What We Believe

"Our Articles of Faith"

1 Timothy 3:15

"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."

Gospel Light Baptist Church

Articles of Faith

Section A Scripture

We believe that the Holy Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, is the verbal plenary inspired Word of God, is infallible, inerrant in the original writings, and is upheld as the supreme and final authority in faith and life. We believe that the Scripture is complete in its entirety and no new revelation is being given today. (II Timothy 3:16 17; II Peter 1:19 21; Revelation 22:18 19)

Section B God

We believe in one God omnipotent; omniscient; omnipresent; eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:26; I John 5:7; Revelation 19:6)

Section C Jesus Christ

We believe that the LORD JESUS CHRIST is absolute DEITY, the eternal Son of God; that He became man without ceasing to be God, having been supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of Mary, a Virgin, in order to be the perfect sacrifice for sinful man, providing redemption through His shed blood. (Matthew 1:20, 23; John 1:1 2)

Section D Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person equal with the Father and Son; that He was active in the creation; that in His relationship to the unbelieving world He restrains the evil one; that He convicts of sin, righteousness, and coming judgment; that He bears witness to the truth; that He is the agent of the new birth; that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses to, sanctifies, and helps the believer, indwelling every true child of God in this church age; and that He endows the Fruit of the Spirit. (John 14:16 17; 16:7 11, 13 14; Romans 8:14 27; Galatians 5:22 23; Ephesians 4:30; II Thessalonians 2:7)

Section E Satan

We believe in the personality of Satan; that he is a created being; that he was cast out of heaven and a third of the angels with him; that the fallen ones now serve Satan as agents for evil; that the fallen angels are now called demons and Satan is the prince and power of darkness; and that Satan is the enemy of all true believers. Satan is destined to the judgment of an eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (Matthew 4:1 3; II Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; Revelation 20:10)

Section F Creation

We believe that God created the heavens and the earth in six literal days, including all life, by direct act according to the Genesis account and NOT by any process of evolution, and that man was created in the image and likeness of God. (Genesis Chapters 1 and 2; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16 17)

Section G Fall of Man

We believe that man, in the person of the first Adam, was created in innocence, but by voluntary transgression fell into sin, thus plunging the whole human race into condemnation and death; so that now all mankind is born in sin and become willful sinners by personal choice, and so are without excuse before God. (Genesis 3; Romans 1:18 20, 32; 5:10 19)

Section H Virgin Birth

We believe that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Spirit, born of Mary, a Virgin, as no other man was ever born or can ever be born of a woman; and that He is both fully God and man, never surrendering any of His Deity, but chose to withhold some of His power during His earthly ministry. (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18 25; Luke 1:35; John 1:14; Philippians 2:5 8)

Section I Atonement for Sin

We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the will of the Father freely took upon Himself the form of man, yet without sin, and by His death and resurrection from the dead made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins; that His atonement consisted not in setting us an example of His death as a martyr, but was a voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner’s place, the just for the unjust; Christ, the Lord, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree; that having risen from the dead, He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. (Isaiah 53:4 7; Matthew 18:11; John 3:16; Acts 15:11; Romans 3:24 25; 4:25; I Corinthians 15:3 4; II Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:20; 2:8)

Section J Grace in the New Creation

We believe that in order to escape the judgment of a righteous God sinners must be born again; that the new birth is instantaneous and not a process. In the new birth, the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the Divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God. The new creation is brought about in a manner that brings glory to God and not to sinful man. Salvation cannot be earned through works, nor culture, nor by the will of man, but wholly by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with Divine truth, the written Word. (John 3:3, 6 7, 18; Acts 16:30 33; II Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:1, 8 9; Colossians 2:13; II Peter 1:4; I John 5:1)

Section K Justification

We believe that justification includes the pardon of sin and the gift of eternal life on the basis of Christ’s righteousness; that it is bestowed not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood His righteousness is imputed unto us and we are declared to be righteous. (Isaiah 53:11; Acts 13:39; Romans 3:24 25; 5:1 9; Titus 3:5 7)

Section L Faith and Salvation

We believe that if a sinner shall confess with his mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in his heart that God hath raised Christ from the dead he shall be saved from eternal condemnation. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9 10)

Section M Sanctification

We believe that the Scriptures teach that Sanctification is a work of God’s grace within the life of the individual believer. We believe that Sanctification has three aspects: the positional aspect, whereby God sets apart those that are His; the progressive aspect, whereby man is cleansed from the defilement of sin by the Word, which separates him unto God; the final aspect, when the believer comes into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, and is changed into His perfect likeness, not only in soul, but in body. (I Corinthians 1:2; II Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 5:26 27; I Thessalonians 3:12 13; Hebrews 10:9 10, 14)

Section N Ministry of Spiritual Gifts

We believe that God is Sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts, and that the gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the growth and maturity of the saints today. We believe that the speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament was completed and its authority established. (Acts 2:4 11; I Corinthians 12:4 11; 13:1 3, 8 13; 14:19 23, 26 28, 33; Ephesians 4:7 12)

Section O Security of the Saints

We believe that all who are born again are sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption and are kept by Jesus Christ. Their salvation is assured because they are kept by Jesus Christ for the Father and that He should lose nothing, but raise them up at the last day. God the Father gives individuals to the Son, who receives all who come to Him, and will in no wise cast them out. (John 5:24; 10:28 29; Romans 8:35 39; Ephesians 1:13 14; Philippians 1:6; I Peter 1:5; I John 5:11 13)

Section P Believers’ Two Natures

We believe that every believer has two natures with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old through the indwelling Holy Spirit; and that all claims of removing completely the old nature in this life are unscriptural. (Romans 6:11 13; 7:14 21; 8:2; II Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:16 25; Ephesians 4:22 24; Colossians 3:10)

Section Q Separation

We believe in obedience to the Biblical commands to separate ourselves unto God from worldliness and ecclesiastical apostasy.

We believe that Christians should withdraw themselves from other brothers who walk disorderly and that true believers should contend for the faith by rejecting false teaching; and that this church should neither aid nor abet apostasy, modernism, or neo evangelicism. (Romans 12:1 2; 16:17 18; I Corinthians 5:11 13; II Thessalonians 3:6, 14 15; I Timothy 6:3 5)

Section R The Church

Part 1. Universal Church

We believe that the Universal Church is a New Testament organism. It is made of born again believers, unknown to the Old Testament prophets; established by Jesus Christ, who is its sole Head; revealed, empowered, and perpetuated by the Holy Spirit; His “body” for the service He desires. It began with Pentecost, after the ascension of Christ and will be consummated at the coming of Christ in the rapture. (Matthew 16:18; Acts 1:8; 15:14; I Corinthians 12:12 18; Ephesians 1:22 23)

Part 2. Local Church

We believe that the local church is a congregation of born again immersed believers (Acts 2:41 42), associated by a covenant of faith and 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 (I Corinthians 11:2); that its officers are Pastors and Deacons (Acts 20:38; Ephesians 4:11); whose qualifications, claims, and duties are defined in the Scriptures (I Timothy 3:2 15). We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self government free from the interferences of any hierarchy or individuals or organizations; and that the one and only superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:22 23; 5:23 24; Colossians 1:18); that it is Scriptural for the true Churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; that each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; on all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline, of benevolence. (Matthew 18:15 17; Acts 15:13 18)

Section S Ordinances

We believe that Christian Baptism is the single immersion of a born again believer in water to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, risen Saviour, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; and that it is necessary for Church membership. (Matthew 3:16 17; 28:19; Acts 2:41; 8:26 39)

We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration of His death until He come and should be preceded always by solemn self examination by born again believers. (Luke 22:14 20; I Corinthians 11:23 32)

Section T Resurrection, Personal, Visible, Pre Millennial Return of Christ

We believe in the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:6 7; Mark 16:6 7; Luke 24:2 6, 39; John 20:27)

We believe that Christ has ascended and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, where He now makes intercession for Believers. (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9 11)

We believe in the imminent, bodily, personal, pre millennial return of Jesus Christ; that He will come before the seven year tribulation period to catch away His church, coming only into the air; and that He will come with His church at the close of the tribulation to judge the living nations and to set up His Kingdom on earth. (Matthew 25:31 46; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; I Thessalonians 4:13 18; Hebrews 9:28; James 5:8; Revelation 19:11 21)

We believe in the literal Millennial Reign of Christ and that all those saved during the church age will reign with Him. (Psalms 72:8; Isaiah 11:4 5; 32:1; I Corinthians 15:25)

Section U The Righteous and the Wicked

We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that only those who are justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Spirit of our God are truly righteous in His eyes; while all those who continue in unbelief are in His sight wicked and under the curse; and this distinction holds among men both in and after death, in the everlasting joy of the saved and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost in the lake of fire. (Malachi 3:18; Genesis 18:23; Matthew 25:33 41; John 8:21; Revelation 20:14 15; Romans 6:23; 7:6; I John 5:19; Proverbs 14:32)

Section V The Home and the Family

We believe that Jehovah God instituted the family unit and vested it with inviolate authority concerning the education, discipline, and welfare of its members. We further maintain that God created man and woman distinct in gender, purpose, and role within the home and that the relationship between man and wife is a most solemn picture of Christ and His Church.

We stand opposed to practices which violate the Biblical doctrine of the home, including: promiscuity and homosexuality, which substitute depraved and unnatural acts of lust for the holy and undefiled expression of marital love; the ordination of women, which denies the fulfillment of the woman within her divinely endowed role of helpmate and supporter, and usurps the headship and authority of the man; abortion, which is the destruction of the fruit of the womb and indeed the taking of unborn life. (Ephesians 5:23 28; Romans 1:28 32; I Timothy 2:12)