What We Believe
and to the Lamb." Revelation 7:10
| TABERNACLE BAPTIST CHURCH |
|---|
| Doctrinal Statement |
|---|
About Scripture
We believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, authoritative Word of God to man. The Bible is the result of God revealing Himself to us through a variety of men chosen by God. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit this revelation was recorded, preserved and put together in the form that we now know as the Bible. By the illumination of the Holy Spirit the Bible can be trusted as authoritative, has an effect on any that read it with openness, is in every way God’s Word for us today, and is sufficient for everything with life in Christ.
About God
We believe that God is one, infinite, holy being who never changes. He is a pure spirit and, therefore, external to the world, yet He is also a living God who is concerned with developing a personal relationship with His creation. God, being one God, is also a triune God, manifesting Himself from the beginning as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three persons have the same attributes and perfections.
About Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was born into the world through the Virgin Mary. He lived a life of sinlessness and obedience to the Father even in His suffering and death. Christ was raised from the dead and is now in the place of honor at the right hand of God the Father where He acts in our behalf. Through His death He paid the penalty of our sin and through His resurrection death was made powerless so that through faith in Him we might have eternal fellowship with God. We believe Christ will return to earth a second time bringing His Kingdom into its fullness and uniting those who have accepted His salvation into a perfect everlasting fellowship with God.
About the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Godhead who has been at work in God’s people since the beginning of time. We believe that at the completion of Christ’s ministry on earth the Holy Spirit came as a gift from God to dwell within the life of the believer. He reveals Christ to and through the believer, manifesting spiritual fruits and distributing spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit is the sign and seal for the believer that he is a part of the Kingdom. As a part of the Kingdom, the believer has begun a relationship with God that will be perfected at the end time.
About Man
We believe that man was brought into existence by a purposeful act of God. Man is created in the image of God and by the power of God. Adam was the first man created in a state of untested holiness, possessing the power of choice. When Adam chose to sin, the image of God was marred, causing all persons born into the world, since that time, to have a sinful nature unable to have fellowship with God except through faith in Jesus Christ.
About Sin
We believe that sin is man’s decision to run his own life apart from the precepts of God. Every man is born with a sinful nature he inherited from Adam and, therefore, enters this world under Satan’s power, guilty of sin, condemned to death and powerless to change the situation by himself.
About Salvation
We believe that salvation is a gift from God who gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die as payment for the sin of all men. If man chooses to accept this salvation, God makes him a new creature in Christ and adopts him as His own. We believe that once a man is redeemed, he, through God’s power, is secure in Christ forever. Through salvation man experiences the benefits of being God’s child in this age and becomes heir to an eternal life in heaven where he will reign with Christ and be forever united with God.
About the Church
We believe the church, the people of God, is the living body of Christ in the world. We believe that the church exists under the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the salvation of Jesus Christ to the world until Christ returns. As a body of believers the church encourages one another in the Christian life.
A. We believe that baptism is an ordinance of the church established by Christ that serves as a public expression of what God has done through Jesus Christ in the believer (Colossians 2:12; Galatians 3:27). It is also an expression of commitment by the individual to taking off the old life and putting on the new life of Christ ( 1 Peter 1:3; Romans 6:5-14).
B. We believe that immersion in water is the correct mode of baptism. Baptism doesn’t guarantee salvation (John 3:16; Romans 10:9); however, we believe every believer should be baptized (Matthew 28:19-20).
C. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of the church which is repeated at regular intervals as a reminder and a proclamation of God’s redemptive work through Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Through the cup and the bread the believer is reminded of the blood that was shed and the body that was given in payment for his sins (Luke 22:14-20).
D. The Lord’s Supper also reminds us that Jesus is coming again to gather His children into the kingdom (Matthew 26:29).
About Satan
We believe that Satan exists as the adversary of both God and man. He has an unending hatred against God and all goodness, ever seeking to defeat the divine plans of grace toward mankind and to seduce men to evil and ruin.
About the Christian Life
We believe that the Christian life is a process of growing into a mature relationship with God. As we grow in our relationship with God we are able to better show Him honor and praise because we learn more about Him and His will and we will become more effective in carrying out His purposes.
About the Last Things
We believe that through Jesus Christ, a new Kingdom and a new age were established. As a citizen of the new age, the believer stands with all the power of the Kingdom of God accessible to him. Although the believer now exists in tension between the old and new ages, Jesus will ultimately return and abolish the old age of Satan, sin, and death. At that time the Kingdom of God will be established in all its fullness and man will glorify God forever.