Our Statement of Faith

We are a Baptist Church Ministry: We have adopted the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith as the Statement of our doctrinal convictions. We hold this historical standard as subordinate to the Word of God. We here publish The Abstract of Principles, a summary of our Confession originally written by the founders of The Southern Baptist Seminary in 1858.

I. The Scriptures

The Scriptures of the Old & New Testament were given by inspiration of God, & are the only sufficient, certain & authoritative rule of all saving knowledge, faith & obedience.

II. God

There is but one God, the Maker, Preserver & Ruler of all things, having in & of himself, all perfections, & being infinite in them all; & to Him all creatures owe the highest love, reverence & obedience.

III. The Trinity

God is revealed to us as Father, Son & Holy Spirit each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being.

IV. Providence

God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, & perpetually upholds, directs & governs all creatures & all events; yet so as not to destroy the responsibility of man to obey Him.

V. Election

Election is God's eternal choice of some persons unto everlasting life — not because of foreseen merit in them, but of his mere mercy in Christ — in consequence of which choice they are called, justified & will be glorified.

VI. The Fall of Man

God originally created Adam in His own image, & free from sin and death to have dominion; but, by the temptation of Satan through Eve, he transgressed the command of God, & fell from his original position taking on a sinful nature and death; whereby his posterity inherit the same nature of transgression, corrupt & wholly opposed to God & His law and are under condemnation.

VII. The Mediator

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the divinely appointed mediator between God & man. Having taken upon Himself Adam’s flesh, yet without sin, He perfectly fulfilled the Law, suffered & died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners. He was buried, & rose again the third day, & ascended to His Father, at whose hand He ever lives to make intercession for His people. He is the only Mediator, the Prophet, Priest & King of the Church, & Sovereign of the Universe.

VIII. Regeneration

Regeneration is a quickening of the spirit of man, dead in trespasses and sin, changing the mind and will, wrought by the Holy Spirit, enlightening their minds spiritually & savingly to understand the Word of God, renewing their whole nature, so that they love & practice holiness, which is obedience to God’s Law/Word. It is a work of God's free & special grace alone.

IX. Repentance

Repentance is a gift of grace from God, wherein a person being, by the Holy Spirit, made sensible of the manifold evil of his sin, humbles himself for it, with godly sorrow, detestation of it, & self abhorrence, with a purpose & endeavor to walk before God so as to please Him in all things.

X. Faith

Saving faith is a gift from God whereby man believes, on God's authority, whatsoever is revealed in God’s Word concerning Christ; accepting & resting upon Him alone for justification & eternal life. It is wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit, & is accompanied by all other saving graces, & leads to a life of holiness.

XI. Justification

Justification is God's gracious & full acquittal of sinners, whom God calls to faith in Christ and repentance from all sin, through the satisfaction that Christ has made; not for anything wrought in them or done by them; but on account of the obedience & satisfaction of Christ, they receiving & resting on Him & His righteousness.

XII. Sanctification

Those who have been regenerated are also sanctified, by God's word & Spirit dwelling in them. This sanctification is progressive through the supply of Divine strength, which all saints seek to obtain, pressing after a heavenly life in cordial obedience to all Christ's commands.

XIII. Perseverance of the Saints

Those whom God has called into the Beloved, & sanctified by His Spirit, will never totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere to the end; & though they may fall, through neglect & temptation, into sin, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces & comforts, bring reproach on the Church, & temporal judgments on themselves, yet they shall be renewed again unto repentance, & be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

XIV. The Church

The Lord Jesus is the Head of the Church, which is composed of all his true disciples, & in Him is invested supremely all power for its government. According to his commandment, Christians are to associate themselves into particular societies or churches; & to each of these churches he has given needful authority for administering that order, discipline & worship which he has appointed. The regular officers of a Church are Bishops, or Elder/Pastors, & Deacons.

XV. Baptism

Baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus, obligatory upon every believer, wherein he is immersed in water in the name of the Father, & of the Son, & of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of his fellowship with the death & resurrection of Christ, of remission of sins, & of his giving himself up to God, to live & walk in newness of life and service. It is prerequisite to church fellowship, & to participation in the Lord's Supper.

XVI. The Lord's Supper

The Lord's Supper is an ordinance of Jesus Christ, to be administered be administered with the elements of bread & wine (grape juice), & to be observed by his churches till the end of the world. It is in no sense a sacrifice, but is designed to commemorate his death, to confirm the faith & other graces of Christians, & to be a bond, pledge & renewal of their communion with him, & of their church fellowship.

XVII. The Lord's Day

The Lord's Day is a Christian institution for regular observance, & should be employed in exercises of worship & spiritual devotion, both public & private, resting from worldly employments & amusements, works of necessity & mercy only excepted.

XVIII. Liberty of Conscience

God alone is Lord of the conscience; & He has left it free from the doctrines & commandments of men, which are in anything contrary to His word, or not contained in it. Civil magistrates are ordained of God and subject to Him and His Law. Subjection in all lawful things commanded by them ought to be yielded by us in the Lord, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. Unlawful things commanded by them must not separate us from obedience to our Lord and His Word.

XIX. The Resurrection

The bodies of man after death return to dust, but their spirits return immediately to God, reserved to the day of judgment. At the last day, the bodies of all the dead, both just & unjust, will be raised and judged.

XX. The Judgment

God has appointed a day, wherein he will judge the world by Jesus Christ, when every one shall receive according to his deeds.

I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the loving God, the pillar & support of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:15)

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