The Holy Scriptures
We
believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures of
the Old and New Testaments and that they compose the entire Word of
God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed; and
therefore, are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six
books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine
revelation of God to man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according
to their normal grammatical-historical meaning. The King James Version
of the Bible shall be the official and only English-language
translation used by Calvary Baptist Church. (II Timothy 3:16-17; II
Peter 1:20-21)
The Godhead
We
believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit—each coeternal in being, coidentical in nature,
coequal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and
perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14;
John 14:10, 26)
The Person and Work of Christ
We
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man
without ceasing to be God, having been begotten by the Holy Spirit and
born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem
sinful men. (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; II
Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-8)
We
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through
His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary
sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal,
physical resurrection from the dead. (Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; I
Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5)
We
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now
exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills
the ministries of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts
1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2)
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We
believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person Who convicts the world of sin,
of righteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural
Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ,
indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11;
Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians
1:13-14)
We
believe that He is the Divine Teacher Who assists believers to
understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege
and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians
1:17-18; 5:18; I John 2:20, 27)
We
believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to
every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to
equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of
the ministry. (Romans 12:3-8; I Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians
4:7-12)
We
believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in
tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. We believe that
speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the
baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of
the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our
salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer
the prayers of believers for physical healing. (I Corinthians 1:22;
13:8; 14:21-22)
The Fallen Nature of Man
We
believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that
in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and
became alienated from God; and, that all men are sinners by birth and
by choice, and, of themselves, utterly unable to remedy their lost
condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians
2:1-3; 4:17-19)
Salvation
We
believe that salvation is the 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 for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12;
Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18-19) and that in order to be saved,
sinners must be born again; that the new birth is a new creation in
Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process.
The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We
believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and
are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1,
38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5)
We
believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the
assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word which,
however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to
the flesh. (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
The Church
We
believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride
of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons. (I Corinthians
12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27)
We
believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is
clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts
14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
We
believe in the autonomy of the local church, free of any external
authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I
Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4)
We
recognize water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural
ordinances of obedience for the church in this age. (Matthew 28:19-20;
Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; I Corinthians 11:23-26)
Separation
We
believe that all the saved should live in a manner that does not bring
reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all
religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and
associations is commanded of God. (Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; II Corinthians
6:14-7:1; II Timothy 3:1-5; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11)
The Second Advent of Christ
We
believe in that "blessed hope," the personal, imminent return of Christ
Who will rapture His Church prior to the seven-year tribulation period.
At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly
return with His saints to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which
was promised to the nation of Israel. (Psalm 89:3-4; Daniel 2:31-45;
Zechariah 14:4-11; I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13;
Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
The Eternal State
We
believe in the bodily resurrection of all men—the saved to eternal
life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matthew
25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13)
We
believe that the souls of the redeemed are at death absent from the
body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the
first resurrection when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be
glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8;
Philippians 1:23; 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6)
We
believe that the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious
punishment and torment until the second resurrection when, with soul
and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment
and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to
suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Matthew 25:41-46;
Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7;
Revelation 20:11-15)
The Personality of Satan
We
believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, and the cause of the
fall of man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and
that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7;
Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10)
Creation
We
believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods.
We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic
Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Genesis 1-2; Exodus
20:11)
Civil Government
We
believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of
three basic institutions: (1) the home, (2) the church, and (3) the
state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including
the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and are governed by
His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical
responsibilities and has balanced those responsibilities with the
understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the
other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in
their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under
God. (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; I Peter 2:13-14)
Unchaste Conduct
We
believe that God has commanded that no intimate physical activity be
engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe
that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality,
incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography is a sinful perversion
of God’s original intent for a physical relationship between a husband
and wife. (Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans
1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)
Divorce and Remarriage
We
believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one
of the spouses dies. Although divorced and remarried persons or
divorced persons may hold positions of service in a church and be
greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered
for the offices of pastor or deacon of a church. (Malachi 2:14-17;
Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; I Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6)
Abortion
We
believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child
is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified,
inexcusable taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject
any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth
defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental
well-being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5;
139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
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. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21;
Acts 1:8, II Corinthians 5:20)
Lawsuits Between Believers
We
believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits
against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We
believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve
personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a
Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s
insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or
slander. (I Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32)
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, the relief
of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a
Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or
offering once the gift has been made. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10;
Acts 4:34-37; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6;
Ephesians 4:28; I Timothy 5:17-18; I John 3:17)
This
doctrinal statement does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible
itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe.
Return To Top
Our Mission Statement
IMPACT our community through the preaching of God’s Word.
INCLUDE every person who has the desire to follow after Christ.
INSTRUCT all who will listen, to have a better love for the Savior.
INVITE everyone to come and hear the Good News of Salvation.
INVOLVE those who wish to have a part in our ministry.
IMPLEMENT the preaching of the Gospel throughout our world.
Copyright © 2006 ~ Calvary Baptist Church ~ Dundalk, MD
