ARTICLES OF FAITH
We, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, having had an experience of a new birth by the power of the Spirit of God, believing ourselves to be new creatures in Christ, and having been baptized, on profession of faith, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, by which we mean having been immersed in the name of the Trinity, desire and are determined to form ourselves into a Baptist Church; which we understand to mean, a church composed of persons who hold and teach the following doctrines:
1. On the Holy Scriptures:
“The Divine, supernatural, inspiration of the 66 books of the Bible, comprising the Old and New Testaments, as being the very Word of God, written by holy men of old as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, kept pure through all ages by God’s singular care and providence, inerrant, and therefore, a complete, infallible, and Divinely authoritative rule of faith and practice.”
Scripture texts: 2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:20, 31; Psalm 119:72.
2. Respecting the Being and Unity of God:
“The existence of one living and true God, eternally sustaining the personal relation of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the same in essence and equal in attributes.”
Scripture texts: John 1:1-4; Galatians 4:4-6; Matthew 28:19; Psalm 100:3; John 6:30; 1 Corinthians 3:16.
3. The Creation of Man:
“That man was made as a direct creation, in God’s image and likeness, by Divine fiat, as recorded in the book of Genesis, and not by evolution.”
Scripture texts: Genesis 1:26, 27; Genesis 2:7; Genesis 5:1, 2.
4. Human Depravity:
“That man in Adam fell, is consequently totally depraved, and in his natural state is without capacity to receive the things of the Spirit of God, until such capacity is created within him by the quickening grace of the Holy Spirit.”
Scripture texts: Genesis 3:1-24; 6:5; Psalm 14:2,3; Isaiah 39:1-8; 64:6-7; Micah 7:1-6; John 6:44; Romans 5:6; Ephesians 2:1-5; 1 Corinthians 2:9-14; Isaiah 59:10; 2 Corinthians 3:14; Ephesians 4:18; 1 John 2:11.
5. The Virgin Birth:
“That the virgin birth was a miraculous and historic fact, and its corollary is the essential and eternal Deity of Jesus Christ.”
Scripture texts: Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:14; Philippians 2:5-11.
6. The Death of Christ:
“That by His substitutionary death Christ made complete and eternal atonement for the sins of His people.”
Scripture texts: Isaiah 53:5,6; Galatians 1:3,4; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 9:11-14; Hebrews 10:1-14; Revelation 3:9-14; 1 Peter 3:18.
7. Resurrection:
“That the bodily resurrection of Christ is a historical fact and a pledge of the resurrection of the bodies of both the just and the unjust.”
Scripture texts: Psalm 16:10; Luke 24:1-48; Acts 17:1-4; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28; 1 Thessalonians 4:14.
8. Second Coming of Christ:
“That the second, personal and visible coming of Christ is a future event. It will be followed by the final judgment of all men, and by the eternal punishment of unbelievers and the everlasting blessedness of the righteous.”
Scripture texts: Acts 1:11; Revelation 1:7; Luke 13:25; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; 1 Corinthians 15:50-58; 2 Peter 3:9-14; Revelation 22:12.
9. Election and Salvation:
“That election is according to the foreknowledge of God, and is followed by the effectual calling in the grace of all God’s chosen people.”
“That justification is by faith alone through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Regeneration and sanctification are affected by the Holy Spirit in applying the work of Christ.”
“That believers in Christ are eternally secure in Him, according to the specific promises of God’s Word, and as the corollary to the truth that salvation is by grace alone, and not by works that we have done.”
“That in this the perseverance and ultimate perfection of the saints is guaranteed.”
Scripture texts: Ephesians 1:3-11; Romans 8:28-30; 1 Peter 1:1-15; John 15:16-19; Romans 9:9-24; Deuteronomy 7:6; Genesis 15:1-6; Romans 3:19-4:1; 5:1-8; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 Corinthians 1:30; John 17:17; Ephesians 5:22-27.
10. Human Responsibility:
“That all men are answerable to God for the acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ as revealed in the record God has given to us in His Son.”
Scripture texts: Ezekiel 18:20; John 3:12-21, 36; Romans 2:1-16; Luke 12:42-48; Luke 19:11-26; 1 Peter 4:10; 1 Corinthians 4:2.
11. A Church:
“That a church is a company of immersed believers voluntarily associated, and meeting in one place on the first day of the week for mutual edification, for the observances of the ordinances, and the maintenance and propagation of the Gospel.”
Scripture texts: Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Ephesians 4:1-16; 1 Timothy 3:1-16; Matthew 18:15-20.
12. Ordinances:
“That the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the only Scriptural mode of baptism.”
“That the Lord’s Supper is an ordinance to be observed by the church and the privilege is peculiar to immersed believers.”
Scripture texts: Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:37-41; Acts 6:26-40; 10:44-48; 19:1-7; Romans 6:1-6; Matthew 26:26-29; Acts 2:41-43; 20:7-12; 1 Corinthians 5:6-13; 11:17-34.
13. Church Government:
“That the government of Bath Road Baptist Church is vested in the body of believers who compose it, and it is their duty, recognizing Christ as the Head of the Church, to seek the mind of the Spirit in all things.”
“That the church is free from outside ecclesiastical control, but fellowships for service and mutual strengthening with other churches of like faith, such as “The Baptist Confession of Faith”, London, 1689.
14. Church and State:
“That the church and state have two separate spheres of responsibility, and the one should never control the other. This does not prohibit mutually beneficial cooperation which does not compromise the separate spheres of duty and control.”