it confirms that we really are his children. (Proverbs 3:11, 12; Hebrews 12:4-11)
What we believe about Jesus Christ
· The eternal Son of God voluntarily became a human being when he was conceived in the womb of his mother, Mary, a virgin. Since God was his father, he had no need of a human father. His miraculous birth was just the beginning of a life full of miracles that he performed. While he experienced the natural limitations of being human (needing to eat, to sleep, and having to learn things as a child, etc.), Jesus still possessed all the characteristics essential to being God. Jesus is fully God and he is fully man. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-25; John 20:30, 31; Philippians 2:5-7; Luke 2:52; John 1;1; Isaiah 9:6)
· The Lord Jesus lived a sinless life. Because he was God, it was impossible for him to sin. He lived sinlessly both as an example for others to follow, and also to be qualified to give his life in the place of sinful people. (Hebrews 4:14, 15; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:21-25)
· Jesus Christ died and was raised up from the grave by the miraculous power of God. (Matthew 28:6; Acts 2:24; Romans 1:4; 1 Corinthians 15:20)
· Jesus ascended into heaven, where he is seated at the right hand of God, a place of divine right and authority. Our Savior is praying for all those who believe in him. He will come back to earth someday soon to establish an earthly kingdom. (Acts 1:6-11; 3:19-21; Hebrews 1:3, 13; 7:25)
What we believe about the Holy Spirit
· The Spirit is God. (Acts 5:1-5; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17)
· After Jesus went up into heaven, he sent the Spirit to play a major role in bringing the church into existence. The Spirit’s empowerment and guidance make it possible for the church to fulfill the Great Commission that Christ commanded us to carry out. (John 14:16; Acts 1:8; 4:31; Ephesians 5:18)
· The Spirit’s main purpose is to exalt and honor Jesus. One of the ways the Spirit accomplishes that purpose is to work in the lives of unsaved people to bring them to Christ as their Savior from sin and eternal judgment. (John 16:7-15)
· When the Spirit saves someone, that person receives a new, sinless nature. The Spirit himself in some mysterious way comes to live within each saved person. The Spirit’s presence in us now is God’s way of saying that our salvation is secure. (John 3:3; Titus 3:5; Romans 8:9-11; 2 Timothy 1:14; Ephesians 1:13, 14)
· The Spirit also gives each saved person a special ability for working in the church. The purpose of these spiritual gifts is to build up the body of Christ. (Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4:11-16)
· Baptism in the Spirit is a one-time divine act that places the believer into the body of Christ. Every believer experiences this baptism of the Spirit when they are saved. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
· The Spirit helps each Christian to become more like the Lord Jesus and thus live in a way that is pleasing to God. As we live in obedience to God, the Spirit fills and empowers believers in Christ to live godly lives. (2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:16, 25; Ephesians 5:18)
What we believe about sinful people and their salvation
· Life on earth, including human beings, did not evolve. Adam and Eve were humanity’s first parents, created by God just as the Bible says they were. Their creation, along with everything else, happened recently, not millions or billions of years ago. (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11)
· People are born sinners, having received the sinful nature from their parents. Both sin and death were passed down from Adam and Eve, who were the first to sin. People do not die because they are human beings; they die because they are sinful human beings. When the bodies of Christians are raised from the dead, they will never die because they will no longer have their sinful natures. (Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12-21; John 11:25, 26; 1 Corinthians 15:50-58)
· Because the entire human race has been corrupted by sin, every human being stands condemned by a holy God. Because of the awful nature of sin, unsaved people will spend forever in the conscious torment of hell (Hades). (Romans 1:18-32; 3:9-20, 23; Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:47-49; Luke 16:23)
· Because sinful people are helpless to save themselves, God took pity upon them, loved them, and sent his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to earth to die in their place, be raised from the dead, and be exalted in heaven. This is the heart of the good news of the Gospel. (John 3:16-18; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 Corinthians 15:3-5; Romans 1:16, 17)
· People who live and die without ever hearing the good news of the Gospel will not be spared God’s wrath and the punishment of hell. There is only one way for anyone to be saved, by accepting the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:18-32; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5)
· As the Gospel is preached to sinners, God opens the hearts of the elect to hear and respond to the Gospel message. They respond freely and gladly, believing in Christ as their personal Savior from sin. (John 6:37, 39, 44, 65; Acts 13:48; Romans 9:11-24; 1 Corinthians 1:26-29; Ephesians 1:4' 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Peter 1:1, 2)
· It is only by God’s grace that anyone is saved, because salvation cannot be earned. Sinful people are saved when they hear and believe the good news that Jesus died and was resurrected for them. When God saves a sinner, that person is declared to be righteous by God, all sins are forgiven, a new nature is given through the new birth and the Spirit takes up his residence within them. (Ephesians 2:8, 9; 1 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5; Romans 3:21-25; 4:1-8; Ephesians 1:7; Acts 2:38; John 3:3-6; 1 Peter 1:23; Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)
· While someone can say, “I am saved,” the only way for that person or anyone else to know for sure is from the many changes that take place after a person is saved. So while good works are not necessary for salvation, they are necessary as a proof of salvation. (Ephesians 2;8-10; James 2:14-26; Matthew 7:15-23)
· Before they are saved, it is natural for unsaved people to live for themselves, according to the thinking and values of the day. After they are saved, God becomes their first love, and it is natural for them to want to obey God. (John 14:15; Romans 6:1-23; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:17-24; 1 John 4:19)
· Once a person is saved, that person will always be saved. (John 10:27-10; Romans 8:31-38)
What we believe about Marriage, Gender and Sexuality
· God created human beings as male and female (Genesis 1:27). The complementary, relational nature of the human race as “male and female” reflects the created order given by God when He created human beings “in His image” (Genesis 1:26-27; 5:1, 3; 9:6,1; 1 Corinthians 11:7; James 3:9; cf. Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3;18; Colossians 3:10). It is with joy in our finitude that we are to receive the gift of being either male or female at birth, and any transgender behavior or action is a violation of God’s will for our lives.
· Scripture grants two life-enhancing options for sexual behavior: monogamous marital relations between one man and one woman (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:18, 21-24; Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:5-8; cf. Hebrews 13:4) or sexual celibacy (1 Corinthians 7:7; Matthew 19:12). Either is a gift from God, given as He wills for His glory and the good of those who receive and rejoice in His gift to them.
· In Scripture monogamous heterosexual marriage bears a significance which goes beyond the regulation of sexual behavior, the bearing and raising of children, the formation of families, and the recognition of certain economic and legal rights, all of which are important. Marriage between a woman and a man is emphatically declared in Scripture to create a “one flesh” union (Genesis 2:23-24; Matthew 19:5), which in turn signifies the mystery of the union between Christ and His body, the Church (Ephesians 5:22-33). This means that the foundational understanding of marriage is as a covenant grounded in promises between a man and a woman which finds its divinely intended expression in the “one flesh” union of husband and wife, and between the “one flesh” union of husband and wife and God (cf. Proverbs 2:16-17; Malachi 2:14; Ephesians 5:31-32).
· All of human existence, including our sexuality, has been deeply damaged by the fall into sin (Genesis 3; Romans 3:23; 5:12). We all are sinners, broken in some measure by this fall. Though Christians are rescued, reconciled, renewed and in process of being transformed, this brokenness also affects us in that we groan, as the whole creation, eager to experience final redemption knowing at present we live in a not-yet-glorified state (Romans 8:22-23).
· Temptation, including sexual attractions, is not sin. Sin is yielding to temptation. Jesus himself was tempted, yet without sin (Matthew 4:1-11; Hebrews 4:15).
· All homosexual behavior is specifically condemned as sin in both the Old Testament and the New Testament (Genesis 19:4-11[cf. 2 Peter 2:6-7; Jude 7]; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Judges 19:22-25; Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Timothy 1:8-11). This includes both male and female homosexual activity, both the more passive and more active roles in homosexual practice, and all varieties of homosexual acts.
· God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19-21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). The indwelling Holy Spirit empowers believers in the struggle to resist sin, including the sin of homosexual practice (Romans 1:16; Ephesians 4:20-24; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Titus 2:11-13).
What we believe about living holy lives in this world
· Because salvation is demonstrated by a changed life, Christians will live a life that will stand in sharp contrast to the way that unsaved people live their lives. We will, as a general characteristic of our lives, not live in immorality or act in ways contrary to the commands of the Bible. (Romans 6:1-23; 1 John)
· Becoming more like Jesus Christ is our goal, but it is a process that will continue to the day we die. We will never be without sin this side of heaven. We grow as Christians by reading the Bible, by praying, by persevering through difficult experiences and by contributing to the lives of other Christians in meaningful ways. (Philippians 3:10-14; 2 Peter 3:18; James 1:2-4; Ephesians 4:11-16; Colossians 2:6; Titus 2:12, 13)
· Christians live in the world but will not be like the world. We will not compromise our beliefs or our values while fulfilling our duties to our employers or to those in government who rule over us. Loyalty to God comes before loyalty to anyone else. (John 17:14-16; Acts 4;17-20; 5:27-29; Romans 13:1-7)
· In matters that are not specifically spelled out in the Bible, Christians are to follow their conscience. When consciences differ among believers, we are to permit each other the freedom to do what we feel God would have us do. (Romans 14:1-15:7)
What we believe about the church
· Since the church is intimately connected with the Father, Son and Spirit, everything that believers do as a church must be done with the purpose of exalting and praising God. (Acts 2:43-47; Ephesians 1:18-23; Colossians 3:17)
· The church, which is called Christ’s body, began after Jesus ascended into heaven. From there he fulfilled Old Testament prophecy by sending the Spirit to take up permanent residence in the hearts of Christians. (Ephesians 1:22, 23; 2:19-22; Acts 1:8; 2:14-36)
· In a sense the church is one, made up of all believers in Christ. In another sense, the church is a local gathering of people who profess to believe in Christ, and who gather together to do what Christ has commanded them to do. This includes evangelizing the lost, immersing them in water as a statement of our faith in Christ, observing the Lord’s Supper, worshiping their Lord, instructing each other in the truths of the bible, building relationships with one another, and serving one another with the abilities that the Spirit has given to us. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:43-47; Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12-13; Ephesians 4:11-16
· The Spirit has given the members of a congregation abilities that make it possible for them to build up one another in their Christian lives. Miraculous abilities mentioned in the New Testament were temporarily given for the purpose of putting God’s stamp of approval on the radical new message preached by the apostles concerning Christ. These included the ability to raise the dead, cure any illness, speak in, and interpret foreign languages that the speaker does not know, etc. Permanent abilities given to the church are teaching, helping, leading, comforting, etc. (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4:1-16; 2 Corinthians 12:12; 2 Timothy 4:20)
· Jesus commanded the church to observe two specific ordinances, both of which are meant to illustrate the Christian’s identity with Jesus: the Lord’s Supper and baptism. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Jesus’ suffering and death for us. Baptism, which is by immersion, aptly pictures a believer’s union with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. Baptism is not for infants, nor does it have any virtue to save. Rather, it is a public confession of a person who has believed in Christ as Savior. Baptism is a prerequisite for church membership. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 11:23-24; Acts 2:46)
· Two offices, pastor and deacon, have been given to the church for its oversight. These officers seek to lead the congregation in doing all that Christ has commanded the church to do. Pastors provide spiritual leadership while deacons follow their lead, both working together to build up the church. At the same time that the congregation follows the pastoral leadership, it has the final say on many things that affect the church as a whole (see constitution of Temple Baptist Church). (Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Hebrews 13:7; 1 Peter 1:1-5)
· The Pastors and Deacons are the final authority for interpreting the Articles of Faith and By-Laws of this church.
· It is good for churches that think alike to work together in order to encourage one another and to evangelize unsaved people. Since the church governs itself, each church is free to decide if, and to what extent, it will cooperate with other churches in joint efforts. (2 Corinthians 8:1-12; 9:1-5; 2:5-7)
· The church is not the state and the state is not the church. God has created and authorized human government for the purpose of enforcing laws and administering justice. Because Christians are citizens of the state, they are to be in submission to its laws, respectful of those in authority and engaged in regular prayer for them. The Christian’s loyalty, however, is ultimately to God, not the state. Therefore, Christians must obey God rather than the state if at any time the laws of the state should violate the laws of God. (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17; 1 Timothy 2:1, 2; Acts 4:17-20; 5:27-20)
· Following the pattern set by the church from its inception, we set aside Sunday for corporate worship. While the church may gather together any day of the week, Sunday is special in that it commemorates the day when Jesus rose from the grave. (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2)
What we believe about future prophetic events
· When Christians die they enter into heaven to be with Jesus. Our bodies will be raised when Jesus Christ comes back from heaven to the earth to gather up all Christians. When unsaved people die they enter into hell (Hades), a place of conscious, everlasting punishment. Their bodies will also be raised at a later time when they will stand before God in the final Day of Judgment. (Philippians 1:21-23; 1 Corinthians 15:50-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 16:19-30; John 5:28, 29; Revelation 20:11-15)
· The Lord Jesus will gather to himself all believers that make up the church. This is called the rapture of the church. Following the church’s rapture, a seven-year period of great tribulation will fall upon the earth. During this time the prophesied Antichrist will deceive people and persecute the saved. Following the great tribulation, Jesus will descend from heaven to the earth to destroy the Antichrist, rescue the saved and bring in an earthly kingdom. This kingdom will fulfill the Old Testament prophecies that Israel as a nation will be saved and the Messiah (Jesus Christ) will rule from Jerusalem over the entire world. This kingdom will last 1,000 years. (Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 24:3-44; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; Revelation 4:1-20:6)
· Following the 1,000-year kingdom on earth there will be a final judgment for the unsaved. Their bodies will be raised from the graves; they will come out of hell (hades) and will stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment./ they will be condemned for their sins and will be cast into the Lake of Fire, which is also and eternal place of punishment. (Revelation 20:7-15)
· After the final judgment of unsaved people, God will create a new heaven and a new earth. It will be impossible for sin to ruin this new creation. The saved will enjoy the presence of God and bask in his glory forevermore. (Revelation 21:1-22:5)