Longheath Baptist Church Statement of Faith
The Church affirms the following statements as summarising the central doctrines of its faith:
a) The Bible
The Bible, or the Scriptures, comprises 66 books and is the inspired Word of God. It was brought about as the Holy Spirit guided each author perfectly to record history, laws, songs and teachings exactly as He wanted. The Word of God is uniquely authoritative and sufficient, reliably teaching the truth about God, mankind, the Gospel and every area of the Christian life without errors or contradictions. God has preserved His Word through accurate copies of the original manuscripts and faithful translations.
b) God
There is only one God, the God of the Bible. He is three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All other gods are false and their worship is idolatry. God has always existed as God and will never die. He is all powerful, present everywhere and knows everything. He brings about everything that happens according to His plans. He is holy and just and hates sin. God created everything and lovingly provides for His creation.
c) Mankind
All mankind is descended from the first two humans, made in the image of God and so uniquely sacred. Since the disobedience of Adam and Eve, all humanity has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and is therefore subject to God’s wrath and eternal conscious punishment. Our sin has made us spiritually dead and unwilling to obey God. God’s just penalty for our sin is eternal death and no amount of good works can buy our forgiveness. Nevertheless, God chose to raise a people for Himself called the Jews, giving them the Law, the sacrificial system pointing to Christ, and the Old Testament with its prophecies of the Messiah.
d) The Gospel
God knows that we are unable to save ourselves. Driven by merciful love, He gave us the covenant of grace, the gospel, the New Testament and the Holy Spirit. God the Father sent the Son to take on our human nature by being born of a virgin, to live a perfect life and declare the Kingdom of God. Jesus died a sacrificial death on the cross, rose again on the third day and ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father, one day to return to judge the world. This was all as God had planned before the foundation of the world and as the prophecies had foretold. Jesus’ death was substitutionary: He took the punishment for all who, enabled by the Holy Spirit, repent and put their faith in Him, so that everyone who believes will spend eternity in Heaven instead of Hell. Salvation is only by grace through faith and according to the foreknowledge of God. True repentance is remorse for sin that leads to a transformed attitude towards God. Saving faith is more than mental assent to the gospel, but also a personal commitment to Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord.
e) The Christian Life
All Christians are born again, adopted into God’s family. The Christian life is a daily spiritual battle with the world, the flesh and the devil but mercifully the Holy Spirit lives within every Christian from the moment they first believe, and He transforms their desires and actions to be more Christ-like. Christians are commanded by Jesus to show their new life through baptism and commit to a church where they can worship God, have fellowship, evangelise, care for the vulnerable (including unborn babies, children and vulnerable adults), learn, serve Him, contribute financially, pray and take communion. All prayer should only be to God and never to saints or angels. Communion bread and wine should be understood not to transform in substance. Occult activities are to have no place in the Christian life. Biblical marriage is to be understood and practised as the lawful union of one man and one woman and is the only place for sexual intimacy. Believers are to seek marriage partners ‘only in the Lord’. The Biblical view of gender is that God made us in his image with two sexes or genders (male and female) which are defined biologically at conception and cannot be altered. Love and compassion should be demonstrated by believers towards all, no matter what challenges they may face in terms of gender and sexuality. Finally, the Christian life is characterised by love for God and others, and holy living (including online). Therefore, believers are to make every effort in the Lord’s strength to replace all addictions and habitual sins with a godly lifestyle.
The Church affirms the following statements as summarising the central doctrines of its faith:
a) The Bible
The Bible, or the Scriptures, comprises 66 books and is the inspired Word of God. It was brought about as the Holy Spirit guided each author perfectly to record history, laws, songs and teachings exactly as He wanted. The Word of God is uniquely authoritative and sufficient, reliably teaching the truth about God, mankind, the Gospel and every area of the Christian life without errors or contradictions. God has preserved His Word through accurate copies of the original manuscripts and faithful translations.
b) God
There is only one God, the God of the Bible. He is three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All other gods are false and their worship is idolatry. God has always existed as God and will never die. He is all powerful, present everywhere and knows everything. He brings about everything that happens according to His plans. He is holy and just and hates sin. God created everything and lovingly provides for His creation.
c) Mankind
All mankind is descended from the first two humans, made in the image of God and so uniquely sacred. Since the disobedience of Adam and Eve, all humanity has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and is therefore subject to God’s wrath and eternal conscious punishment. Our sin has made us spiritually dead and unwilling to obey God. God’s just penalty for our sin is eternal death and no amount of good works can buy our forgiveness. Nevertheless, God chose to raise a people for Himself called the Jews, giving them the Law, the sacrificial system pointing to Christ, and the Old Testament with its prophecies of the Messiah.
d) The Gospel
God knows that we are unable to save ourselves. Driven by merciful love, He gave us the covenant of grace, the gospel, the New Testament and the Holy Spirit. God the Father sent the Son to take on our human nature by being born of a virgin, to live a perfect life and declare the Kingdom of God. Jesus died a sacrificial death on the cross, rose again on the third day and ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father, one day to return to judge the world. This was all as God had planned before the foundation of the world and as the prophecies had foretold. Jesus’ death was substitutionary: He took the punishment for all who, enabled by the Holy Spirit, repent and put their faith in Him, so that everyone who believes will spend eternity in Heaven instead of Hell. Salvation is only by grace through faith and according to the foreknowledge of God. True repentance is remorse for sin that leads to a transformed attitude towards God. Saving faith is more than mental assent to the gospel, but also a personal commitment to Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord.
e) The Christian Life
All Christians are born again, adopted into God’s family. The Christian life is a daily spiritual battle with the world, the flesh and the devil but mercifully the Holy Spirit lives within every Christian from the moment they first believe, and He transforms their desires and actions to be more Christ-like. Christians are commanded by Jesus to show their new life through baptism and commit to a church where they can worship God, have fellowship, evangelise, care for the vulnerable (including unborn babies, children and vulnerable adults), learn, serve Him, contribute financially, pray and take communion. All prayer should only be to God and never to saints or angels. Communion bread and wine should be understood not to transform in substance. Occult activities are to have no place in the Christian life. Biblical marriage is to be understood and practised as the lawful union of one man and one woman and is the only place for sexual intimacy. Believers are to seek marriage partners ‘only in the Lord’. The Biblical view of gender is that God made us in his image with two sexes or genders (male and female) which are defined biologically at conception and cannot be altered. Love and compassion should be demonstrated by believers towards all, no matter what challenges they may face in terms of gender and sexuality. Finally, the Christian life is characterised by love for God and others, and holy living (including online). Therefore, believers are to make every effort in the Lord’s strength to replace all addictions and habitual sins with a godly lifestyle.
