Southern Baptist have prepared a statement of generally held
convictions called the Baptist Faith and Message. Here is a brief summary.
If you would like a complete copy of the Baptist Faith and Message, you may
request one by emailing us at: pastorbob@calvarysbcnp.com
and one will be sent to you at no charge.
God
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There is one and only one living and true God...the eternal
God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct
personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being. |
God the Father
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God, as Father, reigns with providential care over His
universe, His creatures and the flow of the stream of human history
according to the purposes of His grace...God is Father in truth to those
who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. |
God the Son
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Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation
as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the
virgin Mary...He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in
His death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from
sin. |
God the
Holy Spirit
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The Holy Spirit is the spirit of God...He exalts
Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment...He
enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism
and service. |
The Scriptures
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The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is
the record of God's revelation of Himself to man...It has God for it's
author, salvation for it's end and truth, without any mixture of error,
for it's matter...The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is
Jesus Christ. |
Man
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Man was created by the special act of God, in His own image,
and is the crowning work of His creation...By his free choice man sinned
against God and brought sin into the human race...The sacredness of human
personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in
that Christ died for human kind; therefore every person possesses dignity and is
worthy of respect and Christian love. |
Salvation
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Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is
offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by
His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In it's
broadest sense, salvation includes regeneration, sanctification and
glorification. |
The Church
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A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local
body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and
fellowship of the Gospel...And seeking to extend the Gospel to the ends of
the earth...This church is an autonomous body...The New Testament speaks
also of the church as the body of Christ which includes all of the
redeemed of all the ages. |
Baptism and the Lord's Supper
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Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in
water...It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a
crucified, buried and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the
burial of the old life and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in
Christ Jesus...The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby
believers...memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His
second coming. |
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