Green Pastures Baptist Church
Statement of Faith
Green Pastures Baptist Church Statement of Faith
1. Bible
We believe the Bible to be the perfect word of God, fully and verbally inspired by God. We believe the Scriptures to be the inerrant, infallible Word of God, as found within the 66 books from Genesis to Revelation. We believe that God not only inspired every word, but has preserved them through the ages. We believe the King James Version is the Word of God for English speaking people. (Psalm 12:6-7, II Timothy 3:15-17, I Peter 1:23-25)
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2. God
We believe in a sovereign, holy God who is our Heavenly Father. He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. We believe that He is our Creator who made the Heavens and the Earth, and everything therein. He manifests to mankind in the form of the Godhead; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (I Timothy 1:17, Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 6:4)
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3. Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and is the one and only Saviour of mankind. He is God manifested in the flesh and is completely man and completely coequal with God. We believe Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and willingly offered himself in sacrifice on the cross to atone for the sin of all mankind, which made a way to restore fallen man unto fellowship with God. We believe he rose from the dead on the third day, according to Scripture, ascended to Heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father making intercession for man, and will one day return to the Earth to rapture all born again believers. ( I John 5:20, John 14:6, Matthew 1:23, Hebrews 2:9-15, I Corinthians 15:3-4, Matthew 26:64)
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4. The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity and is coequal with God. He was sent to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement. We believe the Holy Spirit was sent to regenerate, sanctify, seal, teach, comfort, and fill all who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ, according to Scripture. (John 3:5-6, John 14:16, Acts 1:5, Ephesians 4:30, I Corinthians 3:16, I Corinthians 6:19-20)
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5. Sin and Salvation
We believe that all mankind has inherited the condition of spiritual death from our ancestor Adam, therefore every person is born a sinner and is incapable of restoring fellowship with God in and of himself. We believe that man can restore fellowship with God and inherit eternal life through the plan of salvation as set forth in Scripture. We believe that recognizing that you are a sinner, believing in your heart that Jesus died for your sins in substitutional death on the cross, and asking Him to save your soul is Biblical salvation. Salvation is by grace, through faith, and is completely apart from the work or religious workings of man. (Romans 5:12-19, Romans 10:9-11, Ephesians 2:8,9)
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6. Future and Eternity
We believe Jesus Christ will return to Earth to rapture all born again believers as promised. We believe in a bodily resurrection of all mankind, the saved (born again) will spend eternity in a place called Heaven enjoying the comfort of God and the lost (unbelievers) will spend eternity in a place called Hell suffering torment. We also believe that, though many will not accept the gospel of the Bible, God wants every man to enjoy the blessings of salvation and eternal life and so commands the church to endeavor to spread the message of free salvation to all. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18, John 5:29, II Peter 3:9)
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7. Church
We believe that the New Testament church is a local, independent body of born again believers ordained by God to carry out his work in the world. The purpose of the church is to worship, fellowship, evangelize, serve, baptize, and observe the Lord’s table. We believe that Jesus Christ is the head of the church and the only offices ordained by Scripture are pastor and deacons. (Acts 2:47, Matthew 28:19,20, Ephesians 1:22,23)
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8. Family
We believe that God ordained the institution of family from the beginning of Creation. The family is to consist of one man and one woman joined in marriage forever, according to Scripture. God commands that children are to be nurtured, protected, both born and unborn, and be taught the things of God as early as possible. (Ephesians 5:31, Psalm 139:13-16, Ephesians 6:4)
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9. Civil Government
We believe that civil government is ordained by God for the good of humanity and should be honored and obeyed, except in matters that oppose the will of God or contradict Scripture, as God is the original and most authoritative law giver. (Romans 13:1-7, Acts 23:5, Daniel 3:17,18)