I. THE SCRIPTURES
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and practice, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed. (II Timothy 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:19-21)
II. THE GODHEAD
We believe there is one and only one living and true God, an infinite Spirit, the Creator and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. (Ex. 20:2-3; Deut. 6:4; I Cor. 8:6; II Cor. 13:14; Rev. 4:11)
III. THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became a man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful mankind. (John 1:1, 2, 14; Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:21-23)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Romans 3:24, 25; I Peter 2:24; Eph. 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of representative, intercessor, and advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 7:25, 9:24; Rom. 8:34; I John 2:1-2)
IV. THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature; that He was active in the creation; that He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; that He bears witness to the truth of the gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto that day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; II Cor. 3:6; I Cor. 12:12-14; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13-14)
We believe that He is the divine teacher who guides believers into all truth; and, that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. (John 16:13; I John 2:20, 27; Eph. 5:18)
We believe that God gives spiritual gifts to all believers. Some gifts of the Holy Spirit are permanent and are to be used throughout the Church Age. Other gifts were temporary and were given in the Apostolic Age for the purpose of founding the church. Having fulfilled their purpose, they are not necessary and are not given today. We believe the temporary gifts include the gifts of apostleship, prophecy, miracles, healings, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. (Rom. 12:3-8; I Cor. 12:13, 14; II Cor.12:12; Heb. 1:1-2; 2:3-4)
We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, according to His own will, for the sick and afflicted. (I Cor. 12:7-11, Eph. 4:7-12; II Cor. 12:12; James 5:15)
V. THE PERSONALITY OF SATAN
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall of mankind; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and mankind; and, that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire.
(Job 1:6, 7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10)
VI. CREATION
We believe the Biblical account of the creation of the physical universe. The Biblical account is neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate creative acts of God. God created the physical universe in 6 literal, 24 hour days without any evolutionary process. Mankind was created by a direct work of God and not from previously existing forms of life and all people are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race. (Gen. 1, 2; Colossians 1:16-17; John 1:3)
VII. MARRIAGE
In light of God’s creative design, we believe that the Bible teaches that marriage is the joining of one man (physically male gender/sex at birth) and one woman (physically female gender/sex at birth) and that sexual intimacy is to be expressed only within the bond of a Biblically defined marriage. Any other form of marriage or sexual intimacy (e.g. homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, fornication, adultery, pre-marital sex, and pornography) is immoral and a perversion of God’s gift of sex. (Gen. 2:18, 21-25; Matt. 19:4-6; Romans 1:24-29; I Cor. 6:9-20; 7:1-5; Eph. 5:22-33; I Thess. 4:1-8, Heb. 13:4)
VIII. TOTAL DEPRAVITY
We believe that mankind was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that every person is totally depraved, and, of themselves, utterly unable to remedy their lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12-14; Eph. 2:1-3, 12)
IX. SALVATION
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to all people by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. (Eph. 2:8-10; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; I Peter 1:18, 19)
X. THE ETERNAL SECURITY AND ASSURANCE OF BELIEVERS
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38, 39; I Cor. 1:4-8; I Peter 1:5)
We believe that it is a privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word, which however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Romans 13:13, 14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
XI. SEPARATION OF THE BELIEVER
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God. (II Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1, 2; 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; II Cor. 6:14; 7:1)
XII. THE CHURCH
We believe that the church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all saved persons of this present age. (Eph. 1:22, 23, 3:1-11; I Cor. 12:12-14)
We believe that a local church is a congregation of immersed believers, associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its officers are pastors, and deacons, godly men whose qualifications, claims, and duties, are clearly defined in the scriptures. We believe the true mission of the church is the faithful witnessing of Christ to all people as we have opportunity. We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that the one and only superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit; that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the gospel; that each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its co-operation; on all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline, of benevolence, the will of the local church is final. (Acts 2:41, 42; Eph. 1:22, 23; 4:11, 12; 5:23, 24; Acts 20:17-28; I Tim. 3:15; Col. 1:18)
XIII. BAPTISM AND THE LORD'S SUPPER
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is pre-requisite to the privileges of a church relation. We believe that the Lord's Supper is the commemoration of His death until He comes, and should be preceded always by solemn self examination. (Matt. 3:16; 28:19; Acts 8:12; 8:26-39; Rom. 6:3-5; I Cor. 11:23-34; Col. 2:12)
XIV. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
We believe in that "blessed hope," the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His millennial kingdom. (I Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:1-6; Zech. 14:4-11)
XV. THE ETERNAL STATE
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all: the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25, 26; Rev. 20:5, 6, 12, 13)
We believe 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 first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; II Cor. 5:1-8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; I Thess. 4:16, 17)
We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment. (Luke 16:19-31; Matt. 25:41-46; II Thess. 1:6-9; Jude 6, 7; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:11-15)
XVI. OUR DOCTRINE AMPLIFIED
Because there are a number of theological movements in our day which we believe are not biblical, we desire to clarify our stand regarding these theological movements, in the light of our stated doctrinal position.
ECUMENISM is a popular religious movement designed to catch the unwary. Its philosophy of Christian unity has been largely promulgated by the world and National Councils of Churches, the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the world at large, and tragically by some elements of neo-evangelicalism. The ecumenical movement seeks the eventual union of all religions into one superchurch. This means that every church, religion, or religious body participating in the merger must compromise its beliefs in areas of faith and practice to conform to the will of the whole body. We unalterably oppose any "dialogue" or overture whatsoever which has as its ultimate purpose the breaking down of the determination of Christian faith as outlined in the New Testament. (II Cor. 6:11-18; Rev. 2:9, 14, 15)
NEORTHODOXY is a reaction to liberalism using words, phrases, and language familiar to Christians everywhere, and in this manner projecting an "evangelical" image. The adherents of this movement claim to accept the authority of the Bible yet reject its verbal, plenary inspiration. We therefore oppose this movement.
NEO-EVANGELICALISM is a more subtle movement, paradoxically promoted by professed Christians who consider the "fundamentalist" view of Christian theology as being too negative, and by "fair words" seeks to diffuse the fine line of demarcation between fundamentalism and liberalism. We maintain that those truths considered fundamental to Christian theology and the vagaries of Christ-denying liberalism cannot be made to "walk together." To attempt this unscriptural union is to compromise pure Christian doctrine by subjecting it to an unscriptural and therefore "unequal yoke." Calvary Baptist Church adheres to firm fundamentalism as opposed to the neo-evangelical movement. (II Cor. 6:11-18; Col. 2:8)
