In faith and unity, we proclaim this statement of Faith as an expression of our commitment to the teachings of the scriptures and to one another as members of the body of Christ. We, the members of Berea Baptist Church, declare our firm belief in the following core principles of our faith.
Section 1: The Triune God: We affirm the existence of one true God, eternally existing in three persons -God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. We acknowledge their divine unity and distinct roles in the creation, redemption, and sanctification of humanity.
Section 2: The Holy Scriptures: We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, revealing His divine will and providing guidance for living a righteous and godly life. We accept the Scriptures as the final authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
Section 3: Salvation by Grace: We acknowledge that salvation is solely by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. We recognize that all humanity is born sinful and stands in need of redemption. We receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life through repentance and faith in Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross.
Section 4: Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior: We confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the only Savior of humanity. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension to heaven and imminent return. We acknowledge His power and authority to renew hearts, transform lives, and reconcile us to God.
Section 5: The Holy Spirit: We affirm the personhood and work of the Holy Spirit who indwells and empowers believers, guiding and convicting them, producing spiritual fruit, and equipping them with spiritual gifts for ministry.
Section 6: The Church: We embrace the church as the Body of Christ, consisting of all believers across time and space. We affirm the importance of gathering in worship, fellowship, discipleship, and service. We affirm the autonomy of the local church while recognizing the unity and interdependence of the universal church.
Section 7: The Great Commission: We are committed to fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, proclaiming the Gospel to all nations, making disciples, baptizing believers, and teaching them to observe all Christ has commanded.
Section 8: The Future Hope: We anticipate the personal, bodily return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the saved and the lost, the final judgment, and the creation of a new heaven and new earth. We eagerly await the eternal fellowship with God in His glorious presence.
Deacons are appointed to care for the temporal needs of the church ministry, as they assist the elders (cf. Acts 6:1-6). They are not to assume any ruling authority.
Section 9: Satan: We believe Satan is a real being, the author of sin, and the direct cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he will eternally punish along with the fallen angels in the Lake of Fire (Gen. 3:1; Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:11-15).
Section 10: Eternity: We believe in the everlasting blessedness of the saved in a literal heaven (Rev. 21-22), and the everlasting punishment of the lost in a literal Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:11-15).
Section 11: Separation: We believe all Christians should live in a manner that does not bring reproach upon the Lord’s name, and that separation from religious apostasy and sinful practices is commanded by God (Rom. 12:1-2; 11 Cor. 6:17; 1 John 2: 15-17).
Section 12: Missions: We believe it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Matt. 5:16; 28:19-20; MK. 16:15; John 15:16).
Section 13: The Person and Work of Jesus Christ: We believe that the Lord Jesus, the eternal and only begotten Son of God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, became man without ceasing to be God (Phil. 2:5-8). Jesus Christ is a full deity because He is God and became fully human as a man. He did this in order He might reveal God in His righteousness and redeem man in his sinfulness (John 1:1; 14:9; Isa 7:14; 1 John 4:14).
This obligation is carried out, at home and abroad, by those who are believers. Thus, each believer is to be involved with the propagation of the gospel by actively being a witness, by actively engaging in biblical methods of spreading the gospel to the unreached, and by actively supporting those whom God has called to give their lives on the foreign locations of the field.
Section 14: Creation: We believe God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of the origin of the universe, earth, and mankind (Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11).
Section 15: Human Sexuality
- We believe that God has commanded that no sexual activity be engaged outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex (Gen., 2:24;19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1: 6:9;1 Thess. 4: 1-8; Heb. 13:4).
- We further believe that God created people as “male and female” (Gen. 1:27). These two-distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God and any attempt to remove the distinction of the genders is unbiblical. Therefore, all forms of transsexuality and transgenderism are man’s sinful rebellion against the plan and purpose of God.
- We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of a biological man and a biological woman (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23). For clarification, this statement refers to men (male) and women (female) as determined by their biology at birth.
- No church official, elder or pastor shall perform any wedding ceremony for anyone who does not conform to the above statement (point#13) and has not been a current active member of this church for the previous six months. No church property shall be used for any wedding ceremony that does not meet this qualification.
- We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God, but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be leaders (elders and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church as either elders or deacons (Gal. 3:23; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12).
Section 16: Divorce and Remarriage: We believe God intends marriage to be a lifetime commitment and desires it to last until a spouse dies. Divorce and remarriage are regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication (Matt. 5:32) or desertion by an unbelieving spouse (1 Cor. 7:15). If a divorce is according to biblical grounds, then remarriage is permitted (1 Cor. 7:27-28).
Section 17: Abortion: We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that teaches abortion of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable. I f an abortion is medically required to save the life of the mother, it then becomes a decision for the mother and father (Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; 139: 14-16; Isa. 44:24; 29; 1,5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44).