These beliefs are more fully expressed in the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith.
THE BIBLE – THE WORD OF GOD
The Bible – that is the 66 Books of the Old and New Testaments – as the Word of God, inspired, infallible, inerrant and divinely preserved. We reject all supposed new revelations which seek to add to the Scriptures. The Bible is our supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. We acknowledge our dependence upon the Holy Spirit for a true understanding of God’s Word.
THE FATHER, THE SON, THE HOLY SPIRIT – ONE GOD
The trinity, unity and eternity of God as revealed in the Scriptures – the Father being God, the Son being God, the Holy Spirit being God, these being equal in power and glory, one Lord God Almighty – sovereign in creation, providence and redemption.
JESUS CHRIST – TRUE GOD – TRUE MAN
The eternal deity of our Lord Jesus Christ; His conception by the Holy Spirit; His birth of the Virgin Mary; His real but sinless humanity; the authority of His teaching; His voluntary humiliation in life as a Man of Sorrows, culminating in His substitutionary and atoning death on the cross, whereby He shed His precious blood as the sacrifice for sin; His burial; His bodily resurrection on the third day; His ascension into heaven as the only and eternal Mediator between God and man; His present High Priestly intercession for His people at the right hand of the Father, and His personal return in power and glory.
THE HOLY SPIRIT – THE GIVER OF LIFE
The personality and deity of the Holy Spirit, through whom we are born again to saving repentance and faith, and by whom believers are sanctified through the Truth; and upon whom we depend in all our ministry and worship.
FALLEN MAN – A SINNER
The universal and total depravity of man in the sight of God as a consequence of the Fall, rendering him liable to everlasting punishment, and unable to save himself.
JUSTIFICATION – BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
Justification is an act of God’s free grace whereby He pardons our sins and counts us righteous. This is not based on anything we have done, but only on the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. Once justified, we are adopted into the family of God, being complete in Christ.
HOLINESS AND WITNESS – EVIDENCE OF CONVERSION
A holy life is evidence of a true conversion to God. It is also the duty of every Christian and every Church to seek to extend the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S TABLE
Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances: baptism, which is the total immersion in water in the Triune Name, of those who have professed repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Lord’s Supper, which is the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine in remembrance of His death; this is not in any sense a sacrifice for sin, and involves no change in the bread and wine.
THE FUTURE – HEAVEN OR HELL
The resurrection of the body; the judgement of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ with the everlasting blessedness of the saved in heaven and the everlasting punishment of the wicked in hell.
ONE CHURCH – CALLED TO BE PURE
The spiritual unity of all who truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and
their duty to serve God together in local churches in conformity with
the teaching of God’s Holy Word.
