Statement of Faith

This Church accepts the “Baptist Faith and Message 2000”, as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention, as a general statement of our faith. Consistent with statement, we further articulate the following beliefs: this statement of faith does not exhaust all of our beliefs:

  • God is one being, God is three in person, and Each person is fully God.

    With in the one Being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and coeternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. (Genesis 1:1-2; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19).

  • Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Fully God and fully man, He lived a sinless life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords (Genesis 1:1-2; Matthew 1:23; John 1:1-5; Hebrews 4:14-15; I Corinthians 15:3-4; I Timothy 6:14-15; Acts 1:9-11).

  • The Holy Spirit is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. As Christians, we seek to live under His control daily and to be filled with His presence and power. We believe the gifts of the Spirit are available to believers today (Genesis 1:1-2; 1 Corinthians 3:16; John 16:7-13; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; I Corinthians 12).

  • The 66 books of the Bible are the unique, written Word of God. The Bible is divinely inspired, inerrant, infallible, supremely authoritative, and sufficient in everything it teaches. Its assertions are factually true in all the original autographs. Its authority is not limited to spiritual, religious, or redemptive themes but includes its assertions in such fields as history and science (Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Revelation 22:18-19).

    The Final guide to the interpretation of Scripture is Scripture itself (Proverbs 8:8-9; Matthew 12:3-5, 19:4, 22:31; Mark 7:13, 12:10, 12:26; Luke 6:3; 2 Corinthians 4:2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

    All things necessary for our salvation are expressly and clearly taught in Scripture (foundation of the gospel: Genesis 1:1, 1:31, 3:17-19; Romans 5:12, 3:23; presenting the gospel: 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 6:23, 10:9; John 3:14-18; Acts 16:30-31; Ephesians 2:8; Romans 5:1-2).

  • Mankind, consisting of two genders (male and female), is created in the image of God. Each of these two distinct, complementary genders reflects the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27, 5:2, 9:6; Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:6; 1 Corinthians 11:7; James 3:9-10).

    The special and unique creation of Adam from dust and Eve from Adam’s rib was supernatural and immediate. Adam and Eve did not originate from any other preexisting lifeforms (Genesis 2:7, 2:21-23, 3:19; 1 Corinthians 11:8-12, 15:47-49).

    All human life is sacred and begins as conception (defined as the moment of fertilization). Each unborn child is a unique, living human being, created in the image of God, and must be respected and protected both before and after birth. The abortion of an unborn child or the active, intentional taking of human life through euthanasia or assisted suicide constitutes a violation of the sanctity of human life and is a crime against God and man (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17; Psalm 51:5; 1 Corinthians 15:49; James 2:11)

    There is only one race of mankind, (the human race or Adam’s race). Adam and Eve were the first two humans. All people alive today are the descendants of Adam and Eve and subsequently Noah (Genesis 1:26-27, 3:20, 10:1, 10:32; 1 Corinthians 15:45-47; Luke 17:27; Hebrews 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5).

    The only legitimate marriage, based on the creation ordinance in Genesis 1 and 2, sanctioned by God is the joining of one naturally born man and one naturally born woman in a single, exclusive union as delineated in Scripture. God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other and has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. Any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, prostitution, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography, abuse, or any attempt to change one’s gender, or disagreement with one’s biological gender is sinful and offensive to God (Genesis 1:27-28, 2:24; Matthew 5:27-30, 19:4-5; Mark 10:2-9; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7; Hebrews 13:4)

    Gender and biological sex are equivalent and cannot be separated. A person’s gender is determined at conception (fertilization), coded in the DNA, and cannot be changed by drugs, hormones, or surgery. Rejection of one’s biological (gender) or identifying oneself by the opposite sex is a sinful rejection of the way God made that person. These truths must be communicated with compassion, love, kindness, and respect, pointing everyone to the truth that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Genesis 1:26-28, 5:1-2; Psalm 51:5, 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 1:20-21, 19:4-6; Mark 10:6; Luke 1:31; Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 3:28).

  • The special creation of Adam (the first man) and Eve (the first woman) and their subsequent fall into sin is the basis for the necessity of salvation for mankind (Genesis 2:7, 2:17, 2:22-23, 3:6-20; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49).

    Human death (both physical and spiritual) as well as all animal death, disease bloodshed, suffering, extinction, thorns and thistles, and all other natural evils (e.g., earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc.) entered this world subsequent to, and as a direct consequence of, man’s sin (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:8, 3:19, 4:4-8; Romans 5:12, 8:20-22; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

    All mankind are sinners, inherently from Adam and individually (by choice), and are therefore subject to God’s wrath and condemnation (1 Kings 8:46; Isaiah 53:6; Psalm 116:11; Proverbs 16:5; John 3:16-18, 12:48; Romans 3:23).

    Since all of mankind is made in God’s image and also fallen, all humans are equally sinful, equally deserving of eternal punishment, and equally able to receive salvation in Christ (Isaiah 53:6; John 12:32; Romans 3:23, 5:12; 2 Peter 3:9)

  • The doctrines of Creator and Creation cannot ultimately be divorced from the gospel of Jesus Christ (John 1:1-3, 1:14-18; Colossians 1:13-20).

    Freedom from the penalty and power of sin is available to man only through the sacrificial death and shed blood of Jesus Christ and His complete and bodily resurrection from the dead (Luke 24:39; John 8:12, 8:36, 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:3-6; 1 Peter 1:3).

    Salvation is by God’s grace alone, a gift received by faith alone in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-7).

    The one who is born of God has repented, recognized the death of Christ as full payment for sin, and received the risen Christ as Savior, Lord, and God (John 1:12-13; Acts 3:19, 16:31, 17:30-31, 20:21; Galatians 2:20-21; 1 John 3:9).

  • All Followers of Jesus Christ will raptured (or carried away) before the tribulation of the world begins and will be with God seven years in heaven before Jesus returns (Isaiah 26:19-21; Matthew 24:36-44; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

    Our Lord Jesus Christ will personally and bodily return in glory as He has promised, and He will consummate His kingdom. Christ will judge the living and the dead at His appearing (John 6:39-40, 12:48; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Peter 4:5)

    All shall be raised from the dead: those who have died in Christ to eternal life in heaven and those who have rejected Him to conscious and everlasting punishment in the lake of fire (hell) (Daniel 12:2; Matthew 13:49-50, 25:41-46; Luke 12:5; 1 Corinthians 15:12-26; Revelation 21:8).

    Satan, who is a personal spiritual adversary of both God and mankind, will be judged and cast into the lake of fire (hell) for eternity (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10).

  • People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence (John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:17-18; Revelation 20:15).

For more information about what we believe, contact our church secretary at: pinegrovesecretary@gmail.com