The Scriptures

We believe that the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God; that it was written by men who were moved by the Holy Spirit so that their writings, in the original, were supernaturally and verbally inspired ,and free from error as no other writings have ever been or ever will be. They are the complete and final revelation of the will of God to man, and so are a supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. We believe that God not only inspired His words as they were originally given, but we also accept His promise that He has preserved them perfectly for every generation, including ours. We believe the King James Version is the preserved Word of God for the English-speaking people. The Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Received Text of the New Testament (Textus Receptus) are those texts of the original languages we accept and use; the King James Version is the only English version we accept and use. II Timothy 3:15-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Psalms 12:6-7; Psalm 19:7-9; Proverbs 30:5-6; Matthew 24:35.

 

The True God

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

i) God the Father – We believe in God the Father, perfect in Holiness, boundless in love, infinite in wisdom, measureless in Power. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayers, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ, His Son.

ii) God the Son – We believe in Jesus Christ, God the Son, pre-existent with the Father, begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, sinless in His nature and life, infallible in His teaching, making atonement for the sins of the world by His substitutionary death on the cross. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, His perpetual intercession for His people and His glorious second advent according to promise. We believe that the promise of His second coming includes: first, “The Blessed Hope” of the believer, namely, the personal, premillenial and pretribulational return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to rapture His church according to I Thessalonians 4:13-18; second, His return with His Saints to set up His millennial reign.

iii) God the Holy Spirit – We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person.  Equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature.  He was active in the creation, that in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the evil one until God’s purpose is fulfilled. He convicts of sin, of judgment of the righteousness.  He bears witness to the Truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony,and He is the agent in the New Birth.  He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies and helps the believer.

 

Man

We believe that man was created in the image of God.  Man sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also that spiritual death which is separation from God. We believe that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become sinner in thought and deed by choice.

 

Satan

We believe that Satan was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honors, but through pride and ambition to be as 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 His Christ, the accuser of the saints, the author of all false religions, the chief power back of the present apostasy, the lord of the anti-Christ, the author of all the powers of darkness – destined, however, to be finally defeated at the hands of God’s son, and to the judgment of an eternal justice in hell, a place prepared for him and his angels.

 

Salvation

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice. All who by repentance and faith receive Him as their personal Savior, are justified on the grounds of His blood shed on Calvary, and His resurrection from the dead and are born again of the Holy Spirit, and thereby become the children of God.

 

The Church

We believe in the visible local church which is a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible confession of faith, and associated for the worship, word and fellowship. We believe that to these visible churches was committed for perpetual observance, two ordinances: the baptism of believers by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that God has laid upon these churches the task of preaching the Gospel to every creature, and the edification of the individual member of the Body of Christ.

 

Last Things

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all the dead, the saved to eternal life and blessedness in Heaven and, the unsaved to eternal, conscious suffering and woe in Hell ( John 5:29).

 

Assurance

We believe in the eternal security of the believer (John10:27-29).

 

Church and State

We believe that every human being has direct relations with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of all faith. Each church is independent and autonomous, and must be free from any interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority. Therefore, the church and state must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from the dictation of patronage of the other.

 

Christian Living

We believe that every saved person should manifest the Christ-life in a consistent walk in the Holy Spirit, fully and constantly yielding his members to the indwelling Christ, so that he may always be life and word showing forth in the praises of him who has called him out of darkness into His marvelous light. We believe in a separated life for all believers as set forth in II Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1.

 

Creation

We believe in the Genesis account of creation, and that it is to be accepted literally, and not allegorically or figuratively.  Man was created directly in God’s own image and after His own likenessth, man’s creation was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary change of species, or development through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms. All animal and vegetable life was made directly, and God’s established law was that they should bring forth “after their kind”.

 

Ministry and Spiritual Gifts

We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts. The gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today. Speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and, their authority became established. We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and afflicted.

 

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© Eastern Shore Baptist Church | 119 Station Lane Grasonville, MD 21638
Phone: (410) 827-3820
E-mail: info@easternshorebaptistchurch.org | pastor@easternshorebaptistchurch.org