Pastor Smith's Doctrinal Statement

I.               BIBLIOLOGY

I believe the Holy Bible, consisting of 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, to be verbally and plenary inspired by God, the product of Spirit controlled men.  The original manuscripts are truth without admixture of error, and are therefore inerrant and infallible in faith, doctrine, and all other matters of which they speak. [I believe that God has providentially preserved for us an accurate and authoritative record of the text.] The Bible is the true center of Christian unity and the only rule of which human conduct, creeds, and opinion shall be tried. (Jn. 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:10-14; 14:37; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Pet. 2: 20, 21).

I believe the Scriptures must be interpreted in a literal, grammatical, contextual, and therefore dispensational manner, comparing Scripture with Scripture. [The Holy Spirit’s ministry is essential to the believer properly understanding the written word.

II.              THEOLOGY PROPER

            I believe that there is one and only one living and true God, the infinite, uncaused, and necessary Spirit, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love.  I believe God to be perfect in essence, possessing distinguishable attributes such as life, immutability, sovereignty, infinity, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, holiness, love, and truth. (Dt. 6:4; 1 Cor. 8:6; Jn. 17:3; Rev. 4:11; Jn. 4:24; 1 Kings 8:27; Js. 1:17; Ps. 135:6; Ps. 139; Jer. 23:23; Rev. 19:6; Is. 6:3; Dt. 32:4; Gen. 18:25).

            I believe there are, within the unity of the Godhead, three co-equal and co-eternal persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one in essence and each possessing the same attributes of deity. (Matt. 28:19; Acts 5:3,4; Jn. 1:1; 8:58).

III.            PNEUMATOLOGY

            I believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, equal in every way with God the Father and God the Son.  The Spirit was active in creation and is the preserver of the universe.  In relation to the unbelieving world, He restrains the Evil One until God’s purpose shall be fulfilled, and He reproves of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  In relation to believers, He is the agent of the second birth, regeneration, baptizing, indwelling, sealing, sanctifying, filling, and testifying to the truth.  The Spirit is the giver of gifts, both to the church universally (Eph. 3:11,12) and to believers individually (Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12).   The Holy Spirit is the author and interpreter of the written Word, and endued the early church with such revelatory gifts as were necessary (apostles, prophecy, tongues, miracles, healing) until the perfect revelation of the canon came.  In relation to Christ, the Spirit ministered in His conception and empowered Him for His earthly ministry and mission. (Gen. 1:2; Acts 5:3,4; Ps. 104:10-14, 30; Jn. 16:8; 14:16; Titus 3:5; Jn. 3:5; Gal. 3:27,28; 1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 8:9-11; Eph. 1:13; 4:30; Rom. 15:16 Eph. 5:18; 2 Cor. 1:21,22; 1 Jn. 2:20; 1 Cor. 12:11; Lk. 1:35; Acts 10:38; Heb. 9:14).

IV.            CHRISTOLOGY

            I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He is God the Son.  I believe in the virgin birth of Christ through which the eternal second person of the Godhead incarnated Himself in human flesh, at once fully God and fully man in one person.  I believe Christ humbled Himself by taking the form of a servant and veiling the expression of His pre-incarnate glory.  I believe that the impeccable person of Jesus Christ came to save His people from their sins, and became the Lamb of God who, through the shedding of His blood on Calvary, takes away the sin of the world, that He died, was buried, and on the third day bodily rose from the grave and ascended to the right hand of the Father where He lives to make intercession for His people.  I believe that Christ’s death is of such infinite value that it is fully sufficient to save every man should God have chosen to do so and that His power to save is in no way limited; I also believe that the sacrifice of Christ was not merely provisional, but was an actual vicarious substitution in the place of those chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, the substitutionary sacrifice making full satisfaction to God for their sins and infallibly securing the salvation of the redeemed by grace through faith in Him; such faith being produced in them by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ; this faith being the result of God’s choice, not the cause of it.  I believe in the imminent, personal, premillennial, pre-tribulation, return of Christ to snatch up all the saints who are the bride of Christ.  I believe in the post-tribulation return of Christ with His saints when He shall come in glory to establish the millennial kingdom and to ascend to the throne of David to reign for one thousand years upon Earth. (Matt. 16:16, 17; Jn. 1:1-15; Jn. 8:58; Col. 1:15-19; Matt. 1:18-25; Jn. 1:14; 1 Tim. 2:5; Phil. 2:5-8; Jn. 17:5; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; Matt. 1:21; Lk. 19:10; Jn. 1:29; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:19; 3:18; Titus 2:14; 1 Cor. 15:3,4; Lk. 24: 37-39; Rom. 8: 34; Rom. 5:10; 8:32-34; 1 Pet. 2:24; Eph. 5:25; Gal. 1:14; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 2:8-10; 1 Thess. 4:16,17; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9; Rev. 19:11-16).

V.             ANTHROPOLOGY

                  I believe that man was created on the literal sixth day from the dust of the earth without any evolutionary precursor.  Man was created in the image of God, possessing all the elements of personality in an original righteousness and true holiness; a sinless creature.  By disobedience to God’s command, Adam fell from his created state and became a sinner condemned to spiritual and physical death.  As a direct result of Adam’s sin, all mankind are sinners at birth, totally depraved, spiritually dead, possessing neither the ability nor inclination to seek God, and being sinful by nature and by choice are condemned to the lake of fire prepared for Satan and his angels. (Gen. 1:27; 2:7; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10; Gen. 3; Rom. 5; Ps. 51:5; Rom. 1:19-32; 3:10-12; Eph. 2:1-10; 1 Cor. 12:3; Rev. 20:10).

        HAMARTIOLOGY

                       

            I believe that sin is anything contrary to the moral nature of God.  It is a failure to meet the standard of godliness, a perversion of God’s truth or deviation from it, it is disobedience to the commands of God, it is a transgression of God’s righteous boundaries and rebellion against His person.  Within His decree, God is not the originator of sin nor culpable thereof, but sin entered into the universe through Satan and into the human race through Adam.  All men are sinners by nature and by birth, and unless delivered by the new birth in Christ Jesus, are under the power and penalty of sin.  The penalty of sin is death, eternal separation from God and the conscious suffering of endless torment.  (Eccl. 7:20; Rom. 3:23; Jer. 3:25; Rom. 5:12; 6:23; 7:14; Js. 1:13; 4:17; 1 Jn. 3:4; Matt. 5:22, 29; 23:33; Rev. 20:11-15).

        SOTERIOLOGY

            I believe that salvation is only by grace through a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the precious blood He shed on Calvary to cleanse us from our sin. (Jn. 1:12; Rom. 3:20; 5:12-21; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10).  I believe that all men are totally depraved without any ability to come to God, but God in sovereign grace and apart from any human consideration of foreseen merit or response, chose some before the foundation of the world to be recipients of His grace in Christ.  As the Gospel is preached, and the offer of salvation given to all nations, the elect are caused to hear it, and their hearts opened by the Holy Spirit, so that they freely and gladly receive Christ as Lord and Savior, becoming children of God. (Jn. 6:44; Acts 13:48; Rom. 8:29, 30; 10:13; Eph. 1:4-6; 2:1-10).  I believe that the Holy Spirit regenerates, imparting spiritual life and the fruit of faith and repentance in an instantaneous work, placing the believer inside of Christ, uniting the believer with Christ and the benefits of His propitiation, being justification, adoption, and eternal life. (Jn. 3:5; Titus 3:5; Eph. 2:1-5; 1 Peter 1:23; Js. 1:18; Jn. 14:20; Rom. 3:25; 8:11; 1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 4:5; Rom. 6:23).  I believe that the Holy Spirit sanctifies positionally at regeneration, removing him from the family of Satan and the penalty of sin, and placing him into the family of God.  The Spirit continues His sanctifying ministry in the life and walk of the believer freeing him from the power and influence of sin and the old nature and conforming him to the image of Christ, until in our glorified bodies we are free from the very presence of sin. (1 Cor. 1:1,2; 6:11; 1 Pet. 1:3-5; Jude 1, 24, 25).

        ECCLESIOLOGY

           

            I believe the New Testament reveals the church in a twofold sense.  The universal church is all the born again believers from the advent of the Spirit at Pentecost until the reuniting of the church at the marriage supper of the Lamb.  This church is the body and bride of Christ, a mystery in the Old Testament, and, based on the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit, unique to this dispensation.  The local church is a gathered company of believers, immersed upon credible confession of faith in Jesus Christ, having two officers (Pastor and Deacons), independent in polity, covenanted together for edification, worship, the observance of the ordinances (baptism and the Lord’s supper), and the spread of the Gospel.  The Bible demands believers separate from worldly institutions, apostasy, and brothers walking in disorder. (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:22, 23; 3:1-6; Lk. 3:16; Matt. 16:18; Acts 1:4, 5; 2:1-5, 41-47; 8:12; 10:48; Matt 28:19; 1 Cor. 1:2; 11:23-34; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; Eph. 5:11; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11; Acts 20: 24-29; Rom. 16:17; 2 Thess. 3:6).  I believe that the Bible teaches what has come to be characterized as Baptist distinctives: the universal church, biblical authority, regenerate church membership, two unifying church ordinances (1- baptism by immersion of a believer picturing Christ’s saving work on the cross and publically identifying with Christ and 2- the Lord’s supper commemorating Christ’s death, our communion with Him and other believers, and a time of solemn self-examination looking towards the return of Christ), priesthood of believers, individual soul liberty, congregational church government, autonomy and association, two offices (Pastor and Deacons), and the separation of church and state.

        ANGELOLOGY

            I believe in the existence of angels, that they are spirit beings created by God in holiness, from which some have fallen, that they are innumerable, of different ranks and order, that they do not marry, that they are servants of God, and messengers from Him, that they ministered at the birth, temptation, and resurrection of Christ, and that they presently minister to believers who will one day take part in their judgment. (Heb. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:12; Lk. 2:13; Neh. 9:6; Jn. 1:3; Ez. 28:15; Matt. 25: 31; Jude 6; Is. 6:1-3; Dan. 12:1; Matt. 22:30; Ps. 103:20; Job 38: 4-7; Lk. 1:26-33; Lk. 4:10,11; Matt. 28: 2-6; Ps. 91:11; 1 Cor. 6:3).

            I believe in the personal existence of the devil, Satan, who was created holy and perfect, but through pride fell and drew with him a host of angels.  He is now the prince of the power of the air and unholy god of this world, the tempter and accuser of saints, the chief of the rulers of darkness.  I believe in the personal existence of demons, who with Satan, are judged to the eternal torment of the lake of fire.  (Job 1:6-12; Is. 14; Ez. 28:1-20; Eph. 6:10-18; 1 Pet. 5:8,9; Matt. 12:22-30; I Cor. 10:20; Jude 6; Rev. 20:10).

        ESCHATOLOGY

            I believe in the imminent, personal, pretribulational, premillennial, return of Christ in the air to rapture His bride, the church, who in glorified bodies shall appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive reward for service and shall then participate in the marriage supper of the Lamb. (1 Cor. 15: 42-53; 1 Thess. 1:10; 4:13-18; 5:9; 1 Cor. 3:9-15; Rev. 19:7, 8).

            I believe immediately following the rapture the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy concerning Israel and the nations begins.  In this seven-year tribulation period, God pours out His wrath upon the nations and prepares Israel for the coming millennial kingdom.  Israel will make a covenant with the Anti-Christ, who breaks the covenant after three and one half years.  At the campaign of Armageddon, Christ will return to Earth to destroy the wicked nations, bind Satan for a thousand years, resurrect the tribulation and Old Testament saints, and sit upon the throne of David for one thousand years.  At the close of the millennial reign, Satan is loosed for a little time and then cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and the false prophet are; the wicked are resurrected to stand before the Great White Throne where they are judged and cast into the Lake of Fire.  I believe God will cleanse the heavens and the earth with fire to establish a new heaven and earth where the saints will dwell.  (Dan. 9:27; 12:1; Matt. 24: 16-21; Jer. 30:7; Zech. 14:1-5; Rev. 20: 4-15; Zech. 14:9; 2 Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 21, 22).