"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." - A.W. Tozer
II Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” Therefore it is our desire here at Buffalo Ridge Baptist Church to be a Biblical ministry. In everything that is preached, taught, and done at our Church we endeavor to follow the Word of God. Below you will find some of the things we believe as a Church.
The Holy Scriptures
We believe in the verbal (every word) and plenary (complete) inspiration of the Old and New Testaments; that they are the final authority for faith and life, inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tried. (II Timothy 3:16,17; Proverbs 30:5) We believe in the verbal (every word) and plenary (complete) inspiration of the Old and New Testaments; that they are the final authority for faith and life, inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tried. (II Timothy 3:16,17; Proverbs 30:5)
We believe the King James Version is the preserved Word of God for English-speaking people and is the only acceptable version to be used at this church. (Psalm 119:160; Romans 15:4; II Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 22:18-19; Psalm 12:6,7)
The Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ
We believe in the deity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect man; that He is God manifested in the flesh, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary; that He lived a sinless life on earth; that He died on Calvary’s cross and shed His precious blood as a satisfactory sacrifice for sinners; that His body was buried in and arose the third day from Joseph’s tomb; that He ascended to Heaven and was glorified at God’s right hand; and that He is coming again for His own. (Isaiah 7:14; II Corinthians 5:21; Matthew 1:18-25; I Peter 1:18,19)
The Creation and Fall of Man
We believe that man was created by a direct act of God and not by any evolutionary process. (Genesis 2:7)
We believe that man was created in God’s own image and in a state of innocence; that through his transgression sin entered into the world, and death by sin—not only physical death—but spiritual death, which is conscious and eternal separation from God; and that consequently, his posterity inherit a corrupt nature, being born in sin under its condemnation, and utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26,27; 3:6-19; Romans 5:12; Psalm 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Ephesians 2:1-3)
The Church
We believe that the local New Testament church is to be composed of regenerated, baptized believers, voluntarily united together for the purpose of worship, edification, ordinances, fellowship, and service; that the officers of the local church are Pastors and Deacons whose qualifications and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures; that the mission of the church is the faithful witnessing of Christ to all men as we have opportunity, in the local community, and to the uttermost part of the earth; that the local church has the absolute right to self-government, free from the interference of any individuals or organizations, religious or political; that the one and only Superintendent is Christ, through the Holy Spirit; that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; that each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; that on matters of membership, policy of government, discipline, benevolence, etc., the will of the local church is final. (Acts 2:41-47; Romans 1:7; Ephesians 1:15-23; Acts 20:28-31; I Peter 5:1-5; Ephesians 3:21)
The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that once a person is saved, he is kept by God’s power and remains secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1; 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5)
We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word; which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. In other words, the liberty we have received in Christ does not release us to do our own thing. Instead, it should cause us to live in accordance to His will. If we live in disobedience, we will not lose our salvation, but we will lose our fellowship and be chastened by our heavenly Father. (Romans 13:13,14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15; Hebrews 12:5-11)
The True God
We believe there is one and only one living and true God, an infinite Spirit, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible honor, confidence and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. (Exodus 20:2,3; l Corinthians 8:6; I John 5:7; Revelation 4:11)
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature; that He was active in the creation; that in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the evil one until God’s purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; that He bears witness to the Truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the New Birth; that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies and helps the believer, and that the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance) is the evidence of His indwelling rather than the speaking in tongues and other spectacular demonstrations. (Galatians 5:22,23; Genesis 1:1-3; Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:8; Luke 24:49; John 1:33; John 3:5,6; John 14:16,17; John 14:26; John 16:7-11; Acts 11:16; Romans 8:14,16, 26, 27; Ephesians 1: 13,14; Hebrews 9:14; Acts 5:30-32)
Salvation
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ “died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures;” that a person is saved when he repents of his sin and exercises faith by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour; that salvation is a gift of eternal life wholly by the grace of God without any merit or works; and that the atonement of Christ is not limited, but that God desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth; that it is not His will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (I Corinthians 15: 3,4; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:9, 10; Acts 16:31; II Peter 3:9; Ephesians 2:8, 9; Ephesians 1:7; Mark 1:15)
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, in the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour. Our submission to Christian baptism symbolizes our death to sin and resurrection to a new life.
We believe that the Lord’s Supper, in which God’s children by the sacred use of the bread and the cup, is to commemorate together the broken body and shed blood of Christ and is to be preceded always with solemn self-examination. (Acts 8:36, 39; John 3:22, 23; Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:4; Acts 2:41, 42; I Corinthians 11:23-28)
Hell
We believe in a literal, burning Hell, and that the Lake of Fire and Brimstone shall be the place of eternal punishment for Satan, fallen angels, demons, and the unbelieving dead. (Mark 9:42-48; Luke 16:22-26; Revelation 20:10-15; Revelation 21:8)
Heaven
We believe in an actual place called Heaven where God’s immediate presence is manifested, where the angels dwell, and where the redeemed who are justified through faith in Jesus Christ shall ultimately dwell; it is from Heaven that Christ descended and to which, after the completion of His earthly ministry, He ascended and it is in Heaven that He makes intercession for the saints, and from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. (John 14:1-3; Revelation 21-22:6)
The Second Coming of Christ
We believe in the bodily, personal, pre-tribulational, premillennial, and imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the air to catch away all believers unto Himself before the tribulation period; and in the personal, visible, and glorious return of Christ to the earth, with believers, at the close of the tribulation period to judge the nations and to set up His millennial Kingdom on earth. (Acts 1:11; John 14:3; I Thessalonians 4:1318; Matthew 24:42
The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in a covenant relationship for a lifetime.
Men and women, males and females are the only two genders/sexes of human beings created by God. Gender/biological sex is assigned by God long before birth.
Marriage is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His Church and to provide for the man and the woman the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the Church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit to the headship of Christ. She being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being with an eternal soul. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life, made in the image of God. Abortion therefore is murder.
Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and lead them through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1,5: Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:13-15, 44 Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; 2d Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7.
