BEREA BAPTIST
CHURCH
Purpose and
Doctrinal
Statement
The purpose of
this church is
to glorify God
through the
salvation of the
lost, the
edification of
the believers
and the spread
of the Gospel as
commanded by our
Lord. The
purpose shall be
accomplished by:
1. The promotion
of spiritual
worship. (Gal.
1:8-9; II
Timothy 4:1-5)
2. The
preaching of the
Gospel and the
teaching of the
Word of God to
all the world.
(Matt.
28:19-20; Mark
16:15-16; Luke
24:46-48; Acts
1:8; Gal. l:8-9;
II Tim. 4:1-5)
3. The
administration
of the
ordinances of
the church.
(Matt. 28:19; I
Cor. 11:23-26)
4. The defense
of the faith
once for all
delivered unto
the saints.
(Jude 3; Heb.
10:23; Rev. 3:8)
5. The mutual
love, care, and
concern for
others,
especially those
of the household
of faith.
(James 2:14-16;
Gal. 6:10;
Rom.12:13; I
John 3:17)
THE ARTICLES OF
FAITH
OF BEREA BAPTIST
CHURCH
THE
SCRIPTURES
We believe in
the authority
and sufficiency
of the Holy
Bible,
consisting of
the sixty-six
books of the Old
and New
Testaments, as
originally
written; that it
was verbally and
plenarily
inspired and is
the product of
Holy
Spirit-controlled
men, and
therefore as
truth without
any admixture of
error for its
matter and is
infallible and
inerrant in all
matters of which
it speaks. We
believe the
Bible to be the
true center of
Christian unity
and the supreme
standard by
which all human
conduct, creed,
and opinions
shall be tried.
(II Tim.
3:16,17; II Pet.
1:19-21)
THE TRUE
GOD
We believe there
is one, and only
one, living and
true God,
infinite,
intelligent
Spirit, the
Maker and
Supreme Ruler of
heaven and
earth;
inexpressibly
glorious in
holiness, and
worthy of all
possible honor,
confidence and
love; that in
the unity of the
Godhead there
are three
persons, the
Father, the Son,
and the Holy
Spirit equal in
every divine
perfection, and
executing
distinct but
harmonious
offices in the
great work of
redemption.
(Exod. 20:2-3; I
Cor. 8:6; Rev.
4:11; I John
5:7; John
10:30; II Cor.
13:14)
ABOUT THE
HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that
the Holy Spirit
is a divine
person; equal
with God the
Father and God
the Son and of
the same nature;
that He was
active in
creation; that
in His relation
to the
unbelieving
world He
restrains the
evil one until
God's purpose is
fulfilled; that
He convicts of
sin, of
righteousness,
and of judgment;
that He bears
witness to the
truth of the
Gospel in
preaching and
testimony, that
He is the agent
of the New
Birth; that He
seals, baptizes,
endues, guides,
teaches,
witnesses,
sanctifies and
helps the
believer. (John
14:16-17; Matt.
28:19; Heb.
9:14; John
14:26; Luke
1:35; Gen.
1:1-3; II Thess.
2:7; John
16:8-11; John
15:26-27; Acts
5:30;11:16; Luke
24:49; John
16:13; John
14:26; Rom.
8:14; II Thess
2:13; I
Pet. 1:2; Rom.
8:26-27; Rom.
8:16)
THE DEVIL,
OR SATAN
We believe in
the reality and
personality of
Satan, the
Devil; and that
he was created
by God as an
angel but
through pride
and rebellion
became the enemy
of his Creator;
that he became
the unholy god
of this age and
the ruler of all
the powers of
darkness and is
destined to the
judgment of an
eternal justice
in the lake of
fire.
(Matt.4:1-11; II
Cor. 4:4; Rev.
20:10)
CREATION
We believe the
Biblical account
of the creation
of the physical
universe,
angels, and
man; that this
account is
neither allegory
nor myth, but a
literal,
historical
account of the
direct creative
acts of God
without any
evolutionary
process; that
man was created
by a direct work
of God and not
from previously
existing forms
of life; and
that all men are
descended from
the historical
Adam and Eve,
first parents of
the entire human
race.(Gen.1,2;
Col. 1:16; John
1:3)
THE FALL
OF MAN
We believe that
man was created
in innocence (in
the image and
likeness of God)
under the law of
his Maker, but
by voluntary
transgression,
Adam fell from
his sinless and
happy state, and
all men sinned
in him, in
consequence of
which all men
are totally
depraved, are
partakers of
Adam's fallen
nature, and are
sinners by
nature and by
conduct and
therefore are
under just
condemnation
without defense
or excuse. (Gen.
1:26-27; Gen.
3:1-6; Rom.
3:10-19;
5:12,19;
1:18,32)
THE VIRGIN
BIRTH
We believe that
Jesus Christ was
begotten of the
Holy Spirit in a
miraculous
manner; born of
Mary, a virgin,
as no other man
was ever born or
can ever be born
of woman, and
that He is both
the Son of God,
and God the Son.
(Gen.3:15; Isa.
7:14; Matt.
1:18-25; Luke
1:35; John 1:14)
SALVATION
We believe that
the salvation of
sinners is
divinely
initiated and
wholly of grace
through the
mediatorial
offices of Jesus
Christ, the Son
of God, who, by
the appointment
of the Father,
voluntarily took
upon Himself our
nature, yet
without sin, and
honored the
divine law by
His personal
obedience, thus,
qualifying
Himself to be
our Savior; that
by the shedding
of His blood in
His death, He
fully satisfied
the just demands
of a holy and
righteous God
regarding sin;
that His
sacrifice
consisted not in
setting us an
example by His
death as a
martyr, but was
a voluntary
substitution of
Himself in the
sinners' place,
the Just dying
for the unjust,
Christ the Lord
bearing our sins
in His own body
on the tree;
that having
risen from the
dead He is now
enthroned in
Heaven and
uniting in His
wonderful person
the tenderest
sympathies with
divine
perfection,
being in every
way qualified to
be a
suitable, a
compassionate
and
all-sufficient
Savior. We
believe that
personal faith
in the Lord
Jesus Christ is
the only
condition of
salvation;
repentance is a
change of mind
and purpose
toward God
prompted by the
Holy Spirit and
is an integral
part of saving
faith. Jonah
2:9; Eph. 2:8;
Acts
15:11;Romans
3:24,25;John
3:16; Matt.
18:11; Phil.
2:7,8; Heb.
2:14-17; Isa.
53:4-7; I John
4:10; I Cor.
15:3; II Cor.
5:21; I Peter
2:24)
THE
RESURRECTION AND
PRIESTHOOD OF
CHRIST
We believe in
the bodily
resurrection of
Christ and in
His ascension
into Heaven,
where He now
sits at the
right hand of
the Father as
our High Priest
interceding for
us. (Matt.
28:6-7; Luke
25:39; John
20:27; I Cor.
15:4; Mark 16:6;
Luke 25:2-6, 5l;
Acts 1:9-11;
Rev.3:21; Heb.
8:6; 12:2; 7:25;
I Tim. 2:5; I
John 2:1; Heb.
2:17; 5:9-10)
GRACE AND
THE NEW BIRTH
We believe that
in order to be
saved, sinners
must be born
again; that the
new birth is a
new creation in
Christ Jesus;
that it is
instantaneous
and not a
process; that in
the new birth
the one dead in
trespasses and
in sins is made
a partaker of
the divine
nature and
receives eternal
life, the free
gift of God;
that the new
creation is
brought about by
our sovereign
God in a manner
above our
comprehension,
solely by the
power of the
Holy Spirit in
connection with
divine truth, so
as to secure our
voluntary
obedience to the
gospel; that its
proper evidence
appears in the
holy fruits of
repentance,
faith and
newness of life.
(John 3:3; II
Cor. 5:17; I
John 5:1; Acts
16:20-33; II
Pet. 1:4; Rom.
6:23; Eph.
2:1,5; Col.
2:13; John 3:8)
JUSTIFICATION
We believe that
justification is
that judicial
act of God
whereby He
declares the
believer
righteous upon
the basis of the
imputed
righteousness of
Christ; that it
is bestowed, not
in consideration
of any works of
righteousness
which we have
done, but solely
through faith in
the Redeemer's
shed blood.
(Rom. 2:24; 4:5;
5:1,9; Gal.
2:16; Phil. 3:9)
SANCTIFICATION
We believe that
sanctification
is the divine
setting apart of
the believer
unto God
accomplished in
a threefold
manner; first,
an eternal act
of God, based
upon redemption
in Christ,
establishing the
believer in a
position of
holiness at the
moment he trusts
the Savior;
second, a
continuing
process in the
saint as the
Holy Spirit
applies the Word
of God to the
life; third, the
final
accomplishment
of the process
at the Lord's
return. (Heb.
10:10-14; 3:1;
John 17:17; II
Cor. 1:30;Eph.
5:25-27; I
Thess. 4:3,4;
5:23,24; I John
3:2; Jude
24,25;Rev.
22:11; II Cor.
3:18)
THE LOCAL
CHURCH
We believe that
a local church
is an organized
congregation of
immersed
believers
associated by
covenant of
faith and
fellowship of
the gospel;
observing the
ordinances of
Christ; governed
by His laws; and
exercising the
gifts, rights
and privileges
invested in them
by His Word;
that its
officers are
Pastor and
Deacons, whose
qualifications,
claims and
duties are
clearly defined
in the
Scriptures. We
believe that the
true mission of
the church is
the faithful
witnessing of
Christ to all
men as we have
opportunity. We
hold that the
local church has
the absolute
right of
self-government
free from the
interference of
any hierarchy of
individuals or
organizations;
and that the one
and only
superintendent
is Christ
through the Holy
Spirit; that it
is scriptural
for true
churches to
cooperate with
each other in
contending for
the faith and
for the
furtherance of
the gospel; that
each local
church is the
sole judge of
the measure and
method of its
cooperation,
that on all
matters of
membership, of
polity, of
government, of
discipline, of
benevolence, the
will of the
local church is
final.(I Cor.
11:2; Acts
20:17-28; I Tim.
3:1-13; Acts
2:41-42)We
believe in the
unity of all New
Testament
believers in the
Church which is
the Body of
Christ. (I Cor.
12:12,13;Eph.
1:22,23; 3:1-6;
4:11; 5:23; Col.
1:18; Acts
15:13-18)
BAPTISM
AND THE LORD'S
SUPPER
We believe that
Christian
baptism is the
immersion of a
believer in
water to show
forth in a
solemn and
beautiful emblem
of our faith and
identification
with the
crucified,
buried, and
risen Savior,
through Whom we
died to sin and
rose to a new
life; that
baptism is to be
performed under
the authority of
the local
church; and that
it is
prerequisite to
the privileges
of church
membership.
Baptism is an
act of obedience
by the believer
to God's
command, but is
not necessary to
salvation. We
believe that the
Lord's Supper is
the
commemoration of
His death until
He comes, and
should be
preceded always
by solemn
self-examination.
We believe that
the Biblical
order of the
ordinances is
baptism first
and then the
Lord's Supper,
and that
participants in
the Lord's
Supper should be
immersed
believers.
(Acts
8:36,38,39; John
3:23; Rom.
6:3-5; Matt.
3:16; Col. 2:12;
I Cor. ll:23-28;
Matt. 28:18-20;
Acts 2:41,42)
SEPARATION
We believe in
obedience to the
Biblical command
of separation.
This includes
personal
separation unto
God from
worldliness. It
also includes
separation from
ecclesiastical
apostasy and the
ecumenical
movement. (II
Cor. 6:14-7:1; I
Thess. 1:9,10; I
Tim. 6:3-5; Rom.
16:17; II John
9-11; Eph. 5:11;
Psalm 1:1; Rom.
12:1,2; I John
2:15; Jude 4)
SECURITY OF
THE SAINTS
We believe in
the eternal
security of the
saints; that all
who are truly
born again are
kept by God the
Father for Jesus
Christ; that
once saved it is
impossible for
the believer to
lose or
relinquish his
salvation.
(Phil. 1:6; John
10:28,29; Rom.
8:35-39; Jude 1;
Heb. 6:4-6; John
6:39,40)
THE
RIGHTEOUS AND
THE WICKED
We believe that
there is a
radical and
essential
difference
between the
righteous and
the wicked; that
only those who
are justified by
faith in our
Lord Jesus
Christ and
sanctified by
the Spirit of
our God are
truly righteous
in His esteem;
while all such
as continue in
impenitence and
unbelief are in
His sight wicked
and under the
curse; and this
distinction
holds among men
both in and
after death, in
the everlasting
felicity of the
saved and the
everlasting
conscious
suffering of the
lost in the lake
of fire. (Mal.
3:18; Gen.
18:23; Rom.
6:17,18; I John
5:19; Rom. 7:6;
6:23;
Prov.14:32; Luke
16:25; Matt.
25:34-41; John
8:21; Rev.
20:14,15)
CIVIL
GOVERNMENT
We believe that
civil government
is of divine
appointment for
the interests
and good order
of human
society; that
those in
authority are to
be prayed for,
conscientiously
honored and
obeyed, except
in those things
opposed to the
will of our Lord
Jesus Christ,
who is the only
Lord of the
conscience and
the coming King
of kings. (Rev.
19:16; Rom.
13:1-7; II Sam.
23:3; Exod.
18:21,22; Acts
23:5; Matt.
22:21; Acts
5:29; 4:19,20;
Dan. 3:17,18)
ISRAEL
We believe in
the sovereign
selection of
Israel as God's
eternal covenant
people, though
now dispersed
because of her
disobedience and
rejection of
Christ, she is
being preserved
to be regathered
to her land
where believing
Jews will
recognize and
embrace their
Messiah. (Gen.
13:14-17; Rom.
9:10,11; Ezek.
37)
THE
RAPTURE AND
SUBSEQUENT
EVENTS
We believe in
the pre-tribulational
and
pre-millennial
return of
Christ, an event
which can occur
at any moment,
and that at that
moment the dead
in Christ shall
be raised in
glorified
bodies, and the
living in Christ
shall be given
glorified bodies
without tasting
death, and all
shall be caught
up to meet the
Lord in the air.
(I Thess.
4:13-18; I Cor.
15:42-44, 51-54;
Phil. 3:20,21;
Rev. 3:10) We
believe that the
Tribulation,
which follows
the rapture of
the church, will
be culminated by
the revelation
of Christ in
power and great
glory to sit
upon the throne
of David and to
establish the
millennial
kingdom. (Dan.
9:25-27; Matt.
24:29-31; Luke
1:30-33; Isa.
9:6,7; 11:1-9;
Acts 2:29,30;
Rev. 20:1-4,6)
MARRIAGE,
THE FAMILY AND
DIVORCE
1) On
Marriage: We
believe that
marriage is
ordained of God
for mankind's
welfare and
happiness (Gen.
1:28; 2:18;
Prov.5:18,19)
that the
institution of
marriage was
honored by the
Lord Jesus
Christ in word
(Matt. 19:6) and
in deed (John
2:1-11), that
the marriage bed
is honorable
(Heb. 13:4) and
that, for the
believer,
marriage is to
be "in the Lord"
and only to
another
believer. (II
Cor.6:14; I Cor.
7:39)
2) On the
Family: We
believe that the
family is the
most basic unit
of society and
that in each
individual case,
it is initially
formed only
within the bonds
of marriage.
Later, as God
wills, children
may be added to
the family (Ps.
127:3-5). God's
order of
authority in the
Christian family
is Christ, the
Head; followed
by the husband
or father, then
the wife or
mother and
finally, the
children. It is
only when these
are in proper
scriptural
balance that the
family becomes
all that God
intended it to
be. (Eph. 5:21;
6:4; Col.
3:18-21; Exod.
20:12)
3) On Divorce:
We believe that
from the
beginning, God
never intended
for man and wife
to either be
separated or
divorced. (Gen.
2:24; Matt.
19:6) This
continues to be
His perfect will
and pattern,
even to the
selection of
marriage as
being the only
human example or
type of the
eternal blessed
and unbroken
union of the
believer with
his Savior.
(Eph. 5:25-32)
However, with
the fall of man
and the sure
consequences of
man living from
then on with a
fallen or sinful
nature, God
recognized what
is and commanded
Moses to
authorize the
"bill of
Divorcement"
because of the
hardness of the
human heart.
(Deut. 24:1-4;
Matt. 19:7-8)
Speaking within
the dispensation
of law, Jesus
enlarged upon
the Law of Moses
by explaining
that this
authorization
was under the
permissive will
of God, and
except for
divorce on
account of
fornication, did
not condone the
remarriage of
either party,
calling such
action the
committing of
adultery in
violation of the
commandment
"Thou shalt not
commit
adultery".
(Matt. 19:9; Mk.
10:2-12) In
like manner, the
Lord, speaking
through Paul,
instructed the
wife not to
leave her
husband and the
husband not to
put away his
wife. (I
Cor.7:10-11) We
believe then
that divorce or
divorce and
remarriage is
contrary to
God's perfect
will and that
divorce and
remarriage
constitutes
adultery.
However, we
believe that the
attitude of the
local church
should be that
of ministering
in a forgiving
and Christ-like
spirit, and
seeking to
restore the
believer to
fellowship.
(Gal.6:1-3; Isa.
54:1-10; Jer.
3:1)
