Our Beliefs

We, Halesford Baptist Church, acknowledge that the following articles of faith

in no way exhaust the content of our faith, which is the entire Word of God.

We do believe, however, that these articles are true

representatives of sound doctrine in the Scriptures.

The Scriptures

We affirm that the Bible is the inspired, infallible, inerrant word of God. We believe that the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments God breathed. Though the scripture is written by men, it was supernaturally inspired by God so that all its words are the written true revelation of God. We believe that the word of God is inerrant in the originals and authoritative in all matters. We believe the Bible to be the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions shall be tried. That it is to be our source of knowledge in teaching, rebuking, correction, and training in righteousness.  It is to be understood by all through the leading of the Holy Spirit, its meaning determined by the historical, grammatical, and literary use of the author’s language, comparing Scripture with Scripture.

2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:19–21

WHO IS THE ONE TRUE GOD AND THE TRINITY

We believe there is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; holiness and worthy of all honor, confidence and love; exists eternally in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in every way, and executing distinct functions in the great work of redemption. All morality, all distinction of right and wrong, is judged on the basis of God’s holy character. Our God is a personal God with whom we can communicate and from whom we receive all blessings in life.

Exodus 20:2, 3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 John 5:7; Revelation 4:11

GOD THE FATHER

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe. He created all that there is, and the flow of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men. We believe that He concerns himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that he hears and answers prayers, that He saves from sin and death all who come to him through Jesus Christ.

JESUS CHRIST, THE SON

Christ is the eternal Son of God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. By His substitutionary death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples and over 500 witnesses. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, and through Him the reconciliation between God and man is possible. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a third person of the Trinity, He was active in creation; that he inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures and through illumination He enables men to understand truth; convicts men of sin and calls men to the Savior; that He bears witness to the truth of the gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the New Birth; that He seals believers unto the day of final redemption; that He guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies and helps the believer in his walk with God. Christian character is produced by the Holy Spirit and not by human effort. This character is manifest as fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Genesis 1:1–3; Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:8; Luke 1:35; 24:49; John 1:33; 3:5, 6; 14:16, 17, 26; 16:8–11; Acts 5:30–32; 11:16, Romans 8:14, 16, 26, 27; Ephesians 1:13, 14; Hebrews 9:14

CREATION

We accept the Genesis account of creation as occurring in six 24-hour literal days; and that creation reflects His glory and reveals His truth. 

We believe that human beings came by direct creation of God and not by evolution. As reasoning moral agents created in the image of God, they are responsible under God for understanding and governing themselves and the world. Angels were created as ministering agents, though some, under the leadership of Satan, fell from their sinless state to become agents of evil.

Genesis 1 and 2; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16, 17

Humanity

Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image and likeness. This image is described by the four attributes of intellect, decrement, will, and conscience. Man is also described as having a body, soul, and spirit which is a representation of the triune God. As image bearers, they are responsible under God for understanding and governing themselves and the world. God created man as male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation and is why we maintain that there are two and only two genders. We believe that God made man to stand in love before Him to fellowship with him and to honor and obey Him.  

Gen. 1:26,30; Matt.19:4; Rom. 5:12-19; 1 Cor. 15:45-49; 1 Tim. 2:13

The Fall of Man

We believe that Adam and Eve were real, historical people, and that man was created in innocence. Adam and Eve willfully disobeyed God having been tempted by Satan, bringing sin and death into the world. As a result, all persons are sinners separated from God due to their sin nature, which is evidenced in their willful acts of sin; and they are therefore subject to eternal punishment, under the just condemnation of a Holy God. 

Genesis 3:1–6; Romans 1:18, 32; Romans 3:10–19; 5:12, 19

The work of Christ

We affirm that Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice by the appointment of the Father. He fulfilled the demands of God by His obedient life, died on the cross in full substitution and payment for the sins of all, was buried, and on the third day He arose physically and bodily from the dead. He ascended into heaven where He now intercedes for all believers.

Salvation

We affirm that each person can be saved only through the work of Jesus Christ, through repentance of sin and by faith alone in Him as Savior. The believer is declared righteous, born again by the Holy Spirit, turned from sin, and assured of heaven.

Because of our sin, the Son of God, freely took our nature upon Himself, yet without sin, died on a cross and made atonement for our sins.

Jesus was the substitution for the penalty of sin in our place. He took on the wrath of God for our sin in His Death on the cross; rose from the dead, and is now enthroned in Heaven. 

He defeated sin and death.  

However, in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; this new birth makes us a new creation in Christ Jesus, and we are made a partaker of His divine nature and receive eternal life. This is the free gift of God.

We believe that those who are in Christ have been Justified in Christ.

This justification includes the pardon of sin, and the gift of eternal life; that is given not in earned by our works of righteousness; but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood, His righteousness is imputed unto us.

John 3:3, 6–8; Acts 16:30–33; Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 5:17, 19; Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 5:1.

The Church

We believe that a local church is a congregation of believers, associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ, namely, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; governed by His laws; and exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word.  The church is led by the offices of elders and deacons, whose qualifications, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. We believe the true mission of the church is to witness faithfully to all people about Christ, and to make disciples of all nations. We be that the church is self-governing and functions through the ministry of gifts given by the Holy Spirit to each member.

Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 1:8; 2:41, 42; 15:13–18; 20:17–28; 1 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22, 23; 4:11–16; 5:23, 24; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9

The Universal Church

All those saved by grace are part of the body of Christ, which is the universal church, the instant they believe.

1 Corinthians 12:12,13

BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER

We believe that Jesus Christ has instituted and established two ordinances for His Church: the initial ordinance of baptism and the ongoing ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. We believe that baptism is the visible identification of a believer with Christ through water. Baptism is an act of obedience that proclaims the believer’s faith in and union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, which is best represented by immersion. Baptism also symbolizes the believer’s baptism of the Holy Spirit and cleansing from all sin and unrighteousness by the power of Christ’s blood. As an ordinance, baptism is prerequisite to the privileges of local church membership.

Matthew 3:16; John 3:23; Acts 8:36–39; Romans 6:3–5; Colossians 2:12

Whereas baptism symbolizes the believer’s initial union with Christ at conversion, the Lord’s Supper symbolizes the believer’s ongoing union with Christ as His committed followers. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration of His death until He comes, and should be preceded always by solemn self-examination.

Marriage and Family

We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one (biologically born) man and one (biologically born) woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.

The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.

Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children, God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle examples and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32;1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4;1 Peter 3:1-7.

The Return of Christ

We believe that the return of Christ for all believers in the rapture is imminent. It will be followed by seven years of great tribulation, and then the coming of Christ to establish His earthly kingdom for a thousand years. The unsaved will then be raised and judged according to their works and separated forever from God in hell along with Satan and his demons. The saved, having been raised, will live forever in Heaven in fellowship with God and his holy angels.