STATEMENT OF FAITH
Section 1: The Scriptures
We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible, being inerrant in the original autographs. Since the Scriptures are God-breathed in the original autographs, inspiration extends to the very words and wording of the Bible so all the entire sixty-six books of the Bible, and only the sixty-six books of the Bible, comprise the Word of God in its entirety. We can trust the Scriptures because God, in His sovereignty, has overseen the process of transmission over the centuries. As such the Bible is infallible, and our only authority on all matters of faith and practice. (Mat. 5:18; Matt 24:35; John 10:35; II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:21; Rev. 22:18-19)
We are committed to using Bible translations that best communicate a literal translation of the original languages so that the church may best understand the Scriptures without obscurity.
Section 2: The Godhead
We believe that God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, righteousness, justice, goodness, and truth. The one true and living God exists eternally in three self-existent, uncreated persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, of one and the same essence, co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, and co-equal in power and glory, yet distinct in
personality and function. (Gen. 1:2; Gen. 1:5, 8; Ex. 20:11; Deut. 6:4; Psalm 90:2; John 14:26, 28; Rom. 11:36; II Cor. 13:14; Col. 1:16-17; Rev. 4:11)
Section 3: God the Father
We believe God is eternal, immutable, omnipotent, omniscient and
omnipresent. He is the sovereign God of the universe and is perfect in holiness, righteousness, justice and love. He is the source of all things external to
begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Mat. 28:19; John 3:16; John 5:23; John 14:26; John 17; 1 Cor. 8:6)
Section 4: The Lord Jesus Christ
• We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ who existed from everlasting with the Father and was begotten in human form by the Holy Spirit. Born of a virgin, He is fully God and fully Man, one Person with two natures, divine and human. (Matt. 1:18-20; Luke 1:30-35; John 1:1,2,14; Phil 2:5-8)
• We believe the Lord Jesus Christ lived a sinless life and gave Himself willingly on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for sin according to the Scriptures, and all who receive Him are justified by faith on the grounds of His shed blood. (II Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:21-26; Heb. 2:9; 1 John 2:2) • We believe in the death, burial and resurrection of the crucified body of
our Lord Jesus Christ on the third day; in His bodily ascension into
Heaven; and that He is presently seated at the right hand of the throne of God, interceding as High Priest for all believers. (Matt. 28:1-10; Acts 1:9; Heb. 7:25-28; Heb. 8:1)
• We believe in the imminent return of Christ as Judge and King, at which time all believers in Christ will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and be kept from the promised period of divine wrath upon the Earth. (I Thess. 4:14-17; I Cor. 15:51-53; I Thess. 5:6, 9; Rom 5:9)
Section 5: The Holy Spirit
• We believe in the Holy Spirit who is one of the three Persons of the Trinity and is a divine Person, not an impersonal force. He is fully God,
proceeding from the Father and His Son. We believe among His current ministries are the following: the restraining of evil in the world until God's purpose is fulfilled; the convicting of the world regarding sin,
• We believe that the Holy Spirit endows every believer at the moment of salvation with at least one spiritual gift to be used for the edification of the church. (Rom 12:4-8; I Cor. 12:4-31)
• We believe the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit were temporary. These would include the gifts of speaking in tongues, prophecy and healings by
human agents. We believe speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the filling or baptism of the Spirit. We believe God, in accord with His own will, does hear and answer prayer for the sick and afflicted. (I Cor. 12:11, 30; 13:8; James 5:14-16)
Section 6: Creation
We believe in the Genesis account of seven 24-hour days of the creation of the world as a literal, historical record of the direct acts of God, without the involvement of any evolutionary process. This was accomplished through the Second Person of the Godhead who is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. (Gen. 1-2; John 1:3-10; Col. 1:16; Heb. 11:3)
Section 7: Mankind
We believe that man was created in innocence and in the image of God as either male or female according to His sovereign design and purpose. However, in Adam’s disobedience, sin entered the world and passed to all mankind, destroying man’s relationship with God and resulting in death. Thus, all are sinners by nature and by choice, and therefore are under just
condemnation without defense or excuse and deserve eternal punishment in hell. (Gen. 1-3; Rom. 3:10-12, 23; 5:12; 8:7-8; Eph. 2:1-3; I John 5:19; Is. 64:6; Jer. 17:9)
Section 8: Salvation
• We believe in regeneration through salvation. When an individual responds in faith to the Gospel, repents of his sin and turns to Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit causes a spiritual change in which he is freed from the guilt of his inherently sinful nature, receives the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, and thus is born again into God’s family.
Regeneration involves an illumination of the mind, a change in the will, and a new nature. (John 1:12; 3:3-7, 16; Acts 2:38; 17:30; Rom. 3:22-28; II Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; I Pet. 1:23;)
• We believe in justification. This is the act of God whereby He declares the sinner to be righteous in His sight. On the basis of the sacrificial work of Christ, God does not impute sin to the individual, but instead imputes the righteousness of Christ to those who believe. (Rom. 3:22-28; 4;1-8; 5:1-2; Gal. 2:16)
• We believe in sanctification. Whereas regeneration is a one-time event in the life of the believer, sanctification is a continuing process by which God gradually transforms him into the image of Christ. Sanctification is presented in three senses in Scriptures: While the believer’s bondage to sin is gone (freedom from the penalty of sin), the presence of sin and its tendencies are not. The believer should be growing in conformity to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit through the means of the Word of God (freedom from the power of sin). The believer will only be fully conformed to the image of Christ, sinless, which is at glorification
(freedom from the presence of sin). (John 17:17; Acts 20:32 Rom. 7:18-25; II Cor. 3:18; Gal. 5:17; Eph. 5:25-27; I Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14 Heb. 10:10; I John 3:2;)
Section 9: Separation
We believe that Scripture commands God’s people to be holy and separate unto Christ. Such discipleship moves us from all polluting influences, including sin, disobedient brethren, and false teachers. Biblical separation includes the following:
• Personal: Individual believers are the temple of the Holy Spirit and are called to pursue holiness. Therefore, they are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers and should abstain from all worldly affections and practices dishonoring to the Savior. (Romans 12:1-2, 14:13, 16:17-18; II Cor. 6:14-7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 2:11-14; James 4:4-10; 1 John 2:15-17;) • Ecclesiastical: The church as a whole must separate from those who
teach false doctrine and attempt to subvert the saints, and further must separate from the unrepentant and disobedient believer. (Matt. 7:13-20, 18:15-17; Rom. 16:17; II Cor. 6:14-18; Ephesians 5:6-17; II Thessalonians 3:6-15; 2 Timothy 4:1-8; Titus 3:9-11; II John 9-11)
Section 10: The Church
• We believe in the Universal Church: a living, spiritual body of which Christ is the Head; and of which all regenerated people, since Pentecost, in this age are a part. We believe the Church is the body of Christ and is
peculiar to the age of grace and entirely distinct from the nation Israel. Jesus Christ is the Head of the church and its Chief Shepherd. (Matthew 16:16-18; Ephesians 4:11-16; Colossians 1:18; I Peter 5:4)
• We believe a local church is an organized assembly of baptized
believers, voluntarily associated together upon a credible confession of faith, functioning as a spiritual body, for the purpose of glorifying Jesus Christ, edifying the saints into Christ-likeness, and evangelizing the lost. We believe the local church is autonomous and has the right of self-government and should be free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations, religious or governmental. We believe the church, both local and universal, is the center of God’s program for this age, and that every Christian is bound by Scripture to give his
16:16-18; I Corinthians 12:12-27; Acts 2:42-47; I Timothy 3:15-16; Ephesians 4:11-16; Colossians 1:15-20; 1 Peter 5:4)
Section 11: The Ordinances
We believe that Christ instructed the church to observe two ordinances, both of which are symbolic rather than a means to convey saving grace.
• Baptism: All who profess faith in Jesus Christ should be baptized by immersion in water as an identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-5) • The Lord’s Supper: The Lord’s Supper is a memorial service in which the
bread and juice represent the body and blood of Christ. It is a reminder of our continual fellowship with Christ and should be preceded by careful self-examination. (Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 10:16; 11:23-34)
Section 12: The Great Commission
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ has commissioned us to take the Gospel to the world as an act of worship for the glory of God and the joy of all nations. Evangelism and church-planting, both locally and globally, should be primary in the program of the local church, and includes the baptism and discipleship of believers. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8)
Section 13: Last Things
We believe in the imminent rapture of the church to Heaven followed by a seven-year period of tribulation upon all the earth. At the end of this period of tribulation, Jesus Christ shall come back to Earth in power and glory with His Church to establish the promised Davidic Kingdom. He shall reign for one thousand years, during which time peace and righteousness will cover the earth, Satan will be bound, and Israel shall be established in her own land. At the end of this glorious reign, Satan shall lead a rebellion against Christ, shall be defeated, and shall be forever banished to the Lake of Fire.
righteous shall be in eternal conscious blessedness in the presence of the Lord. (Ezekiel 39:25-29; Matthew 24:21; John 14:3; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 19:11-16; 19:20; 20:11-15; 21:1-15)
Section 14: Practical Matters
Marriage and Human Sexuality
• We believe that the term “marriage” has only one legitimate meaning, and that is marriage sanctioned by God, which joins one man and one woman in a single, covenantal union, as delineated by Scripture.
Marriage ceremonies performed in any facility owned, leased, or rented by Pioneer Baptist Church will be only those ceremonies sanctioned by God, joining one man with one woman as their gender was determined at birth. Whenever there is a conflict between the church’s position and any new legal standard for marriage, the church’s statement of faith, doctrines, and biblical positions will govern. (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:22-23; Mark 10:6-9; 1 Corinthians 7:1-9)
• We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage (as defined in Section 14, A. 1 above). We believe that any other type of sexual activity, identity, or expression that lies outside of this definition of marriage, including those that are becoming more acceptable in the culture and the courts, are sinful perversions of and contradictory to God’s natural design and purpose for sexual activity. (Genesis 2:24, 19:5; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1-7, 6:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)
Gender and Sexuality
• We believe that God wonderfully and immutably created each person as male or female. We further believe that the Bible recognizes only two genders and gender expressions which are valid for all of humanity. These two, distinct, complementary genders reflect the image and nature of God. We believe rejection of one's biological gender or
expression and presentation as the opposite gender is a rejection of the image of God within that person. Pioneer Baptist Church desires to adhere to these clear truths of Scripture while simultaneously
Church will not conform its facilities to accommodate those whose gender expression is not aligned with Scripture but does commit to expressing the love of God to all who enter its doors. (Genesis 1:26-27) • We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Pioneer
Baptist Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to its members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Pioneer Baptist Church and its ministries, in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, in any capacity, agree to and abide by the statements on marriage, gender and sexuality as
presented in this Statement of Faith. (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; I Thessalonians 5:22)
• We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin and seek His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-10; I Corinthians 6:9-11) • We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love,
kindness, respect and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or
attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Pioneer Baptist Church. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31)
Family Relationships
• We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God and that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home and men are to be the leaders (pastors/elders and deacons) of the church. (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18; I Timothy 2:8-15, 3:4-5, 12; Titus 1:5-9)
6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 19:18, 22:15, 23:13-14; Mark 10:6-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33, 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Peter 3:1-7)
Divorce and Remarriage
We believe that God disapproves of and forbids divorce except on the grounds of adultery. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of
pastor/elder or deacon. (Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Mark 10:11-12; Romans 7:1-3; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6; 1 Corinthians 7:10-16)
Abortion
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion is murder and constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. (Job 3:16; Ps. 51:5; 139:13-16; Isa. 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:36, 44)
