I. GOD

There is one living and true God, the creator of the universe (Exod. 15:11; Isa.
45:11; Jer. 27:5). He is revealed in the unity of the Godhead as God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who are equal in every divine perfection (Exod. 15:11;
Matt. 28:19; II Cor. 13:14).

A. GOD THE FATHER is the supreme ruler of the universe. He providentially
directs the affairs of history according to the purposes of His grace (Gen. 1; Ps. 19:1; Ps.
104; Heb. 1:1-3).

B. GOD THE SON is the Savior of the world. Born of the virgin Mary (Matt.
1:18; Luke 1:26-35), He declared His deity among men (John 1:14, 18; Matt. 9:6), died
on the cross as the only sacrifice for sin (Phil. 2:6-11), arose bodily from the grave (Luke
24:6, 7, 24-26; I Cor. 15:3-6), and ascended back to the Father (Acts 1:9-11; Mark
16:19). He is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for believers (Rom. 8:34; Heb.
7:25) and will soon return to bring believers home (Acts 1:11; I Thess. 4:16-18).

C. GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT is the manifest presence of deity. He convicts of sin
(John 16:8-11), teaches spiritual truths according to the written Word (John 16:12-15),
permanently indwells believers (Acts 5:32; John 14:16, 17, 20, 23), and confers on every
believer at conversion the ability to render effective spiritual service (I Peter 4:10, 11).
 

For further reference, see Section II of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message
and Section I of the BMAA Doctrinal Statement.

 

II. THE SCRIPTURES

 

A. The Scriptures are God’s inspired, inerrant, infallible revelation, complete
in the Old and New Testaments, written by divinely inspired men as they were moved by
the Holy Spirit (II Tim. 3:16; II Peter 1:21). Those men wrote not in words of human
wisdom but in words taught by the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 2:13).

B. The Scriptures provide the standard for the believer’s faith and practice (II
Tim. 3:16, 17), reveal the principles by which God will judge all (Heb. 4:12; John 12:48),
and express the true basis of Christian fellowship (Gal. 1:8, 9; II John 9-11).

 

For further reference, see Section I of the Baptist Faith & Message (2000),
Section II of the BMAA Doctrinal Statement, and the Chicago Statement on Biblical
Inerrancy (1978).

 

III. CREATION

 

A. THE WORLD – God created all things for His own pleasure and glory, as
revealed in the biblical account of creation (Gen. 1; Rev. 4:11; John 1:2-3; Col. 1:16).

B. THE ANGELS– God created an innumerable host of spirit beings called
angels. Holy angels worship God and execute His will; while fallen angels serve Satan,
wholly opposed to God’s purposes (Col. 1:16; Luke 20:35-36; Matt. 22:29-30; Ps.
103:20, Jude 6). Satan is a person rather than a personification of evil (John 8:44), and he
with his demons opposes all that is true and godly by blinding unbelievers to the gospel
(II Cor. 4:3, 4), tempting saints to do evil (Eph. 6:11; I Peter 5:8), and warring against the
Son of God (Gen. 3:15; Rev. 20:1-10).

C. MAN – God created man in His own image. As the crowning work of
creation, every person is of dignity and worth and merits the respect of all other persons
(Ps. 8; Gen. 1:27; 2:7; Matt. 10:28-32).

D. GENDER – We believe that God has established marriage as a lifelong-
exclusive relationship between one man and one woman, and that all intimate sexual
activity outside the marriage relationship, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or
otherwise, is immoral and therefore sin (Gen. 2:24-25; Ex. 20:14, 14,17,22:19; Lev.
18:22-23, 20-13,15-16; Matt. 19:4-9, 9; Rom. 1:18-31; 1 Cor. 6:9-10, 15-20; 1 Tim 1:8-
11; Jude 7). We believe that God created the human race male and female and that all
conduct with the intent to adopt a gender other than one’s birth gender is immoral and
therefore sin (Gen. 1:27; Deut. 22:5).

 

Our views on gender are further reflected in the
Nashville Statement from The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (2017).

 

 

 

IV. DEPRAVITY

Although man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26; 2:17), he fell through
sin and that image was marred (Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 11:7; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10); he is thus
under the influence of the devil, and lacks any power to save himself (Eph. 2:1-3; John
1:13). The sin nature has been transmitted to every member of the human race, the man
Jesus Christ alone being excepted (Rom. 3:23; I Peter 2:22). Because of the sin nature,
man possesses no divine life and is essentially and unchangeably depraved apart from
divine grace (Rom. 3:10-19; Jer. 17:9).

 

 

V. SALVATION

 

A. THE MEANING OF SALVATION – Salvation is the gracious work of God
whereby He delivers undeserving sinners from sin and its results (Matt. 1:21; Eph. 2:8,9).
In justification, He declares righteous all who put faith in Christ as Savior (Rom. 3:20-3:22),

giving them freedom from condemnation, peace with God, and full assurance of
future glorification (Rom. 3:24-26).

B. THE WAY OF SALVATION– Salvation is based wholly on the grace of God
apart from works (Titus 3:5; Eph. 2:9). Anyone who will exercise repentance toward
God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved (Acts 16:30-32; Luke 24:47; Rom.
10:17).

C. THE PROVISION OF SALVATION – Christ died for the sins of the whole world,
effective for all who repent and believe (John 1:29; 3:16; I John 2:1, 2). Through His
blood, atonement is made without respect of persons (I Tim. 2:4-6). All sinners can be
saved by this gracious provision (Heb. 2:9; John 3:18).

D. THE PURPOSE OF SALVATION – Election is the sovereign act of God by which
He bestows His mercy of salvation upon all whom He has chosen in Jesus Christ before the
foundation of the world, according to His foreknowledge (Eph. 1:3-5: I Pet. 1:1-2). It is
consistent with God’s sovereignty and man’s free agency (Eph. 1:11-14). Election
necessitates the preaching of the gospel to every creature, the convicting of sinners by the
Holy Spirit, and the belief of the truth by each repenting sinner (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark
16:15). Within our finite limits of understanding, sinners are free to accept or reject
God’s offered mercy (John 1:11-12).

 

For further reference, see Section IV of the

Baptist Faith & Message 2000 and Section VI of the BMAA Doctrinal Statement.

 

VI. SANCTIFICATION

All believers are set apart unto God (Heb. 10:12-14) at the time of their
regeneration (I Cor. 6:11). They should grow in grace (II Pet. 1:5-8) by allowing the
Holy Spirit to apply God’s Word to their lives (I Pet. 2:2), conforming them to the
principles of divine righteousness (Rom. 12:1, 2: I Thess. 4:3-7) and making them
partakers of the holiness of God (II Cor. 7:1; I Pet. 1:15,16).

 

 

VII. SECURITY

All believers are eternally secure in Jesus Christ (John 10:24-30; Rom. 8:35-39).
They are born again (John 3:3-5; I John 5:1; I Pet. 1:23), and indwelt by the Holy Spirit
(Rom 8:9; I John 4:4), assuring their perseverance in good works (Eph. 2:10). A special
providence watches over them (Rom. 8:28; I Cor. 10:13), and they are kept by the power
of God (Phil. 1:6; 2:12, 13; I Pet. 1:3-5; Heb. 13:5).

 

For further reference, Section V of the

Baptist Faith & Message 2000 and Section VIII of the BMAA Doctrinal Statement. 

 

 

VIII. THE CHURCH

A. THE NATURE OF THE CHURCH – A New Testament church is a local congregation
(Acts 16:5; I Cor. 4:17) of baptized believers in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:41) who are united
by covenant in belief of what God has revealed an in obedience to what He has
commanded (Acts 2:41, 42).

B. THE AUTONOMY OF THE CHURCH – She acknowledges Jesus as her only Head
(Eph. 5:23; Col. 1:18) and the Holy Bible as her only rule of faith and practice (Isa. 8:20;
II Tim. 3:16-17), being biblically congregational in nature (Acts 20:28; Heb. 13:7, 17,
24).

C. THE PERPETUITY OF THE CHURCH – Instituted by Jesus during His personal
ministry on earth (Matt. 16:18; Mark 3:13-19; John 1:35-51), true churches have
continued to the present and will continue until Jesus returns (Matt. 16:18; 28:20).

D. THE ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH – Her two ordinances are Baptism and the
Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer as a public confession of
his faith in Jesus Christ, in joyful obedience to the example given by Christ (Matt 28:19,
Rom. 6:4). The Lord’s Supper is the sacred sharing of the bread of communion and the
cup of blessing by the assembled church (Acts 20:7), as the sign of the New Covenant
(Luke 22:20) and a memorial to the crucified body and shed blood of Jesus Christ (Luke
2:19, 20; I Cor. 11:23-26). Both ordinances must be administered by the authority of a
New Testament church (Matt. 28:18-20; I Cor. 11:23-26).

E. THE OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH – Pastors and deacons are the permanent officers
divinely ordained in a New Testament church (Phil. 1:1). Each church may select men of
her choice to fill those offices under the leading of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:1-6; 20:17,18)
according to the divinely given qualifications (I Tim. 3:1-13).

 

PASTORS (elders, bishops, overseers) are authorized to oversee and teach the
churches under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (Acts 20:28; Heb. 13:7, 17, 24: I Peter 5:1-
4). Each church is responsible to follow them as they follow Christ (I Cor. 11:1; I Thess.
1:6: Heb. 13:17) and to provide a livelihood for them that they might fulfill their
ministries (I Tim. 5:17-18; Phil. 4:15-18; 1 Cor. 9:14). Pastors are equal in the service of
God (Matt. 23:8-12).

 

DEACONS (ministers, servants) are servants of the churches and assistants to the
pastors, particularly in benevolent ministries. Each church may select her own deacons
according to her needs, and no church is bound by the act of another church in that
selection (Acts 6:1-6).

F. THE MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH– Her mission is making disciples of all nations by
preaching the gospel (Matt. 28:19; Luke 24:45-47), baptizing those who believe (Acts
2:41; 8:12: 35-38), and maturing them by instruction (Matt. 28:20; Acts 2:42) and
discipline (Matt. 18:17, 18; I Cor. 5:1-5).

G. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE CHURCH – She is free to associate with true churches in
furthering the faith (II Cor. 11:8; Phil. 4:10, 15, 16) but is responsible to keep herself
from those who hold doctrines or practices contrary to Holy Scripture (Gal. 1:8-9; I John 2:19).

In association with other churches, each church is equal and is the sole judge of
the measure and method of her cooperation (Matt. 20:25-28). In all matters of polity and
practice, the will of each church is final (Matt. 18:18).

 

For further reference,

see Sections VI and XIV of the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 and

Section IX of the BMAA Doctrinal Statement.

 

IX. CIVIL AUTHORITY

Human government was instituted by God to protect the innocent and punish
the guilty. It is separate from the church, though both church and state exercise
complementary ministries for the benefit of society (Matt. 22:21).

 

Christians should submit to the authority of the government under which they
live, obeying all laws which do not contradict the laws of God, respecting officers of
the government, paying taxes, rendering military service, and praying for the welfare of the
nation and its leaders (Rom. 13:1-7; I Peter 2:13, 17; I Tim. 2:1,2). They may vote, hold
office, and exercise influence in keeping with the principles of Holy Scripture.

 

Civil authority is not to interfere in matters of conscience or disturb the
institutions of religion (Acts 4:18-20), but it should preserve for every citizen the free
exercise of his religious convictions.

 

Churches should receive no subsidy from the government, but they should be
exempt from taxation on property and money used for the common good through
worship, education, or benevolence.

 

For further reference, see Sections XVI and XVII of the

Baptist Faith & Message 2000 and Section X of the BMAA Doctrinal Statement.

 

X. LAST THINGS

A. RETURN – Our risen Lord will return personally in bodily form to receive His
redeemed unto Himself. His return is imminent (I Thess. 4:13-17; Rev. 22:20).
 

B. RESURRECTIONS – After Jesus returns, all of the dead will be raised bodily, each
in his own order; the righteous dead in “the resurrection of life” and the wicked dead in
“the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:24-29; I Cor. 15:20-28).
 

C. JUDGMENTS – Prior to the eternal state, God will judge everyone to confer
rewards or to consign to punishment (Matt. 25:31-46: II Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:11-15). Christ
will judge (John 5:22; Rom. 2:16; 1 Cor. 1:8; 5:5; 2 Cor. 1:14; Phil. 1:6, 10; 2:16), and
He will judge all (Ecc. 12:14; Matt. 16:27; Acts 10:42; Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Tim.
4:1; 1 Peter 4:5; John 5:22) – the wicked are bound for a final judgment (Heb. 4:13; 2
Peter 2:9-11; Rev 6:17, 20:11-15), while believers will be justified in Christ (John 3:36;
Rom. 2:6-8, 8:1; Phil 1:1; 1 John 4:17; Rev. 20:10-11), taking joy in His appearing (Eph.
4:30; 2 Tim. 4:8; 1 Peter 1:13; Heb. 9:27-28).

​

D. ETERNAL STATES – Heaven is the eternal home of the redeemed (John 14:1-3)
who, in their glorified bodies (I Cor. 15:51-58), will live in the presence of God forever (I
Thess. 4:17) in ultimate blessing (Rev. 21, 22).

Hell is the place of eternal punishment and suffering (Luke 16:19-31) for the
devil, his angels (Matt. 25:41), and the unredeemed (Rev. 20:10-15).

 

For further reference, see Section X of the

Baptist Faith & Message 2000 and Section XI of the BMAA Doctrinal Statement.