Green Ridge Baptist Church Statement of Faith
The Godhead - Trinity
1.01 We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons; that these three persons are equal in every Divine attribute and that they have distinct but harmonious offices in the work of Creation, Providence and Redemption.
Deuteronomy 6:4, John 17:21-22, I Timothy 3:16, Romans 8:9-11, John 14:16, 2 Corinthians 13:14
The Father
1.02 We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that he hears and answers prayers and He saves from sin and eternal death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
1 Chronicles 29:10-12, I Corinthians 8:6, John 6:37-40, John 16:23,24
The Son
1.03 We believe in the eternal existence of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles and His teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death for the sins of all people, His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, His perpetual intercession for believers, and His personal, visible return to earth.
John 1:1-2, John 1:14, Romans 3:24-25, I Peter 2:21-24, I John 2:1-2, Acts 1:9-11, Acts 10:39-41.
The Holy Spirit
1.04 We believe in the absolute and essential Deity and Personality of the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgement. We believe furthermore 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.
Genesis 1:2, John 16:7-13, Acts 1:5-8, Romans 8:9, I Corinthians 12:12-13, Ephesians 1:13-14
The Bible
1.05 We believe the Bible to be the complete Word of God; that the sixty-six books comprising the Old and New Testaments were inspired word for word by the Spirit of God and as originally written were entirely free from error; and that the Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice and the true basis of Christian union.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:19-21, John 17:17
Satan
1.06 We believe that Satan is a person who was once holy and who enjoyed heavenly honours, but, through pride and ambition to be as almighty as God, he fell, drawing after him a host of angels; that he is now the prince of the power of the air and the unholy god of this world.
Isaiah 14:12-17, Matthew 25:41, John 8:44, John 14:30, Ephesians 2:2, I Peter 5:8, Revelation 12:8-10.
Man
1.07 We believe that man was created by God in His own image and likeness; that, by choice, he fell from innocence into sin; and that by so doing, he incurred the wrath of God which resulted in physical and spiritual death. We believe that Adam’s entire posterity, excluding Christ, is born with an inherited sinful nature and is, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.
Salvation
Future Things
1.09 We believe in the imminent, personal bodily and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ; in the resurrection of the just and the unjust; in the eternal blessedness of the redeemed and in the judgement and eternal punishment of the unsaved.
John 14:2-3, I Thessalonians 4:16-17, Titus 2:14, I Peter 2:24, I John 5:11-13
The Eternal State
1.10 We believe in Heaven. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has gone to prepare a place for those who love Him and that He will one day take them to be with Him forever. We believe that He has rewards waiting for those who have served Him faithfully. We are convinced of the eternal security of every believer, regenerated by the Spirit of God. We believe in Hell. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all persons who ever lived, the saved to eternal life and joy, and the unsaved to judgement and everlasting punishment.
Matthew 25:31-36, John 5:28, John 11:25-26, John 14:2-3, I Thessalonians 4:16-17, Revelation 20:11-15
The Church
1.11 We believe that the true church of our Lord Jesus Christ is the fellowship of all believers in Him, and that the local church is a company of baptized believers voluntarily associated for the ministry of the Word, the mutual edification of its members, the propagation of the faith and the observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe the local church is an autonomous body, exercising its own divinely inspired gifts, precepts and privileges under the Lordship of Christ, the great and only Head of the church. We believe that its officers are Pastors (Elders, Bishops) and Deacons.
Acts 2:41-47, Acts 20:17, 28, Romans 12:6-8, I Corinthians 12:4, Ephesians 4:11-13.
Christian Service & Separation
1.12 We believe in the priesthood of all believers; that each believer is responsible to the Lord Jesus Christ for his work for Him and his walk before Him. We believe that all Christians should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon the Lord; and that separation from all apostasy, all sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded by God.
Romans 12:1-2, Romans 12:11-12, I Corinthians 3:9, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Hebrews 12:28-29, 1Peter 2:9
The Lord's Day
1.13 We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord’s day and that, in a special sense, it is the divinely appointed day for worship and spiritual exercise.
Acts 20:7, I Corinthians 16:2
Church and State
1.14 We believe in the entire separation of church and state.
Matthew 22:15-22, Acts 4:18-20, Acts 5:29.
Civil Government & Religious Liberty
1.15 We believe that the civil government is of Divine appointment for the interest and good order of society; that those in authority are to be prayed for, conscientiously honoured and obeyed, except only in those things opposed to the laws of God. We believe in religious liberty; and that every man has the right to practice and propagate his beliefs.
Joshua 24:15, Romans 13:1-7, Titus 3:1, I Peter 2:13-17.