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Articles of
Faith
ARTICLE I
OF THE SCRIPTURES |
We believe the Holy Bible is a
supernatural book, that it
is the very Word of God, that it is in the sixty-six
books the full, final and complete revelation of God's
will to man. We believe the author of the Bible is God
the Holy Spirit and by inspiration we mean the plenary
verbal inspiration, that Holy men of God spoke as they
were moved by the Holy Spirit as revealed in Second Peter
Chapter One. We believe that the best available transla-
tion is the King James Version. We reject the modern
paraphrased versions, the modern common version and
others which delete the pure meaning of redemption and
do injustice to the Deity of Christ.
We believe and teach
that the Bible is the final authority in all matters of
faith and practice.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17) (Hebrews 4:12)
(2 Peter 1:19-21) (Isaiah 8:20)
(Psalm 119:89) (Romans 15:4)
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ARTICLE II
OF THE TRUE GOD |
We believe and teach that there is one, and only one,
true and living God. He is absolute in nature,
perfect
in attributions, holy in character, and is revealed in
the Trinity which is the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. The
three Persons of the Trinity subsist in the same divine
nature, essence and being. They are co-existent and co-
equal and each one has a distinct office in the work of
Redemption.
(Ephesians 4:6) (1 Timothy 1:17)
(Exodus 20:2-3) (Romans 11:33)
(John 4:24) (Psalm 90:2)
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ARTICLE III
OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST |
We believe that Jesus Christ is
co-eternally existant as
the second Person of the Trinity, is co-equally existant
with the Father, and thus, has neither beginning nor end.
He manifested God visibly to the world, through the theo-
phanies (Christophanies) in the Old
Testament, and
through the Incarnation in the New
Testament. He was born
of the virgin Mary and is the only Saviour
for this lost
world. His death on the cross was
voluntary, substitu-
tionary and sufficient for the salvation
of all men of
all times. He is coming again to rapture the saints at a
time in the future known only by God.
(Matthew 28:19) (Isaiah 53:5-6)
(John 1:1-2) (2 Corinthians 5:21)
(Genesis 18:1-22,33) (1 Timothy 4:10)
(John 1:14) (2 Peter 2:1)
(Luke 23:46) (1 John 2:2)
(John 10:17-18) (John 3:16)
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ARTICLE IV
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT |
The Holy Spirit is a divine Person; equal with God the
Father and God the Son and of the same nature and was
active in the creation. In relation
to the unbelieving
world He restrains the evil one until God's purpose is
fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, judgment and righte-
ousness. He is the agent of the New Birth and indwells,
seals, guides and directs the Believer.
(John 14:16-17) (John 14:26)
(John 15:26-27) (Romans 8:16)
(Ephesians 1:13-14) (Romans 8:26-27)
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ARTICLE V
OF THE DEVIL AND SATAN |
We believe that the Devil is an
actual being and not an
imaginary influence; that he once enjoyed high heavenly
honours and glorious heavenly privileges; that he through
pride, ambition and self will betrayed God
and as a re-
sult brought down upon his head the judgment of God. He
operates today as the god of this world and the Prince of
the Power of the air; that he is the arch deceiver, and
father of all lies, that he is the greatest enemy, the
biggest tempter and the greatest opposition to the Saints.
His final abode shall be the Lake of Fire, which is the
eternal place of punishment, prepared
for the Devil and
his angels.
(Isaiah 14:12-15) (Jude 6) (1 John 3:8)
(Ezekiel 28:14-17) (1 Peter 5:8) (John 8:43-44)
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ARTICLE VI
OF THE CREATION |
We believe the Genesis record
of the creation is literal,
and not allegorical or figurative; that God personally
created the Heaven and the earth in a direct act, that He
brought forth all original matter out of nothing. We be-
lieve that man was created directly in God's own image
and not by the hypothesis of any kind of evolution.
God's
established law says that all species shall bring forth
"after their kind[.]"
(Genesis 1:1) (Acts 17:23-26) (Romans 1:20)
(John 1:1-3) (Hebrews 11:3) (Genesis 1:26-27)
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ARTICLE VII
OF THE FALL OF MAN |
We believe that man was created in innocence and holiness
and by voluntary transgression of the
Lord's command, fell
from the state in which he was created and as a conse-
quence became a sinner alienated from God
and brought
upon himself and all mankind just condemnation. Man is
now, by virtue of his fallen nature, void of holiness,
positively inclined to evil and actually
condemned to
eternal ruin without excuse.
(Genesis 3:6-24) (Romans 5:19) (Ephesians
2:1-3)
(Romans 5:12) (Romans 1:18) (Romans 1:28)
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ARTICLE VIII
OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH |
We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ was conceived by
the Holy Spirit in a miraculous manner; born
of the virgin
Mary as no other man was born or can be born of woman. He
is both the Son of God and God the Son.
(Luke 1:35) (Genesis 3:15) (Isaiah 7:14)
(Matthew 1:18-25) (John 1:14) (Mark 1:1)
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ARTICLE IX
OF THE ATONEMENT FOR SIN |
We believe that the lost sinner is guilty and under just
condemnation and is by nature alien to God and because of
sin condemned to die; that the atonement for sin was pro-
vided through the mediatorial office of the Son of God
who by divine appointment freely took upon Himself our
nature, yet without sin, that He through obedience during
His earthly walk personally honoured the divine law by
keeping it, and through His death on the cross actually
satisfied the Law for the penalty of sin. His obedience
and sacrificial death made full and vicarious atonement
for all sin.
(Romans 3:25) (1 John 1:7) (Isaiah 53:12)
(Hebrews 9:22) (John 10:17-18) (Hebrews 12:2)
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ARTICLE X
OF THE GRACE OF SALVATION |
We believe and teach that salvation is by God's grace and
that salvation is free to all through the Gospel; that it
is the duty of all to accept, by faith, that
salvation and
those who voluntarily reject salvation will face eternal
separation from God in a literal place of punishment
called Hell in the Scriptures. When a sinner repents and
receives Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour he receives
eternal life. The eternal purpose of God
in Salvation is
first of all to preserve the believer forever in Christ;
the believer is saved eternally. It is
also the eternal
purpose of God that the believer will conform to the
image of His Son. This salvation wrought by grace then
assures us that we are preserved in Christ by the power
of God and no man can pluck the saved from the Father's
hand. Salvation is everlasting and the glorious truth
"once in Grace, always in Grace," is true.
(John 3:15-16) (1 Peter 1:5) (John 1:12)
(John 10:27-30) (Romans 10:1-13) (John 5:24)
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ARTICLE XI
OF REPENTANCE AND FAITH |
We believe that repentance
and faith are solemn and in-
separable prerequisites for salvation; that they are
inseparable graces wrought in the heart by the
quickening
power of the Holy Spirit, and as the sinner is deeply
convicted of his guilt and helplessness he turns in re-
pentance to the Lord Jesus Christ, surrendering himself
wholeheartedly and receiving Him as personal Saviour and
Lord, he is immediately born again.
(Acts 3:19) (2 Corinthians 7:9-10) (Mark
1:15)
(Acts 2:37-38) (Acts 20:21) (Matthew 3:1-2)
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ARTICLE XII
OF THE CHURCH |
We believe and teach that the local, visible assembly of
called out believers into a public place of worship and
service is the only one found in the New Testament. We do
not believe in an invisible or universal church. The lo-
cal New Testament Baptist Church is the only one author-
ized to carry out the Great Commission. The first New
Testament Baptist Church was founded by Jesus Christ
during His own personal ministry and
entrance into the
local church is by scriptural baptism.
We believe and
teach the Local New Testament Baptist Church is an inde-
pendent congregation and is not governed or controlled by
an Ecclesiastical Hierarchy. The will of the Local Church
is final.
(Ephesians 3:21) (Acts 2:47) (1 Timothy
3:15)
(Matthew 16:18) (Colossians 1:24) (Ephesians 1:22)
(Acts 16:5) (Acts 11:22) (Acts 8:1)
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ARTICLE XIII
OF THE CHURCH ORDINANCES |
We believe that Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the
only two local church ordinances set forth in the local
church by Jesus Christ. Scriptural Baptism began with
John the Baptist. John's
Baptism was not O.T. dispensation
or an intermediate dispensation but New Testament Baptism.
Our Lord Jesus Christ accepted this Baptism Himself and
accepted those that John baptized into the church that He
organized during His own personal ministry.
Baptism: Believers Baptism to be scriptural must be: THE
PROPER CANDIDATE, the one who has been Born Again. It
must also be THE PROPER MODE or method which is immersion.
It must also be THE PROPER DESIGN or motive. This design
is to show forth a truth which is the property of the
believer and the local church into which the believer is
Baptized, which sets forth the death, burial and resurrec-
tion of the believer to a new life in Christ. It is also
THE PROPER ADMINISTRATOR or authority, and the Local New
Testament Baptist Church is the only church with the au-
thority to administer scriptural baptism.
The Lord's Supper: We believe the Lord's Supper is a
memorial supper administered by the authority and instruc-
tion of the local Baptist Church; it symbolizes the
broken body of and the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that only members of the local church whose spiritual
lives in a right relationship are qualified participants
in the Lord's Supper service. We also teach and believe
that there is no saving power or grace in either Baptism
or the Lord's Supper.
(Matthew 3:13-17) (Matthew 28:19-20) (1
Corinthians 11:23-34)
(Acts 8:36-39) (Romans 6:3-5) (Matthew 26:17-30)
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ARTICLE XIV
OF THE RESURRECTION |
We believe and teach that Jesus Christ arose bodily from
the grave. We also believe and teach
that this resurrec-
tion assures all believers the same bodily resurrection
when the Lord returns for the Saints at the time of the
Rapture. There will also be a resurrection of the unsaved
to stand in judgment before the Lord, known in the
Scriptures as the great white throne judgment.
(Matthew 28:6-7) (John 20:27)
(1 Corinthians 15:42-52) (Hebrews 9:27-28)
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) (1 Corinthians 15:1-11)
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ARTICLE XV
OF THE RAPTURE AND RETURN OF
CHRIST |
We believe and teach that Jesus Christ shall catch away
all believers before the great Tribulation Period. At the
close of the great Tribulation Period the Saints will
return with Christ to the earth and shall live and reign
with Him 1000 years. The Rapture of the Saints is an im-
minent truth.
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) (1 Thessalonians 3:13)
(1 Corinthians 15:51-55) (Revelation 19:11-16)
(Jude 14-15) (Revelation 20:1-6)
(Zechariah 14:1-5) (Titus 2:13)
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ARTICLE XVI
OF THE GRACE OF GIVING |
We believe and teach that God's method of financing His
work of spreading the Gospel is by the tithes and offer-
ings of His people in and through the local New Testament
Baptist Church which is the storehouse. The time to tithe
is upon the first day of the week and that everyone is
accountable to the Lord for one-tenth of his income and
that tithing was instituted before the law and by Christ
in the New Testament Baptist Church.
(Matthew 23:23) (Leviticus 27:28-34)
(1 Corinthians 16:1-2) (Luke 6:38)
(2 Corinthians 9:6-15) (Genesis 14:17-20)
(Malachi 3:7-10) (2 Corinthians 8:1-8)
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ARTICLE XVII
OF SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND
STATE |
We believe that churches and governments should be com-
pletely separate; that civil officers should be prayed
for and conscientiously honoured and obeyed; that diligence
should be exercised in seeking the will of God in all
local church matters; that all my. endeavor should
be carried on within the confines of the local church;
that mission boards and mission hierarchies tend to cor-
rupt and usurp the authority of the local church. We
believe that it is the privilege and right of the local
churches to cooperate with each other in carrying out the
Great Commission. This cooperation, however, should be
carried on in such a manner as to preserve the sover-
eignty of each local body in all matters of faith and
practice.
(Proverbs 8:15) (1 Peter 2:9-20) (Romans
13:1-7)
Index
ARTICLE XVIII
OF LAST THINGS |
CHRIST'S RETURN
John 14:3
Acts 1:11
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 |
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1 Corinthians 15:51-55
James 5:8
Philippians 3:20-21 |
THE RAPTURE
Matthew 24:1-51
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Luke 21:25-31 |
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Zechariah 14:1-8
Mark 13:27-31
Luke 21:8-19 |
THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
Daniel 12:1
Matthew 24:21
Luke 21:25-26 |
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2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Revelation 6:16-17
Revelation 14:10-16 |
Revelation 16:11-21
THE CONVERSION OF THE JEWS
Zechariah 12:10-14
Matthew 24:38 |
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Zechariah 13:6-9
Romans 11:1-26 |
THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
Revelation 16:12-16
Ezekiel 38:1-23 |
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Revelation 19:11-21
Zechariah 12:1-4 |
THE MILLENNIUM
Revelation 20:1-6
Revelation 11:15-17
Isaiah 11:9 |
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Jeremiah 23:5
Isaiah 32:1
Isaiah 2:1-5 |
THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
Revelation 20:11-15
Index
ARTICLE XIX
OF THE PLAN OF SALVATION |
You need to be saved; "For all have sinned,
and come short
of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23.
You cannot save yourself; "Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved
us," Titus 3:5.
God has provided for your salvation; "Wherefore he is
able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by
him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."
Hebrews 7:25
Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation; "Jesus saith
unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6
God wants to save you; "The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuf-
fering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
God can save you now; "For whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13
Index
"Your Soul is our Sole
Concern"
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