Beta First Baptist Church of Winner

Statement of Faith

God

We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – co-eternal being, co-identical in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections.  (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:10-11)

God the Father

  1. We believe God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace. He is the Creator of all things. As the only absolute and omnipotent Ruler in the universe, He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind. (Psalm 145:8-9; 1st Corinthians 8:6; Genesis 1:1-31; Ephesians 3:9; Psalm 103:19; Romans 11:36)
  2. As Creator, He is Father to all men, but He is spiritual Father only to believers. He has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass. He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events. In His sovereignty He is neither the author nor approver of sin. (Ephesians 4:6; Romans 8:14; 2nd Corinthians 6:18; Ephesians 1:11; 1st Chronicles 29:11; Habakkuk 1:13; John 8:38-47; 1st Peter 1:17; 1st John 1:5)
  3. He has graciously chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own; He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ; He adopts as His own all those who come to Him; and He becomes their father.  (Ephesians 1:4-6; John 1:12; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5; Hebrews 12:5-9)

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. (Luke 1:35; John 1:1, 14; Colossians 2:9)
  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. (Romans 3:24-25; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 12:2; 1st Peter 1:3-5 and 2:24)
  3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into 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; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25-28; 1st John 2:1-2)

 Holy Spirit

  1. We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the supernatural agent in regeneration (giving spiritual life) baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the Day of Redemption. (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1st Corinthians 12:12-14; 2nd Corinthians 3:6)
  2. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth. It is the privilege of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit and their responsibility to yield to the Spirit. (John 16:13; Ephesians 5:18; 1st John 2:20, 27)

Revelation and Scripture

We believe the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testament to be the inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life and the fellowship of the church, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God breathed.  Every original word came from God and all parts of the Scriptures are divinely authoritative.  (Matthew 5:17-18; John 16:12-13; 2nd Timothy 3:16-17; 2nd Peter 1:20-21)

Nature of the Human Condition

We believe that mankind 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.  Man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26,27; Romans 3:22, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12)

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.  All claims to the complete eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural.  (John 3:5-9; Romans 6:13; 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10: 1st Peter 1:14-16)

Salvation

We believe mankind is saved only as one puts their faith and trust in the grace which God has shown.  Salvation comes by grace through faith alone in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The person, who has exercised saving faith by accepting Christ as personal Savior for the forgiveness of our sins, possesses eternal life and is secure in Christ.  (John 1:12, 5:24, 10:28-29; Acts 13:38-39; Romans 6:23, 8:1, 8:38-39; 1st Corinthians 1:4-8; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10; 1st Peter 1:18-19).

Nature of the Christian Life

We believe the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded of God.  The saved will show whom they follow, they will produce the fruit of the Spirit which is produced by the Spirit working in their lives. The believers will have love for one another that sets them apart from the world. (John 13:34; Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; 2nd Corinthians 6:14-7:1; Galatians 5:22-23; 2nd Timothy 3:1-5; 1st John 2:15-17; 2nd John 9-11)

Marriage, Gender, & Sexuality

We believe the term “Marriage” has only one meaning and that marriage is sanctioned by God which joins one biological man and one biological woman in a single, exclusive, lifelong union, as described in Scripture.  (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:8-9; 1st Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23; Mark 10:6-9)

We believe God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other.  We believe God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged outside of marriage between a man and a woman.  (Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-32; Hebrews 13:4; Mark 10:6-9)

We believe that any form of sexual immorality such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography, or any attempt to change one’s biological gender, or disagreement with one’s biological gender, is sinful and offensive to God.  (Romans 1:26-32; 1st Corinthians 5:1-2, 6:9-20; 1st Thessalonians 4:1-8; Matthew 5:28; Hebrews 13:4)

The Church

We believe that the church, which is the body and the espoused Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age.  (1st Corinthians 12:12-14; 2nd Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23)

We believe that the establishment and the continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament scriptures and qualifications of leaders should be in accord with scripture.  (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 18-32; 1st Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)

We believe in the ordinances of believer’s water baptism and the Lord’s supper as scriptural means of testimony for the church age. (Matthew. 28:19,20; Acts 2:41,42; 18:8; 1st Corinthians 11:23-26)

Satan

We believe that Satan is a fallen angel, the author of sin and the cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; he shall be punished eternally in the Lake of Fire.  (Genesis 3; Job 1:6-7; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; John 8:44; Revelation 20:10)

 Second Advent of Christ

We believe in the “Blessed Hope,” the personal, imminent, coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom.  (Zechariah 14:4-11; 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2nd Thessalonians 1:10-2:9; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)

Eternal State

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all mankind, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.  (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25,26; Revelation 20:5-6,12-13)

We believe 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 the spirit, soul, and body reunite to be glorified forever with the Lord.  (Luke 23:43; 2nd Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6)

We believe the soul of unbelievers remain in conscious misery after death, until the second resurrection, when, with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne of Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment.  (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2nd Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15)

The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

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; Romans 8:1,38,39; 1st Corinthians 1:4-8; 1st Peter 1:5)

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 indulge in the flesh. (Romans 6:1-15, 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)

Sanctity of Human Life

We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image.  Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death.  We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Exodus 20:13; Psalms. 22:10-11, 139:15-16; Jeremiah 1:5)