Pioneer Baptist Church
A Brief Statement of Faith
The Holy Bible
The Bible is God-breathed, inerrant, infallible, and it is as it claims to be, the Word of God (2 Tim.3:16). God the Holy Spirit used holy men through the process of inspiration to move them to write not just thoughts, but every word (2 Pt.1:21)(Mt.4:4). This “moving” of the Holy Spirit was not the same as the moving or inspiration that a poet feels as he writes, but more of carrying them to write.
God not only gave His Word, but He promised to preserve it for every generation (Psalm 12:6-7) (Is.40:8). As a result, the King James Bible is the Word of God preserved by God for the English-speaking people. The Bible is just as true, relevant and profitable today as it was when it was written in the original manuscripts (Hebrews 4:12). According to 2 Tim. 3:16, the Bible is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.
The Godhead
There is one and supreme God that is holy, ever-existent, all powerful, all knowing and ever-present in the affairs of man today (Deut.6:4, Lk.1:37, Is.40). God is a triune God, but manifests Himself as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, forming the Trinity. God is then three Persons in one Essence, not three distinct gods (1 John.5:7, Matthew 28:19). G
Jesus the Son of God
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and at the same time God the Son. Christ was not created, but the relationship between Jesus' humanity and deity can be seen in the hypostatic union (100% God and 100% man) (Jn.10:30, Jn.8:58, Jn.1:1,14). Since Jesus is God in the flesh, He possesses all of the attributes of God the Father (Mk.2, Jn.1:3, Col.1:16-18; 2:9).
Jesus Christ was born of a virgin by the Holy Spirit and lived a perfect life while on earth(Lk.1:34-35). The purpose of His coming was to pay the price of sin on the cross, and therefore provide a way for man to receive the forgiveness of sins (Lk.19:10, Jn.3:16). Without this sacrifice, man would have no hope of ever receiving eternal life.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity. He is not just a force, a power, or a pleasant feeling that one experiences, but is One with God the Father, and is God (Acts 5:3-4, 1 Jn.5:7). When Christ left, He left us the Holy Spirit; to reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (Jn.16:8). At the point of salvation, the Holy Spirit seals the believer, dwells in him, and gives him eternal life (Eph.1, 4:30). The Holy Spirit then guides, teaches, testifies and witnesses to the believer as One who comes alongside him in order that he might please God while on the earth (Jn.14:26,15:26). The single most important attribute of God is His holiness, hence the Holy Spirit (Is.57:15).
Eternal Security
When a person receives Jesus Christ as Savior, he also receives the eternal life that He gives (1 Jn.5:11-13). Once a person receives eternal life, he cannot lose it. Because a person cannot receive eternal life by his works, it is impossible that his eternal life be taken away because of works. Moreover, there is no man that can take it away from him, not even himself (Jn.10:27-29, Rom.8). If this were the case, eternal life would not be eternal, but temporal. It is God that saves, not the person; therefore it is God who keeps one saved, and not the person.
Man
God made man in His image; this image is one of a perfect state. God also gave man free will, making him responsible for his own decisions. Because Adam sinned in the garden, every man born after him is born with a sin nature (Rom.3:10, 23, Rom.5:12). A man is not a sinner because he sins, but he sins because he is a sinner.
Salvation
Salvation from eternal punishment is only received one way, through Jesus Christ (Jn.14:6). A person must recognize that he is a sinner, repent, and realize that Christ died to pay his payment on the cross, and must ask Him to forgive him of his sins and be his Savior. A person must trust Christ and Christ alone for his salvation, for He is the only way (Acts 4:12).
A person does not need to “get his life right” with God before he can approach Him. The whole reason why man needs a Savior is because he cannot “get his life right” enough to find favor in God’s eyes, so he must let God do the work in him. On the other hand, when a person is saved, his works will change (Eph.2:8-10). The way of knowing if someone is saved or not is by looking at their works (Mt.7:20, Acts 26:20). Salvation is repentance from sin and faith towards God (1 Thes.1:9, Acts 20:21). Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a changed life. It is not the prayer that saves someone, but the decision of repentance and accepting God’s terms through Jesus Christ for salvation.
The Church
The English word "church" in the Bible is from the word "ekklesia" in Greek, which means, a "called-out assembly" The word "church" then by definition is a called out assembly. However, not every called out assembly is a church, for the Bible clearly teaches that only those that have received Christ as their Lord and Savior are part of the church (Acts 2:47). The Bible frequently refers to the church as the Bride of Christ, Christ himself being the Bridegroom. Another name in the Bible for the church is the body of Christ, and specifically names Christ the Head of the church (Col.1:18). The church in the Bible is very significant, for Ephesians 5:25 says that Christ gave himself for it. We believe that Christ started and built up the New Testament Church during His earthly ministry and empowered her at Pentecost. We reject the teaching that the New Testament Church was started at Pentecost.
The Bible teaches that even though the church is significant, no one can receive salvation by means of a church, for it is only Christ that can forgive sins (Mk.2:7, Jn.14:6, Acts 4:12).
The End Times
The world today is in its last days, and we can see the signs leading up to the end of times. Christ said that some signs would be wars and rumors of wars, nations against nations, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, etc (Mt.24:6-7).
The next point on the calendar of God’s program is the rapture of the church (1 Thes.4:18). The Bible teaches that the rapture is imminent, therefore no other event needs to happen before the rapture of the church. The works of the believer will then be judged at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Cor.3:13, 2 Cor.5:10). Not for salvation, but for recompense and rewards which we will be able to cast back at the feet of Jesus. The believers will then enjoy what the Bible calls the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev.19:9-10).
On earth, the seven-year tribulation will begin after the rapture. At this time, the anti- Christ will make himself known to the world as one that brings peace and stability to the world (2 Thes. 2:6-12). This time is referred by the Bible as the beginning of sorrows (Mt.24, Dan.9). Halfway through the tribulation (3 ½ years into it), the anti- Christ will sit in the temple of God in the place of God, committing what the Bible calls the abomination of desolations spoken of by Daniel (Dan.9). At this point, the great tribulation will begin, making the second half of the tribulation worse than the first.
At the end of the seven years, the second coming of Christ will take place, in which all His children will descend with Christ as our Conqueror and King. The saints will be robed in white riding a white horse right behind Christ (Rev.19:11-16). At this point, the nations will try to unite and fight against Christ. This battle is called the battle of Armageddon (Rev.19:19-21). The battle will really be no battle at all, for Christ will speak and with His voice will He defeat the nations (Rev.19:21). Immediately following will be the Millennial Reign of Christ, and during those 1,000 years, Satan will be bound. At the end of those 1,000 years, Satan will be loosed again for his final attempt to defeat Christ. The earth will be then destroyed (2 Pt.3:9-10). Satan will then be cast into the Lake of Fire, death, and hell will also be cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev.20:8-10). At that time, God will make a new heaven and a new earth and in it will be the New Jerusalem, where the saints will forever abide with Christ (Rev.21:1-7).
Marriage
The Pioneer Baptist Church joyfully complies to the God-ordained definition of marriage (one man married to one woman) as identified in the Bible (Genesis 2:19-25; Mark 10:6-9; Ephesians 5:25).