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| A. THE SCRIPTURES: |
| We believe that the Holy Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, was written by men divinely inspired
and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that is has God for its author, salvation for its end, and it is the absolute truth without error,
that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us. It is and shall remain the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by
which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tried. These scriptures are known as the Kings James Authorized Version 1611 A.D. (Psalms
12:6-7; 119:89; II Timothy 3:15-16). |
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| B. THE TRUE GOD: |
| We believe that there is one, and only one,
living and true God; and infinite, intelligent Spirit whose name is JEHOVAH,
the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; that He is
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 Spirit - equal in every divine
perfection and executing distinct, but harmonious offices in the great work
of redemption. (Exodus 15:11; Psalms 83:16; John 1:1-3; I John 5:7) |
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| C. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: |
| We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the manifestation of God in the flesh; that he was conceived by the
Holy Ghost and born of the virgin Mary; that he is both the true God and
true man. (Matthew 1:18-21; John 8:58; John 10:30, I Timothy 3:16; Hebrews
1:8) |
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| D. THE HOLY SPIRIT: |
| We believe in the Holy Spirit of God; coequal
with God, He is a person, the third member of the Trinity, His present
ministries include magnifying the Lord Jesus Christ, convincing the world of
sin, righteousness, and judgment; comforting and teaching believers, and
edifying the Body of Christ. We at Camden Baptist Church do not
believe in, and we are totally opposed to this present-day charismatic
movement; we also believe that it is a very dangerous counterfeit of the
real ministries of the Holy Spirit. (John 16:7; Acts 5:1-4) |
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| E. MAN: |
| We believe that man was created in the image of
God that he sinned and thereby incurred spiritual and physical death.
We believe that without exception all men are sinners and have need of the
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:7; Romans 5:12-18) |
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| F. SALVATION: |
| We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for
our sins, was buried and rose again the third day according to the
Scriptures. He was and is our substitutionary and vicarious atonement
for sin. We believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ; that
He ascended bodily into heaven, is seated on the right hand of the Father,
and ever liveth to make intercession for all born-again believers, thus
making them eternally secure. (Romans 8:33-39; II Corinthians 1:21-22;
Ephesians 1:13; I Timothy 2:5; Heb 7:22-25) |
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| G. THE FREENESS OF SALVATION: |
| We believe 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 that nothing
prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own voluntary
rejection of the Gospel, which rejection involves him in an aggravated
condemnation. (John 3:19; John 5:40; Romans 16:25-26) |
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| H. JUSTIFICATION: |
| We believe that the great Gospel blessing,
which Christ secures to such as believe in Him, is justification; that
justification includes the pardon of sin and the promise of eternal life in
principles of righteousness; that it is bestowed not in consideration of any
work of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the
Redeemer's blood, by virtue of which His perfect righteousness is freely
imputed to us of God. (John 1:16; Acts 13:39; Romans 4:4-5; Romans
5:1,2,9) |
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| I. SANCTIFICATION: |
| We believe that sanctification is the process
by which, according to the will of God, we are made partakers of His
holiness; that it is a progressive work; that it is begun in regeneration;
and that it is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and
power of the Holy spirit, the Sealer and Comforter, in the continual use of
the appointed means - especially the Word of God, self-examination,
self-denial, watchfulness, and prayer (I Thessalonians 4:3; I John 2:29)
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| J. SEPARATION: |
| We believe that believers should be separated
from the world while being present in the world; that he should abstain from
all appearances of evil as a testimony to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ; that the local church should maintain a position of separation for
all forms of apostasy, modernism, ecumenism and any other departure from the
written principles of the word of God. (I Thessalonians 5:22; II Timothy
2:15-18; II Timothy 4:1-3; Titus 1:9-11; Titus 2:10-15) |
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| K. THE RETURN OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: |
| We believe in Christ's personal, imminent,
pre-tribulation return for the church. This "RAPTURE" removes the
church before God's wrath is poured out on the earth during the great
tribulation. We also believe in the pre-millennial return of Christ
after the tribulation to set up His 1000 year reign on earth. (John 14:1-3;
Philippians 3:20; I Thessalonians 4:13-18) |
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| L. DISPENSATIONS: |
| We believe in the dispensational division of
the Scriptures as a basis for study. (II Timothy 2:15) |
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| M. THE LOCAL CHURCH: |
| We believe that a visible church of Christ is a
congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and
the fellowship of the Gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ, governed
by His laws, and exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in
them by His Word; that its only Scriptural officers are Pastors and Deacons.
This church is an independent local autonomy, governed internally and
responsible only to the Lord Jesus Christ. Its ministries include
glorifying the Savior, edifying the saints, and evangelizing the world for
Christ. (Matthew 16:18; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:47; Acts 14:23; Acts 20:28;
Romans 16:5; Ephesians 1:22; Ephesians 5:23) |
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| N. GIVING: |
| We believe that every Christian, as a steward
of that portion of God's wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support
his local church financially. We believe that God has established the
tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other
offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the Church, to
relief those in need, and to spread the Gospel. We believe that a
Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the ultimate use of the tithe or
offering once the gift has been made. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; I
Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; I
Timothy 5:17-18) |
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| O. MISSIONS: |
| 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 and not wait
for them to come to us. Our ambassadorship must include an effort to
win the lost locally as well. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48;
John 20:21; II Corinthians 11:26-28) |
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| P. BAPTISM AND THE LORD'S SUPPER: |
| We believe that the Christian baptism is the
immersion in water of a believer, in the name of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in
the crucified, buried, and risen Savior with its effect in our death to sin
and resurrection to a new life. We believe that the Lord's Supper, in
which the members of the church by the use of bread and new wine are to
commemorate together the dying love of Christ, is to be preceded always with
solemn self-examination. (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:4-5; I Corinthians
11:26-28) |
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| Q. CIVIL GOVERNMENT: |
| We believe that civil government is of divine
appointment for the interests and good order of human society, and that
magistrates are to be prayed for conscientiously honored and obeyed, except
only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, as set forth in
His word, who is the only Lord of kings of the earth. (Matthew 22:21;
Matthew 23:9-10; Acts 28-29; Romans 13:1-7) |
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| R. MEMBERSHIP: |
| A person must give satisfactory testimony of
his/her salvation to qualify for membership. He/She must trust in the
shed blood of Jesus Christ, and that alone to redeem them from their sin.
They must also be, or have been baptized by immersion, after being saved.
They must express agreement with the teaching and ministry of this church.
(Ephesians 2:13; I John 1:7) |
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| S. DISCIPLINE OF MEMBERS: |
| Personal difficulties that harm the ministry
and fellowship of this church. (Ex) I Corinthians 5:9-11. Those who
attempt to teach heresy as a doctrine or rebel against that pastoral
authority that God has set before you. (Hebrews 13:17; I Thessalonians
5:12-14; I Peter 5:5; Hebrews 13:7) |
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| AUTHORITY OF THE STATEMENT OF FAITH |
| The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our Faith.
The A.V. 1611 BIBLE itself is the sole and final source of all that we
believe. |
