The Bible:
We believe the Holy Scriptures, 39 books of the Old Testament (Genesis – Malachi) and 27 books of the New Testaments (Matthew – Revelation) to be the only verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and practice, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, God-breathed, having its integrity preserved through the ages through the superintending of the Holy Spirit. (2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:20-21)
God:
God is spirit and must be worshiped in spirit and in truth. He is the holy, infinite, unchanging, almighty, uncreated, eternal God. He is personal and the Sovereign Creator of all things. Although He is incomprehensible, we worship the One True and Living God who has revealed Himself in the Scriptures as Triune – three coequal and coeternal persons within the One Being of God. The Scriptures identify the Three Persons as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each person is worthy of worship as that which belongs to God alone. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Holy Spirit. (John 4:24; Ps. 147:5; Ps. 90:2; James 1:17; Rev. 4:8; Ps. 89:14; Exod. 34:6-7; 1 Tim.1:17; 1 Cor. 8:6; John 10:30; John 14:9; Acts 5:3-4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Romans 1 Keach’s Baptist Catechism 1677 2 Charleston Confession of Faith 1767 Ch1.4. 1:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2; Genesis 1:1-3; John 1:1-3)
Jesus Christ:
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, so that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person. He is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man. Being truly God and truly Man, He is our Prophet, Priest and King, Savior of the church, the heir of all things, and judge of the world. Ascended, He intercedes on our behalf before the Father as our High Priest. (Luke 1:35; John 1:1, 2, & 14; Acts 1:9-10; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25 & 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2; Romans 1:3-4; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 1:8) We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, being sinless, accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice on our behalf. (Romans 3:24-25; 1 Corinthians 15:1-5; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19,2:24,3:18) We believe Christ is building His Church through the proclamation of the Gospel as people from all over the world respond to the call of salvation. (Matthew 16:17-19; Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 2:21-22, 5:25-27; Revelation 5:9-10)
Christ’s Return:
We believe and teach that Jesus Christ, our “Blessed Hope”, will come again in a personal, imminent, pretribulational and premillennial coming for all the redeemed. His subsequent return to the earth with His saints will establish His millennial kingdom on earth. His earthly reign is an important doctrine of eschatology. All who teach and preach in the Church are expected to do so consistent with this interpretation of end-time events. However, those with a different understanding of the coming kingdom are permitted to join our membership. (Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:9; Revelation 3:10, 19:11- 16, 20:1-6)
Spiritual Gifts:
We believe that God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts for the perfecting of the saints enabling them to do the work of ministry today. Speaking in tongues and other signs, as gifts, gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were written and their authority established and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers today. (1 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; Hebrews 2:3-4
Special Ordinances:
We believe the local church and its members should observe the following ordinances: baptism of the believer by immersion (one time) and the Lord’s Supper (frequently). (Matt 28:19; Acts 10:47-48; 1 Cor 11:23-26.)
The Free Gift of the Gospel:
We believe our need to be saved is a reality based on of our fallen state as sinners. We believe it is the mercy of God that He chose to freely offer to sinners the promises of life, salvation, and the Holy Spirit, which come from placing one’s faith in Jesus Christ alone in response to the Gospel. The Gospel is the Good News that Jesus Christ, the God-Man, lived a perfect life in obedience to God’s Law so that He might show Himself to be a sinless Savior and substitute for us; that He died a cruel death on the cross in shedding His blood to pay the penalty for our sins thereby suffering the wrath of God for sin; that He was buried, and on the third day He rose from the grave proving that our sins have been paid for; that He ascended forty days later to the Father’s right hand where He acts as our High Priest. Whereby the sinner having been aware of his sinful state by the Word and the Holy Spirit, trusts in Christ alone for this salvation. God freely justifies, adopts, sanctifies, forgives and pardons the sinner for His own glory. (Romans 3:1-26; 1 Corinthians 15:1-6; Ephesians 1:1-14; 1 Timothy 1:15)
Eternal Security: We believe that flowing from the unchangeable love of God, that all the redeemed, having been truly saved, are kept by Christ’s power and can neither totally nor finally fall from God’s saving grace and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40 & 10:27-30; Romans 8:1;29-39; 1 Corinthians 1:1-8; 2 Timothy 2:19; 1 Peter 1:5)
Sexuality:
We teach that any form of sexual activity outside the Biblical concept of marriage, such as pre-marital sex, adultery, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, pornography, and any attempt to change one’s sex or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God. (Lev. 18:1- 30; Malachi 2:13-15; Matt 5:28; John 4:17-18; Rom 1:26-29; 1 Cor 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess 4:1-8)
Appleton Baptist Church 