Our Beliefs

The following represent essential, core beliefs of the Baptized Pentecostal Church that do not change:

  • God – one God, three Persons (i.e., the Trinity), each Person is fully God with different offices/

roles/functions

  1.  Father – Yahweh / Jehovah – the Creator of heaven and earth (Genesis 1:1)
  2.  Son – Jesus Christ (God in flesh) (John 1:1-2, 14; John 3:16) – God’s only Son

            who … came down from heaven to live on earth among men, was born of a virgin,

            suffered as a Man, died on a cross for all human sin, was buried, and was resurrected on

            the third day, thereby ensuring salvation and eternal life for all who believe in Him.

            Jesus later ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God the Father

            to make intercession for the saints; from there He shall return to judge the living and

            the dead.

  1.   Holy Spirit – the “Helper” – God who indwells all true believers, seals them in

            Jesus Christ, teaches them, and enables them to live the Christian life; *NOTE: the

            Holy Spirit is a Person (“He,” “Him”), not a thing (“it”) (John 14:16-17; John 16:13a;

            Ephesians 1:13-14) 

  • Sin, Repentance, and Salvation
  1. because of the original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, all human

            beings are sinners and, therefore, separated from God (Romans 5:12; 3:23)

  1. therefore, to be right with God, all human beings are in need of a Savior, whom

            God sent in the Person of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23)

  1. a person is “saved” by repenting—turning away from—from his/her lifestyle of sin

            and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as his/her personal Lord and Savior

            (Mark1:14-15)

            *4. THE ONLY WAY TO BE RIGHT WITH GOD, RECEIVE SALVATION, RECEIVE

            EVERLASTING LIFE, and GO TO HEAVEN IS THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS

            CHRIST (John 14:6; Acts 3:12)

  • Justification, Regeneration, and Sanctification – once a person is saved in Jesus Christ, he/she is …
  1. justified – “declared righteous” in God’s eyes by FAITH in Jesus Christ (not

            works) (Romans 5:1, 18)

  1. regenerated – “made into a new creation” (John 3:3-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17)
  2. sanctified – “set apart” for God’s special purpose/use (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8;

            John 17:1-20)

  • Heaven and Hell
  1. heaven (where God resides) – the place of eternal reward for all those who believe

            in Jesus Christ (the saved) (John 14:2-4; 1 Peter 1:3-4; also see Revelation 22:3)

  1. hell – the place of eternal, conscious punishment for all those who reject Jesus

            Christ (the wicked) (Matthew 25:41; also see Matthew 25:30)

  • The Bible – the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God; the Bible does not simply contain the Word of God, it is the Word of God (this is called the conservative, “high view” of Scripture)
  1.  2 Timothy 3:16-17
  2.  2 Peter 1:19-21
  3. also see Psalm 119:128; Proverbs 21:30
  • The Church – the community of all true believers for all time (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1994)
  1. the true “church” is not a building
  2. the true church is people, i.e., anyone who is saved through faith in Jesus Christ
  3.  Matthew 16:17-18 
  4.  Ephesians 2:19-22 
  • Baptism – by immersion (Gr. “baptizo” = “to plunge, dip, or immerse”), not by infant baptism, sprinkling, baby dedications, etc. (Mark 1:9-10; Acts 8:36-39) 
  1. does not “save” a person
  2. rather, signifies one’s public identification with the death, burial, and resurrection

            of Jesus Christ

  1. NOTE: We baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

           (Matthew 28:19) 

  • Priesthood of the Believer – all Christians may approach God directly, as well as be God’s witness to the world
  1.  1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-12
  2.  Matthew 27:51; also see Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45 
  • Spiritual Gifts – those spiritual gifts/talents/abilities given to a believer by God for maximum fruitfulness in one’s Christian service, as well as maximum benefit to the church; every believer has at least one spiritual gift, and that gift is to be developed and used for the benefit of both the believer and the church
  1.  1 Corinthians 12:4-11; for further explanation, also see verses 12-31
  2.  Romans 12:6-8 
  3.  Ephesians 4:11-12
  4.  1 Peter 4:10-11
  • Tithes – the giving of 10 percent of one’s gross income; the tithe is a person’s baseline level of giving, with all other offerings being given over and above the tithe
  1. Old Testament (Malachi 3:8-12)
  2. New Testament (Matthew 23:23)
  • Sanctity of Human Life – every human being is intentionally, deliberately, and purposefully created by God and “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), and therefore possesses a life that is to be considered sacred from conception to natural death (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7, 21-22; 25:21-22; Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:4-5; Luke 1:41-44)
  • Human Sexuality – biological sex — male or female, complementary to each other, and not interchangeable — also represents an intentional, defining aspect of each person’s being created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), thus biological sex is to be considered as part of each person’s central and unchangeable identity (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:21-22; Matthew 19:4) 
  • Marriage – Biblical marriage is solely and exclusively defined as the union of one man and one woman, monogamous, lifelong, and the only relationship in which sexual intimacy may be expressed. All other relationships defined as “marriage” — and/or expressions of sexual intimacy — outside of the Biblical definition are to be seen as sinful according to the principles of Scripture. (Genesis 2:21-25; Genesis 19:1-29; Exodus 20:14, 17; 22:19; Leviticus 18:1-5, 22-25; 20:10-21; Matthew 19:4-6; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 18-20; Jude 7)