Calvary Baptist Church

A. We believe that the Holy Bible is the divinely inspired written Word of God, the record of God’s revelation of Himself to man, to be accepted in its entirety as the final authority in matters of faith and practice. The Bible is the basis for this statement of faith. 

B. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary; that He lived in this world, yet without sin; that He was crucified, and in His death, bore the sins of all men of all time; that He was buried and on the third day arose from the dead, thus establishing redemption for all men who accept Him as Savior; that He ascended. unto God the Father and will come again to receive unto Himself the redeemed, passing judgment on all who reject Him as Savior. 

C. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the divine third person of the trinity; that He is ever present to convict the unbeliever and to comfort, strengthen and direct the believer. 

D. We believe that every man is a sinner by nature, and sins of his own free will; that he lives under the condemnation of sin and needs to be saved; that salvation is the work of grace, received when the unbeliever repents of his sins, believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, and accepts Him as his personal Savior, and that salvation is a present and permanent possession of true believers. 

E. We believe that the ordinance of baptism is the immersion in water of a professed believer in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried and risen Savior, and his own death to sin, the burial of his old life and his resurrection to a new life in Jesus Christ. 

F. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act whereby members of the Body of Christ, in obedience to His command, partake of the bread and the fruit of the vine, to commemorate the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Articles of Faith 

The Scriptures: The Scripture of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God and are the only sufficient, certain and authoritative rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience (II Timothy 3:16, 17). 

God: There is but one Holy God, eternally existing in three persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- but without division of nature, essence or being. This one Maker, Preserver and Ruler of all things has in Himself all perfections and is infinite in them all. To Him all creatures owe the highest love, reverence and obedience.

Providence: God from eternity decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as not in any way to be the author or approver of sin nor to destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures. 

Election: God chooses to offer all persons everlasting life through Jesus Christ His Son. This is not because of any merit in mankind, but by God’s everlasting mercy in Christ. Each person has the free will to accept or refuse God’s offer. Only acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior qualifies as accepting God’s offer of eternal life.

The Fall of Man: God originally created man in His own image, and free from sin; but, through the temptation of Satan, he trespassed the command of God, and fell from his original holiness and righteousness. Therefore man’s posterity is born with a nature corrupt and wholly opposed to God and His law. All are under condemnation, and as soon as they are capable of moral action, become actual transgressors. 

The Mediator: Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the only divinely appointed mediator between perfect, Holy God and imperfect, sinful man. Having taken upon Himself human nature, yet without sin, He perfectly fulfilled the law, suffered and died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners. He was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended to His Father, at whose right hand He ever sits to make intercession for His people. He is the only Mediator, and serves as Prophet, Priest and King of the Church, and Sovereign of the Universe. 

Repentance: When the Holy Spirit brings about God’s work of justifying grace, we turn in sorrow from our original sin nature to receive regeneration of our hearts through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit then resides within us to convict us to confession and repentance of sin in the ongoing work of sanctifying grace, so we can grow in fellowship with our Holy God (I John 1:9, 2:5) 

Faith: Saving faith is the belief, on God’s authority, of all that is revealed in His Word concerning Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ is the foundation of accepting God’s grace and invitation for His forgiveness and eternal life.

Justification: God completely forgives and makes new anyone who believes in Christ and His atoning work on the cross. This does not come from good works or personal merit (Ephesians 2:8, 9), but only through divine grace. At the moment of salvation, when a person repents of sin and places faith in Jesus Christ as risen Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit of God enters that person’s heart for eternity, and the believer begins a new life. 

Sanctification: After justification, the Holy Spirit begins a process of spiritual growth and maturity in the newly regenerated heart of the believer. This sanctification is an ongoing process of walking lovingly with God through prayer and the study of His Word. Evidence of this steady transformation is pursuit of a holy lifestyle. 

Glorification: The culmination of salvation and the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed. 

Perseverance of Saints: Those, whom God has saved through His Son and sanctified by His Spirit, will never totally nor finally fall from His grace. We are all, however, still subject to temptation and weakness of our human nature (I John 1:6-8). Such sin grieves the Holy Spirit and impairs our communion with God. It may bring reproach upon the Church and invite society’s discipline. The Holy Spirit seeks to convict us of such sin to cause us to confess, repent, and to return to fellowship with God through faith in His power and grace. Willful continuation in sin invites the discipline of God, even to death of the body.

Freedom of Conscience: God alone is Lord of the conscience. God Himself has ordained the civil authorities to their office. While we are to follow God’s commands as given in His Holy Word and not the doctrines of men, we are not to live contrary to the laws of the land, except when they contradict the Word of God (Daniel 3:8-18; Acts 4:19). 

The Church: The Lord Jesus Christ alone is the Head of the Church, which is composed of all His true disciples, and in Him and His Word is invested all power for its government. According to His commandments, Christians are not to neglect assembling themselves together (Hebrews 10:25). Each body of believers is given His authority to administer worship, teaching, correction, and ministry. The regular officers of the Church are Bishops or Elders (Pastors), and Deacons. 

Baptism: Baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ whereby the believer is immersed in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, identifying with Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. This outward cleansing is symbolic of the inward grace of Jesus Christ, which brings forgiveness, remission of sin, fellowship with other believers and the living of a new life. It is the prerequisite to church fellowship and to participation in the Lord’s Supper. 

The Lord’s Supper: The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of Jesus Christ, to be administered with elements of the bread and cup, and to be observed by His Church until the end of the world. In its symbolic nature, it is designed to commemorate His Death for our redemption and to renew our commitment to Him and His Body, the Church. 

The Lord’s Day: The Lord’s Day is the first day of the week in recognition of our Savior’s resurrection. It should be reserved for worship, spiritual devotion (both public and private), resting from worldly involvement, and the up-building of spiritual and earthly family. 

The Resurrection: The bodies of all people after death return to dust, but their spirits immediately return to God: the saved to rest with Him in paradise (Luke 23:43); the unsaved to be reserved in Hades to await the judgment (Luke 16:23). At the last day the bodies of all the dead, both saved and unsaved, will be raised for the judgment (1 Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 20:11-15) 

The Judgment: God has appointed a day to judge the world according to the faith of each person in Jesus Christ. Those, whose names are not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, face eternal condemnation and separation from God (Revelation 20: 12-15). God has also promised to judge the fruit of every person who has received justification through the death and resurrection of Christ. Each will receive according to his/her works (I Corinthians 3:11-13; Revelation 22:12; Jeremiah 17:10).