Statement of Faith
I. The Scriptures
We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible, which is the Word of God, that in it's truthfulness and completeness it is the only criteria and authority of both church and individual for faith and practice. We believe in the authority and sufficiency of the Word of God, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, as originally written. That it is the product of spirit-controlled men, and therefore is infallible and inerrant in all matters of which it speaks. We believe the Bible to be the true center of Christian unity and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creed and opinions shall be tried. ( II Peter 1:19-21 ; II Timothy 3:16 )
II. God
We believe that there is one God eternally existing, manifesting Himself to us in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. ( Genesis 1:1 , John 9:35 ; John 10:30 ; John 14:16-26 ; I Corinthians 8:6 )
III. The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
We believe in the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ: His virgin birth, His sinless life, His substitutionary death on the cross for our sins, His bodily resurrection from the grave, His ascension to the right hand of God, where He ever liveth to make intercession for the believers, and His personal, visible, imminent, and pre-millenial return to the earth at the end of this age. ( Matthew 1:18 ; John 1:14 ; Acts 1:11 ; I Thesselonians 4:16,17 ; Hebrews 8:6 ; 5:9,10 ; 7:25 ; 12:2 )
IV. The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God, a divine person, equal with God the Father and God the Son, possessing all the distinctive Divine attributes. We believe that He is the Administrator of the things of God concerning sin, revealing truth, energizing believers for prayer and service, and restraining evil until He be taken out of the way. We believe that He is the agent in the new birth, that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps the believer. Every true believer receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit at the time of salvation. ( Psalm 139:7-10 ; II Thessalonians 2:7 ; John 16:8-13 ; I Corinthians 12:13 ; John 14:16,17 ; Acts 5:30-32 ; John 3:5,6 ; Romans 8:14,16,26,27 ) We believe that the Holy Spirit equips believers for service by bestowing upon them spiritual gifts. Some gifts listed in the New Testament, however, (such as tongues and healing) were temporary in nature, and were intended for the infancy of the church and are no longer being received. ( I Corinthians 12:4-11 ; Hebrews 2:4 ; I Corinthians 13:8-10 )
V. Satan
We believe in the reality and personality of Satan; that he is a created being, once known as the "anointed cherub" that through pride fell; that he is "the god of this world" and "the prince of the power of the air"; that the judgement already passed on him will be executed at the Revelation of Jesus Christ, and that ultimately he will be cast into the lake of fire. ( Matthew 13:19 ; John 8:44 ; Ephesians 2:2 ; Revelation 20:10 ; Ezekial 28:13-15 )
VI. Creation and Man
A. Creation
We believe the biblical account of creation of the physical universe, angels, and man, and that this account is neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate creative acts of God without any evolutionary process; that man was created by direct work of God and not from previously existing forms of life; and that all men are descended from historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race. ( Genesis 1:2 ; 1:26-28 ; 2:7 ; 3:16 ; Colossians 3:16 ; 1:16-17 ; John 1:3 ; Galatians 3:22 )
B. Man
We believe that man was created in innocence ( in the image and likeness of God) under the law of His maker, but by voluntary transgression Adam fell from his sinless and happy state, and all men sinned in him, in consequence of which all men are totally depraved, are partakers of Adam's fallen nature, and are sinners by nature and by conduct, and therefore are under just condemnation without defense or excuse. ( Genesis 3:1-6 ; Romans 3:10-19,23 ; 5:12,19 ; 1:18 )
VII. Salvation
A. Grace and New Birth
We believe in the new birth, that one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life: The Free Gift of God; that the new creation is brought about by our sovereign God in a manner above our comprehension, solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel, and that its proper evidence appear in the holy fruits of repentance, faith and newness of life. ( John 3:3 ; II Corinthians 5:17 ; I John 5:1 ; Acts 16:20-33 ; II Peter 1:4 ; Ephesians 2:1,5 ; Colossians 2:13 ; John 3:8 )
B. Justification
We believe that justification is that judicial act of God whereby He declares the believer righteous upon the basis of the imputed righteousness of Christ; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer's blood. ( Romans 3:24 ; 4:5 ; 5:1 ; Galatians 2:16 ; Philippians 3:9 )
C. Sanctification
We believe that sanctification is the divine setting apart of the believer unto God accomplished in a three-fold manner: First, an eternal act of God, based on redemption in Christ, establishing the believer in a position of holiness at the moment he trusts the Savior; Second, a continuing process in the saint as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to the life; Third, the final accomplishment of this process at the Lord's return. ( Hebrews 10:10-14 ; 3:1 ; John 17:17 ; II Corinthians 2:18 ; I Corinthians 1:30 ; Ephesians 5:25-27 ; I Thessalonians 4:3,4 ; 5:23-24 ; I John 3:21 ; Jude 24,25 )
D. Security of the Saints
We believe that all who are truly born-again are kept by God the Father for Jesus Christ. ( John 5:24 ; I John 5:10-13 )
VIII. The Church
A. The Mystical Church
We believe that every born-again believer, is by the mystical act of God, accorded a place in the body of Christ and that this body is biblically identified as "the Church". ( Ephesians 3:3 ; Colossians 1:24-27 ; I Corinthians 12:12,13 )
B. The Local Church
We believe that a local church is a congregation of baptized (immersed) believers associated together by covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel, that it has the absolute right of self-government from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and 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. We believe that the local church is directed by the Holy Spirit and answerable to Christ; that in matters of membership, polity, government, discipline, and benevolence the will of the church is final. ( Acts 2:4,42 ; I Corinthians 11:2 ; Ephesians 1:22-23 ; 5:23,24 ; Colossians 1:18 )
IX. Separation of Church and State
We believe in the absolute separation of church and state. ( Matthew 22:21 )
X. Separation of Church from Apostasy
We believe in the separation of the local church from all affiliation, fellowship and cooperation with those who deny the true Christian faith and that the church should refuse to be drawn into compromising alliances, even with well-meaning, evangelical people, whereby our testimony would be impaired and our position confused. Specifically, we reject the concept that our church should cooperate with unbelievers and apostate churches, even if by so doing beneficial results may seem to be produced. ( II Corinthians 6:14 ; II Timothy 3:5 ; Ephesians 5:11 ; II John 9-11 )
XI. Personal Separation
We believe that all who name the name of Christ as their Savior should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon His Name. We believe also that separation from all religious apostasy as well as worldly and sinful pleasures and associations is commanded by Him. ( II Timothy 3:1-5 ; Romans 12:1,2 ; 14:13 ; I John 2:15-17 ; II John 9:11 ; I Corinthians 6:14-17 )
XII. The Two Natures
We believe that every saved person has two natures, with full provision made by God for victory of the new over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. ( Romans 6:13 ; 7:17-8:1 ; 8:12,13 ; Galatians 5:16-25 ; Ephesians 4:22-24 ; Colossians 3:10 )
XIII. Civil Governments
We believe that civil governments are of Divine appointment for the interests of good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed except in things opposed to the will of God as expressed in His Word and interpreted in the light of this constitution and confession of faith. ( Romans 13:1-7 ; Titus 3:1 ; I Peter 2:13,14,17 ; Acts 4:19,20 ; Acts 5:29 )
XIV. The Lord's Return
We believe in the bodily, personal, immanent, pre-millennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ, an event which can occur at any moment, that at that moment the dead in Christ shall be raised in glorified bodies, the living in Christ shall be given glorified bodies without tasting death, and all shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air before the seven years of tribulation. ( I Corinthians 15:42-44 , 51-54 ; Philippians 3:20,21 ; I Thessalonians 4:13-16 ). We believe that the tribulation which follows the rapture of the church will be culminated by the revelation of Christ when He comes with His church in power and great glory to sit upon the throne of David and to establish the Millennial Kingdom. ( Matthew 25:31-46 ; Revelation 19:11-21 ; Daniel 9:25-27 ; Matthew 24:29 ; Luke 1:30-33 ; Isaiah 9:6,7 ; 11:1-9 ; Acts 2:29,30 ; Revelation 20:1-6 )
Graham Road Baptist Church
705 Graham RoadCuyahoga Falls ,Ohio 44221
Phone: 330-928-7742