Providence Baptist Church
Confession of Faith
The Bible is our church’s only rule of faith and practice. Nevertheless, we also believe that a clear, concise confession of faith is an important tool for protecting doctrinal orthodoxy and promoting local church unity.
The confession that follows is not an inspired document and is subject to revision by the church. Subscription to the confession is not a requirement for church membership. However, the elders, ministers, and teachers of this church must consent to preach and teach in accordance with this confession, which is the church’s doctrinal standard.
The Gospel
We confess the following articles, believing them to be absolutely essential to faithful gospel witness.
God
There is only one God, the Maker, Preserver, and Ruler of all things, having in and of himself all perfections, and being infinite in them all.
The Trinity
God is revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
The Fall of Man
God originally created man in his own image, and free from sin, but by voluntary transgression, man fell from his original holiness and righteousness, in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners and under condemnation, Jesus Christ being the only exception.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the one mediator between God and man. He took upon himself human nature, yet without sin, being conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He perfectly fulfilled the law of God, suffered, and died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners. He was buried and rose again the third day. He then ascended into heaven, where he now sits at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for his people.
Regeneration
Regeneration, or being born again, is a profound change in which a sinner is brought from spiritual death to spiritual life. It is accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit, in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel. Its proper evidence is in the holy fruits of repentance, and faith, and newness of life. It is neither obtained nor secured in baptism, nor is it absolutely dependent on any instrumentality apart from the word of God.
Repentance and Faith
Repentance and faith are sacred duties and also inseparable graces, worked in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God, whereby being deeply convinced of our guilt, danger, and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession and petition for mercy, at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, and relying on him alone as the only and all-sufficient Savior.
Justification
Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal of sinners who believe in Christ from all sin, through the satisfaction that Christ has made, not for anything worked in them or done by them, but on account of the obedience and satisfaction of Christ, they receiving and resting on him and his righteousness by faith.
Sanctification
Every believer is set apart to God by justification and is therefore declared to be holy and identified as a saint. This sanctification is positional and instantaneous. There is also a work of the Holy Spirit in every believer which may be called progressive sanctification. Through obedience to the word of God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, the believer is able to live a life of increasing holiness in conformity to the will of God, becoming more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ.
Perseverance of the Saints
Those whom God has accepted in the beloved, and sanctified by his Spirit, will never totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere to the end. Though they may fall through, neglect and temptation, into sin, yet they shall be renewed again unto repentance, and be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Last Things
In the end of this present age, Jesus Christ will return bodily and visibly in glory to the earth, the dead will be resurrected bodily, and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The wicked shall go into everlasting punishment, and the righteous into everlasting life.
Affirmation of Sin
To affirm any sinful lifestyle or identity as fundamentally good constitutes an essential departure from the gospel message.
Church Unity
We also confess the following articles, believing that agreement in them is necessary for local church unity.
The Scriptures
The scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God and are therefore inerrant. Although no translation made by men is perfect, translations of scripture are the very word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original. Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and authoritative rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.
Creation
The opening chapters of Genesis present creation in six literal days, describe the special creation of man and woman, and define marriage as between one man and one woman. Adam and Eve were real historical persons, the first human beings, and the ancestors of the entire human race.
Providence
God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and all events, yet so as not by any means to be the author or approver of sin, nor to destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures.
Total Depravity
Adam having fallen from his original holiness and righteousness, all his posterity inherit a nature which is corrupt, totally depraved, and wholly opposed to God and his law.
Unconditional Election
Election is God’s eternal choice of some persons to everlasting life—not because of foreseen merit in them, but of his mere mercy in Christ—in consequence of which choice they are called, justified, and glorified.
Particular Redemption
The Lord Jesus, by his perfect obedience and sacrifice of himself, which he through the eternal Spirit once offered up to God, has fully satisfied the justice of God, procured reconciliation, and purchased an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, for all those whom the Father has given to him.
Effectual Calling
Those whom God has predestinated to life, he is pleased in his appointed and accepted time, effectually to call, by his word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ.
The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
In this present age, every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who is the Comforter. His presence is a divine guarantee to the believer that he will ultimately be redeemed. He enlightens and empowers believers in worship, evangelism, and service. Although miraculous sign gifts were common among the earliest disciples, they are no longer normative for believers.
Assurance of Salvation
Those who truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love him in sincerity, may in this life be certainly assured that they are saved. This assurance does not belong to the essence of saving faith, and a true believer may wait long, and struggle with many difficulties before he is a partaker of it. Nevertheless, being enabled by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given to him by God, he may, without extraordinary revelation, in the right use of means, attain to it.
The New Covenant People of God
Jesus Christ, as mediator of the New Covenant, and through the blood of his cross, has united all the elect, both Jews and Gentiles, in one new people of God. In scripture, this people is called a holy nation, bringing forth the fruits of the kingdom of God. It is spoken of as a family, with Christ himself being the firstborn among many brethren. It is pictured as one flock with one great shepherd, one spiritual house built upon Christ the chief cornerstone, one spiritual body under the headship of Christ, and one bride whom Christ will present to himself in glory.
Baptism
Baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus, obligatory upon every believer, wherein he is immersed in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of his fellowship with the death and resurrection of Christ, of remission of sins, and of giving himself up to God, to live and walk in newness of life. It is prerequisite to church membership, and to participation in the Lord’s Supper. It should not be administered to unbelieving infants, nor should it be withheld from children making a credible profession of faith.
The Local Church
As some commands of Christ can only be obeyed in community, baptized believers are obligated to associate themselves into particular local congregations, by their own voluntary mutual consent, and they are sufficiently warranted to do so without the involvement of any other church. To each of these churches so gathered, Christ has given all necessary authority for administering the order, discipline, and worship which he has appointed. The regular officers of a church are elders, also called pastors or overseers, and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of elder is limited to men as qualified by scripture. The New Testament represents a church being led by a plurality of elders as ideal.
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of Jesus Christ, to be administered with the elements of unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine, and to be observed by his churches until the end of the world. It is in no sense a sacrifice, but is designed to commemorate his death, to confirm the faith and other graces of believers, and to be a bond, pledge, and renewal of their communion with him, and of their church fellowship.
Church Discipline
Church members persisting in serious, unrepentant sin must be removed from membership in the church. This responsibility is given to each local church, and not one particular person, either member or officer, but the whole congregation.
The Lord’s Day
The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private.
The Intermediate State
The bodies of men after death return to dust, but their spirits return immediately to God—the righteous to rest with him, the wicked to be reserved under darkness to judgment.
Liberty of Conscience
God alone is Lord of the conscience, and he has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are in anything contrary to his word, or not contained in it.
Civil Magistrates
Civil magistrates being ordained by God, subjection in all lawful things commanded by them ought to be yielded by believers.