WHAT WE BELIEVE
GOD – We believe that there is one, and only one, true and living God; that He is absolute in nature,perfect in attributes, holy in character, the maker of and supreme ruler of heaven and earth; that He is infinite in wisdom, marvelous in power, and amazing in love; that He is holy, righteous and true, worthy of all confidence and love; that he unites in Himself the infinite, the eternal, and the almighty Three – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; that the three persons of the God-head subsist in the same divine nature, essence, and being; and that they are coexistent and coequal in every divine attribute, each one executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 4:39; Mark 12:29; Genesis 17:1; Matthew 5:48; Isaiah 6:3; I Chronicles 29:11&12; Psalm 103:19 Romans 11:33&34; Matthew 19:26; Psalm 19:9; Matthew 28:19; I Peter 1:2&3; I John 5:7; Exodus 3:14; Genesis 1:26; and Titus 3:3-7.)
The Divine Trinity – (1) GOD THE FATHER. We believe that God, the Father, is the first person set
forth in the divine Trinity; that he is Almighty, merciful, and just; that he is holy, righteous and true;that he is eternally existent, glorious in nature, possessing the attributes of omnipotence,
omniscience, and omnipresence; and that He, in harmony with His divine office, loves
provides, and protects, thus exercising providential watch-care over the sons of men, and especially
a fatherly care over the children of God. (Matthew 28:19; Genesis 17:1; Matthew 19:26; Psalm 19:9; Isaiah 6:3; Psalm 100:5; Proverbs 15:3; Psalm 139:1-6; Psalm 139:13&14; Psalm 103:13; Matthew 6:25-30; Matthew10:29-31; and Matthew:7:11.)
(2) GOD THE SON – VIRGIN BORN. We believe that God, the Son, is the second person set forth in the divine Trinity; that He is holy, righteous, and true; that He is eternally existent, glorious in nature, possessing the attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence; that God, the Father, through the Holy Spirit, is actually and eternally His divine Father, and Mary the virgin, is actually and innocently His human mother; and that He, in harmony with His divine office; mediates, seeks, and saves, thus exercising the mediatorial office of redemption. (Matthew 28:19; John:1:1-3,14;Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 28:18; Titus 3:5-6; John 8:15-16; II Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 13:8; Philippians 2:6; John 2:24; Matthew 28:20; Luke 1:35; Luke 2:7-14, I Timothy 2:5-6; Luke 19:10; and John 3:16.)
(3) GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT. We believe that God, the Holy Spirit, is the third person set forth in the Divine Trinity; that He is Almighty, merciful, and just; that He is holy, righteous and true; that He is eternally existent, glorious in nature, possessing the attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence; that He restrains the world, the flesh, and the Devil; that he witnesses to the Truth, convicts the lost, extols the Christ, and testifies to the righteous judgments of God; that He, in harmony with His divine office, comforts, teaches, preaches, guides, regenerates, empowers, sanctifies and anoints, thus exercising the quickening role in the works of saving the lost and the supervising role in the life of the saved. (John 14:16, 17&26; John 15:26; John 16: 7-13; Hebrews 9:14; I Peter 4:14; Isaiah 40:12-15; I Corinthians 2:10-12; Psalm 139:7-12; II Thessalonians 2:6-7; John 3:6&8; Ephesians 1: 13-14; Acts 1:8; I Peter 1:2; and Isaiah 61:1.)
The Devil – We believe that Satan is an actual created being of God, and not an imaginary influence; that he once enjoyed heavenly honors and glorious heavenly privileges; that he, through pride, ambition, and self-will, attempted to betray the Almighty and brought down upon his head, the judgment of God; that he operates today as the god of this world and the prince of the power of the air; that he is a diabolical inventor, and arch-deceiver, and the father of all lies; that he is the greatest enemy, the mightiest tempter, and the most relentless accuser of the saints; that he shall one day be incarnate in the person of the Anti-Christ and in that role will finally meet the Christ in the Battle of Armageddon; that there “the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpents head;” and that he shall eventually be cast into the lake of fire, the eternal place of punishment, prepared for the Devil and his angels. (Job 1:6-12); Job 2:1-7; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Isaiah 14:12-27; Genesis 3:14; II Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; Matthew 24:11; II Thessalonians 2:7-11; John 8:44, I Peter 5:8; Genesis 3:1-6; Revelation 12:10; Daniel 7:8; Revelation 13:1-10; Revelation 19:20; Genesis 3:15; II Corinthians 11:13-15; John 14:30; and Ephesians 2:2.
The Holy Bible – We believe that the Holy Bible is a supernatural book; that it is the very Word of God; that it is the full, final, and the complete revelation of God’s will to man; that it has God, the Holy Spirit, for its author, salvation for its end, and truth in the original without any admixture of error for its matter; that it was written by holy men of God under the immediate and direct dictation of the Holy Spirit; that it is verbally inspired and a perfect treasure of holy instruction; and that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us, and is therefore, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions will be tried. The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official and only translation used by this church. (Special note : the King James Version and the New King James Version are two different translations, and only the King James Version will be the accepted translation used by Lukfata Baptist Church.) (Psalm 119:89; II Timothy 3:16-17; Revelation 22: 18-19; John 17:17; John 3:32-34; II Peter 1:20-21; Zephaniah 1:1; Psalm 19:7-11; Exodus 20:3-17; Psalm 1:2; and John 12:48.
Creation – We believe that the Genesis record of creation is literal, and not allegorical or figurative; that God personally created the heavens and the earth; that He miraculously brought forth all original matter out of nothing; that He actually fashioned all organic forms as specific creations subject to limited changes within the specie; that He definitely ordained each specie to bring forth after its kind; that He finally formed man out of the dust of the ground, not by any process of evolution but by instant action, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became immediately a living soul; that He created man in the image and likeness of God; that His every creative act was complete and perfect in itself; and that not one of His creations was conditioned upon antecedent changes naturally wrought during interminable periods of time. (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3,14; Hebrews 11:3; Genesis 1:21, 24-27; Genesis 2:7; and Colossians 1:16.)
The Fall Of Man – We believe that man, originally created in holiness and actually associated with God in innocence under His law, did, by voluntary transgression of the Lord’s command, fall from the high and happy state in which he was created, and, as a consequence, became a sinner alienated from God and brought upon himself and all mankind just condemnation; and that he is now, by virtue of his fallen nature, utterly void of holiness, positively inclined to evil, and actually condemned to eternal ruin, without defense or excuse. (Genesis 1:26-27; Ecclesiastes 7:29; Genesis 3:6; Genesis 3:23-24; Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 5:12; Romans 1:21-23; Romans 3:10-18; and Revelation 21:8.)
The Blood Atonement – We believe that the lost sinner is guilt and already under just condemnation; that he is by nature alien to God and because of sin condemned to die; that atonement for sin was effected through the mediatorial office of the Son, who, by divine appointment, freely took upon Himself our nature, yet without sin; that He, through obedience during His earthly walk, personally honored the divine Law by keeping it and, through His death on the cross, actually satisfied the penalty of the offended law by suffering in the sinners stead; that He through His obedience and sacrificial death, made full and vicarious atonement for all sin; that He died, the just for the unjust, bearing our sins in His body on the tree; and that He through the shedding of His blood on the cross of Calvary, evidenced eternal provision for cleansing, for pardon, for peace, and for rest. (Isaiah 53:6; Romans 6:7; Romans 8:23; I Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 2:17; II Corinthians 5:21; Matthew 5:17-18; I Peter 2:24; Hebrews 10:10-12; I Peter 3:18; Revelation 1:5; Isaiah 55:7; John 14:27; Matthew 11:28; I John 1:7; Ephesians 1:7; and Hebrews 9:22.)
Repentance and Faith – We believe that repentance and faith are solemn and inseparable prerequisites of salvation; that they are inseparable graces wrought in the heart by the quickening Holy Spirit; that the alien sinner, being deeply convicted of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come by the personal ministry of the Holy Spirit, and by Him having his understanding enlightened so that he can see the way of salvation through Christ, does actually repent, turning to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication, and does actually believe, surrendering himself wholeheartedly to the Lord Jesus, immediately receiving Him as personal and all-sufficient Savior and openly confessing Him before all men. (Acts 20:21-22; Mark 1:15; Acts 11:18; Ephesians 2:8; John 16:8-11; Matthew 3:1,2,& 8; Acts 3:19; Luke 13:3; Luke 18:9-14; Acts 9:6; and Romans 10:10.)
Salvation By Grace – We believe that grace is elective and saving; that it embraces the personal triune, and redemptive ministry of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; that it comprehends all of the labors put forth by the Almighty in the interest of perfect righteousness and the salvation of the lost soul; that it encompasses foreknowledge, foreordination, and predestination; that it, and it alone, saves even to the uttermost all who repent toward God and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; and that salvation thus wrought is wholly by grace, “The Free Gift Of God,” requiring neither culture nor works in any form to secure it or to keep it. (II Timothy 1:8-9; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-7; I Peter 1 2-5; Matthew 23:37; Romans 8:28-30; Hebrews 7:25; Acts 20:20-21; Romans 6:23; Romans 11:6; Romans 5:20; Isaiah 1:18; and Isaiah 55:1.)
Regeneration – We believe that in order to be saved, lost sinners must be regenerated, or born again; that regeneration is a recreative act, far beyond comprehension, wrought in the believer’s heart by the direct personal ministry of the Holy Spirit; that it is instantaneous, miraculous, and non-evolutionary, or cultural; that it embraces the divine acts of cleansing the heart from all inward sin and of pardoning the soul of all outward guilt, in connection with the work of begetting a new creature in Christ Jesus; that the dead sinner is made to live through the new birth, becoming thereby a regenerated spirit, possessing eternal life, the gift of God; that the new birth comes after the Holy Spirit secures voluntary repentance and belief in the gospel; that it is the actual impartation of the divine life, not a mere transformation of the human life; and that the proper evidence of regeneration appears in the holy fruits of the obedient and willing faith of the followers of the Lord Jesus, (John 3:3-5&7; II Corinthians 5:17; John 3:8; John 3:16; John 1 12-13; Isaiah 1:18; Titus 3:5-7; Ephesians 2: 1&5; Romans 6:23; John 16:8-11; Matthew 7:16-18; James 2:17-20.)
Justification – We believe that justification is one of the great gospel blessings secured through Christ for all who trust Him; that it is a legal and divine decree; declaring the believing sinner just; that it is thus a state of being free form condemnation, including forgiveness for inward sins and pardon for outward sins; that it secures through faith, freedom from legal bondage, exemption from the wrath of God, and possession of peace which passes all understanding; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely upon the evidence of faith in God and the Redeemer’s blood; and that it brings us into a state of unchanging peace and favor with God and secures every other blessing needful for time and for eternity. (Romans 3:24-25; Romans 3:28; Romans 8:33; Romans 8:1; John 5:24; Romans 4:3-8; Romans 6:6; Romans 5:9; Romans 5:1; Philippians 4:7; Romans 8:31-33; Genesis 15:6; and Hebrews 2:4.)
The Security Of The Believer – We believe that salvation wrought by grace is everlasting; that the saved soul journeying through the valley of the shadow of death need fear no evil; that the Holy Spirit-begotten and born are kept by the power of God; that the believer in Christ Jesus shall not be brought into judgment; that no one can lay anything to the charge of God’s elect; that they are securely held in the hand of the Father and the Son; and that the age old Baptist doctrine, “Once in grace, always in grace,” is heavenly and gloriously true. (John 3:16; John 3:36; John 5:24; John 6; Psalm 23:4; Isaiah 37:23-24; Philippians 1:6; I Peter 3:5; John 5:24; Romans 8:1; John 10:27-29; Romans 8:31-39; and II Timothy 1:12.)
Sanctification – We believe that sanctification is a divine work of grace; that it is not a state of sinless perfection attained through a “second blessing” or through a special “Baptism of the Holy Ghost;’ that it is an act of grace by which the believer is separated unto God and dedicated unto His righteous purpose; that by it we enter into divinely appointed privileges and thus become larger partakers of His holiness; that it is a progressive work, begun in regeneration, and carried on in the life of every believer by the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, and the saved through his self-examination, obedience, self-denial, watchfulness, and prayer. (I Thessalonians 4:3; I Thessalonians 5:23; Romans 15:16; Jeremiah 1:5; Proverbs 4:18; John 17:17; II Corinthians 3:18; I John 2:29; Romans 8:5; I Timothy 4:5; Luke 9:23; Matthew 24:42; Matthew 7:7-11.)
The Lord’s Return – We believe that Jesus Christ is coming back to earth again and that all the saved shall be raptured to meet the Lord in the air, both the dead and living. (Pretribulation) And that His return shall mark the advent of “The Day Of The Lord” and usher in the millennium; and that He shall in that day turn the tables on Satan, take up the throne of His father, David, put down all of His enemies, rule with a rod of iron, triumph over sin, and give the world an example of righteous government during His thousand years of personal reign on earth, (Job 18:25-26; Isaiah 9:6-7; Zechariah 14:4; Malachi 4:2; Luke 1:31-33; Matthew 25:31-34; Revelation 19:11-21; Acts 1:11; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 1:7; II Peter 3:10; Revelation 20:4-6; Isiah 9:7; I Corinthians 15:25-27; Psalm 2:9; Revelation 12:5; Revelation 19:15; I John 3:8; and Psalm 72:1-20.)
The Resurrection – We believe that Jesus Christ arose bodily from the grave on the first day of the week, which we now observe as the Lord’s Day, a day of worship; that His miraculous emergence from the tomb forecasted a like bodily resurrection for every member of the Adamic race; that the dead in Christ will rise first in glorified bodies like His; that they shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air; that the dead in trespasses and sins, or the dead out of Christ, shall rise at the close of the millennium; and that they shall be brought before the Great White Throne Judgment and there face the Judge of the quick and the dead. (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:1-12; I Corinthians 15:12-22; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:5-6; Revelation 11:15; Daniel 12:3; I Samuel 2:6; Isaiah 26:19; Hosea 12:14; and Isaiah 25:6-8.)
Individual Rewards – We believe that reward and salvation are not one and the same thing. We believe that the Lord shall reward His own; that He Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout; that the dead in Christ shall rise first; that a solemn separation shall take place; that the blood-washed and Holy Spirit-begotten shall be caught up to meet Him in the air, and there be rewarded according to the deeds done in the body; and that the place called the New Heaven and the New Earth is ordained the everlasting dwelling place of the children of God. We believe that the wicked are children of the devil; that they are rebels against God; that they reject the free offer of salvation through Christ; that they ignore the wooings of the Holy Spirit; and that they, as a consequence, are hell bound, being under a death sentence; that they shall spend eternity in the Lake of Fire which burneth with fire and brimstone where the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet shall ever be. (I Corinthians 3:11-15; I Thessalonians 4:16-18; Matthew 24:40-41; Matthew 13:47-50; I Corinthians 3:8; Revelation 21:1-8; John 8:44; Romans 8:7: John 3:18; Revelation 20:10-15; and Romans 6:23.)
The Righteous and the Wicked – We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked. We believe the righteous are they who believe in Christ Jesus, the justified faith, and the sanctified by the Holy Spirit and the Word; that the righteous are heirs of God and joint-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ; and that eternal life, the gift of God, is the matchless possession of the just. We believe that the wicked are they who do not believe in Christ Jesus, the condemned because of unbelief and the corrupted by the god of this world; that the unjust spurn the privileges of God’s grace, choosing the life of sin and rebellion; and that eternal damnation is the inescapable portion of the unjust. (Malachi 3:16-18; John 3:6; Romans3:22-24; Romans 4:3; Romans 1:17; Romans 8:1-17; Acts 20-232; John 15:3; Romans 8:17; Romans 6:23; II Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 21:8; Mathew 23:37; Proverbs 29:1; Matthew 25:41.)
The Local Church – We believe that a New Testament Church, according to divine purpose and plan, is a visible, local, organized body; that it is composed of baptized (by a scriptural Baptist church) believers associated together by a covenant of faith and fellowship in the Gospel; that New Testament validity flows from strict obedience to essential principles of New Testament law; that it is a sovereign, independent, democratic and militant body; that its ministry is gloriously blessed with the presence and leadership of the Holy Spirit and the light and the revelation of the written Word; that its work should ever be from within to without and never from without to within; that it is a self-governing body and is the sole judge, under the limitations of the Scriptures, of the measure and methods of co-operation; that it is the only ecclesiastical tribunal the Lord has on earth; that it is subject to His laws and is the custodian of His ordinances; that the perpetuity of our faith, our doctrine and practices, ordinances and ordinations has been effected through the Holy Spirit personally planting and preserving local Baptist churches of like faith and order down through the centuries even until now. (Matthew 28:19-20; I Corinthians 1:1-3; Acts 2:41-42; II Corinthians 8:5; Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:15-17; John 14:16-17, and 26; Acts 1:8; Acts 13:1-4; Matthew 18:17-18; Matthew 16:18-19; Matthew 26:26-29; Matthew 28:19-20; I Timothy 3:15; Mark 3:13-14; and Luke 6:12-13.)
Ordinances – We believe that Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances personally set in the church of the Living God by the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that Baptism is the burial of a believer in water by the authority and instruction of the local Baptist church; that it symbolizes the death and the burial and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ; that it also typifies the believers death to sin, the burial of his old nature, and his resurrection unto a new life; and that it is administered in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We believe the Lord’s Supper is a memorial spread and administered by the authority and instruction of the local Baptist church to its members only; that it symbolizes the broken body and the shed blood of of the Son of God; that its observance points backward to the crucified Lord on Calvary and forward to the returning Lord in glory. We believe that these ordinances are not sacraments, but are sanctified symbols, pointing to the world”s only savior, and bidding the sons of men to look unto an everlasting fellowship with the King of kings and the Lord of lords when He shall return to take over the reins of all government. (Matthew 26:26-29; Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:35; Mathew 16:19; Acts 10:47; and I Corinthians 11:23_26.)
Church Administration – We believe that the churches of God and the state should be kept completely separate; that civil officers should be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed; that diligence should be had in seeking the will of God in all church matters; that missionary endeavors should ever be executed from within the local church to without; that pastors and deacons, the only divinely appointed church officers, should be duly ordained and brought to understand the sacred duties devolving upon them; that the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week, should be honored both by saint and sinner; that Bible teachings should be constantly and consistently fostered by local church bodies; that members should be deliberately and prayerfully voted into the fellowship of the local body; that unruly church members should be prayerfully and Scripturally disciplined by the local church; and that church letters should be granted to local sister churches of the same faith and practice. (Acts 1:8; Acts 13: 1-35; Romans 13:1-7; Acts14:23 Acts 2:42; Revelation 1:10; Matthew 16:19; Acts 10:47; Matthew 18:15-17; Acts 15:19-27; Acts 18:27; Romans 16:1-2; and Matthew 28:19-20.)
Church Co-operation – We believe that it is the privilege and the right of local churches to co-operate with each other in carrying out the commission of the Lord; that such co-operation is righteously effected only when the principles of Christ are preserved in the work fostered; and that all associated endeavor of local churches should be carried on in such a way as to preserve the sovereign integrity of each local body in all matters of faith and practice. (II Corinthians 8:1-6, and 16-24; II John 1-4; Matthew 16:18-19; and Acts 15:19-27.)
Human Sexuality – We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. Genesis 2:24, and 19:5-13, and 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1, and 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; and Hebrews 13:4.)
We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; I Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23.)
We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God, but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and in the church. The husband is to be the leader in the home and men are to be the leaders of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for license and ordination by the church. (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18; I Timothy 2:8-15 and 3:4-5 and 12.)
Divorce and Remarriage – We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon. Malachi 2:14-17; Mathew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; I Timothy 3:2 and 12; and Titus 1:6.)
Abortion – We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, inexcusable taking of unborn human life. Abortions is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental or physical well-being of the mother are acceptable. Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1 and 5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44.)
Lawsuits Between Believers – We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe that the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. (I Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32.)
Giving – We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, to the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; I Timothy 5:17-18; I John 3:17.)
