What We Believe

We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, 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 joy of the saved in heaven and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost in hell.

The following are the core beliefs of Central Baptist Church based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.

We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men supernaturally inspired; that it has truth without any admixture of error for its matter; and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man; the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.

By “The Holy Bible” we mean that collection of 66 books, from Genesis to Revelation, which as originally written does not only contain and convey the Word of God, but IS the very Word of God.

By “inspiration” we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy men of old, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, 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 inspired.

For uniformity purposes, the King James Version of the Bible will be used for teaching, preaching, and Bible memorization

We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, an 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 Ghost, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.

We believe that God, the Father, is an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death, all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.

We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son and the only way to God the Father.  He is true God and true man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.  We also believe in His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on behalf of His people, and His personal, visible, imminent return to earth.

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 the 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 judgment and of righteousness; that He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the new birth; that He seals, equips, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps the believer.

We believe that Satan was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honors, but that through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell and drew after him a host of angels; that he is now the malignant prince of the power of the air, and the unholy god of this world.  We hold him to be man’s great tempter, the enemy of God and His Christ, and accuser of the saints, the author of all false religions, the chief power back of the present apostasy; the lord of the antichrist, and the author of all powers of darkness – destined however to final defeat at the hands of God’s own Son, and to the judgment of an eternal justice in hell, a place prepared for him and his angels.

We believe in the Genesis account of creation, and that it is to be accepted literally, and not allegorically or figuratively; that man was created directly in God’s own image and after His own likeness; that man’s creation was not a matter of evolutionary change of species, or development through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms, that all animal and vegetable life was made directly, and God’s established law was that they should bring forth only “after their kind.”

We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker,  but by voluntary transgression, fell from his sinless and happy state, in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint but by choice, and therefore under just condemnation without defense or excuse.

                 We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Ghost, in a miraculous
                    manner; born of Mary, a virgin, as no other man was ever born or ever can be
  born of a woman, and that He is both the Son of God, and God the Son.

We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace; through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, who by appointment of the Father, freely took upon Him our nature, yet without sin, honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins; that His atonement consisted not in setting us as an example by His death as a martyr, but was a voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner’s 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. He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, a compassionate and an all-sufficient Saviour.

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 in a manner above our comprehension, not by culture, not by character, nor by the will of man, but wholly and 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 and faith and newness of life.

We believe in God’s electing grace; that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the Gospel; that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial, penitent and obedient faith; and nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the Gospel; which rejection involves in him an aggravated condemnation.
 

We believe that the great Gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believer in Him is justification; that justification includes the pardon of sin, and the gift of eternal life on principles of righteousness;  that it is bestowed not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood, His righteousness is imputed to us.
 

We believe that repentance and faith are solemn obligations, and also are inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the quickening Spirit of God; thereby, being deeply convicted of our guilt, danger, and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession and supplication of mercy; at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ and openly confessing Him as our only and all-sufficient Saviour.

We believe that a Baptist church is a congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel, said church being understood to be the citadel and propagator of the divine and eternal grace; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its officers of ordination are pastors or elders, whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures; we believe the true mission of the church is found in the great Commission:  to make individual disciples; to build up the church; to teach and instruct as He has commanded.  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 the true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; that ever church is the sole and only judge of the measure of policy, of government, of discipline, of benevolence; the will of the local church is final.

We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer; in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, with the authority of the local church, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried and risen Saviour, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life, that it is pre-requisite to the privileges of a church relation and to the Lord’s supper; in which the church, by the sacred use of bread and the fruit of the vine is to commemorate together the dying love of Christ; preceded always by solemn self-examination.

We believe that such only are real believers as endure unto the end; that their preserving attachment  to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors; that a special Providence watches over their welfare; and that they are kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal salvation.

We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, 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 joy of the saved in heaven and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost in hell.

We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interest and good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayed for and conscientiously honored; that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions:  1) the home; 2) the church; and 3) the state.  Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word.  God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other.  The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God.

 We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations.

We believe in and accept the sacred Scriptures upon these subjects at their face and full value.  Of the  resurrection, we believe that Christ arose bodily “the third day according to the Scriptures,” and that He alone is our “merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God;” “that this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven” – bodily, personally and visibly; that the “dead in Christ shall rise first,” that the living saints “shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump;” that the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David; and that “Christ shall reign a thousand years in righteousness until He hath put all enemies under His feet.”