1. We believe that love one for another as Jesus loves the
believer manifests our discipleship, proves our love for God and
symbolizes our authority as New Testament churches. Love is
therefore the great commandment of the LORD Jesus Christ upon
which all others are dependent (Matt. 22:35-40; John 13:34, 35;
John 15:12; 1 John 4:7-21; 1 John 5:1-3; Rev. 2:4, 5).
2. We believe in the infallible, verbal inspiration of the whole
Bible and that the Bible is the all-sufficient rule of faith and
practice (Psalm 119:160; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17).
3. We believe in the personal triune God: Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, equal in divine perfection (Matt. 28:19).
4. We believe in the Genesis account of Creation (Gen. 1; 2).
5. We believe that Satan is a fallen angel, the archenemy of God
and man, the unholy god of this world, and that his destiny is
the eternal lake of fire (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:11-19; Matt.
25:41; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 6:10-17; Rev. 20:10).
6. We believe in the virgin birth and sinless humanity of Jesus
Christ (Matt. 1:18-20; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22).
7. We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ (John 10:30; John 1:1,
14; 2 Cor. 5:19).
8. We believe the Holy Spirit is the divine Administrator for
Jesus Christ in His churches (Luke 24:49; John 14:16, 17; Acts
1:4, 5, 8; Acts 2:1-4).
9. We believe that miraculous spiritual manifestation gifts were
done away when the Bible was completed. Faith, Hope and Love are
the vital abiding Spiritual Gifts (1 Cor. chapters 12-14).
10. We believe that Man was created in the image of God and lived
in innocency until he fell by voluntary transgression from his
sinless state, the result being that all mankind are sinners
(Gen. 1:26; Gen. 3:6-24; Rom. 5:12, 19).
11. We believe that the suffering and death of Jesus Christ was
substitutionary for all mankind and is efficacious only to those
who believe (Isa. 53:6; Heb. 2:9; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Peter 3:18; 2
Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:2).
12. We believe in the bodily resurrection and ascension of
Christ and the bodily resurrection of His saints (Matt. 28:1-7;
Acts 1:9-11; 1 Cor. 15:42-58; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).
13. We believe in the premillennial, personal, bodily return of
Christ as the crowning event of the Gentile age. This event will
include the resurrection of the righteous to eternal heaven, and
the Millennium will be followed by the resurrection of the
unrighteous unto eternal punishment in the lake of fire and that
the righteous shall enter into the heaven age (John 14:1-6; 1
Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Thess. 2:8; Rev. 19; Rev. 20:4-6; Rev.
20:11-15; Rev. 21:8).
14. We believe that the depraved sinner is saved wholly by grace
through faith in Jesus Christ, and the requisites to regeneration
are repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
(Luke 13:3-5; John 3:16-18; Acts 20:21; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8, 9),
and that the Holy Spirit convicts sinners, regenerates, seals,
secures, and indwells every believer (John 3:6; John 16:8, 9;
Rom. 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; Eph. 4:30; Titus 3:5).
15. We believe that all who trust Jesus Christ for salvation are
eternally secure in Him and shall not perish (John 3:36; John
5:24; John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:35-39; Heb. 10:39; 1 Peter 1:5).
16. We believe that God deals with believers as His children,
that He chastises the disobedient, and that He rewards the
obedient (Matt. 16:27; Matt. 25:14-23; John 1:12; Heb. 12:5-11; 2
John 8; Rev. 22:12).
17. We believe that Jesus Christ established His church during
His ministry on earth and that it is always a local, visible
assembly of scripturally baptized believers in covenant
relationship to carry out the Commission of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and each church is an independent, self-governing body,
and no other ecclesiastical body may exercise authority over it.
We believe that Jesus Christ gave the Great Commission to the New
Testament churches only, and that He promised the perpetuity of
His churches (Matt. 4:18-22; Matt. 16:18; Matt. 28:19, 20; Mark
1:14-20; John 1:35-51; Eph. 3:21).
18. We believe that there are two pictorial ordinances in the
Lord's churches: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Scriptural
baptism is the immersion of penitent believers in water,
administered by the authority of a New Testament church in the
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Lord's Supper is a
memorial ordinance, restricted to the members of the church
observing the ordinance (Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 8:12, 38; Rom.
6:4; 1 Cor. 5:11-13; 1 Cor. 11:1, 2, 17-20, 26).
19. We believe that there are two divinely appointed offices in a
church, pastors and deacons, to be filled by men whose
qualifications are set forth in Titus and 1 Timothy.
20. We believe that all associations, fellowships, and committees
are, and properly should be, servants of, and under control of
the churches (Matt. 20:25-28).
21. We believe in freedom of worship without interference from
the government and affirm our belief in civil obedience, unless
the laws and regulations of civil government run contrary to the
Holy Scriptures (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-15).
Mt. Sylvia Missionary Baptist Church adopted this doctrinal statement in regular conference.
