WHAT WE BELIEVE AT PARADISE BAPTIST CHURCH

 

God

 

We believe in One God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God made the world good and humankind in His image. He alone is worthy of all our worship and praise. But we sin against God and are thus lost and deserving of God’s condemnation. Yet in His justice and mercy God has acted to redeem His creation, choosing a covenant people to bless all peoples of the earth. In His grace and faithfulness, God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant.

 

Jesus Christ

 

We believe in God’s only Son, Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God, the Word through whom all things were made. Jesus came to the earth to teach the Truth and to proclaim the reign of God, preaching good news to the poor, release to the captives, healing for the sick, and forgiveness of sins. He called all people to repent and believe the Gospel, the Good News that salvation is found in Him alone. He was crucified for us, and on the third day God raised Him from the dead, defeating the powers of evil and death and securing for humankind forgiveness of sins by grace alone through faith alone in Him alone.

 

He instructed us to observe the Lord’s Supper in His memory so that by participating in His body and blood we regularly commune with Him and with one another. He ascended to the Father, where He is now our Priest and Advocate in whose name we pray. He is Head of the Church under which our congregation governs itself. He will return to judge the living and the dead and to deliver us from death to life eternal with God in heaven. He invites us to join Him as obedient disciples in the work of His ministry, the proclamation of the Gospel, and the forming of disciples.

 

The Holy Spirit

 

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the gift of God promised through Christ for His children and for the Church. The Spirit convicts the world of sin, and is the pledge of our adoption as God’s children. The Spirit intercedes for us in prayer; and claims us in the waters of baptism, in which believers are immersed for the forgiveness of sins to be united with Christ in His Body. The Spirit of holiness and freedom liberates us from sin, and claims us as servants of purity, conforming us to the image of Jesus Christ in our attitudes and conduct. The Spirit binds us together with believers of all times and places in the one Body of Christ, the Church; and calls and empowers men and women for various ministries for building up the Body and carrying out Jesus’ ministry in the world. The Spirit inspired the prophets and apostles to speak God’s Word, guiding the preservation, study, and proclamation of Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, the unique revelation of God under which we stand, our authoritative guide for faith and life.

 

The Bible

 

We believe that God has spoken infallibly in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments. The Bible is living and active, sharper than a double-edged sword, cutting through our motives, rebuking us, challenging us, inspiring us, and leading us. The Bible is the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

 

The New Testament Church

 

We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith in Christ. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true Church is manifest in local churches, whose membership is composed only of believers. The Church is to make disciples of Christ, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all Jesus commanded.

 

Christian Living

 

We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with generosity, care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil.

 

Christ’s Return

 

We believe in the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission. Response and Eternal Destiny We believe that heaven and hell are real. We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and making Jesus Lord of their life. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy.