Section I: God
There is one living and true God, the creator of the universe (Exod.
15:11; Isa. 45:11; Jer. 27:5). He is revealed in the unity of the Godhead
as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who are equal in
every divine perfection (Exod. 15:11; Matt. 28:19; II Cor. 13:14).
A. God the Father is the supreme ruler of the universe. He
providentially directs the affairs of history according to the purposes of
His grace (Gen. 1; Ps. 19:1; Ps. 104; Heb. 1:1-3).
B. God the Son is the Savior of the world. Born of the virgin Mary
(Matt.1:18; Luke 1:26-35), He declared His deity among men (John 1:14, 18;
Matt. 9:6), died on the cross as the only sacrifice for sin (Phil.
2:6-11), arose bodily from the grave (Luke 24:6, 7, 24-26; I Cor. 15:3-6),
and ascended back to the Father (Acts 1:9-11; Mark 16:19). He is at the
right hand of the Father, interceding for believers (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25)
until He returns to rapture them from the world (Acts 1:11; I Thess.
4:16-18).
C. God the Holy Spirit is the manifest presence of deity. He convicts of
sin (John 16:8-11) teaches spiritual truths according to the written Word
(John 16:12-15), permanently indwells believers (Acts 5:32; John 14:16,
17, 20, 23), and confers on every believer at conversion the ability to
render effective spiritual service (I Peter 4:10, 11).
Top
Section II: The Scriptures
A. The Scriptures are God's inerrant revelation, complete in the Old
and New Testaments, written by divinely inspired men as they were moved by
the Holy Spirit (II Tim. 3:16; II Peter 1:21). Those men wrote not in
words of human wisdom but in words taught by the Holy Spirit (I Cor.
2:13).
B. The Scriptures provide the standard for the believer's faith and
practice (II Tim. 3:16, 17), reveal the principles by which God will judge
all (Heb. 4:12; John 12:48), and express the true basis of Christian
fellowship (Gal. 1:8, 9; II John 9-11).
Top
Section III: Creation
A. The World--God created all things for His own pleasure and glory, as
revealed in the biblical account of creation (Gen. 1; Rev. 4:11; John 1:2,
3; Col. 1:16).
B. The Angels--God created an innumerable host of spirit beings called
angels. Holy angels worship God and execute His will; while fallen angels
serve Satan, seeking to hinder God's purposes (Col. 1:16; Luke 20:35, 36;
Matt. 22:29, 30: Ps. 103:20; Jude 6).
C. Man--God created man in His own image. As the crowning work of
creation, every person is of dignity and worth and merits the respect of
all other persons (Ps. 8; Gen. 1:27; 2:7; Matt. 10:28-31).
Section IV: Satan
Satan is a person rather than a personification of evil (John 8:44) and
he with his demons opposes all that is true and godly by blinding the
world to the gospel (II Cor. 4:3, 4), tempting saints to do evil (Eph.
6:11; I Peter 5:8), and warring against the Son of God (Gen. 3:15; Rev.
20:1-10).
Top
Section V: Depravity
Although man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26: 2:17) he fell
through sin and that image was marred (Rom. 5:12; James 3:9). In his
unregenerate state, he is void of spiritual life, is under the influence
of the devil, and lacks any power to save himself (Eph. 2:1-3; John 1:13).
The sin nature has been transmitted to every member of the human race, the
man Jesus Christ alone being excepted (Rom. 3:23; I Peter 2:22). Because
of the sin nature, man possesses no divine life and is essentially and
unchangeably depraved apart from divine grace (Rom. 3:10-19; Jer. 17:9).
Top
Section VI: Salvation
A. The Meaning of Salvation--Salvation is the gracious work of God
whereby He delivers undeserving sinners from sin and its results (Matt.
1:21; Eph. 2:8, 9). In justification He declares righteous all who put
faith in Christ as Savior (Rom. 3:20-22), giving them freedom from
condemnation, peace with God, and full assurance of future glorification
(Rom. 3:24-26).
B. The Way of Salvation--Salvation is based wholly on the grace of God
apart from works (Titus 3:5; Eph. 2:9). Anyone who will exercise
repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved
(Acts 16:30-32; Luke 24:47; Rom. 10:17).
C. The Provision of Salvation--Christ died for the sins of the whole world
(John 1:29; 3:16; I John 2:1, 2). Through His blood, atonement is made
without respect of persons (I Tim. 2:4-6). All sinners can be saved by
this gracious provision (Heb. 2:9; John 3:18).
D. Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom--God's sovereignty and man's
freedom are two inseparable factors in the salvation experience (Eph.
2:4-6). The two Bible truths are in no way contradictory, but they are
amazingly complementary in the great salvation so freely provided. God, in
His sovereignty, purposed, planned and executed salvation in eternity;
while man's freedom enables him to make a personal choice in time, either
to receive this salvation and be saved, or to reject it and be damned
(Eph. 1:9-12; 1:13, 14; John 1:12, 13).
Top
Section VII: Sanctification
All believers are set apart unto God (Heb. 10:12-14) at the time of
their regeneration (I Cor. 6:11). They should grow in grace (II Peter
1:5-8) by allowing the Holy Spirit to apply God's Word to their lives (I
Peter 2:2), conforming them to the principles of divine righteousness
(Rom. 12:1, 2; I Thess. 4:3-7) and making them partakers of the holiness
of God (II Cor. 7:1; I Peter 1:15, 16).
Top
Section VIII: Security
All believers are eternally secure in Jesus Christ (John 10:24-30; Rom.
8:35-39). They are born again (John 3:3-5; I John 5:1; I Peter 1:23), made
new creatures in Christ (II Cor. 5:17; II Peter 1:4), and indwelt by the
Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9; I John 4:4), enabling their perseverance in good
works (Eph. 2:10). A special providence watches over them (Rom. 8:28; I
Cor. 10:13), and they are kept by the power of God (Phil. 1:6; 2:12, 13; I
Peter 1:3-5; Heb. 13:5).
Top
Section IX: Church
A. The Nature of the Church--A New Testament church is a local
congregation (Acts 16:5; I Cor. 4:17) of baptized believers in Jesus
Christ (Acts 2:41) who are united by covenant in belief of what God has
revealed and in obedience to what He has commanded (Acts 2:41, 42).
B. The Autonomy of the Church--She acknowledges Jesus as her only Head
(Eph. 5:23; Col. 1:18) and the Holy Bible as her only rule of faith and
practice (Isa. 8:20; II Tim. 3:16, 17), governing herself by democratic
principles (Acts 6:1-6; I Cor. 5:1-5) under the oversight of her pastors
(Acts 20:28; Heb. 13:7, 17, 24).
C. The Perpetuity of the Church--Instituted by Jesus during His personal
ministry on earth (Matt. 16:18; Mark 3:13-19; John 1:35-51), true churches
have continued to the present and will continue until Jesus returns (Matt.
16:18; 28:20).
D. The Ordinances of the Church--Her two ordinances are baptism and the
Lord's Supper. Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer as a
confession of his faith in Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:4) and is
prerequisite to church membership and participation in the Lord's Supper
(Acts 2:41, 42). The Lord's Supper is the sacred sharing of the bread of
communion and the cup of blessing by the assembled church (Acts 20:7) as a
memorial to the crucified body and shed blood of Jesus Christ (Luke 2:19,
20; I Cor.11:23-26). Both ordinances must be administered by the authority
of a New Testament church (Matt. 28:18-20; I Cor. 11:23-26).
E. The Officers of the Church--Pastors and deacons are the permanent
officers divinely ordained in a New Testament church (Phil.1:1). Each
church may select men of her choice to fill those offices under the
leading of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:1-6; 20:17, 18) according to the
divinely given qualifications (I Tim. 3:1-13).
Pastors (elders, bishops) are authorized to oversee and teach the churches
under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (Acts 20:28; Heb 13:7, 17, 24; I Peter
5:1-4). Each church is responsible to follow them as they follow Christ (I
Cor. 11:1; I Thess. 1:6; Heb. 13:17) and to provide a livelihood for them
that they might fulfill their ministries (I Tim 5:17, 18; Phil. 4:15-18).
Pastors are equal in the service of God (Matt. 23:8-12).
Deacons (ministers, servants) are servants of the churches and assistants
to the pastors, particularly in benevolent ministries. Each church may
select her own deacons according to her needs, and no church is bound by
the act of another church in that selection (Acts 6:1-6).
F. The Ministry of the Church--Her mission is evangelizing sinners by
preaching the gospel (Matt. 28:19; Luke 24:45-47), baptizing those who
believe (Acts 2:41; 8:12, 35-38), and maturing them by instruction (Matt.
28:20; Acts 2:42) and discipline (Matt. 18:17, 18; I Cor. 5:1-5).
G. The Fellowship of the Church--She is free to associate with true
churches in furthering the faith (II Cor. 11:8; Phil 4:10, 15, 16) but is
responsible to keep herself from those who hold doctrines or practices
contrary to Holy Scripture (Gal. 1:8, 9; I John 2:19). In association with
other churches, each church is equal and is the sole judge of the measure
and method of her cooperation (Matt. 20:25-28). In all matters of polity
and practice, the will of each church is final (Matt. 18:18).
Top
Section X: Civil Authority
Human government was instituted by God to protect the innocent and
punish the guilty. It is separate from the church, though both church and
state exercise complementary ministries for the benefit of society (Matt.
22:21).
Christians should submit to the authority of the government under which
they live, obeying all laws which do not contradict the laws of God,
respecting officers of government, paying taxes, rendering military
service, and praying for the welfare of the nation and its leaders (Rom.
13:1-7; I Peter 2:13, 17; I Tim. 2:1, 2). They should vote, hold office,
and exercise influence to direct the nation after the principles of Holy
Scripture.
Civil authority is not to interfere in matters of conscience or disturb
the institutions of religion (Acts 4:18-20), but it should preserve for
every citizen the free exercise of his religious convictions.
Churches should receive no subsidy from the government, but they should be
exempt from taxation on property and money used for the common good
through worship, education, or benevolence.
Top
Section XI: Last Things
A. Return--Our risen Lord will return personally in bodily form to receive
His redeemed unto Himself. His return is imminent (I Thess. 4:13-17; Rev.
22:20).
B. Resurrections--After Jesus returns, all of the dead will be raised
bodily, each in his own order: the righteous dead in "the resurrection of
life" and the wicked dead in "the resurrection of damnation" (John
5:24-29; I Cor. 15:20-28).
C. Judgments--Prior to the eternal state, God will judge everyone to
confer rewards or to consign to punishment (Matt. 25:31-46; II Cor. 5:10;
Rev. 20:11-15).
D. Eternal States--Heaven is the eternal home of the redeemed (John
14:1-3) who, in their glorified bodies (I Cor. 15:51-58), will live in the
presence of God forever (I Thess. 4:17) in ultimate blessing (Rev. 21,
22).
Hell is the place of eternal punishment and suffering (Luke 16:19-31) for
the devil, his angels (Matt. 25:41), and the unredeemed (Rev. 20:10-15).
Top
Addendum
NOTE: The following statements are not to be binding upon the churches
already affiliated with this association, or to require adoption by
churches petitioning this body for privilege of cooperation, or to be a
test of fellowship between brethren or churches. However, they do express
the preponderance of opinion among the churches of the Baptist Missionary
Association of America.
1. We believe in the premillennial return of Christ to earth, after which
He shall reign in peace upon the earth for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4-6).
2. We believe the Scriptures to teach two resurrections: the first of the
righteous at Christ's coming; the second of the wicked at the close of the
thousand-year reign (I Thess. 4:13-17; Rev. 20:6, 12-15).
We endorse the New Hampshire Confession of Faith as a representative
compendium of what Baptists have historically believed through the
centuries. This confession was consulted and provided a pattern and guide
for the formulation of these doctrinal statements. As there are several
versions and editions, we refer particularly to the edition in J. E.
Cobb's Church Manual third edition, published by the Baptist Publications
Committee of Texarkana, TX.
Top |
|
Section
1: God
Section 2: Scripture
Section
3: Creation
Section 4: Satan
Section
5: Depravity
Section
6: Salvation
Section
7: Sanctification
Section
8: Security
Section
9: Church
Section
10: Civil Authority
Section
11: Last Things
Addendum
|
