Our Doctrinal Statement

Doctrinal Statements

I. God

There is one living and true God, the creator of the universe (Ex. 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 (Ex. 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; Lk. 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 (Lk. 24:6, 7, 24-26; 

 I Cor. 15:3-6), and ascended back to the  Father (Acts 1:9-11; 

 Mk. 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 word (Acts 1:11; I Thes. 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 Pet. 

 4:10,11).

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 Pet. 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). 

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 angles worship God and execute His will; 

  while fallen angels serve Satan, seeking to hinder God’s purpose

  (Col. 1:16; Lk. 20:35, 36; Mat. 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 a dignity and worth and merits the 

  respect of all other persons (Ps. 8; Gen. 1:27; 2:7; Matt. 10:28-

  31).

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 Pet. 5:8), and warring against the Son of God (Gen. 3:15; 

 Rev. 20:1-10).

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 Pet. 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)

IV.  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; Lk. 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 His gracious provision (Heb. 2:9; 

   John 3:18).

  D. The Purpose of Salvation - Election is the sovereign act of God by 

   which He bestows His mercy of salvation upon all whom He has

   chosen in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world, 

   according to His foreknowledge (Eph. 1:3-5; I Pet. 1:1,2). 

   It is consistent with God’s sovereignty and man’s free agency

   (Eph. 1:11-14). Election necessitates the preaching of the gospel 

   to every creature, the convicting of sinners by the Holy Spirit, and 

   the belief of the truth of each repenting sinner (Matt. 28:18-20; 

   Mk. 16:15). Within our finite limits of understanding, sinners are

   free to accept or reject God’s offered mercy (John 1:11,12). 

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 Pet. 1:5-8) by allowing the Holy Spirit to apply God’s Word to their lives (I Pet. 2:2), conforming them to the principles of divine righteousness (Rom. 12:1,2; I Thes. 4:3-7) and making them partakers of the holiness of God (II Cor. 7:1; I Pet. 1:15,16). 

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 Pet. 

1:23), made new creatures in Christ (II Cor. 5:17; II Pet. 1:4), and 

indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9; I John 4:4), assuring 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 Pet. 1:3-5, Heb. 13:5). 

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; Mk. 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 (Lk. 22:19,20; 

 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; 29:17, 18) 

 according to the divinely given qualifications (I Tim 3:1-13). 

 Pastors (elders, bishops) are authorized to oversee and each the 

 churches under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (Acts 20:28; 

 Heb. 13:7, 17, 24; I Pet. 5:1-4) Each church is responsible to follow

 them as they follow Christ (I Cor. 11:1; I Thes 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; Lk. 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. 18:7, 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). 

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 Pet. 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. 

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 Thes. 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 - 

1.) Heaven is the eternal home of the redeemed (John 14:1-3) who, in

their glorified bodies (I Cor. 15:51-58), will live forever in the 

presence of God forever (I Thes. 4:17) in ultimate blessing 

(Rev 21,22).

2.) Hell is the place of eternal punishment and suffering (Lk. 16:19-31)

 for the devil, his angels (Matt. 25:41), and the unredeemed 

(Rev. 20:10-15).

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 fellow ship 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 Thes. 4:13-17; Rev. 20:6, 12-15).