DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
The SCRIPTURES
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12, 13).
The GODHEAD
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—co-eternal in being, co-eternal in nature, co-equal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
The PERSON & WORK OF CHRIST
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man (John 1:1–2, 14; Luke 1:35). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3–5). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry as Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:24; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1–2). We believe Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:5; Romans 14:9; 2 Timothy 4:1).
The PERSON & WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8–11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18).
The DEPRAVITY OF MAN
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that through Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; man is depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1–3, 12).
SALVATION
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. Those who die apart from this free gift of grace will experience eternal punishment under God's wrath in a place historically referred to as Hell/Hades/Gehenna (Ephesians 2:8–10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19; Luke 16:23-25).
ETERNAL SECURITY & ASSURANCE OF BELIEVERS
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37–40; 10:27–30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4–8; 1 Peter 1:5). We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion for the flesh (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11–15).
The MINISTRY & SPIRITUAL GIFTS
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowing of spiritual gifts. It is, however, the believer’s responsibility to attempt to develop their given spiritual gift(s). The baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at conversion and is the placing of the believer into the Body of Christ. We also believe that particular spiritual gift(s) are neither essential, nor prove the presence of the Holy Spirit, nor are an indication of deep spiritual experience (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11, 13; Ephesians 4:7–8). We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accordance with His own will, for the sick and afflicted (John 15:7; 1 John 5:14-15). We believe that it is the privilege and responsibility of every believer to minister according to the gift(s) and grace of God that is given to him (Romans 12:1–8; 1 Corinthians 13; 1 Peter 4:10–11).
The CHURCH
We believe that the church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25–27; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; 2 Corinthians 11:2). We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 18:22; 20:17; 1 Timothy 3:1–3; Titus 1:5–11). We believe in the autonomy of the local churches, free of any external authority and control (Acts 13:1–4; 15:19–31; 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 1 Corinthians 5:4–7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1–4). We recognize Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as scriptural means of testimony for the church (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:41-42; Acts 18:8; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26).
The GREAT COMMISSION
We believe that Jesus commands us to go and share the good news of His love for humanity. Our daily lives are a mission to introduce and reconcile people to God. Everything we are as believers should come from the love of God that transformed our lives. Everything we do as believers should center on the Great Commission fueled by His love in our transformed hearts (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; John 20:21-22; 2 Corinthians 5:17-18).
Marriage
We believe that the term marriage has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18-25; Ephesians 5:32-33). God gave marriage for mutual help (Genesis 2:18), intimate companionship (Proverbs 5:18-19; 1 Corinthians 7:1-5; Ecclesiastes 4:9-10), the protection against sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 7:2, 9), and for producing and raising children in the fear and admonition of the Lord (Genesis 1:27-28, Psalm 127:3-5, Ephesians 6:4).
We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4; Leviticus 18:22). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman.
Marriage is a covenantal relationship instituted by God at the creation of the world that reflects the glory of Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:31-32; Matthew 19:4-6). As such Divorce is prohibited in marriage except in cases of adultery (Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 19:8-9) or abandonment (1 Corinthians 7:10-16; Exodus 21:10-11) in order for marriage to display the faithfulness and love of God in Christ.
A struggling or difficult marriage is not an excuse for a divorce even in cases where one is married to an unbeliever (1 Corinthians 7:12-14; 1 Peter 3:1-2). Instead both husband and wife are encouraged to repent and build a godly marriage where the husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church and the wife submits to her husband as the church does to Christ (Ephesians 5:22-33).
Christians are to marry in the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:39) and therefore those who profess faith in Christ should not marry unbelievers or idolaters, nor should the godly be unequally yoked by marriage to those who lead wicked lives or hold to false teaching or heresy (1 Corinthians 6:14-16; Nehemiah 13:23-27).
Gender and Sexuality
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.
We believe that any sex outside of marriage between one man and one woman as well as any other form of sexual immorality (such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, pornography, prostitution, rape, any attempt to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex) is sinful and offensive to God (Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Romans 1:26-27).
We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture or the doctrines of the church (Matthew 22:37-39; Luke 6:27-28; Galatians 6:10; Colossians 3:12-14; 3:8; Romans 12:17-18).
The Sanctity of Human Life
We believe in the sanctity of human life and that every human person is created in the image of God (Imago Dei) and from the moment of conception possesses inherent dignity and worth independent of age, gender, ethnicity, physical or mental ability, socioeconomic status, stage of development, or quality of life (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7; Psalms 22:9; 139:3-16; Acts 17:25).
God alone is the Author of Life. He sovereignly forms each person in the womb and determines the number of our days holding all our life in His hands (Psalm 139:16; Job 14:5; Acts 17:24-25; Jeremiah 1:5). Therefore, all human life is to be cherished, nurtured, supported, and protected from the moment of conception to the day of our death. This includes the life of the unborn child who is a full human being with all of the developing characteristics of human life from the moment of conception bearing the full image of God even as they are dependent on their mother for their continued existence and development (Psalm 139:13; Isaiah 44:2, 24; 49:5; Jeremiah 1:5). The Imago Dei extends even to children who are conceived by the bitter providence of God as the Author of Life in tragic or difficult circumstances such as rape or incest as well as the elderly, the infirm, the disabled, and those nearing the end of life (Deuteronomy 24:16; Ezekiel 18:20).
Therefore, we believe that any willful or unjust taking of an innocent human life is a sin and constitutes murder in the eyes of the Lord (Exodus 21:22-25; Exodus 20:13; Genesis 9:5-6). This includes any such effort to terminate or otherwise unjustly end a human life such as willful murder, abuse, willful/elective abortion, abortive contraceptives, abortifacient drugs such as the Plan B pill, eugenics, euthanasia, suicide, assisted suicide, etc. We further believe that, in addition to murder, practices such as In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy violate several biblical and ethical convictions because they involve the unnatural creation, manipulation, freezing, and destruction of human embryos made in God’s image, treating fellow human image-bearers as commodities rather than persons worthy of dignity and respect.
In addition, we affirm that capital punishment, when justly administered by the Civil Magistrate, does not violate the sanctity of life but honors and upholds it by rightly valuing the Imago Dei of the victim of such a crime as an image bearer of God (Genesis 9:6; Romans 13:4).
As a church, we are committed to proclaiming and defending the sanctity of human life, to showing compassion and practical support to those facing difficult pregnancies or end-of-life decisions, and to calling all people to honor God by protecting the sanctity of human life at every stage.
At the same time, we believe that the blood of Jesus is sufficient to cover every sin and that the church is to be a community of redemption, grace, and hope to all sinners including those who have violated the sanctity of life or have participated in the sin of abortion (1 John 1:7; Matthew 12:31-32). Therefore we urge every local church and individual believer to offer the free hope of the gospel and the full forgiveness of sins to every person who has committed or been complicit in such sins through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ with the hope that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13; Matthew 12:31-32; Psalm 103:12; Hebrews 8:12; 1 John 1:9; Isaiah 1:18).
STATEMENT OF FAITH ON BAPTISM
Baptism is solely for the believer who has received salvation from Christ’s atoning work on the cross, made a public profession of this salvation, and become His disciple. Water baptism is the step of obedience for that believer to obey the command of Scripture. This obedience is a testimony to God, oneself, the church, and the world as a visual and symbolic identification with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. To clearly demonstrate this identification, a believer should be immersed in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This work, based upon repentance, gives a picture of the believer’s former life of sin that has been forgiven and put to death and the hope of our future resurrection (Acts 22:16; Colossians 2:12-14; Mark 16:16; Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 6:1-18).
DENOMINATION AND CHURCH PARTNERSHIPS
Reformation Baptist Church is an independent, non-denominational church and member of the G3 Church Network. We hold a Reformed understanding of salvation. We also freely partner with other gospel-centered, like-minded churches and organizations to collectively obey the Great Commission where Jesus said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).