What We Believe!
The following document is the Statement of Faith adopted by Berean Baptist Church. It gives a detailed explanation of what we believe and the scripture references to show that our beliefs are taken directly from the Word of God:
THE SCRIPTURES
We believe in the authority and sufficiency of the Holy Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, as originally written; that it was verbally and plenarily inspired and is the product of Spirit-controlled men, and therefore is infallible and inerrant in all matters of which it speaks. We believe the Bible to be the true center of Christian unity and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creed and opinions shall be tried.
We further believe the Authorized King James Version to be the preserved Word of God to English speaking people, faithful and true to the original autographs. Other versions are inferior and flawed, with some being outright perversions of God’s Word and are unnecessary, as the King James Version is absolutely effective in conveying God’s message to mankind.
2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:19-21; Matt 24:35; 1Pet 1:25; Psa 19:7; Psa 18:30 ;Psa 12:6; 1Jn 1:3,6-7; Joh 12:48 ;Psa 12:7; Psa 119:89
GOD
We believe that there is one, and only one, true and living God; that He is absolute in nature, perfect in attributes, holy in character, the maker and supreme ruler of heaven and earth; that He is infinite in wisdom, marvelous in power, and amazing in love; that He is holy, righteous, and true, worthy of all honor, confidence and love; that He unites in Himself the infinite, the eternal, and the Almighty Three – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; that the three persons of the Godhead subsist in the same divine nature, essence and being; and that they are co-existent and co-equal in every divine attribute, each one executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.
Gen 1:1; Deut 4:39; Mar 12:29; Gen 17:1; Mat 5:48; Isa 6:3; 1Ch 29:11; 1Ch 29:12; Psa 103:19; Rom 11:33-34; Mat 19:26; Psa 19:9; Mat 28:19; 1Pe 1:2-3; 1Jn 5:7; Exo 3:14; Gen 1:26; Tit 3:3-7
THE TRINITY
1. God the Father: We believe that God the Father is the first person set forth in the Divine Trinity; that He is almighty, merciful, and just; that He is holy, righteous, and true; that He is eternally existent, glorious in nature, possessing the attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence; and that He, in harmony with His divine office, loves, provides, and protects, thus exercising providential watch care over the sons of men, and especially a fatherly care over the children of God.
Matt. 28:19; Gen. 17:1; Matt. 19:26; Ps. 19:9; Isa. 6:3; Ps. 100:5; Prov. 15:3; Ps. 139:1-6, 13-14; Ps. 103:13; Matt. 6:25-30; Matt. 10:29-31; Matt. 7:11.
2. God the Son: – Virgin Born: We believe that god the Son is the second person set forth in the Divine Trinity; that He is Very God of Very God; that He is almighty, merciful, and just; that He is holy, righteous, and true; that He is eternally existent, glorious in nature, possessing the attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence; that God the Father, through the Holy Spirit, is actually and eternally His divine father, and Mary the Virgin is actually and innocently His human mother; and that He, in harmony with His divine office, mediates, seeks, and saves, thus exercising the mediatorial office of redemption.
Matt. 28:19; Jn. 1:1-3; Isa. 9:6; Matt. 28:18; Titus 3:5-6; Jn. 8:15-16; II Cor. 5:21; Heb. 13:8; Phil. 2:6; Jn. 2:24; Matt. 28:20; Luke 1:35; Luke 2:7-14; I Tim. 2:5-6; Luke 19:10; Jn. 3:16.
3. God the Holy Spirit: We believe that God the Holy Spirit is the third person set forth in the Divine Trinity: that He is almighty, merciful, and just; that He is holy, righteous, and true; that He is eternally existent, glorious in nature, possessing the attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence; that He restrains the world, the flesh and the devil; that He witnesses to the Truth, convicts the lost, extols the Christ, and testifies to the righteous judgments of God; that He, in harmony with His divine office, comforts, teaches, testifies, preaches, guides; regenerates, empowers, sanctifies, and anoints, thus exercising the quickening role in the works of saving the lost and the supervising role in the life of the saved.
Jn. 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-13; Heb. 9:14; I Pet. 4:14; Isa. 40:12-15; I Cor. 2:10-12; Ps. 139:7-12; II Thes. 2:6-7; Jn. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14; Acts 1:8; I Pet. 1:2; Isa. 61:1.
THE DEVIL
We believe that Satan was once holy, and enjoyed heavenly honors; but through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell and drew after him a host of angels; that he is now the malignant prince of the power of the air, and the unholy god of this world. We hold him to be man’s great tempter, the enemy of God and His Christ, the accuser of the saints, the author of all false religions, the chief power back of the present apostasy; the lord of the antichrist, and the author of all the powers of darkness – destined however to final defeat at the hands of God’s own Son, and to the judgment of an eternal justice in hell, a place prepared for him and his angels.
Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:14-17; Matthew 4:1-3; 13:25; 25:41; 27:39; Mark 13:21-22; Luke 22:3-4; John 14:30; Ephesians 2:2; 2Corinthians 11:13-15; 1Thessalonians 3:5; 2Thessalonians 2:8-11; 1Peter 5:8; 2Peter 2:4; 1John 2:22; 3:8; 4:3; 2John 7; Jude 6; Revelation 12:7-10; 13:13-14; 19:11,16,20; 20:1-3,10
THE CREATION
We believe the Biblical account of the creation of the physical universe, angels, and man; that this account is neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate creative acts of God without any evolutionary process; that man was created by a direct work of God and not from previously existing forms of life; and that all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race. Genesis 1; 2; Colossians 1:16, 17; John 1:3.
THE FALL OF MAN
We believe that man was created in innocence (in the image and likeness of God) under the law of his Maker, but by voluntary transgression Adam fell from his sinless and happy state, and all men sinned in him, in consequence of which all men are totally depraved, are partakers of Adam’s fallen nature, and are sinners by nature and by conduct, and therefore are under just condemnation without defense or excuse. Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 3:10-19; 5:12, 19; 1:18, 32.
THE VIRGIN BIRTH
We believe that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Spirit in a miraculous manner, born of Mary, a virgin, as no other man was ever born or can be born of-woman, and that He is both the Son of God and God, the Son. Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:14.
THE RESURRECTION AND PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST
We believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ and in His ascension into Heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of the Father as our High Priest interceding for us. Matthew 28:6, 7; Luke 24:39; John 20:27; 1 Corinthians 15:4; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:2-6, 51; Acts 1:9-11; Revelation 3:21; Hebrews 8:6; 12:2; 7:25; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 John 2:1; Hebrews 2:17; 5:9, 10.
Salvation
We believe that the salvation of sinners is divinely initiated and wholly of grace through the mediatorial offices of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who, by the appointment of the Father, voluntarily took upon Himself our nature, yet without sin, and honored the divine law by His personal obedience, thus qualifying Himself to be our Savior; that by the shedding of His blood in His death He fully satisfied the just demands of a holy and righteous God regarding sin; that His sacrifice consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, but was a voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner’s place, the Just dying for the unjust, Christ the Lord bearing our sins in His own body on the tree; that having risen from the dead He is now enthroned in Heaven, and uniting in His wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfection, He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, a compassionate and an all-sufficient Savior.
We believe that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition of salvation. Repentance is a change of mind and purpose toward God prompted by the Holy Spirit and is an integral part of saving faith. Jonah 2:9; Ephesians 2:8; Acts 15:11; Romans 3:24, 25; John 3:16; Matthew 18:11; Philippians 2:7, 8; Hebrews 2:14-17; Isaiah 53:4-7; 1 John 4:10; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians. 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24.
GRACE AND THE NEW BIRTH
We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new creation is brought about by our sovereign God in a manner above our comprehension, solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel; that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith and newness of life. John 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 John 5:1; Acts 16:20-33; 2 Peter 1:4; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1, 5; Colossians 2:13; John 3:8.
JUSTIFICATION
We believe that justification is that judicial act of God whereby He declares the believer righteous upon the basis of the imputed righteousness of Christ; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any work of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s shed blood. Romans 3:24; 4:5; 5:1, 9; Galatians 2:16; Philippians 3:9.
SANCTIFICATION
We believe that sanctification is the divine setting apart of the believer unto God accomplished in a threefold manner; first, an eternal act of God, based upon redemption in Christ, establishing the believer in a position of holiness at the moment he trusts the Savior; second, a continuing process in the saint as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to the life; third, the final accomplishment of this process at the Lord’s return. Hebrews 10:10-14; 3:1; John 17:17; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 4; 5:23, 24; 1 John 3:2; Jude 24, 25; Revelation 22:11.
THE SECURITY OF THE SAINTS
We believe that all who are truly born again are kept by God the Father for Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6; John 10:28, 29; Romans 8:35-39; Jude 1.
THE CHURCH
We believe that a local church is an organized 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, 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 men 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 cooperation; that on all matters of membership, of polity, of government, of discipline, of benevolence, the will of the local church is final. 1 Corinthians 11:2; Acts 20:17-28; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Acts 2:41, 42.
We believe in the unity of all New Testament believers in the Church which is the Body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12, 13; Ephesians 1:22, 23; 3:1-6; 4:11; 5:23; Colossians 1:18; Acts 15:13-18.
BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER
We believe that Christian baptism is the single immersion of a believer in water to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our identification with the crucified, buried and risen Savior, through Whom we died to sin and rose to a new life; that baptism is to be performed under the authority of the local church; and that it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership.
We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration of His death until He come, and should be preceded always by solemn self-examination. We believe that the Biblical order of the ordinances is baptism first and then the Lord’s Supper, and that participants in the Lord’s Supper should be immersed believers. Acts 8:36, 38, 39; John 3:23; Romans 6:3-5; Matthew 3:16; Colossians 2:12; 1 Corinthians 11:23-28; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:41, 42.
SEPARATION
We believe in obedience to the Biblical commands to separate ourselves unto God from worldliness and ecclesiastical apostasy. 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:9, 10; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; Romans 16:17; 2 John 9-11.
CIVIL GOVERNMENT
We believe that the civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society and the guarantee of liberty of conscience. This guarantee consists of absolute constraint of the government to the civil realm, not interfering or influencing in the spiritual realm of the Church. We further believe that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed; except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the only Lord of the conscience, and the coming prince of the Kings of the earth. Romans 13:1; Matthew 22:21; Acts 5:29; 4:19-20.
ISRAEL
We believe in the sovereign selection of Israel as God’s eternal covenant people, that she is now dispersed because of her disobedience and rejection of Christ, and that she will be regathered in the Holy Land and, after the completion of the Church, will be saved as a nation at the second advent of Christ. Genesis 13:14-17; Romans 11:1-32; Ezekiel 37.
THE RAPTURE AND SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
We believe in the pre-millennial return of Christ, an event which can occur at any moment, and that at that moment the dead in Christ shall be raised in glorified bodies, and the living in Christ shall be given glorified bodies without tasting death, and all shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air before the seven years of the Tribulation. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 51-54; Philippians 3:20, 21; Revelation 3:10.
We believe that the Tribulation, which follows the Rapture of the Church, will be culminated by the revelation of Christ in power and great glory to sit upon the throne of David and to establish the millennial kingdom. Daniel 9:25-27; Matthew 24:29-31; Luke 1:30-33; Isaiah 9:6, 7; 11:1-9; Acts 2:29, 30; Revelation 20:1-4, 6.
THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that only those who are justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Spirit of our God are truly righteous in His esteem; while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked and under the curse; and this distinction holds among men both in and after death, in the everlasting felicity of the saved and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost in the lake of fire. Malachi 3:18; Genesis 18:23; Romans 6:17, 18; 1 John 5:19; Romans 7:6; 6:23; Proverbs 14:32; Luke 16:25; Matthew 25:34-41; John 8:21; Revelation 20:14, 15.
THE ORDINATION OF WOMEN
We believe women should NOT be ordained because it would NOT be in harmony with the clear teaching of Scripture. (I Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-9, I Timothy 2:11-15,) In today’s society women are protesting against the roles that are traditionally assigned to them. Much of their argument is justified in matters relating to wages, and salaries and job assignments in the secular realm. But the protest has not stopped in these areas. It has reached into the Realm of the Church and related ministries. Today many groups are ordaining women as ministers and some are being place in the pastorate. We recognize the right of these groups to conduct their affairs as they feel led. However, we do not agree nor condone the practice of ordaining women. We recognize that there is a ministry for women as counselors, teachers and helpers both in the local church, and the mission field (Romans 16:1-6, Titus 2:3-5)
MARRIAGE AND SEXUALITY
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman (as designed by birth). We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. We further believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one man and one woman (as designed by birth). (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1: 26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4; Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23.
SPEAKING IN TONGUES
We believe that speaking in tongues was a sign gift given to the apostles, and those disciples associated with them, in the beginning of the church age when God turned from Judaism to the church age. (Acts 2:1-6) We believe that after the turning from Judaism and animal sacrifices to the church and the gospel of the grace of God, that the sign gifts which was given to the apostles to authenticate this change, passed away with the apostles. (I Cor. 13:8, I Cor. 14:22)
We hold therefore, that in the light of, the absence of any clear scriptural commands or instructions to speak in tongues either in public or private, and in the light of the fact that the Bible is completed, and therefore, no additional Revelation is necessary, to speak in tongues, or seek to do so is, in our view extra-biblical, unwarranted and dangerous to a believer’s spiritual development. For this reason we believe that the practice of speaking in ecstatic utterances is wrong. (I Cor, 14)