Statement of Faith

While recognizing that the source and only authority for doctrine is the Bible, Berean Bible Church affirms and presents the following statement as a bond of union with those who are in this church fellowship.

Holy Scriptures

  • We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20,21; Matt. 5:18; John 16:12,13).

The Godhead

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

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 conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man (Col. 2:9; John 1:1,2,14; Luke 1:35).

  • 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 (Rom. 3:24,25; 1 Peter 1:3,5; 2:24; Eph. 1:7).

  • 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 ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-11; Heb. 7:25; 9:24; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1,2).

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

  • We believe that God, the Holy Spirit, is that person of the Trinity who restrains evil in the world, convicts man of sin, regenerates believers — baptizing them at their salvation into the body of Christ, indwells and seals unto the day of redemption all who are saved and fills with power and wisdom those who are yielded to Him (2 Thess. 2:6,7; John 16:8-11; Titus 3:5; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13,14; 4:30; 5:18).

  • We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of His gifts (1 Cor. 12:11); that each believer has at least one gift (1 Peter 4:10); and that the primary gifts for the perfecting of the saints are these: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher (Eph. 4:11-13). We further believe that some of the gifts such as speaking in tongues and miraculous healings were designed to authenticate and validate the giving of new revelation during the N.T. era; and that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of baptism, nor of the filling of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 13:8-10; Eph. 4:7-12; 1 Cor. 12:28-31; Heb. 2:3,4; 2 Peter 1:3; Eph. 2:20).

Total Depravity of Man

  • We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:26,27; Rom. 3:10-12, 22, 23; 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3, 12).

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 (Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; John 1:12; 1 Peter 1:18,19).

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; John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1,38,39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:5).

  • 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 (Rom. 13:13,14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-13).

The Two Natures of the Believer

  • We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural (Rom. 6:13; Rom. 8:12,13; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:10; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 3:5-9).

Separation

  • We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded by God (2 Tim. 3:1-5; Rom. 12:1,2; 13:14; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 1:9-11; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; 7:1; 1 Cor. 5:6-8).

Missions

  • We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by the life an by word to the truths of the Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:19,20).

The Church

  • We believe that the church of Jesus Christ was begun at Pentecost; is composed solely of believers; is the Body and Bride of our Lord; is distinct from Israel; and that its business is to complete itself through the winning of lost souls to Christ (Eph. 1:22,23; 5:25-27; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2).

  • 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; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).

The Ordinances

  • Ritual (water) Baptism

  • We believe that ritual baptism is an outward sign and testimony of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit whereby He identifies us with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, and places us in the body of Christ. As such it is appropriate for believers only. We reject infant baptism but believe that Christian parents should dedicate their children to the Lord.

  • We believe that the most appropriate symbolization of our identification with Christ is by immersion — dipping in water (Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:12; Acts 8:38; 10:47,48; 19:5).

  • The Lord’s Table

  • We believe that the Lord’s Table is commemorative of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf and of our union and communion with Him. Since it was given by Christ to His own, we believe it should be open to all believers, but should always be preceded by a solemn self-examination (1 Cor. 10:16; 11:17-34; Acts 20:7; Rom. 14:1).

Dispensationalism

  • We believe that dispensations are distinguishable arrangements in the out-working of God’s program on earth. We believe that the dispensation of the Mosaic Law, the present dispensation of grace, and the future dispensation of the Millennial Kingdom are the subject of extensive revelation in the Scripture and that these are not to be intermingled or confused. Therefore we believe that Israel and the Church are two distinct groups and that there is a future for the nation of Israel on the earth in the Millennial

  • These different dispensations are not different ways of salvation; in every dispensation salvation is always by grace, through faith in God’s revelation, based upon the shed blood of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8,9; Rom. 4:13-16; 10:5-10; Hab. 2:4; Gen. 15:6).

The Personality of Satan

  • We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall: 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; Is. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10).

The Second Coming of Christ

  • We believe in the “Blessed Hope”, the personal and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 5:9; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:1-6; 2 Thess. 1:10; 2:1-7; Rev. 3:10).

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 (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28,29; 11:25,26; Rev. 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, where spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; Rev. 20:4-6; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thess. 4:16,17).

  • We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery 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 (Luke 16:19-26; Matt. 25:41-46; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6,7; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:11-15).