A. The Bible

We believe that the Bible is made up of sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the verbally inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, and being infallible is the supreme and final authority in faith and life. (II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:21; I Corinthians 2:13).

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B. God

We believe in one True God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfection. (Genesis 1:1,26; Matthew 28:19-20; John 10:30; Romans 1:7; Hebrews 1:8; Acts 5:3-4; II Corinthians 13:14).

 

C. Jesus

We believe the following regarding the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ:
That 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, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. (Matthew 3:16-17; John 17:5; Philippians 2:5-6; Matthew 1:18-23; Galatians 4:4).

 

That Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice atoning for our sin by His shed blood and that our justification is fully attested by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead and now lives, seated at the right hand of God. (Romans 5:8; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 5:2; Revelation 1:5; Romans 5:1, I Corinthians 15:3-8; II Corinthians 5:21; Luke 24:36-38; Hebrews 1:1-3).

That the Lord Jesus will return and that His return will be in two phases: 1. His return in the air for His Saints is imminent, personal and pre-millennial. (Acts 1:11; I Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 20:1-6) 2. His return to the earth with His Saints in a physical, personal, visible and glorious manner, at which time He will sit on David=s throne in the Millennial Kingdom and reign in righteousness and justice over all nations. (Luke 1:32, Zechariah 14:4-11; Isaiah 9:6-7, Revelation 19:11-16)

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D. Holy Spirit

We believe the following concerning the person and work of the Holy Spirit:
The (person) Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment; and that He is the supernatural agent in regeneration. We further believe that there is one baptism with the Spirit and it is unto the Body of Christ, indwelling and sealing each believer unto the day of redemption. We believe that God gives spiritual gifts to all believers for the building up of the body of Christ. (John 16:8-11, 3:3-6, 1:31-34; Acts 4:31; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14, I Corinthians 12:4-7,11). That He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth and that it is the privilege and responsibility of all believers to yield in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit. (John 16:13; I Corinthians 2:9-12; Acts 13:52; Ephesians 5:18)

 

E. Man

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God and that man is totally depraved and of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Ecclesiastes 7:29; Romans 3:23, 5:12-19; Isaiah 59:2; Ephesians 2:2-5)

 

F. Salvation

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that all who receive Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God and thereby become the children of God. We believe that all the redeemed are kept by God’s power. We also believe that God’s Word clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to give license to the flesh. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:13; John 3:3-6, 5:24, 10:27-29; Galatians 5:15; I Peter 1:18-23; Romans 6:11-13, 14; I Corinthians 8:9-13)

 

G. Ordinances

We believe that all believers should be baptized by immersion in water (unto) in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This act shows forth in a solemn and beautiful symbol our faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior. It is testimony of our death to sin and resurrection to a new life. We believe that the believer is to avail himself of the opportunity of remembering the Lord at the communion table, which by sacred use of the bread and wine commemorates the wounded body and shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ in our behalf. (Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:4-5; Mark 1:9-11; Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41-42; I Corinthians 11:23-26; John 19:34-36)

 

H. Conduct

We believe that all believers should live in such a manner as to bring glory to God in living holy lives being used of God as trophies of His grace and not to bring reproach upon our Savior and Lord and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful practices and associations is commanded by God. (Romans 6:11-13; Ephesians 4:1, 22-24, 5:8-11; Galatians 5:16; II Corinthians 6:14-18; I Thessalonians 2:12; I John 2:15-17)

 

I. Missions

We believe that the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ is to take the Gospel to every person throughout the world and is still incumbent upon every believer. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:13-15)

 

J. Satan

We believe that Satan was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honors, but through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, he fell and drew after him a host of angels; and that he is now the malignant prince of the power of the air and the unholy god of this world system. We hold him to be man’s great tempter, the enemy of God and Christ, the accuser of the saints, the author of all false religions, the chief power of all apostasy. He is the lord of the Antichrist and the author of all the powers of darkness, destined, however, to final judgment in hell: a place prepared for the devil and his angels. (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:14-17; Jude 6; I Thessalonians 3:5; I Peter 5:8; II Corinthians 11:13-15; II Thessalonians 2:8-11; Genesis 3:1-13; Job 1:8-11; Revelation 12:10, 20:1-3,10)

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K. Eternity

We believe that when a believer dies his soul and spirit go immediately to be with Jesus and there remain in conscious joy until the resurrection of the body at Jesus’ coming, whereupon soul, spirit and body will be reunited to enjoy the glories of Heaven forever. We believe also that the soul and spirit of those who have rejected Jesus Christ as Savior remain after death in a conscious misery in Hades until the final judgment of the Great White Throne, when soul, spirit and body will be reunited and cast into the lake of fire, banished from the presence of the Lord forever. (John 3:16,18-36; II Corinthians 5:6-8; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 16:19-26; John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:11-15)

 

L. Agreement

Salem Baptist Church agrees with the doctrinal statements of The Baptist Faith and Message as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in June 2000, but considers the Bible as the ultimate document of faith and practice.