SBC Info & Articles

The Scriptures- We believe the Holy Scriptures, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, to be the verbally inspired Word of God, wholly inerrant in its original writing, infallible, and the final authority in all matters of faith and life (Matt. 5:18; John 10:34-35; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:21).

The Godhead- We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, co-eternal in being, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deut 6:4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14).

The Lord Jesus Christ- We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ became a man without ceasing to be God, being conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem lost mankind (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-23; Luke 1:35; Phil. 2:6-7). We believe that the Lord Jesus accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a propitiatory and substitutionary sacrifice and that our redemption is made sure by His literal, bodily resurrection from the dead (Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:3-5, 2:24). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is ascended into heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 7:25, 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2). We also believe in that "blessed hope", the personal, imminent, pre-tribulational coming of the Lord for the Church saints, and His pre-millennial return to earth with His saints to establish His millennial kingdom (Zech. 14:4-11; 1 Thes. 1:10,4:13-5:9; Rev. 3:10,19:11-16,20:1-6).

The Holy Spirit- We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and that He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the Body of Christ, indwelling them and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14). We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Teacher, who guides believers into all truth, enabling them to maintain a consistent Christian walk, and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Holy Spirit (John 16:13; Rom. 5:5-13; Eph. 5:18; 1 John 2:20-27). We believe that the Holy Spirit sovereignly distributes enabling gifts for service to all believers and that some of these gifts, such as, but not limited to, the gift of tongues, miracles, and healings, were for the apostolic age and ceased with the completion of the ministry of the apostles and the close of the New Testament revelation (Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 13:10; Eph. 4:11-16).

The Depravity Of Man- We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin, the entire race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God, and that man is totally depraved, spiritually dead, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom.3:22-23; Eph. 2:1-3).

Salvation- We believe that salvation is a free gift of God, brought to man by grace, and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary's cross for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by the power of God and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Rom.8:l, 38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:3-5).

Eternal Destiny- We believe in the bodily resurrection of all mankind, the saved to eternal life in the presence of the Lord, in a literal heaven, and the lost to judgment and everlasting punishment apart from the presence of the Lord in a literal lake of fire (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28-29, 11:25-26, 14:2-3; Rev.20:5-6,12-13).

The Church- We believe that the church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age (1 Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 1:22-23, 5:25-27). We believe that the establishment and continuance of autonomous local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27, 20:17, 28-32; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Tit 1:5-11). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord's Supper to be observed by the Church. Water baptism is to be by single immersion and in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It pictures in a beautiful and solemn way our faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effects in our life of death to sin and resurrection to a new life. The Lord's Supper is to be observed on a regular basis as a memorial to the broken body and shed blood of our Lord, and is open to any believer living in fellowship and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt.28:19-20; Acts 2:41, 46-47, 16:33; 1 Cor. 11:23-29).

Satan- We believe that Satan is a distinct and real personality, the god of this age, the adversary of Christ and all believers, and that his destiny is eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Job 1:6-7; Isa.l4:12-17; Eze. 28:1-19; Matt. 4:2-11, 25:41; Rev. 20:10).

Separation- We believe that the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord, and are called into a life of separation from all worldly and sinful "pleasures" and practices and from all religious apostasy (Rom. 12:1-2, 16:17-18; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; 1 John2:15-17; 2 John 7-11).

Creation- We believe that God created the heavens and the earth, including all life, by a direct act in six literal, 24-hour days, and not by any process of evolution (Gen. l&2; Ps. 33:6-9; John 1:3; Col. 1:16-17).

The Nature Of The Believer- We believe that every saved person possesses a new nature which provides for victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and that all claims to sinless perfection in this life are unbiblical (Rom. 6:13, 8:12-13; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-24; Col.3:10; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 3:5-9).

Abortion- We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified and unexcused taking of human life and is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, the "mental well-being" of the mother or the unborn child, or any other reason is acceptable according to the Word of God (Ex. 21:22-23; Job 3:16; Psalm 139:14-16; Isa. 44:24; Jer. 1:5; Luke 1:44).

Human Sexuality- We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two-distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God and the rejection of one's biological gender is a rejection of the image of God within that person. (Genesis 1:26-27) We believe that God created intimate sexual activity as a beautiful expression of love between husband and wife. We believe also that sexual activity outside the marriage covenant between a husband and wife is declared to be sinful by the Word of God. We further believe that any form of homosexuality, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, or pornography is a sinful perversion of God's gift of sexual intimacy. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 18:20; Gen. 26:8-10; Lev. 18:6-23; Song of Solomon 1; Rom. 1:26-32; 1 Cor. 5:1; 1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Thes. 4:3-10; Heb. 13:4)