Battlefield Baptist Church

ARTICLE 2 - STATEMENT OF FAITH AND COVENANT
SECTION 2.01 STATEMENT OF FAITH
The following comprise the Scriptural beliefs of this church and its members.
(A)
(B)
The Holy Scriptures. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to
be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible
and God-breathed and, therefore, are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six
books of the Old and New Testament are the complete and divine revelation of God to
man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical, historical
meaning, and all issues of interpretation and meaning shall be determined by the pastor.
The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official and only translation used by the
church. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
Dispensationalism. We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal
sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man's
responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but
rather are divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His
purpose. Three of these dispensations-the law, the church, and the kingdom-are the
subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. (Gen. 1:28; 1 Cor. 9:17; 2 Cor. 3:9-18;
Gal. 3:13-25; Eph. 1:10; 3:2-10; Col. 1:24-25, 27; Rev. 20:2-6)
ARTICLE I-NAME AND PURPOSE
04/19/2008
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(C)
(D)
(E)
The Godhead.
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons-Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit-each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and
having the same attributes and perfections. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 14:10, 26
2 Cor. 13:14)
The Person and Work of Christ.
1. 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 men. (Isa.
7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-2i; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8)
2. 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.
(Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the
right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of
Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24;
7:25; 1 John 2:1-2)
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.
1. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of
righteousness, and of judgment; and, that 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; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:1214; 2 Cor.
3:6; Eph. 1:13-14)
2. We believe that He is the divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and
appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be
filled with the Spirit (Eph.1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27)
3. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every
believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in
the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry. (Rom. 12:3-8;
1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28; Eph. 4:7-12)
4. We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and
the gift of healing were temporary. Speaking in tongues was never the common
or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit. Ultimate deliverance of
the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the
resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for
physical healing. (1 Cor. 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
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(F)
(G)
(H)
(J)
The Total Depravity of Man. We believe that man was created in the image and likeness
of God; but that in Adam's sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became
alienated from God. Man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his
lost condition. (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19)
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. We believe that all sins, except blasphemy of the
Holy Spirit, are forgivable. (Matt. 12:31-32; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19;
1 John 1:9)
The Eternal Security and Assurance of believers.
1. 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; Rom. 8:1; 38-39; 1 Cor. 1 :4-8;
1 Pet. 1 :4-5)
2. 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, however, clearly forbids
the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13;
Titus 2:11-15)
(I) The Church
1. We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of
Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons. (1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2;
Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27)
2. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly
taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32;
1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or
control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1,4; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1
Pet. 5:1-4)
3.
4. We recognize water baptism and the Lord's Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of
obedience for the church in this age. (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; 1 Cor.
1:23-26)
Separation. We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring
reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate from all
religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations. In an
ongoing effort to uphold the testimony of Battlefield Baptist Church, members are to
refrain from all immodest and immoderate appearances. While on Church property we
consider modest apparel for men to mean long pants (no shorts), and full tops. We
consider modest apparel for women to be skirts and or dresses to cover the knees (no
shorts), with full tops.
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(M)
(N)
(O)
(Lev. 19:28; Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 John
2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)
(K) The Second Advent of Christ. We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, imminent
return of Christ, Who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At
the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to
establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised, to the nation of Israel. (Ps.
89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; 1 Thess. 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10;
19:11-16; 20:1-6)
(L) The Eternal State.
1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the
unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29;
11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13)
2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and
present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection,
when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.
(Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6)
3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious
punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body
reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast
into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious
punishment and torment. (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thess.
1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15)
The Personality of Satan. We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the
cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that
he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11;
25:41; Rev. 20:10)
Creation. We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We
reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as
unscriptural theories of origin. (Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11)
Civil Government. We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting
of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Every person is
subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable
to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical
responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that
no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state.
are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility
under God. (Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 2:13-14)