THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God and inerrant in the original writings. The sixty-six books of the Bible are the complete and divine revelation of God to man, and therefore, are the final authority for faith and life. The scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal, literal, grammatical-historical meaning (II Tim. 3:16-17).

2 Peter 1:20-21: But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

THE GODHEAD

We believe in the one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Gen 1:1; Matt. 28:19; Acts 5:3-4).

John 10:30: Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”

Deut. 6:4: The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!

THE PERSON & WORK OF JESUS CHRIST

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became 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 pay for the freedom of sinful men (2 Peter 2:1).

Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

John 1:1-2: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ paid the full price for our sin through His death on the cross as a representative, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification before God was made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18).

Romans 3:24-25: God in His gracious kindness declares us not guilty through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed His blood, sacrificing His life for us.

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; I Cor. 15:1-4, 20-25; Heb. 9:24; I John 2:1-2)

Romans 8:34: Christ Jesus is He who . . .is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

1 John 2:1-2: If you do sin, you have someone to plead for you before the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.

We believe in the blessed hope — the personal, bodily, and imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

THE PERSON & WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of deliverance (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 12:12-14).

John 16:8: “And He (the Holy Spirit) will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment”

We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who empowers the preaching and teaching of the gospel, and assists believers to understand and apply the scriptures. It is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (Eph.1:17-18, 5:18; I John 2:20, 27).

1 Cor. 2:10: For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things. . .

We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses pastors and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry (Rom. 12:3-8; I Cor. 12:4-11, 28; Eph 4:7-12).

Romans 12:6: And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly:

We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. The ‘tongues’ in Acts and 1 Cor. refer to known foreign languages not ecstatic speech. We believe that speaking in tongues never has been a common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling with the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness and death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God may choose to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing (Acts 2; I Cor. 1:22, 13:8; 14; Heb 2:3-4).

CREATION

We believe in the direct creation by God of the physical universe, all spirit beings, man, and the lower forms of life, without the process of evolution. All creation was completed in six (6) literal 24 hour days then God rested on the seventh day. We believe the book of Genesis to be literal and accurate history. God sustains all creation but exists in no necessary relationship to it (Gen 1, 2; Col. 1:15-17; John 1:3).

Gen. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

SPIRIT BEINGS

We believe that God created an innumerable company of sinless spirit beings. One of these, though created holy by God, sinned through pride, thereby becoming Satan, the Devil, the enemy of his Creator, leading a host of angels in rebellion against God. Satan became the god of the world system and the ruler of all the powers of darkness and is destined to the judgement of eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Ezek. 29:12-17; Matt. 25:41; II Cor. 4:3-4; Rev. 12:7-9; 20:10).

Matt. 25:41: “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels”

Colossians 1:16: For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible.

MANKIND

We believe that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also the spiritual death which is separation from God, and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are now sinners by birth and by choice, positively inclined to evil, and therefore under the just condemnation to eternal ruin without defense or excuse (Gen 1:26-27, 2:17; Rom. 5:12-21).

Psalm 58:3: The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.

Romans 1:20: For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that (mankind is) without excuse.

SALVATION

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sin (John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; I Peter 1:18-19).

Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.

We believe in eternal security: that all the redeemed, once truly saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; I Cor. 1:4-8).

John 6:37: “. . . the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”

We believe that it is the 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 freedom to justify worldly sinfulness (Rom. 13:13-14; Titus 2:11-15).

Galatians 5:13: For you were called to freedom; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh.

FINAL DESTINIES

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, the unsaved to judgement and everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46; Rev. 20).

John 5:28-29: “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who have done good to a resurrection of life, those who have continued in evil to a resurrection of judgment.”

2 Thes. 1:6-9: It is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted . . . when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

THE LOCAL CHURCH

We believe that the local church is an assembly of confessing, baptized believers in Jesus Christ; locally organized, Holy Spirit-united-and-empowered for the purpose of glorifying God through 1) evangelism, which includes proclaiming the gospel and baptizing new believers, 2) edification thru the ministry of the Word, participation in the Lord’s Supper, fellowship and discipline and 3) worship, which includes praise, song and prayer (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8, 2:41-42, 10:47-48; Phil 1:1; I Tim. 2:12, 3:1-13; Heb. 10:25).

We believe in the autonomy of the local church, free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4; I Cor. 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4).

ORDINANCES

We recognize Baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper as the scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age.

  1. Baptism —
    We believe that immersion is the only form of baptism revealed in the scriptures, that it has no saving power, but is only for those already saved; and that the new birth, which comes through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, is the scriptural prerequisite to baptism; therefore, only those old enough to believe for themselves should be baptized (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:38, 10:47-48; Rom. 6:3-5).
  2. Lord’s Supper —
    We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of the death of Christ and that only those who have been saved through faith in his atoning blood and are walking in obedient fellowship with Him ought to partake of it. We do not believe in closed communion (Acts 2:41-42; I Cor. 11:23-32).1 Cor. 11:24: “Do this in remembrance of Me.”

This statement of faith is a representation of the basic beliefs of Freedom Baptist Church. For a more detailed Tenets of Faith, please contact the church.

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