This Statement of Faith for Beth Eden Baptist Church contains summary statements on each of the major doctrines and several other key topics, along with key supporting scriptures.
You can read what we believe about each of the following: the Scriptures; the True God; Creation; the Fall of Man; Salvation; Sanctification; the Local Church; the Great Commission; Church independence & relationships; Baptism & the Lord's Supper; the Lord's Day; Stewardship; Government & Religious Liberty; the Righteous & the Wicked; Future Events; Heresy & Apostasy; Marriage & Human Sexuality; and the Sanctity of Life.
I. CONCERNING THE SCIPTURES
We believe that the Bible, sixty-six books in the Old and New Testaments, is without error in its original writing; its author was God using Spirit-guided men, being thereby verbally and plenarily inspired; it is the sole authority for faith and practice.
Proverbs 30:5,6; John 17:17; Revelations 22:18,19; II Peter 1:19-21; Acts 3:21; Jude 3; Hebrews 1:1-3; II Samuel 23:2; Acts 1:16; I Corinthians 2:13,14; II Timothy 3:16;Matthew 5:18;Galatians 3:16;II Timothy 3:15;Romans 1:16; I Corinthians 10:10-12; Ephesians 6:17; I Timothy 5:18;II Timothy 3:17;II Peter 3:15,16; John 10:35; Acts 17:15; I John 4:1.
II. CONCERNING THE TRUE GOD
We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, eternal, self-existing, perfect Spirit: He is a personal Being, the creator and upholder of the universe; in the unity of the Godhead there are three person, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in essence and in every divine perfection, but having distinct work.
Deut. 6:4,5;Jer. 10:10; John 4:24; James 1:17; Hab. 1:12; Heb. 3:4; Ps. 139:1-16; Matthew 28:19; Matthew 3:16, 17; II Cor. 13:14; Ps. 2:2; Isa. 48:16; Isa.63:10; John 10:30; John 17:5; Phil. 2:5,6; I Cor. 8:6; John 3:16; John 15:26.
III. CONCERNING CREATION
We believe in the Genesis account of Creation and that it is to be accepted literally and not figuratively; that the six days of creation in Genesis chapter one were twenty-four hour days; that all life was made directly and God’s established law is that they bring forth only “after their kind”; that man was created directly in God’s own image and after His own likeness and did not evolve from any lower form of life.
Gen. 1:1-2, 25; Heb. 11:3; John 1:3; Col. 1:16-17; Ps. 33:6-9; Neh. 9:6; Rev. 4:11; Ex. 20:11; Ex. 31:17; Gen. 1:11,12,21,24,25; Gen 1:26.
IV. CONCERNING THE FALL OF MAN
We believe that man, although created without sin, by one transgression fell, so that all mankind are now sinners by state, disposition, and act, justly under condemnation.
Gen. 1:27,31; Eccl. 7:29; Gen. 2:16,17; Gen. 3:6,7; Rom. 5:12,19; Eph.2:2,3; Isa. 53:6; Ps. 51:5; Rom. 3:9-18,23; Rom. 5:15-19;Rom. 8:7; John 3:6;Gal. 3:22;John 3:18; Ezek. 18:20; Rom. 1:20,32; Rom. 2:1-16; Rom. 3:19; Gal. 3:10; James 2:10.
V. CONCERNING THE WAY OF SALVATION
We believe that the only way of salvation for sinners is by grace manifested in the substitutionary shedding of the precious blood of the Son of God in His death on the cross. Though eternally God, He was born of the Virgin Mary, assumed human nature, yet without sin, and lived a perfect sinless life, shed his incorruptible blood on the cross, arose bodily from the grave and ascended to reign on high.
Eph. 2:8; 1 John 4:10; Acts 15:11; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; John 3:16; Isa. 53:4,5; Matthew 18:11; Heb.2:9,14; Matt. 20: 28; Rom. 2:25,26; I Cor. 15:3; Heb. 9:14,15; II Cor. 5:14,15; John 8:58; Phil. 2:6,7; John 1:1,14; John 17:15; Matt. 1:20-25; Luke 1:30-35; Isa. 1:19; Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 15:6; Luke 24:6,7; John 20:9; Rom. 4:25; I Cor. 15:4-8; Acts 1:9; Heb. 7:25; Heb. 4:14; Heb 1:3; Heb. 8:1; Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:34.
VI. CONCERNING THE BLESSINGS OF SALVATION
The blessings of salvation made free to all by the Gospel; it is the duty of all to accept by penitent and obedient faith; nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner except his/her own voluntary refusal to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We believe that all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are justified, their sin is pardoned, and the perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed to them; that they are regenerated or born again and are given spiritual life, manifesting repentance and faith; and as such true believers grow in grace and shall persevere to the end.
Some places where taught: Rev. 22:17; Luke 14:17; Isa. 55:1; John 10:11; Rom. 16: 26; Mark 1:15; Acts 17:30; Acts 20:21; John 5:40; Prov. 1:24; I Tim. 2:4; Acts 13:39; Rom. 5:9; Rom. 5:1,2; Isa. 53:11,12; Rom 8:1; Acts 10:43; Titus 3:7; I John 2:12; II Cor. 5:21; Rom. 5 :17; Phil. 3:9; Rom. 3:24-26; Rom.4:22-25; I Cor. 1:30; John 3:3-8; I Peter 1:23; I cor. 2:14; Ezek. 36:26; Rom. 5:5; Col. 3:10; Rom. 8:9; Acts 3:12; Rom. 10:9-13; II Cor. 7:11; Heb. 11:6; II Peter 3:18; I Peter 2:2; Col. 3:1,8-17; Rom 6:22; Eph. 4:24; Gal. 5:16; Gal. 5:22-25; Phil. 2:12; John 8:31; Phil 1:6;John 6:37,39; I John 2:19; John 10:27-29;II Cor. 13:5.
VII. CONCERNING SANCTIFICATION
We believe that sanctification is present in three phases in Scripture: That believers have been made partakers of Christ’s holiness, that they are being progressively sanctified, and that they will be completely sanctified at His glorification; that there is no complete eradication of the old nature in progressive sanctification and that speaking in tongues is not a sign of either regeneration or sanctification, nor is the New Testament gift of tongues in existence today, but has ceased.
Heb. 10:10; I Cor. 6:11; I cor. 1:30; John 17:17; Phil. 1:9-11; Eph. 5:26,27; I Thess. 4:3; Rom. 1:7; II Cor. 3:18; Col. 3:4; Phil. 3:21; Prov. 4:18; Phil. 2:12,13; Eph.1:13-14; II Peter 1:5-8; I John 3:2; Phil. 3:12-16; Gal 5:17; Rom. 7:18-25; Acts 2:8; Acts 10: 46; I Cor. 14:19; I Cor. 12:11,30; I Cor. 13:8.
VIII. CONCERNING THE LOCAL CHURCH
We believe that a local, visible church is a congregation of baptized believers associated together by a common faith and fellowship in the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ and governed by His word; seeking to extend the Gospel to the ends of the earth; that its only Scriptural officers are bishops (pastors) and deacons, whose qualification, claims and duties are defined in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus.
Matt. 18:17; Acts 5:11; Acts 8:1; Acts 2:40-42; Matt. 28:19,20; I Cor. 11:23,24; Heb. 10:25; II Tim. 3:15; I Tim. 3:1-16; Titus 1:5-9.
IX. CONCERNING THE GREAT COMMISSION
We believe in the mandate of the Great Commission given to us by our Savior before his departure from this earth; that this commission is composed of three essential elements; evangelism, baptism and catechism; that the fulfilling of the Great Commission should be our primary task and responsibility; that in order to fulfill this commission we must maintain an aggressive program of evangelism in our local area, the active promotion of a missions emphasis in our local church ministry and the vigorous support of missionary endeavors around the globe.
Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; Proverbs 11:30; Dan. 12:3; I Thess. 1:7-9.
X. CONCERNING A GOSPEL CHURCH IN ITS INDEPENDENCE AND RELATIONSHIPS
We believe that the local visible church of Christ is a voluntary and independent autonomous group of baptized believers; that it is a pure democracy, which organically can join nothing, and that it has the power and right within itself to confess its own faith in accordance with the New Testament; and that each congregation recognizes its own democratic self-containing government as its highest authority for carrying out the will of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matt. 18:15-18; I Cor. 5:4,5,13; I Tim. 3:15; Jude 3; Rev. 2 and 3; Acts 6:3-5.
XI. CONCERNING BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER
We believe that both Christian baptism and the Lord’s Supper are each a memorial, a symbol and a prophecy. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; to show forth, in a solemn and beautiful figure, our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life, and a prerequisite to the Lord’s Supper; in which the church by the use of bread and fruit of the vine commemorate together the death of Christ, preceded always by solemn self-examination.
Rom. 6:1-5; I Cor. 11:24-26; Acts 8:35-38; Matt 28:19-20; Acts 2:41; I Cor. 11:27-32.
XII. CONCERNING THE LORD’S DAY
We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day, and is a Christian institution; it is to be kept sacred to spiritual purposes by abstaining from all unnecessary secular labor and recreation, for it commemorates the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead; by the devout observance of all the means of growing in grace, both private, and public; and by predicting the rest that remains for the people of God.
Rev. 1:10; John 20:1-10; Luke 23:1-7; I Cor. 16:1-2; Acts 20:7.
XIII. CONCERNING STEWARDSHIP
We believe that the privilege and responsibility of stewardship is a principle demonstrated in every biblical dispensation; that God has called believers to be stewards (managers) of the temporal possessions and monies which He has bestowed upon us in His grace; that this stewardship extends to all that we possess, both that which is voluntarily given to God directly for the gospel, and that which we retain to use otherwise for His glory; that we shall someday give account of our stewardship at the judgment set of Christ; that the church should be supported in all its endeavors by the voluntary tithes and offerings of its members and friends; that the voluntary giving of the believer’s tithes and offerings are part of the ‘good works’ for which the Christian was created; that giving to God’s work should be done with (a) an attitude of willingness; (b) as an action of worship; c) and as an activity of witness.
Gen. 14:18-20; Gen. 28:20-22; Ex. 25:2; Malachi 3:8-10; Matt. 19:8; I Cor. 16:1-2; II Cor. 4:1-2; II Cor. 9:7-8; Eph. 2:10; Phil. 4:14-19; Heb. 13:15-18.
XIV. CONCERNING CIVIL GOVERNMENT AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
We believe the civil government is of divine appointment, for the interests and good order of human society and that civil authorities are to be prayed for conscientiously honored and obeyed; except only in the things opposed by the Word of God, which reveals the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the only Lord of the conscience, and the Prince of the Kings of the earth; and that church and state should be separate, the state owing no church protection and full freedom; no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be preferred above another by the state; the state should not impose taxes for the support of any form of religion; a free church in free state is the Christian ideal.
Rom. 13:1-7; Matt. 22:21; Titus 3:1; I Peter 2:13,14; I Tim. 2:1-3; Acts 5:29; Acts 4:18-20; Matt. 23:10; Ps. 72:(Verse); Ps 2; Rom. 14:9-13; I Tim 2:1; James 4:12.
XV. CONCERNING THE STATE OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and sanctified by the Spirit of our God, are truly righteous in His sight; while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked, and under condemnation, and that there will be a resurrection of the righteous and a resurrection of the unrighteous.
Mal. 3:18; Rom. 1:17; John 3:18; Dan 12:2-3; Matt. 7:13,14; Luke 9:23-26.
XVI. CONCERNING FUTURE EVENTS
We believe the Scriptures teach that at death the spirit and soul of the believer pass instantly into the presence of Christ and remain in conscious joy until the resurrection of the body when Christ comes for His own. The blessed hope of the believer is the imminent personal, pre-tribulation, premillennial appearance of Christ to rapture the church, His bride; His righteous judgments will then be poured out on an unbelieving world during the tribulation (the seventieth week of Daniel), the last half of which is the Great Tribulation; the climax of this fearful era will be the physical return of Jesus Christ to the earth in great glory to introduce the Davidic kingdom; Israel will be saved and restored as a nation; Satan will be bound and the curse will be lifted from the physical creation; following the Millennium, the Great White Throne judgment will occur, at which time the bodies and should of the wicked shall be reunited and cast into the Lake of Fire.
II Cor. 5:8; I Cor. 15:51-57; Titus 2:13; I Thess. 4:14-17; Matt 24:21; Rev. 19:11-16; Rom. 11:26,27; Rev. 20:2,3; Rev. 20:11-15.
XVII. CONCERNING HERESY AND APOSTASY
We believe in total and complete separation as taught in the Word of God from all forms of heresy and ecclesiastical apostasy. We believe the Scripture teaches that we are to: (1) Try them. (2) Mark them. (3) Rebuke them. (4) Have no fellowship. (5) Withdraw ourselves. (6) Receive them not. (7) Have no company with him. (8) Reject them. (9) Separate ourselves.
I John 4:1; Rom. 16:17; Titus 1:13; Eph. 5:11; II Thess. 3:6; II John 10,11; II Thess. 3:14; Titus 3:10; II Cor. 6:17.
XVIII. CONCERNING MARRIAGE AND HUMAN SEXUALITY
We believe that God created human beings wonderfully and immutably as male and female, with the command and purpose to be fruitful and multiply and to replenish the earth. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Gen. 1:26-27) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.
We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one naturally born man and one naturally born woman, who become one flesh, in a single and exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Gen. 2:18-25; Matt. 19:3-9; Rom. 7:2; Eph. 5:22-23) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a naturally born man and a naturally born woman who are married to each other. (1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5, Heb. 13:4) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside a marriage between one man and one woman.
We believe children, the natural fruit of God’s design of marriage, are a heritage of the Lord, to be taught spiritual and moral values by their parents, who are to raise them with loving discipline following the example and instruction of the Lord. (Gen. 33:5; Deut. 6:6-7; Ps. 78:4-7; 127:3-5; 128:3-6; Pro. 22:6; Eph. 6:1-4; Heb. 12:7-10)
We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including pornography, fornication, adultery, incest, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, and bestiality) is a sinful perversion of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance which defiles God’s creation. We believe that pornography is a sin. All of these actions are an attack against the family unit, are against the will of God, and are sins. (Gen. 19:5, 13; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:18-30; I Cor. 5:1, 6:9; Eph. 5:3-5 I Thess. 4:1-8;).
We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Beth Eden Baptist Church as the local body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the members of Beth Eden Baptist Church and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Beth Eden Baptist Church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to abide by this Statement on Human Marriage, Gender, and Family. (Matt 5:16; Phil. 2:14-16; I Thess. 5:22.)
We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 10:9-10: 1 Cor. 6:9-11). We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Beth Eden Baptist Church.
XIX. CONCERNING THE SANCTITY OF LIFE
We believe in the sanctity of human life. We believe human life begins at conception, and from conception through elderly adult years should be respected as a creation of God. We believe abortion, infanticide, suicide, assisted suicide, and other similar acts are acts of murder and therefore against the will of God.
Gen. 1:27; Psa. 139:13-16; Job 12:10; Jer. 1:5; Acts 17:25