What We Believe

What We Believe

We are an independent, fundamental, Baptist missionary family sent by Bible Baptist Church in Alva, OK. The following is our Statement of Faith and it explains in a concise way what we believe.

 

1. The Holy Scriptures

a. God is the Divine author of all Scripture (2 Tim 3:16), thus giving us a completely inerrant and reliable foundation for faith and practice. We believe in verbal, plenary inspiration of Scriptures.

b. Bible is a collection of 66 books from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 and does not merely contain, but IS in essence, the Word of God

c. God has promised to preserve His Word (Matthew 5:17-18, Mark 13:31, Psalm 12:6-7)

d. We believe the King James Version is the Word of God kept intact for English-speaking people by way of God’s divine providence and work of preservation; and that the Authorized Version translators were not “inspired”, but were merely God’s instruments used to preserve His words for English-speaking people.

2. The Person of God

a. There is one God revealed in 3 persons – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4; Gen 1:2,26, Matt 28:19)

b. He is the Creator and Lord of all (Gen 1-2, Psalm 90:2)

c. He is perfect in all of his attributes (love, holiness, justice, etc.) Exodus 15:11; Jeremiah 31:3

3. The Person of Christ

a. Virgin Born (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Gal 4:4)

b. Christ is God (John 1:1)

c. Tempted “in all points” as us, yet perfectly sinless (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22)

d. Was a substitute for our sin (John 1:29; John 3:17-18)

e. Was victorious over Death (Matthew 28:6)

f. Bodily ascended to heaven (Acts 1:11)

g. Is coming again to get His saints at the Rapture (1 Thess 4:16) and to establish his Millennial Kingdom (Rev 19:11)

4. The Person of the Holy Spirit

a. Is God (Acts 5:3-4)

b. Was involved in creation (Genesis 1-2)

c. Essential to new birth (John 3:6)

d. Essential to the security of the believer (Eph 4:30)

5. Satan

a. Although very powerful, Satan is limited, since he is just a creature

b. Was the chiefest of angels, but because of pride cast down to earth (Ezekiel 28:12-19, Isaiah 14:13-14)

c. Took 1/3 of the angels with him (Rev 12:4)

d. Currently, he is a god of this world (Matt 4:8,9; 2 Corinthians 4:4)

6. The Future Events

a. Pre-Tribulational Rapture of believers (1 Thess 4:16)

b. Tribulation (Rev 4-18)

c. Pre-Millennial Return of Christ to establish His Kingdom on Earth (Luke 17:26-27 – Christ returns to an unconverted world)

7. A Literal Heaven for Believers

a. John 14:1-3 – home to be WITH God

b. Rev. 21:2 – new Jerusalem, a literal place

8. A Literal Hell for the Lost

a. Luke 16:23 – literal place distinct from Heaven

b. Revelation 20:11-15 – place of eternal judgment for sin

9. Creation

a. 6 literal 24 hour days of creation + a day of rest (Genesis 1-2)

b. God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit were all involved (Gen 1:2, John 1:1-3) 

10. Salvation

a. Is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8)

b. Not of Works (Eph 2:9)

c. Repentance is essential (Luke 13:3)

d. Is a gift of God to all who will receive it (Rom 6:23, John 1:12; 3:16, Rom 10:13)

11. The Blood of Christ

a. Sinless blood (1 Peter 1:18,19)

b. Is a sign of the New Covenant (Matt 26:28)

c. Is a basis for our justification (Romans 5:9)

12. Security of the Believer

a. Salvation provided by God, and kept by God (John 10:27-30; 1 Peter 1:3-5)

b. Nothing and no one shall separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)

13. Indigenous Church

a. We believe the church is a local, visible, autonomous assembly of baptized believers

b. Christ is the foundation, cornerstone and the head of the church (Matthew 16:18)

c. Started with Christ and His apostles – pre-Pentecost (Matthew 16:18; Matt 28:18-20)

d. 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

e. We believe that it is scriptural for Baptist churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; that every church is the sole and only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; on all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline, of benevolence, the will of the local church is final.

14. The 2 Ordinances of the Church

a. Baptism by immersion (Matthew 3:16) a picture of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection (Romans 6:3-5). The proper authority is the local church and the proper candidate is a believer (Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38)

b. The Lord’s Supper – taken in remembrance of the vicarious death of Christ on our behalf, and thus a saved and baptized member of a local church is the proper candidate for it (1 Corinthians 11:23-34). Its two elements are unleavened bread symbolizing Christ’s sinless body, and the unfermented fruit of the vine (grape juice) symbolizing the unblemished blood of Christ (Luke 22:13-20).

15. Biblical Separation

a. We are to separate from ungodly people and ungodly practices (2 Cor. 6:14-18), but at the same time, love sinners as Christ loved them. 

b. Church is to be a local independent entity, free from any denominational control from without (1 Cor 1:2; Phil. 1:1; Gal 1:2)

c. Separation from groups or individuals that teach unsound doctrine (1 Timothy 6:5)

16. The Great Commission

a. The passion of God is to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) and we are to have the same

b. The great Commission was given to the church (Matt 28:18-20), who ought to be active in preparing, sending out, encouraging and supporting missionaries.

c. It is both local and global in its scope (Acts 1:8)

d. Universal responsibility – All born again believers have been given the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-21)

e. Its purpose is to make disciples, baptize them and teach them the commands of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20)

 

This is an abbreviated statements of our beliefs. Should you have any questions, PLEASE, give me a call and I would be glad to talk with you. You may reach me at 1.660.358.8148 or