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What We Believe | Baptist Distinctives | Are You Heaven Bound? | Prayer Request | Recent Events | Daily Prayers
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ARTICLES OF FAITHTHE SCRIPTURES We believe the Holy Bible is a supernatural
book, that it is the very Word of God, that it is
in the sixty-six books the full, final and
complete revelation of God's will to man. We
believe the author of the Bible is God the Holy
Spirit, and by inspiration we mean the plenary,
verbal inspiration, that Holy men of God spoke as
they were moved by the Holy Spirit as revealed in
Second Peter chapter one. We believe that the
only correct translation is the King James
version. We reject the modern paraphrased
versions, the modern common version and others
which delete the pure meaning of redemption and
do injustice to the Deity of Christ. We believe
and teach that the Bible is the final authority
in all matters of faith and practice.
We believe and teach that there is one, and
only one, true and living God. He is absolute in
nature, perfect in attributes, and holy in
character. He is the Creator of all things,
animate and inanimate. He is Immutable,
omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, Eternal and
Sovereign.
Jesus Christ is as much God as God the Father
and God the Spirit. He was virgin born and
incarnate in flesh. He lived a sinless life and
is the only true Savior of mankind by His
vicarious death on the cross. He resurrected
bodily from the tomb, into Heaven and is now the
believers' High Priest, ever interceding for
them.
T'he Holy Spirit is a Divine Person; He is
equal with God the Father and God the Son and of
the same nature, and was active in creation. In
relation to the unbelieving world, He restrains
the Evil One until God's purpose is fulfilled; He
convicts of sin, Judgment and righteousness; He
is the agent of the new birth and indwells,
seals, guides and directs the Believer.
We believe that the Devil is an actual being
and not an imaginary influence: that he once
enjoyed high heavenly honors and glorious
heavenly privileges; that he through pride,
ambition and self will betrayed God and as a
result brought down upon his head the judgment of
God. He operates today as the god of this world
and the Prince of the Power of the air, that he
is the arch deceiver, and father of all lies;
that he is the greatest enemy, the biggest
tempter and the greatest opposition of the
Saints. His final abode shall be the lake of fire
which is the eternal place of punishment for the
Devil and his angels.
We believe the Genesis record of creation is
literal, and not allegorical or figurative; that
God personally created the Heaven and the earth
in a direct act, that He brought forth all
original matter out of nothing. We believe that
man was created directly in God's own image and
not by the hypothesis of any kind of evolution.
God's established law says that all species shall
bring forth "after their kind."
We believe that man was created in innocence
and holiness and by voluntary transgression of
the Lord's command, fell from the state in which
he was created and as a consequence became a
sinner alienated from God and brought upon
himself and all mankind just condemnation. Man is
now, by virtue of his fallen nature, void of
holiness. positively inclined to evil and
actually condemned to eternal ruin without
excuse.
We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ was
conceived by the Holy Spirit in a miraculous
manner; born of the Virgin Mary as no other man
was born or can be born of woman. He is both the
Son of God and God the Son.
We believe that the lost sinner is guilty and
under just condemnation and is by nature alien to
God and because of sin condemned to die; that the
atonement for sin was provided through the
mediatorial office of the Son of God who by
divine appointment freely took upon himself our
nature, yet without sin, that He through
obedience during His earthly walk personally
honored the divine law by keeping it, and through
His death on the cross actually satisfied the Law
for the penalty of sin. His obedience and
sacrificial death made full and vicarious
atonement for all sin.
We believe and teach that salvation is by
God's grace and that salvation is free to all
through the Gospel that it is the duty of all to
accept, by faith, that Salvation, and those who
voluntarily reject salvation will face eternal
separation from God in a literal place of
punishment called Hell in the scriptures. When a
sinner repents and receives Jesus Christ as His
personal Saviour he receives eternal life. The
eternal purpose of God in Salvation is first of
all to preserve the believer forever in Christ,
the believer is saved eternally. It is also the
eternal purpose of God that the believer will
conform to the image of His Son. This salvation
wrought by grace then assures us that we are
preserved in Christ by the power of God and no
man can pluck the saved from the Father's hand.
Salvation is Everlasting, and the glorious truth
"once in Grace, always in Grace," is
true.
We believe that repentance and faith are
solemn and inseparable prerequisites for
salvation; that they are inseparable graces
wrought in the heart by the quickening power of
the Holy Spirit, and as the sinner is deeply
convicted of his guilt and helplessness he turns
in repentance to the Lord Jesus Christ,
surrendering himself wholeheartedly, and
receiving Him as personal Saviour and Lord, he is
immediately born again.
We believe and teach that the local, visible
assembly of called out believers into a public
place of worship and service is the only one
found in the New Testament. We do not believe in
an invisible or universal church. The local New
Testament Baptist church is the only one
authorized to carry out the great commission. The
first New Testament Baptist church was founded by
Jesus Christ during His own personal ministry,
and entrance into the local church is by
scriptural baptism. We believe and teach that the
Local New Testament Baptist church is an
independent congregation and is not governed or
controlled by an ecclesiastical hierarchy ... The
will of the Local Church is final.
We believe that Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the only two local church ordinances set forth in the local church by Jesus Christ. Scriptural Baptism began with the John the Baptist. John's baptism was not Old Testament dispensation or an intermediate but New Testament baptism. Our Lord Jesus Christ accepted this baptism himself and accepted those that John baptized into the church that He organized during His own personal ministry. A. Baptism - Believer's baptism, to be scriptural, must involve: 1) The Proper candidate, the one who has been Born Again. 2) The Proper Mode or Method - this is immersion. 3) The Proper Design or Motive - to show the death. burial and resurrection of the believer to a life in Christ. and to make him a member of Christ's assembly. 4) The Proper Administrator or authority to administer scriptural baptism. B. The Lord's Supper - We
believe the Lord's Supper is a memorial supper
administered by the authority and instruction of
the local Baptist church. It symbolizes the
broken body and the shed blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ, only members of the local church whose
spiritual lives are in a right relationship with
God are qualified participants in the Lord's
Supper service. We also teach and believe that
there is no saving power or grace in either
Baptism or the Lord's Supper. THE RESURRECTION We believe and teach that Jesus Christ arose
bodily from the grave. We also believe and teach
that this resurrection assures all believers the
same bodily resurrection when the Lord returns
for the Saints at the time of the Rapture. There
will also be a resurrection of the unsaved to
stand in judgment before the Lord, known in the
Scriptures as the Great White Throne Judgment.
We believe and teach that Jesus Christ shall
catch away all believers before the Tribulation
Period. At the close of the Great Tribulation,
the Saints will return with Christ to the earth
and shall live and reign with Him 1,000 years.
The Rapture of the Saints is an imminent truth.
We believe and teach that God's method of
financing His work of spreading the Gospel is by
the tithes and offerings of His people in and
through the local New Testament Baptist church,
which is the storehouse. The time to tithe is
upon the first day of the week, and everyone is
accountable to the Lord for one-tenth of his
income. Tithing was instituted before the law,
and by Christ in the New Testament Baptist
church.
We believe that all missionary endeavors should be carried on within the confines of the local church; that mission boards and mission hierarchies tend to corrupt and usurp the authority of the local church. The Great Commission was given to the local New Testament Baptist church, therefore, the authority to preach, baptize and teach rests solely with the local church, and not with any school, board, denomination or other religious organization. It is therefore our responsibility to train those who go forth to spread the Gospel, and to supervise their labors under the direction of the Holy Spirit. We do believe that it is the privilege and
right of local churches to cooperate with each
other in carrying out the great commission. This
cooperation should be carried on in such a manner
as to preserve the sovereignty and autonomy of
each local body in all matters of faith and
practice.
We believe civil government should be influenced by the prayers, preaching, teaching and involvement of all believers in Christ. We believe Christians should be actively involved in the electoral and legislative processes, and working to promote godly government. The requirement of license, certification and taxes on the church of Jesus Christ is unconstitutional and non-Biblical. The churches' ministers and ministries are God-ordained and need no man's approval or control. The Holy Spirit calls and maintains the work of God. The state is not above God. The state is not
equal to God. The state is to be a "servant
of God" to the people for good; it is
accountable to God for its acts. God is the
Supreme Sovereign and to seek to place man or
state above is to limit the sovereignty of God.
We believe that we should, "as much as lieth
in us." Live peaceably with all men. We,
however, will resist peaceably all efforts of
civil governments to control the churches of
Jesus Christ. The division between church and
state is one of function; it is a division of
labor; the church is to be a minister of grace;
the state is to be a minister of justice. Both
are branches of His government and both are to
serve the Lord God. God never intended for church
and state to exist independently and separately.
The church is to influence the state to godly and
righteous rule. The state is to protect the good
and prevent the evil. We, therefore, exhort our
members to be active in praying and working for
Scriptural, godly civil government.
The Battle of Armageddon Whereas "the last days" are set forth in Scripture as perilous times, and recognizing that these days are upon us, and seeing a departure from the Word of God, be it resolved that we, the members of the Bible Baptist Church of Surigao City, Philippines, make the following declaration of our Biblical position: We declare ourselves to be Old Fashioned Baptists and oppose the Interdenominational and New Evangelical trends of our day. We stand for the Faith once delivered to the Saints and oppose the modem liberal trends of our day. We declare ourselves to be a separative, autonomous Baptist church, rather than a denominationally controlled Church. We believe in the Pre-Millennial, Pre-Tribulational view of the Rapture. We declare ourselves to be local church centered rather than ecumenical in policy. We believe in the separation of the believer from all forms and trends of worldliness. We believe in the Scriptural account of creation and stand opposed to the many hypotheses of evolution. We stand opposed to the modem charismatic
movement with its unscriptural practices. We know
from Scripture that such experiences do not give
evidence of regeneration. We believe these
so-called gifts have ceased as Scripture
declares. OF THE PLAN FOR SALVATION You need to be saved: "For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God." Romans 3:23 You cannot save yourself. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us." Titus 3:5 God has provided for your salvation: "Wherefore He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." Heb 7:25 Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation: "Jesus saith unto him. I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." John 14:6 God wants to save you: "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some men count slackness, but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 11 Peter 3:9 God can save you now: "For whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved. |
