About Us

 STATEMENT OF FAITH 

This church holds the following statement of faith as being, a summary of Christian doctrine whose authority  consists only in its agreement with the Word of God. This statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our  faith. The Bible (KJV) itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe that the following statement of faith accurately represents the teachings of the Bible, and therefore is binding upon all members. If questions, circumstances, events, or doctrinal issues arise that are not covered by this document, we believe  that the Scriptures should be searched. A time of prayer should be observed, then a decision be reached. This is  to be done under the leadership of the Holy Spirit through the Pastor. This is to be the method employed to  address questions of doctrine, philosophy, or practice as they arise. (Acts 11:1-18; 15:1-31; 17:11; 1 Corinthians  2:12-16; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17) 

       A. THE SCRIPTURES - We believe that the Holy Bible was divinely inspired by God and given to man as the only complete and  final revelation of the will of God to man. By the “Holy Bible” we mean that collection of sixty-six books  (Genesis through Revelation) of the Old and New Testaments, which we believe is the very Word of God.  Because inspiration without preservation would be meaningless, and the original manuscripts of the Bible  are no longer in existence, God has supernaturally and providentially preserved His Word, without error, for  us today in the Authorized Version 1611 (King James Version). We believe that this preserved Bible is the  final authority for us in all matters of faith, doctrine, and practice. Finally, we believe that Christians should  not only believe the Book, but also do what it commands and teaches. (Psalms 12:6, 7; 2 Timothy 3:15-17;  James 1:22-25; 2 Peter 1:21) 

         B. THE TRUE GOD - We believe that there is one true and living God, eternally existing and manifesting Himself to us in three  divine persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost who are all equal in every divine perfection and executing  distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. (Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 45:21,22; Matthew  28:19; John 10:30; 14:9,10,26; 15:26; I Timothy 3:16; 1 John 5:7)

     C. THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST - 1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, eternal with the Father, was conceived of the Holy Ghost in a  miraculous manner, born of Mary, a virgin, and is both the Son of God and God the Son. He is both true  man and true God; one person, with two natures; tempted in all points like we are yet without sin.  (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35; John 1:1, 2, 14; Colossians 2:9; I Timothy 3:16; Hebrews  4:14,15) 2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through dying and shedding his  blood on the cross as the 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; Ephesians  1:7; Colossians 1:14-22; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 Peter 2:24) 3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of the  Father, where as our High Priest, he fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, Mediator, and  Advocate. (Acts 1:9,10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; I Timothy 2:5; I John 2:1,2) 

          D. THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST - 1. We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, converts the repentant sinner, places him into Christ, indwells and seals the believer, interprets the Scripture, and endues God’s children with power to be  bold witnesses. (John 16:7-11; John 3:5,6; Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 2:10-14; 12:13; Ephesians 1:13,14) 2. 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. (I Corinthians  2:10; Ephesians 1:17,18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20,27) 3. 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; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12) 4. We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Ghost, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing  were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was a gift given of the Holy Ghost, but is no  longer in operation today. (I Corinthians 1:22; 13:8-10; 14:21,22) 

        E. CREATION - We believe in the Genesis account of creation, and that it is to be accepted literally, and not figuratively;  that man was created directly in God’s own image and after his own likeness; that man’s creation was not a  matter of evolution or evolutionary changes of species, or development through interminable periods of time  from lower to higher forms; that all animal and vegetable life was made directly; and God established that  they should bring forth only “after their kind.” We reject any form of theistic or atheistic evolution. (Genesis  1:1; Exodus 20:11; John 1:3; Romans 1:20; Revelation 10:6) 

       F. THE FALL OF MAN - We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but in that Adam’s sin the human race  fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; so all men are sinners by birth and by choice  and are of themselves utterly unable to remedy their lost condition. (Genesis 1:26, 27; Romans 3:10, 11, 22,  23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19) 

          G. THE WAY OF SALVATION -          We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace. It is received by repentance toward  God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed his precious blood on Calvary for the forgiveness of  sins. We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again, and that the new birth is  instantaneous and not a process. (John 1:12; 3:1-7; Acts 20:21; Romans 10:9-13; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; I  Peter 1:18, 19) 

           H. ETERNAL SECURITY AND THE ASSURANCE OF BELIEVERS -       1. 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; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Titus 1:2; 1 Peter 1:3-5; I  John 5:11-13) 2. We believe that it is a 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 6:1, 2, 12, 13; 13:13, 14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15) 

    I. JUSTIFICATION - We believe that, at one time and for all people, the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the  Scriptures, as the representative and substitutionary sacrifice; and that all who believe in him are justified on  the grounds of his shed blood. (Romans 3:25-26; 5:9; I Corinthians 15:1- 4; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14;  Hebrews 10:12)4 

         J. SANCTIFICATION/ THE SETTING ASIDE OF THE BELIEVER -             We believe that at the time of the new birth the believer is positionally sanctified, but we also believe that  each believer is practically and progressively sanctified, in holiness, for service as the believer yields to the  working of the Holy Spirit. (Hebrews 10:10, 14; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 6:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 4; 5:23; 2  Timothy 2:21) 

            K. THE FREENESS OF SALVATION -             We believe that the blessing of salvation is made free to all by the Gospel; And that nothing prevents the  salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own voluntary rejection of the Gospel, which rejection  results in going to hell and finally being cast off into the lake of fire. (Isaiah 55:1; John 3:16-19; Romans 5:18; 10:13; 16:25, 26; II Peter 3:9) 

         L. REPENTANCE AND FAITH - We believe that repentance and faith are solemn obligations, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our  souls by the quickening of the Spirit of God; and thereby, being deeply convicted of our guilt, danger, and  helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession  and supplication for mercy; at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ and openly confessing  him as our only and all-sufficient Savior. (Psalm 51:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 13:3, 5; 24:47; Acts 3:19; 20:21;  Romans 10:9-11) 

    M. SEPARATION - We believe in the Biblical doctrine of separation which encompasses three things: 1. The Separation of the local church from all affiliation and fellowship with those who deny the verities of  the “faith which was once delivered to the saints”, and from all those individuals and organizations  similarly associated including Charismatics, Calvinists, Hyper Calvinists, Promise Keepers, etc. 2. The Separation of the individual believer from all worldly practices that may dishonor the Savior. 3. The Separation of the church and state; in that the state has no Biblical authority over the local church. (Romans 12:1, 2; I Corinthians 6:18-20; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1; Galatians 1:8, 9; II Thessalonians 3:6,  14, 15; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; Jude 3) 

            N. THE LOCAL CHURCH - 1. We believe that a New Testament local church is a congregation or assembly of baptized believers,  associated together by a covenant of faith, based solely upon the Word of God. The officers of  ordination are pastors or full time Christian workers engaged in a specific preaching ministry, and the  Scriptural Ordinances are water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. We believe in the  autonomy of the local church, free from any external authority or control, and that all matters of  membership, of policy, of government, of discipline, and of benevolence are to be guided, first and  foremost by the Word of God and then by the membership of the Salem Baptist Church. We believe that  the mission of the church is to win the lost, baptize those who are saved, and instruct them in the Word  of God so that they too will win the lost. (Matthew 18:15-20; 28:19, 20; Acts 2:41, 42; 6:1-7; 15:1-22;  17:11; I Corinthians 11:20-34; I Timothy 3:1-13; II Timothy 2:2; 3:16, 17) 2. We also believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has  ordained distinct and separate functions for men and women in the local church. Accordingly, only men  are eligible for licensing and ordination by the church. We also hold firm to the belief that only men can 5 be preachers, pastors, evangelists, and deacons. (I Corinthians 11:3; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18; 1  Timothy 3:4, 5, 12) 

          O. BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER - We believe that salvation must precede water baptism. We believe that the ordinance of Scriptural baptism  is the immersion in water of a believer in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost under  the authority of the local church. It is to picture, in a solemn and beautiful ceremony, our faith in the  crucified, buried, and risen savior, showing forth our death to sin and resurrection to a new life. Salvation  and Baptism are prerequisite to the privilege of church membership. The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance in  which members of the church, by sacred use of unleavened bread and unfermented fruit of the vine, are to  commemorate the love of Christ shown at Calvary. This ordinance should always be preceded by solemn  self-examination realizing that we are showing forth the Lord’s suffering and death till he comes. We  believe that these two ordinances are ceremonial and not redemptive in nature. (Matthew 3:16; 28:19, 20; Luke 22:19, 20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41, 42; 8:36-39; I Corinthians 11:23-31; Colossians 2:12) 

         P. 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. We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the  interests and good order of Human society; and that magistrates, those in authority, are to be prayed for,  conscientiously honored, and obeyed, except in things opposed to the Word of God. (Romans 13:1-7; Acts  5:29; I Timothy 2:1-3; Matthew 22:21; 23:10; 1 Peter 2:13, 14) 

       Q. THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED - We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked, and that  only the righteous are the children of God. The righteous are saved by grace through repentance and faith  and are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and sanctified by the Spirit of our God. All unbelievers who  continue in rebellion and unbelief are in His sight wicked and under the curse; and that this distinction holds  among men both in life and after death. (John 8:44; Romans 1:17, 18; I Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 10:10; I  Peter 4:18; I John 5:18, 19; Malachi 3:18) 

           R. SATAN - We believe that Satan was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honors, but through pride and ambition to be  above the Almighty, he fell and drew after him a host of angels. He is now the malignant prince of the  power of the air, and the unholy god of this world. We hold him to be man’s great tempter, the enemy of  God and Jesus Christ, the accuser of the brethren, and the author of all false religions. He is destined,  however, to final defeat at the hands of God’s Son and the judgment of an eternal justice in the Lake of Fire.  (Genesis 3:1-5; Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-17; John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 4:4; I Peter 5:8,9; I John 3:8;  Revelation 12:9,10; 20:10) 

            S. HEAVEN AND HELL - We believe that the souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do at death  immediately pass into his presence and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at  the Rapture when soul and body reunited shall be present forever with the Lord. We believe that the souls of  unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery in hell until the Great White Throne Judgment at the  close of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Then the unbeliever shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be  annihilated, but to suffer everlasting torment. (Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; I  Thessalonians 4:13-18; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15) 

          T. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST - We believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ for all New Testament believers. This rapture of the saints  will be followed by the seven-year Tribulation. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and 6 visibly return with his saints to establish his earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation  of Israel. (Isaiah 9:6, 7; Luke 1:32, 33; Acts 1:11; I Corinthians 15:51-55; I Thessalonians 3:13; 4:13-18;  Revelation 1:7) 

        U. UNCHASTE CONDUCT - 1. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a  marriage between one naturally-born man and one naturally-born woman. We also hold that the so-called “common law marriage” is not a marriage but rather a perversion of true marriage. We believe  that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and  pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids  any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9;  Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1: 26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4) 2. We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one naturally-born man and one naturallyborn woman for life. (Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23). (Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; I Corinthians  7:10; Ephesians 5:22, 23, 31) 3. Because of our belief in the sanctity of Scriptural marriage, there shall not be any homosexual, lesbian,  bisexual, or transgendered person admitted into the membership of the Salem Baptist Church. If a member is found in any of these lifestyles, they shall be subject to church discipline, and thus be  removed from the membership of the church. (Genesis 19:4-7; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:24-32;  Jude 7) 

        V. ABORTION p We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion  constitutes the unjustified, unexcited 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 mental well being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; Jeremiah 1:5;  Luke 1:44) 

        W. EUTHANASIA -  We believe that the direct taking of an innocent human life is a moral evil, regardless of the intention. Life  is a gift of God and must be respected from conception until natural death. Thus we believe that an act or  omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder  contrary to the will of God. Discontinuing medical procedures that are extraordinary or disproportionate to  the expected outcome can be a legitimate refusal of over-zealous treatment. (Ex. 20:13, 23:7; Matt. 5:21;  Acts 17:28) 

          X. THE PRIESTHOOD OF THE BELIEVER -         We believe that in the church there is to be no special group of priests. The Old Testament priesthood was  fulfilled in Christ. Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest, and every believer is a priest to offer the sacrifice of  praise to God through Jesus Christ. (I Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 1:5, 6)  

Y.  MISSIONS - We believe that all men everywhere are lost and condemned, and that the command to go into all the world  and preach the gospel is clear and unmistakable. God has given the local church a great responsibility to  proclaim the Gospel to all nations by the sending out and supporting of missionaries, so that there will be a  great multitude from every nation and tribe who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 29:19, 20; Mark  16:15; Acts 1:8; Acts 13:1-4) 

          Z. 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. (I Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31, 32) 

    AA. GIVING - We believe that God’s method of financing His earthly work of spreading the Gospel to all nations, the care  of the churches, and the support of the ministry and of God’s man is by the tithes and willing offerings of  God’s people giving through their local church. We believe God has established that the tithe is the Lord’s  and that every Christian should give other offerings, sacrificially and cheerfully. (Proverbs 3:9,10; Malachi  3:8-10; Luke 6:38; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6,7; I Timothy 5:17,18; Hebrews 7:1-6) 

         BB. LOVE -            We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward  those who are not believers, those who oppose us, and those who engage in sinful actions. We are to deal  with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids the stirring up of strife,  the taking of revenge, or the threat or use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining  personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person  who engages in such sinful actions. (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Rom. 12:9-10;  17-21; 13:8-10; Phil. 2:2-4; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1 John 3:17-18) 

       CC. Family Relationships - 1. We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained  distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home. The husband is to be the  leader of the home. (Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15) 2. We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The  husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural  leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are a heritage from  the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values through  consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline, including Scriptural corporal correction. (Gen.  1:26-28; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Ps. 127:3-5; Prov. 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mk. 10:6-12; 1 Cor. 7:1-16;  Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4, Col. 3:18-21; Heb. 13:4; 1 Pet. 3:1-7)