” . . .a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,”
(Luke 1:1)
PURPOSE
The purpose of Shoalhaven Baptist Church is to bring glory to God as we fulfil the Great Commission given by the Lord Jesus Christ. This will be accomplished by the edification of Christians through the teaching and preaching of God’s Word, the salvation of souls, the world-wide proclamation of gospel of Jesus Christ, the promotion of Godly worship, and the defence of “. . .the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 3)
DECLARATION OF FAITH
A. THE SCRIPTURES:
We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Scriptures, including both the Old and New Testaments. We believe the original autographs are inspired and that God has and will preserve His word for us. We believe the Scriptures are sufficient as our infallible, inerrant authority for faith and practice in all matters of the church and of individual daily living.
(II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:20-1; Jn. 6:63; Prov. 30:5-6; Jn. 17:17; Heb. 4:12, Ps. 12:6-7, Mt. 24:35, Rev. 22:18)
B. GOD THE FATHER:
We believe in the one true God as revealed in the Bible, who is Spirit, infinite and eternal, sovereign and holy. We believe God is omniscient, omni-present, omnipotent, and immutable and that He is perfect in holiness, righteousness and love. We believe in the Trinity, meaning one God with three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are identical in essence and attributes and equal in power and authority, yet separate in personality. We believe God created all things by a direct act as recorded in Genesis and He upholds all things by His power.
(Deut. 6:4, Psalm 90:2, Rev. 1:8, Mt. 3:16-17, 28:19-20, I Peter 1:2, Gen. 1:1,26, II Cor. 13:14, Jn. 4:24, Ps. 147:5, Ps. 139:7-8, Job 42:2, Heb. 6:17, James 1:17, Isaiah 6:3, I Jn 4:8, Jn. 4:24)
C. JESUS CHRIST:
We believe that Jesus Christ is God, the only begotten Son, equal with the Father. We believe He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and took upon Himself the form of man without changing His divine nature. We believe Jesus Christ lived a perfect sinless life and died a vicarious death to make full atonement for man’s sin, giving His life voluntarily as the perfect Lamb of God, that He was buried, rose again on the third day bodily, ascended into heaven where He makes intercession for us, and will return for His church (the pretribulational, premillennial Rapture) and later to set up His kingdom.
(Jn. 1:1-2, 14, Mt. 1:20, 23, Phil 2:6-7, Jn. 10:30, 20:28, 4:24, Acts 13 :33-34, Micah 5:2, Is. 7:14, Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:19, Heb. 13:8, Rev. 1:8, Rom. 3:24-25, I Cor. 15:3-4, Heb. 1:3,5,8, 4:14-15 I Jn. 2:1-2, I Tim. 2:5, I Pet. 1:19)
D. THE HOLY SPIRIT:
We believe the Holy Spirit is God, co-equal with the Father and Son and of the same nature. We believe the Holy Spirit convicts the unregenerate person of sin, righteousness and judgment and at salvation He regenerates, indwells, seals and justifies the believer. We believe the Holy Spirit empowers for service, guides into truth by illuminating the Scriptures, teaches, sanctifies, and fills believers as they surrender to Him daily. We believe the Holy Spirit gives each believer at least one spiritual gift but no longer gives the temporary sign gifts (miracles, healing, tongues and their interpretations) but that they were a sign to the Jews until the completion of the canon of Scripture, to validate the ministry of the apostles.
(Jn. 4:24, Acts 1:5,5:3-4, Jn. 3:3-6, Jn 14:26, 16:8, 13, Titus 3:5, Rom. 8:14-16, 15:16, I Cor. 3:16, 2:14, 6:19, Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30, 5:18, Rom 8:9, 26, I Cor. 12:1-4, 13, 14:22-23, Mk. 16:17-20, Heb. 2:4, I Jn. 5:7)
E. MAN:
We believe that man was created in the image of God in a state of innocence, but fell through wilful disobedience to God, becoming alienated from God and inheriting a sin nature, which is passed upon all men. We believe man is born a sinner, and under just condemnation of death, both physical and spiritual, without defence or excuse; that man is helpless in his lost condition apart from the grace of God.
(Gen. 1:25-27, Ps. 51:5, Rom 1:20; 3:10, 23; 5:12, 16-19; Jer. 17:9; Ps. 58:3)
F. SALVATION :
We believe salvation is a free gift of God, provided for the whole world by Christ’s bloodshed on the cross, and received by grace through repentance and faith in Christ’s death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection from the grave, apart from any works or virtue of man. We believe at salvation, a believer receives eternal life and is freed from the penalty of sin, is justified, becomes a son of God and is given all spiritual resources needed for life and godliness. We believe as a child of God, the believer is eternally secure in Jesus Christ, cannot lose his salvation, and is kept by the power of God.
(Rom. 6:23, Eph. 2:8-9, Jn. 3:16, Rom. 3:24-5, Eph. 1:7, Acts 4:12, Rom. 10:9-10, Titus 3:5, Jn. 1:12; 10:28, I Jn. 5:11-13, Rom. 8:33-39, Lk. 13:3, Heb. 9:22, Rom. 5:1, 8:1; Acts 17:30; 20:21; II Pet. 3:9; Jn. 14:6)
G. SATAN:
We believe in a real personal being called Satan or Lucifer, who was created by God but fell through pride to complete depravity, and now is the declared enemy of God and His children. We believe Satan is the great deceiver, a murderer and a liar, blinding the eyes of the unbelieving and is in continual warfare with believers. We believe Satan’s powers are vast but limited by God, that he was defeated on the cross and will be judged eternally in a literal Lake of Fire. We are to resist the devil and overcome him by the blood of the Lamb.
(Jn. 8:44, Mt. 4:1-11, Gen. 3:1-19, Is. 14:12-17, II Cor. 4:4, Eph. 6:11-12, Rev. 20:10, Job 1:6-7, I Pet. 5:8-9)
H. HEAVEN:
We believe in a literal heaven where God’s throne is and that Christ is preparing for His children. We believe at the moment of death or the Rapture, believers go to be with the lord in heaven to live there in eternal bliss.
(Jn. 14:1-3, Heb. 8:1, I Jn. 2:1, I Thes. 4:16-17, II Cor. 5:8; Rev. 21:16)
I. HELL:
We believe in a literal hell of everlasting fire and torment prepared for Satan and his angels. We believe the souls of unbelievers go to hell at death and remain in conscious misery until the second resurrection at which they will be judged (The Great White Throne Judgment) and cast body, soul and spirit into the lake of fire to suffer everlasting conscious punishment, not annihilation.
(Mt. 25:41,46, II Thes. 1:9, Rev. 20:11-15, Mk. 9:43-48, Lk. 16:23-4)
J. CREATION:
We believe in a literal creation of the universe from nothing as a direct act of Jesus Christ, and that the Genesis account is to be understood literally, not figuratively or allegorically.
We believe any evolutionary theory, theistic or atheistic, is contradictory to the Scriptures.
(Gen. 1-2, Ex. 20:11, Heb. 11:3, Jn. 1:1-3, Col. 1:16-17)
K. SEPARATION:
We believe that as a believer, we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has before ordained, that we walk in them. We believe that an evidence of salvation will be fruit, as a man becomes a new creature, or comes under the chastening hand of a loving Father. We believe many current theological trends discredit God’s Word and the fundamentals of the faith and should be repudiated, including Neo-orthodoxy, Neo-evangelism, the Ecumenical Movement and the Charismatic Movement.
(Eph. 2:8-10, Jn. 15:16, II Cor. 5:17, Heb. 12:5-8, II Cor. 6;14-18, I Cor. 14:33, 40, Eph. 5:11-12)
L. THE CHURCH:
We believe that a New Testament church is a local organised assembly of baptized believers, that it is God’s ordained program for this age and its mission is Jesus’ Great Commission including world evangelisation, the immersion of believers into a local assembly, and disciplining those believers. We believe Jesus Christ began his church during His earthly ministry, that He bought it with His own blood, and that He will come to claim it as His bride. We believe each church ought to be autonomous, indigenous and independent. We believe the church is headed by Christ, shepherded and administered by the pastor (overseer, elder, and shepherd), served by deacons as the pastor’s helpers and decisions are made by congregational vote. We believe the only scripturally ordained officers are pastors and deacons. We believe the church is to observe two ordinances established by Jesus Christ: baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
(Acts 2:41-42)
We believe baptism by immersion is:
- a step of obedience by which a believer becomes a member of a local assembly,
- a picture of death to self and walking in newness of life,
- identification with Jesus Christ in his death, burial and resurrection and;
- administered only in connection with a local New Testament church.
We believe the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of the shed blood and broken body of Jesus Christ symbolized by the grape juice (fruit of the vine) and unleavened bread. We believe it is to be taken by saved, baptized believers who desire and seek to identify with a local N.T. church:
- in remembrance of Christ,
- in anticipation of His soon return and;
- after self-examination and self-judgment of sin.
(Mt. 16:18, 28:18-20; Acts 20:28, 2:41-42; 6:3-6; Col. 1:18, I Tim. 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-13, Rom. 6:4-5; I Cor. 11:24-29, Mt. 26:26-29, 3:15-16, I Pet. 5)
M. THE SECOND COMING:
We believe in the imminent, personal, bodily pre-tribulational return of Jesus Christ for those dead and living in Christ to meet us in the air. We believe that after seven years He will return to the earth to defeat the armies of the Antichrist, cast Satan into the bottomless pit, and establish an earthly kingdom, ruling with a rod of iron on the throne of David for 1,000 years.
We believe all unbelievers will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment at which time eternal judgment for sin will be meted and then the New Jerusalem will come down from heaven where the saved will reign eternally with Christ.
(Rev. 21:1-2, 22:5, I Thes. 4:13-18, 5:9, Dan. 9:24-27, Rev. 19:15-16, 20:4, Mt. 24:30, Acts 1:11, Tit. 2:13)
N. THE HOLY INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE:
We believe that marriage is an honourable estate instituted of God in the time of man’s innocence, that it is the holy estate in which two persons of the opposite sex are bound together for life according to the law of God. We further believe that mixed marriages of believers and unbelievers are forbidden in scripture and that a pastor of this church will refuse to perform any marriage of this sort.
(Gen. 1:26-27, 2:23-24; Lev 18:22-25; Jud. 19:22-23; Matt 5:31-32, 19:7-10; Mark 10:2-12; Rom 1:26-32; II Cor. 6:14)
O. SCRIPTURAL AUTHORITY:
We acknowledge that we cannot summarize adequately the truths of Scripture in a brief statement as contained in this Declaration of Faith. Accordingly, we reaffirm that the Holy Scriptures are the supreme standard by which all questions of faith and practice must be tried.