Church Beliefs
Salvation
Salvation is a gift made available to "whosever will". It has been provided through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ's death on the cross, burial and victorious resurrection. Recognition of one's sin, belief in the finished work of Jesus Christ and calling upon Him are all necessary aspects of receiving Christ as your Saviour. Salvation is a gift that cannot be earned or purchased for oneself or on behalf of anyone else.
Jn14.6, Rom 10.13, Rom 10.9-10, 1 Cor 15.1-4, Acts 3.19, Jn 10.28, Jn 3.16, Eph 2.8-9, Tit 3.5
Bible
The Bible, God's Holy Word, is our foundation and final authority in all matters of faith, practice and life. Every Scripture is inspired by God, through the Holy Spirit and has been preserved by His mighty hand. From the beginning Satan has attempted to pervert and destroy the Word of God, and this continues today with the multitude of Bible versions available. We believe that The Authorised King James Version is the only complete, preserved, inerrant Word of God for English speaking people. The KJV is the only Bible that we use for all ministries, teaching and preaching. Understanding the origin of other versions and the process of their translations reveals great dangers in the texts.
2 Tim 3.16, 2 Pet 1.19-21, Ps 12.6-7, 1 Co 13.9-10, Ps 119.11, Mk 13.31, Mat 5.18, 1 Pet 1.23
Church
The Church, which is Christ's Church, was established by Him during his earthly ministry, the Day of Pentecost was the empowering of the Church with the Holy Spirit. A Church, is an assembly of baptised believers united together with one accord to accomplish the will of the Lord.
The term Church is descriptive of what Christ established. Each Church is described as a body (Eph 1.22-23), a building (Eph 2.20-22) and a bride (Eph 5.22-33), therefore we understand that each "true" Church must be a unit and be in unity, we call this Local Church. The Church is not a large worldwide organisation (we call that universal or catholic) that can never unite or be in the one place, Christ's Church is not part of a denomination. Each Church is to be autonomous (self ruling) under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of the Word of God. The Church is not a "law unto itself" but authority and the decision making process were given to the Church by Christ himself when he was on earth. Membership here requires one to be saved, and then to be "with one accord" with that Church, seen in someone's willingness to be baptised, thus identifying and submitting to God given authority.
This is a statement to all present of what took place at their salvation and shows a desire to unite with that local Baptist Church.
Scriptural Baptism has four elements:
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Candidate – Must be saved
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Response – Must be by willing obedience and pictures salvation and being raised a new creature
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Authority – Must be by God given authority
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Method – Must be by immersion
Mat 16.18-19, Acts 2.4, 2.41, Mat 3.8, Mat 3.13-17, Mat 18.17-20, Gal 1.2, Mat 28.16-20
Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper was an ordinance that was given to Christ’s Church the night before His crucifixion. Only those who were members of His Church were present (11 disciples). Therefore, only members of this Local Church are permitted to partake in this ceremony, we call this "Closed".
The Lord instituted this ceremony at the conclusion of and as a New Testament extension of the Passover meal observed by the Jews. Unleavened bread and unfermented fruit of the vine is used in accordance with the Passover meal, picturing the sinless body and blood of Jesus Christ, our Passover. It is a time of sincere self
examination and to show the Lord's death till he come.
Mat 26.17-29, 1 Cor 11.18-34, 1 Cor 5.7
Spiritual Gifts
Spiritual gifts or talents are given to all those that accept Christ. "Sign Gifts" were given to the early Christians (Peter, Paul etc) to verify their message. Today, those Sign Gifts have been replaced by the Word of God, which is our authority. Fruit is an evidence of faith not the demonstration of gifts. The public display of "speaking in tongues", "healing", "predicting the future" or "discernment" is not glorifying God but distracting people away from true faith in Christ.
The gifts or talents for Christ's Church today are found in Rom 12.5-9 and are Prophecy (preaching the Word), ministry (serving), teaching, exhorting (encouraging), giving, ruling and mercy.
Mat 25.14, 1 Cor 13.9-10, Mat 16.4, Rom 12.5-9