The Bible

The Bible is uniquely, verbally and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, and it was written without error (inerrant) in the original manuscripts.  The Bible is totally true and trustworthy [sufficient].  

The Bible alone is the supreme and final authority in all matters on which it speaks.

God - The Father, The Son (jesus), & The Holy Spirit

There is one true God, eternally existing in three persons -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- each of whom possesses equally all the attributes of Deity and the characteristics of personality.  God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections.  God is all powerful, all knowing, and all wise; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures.

God the Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace.  God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.  He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.

Jesus Christ is God, the Living Word, who became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth.  Hence, He is perfect Deity and true humanity united in one person forever.  He lived a sinless life and voluntarily atoned for the sins of men by dying on the cross as their substitute, thus satisfying divine justice and accomplishing salvation for all who trust in Him alone.  He rose from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in which he lived and died.  He ascended bodily into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father, where He, the only mediator between God and men, continually makes intercession for His own. 

The Holy Spirit has come into the world to reveal and glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to believers.  He effectively convicts and draws sinners to Christ, imparts new life to them, continually indwells them from the moment of spiritual birth and seals them until the day of redemption.  His fullness, power and control are appropriated in the believer's life by faith.

Man and Death

Man was originally created in the image of God. He sinned by disobeying God; thus, he was alienated from his Creator. That historic fall brought all mankind under divine condemnation.  Man's nature is corrupted, and he is thus totally unable to please God.  Every man is in need of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.  

In view of the universal sinfulness and spiritual deadness of all people, only the inward life-giving work of God's Holy Spirit can open our eyes to the truth of the gospel, and initiate repentance and faith (these being also the essential Spirit-enabled responses to God's grace throughout the Christian life). 

At physical death the believer enters immediately into eternal, conscious fellowship with the Lord and awaits the resurrection of his body to everlasting glory and blessing.  At physical death the unbeliever enters immediately into eternal, conscious separation from the Lord and awaits the resurrection of his body to everlasting judgment and condemnation.

Salvation and Assurance

The salvation of man is wholly a work of God's free grace alone and is not the result, in whole or in part, of human works or goodness or religious ceremony.  God imputes Christ’s righteousness only to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, and thereby justifies them in His sight.  

Every genuine believer is called to live so in the power of the indwelling Spirit that he will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, but will bear fruit to the glory of God.  True living faith will always lead to the good works God has prepared for us to do, but these good works do not earn our salvation, either now or on the Last Day. 

It is the privilege of all who are born again of the Spirit to be assured of their salvation from the very moment in which they trust Christ as their Savior.  This assurance is not based upon any kind of human merit, but is produced by the witness of the Holy Spirit, who confirms in the believer the testimony of God in His written Word. 

The Church

Jesus Christ is the Head of the church, His body, which is composed of all believers, living and dead, who have been joined to Him through saving faith.  God admonishes His people to assemble together regularly for worship, for participation in ordinances (Believers Baptism & the Lord Supper), for edification through the Scriptures, for mutual encouragement and for being equipped for service.

Evangelism and Discipleship

The Lord Jesus Christ commanded all believers to proclaim the gospel throughout the world through reproducing disciples in every nation. The fulfillment of this Great Commission requires that all worldly and personal ambitions be subordinated to a total commitment to "Him that loved us and gave Himself for us."  Jesus established His church to carry on His work of carrying the gospel to all the world by multiplying disciples until He comes again.

Christ’s Return

Jesus Christ will come again to the earth -- personally, visibly and bodily -- to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.

Beyond these essentials we generally recommend the Southern Baptist Abstract of Principles, and the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message as containing the system of doctrine found in Scripture.