Statement of Faith

Cleburne County Baptist Church

This is a condensed version. Please contact our Pastor for the full version located in our church constitution.

The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, preserved, God-breathed, the final authority for faith and life, and the complete and divine revelation of God to man. The Authorized King James Version of the Bible shall be the official and only translation used by the Church. (II Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; Luke 24:13-28; John 16:12-16; Jonah 1:1; Ps. 100:5; Ps. 12:6-7).

Salvation
Salvation is obtained only by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Each person must: recognize their own need for salvation (“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23), repent of their sin (2 Peter 3:9), and believe in their heart that Jesus is the payment for their sins and that God has raised Him from the dead.

Baptism
Baptism is the first step of obedience to, and a public confession of identifying with, Jesus Christ. Baptism is a prerequisite before church membership. (Matthew 28:19; John 3:22-27; John 5:26-27; Acts 2:41,47; Acts 10:48; Ephesians 5:23)

The Church
We believe that the Church was started by Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:18; Acts 1:1-2). We believe that the Church is a congregation of baptized believers who have received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

The Trinity
We believe in the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – three persons, yet one (I John 5:1-8; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; John 14:10, 26).

Blood Atonement
We believe in the substitutionary atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ; that He, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man and that all must be born again or are forever lost. We believe that salvation is available to all men and that each one of us has the ability to choose. (Hebrews 2:9; John 3:1-18; 6:44-69; Romans 3:25; Revelation 1:5; Hebrews 9:22; I Peter 1:18-19).

Resurrection
We believe in the bodily resurrection of our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, and that He ascended bodily into the Heavens and is at the right hand of God as our Mediator, Priest, and Advocate. He is the first-fruits of the resurrection (Acts 3:12-26; John 20; Hebrews 9:24; I Corinthians 15:12-25).

The First Resurrection -The main “harvest” of the resurrection occurs at the catching away or “Rapture” which occurs immediately prior to the tribulation period. This can occur at any moment as the Lord has said, “Surely I come quickly.” (Revelation 22:20, I Thessalonians 4:13-18). The final part of the resurrection for believers or “gleanings” occurs for those martyred during the Tribulation (Revelation 20:4-6).
The second death (second resurrection by implication) is for those who have rejected Jesus Christ as their Savior and is directly associated with judgment. (Revelation 20:12-15)
The Second coming of Jesus Christ is tied to the first resurrection.

Justification by Faith We believe that man is justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). We believe that God commands and demands repentance on the part of sinners (Acts 17:30; Luke 13:3, 5; Matthew 9:13).

Eternal Security
Eternal security is a description of the assurance of our salvation. Once we are saved we know and are persuaded that we are a child of God for all eternity (I John 5:13; John 10:27-29; Romans 8:30-39; John 3:16; Hebrews 7:25; 10:10, 14; II Timothy 1:12).

Kingship, Second Coming, and Judgment
We believe in the Kingship of Jesus Christ (Revelation 11:15; 19:11-21; 20:4-6; I Thessalonians 1:9-10).

A Separated Church

We are to be separated from false doctrine (II Peter 2:1-3).
We are to be separated from the world and its standards (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 5:1-17).
We are to be separated unto Christ. (Romans 6:11-13; Hebrews 12:12).

Creation We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour time periods, as it is presented in the Biblical account (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11).

Civil Government We believe that the civil government has been ordained by God and is directly responsible to God. We also believe that civil government has been given specific Biblical responsibilities and limits to its sphere of authority. (Romans 13:1-7; I Peter 2:13-17).

Human Sexuality

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man (who has always been a male) and a woman (who has always been a female). We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man (who has always been a male) and one woman (who has always been a female) (Genesis 2:24, Romans 7:2; I Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23).

Abortion We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable (Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1,5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44).

Discipleship A disciple of Jesus Christ is one who is a saved and baptized individual who is to be a follower of Jesus (Mark 2:14). We believe that we are to train the saved to follow the commandments that Christ gave, and to follow that which He “began” with His apostles (Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:1-2).

The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe.

Please contact our Pastor if you would like the full Statement of Faith.