We Believe

Section 1: Doctrine of the Bible

We believe in the Bible as the verbally (every word) and plenary (complete) inspired Word of God as contained in the original manuscripts; that all portions of Scripture are equally inspired and contain no contradictions. (II Timothy 3:16) God’s Word is to be the only rule of faith and practice for the believer in Jesus Christ; and that the Canon, the sixty-six books of the Bible is complete. We further believe that God has supernaturally and providentially preserved His inspired Word for every generation. (Psalm 12:6-7)

A: By inspiration we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy men of God as they were moved by the Holy Ghost in such a definite way that their writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be. This was a one-time event in which God, once for all, delivered His truth to the church. (II Peter 1:20-21; Jude, v. 3; II Timothy 3:16)

B: By providential preservation we mean that God, through the ages, has, in His divine power, preserved the very words He inspired. We further believe that the Hebrew Old Testament text, as found in the Traditional Masoretic Text, and the Greek New Testament text, as found in the Textus Receptus, are the true texts of Scripture and therefore are the complete, preserved, inerrant, infallible Word of God. (Psalm 12: 6, 7; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:23)

C: We therefore believe that the King James Version is an accurate and faithful translation of the true texts of Scriptures which constitutes the preserved, inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God for the English- speaking people of the world. The King James Version of the Bible is the only translation used by Calvary Baptist Church, Calvary Christian School, and Calvary Baptist Bible College and Seminary.

Section 2: Doctrine of God

We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three Persons-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and that these three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections; and are worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence and obedience. (Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:26; John 1:1; John 10:30; John 14:9, 16-17; Acts 5:3-4;

I Timothy 3:16)

Section 3: Doctrine of Jesus Christ

We believe in the essential deity and virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ; that He was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary not having human father, and is true God and true man; that He is man’s only hope of salvation from sin, being the only mediator between God and man; that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day for our sins according to the Scriptures; that His return for His Church, the Body of Christ, which He will take with Himself into heaven is imminent; and that He will come to this earth to set up His millennial reign. (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-4; John 10:30; John 14:6; I Timothy 2:5-6; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:4-6)

Section 4: Doctrine of the Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit to be coequal with the Father and with the Son. He is a Person. He came to this earth as the fulfillment of Christ’s promise. He convicts, regenerates, indwells, seals, fills, empowers, and guides the believer. (John 16:7-13; John 3:3-5; Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:13, 14; Ephesians 5:18)

Section 5: Doctrine of Man

We believe that God created man in His own image and that man sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death which is conscious and eternal separation from God. We believe that all men are born with a sinful nature, evidenced by sinful acts; that man is totally depraved (every aspect of man has been affected by sin) and that if he is not born again, he is eternally lost. (Genesis 1:26, 27; Psalm 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Luke 16:23; Romans 3:10, 23; Romans 5:12; I Corinthians 15:21, 22; Revelation 20:11-15, Revelation 21:8)

Section 6: Doctrine of Human Sexuality

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, transgenderism, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex and are offensive to God (Matt. 15:18-20; 1 Cor. 6:9-10). 

We further believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two-distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God, and the rejection of one’s biological gender is a rejection of the image of God within that person. (Genesis 1:26-27) We therefore believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s birth gender chemically or by surgery or appearance. (Gen 2:24, 19:5, 13, 26:8-9, Lev 18:1-30; Rom 1:26-29; I Cor 5:1, 6:9; I Thess 4:1-8; Heb 13:4)

We believe that God offers forgiveness to all who place their faith in Jesus Christ and His redemptive work on the cross for salvation (Acts 3:19-21; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 6:9-11).

We further believe God mercifully offers forgiveness and restoration to a believing Christian who willingly confesses and forsakes such sin. (Proverbs 28:13; Proverbs 28:13.)

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of the ministry.

Section 7: Doctrine of Marriage

We believe the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Gen. 2:18-25). We believe that marriage between one man and one woman, for life, uniquely reflects Christ’s relationship with His Church (Eph. 5:21-33). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.

Marriage ceremonies performed in any facility owned, leased, or rented by this church will only be those ceremonies sanctioned by God, joining one man with one woman as that gender was determined at birth. 

We further believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Therefore, we never promote divorce as a solution to marital problems. We also believe God’s forgiveness includes all sins, including those who violate God’s permanence of marriage. Even though such forgiven people can be used of the Lord and serve in many areas of the church, we do believe the Scriptures prohibit them from being considered for the offices of pastor or deacon. (Gen 2:24; Mal 2:14-17; Matt 19:3-12; Rom 7:1-3; I Cor 7:10; Eph 5:22-23; I Tim 3:2,12; Tit 1:6)

Section 8: Doctrine of Human Life

We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. We believe that the unjustified, unexcused taking of human life such as abortion, euthanasia, and infanticide is murder. (Job 3:16; Psalms 51:1-5, 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1,5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)

Section 9: Doctrine of Salvation

We believe that a person is saved when he repents of his sin and exercises faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ thus receiving Him as personal Savior. The believer is kept by the power of God and is eternally secure in Christ. We believe the doctrinal extremes of Hyper-Calvinism and Arminianism are unbiblical.

We believe that the scope of salvation includes forgiveness of all our sins past, present, and future: a perfect standing before God as in Jesus Christ: and the changing of our earthly body to be conformed like unto the body of our Lord at His return for His own. We believe that the saved will spend eternity with God in heaven.

We further believe that those who reject Christ as Savior will be eternally separated from God in hell and will be ultimately cast into the Lake of Fire, there to remain in everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (John 1:12; John 5:24; John 10:28, 29; Romans 6:23; II Corinthians 5:21; Eph. 2:8-10; I John 5:17; Romans 8:19-23; I John 3:2; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Hebrews 9:27; II Peter 2:8, 9; Revelation 20:12-15; Revelation 21:8)

Section 10: Doctrine of Eternity

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust; the eternal conscious punishment of the lost in Hell and the eternal joy of the saved in Heaven. (Daniel 12:1-2; Matthew 25:31-46; I Corinthians 15:22-24; Revelation 20)

Section 11: Doctrine of the Church

We believe that the local church is composed of:

1.     A local group of believers that is autonomous, self-governing, and has no ecclesiastical organization in authority over it.

2.     Believers who are baptized by immersion.

3.     Believers who are organized. They have for their officers, pastors, deacons and such other leaders as God has given special gifts to render as a ministry to the church.

4.     Believers who observe the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

5.     Believers who meet regularly for fellowship, worship, and Bible study.

6.     Believers who carry out the Great Commission. (1 Corinthians 12:13; Acts 2; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 16:19; Acts 2:41; 1 Corinthians 12; Hebrews 10:25; I Corinthians 11:23-26; Matthew 28:18-20)

Section 12: Doctrine of Satan and Fallen Angels

We believe that the Bible teaches the existence of Satan in both the Old and New Testaments. Satan as well as other angels are created spirits.  Satan was created perfect but sinned and became the arch enemy of God and His creation. He is the chief adversary of God’s children. He seeks to keep man from the Lord, and when he cannot succeed in this, he seeks to weaken the testimony of Christians. He has at his command a great host of fallen angels and demons to carry out his purposes. He is not omnipotent and can be overcome by the power of God. His doom is sealed in the Lake of Fire forever and forever. (Ezekiel 28:12-19; Isaiah. 14:12-14; Revelation 12:10; Revelation 20:10)

Section 13: Doctrine of Last Things

We believe there will be a resurrection of all, first the just at the coming of Jesus Christ and finally the unjust after the millennium. The saints are raised to be forever with the Lord, and the unsaved will be confined for eternity in the Lake of Fire. We believe in the “Blessed Hope” (Titus 2:13) which is the personal, bodily, pre-tribulational, pre-millennial, and imminent return of our Lord and Savior for His Church at the rapture and His later return to the earth in power and glory with His saints to set up His Kingdom (the millennium). (John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11, Acts 24:15; I Corinthians. 15:3-20; Philippians 3:20; I Thessalonians 4:13-18, I John 2:1-2, Rev. 20: 1-15, Rev. 21:8)