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STATEMENT OF
FAITH
The
Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures, consisting of
the Old and New Testaments only, to be the plenarily, verbally inspired
Word of God, inerrant in the original manuscripts, authoritative,
infallible, and God-breathed; and that they are the only supreme and
ultimate authority for faith and practice: (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Peter
1:20-21; Matt. 5:18; I Corinthians 2:10-13)
The
Godhead
We believe in one triune God, existing in three
persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, eternal in being, identical in
essence, equal in power and glory, and having the same divine
attributes and perfections, yet exercising them in varied offices
(Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 14:7-12; John 16:7; II Cor. 13:14).
The
Person and Work of Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus
Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God,
having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary,
in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man (Matt. 1:18-20;
John 1:1,2,14,18; Luke 1:35).
We
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who receive
Him are justified on the basis of His shed blood (Rom. 3:24-26; 4:25; I
Cor. 15:3-4; II Cor. 5:21)
We believe in the resurrection of
the crucified body of our Lord Jesus Christ and that our redemption and
salvation are guaranteed to us by His literal, physical resurrection
from the dead; in His bodily ascension into heaven; and in His present
life there for us as High Priest and Intercessor (Matt. 28:5-6; I Cor.
15:12-19; Acts 1:9; Heb. 4:14-16; 7:23-25; 9:24; I John 2:1-2)
We believe in the “blessed hope”
which is the PERSONAL, VISIBLE, PRETRIBULATIONAL,
PREMILLENNIAL, and IMMINENT return of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ (I Cor. 15:51-53; I Thess. 4:14-17; Titus 2:13; I
John 3:2-3).
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The
Second Coming of Christ.
We believe in the personal,
pretribulational, imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His own
(the rapture of the Church); We further believe in His subsequent,
personal, premillennial return visibly to the earth to establish His
kingdom and to reign for a millennium over the entire earth from the
throne of David (II Sam. 7:12-16; Zech. 14:4-11; Luke 1:30-33; Acts
15:14-18; I Thess. 4:13-18; I Cor. 15:51; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:6).
The
Personality of the Holy Spirit.
We believe that the Holy Spirit
is a Divine Person, equal with the Father and the Son, and of the same
substance and nature; that He convicts the world of sin, righteousness,
and judgment; that He bears witness to the truth; that He witnesses to,
sanctifies, and helps the believer; that He baptizes the believer into
the Church, the Body of Christ; that He indwells the believer
permanently; that He seals the believer unto the day of redemption;
that He bestows spiritual gift(s) upon each one; and that He fills for
service those yielded to Him. We believe that certain of the spiritual
gifts of the Holy Spirit to the Church such as apostleship, prophecy,
and tongues were temporary; needed only in the infancy of the church
and are not to be expected today. We believe that the Holy Spirit
testifies concerning Jesus Christ and never leads any person, at any
time, contrary to the teaching of the Bible (John 3:8; 24:26, 15:26-27;
16:7-15; Acts 5:1-4; I Cor. 12:4-13; I Cor. 13:8-11; Eph. 4:30; 5:16).
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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 and thereby incurred not only physical
death, but also spiritual death, which is separation from God; and that
all mankind, having inherited a sinful nature, have become willful
sinners with the first expression of personal choice, and are totally
unable to regain their former position, and are without excuse before
God (Gen. 1:26; 3:1-24; Rom. 3:23; 5:12; Eph. 2:1-6, 12).
The
Salvation, Regeneration, and
Eternal Security of the Believer
We believe that salvation is a
gift of God brought to men by grace and received by personal faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on Calvary for the
forgiveness of sins. Salvation is solely through faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ who shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins and,
being a gift, is not earned by any works whatsoever. All those who
receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are immediately regenerated and
become sons of God (Eph. 1:7; 2:8-9; John 1:2; 3:5-7).
We believe that the Scriptures
teach that regeneration, or the new birth, is that change wrought in
the soul by the Holy Spirit by which a new nature and spiritual life,
not before possessed, are imparted, and the person becomes a new
creation in Christ Jesus, and that without it salvation is impossible
(John 3:3-6; II Cor. 5:17; I Peter 1:23; Titus 3:5).
We believe that the salvation of
every believer is secure for all eternity from the moment of
regeneration. This security is guaranteed to each believer by the
keeping power of God, the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit, the
interceding ministry of Christ, and by the fact that the life received
is eternal life (John 3:16; 5:24; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 29, 30, 38, 39;
Eph. 4:30; Heb. 7:25).
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Sanctification.
We believe that immediate, positional, sanctification is the
act of God whereby believers are, at the time of regeneration,
eternally set apart as belonging to Him by redemption, thereby being
placed in the family of God as children, joint heirs with Jesus Christ
(I John 3:1; Rom. 8:14-17; I Cor. 1:2; Heb. 10:10-14).
We believe that
progressive sanctification is the process by which, according
to God’s will, we are made partakers of His holiness. Progressive
sanctification begins in regeneration, progresses if the believer is
yielded to the Holy Spirit’s control, and is carried on in the
hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit
through the Word of God, self-examination, watchfulness, and prayer
(I Thes. 4:3; 5:23; Prov. 4:18; I John 2:29; Phil. 2:12-13; Eph.
6:18; John 17:17).
We believe that
ultimate sanctification will be the portion of every believer
when finally in the presence of the Lord, complete and entire, with
soul and spirit united in the resurrected body free from every trace
of effect of sin and rebellion (I John 3:2; I Cor. 15:52-54; Eph.
4:30; 5:27; Phil. 4:20-21.)
Separation.
We believe in the Biblical doctrine of separation which
encompasses three (3) things: (1) the separation of the local church
from all affiliation and fellowship with those who deny the verities of
the “faith once delivered to the saints,” such as those of the
Neo-Orthodoxy and New Evangelical persuasion; (2) the separation of the
individual believer from all worldly practices that may dishonor the
Savior; and (3) the separation of church and state (II Tim. 3:1-5; Rom.
12:1-2; 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; II Cor. 6:14-7:1).
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The Eternal State.
We believe that
the souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for
salvation do, at death, immediately pass into His presence and there
remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body, at His
coming (the Rapture) when soul and body, reunited, shall be with Him
forever in glory; but that the souls of unbelievers remain after death
in conscious misery unto the final judgment of the Great White Throne
at the close of the millennium, when soul and body, reunited, shall be
cast into the lake of fire from the presence of the Lord and from the
glory of His power (Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; I
Thess. 4:13-18; II Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 14:9-14; 20:11-15).
The
Church.
We believe in the Church – a living, spiritual body of
which Christ is the Head (Matt. 16:16-18; I Cor. 12:12-13; Gal. 3:27;
Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27).
We believe that
the local church is a visible expression of the Body of Christ and is
a congregation of believers in Jesus Christ, immersed upon a credible
confession of faith, and associated together by covenant for worship,
exhortation, evangelism, the observance of the ordinances, and
fellowship. We believe that the local church is the center of God’s
program for this age, and that every Christian is bound by Scripture
to give wholehearted cooperation to the ministries of the local
church (Acts 2:41-47; 14:27; 20:17; I Tim. 3:1-16; Titus 1:5-11; I
Cor. 3:10-17; 5:1-5; 11:2; Heb. 10:25).
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The
Church’s Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted two (2) ordinances,
baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which are to be observed by all
believers until His return.
We believe that
baptism is the immersion in water of a believer in Christ, in the
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to show forth by solemn and
beautiful symbolism, the believer’s identification with Christ in
His death, burial, and resurrection; and that it is a Scriptural
prerequisite to church membership (Matt. 28:19; Acts 8:36; Rom.
6:3-5; I Pet. 3:21; Acts 2:38-41).
We believe that
the Lord’s Supper is the partaking of unleavened bread and the
fruit of the vine, as symbols of Christ’s body and blood,
commemorating His suffering and death for us and our continual
benefit therefrom; that participation should be limited to those who
have united to the local church by baptism and testimony, or to those
who are baptized members of churches of like faith and practice, and
that participation should be proceeded by careful self-examination (I
Cor. 11:23-32; 5:1-5; Matt. 18:15-17).
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The Great Commission.
We believe
that the Lord Jesus Christ has commissioned the Church to take the
Gospel to the world, and that evangelism at home and abroad should be
primary in the program of the local church (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8)
The Responsibility of Believers.
We
believe that all believers should seek to walk in the spirit, not
bringing reproach upon their Lord and Savior, exercising Christian
liberty regulated by love, separated from worldly pleasures and
practices, and separated from any association with apostate groups
(Rom. 12:1-2; Gal. 5:25; 6:16; II Cor. 6:14; 7:1; I Cor. 8:1-13; Rev.
18:1-4).
We
believe that it is the responsibility of all believers to witness by
life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scriptures, and to assume
responsibility for the propagation of the Gospel to all the world
(Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).
We
believe that it is the responsibility of all believers to remember
the work of the local church and its extension ministries in prayer,
to support it with their tithes and offerings as the Lord prospers
them, to participate in all regular services of the church as the
Lord enables, and to voluntarily submit to the watchcare and
discipline of the local church (I Cor. 16:2; Heb. 10:19-25;
13:17-18).
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Creation.
We believe in the Genesis
account of creation; that it is to be accepted literally and not
figuratively; that the six (6) days of creation in Genesis, chapter
one, were solar, (twenty-four hour) days, that all animal and vegetable
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; and that all men are descended from the historical Adam
and Eve, first parents of the entire human race (Gen. 1:1-2; 25; Heb.
11:3; Col. 1:16-19; Ps. 33:6-9; Neh. 9:6: Rev. 4:11; Ex. 20:11; 31:17;
Gen. 1:11; 12, 21, 24, 25; Gen. 1:26).
Angelology.
We
believe God created a great host of spiritual beings called angels who
were sinless, are immortal, and have personality (Ps. 148:2,5; Luke
20:36; Ps. 89:7).
We believe that Lucifer, who was the highest angel in rank, is the
originator of sin, and that he led a great number of the angels to
follow him in his fall, some of whom are now active as his agents in
increasing ungodliness on this earth, while others are imprisoned
until the day of judgment (Is. 14:12; II Pet. 2:4; I Tim. 4:1).
We believe that Satan (formerly Lucifer) is now the prince and god
of this world, but that his final doom, along with the fallen angels,
is certain in the lake of fire (John 16:11; II Cor. 4:3-4; Rev.
20:10).
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First Calvary Baptist Church
5495 South Robert Trail
Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota 55077
Tel: 651-451-6487
Fax: 651-451-9810
Email:
firstcalvary@1stcalvary.com
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