at Louetta Road Baptist CHURCH we believe

A) The Scriptures. We believe the Bible to be the verbally inspired Word of God, without error
in the original writings, and the supreme and final authority in doctrine and practice. It is made
up of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John
17:17; Matthew 5:18; Joshua 1:8).

​

B) The Godhead. We believe in one personal and infinite God eternally existing in three equal
persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit; who have the same nature and attributes but who are
distinct in office and activity (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

​

C) The Person and Work of God the Father. We believe God the Father, with the Son and Holy
Spirit, is the Creator of all things. In His nature He is, among other things, completely holy, all-
powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent, eternal, just and loving. He is totally sovereign in all that
has or shall come to pass. As such, He is the author of election, through which He chooses a
people for Himself. He was the begetter and sender of His only Son, Jesus Christ. As the
Father of the elect, He is also their provider and disciplinarian (Acts 17:29; Romans 11:25-29; 1
John 1:5; John 3:16; Matthew

3:17; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 1:3-6; Matthew 6:30-32; Psalm 139:1-18).

​

D) The Person and Work of Christ

1) We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to
be God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary in order that He might
reveal God to man and redeem sinful man. We believe He accomplished our redemption
through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice. We believe our redemption and
salvation are guaranteed by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (John 1:1, 14, 18;
Romans 3:24-26, 4:25; Luke 1:35).

2) We believe the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted at the right hand of God, where,
as High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of intercession and advocacy for His people (Hebrews 1:3,
3:1; 7:23-25; 1 John 2:1-2).

​

E) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. We believe that God,the Holy Spirit,is the third
person of the Trinity, and, as such, possesses intellect, emotion and will. He restrains evil in the
world and convicts men of sin. He also regenerates those who receive Christ as Savior,
baptizing them at the moment of salvation into the Church (the Body of Christ), indwells them
permanently, seals them unto the day of redemption, bestows on them spiritual gifts, and
empowers those yielded to Him. It is the Spirit’s ministry to lead, instruct, and fill (or control)
believers as they are yielded to Him and are steadfast in the study of Scripture and in prayer
(John 3:8, 14:16-17, 16:7-11 ; 1 Corinthians 2:10-

11; 12:4-11, 13; Ephesians 4:30, 5:18).

​

F) Salvation

1) We believe every man is lost in sin apart from Christ and in need of a Savior. We believe
salvation is a gift of God and is received by man only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. We
believe man is justified by grace through faith alone, apart from works (Acts 13:38-39, Romans
6:23, Ephesians 2:8-10, Romans 3:23-24).

2) We believe all true believers, once saved, are kept secure in Christ forever (Romans 8:1, 38-
39; John 10:27-30; 1 Peter 1:3-5).

​

G) Angels and Satan

1) We believe angels are spiritual beings who were created in a sinless state and occupied
different orders and ranks. They presently exist in both fallen and unfallen states; the former
includes Satan and his angels (Hebrews 1:13-14, 2 Peter

2:4, Revelation 7:11).

2) We believe Satan is, by his own choice, the enemy of God and of the people of God. He is
the originator of sin. We believe he led our first parents into sin and now rules as the god of this
world. God judged Satan at the cross and will, ultimately, cast him into the Lake of Fire for
eternity (Isaiah 14:12-14, Genesis 3:1-19, Hebrews

2:14, Revelation 20:10).

​

H) Creation and the Fall

1) We believe God created all things in heaven and on earth. Everything exists by His power
and for His glory (Genesis 1:1, Colossians 1:16-17).

2) We believe God created man innocent and in the image and likeness of Himself. But man
sinned, bringing both physical and spiritual death to himself and to his posterity. We believe
man has inherited a sinful nature, is alienated from God, is incapable of redeeming himself, and
is in need of salvation (Genesis 1:27, 3:1-19; Romans 3:10- 12, 5:12, 17-19).

​

I) Sanctification

1) We believe sanctification, which is a setting apart of an individual unto God, is positional,
progressive, and ultimate:

4

2) Positionally, it is already complete since the believer is in Christ and is set apart unto God as
Christ is set apart unto God.

3) Since the believer retains his sinful nature, however, there is need for progressive
sanctification (or spiritual growth) whereby the Christian matures in grace by the power of the
Holy Spirit.

4) Ultimately the child of God will be sanctified when they are taken to be with Christ and
becomes like Him (John 17:17, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 5:25-27, 1 Thessalonians 5:23,
Hebrews 10:10, 14; 12:23; 1 John 3:2-3).

5) Once a person is born again, he/she is a new creation and has an everlasting life. No power
in the universe can undo the work performed by the Holy Spirit in the heart of that person
(Romans 8:38-39; Colossians 3:3; John 10:28-29).

​

J) Marriage and Family

1) We believe marriage and the family are the foundations of our society, nation, and continued
existence;

2) The only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one man and one woman;

3) God has commanded no intimate sexual activity be engaged outside of a Scriptural
marriage.

4) We believe any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication,
adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex.

5) We believe God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or
appearance (Proverbs 5:18-20; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Hebrews 13:4; Gen. 2:23-24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10-
11; Eph. 5:22-23; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29, 1 Cor. 5:1; 1 Thess. 4:1-8,
Heb. 13:4, Deut. 22:5).

​

K) The Church

1) We believe the universal church, the Body and Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism, made
up of all born-again persons of this age. We believe the church began at Pentecost and that a
believer is placed into the church by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. We believe the
church is distinct from Israel (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25- 27; 1 Corinthians 10:32, 12:12-13; Acts 2:1-
4, 11:16-18).

2) We believe the local church may be organized in various ways, but should reflect the
principles of:

(i) SubmissiontoJesusChristastheOnehead of the Church

(ii) Leadership by Elders and Deacons, a group of spiritually mature and gifted men

(iii)Mutual ministry which involves every member equipped for Christian service and
evangelism

(iv)The authority of God’s Word.

3) We believe the local church is an assembly of professed believers in Jesus Christ who are
voluntarily joined together in one locality for the purpose of worship, study of the Word of God,
observance of the ordinances, Christian fellowship, and prayer and impacting the community
and the world with the love of Christ and His glorious Gospel (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:42-47;
20:17-28; Romans 12:3-11; Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:11-13; Titus 1:5; 1 Timothy 3:1-13, 2 Timothy 3:16-
17).

​

L) The Ordinances

1) We believe Christ instituted the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which
are to be observed by believers until He returns (Matthew 28:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

2) We believe water baptism publicly identifies a believer with his or her Savior in His death,
burial and resurrection, and that immersion is the Scriptural mode (Acts 8:36- 38).

3) We believe the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of Christ’s death by which He established the
New Covenant, the elements being symbols of His body and blood. Every Christian has a right
to partake of the elements of Lord’s Supper, but participation should be preceded by solemn
self-examination (1 Corinthians 11:23- 24, Luke 22:17-20).

​

M) Events of the End Times

1) The Blessed​​ Hope: We believe in the personal, imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in
the air to receive to Himself all those, dead or alive, who belong to Him. This event, the rapture
of the Church, is the blessed hope for which we should be constantly looking (John 14:1-3, 1
Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:13- 18, Titus 2:11-14).

2) The Second Advent: After a time of tribulation, the Lord Jesus Christ will return to the earth
to establish His Millennial Kingdom, during which He will reign, bind Satan, restore Israel, and fill
the earth with the knowledge of the Lord (Isaiah

11:9, Ezekiel 37:21-28, Matthew 24:15-25, 46; 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Revelation 20:1-3).

3) The Eternal State: We believe the spirits of believers in Jesus Christ in this age pass
immediately into His presence at death and there remain in conscious bliss until the
resurrection of the body at His coming for the church. At that time, the spirit and body shall be
reunited and shall be associated with Him forever in glory. We believe the spirits of unbelievers
remain in conscious torment in Hades after death until the final judgement of the Great White
Throne at the close of the Millennium. At that time, spirit and body shall be reunited and shall
be cast into the Lake of Fire to endure eternal destruction and everlasting separation from the
presence of the Lord (Luke 16:19-26; 20:9-18; 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23, 2
Thessalonians 1:7-9, Revelation 20:11-15).