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and
all man; that He is
man's only hope of
salvation from sin,
being the only mediator
between God and man;
that He died, was
buried, and rose again
the third day for our
sins according to the
Scriptures, and that our
justification is made
sure by his literal and
physical resurrection
from the dead; that His
return for His Church,
the Body of Christ,
which He will take with
Himself into Heaven is
imminent; and that He
will come to this earth
to set up His millennial
reign.
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. (Isaiah 7:14;
Luke 1:35; John 1:1-4,
10:30, 14:6; I Timothy
2:5,6; I Thess. 4:13-18;
Rev. 20:4-6; Acts
2:18-36; Eph. 1:7; I
Peter 2:24; Romans 8:34;
Hebrews 9:24; I John
2:1,2)
D) Doctrine 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 he
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; Rom. 8:8; I
Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor.
3:6; Eph. 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. (Eph. 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. (Rom.
12:3-8; I Cor. 12:4-11,
28; Eph. 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. Speaking in
tongues was never the
common or necessary sign
of the baptism or
filling of the Holy
Spirit. Ultimate
deliverance of the body
from sickness or death
awaits the consummation
of our salvation in the
resurrection, tough God
frequently chooses to
answer the prayers of
believers for physical
healing. (I Cor. 1:22;
13:8; 14:21-22)
E) Doctrine of
Man
We believe that God
created man in His own
image and that man
sinned and thereby
incurred not only
physical death, but also
spiritual death, which
is conscious and eternal
separation from God. We
believe that all men are
born with a sinful
nature, evidenced by
sinful acts; that man is
totally depraved; and
that if he is not born
again, he is eternally
lost. Man of himself is
utterly unable to remedy
his lost condition. (Gen
1:26, 27; Psalm 51:5;
Jeremiah 17:9; Luke
16:23; Rev. 21:8; Romans
3:10-23; Romans 5:12; I
Cor. 15:21, 22; Rev.
21:11-15)
F) Doctrine of
Salvation
We believe that a person
is saved when he repents
of his sin and exercises
faith by receiving Jesus
Christ as his personal
Savior. The basis of our
salvation is the
precious blood of Christ
according to I Peter
1:18-19, which states
that we are redeemed
"...with the precious
blood of Christ as of a
lamb without blemish and
without spot." We
believe salvation to be
the work of God that
encompasses the
responsibility of man to
believe. (John 1:12)
We believe that the
scope of salvation
includes the forgiveness
of all our sins, past,
present, and future; a
perfect standing before
God as in Jesus Christ,
and the changing of our
earthly body to be
conformed like unto the
body of our Lord at his
return for his own.
We believe that the
attitude either of
reconciliation or enmity
toward God is eternally
fixed at death. We
further believe that
there is an appointed
day for the judgment of
the wicked when they
will be cast into the
Lake of Fire, there to
remain in everlasting
conscious punishment and
torment. (John 1:13,
5:24, 10:28-29, Rom
6:23, II Cor 5:21, Eph
2:8-9, I John 5:17, Rom
8:19-23, I John 3:2, II
Thes 1:7-9, Hebrews
9:27, II Peter 2:9, Rev
20:12-15, Rev 21:8)
G) Doctrine of
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; Rom
8:1, 38-39; I Cor 1:4-8;
I Pet 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; Gal
5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
H) Doctrine of the
Church
We believe that the
local church is composed
of:
1.
A local body of
believers who are
autonomous and
self-governing with
no ecclesiastical
organization in
authority over
them.
2.
Believers who are
baptized by
immersion.
3.
Believers who are
organized and have
for their officers,
pastors and deacons
with such other
leaders as God has
given
special
gifts to render as a
ministry to the
church.
4.
Believers who meet
regularly to hear the
Word of God and offer
him praise in
song.
5.
Believers who observe
the two ordinances of
the church; baptism
and the Lord's
Supper.
6.
Believers who carry
out the commission
given them as a
church by the Lord
Jesus Christ. (I Cor
12:13; Acts 2; I
Thes
4:13-18)
I)
Doctrine of
Separation
We believe that God
commands Christians to
be separated to be a
separated people
according to II
Corinthians 6:17-18 and
7:1 "Wherefore come out
from among them and be
ye separate, saith the
Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing; and I
will receive you. And
will be a Father unto
you, and ye shall be my
sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty.
Having therefore these
promises, dearly
beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all
filthiness of the
flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in
the fear of God."
The Promised Land
Baptist Church will be
separated from all forms
of apostasy and
religious inclusiveness.
We reject ecumenical
movement joining all
churches into one body
regardless of doctrine
or practice and the
charismatic renewal
movement with its
unscriptural emphasis on
tongues and healing. The
church will enjoy
fellowship with churches
of like faith and order,
but will have no part in
any council of churches
that is ecumenical in
nature or thrust.
We believe that all the
saved should live in
such a manner as not to
bring reproach upon
their Savior and Lord.
God commands His people
to separate from all
religious apostasy, all
worldly and sinful
pleasures, practices,
and associations, and to
refrain from all
immodest and immoderate
appearances, piercings,
and bodily markings.
(Lev. 19:28; Rom.
12:1-2; 14:13; I Cor.
6:19-20; II Cor. 6:14;
7:1; II Tim. 3:1-5; I
John 2:15-17; II John
9-11)
J) Doctrine of
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. (Gen 1-2; Ex.
20:11)
K) Doctrine of
Satan
We believe that Satan is
a person. He is a
created being who sinned
and became the arch
enemy of God and His
creation. He is the
chief adversary of God's
children. He seeks to
keep man from the Lord
and when he cannot
succeed in this he seeks
to weaken the testimony
of Christians. He has at
his command a great host
of fallen angels and
demons to carry out his
purposes. He is not
omnipotent and can be
overcome by the power of
God, doing no more than
God allows for God's
purposes. His doom is
sealed in the Lake of
Fire forever. (Job 1-2;
Ezekiel 28:12-19; Isaiah
14:12-14; Rev. 12:10;
20:10)
L) Doctrine of Last
Things
We believe there will be
a resurrection of all,
first the just at the
coming of Jesus Christ,
and finally the unjust
after the millennium.
The saints are raised to
be forever with the Lord
and the unsaved will be
confined for eternity in
the Lake of Fire. We
believe in the "Blessed
Hope" which is the
personal, bodily,
pre-tribulational,
pre-millennial and
imminent return of our
Lord and Savior for His
church (the rapture) and
His later return to the
earth in power and glory
with his saints to set
up His Kingdom. (John
14:13; Acts 1:9, 11;
24:15; I Cor. 15:3-20;
Phil. 3:20; I Thess.
4:13-18; Heb. 7:25; I
John 2:1, 2; Rev.
21:1-8)
M) Doctrine of the
Eternal State
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; 2
Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23;
3:21; I Thess. 4:16-17;
Rev. 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. (Matt.
25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48;
Luke 16:19-26; II Thess.
1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev.
20:11-15)
N) 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 governed by His
Word. God has given each
institution specific
Biblical
responsibilities and
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. (Rom 13:1-7; Eph.
5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; I
Pet. 2:13-14)
O) Human
Sexuality
We believe that God has
commanded that no
intimate sexual activity
be engaged in outside of
marriage between one man
and one woman. 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; I
Cor. 5:1; 6:9; I Thess.
4:1-8; Heb. 13:4)
We believe that the only
Scriptural marriage is
the joining of one man
and one woman. (Gen
2:24; Rom. 7:2; I Cor.
7:10; Eph. 5:22-23)
P) Family
Relationships
We believe that men and
woman are spiritually
equal in position before
God but that God has
ordained distinct and
separate spiritual
functions for men and
women in the home and
the church. The husband
is to be the leader of
the home, and men are to
be the leaders (pastors
and deacons) of the
church. Accordingly,
only men are eligible
for licensure and
ordination by the
church. (Gal. 3:28; Col.
3:18; I Tim. 2:8-15;
3:4-5, 12)
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 and leading them,
through consistent
lifestyle example and
appropriate discipline,
including Scriptural
corporal correction.
(Gen 1:26-28; Ex 20:12;
Deut. 5:4-9; Ps.
127:3-5; Prov. 19:18;
22:15, 23:13-14; Mk.
10:6-12: I Cor. 7:1-16;
Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4;
Col. 3:18-21; Heb. 13:4;
I Pet. 3:1-7)
Q) Divorce and
Remarriage
We believe that God
disapproves of and
forbids divorce and
intends marriage to last
until one of the spouses
dies. Divorce and
remarriage is regarded
as adultery except for
the grounds of
fornication. Although
divorced and remarried
persons or divorced
persons may hold
positions of service in
the church and be
greatly used of God for
Christian service, they
may not be considered
for offices of pastor or
deacon. (Mal. 2:14-17;
Matt. 19:3-12; Rom.
7:1-3; I Tim. 3:2; Titus
1:5)
R) Abortion
We believe that human
life begins at
conception and that the
unborn child is a living
human being. Abortion
constitutes the
unjustified, unexcused
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 physical or mental
well being of the mother
are acceptable. (Job
3:16; Ps. 51:5;
139:14-16: Isa. 44:24;
49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5;
20:15-18: Luke 1:44)
S) Euthanasia
We believe that the
direct taking of an
innocent human life is a
moral evil, regardless
of intention. Life is a
fight 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)
T) Love
We believe that we
should demonstrate love
for others, not only
toward fellow believers,
but also toward both
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 the 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. 12:19-10; 17-21;
13:8-10; Phil. 2:2-4; II
Tim. 2:24-26; Titus 3:2;
I John 3:17-18)
U) Lawsuits between
believers
We believe that
Christians are
prohibited from brining
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 pursed without
malice or slander. (I
Cor. 6:1-8; Eph.
4:31-32)
V) 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 us all available
means to go to the
foreign nations and not
wait for them to come to
us. (Matt. 28:19-20;
Mark 16:15; Luke
24:46-48; John 20:21;
Acts 1:8; II Cor.
5:20)
W) Giving
We believe that every
Christian, as a steward
of that portion of God's
wealth entrusted to him,
is obligated to
financially support his
local church. 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 his
tithe or offering once
the gift has been made.
(Gen. 14:20; Prov.
3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I
Cor. 16:2; II Cor.
9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Eph.
4:28; I Tim. 5:17-18; I
John 3:17)
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