ARTICLE IV-STATEMENT OF DOCTRINE
SECTION A- The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed. (II Tim. 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:20, 21; Matt. 5:18; John 6:12, 13)
SECTION B- The Godhead
We believe in the triune God, eternally existing in three persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfection’s. (Deut. 6:4; II Cor. 13:14)
SECTION C- The Person and Work of Christ
1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (John 1:1, 2, 14; Luke 1:35
2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal physical resurrection from the dead. (Rom. 3:24, 25; I Peter 2:24; Eph. 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5)
3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9, 10; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; I John 2:1, 2)
SECTION D- The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
1. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; II Cor. 3:6; I Cor. 12:12-14; Rom. 8:9; Eph 1:13, 14)
2. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth; and, that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with spirit. (John 16:13; I John 2:20, 27; Eph. 5:18)
SECTION E- The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Gen. 1:26, 27; Rom 3:22, 23; 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3, 12)
SECTION F- Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. (Eph. 2:8-10; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; I Peter 1:18-19)
SECTION G- The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
1. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38, 39; I Cor. 1:4-8; I Peter 1:5)
2. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word: which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh (Rom. 13:13, 14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
SECTION H- The Two Natures of the Believer
We believe that every saved person possesses two natures with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and, that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. (Rom. 6:13; 8:12, 13; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph 4:22-24; Col. 3:10; I Peter 1:14-16; I John 3:5-9)
SECTION I- Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God. (II Tim. 3:1-5; Rom. 12:1, 2; 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; I Cor. 6:14-7:1)
SECTION J- Missions
We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word of the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind. (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; II Cor. 5:19, 20)
SECTION K- The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts
1. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and, that the gifts, of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and, that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established. (I Cor. 12:4-11; II Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:7-12)
2. We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and afflicted. (John 15:7; I John 5:14, 15)
SECTION L- The Church
1. We believe that the Church, which is the holy and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age. (Eph. 1:22, 23; 5:25-27; I Cor. 12:12-14; II Cor. 11:2)
2. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
3. We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4; I Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4)
4. We recognize the ordinances of Christian water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as a scriptural means of testimony for the Church in this age. ( Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 2:41, 42; 18:8; I Cor. 11:23-26)
SECTION M- Dispensationalism
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these- the age of law, the age of the Church, and the age of the millennial kingdom are the subject of detailed revelation in scripture. (John 1:17; I Cor. 9:17; II Cor. 3:9-18; Gal. 3:13-25; Eph. 1:10; 3:2-10; Col. 1:24, 25; Heb. 7:19; Rev. 20:2-6)
SECTION N- The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and, that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6, 7; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20;10)
SECTION O- The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that “Blessed Hope,” the personal, imminent, pretribulation and premillennnial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom. (I Thes. 4:13-18; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6; I Thes. 1:10; 5:9)
SECTION P- The Eternal State
1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5, 6, 12, 13)
2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; Rev. 20: 4-6; II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; I Thes. 4:16, 17)
3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment. (Luke 16:19-26; Matt. 25:41-46; II Thes. 1:7-9; Jude 6, 7; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:11-15)
SECTION Q - Marriage and Sexuality
1. According to the Bible, marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards and the means for procreation of the human race. We believe that sexual intimacy is a wonderful gift of God that is only to be expressed between one man and one woman (as genetically defined), within the love and bonds of marriage. (Genesis 2:24-25; Matthew 18:4-6; Ephesians 5:21-33; 1 Corinthians 7:3-5; Hebrews 13:4)
2. We believe that any form of sexual intimacy outside of marriage is both immoral and a perversion of God's gift (Leviticus 18:1-30; Proverbs 6:32; 1 Corinthians 6:18; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8). Furthermore, we believe that any form of sexual immorality such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography, cohabitation (regardless of the age of the individuals involved), any attempt to change one's gender is disagreement with one's genetically defined gender, is sinful and offensive to God (Leviticus18-20; Romans1).
3. We believe that in order to preserve the function, unity, and integrity of the church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by the church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, should abide by and agree to this Statement of Marriage and Sexuality and conduct themselves accordingly whether at church, home or in the community.
4. In light of our biblical commitments, the pastor of Bethel Baptist Church of Lakeview will perform no same gender weddings or any other anti-biblical weddings or ceremonies at the church or any other location. Furthermore, no member or non-member parties will be allowed to use any facilities of the church for same gender and/or sexually immoral weddings, wedding receptions, or other functions.
5. We do believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Romans8). And we believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior, attitudes, or speech directed towards any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Bethel Baptist Church of Lakeview (1Peter 2:13-25; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).
ARTICLE V- ORDINANCES
We recognize two ordinances of the church for this age- The Lord’s Supper and Water Baptism. They are not to be regarded however, as a means of salvation, nor as means of grace by which special merit is obtained.
SECTION A- The Lord’s Supper
This ordinance shall be observed at least once each quarter and on special occasions. All who have accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior and are walking in fellowship with the Lord shall be welcome to join in this service- unless they are under the discipline of the Church as defined in Article VI, Section D. (I Cor. 11:17-34)