What We Believe

The following are the core beliefs of Calvary Baptist Church  based on the foundational truths taught in the Bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.

We believe that the Bible (the 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament), in its original manuscripts, was inspired by God. As God’s inspired Word, the Bible is without error in all that it affirms and is of supreme and final authority in faith and practice.  

We believe in one God, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, immutable, existing in three distinct persons. Those persons are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and these three exist in eternal distinction and equality. This God created the universe from nothing and exercises his ongoing providential governance over all things.

We believe that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.  As a result of the incarnation, Jesus Christ is both true God and true man. He lived a perfect life and died as our substitute to make atonement for the sins of the world.

We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of Jesus, in His ascension into Heaven,
in His present ministry there for us as High Priest and Advocate, and in His imminent return.

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a distinct third member of the Trinity and fully God.
The Holy Spirit was the divine agent in creation, revelation, and redemption.

We believe that Christians are indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit and so are secured unto the day of redemption. We believe that the filling of the Spirit in a believer’s life is manifested by that person’s willingness to be under control of the Spirit and to be obedient to the Word of God. We believe that the Spirit gives spiritual gifts to each believer for the edification of the body of Christ. We do not believe that speaking in tongues is a primary manifestation of the fullness of the Spirit as it is taught and espoused by the charismatic movement. We believe that the gift of tongues was a sign in the early church, and that gift ceased after the completion of the canon of Scripture.

We believe that man was created as one race, perfect and in the image of God, by a special act of God, wholly apart from any process of evolution. All humans, as image-bearers, possess inherent dignity and worth. Through the sin of Adam, mankind became depraved, marring the image of God and causing them to be in need of a Savior.

We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice. All who repent of their sin, believe in His name, and receive Jesus as Savior are made God’s children, joint heirs with Christ. This salvation can be found by grace alone,
through faith alone, in Christ alone.

We believe that the Scriptures admonish each believer to progress in his/her sanctification. This transformation toward Christlikeness is made possible by the efforts of each believer in cooperation with the Spirit, by the power of the Word of God, and by the encouragement of other believers.

We believe that the church began at Pentecost. It is composed solely of believers and is the bride of Jesus Christ. The church is a local assembly of the body of Christ. This local body meets together for the study of the Bible, for discipleship, for worship, for the observance of the ordinances, and for prayer. As an independent local body, the church has the right of self-governance as directed by the Holy Spirit and the principles of Scripture. The mission of the church is to display the glory of God to the world and to fulfill the Great Commission.

We believe in two ordinances: believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the immersion of the believer in water as a public testimony to saving faith. The Lord’s Supper was instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ and is to be observed by believers in this age as a memorial of Christ’s death.

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust in the last day. Those who profess saving faith will spend eternity with God and the lost will experience separation from God which will include everlasting conscious punishment.

We believe that Satan, a fallen angel, is the author of the fall of mankind. He is the adversary of Christ and the church and his ultimate destiny, along with the lost, is eternal conscious punishment
in the Lake of Fire.

We believe that God commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman[SR1] [PR2] . Any such immoral activity[SR3] [PR4] [BJ5] is a perversion of God’s good gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to self-identify or alter one’s gender by medical intervention contrary to one’s God-given gender at birth.    

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 leadership 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 examples and appropriate discipline.

We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God. However, we believe that God has ordained distinct and separate complementary functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home (as described above), and men are to be the leaders (pastors/elders) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible to fill the role of elder and to be candidates for licensure and ordination by the church.

We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. We believe that God intends marriage to be a life-long commitment. As such, the breaking of that commitment through divorce is never His intention, though it may at times be permissible in the case of infidelity
and/or desertion.

We believe that the intentional and unjust taking of innocent human life at any stage is contrary to God’s design. We uphold the inherent value of every person from conception to natural death—including the unborn, the disabled, the vulnerable, and the elderly.

To view our current church constitution
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