Statement of Faith of Peachland Baptist Church
Our statement of faith is comprised of following basic doctrines contained in the Holy Scriptures, which is our sole rule of faith and practice.
1. The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures, in the original autographs, to be the Word of God, God-breathed, authoritative and without error (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; Matt. 5:18; John 16:12-13), to be interpreted literally in its historical grammatical perspective.
2. The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, eternal in being, equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deut. 6:4; 2 Cor. 13:14).
3. The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the immaterial image and likeness of God, but in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:9-18; 3:22-23; 5:12; Eph. 2:12; Jer. 17:9; Psalm 51:5; 58:3).
4. The Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man; that He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross which was a substitutionary sacrifice for all mankind (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; Rom. 3:24-25), that our redemption is made sure to us by His literal physical resurrection from the dead (1 Pet. 1:3-5), that the Lord Jesus Christ is now in Heaven, exalted and seated at the right hand of God, where as the High Priest for His people, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor and Advocate (Heb. 7:25; 9:24; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2).
5. The Person and work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person who ministers to mankind in these ways:
(a) The unbeliever is convicted of the sin of unbelief, of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8-11), and restrained from maximum evil (2 Thess. 2:6-7).
(b) At the moment of salvation the believer is permanently regenerated, indwelt and baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ, and sealed unto the day of redemption (John 3:3-7; 1 Cor. 6:19; 12:13; Eph. 1:13; Rom. 8:9).
(c) The believer is commanded to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18), but the Spirit is grieved or quenched by sin in the life (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19). Control (filling) by the Holy Spirit is restored by confession of sin (1 John 1:9); the result is the
fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), which fruit becomes more apparent as the believer grows in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18; John 13:35; 1 John 3:14).
(d) Spiritual gifts are bestowed by the Holy Spirit on every believer (Rom. 12:6-8; Eph. 4:11).
6. Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God, brought to men by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ whose precious blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins (1 Pet. 1:18-19; Eph. 2:8-10; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7). God does not overrule man’s free will in accepting or rejecting His provisions of salvation (2 Pet. 3:9; John 3:16, 18). Man appropriates this salvation on the simple basis of belief (Acts 16:31; 4:12; John 20:31; 1 John 5:11-12). We believe that all believers are kept secure forever, that is that the believer’s salvation cannot be lost (Rom. 8:35; John 10:27-30; 1 Cor. 1:4-9; 1 Pet. 1:3-5).
7. The Church
We believe that the Church, which is the Body and Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age (Col 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27; 1 Cor. 12:12-14). The Body of Christ is visibly functional through autonomous organizations called local churches (1 Cor. 1:1-2; Phil. 1:1). We believe the objectives of the local church are those under Article II.
8. The Person of Satan
We believe that Satan is a real created being, a fallen angel, who is the open and declared enemy of God and man (Job 1:6-7; Matt. 4:1-11; Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:14-18).
9. The Blessed Hope
We believe in the rapture of the Church, to be forever with the Lord, (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 1:9-10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:12-13;); in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory to rule, and in the judgment of all those who do not know God (John 5:28-29; Zech. 14:4-11; Matt. 24:44; Matt. 25:3246; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; Rev. 20:6).
10. The Eternal State
We believe that the souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation pass immediately into His presence at death (2 Cor. 5:8; Luke 23:43; Phil. 1:23), and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming, when soul and body reunited shall be associated with Him forever (1 Thess. 4:16-17). But the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery in Hades (Luke 16:19-26), until the Final Judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the Millennium, when soul and body, reunited, shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated but to be punished with everlasting destruction away from the presence and glory of the Lord (2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 1:67; Rev. 20:11-15).
11. The Grace Responsibilities of Believers
We believe that all believers should seek to walk in a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Lord and Savior (1 Cor. 5:9-13; Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1), that it is the privilege of every believer to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture, and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all the world (Acts 1:8; 11:2; 2 Cor. 5:20), and that it is their responsibility to remember the work of the Lord in prayer and support it with their means as He has prospered them. (1 Cor 16:2; 2 Cor 9:7)
12. Church Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted only two ordinacnes:
(a) Baptism of believers by immersion (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41; 8:12, 36, 38; 1 Cor. 1:16).
(b) Communion which is commemorative of the Lord’s death is to be observed until His return (Luke 22:19-20; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 10:16; 11:23-26).
PBC Position Statement on Men and Women in Ministry
PBC Position Statement on Marriage, Gender and Sexuality
