Doctrinal Statement

We believe in the Holy Scripture: accepting the writings of the Old and New Testaments as the very Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts and, therefore, wholly without error and altogether sufficient in themselves as our only infallible and authoritative rule of faith and practice. We believe God has preserved His Word for the English-speaking peoples in the King James Version.

We believe in the one true God: Who is an intelligent, sovereign, spiritual and personal Being; perfect, infinite, and eternal in His being, holiness and love, wisdom and power; absolutely separate from and above the world as its Creator, yet everywhere present in the world as the Upholder of all things. He is revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three distinct Persons but without division of nature, essence or being, and each having a distinct ministry in God's relation to His creation and people.

We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ: Who is the second Person of the Triune God, the eternal Word and Only Begotten Son; that without any change in His Divine Person, He became man by the miracle of the virgin birth, thus to continue forever as both true God and true Man, one Person with two natures; that as Man He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin; that as the perfect Lamb of God He gave Himself in death upon the cross, bearing there the sin of the world, and suffering its full penalty of divine wrath in our stead; that He arose from the grave in a glorified body; that as our great High Priest He ascended into Heaven, there to appear before the face of God as our Advocate and Intercessor.

We believe in the Holy Spirit: Who is the third Person of the Trinity and the Divine Agent in nature, revelation, and redemption; that He convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment; that He regenerates, indwells, seals, and anoints all who become children of God through Christ; that He further empowers, guides, teaches, sanctifies, and fills believers who daily surrender to Him. Using Acts 1:8 as our criteria for evaluation, we believe that the evidence of the fullness of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is boldness to witness for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

We believe all men are by nature and choice sinful and lost: that man was the direct creation of God, made in His image and likeness; that by personal disobedience to the revealed will of God, man became a sinful creature, the father of a fallen race which is universally sinful in both nature and practice, thus alienated from the life and family of God, under the righteous judgment and wrath of God, and has within himself no possible means of salvation.

We believe in salvation by grace through faith: that salvation is the free gift of God, neither merited nor secured in part or in whole by any virtue or work of man, but received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all true believers have as a present possession the gift of eternal life, a perfect righteousness, deliverance and security from all condemnation, every spiritual resource needed for life and godliness, and the divine guarantee that they shall never perish; that this salvation affects the whole man; that apart from Christ there is no possible salvation.

We believe in righteous living and godly works: not as a means of salvation in any sense, but as its proper evidence and fruit; therefore, as Christians we should obey the Word of our Lord, seek the things which are above, walk as He walked, and accept as our solemn responsibility the duty and privilege of bearing the gospel to a lost world, remembering that a victorious and fruitful Christian life is possible only for those who in gratitude for the infinite and undeserved mercies of God have presented themselves wholly to Christ.

We believe in the existence of Satan: who originally was created a holy and perfect being, but through pride and wicked ambition rebelled against God, thus becoming utterly depraved in character, the great adversary of God and His people, leader of all other evil angels and wicked spirits, the deceiver and god of this present world; that his powers are vast, but strictly limited by the permissive will of God who overrules all his wicked devices for good; that he was defeated and judged at the cross, and therefore his final doom is certain; that we are able to resist and overcome him only in the armor of God, by the blood of the Lamb and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We believe in the second coming of Christ: embodied in the belief in the imminent return of Christ prior to the Tribulation and known as the Pre-Tribulation Rapture (I Thes. 4:13–18). We believe that the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy is the yet-to-come seven-year Tribulation which will be followed by the one thousand year Millennium (Dan. 9:24–27; Rev. 4–19; 20:1–6). We believe that Christ will judge all mankind with respect to salvation and service (I Cor. 3:11–15; Rev. 20:12–15; Heb. 9:28). We believe that the Lord will raise all mankind, some to the resurrection of life and some to the resurrection of damnation (Jn. 5:28–29; Col. 3:20–21; Rev. 20:12–15).

We deny as unscriptural the notions of Mid-Tribulation, Pre-Wrath, Post-Tribulation, Post-Millennial, and A-Millennial eschatological positions. We believe that the righteous dead go immediately to be with Christ forever in heaven, and the lost who die go immediately to hell and will suffer in the lake of fire forever (Phil. 1:21; Lk. 16:22–23; II Cor. 5:8; Mk. 9:43–48; Mt. 25:46).

We believe in the separation of church and state, with each having definite and distinct spheres of responsibility.

We believe in the priesthood of all believers: that Christ is our Great High Priest and through Him every born-again person has direct access into God's presence without the need of a human priest; that the believer has the right and responsibility to personally study and interpret the Scriptures guided by the Holy Spirit.

We believe in the importance of the local church: that a New Testament church is a congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His Laws, and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its officers of ordination are pastors or elders and deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures; we believe the true mission of the church is found in the Great Commission: first, to make individual disciples; second, to baptize the converts; third, to teach and instruct as He commanded.

We do not believe in the reversal of this order; we hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government, free 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 every church is sole and only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation, on all matters of membership, policy, government, discipline, and benevolence, and the will of the local church is final.

We are also a Baptist institution which holds to historic Baptist distinctives in its doctrinal position. Independent Baptist Seminary is an arm of the local church. The seminary makes plain the New Testament teaching of the local church organization and reflects its autonomy and sovereignty.

We believe the ordinances given to the local church are two, baptism and the Lord's Supper: that baptism is by immersion of believers, thus portraying the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; that the Lord's Supper is the partaking of the bread and cup by the believer as a continuing memorial of the broken body and shed blood of Christ.

We believe in missions and missionaries: that all men everywhere are lost and condemned and that the command to go and preach the Gospel to the world is clear and unmistakable, and this commission was given to the churches. Following New Testament precedent and example, we believe that all missionary endeavors should be under the ultimate sponsorship of the local congregation which may utilize the facilities and services of mission boards, but that no mission board should ever misconstrue its purpose to attempt to hold or to assign authority to itself.

We believe in the grace of giving: that God's method of financing His earthly work of spreading the Gospel to all nations, the care of the churches, and the support of the ministry, is by the tithe and offerings of God's people. We believe that it is to be given to the Lord through His church or storehouse to be distributed as directed by the leadership of the Spirit, as the need arises. We believe that the time to tithe is upon the first day of the week. We also believe that everyone is accountable to the Lord for a minimum standard of giving of one-tenth of his income, and that offerings are to be given above the tithe as God has prospered the individual.

We believe in separation from the world: that it is a command of God that all believers separate from all forms of godlessness, apostasy, compromise, and worldliness.