What We Believe
The following comprise the Scriptural beliefs of Ambassador
Baptist Church and its members.
(A) The Holy
Scriptures. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New
Testament to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God.
The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed and,
therefore, are the final authority for faith and life. The
sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the complete and
divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures shall be
interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical
meaning, and all issues of interpretation and meaning shall be
determined by the pastor. The King James Version of the Bible
shall be the official and only translation used by the church. (2
Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21) .
(B) Dispensationalism. We
believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal
sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life
which define man's responsibilities in successive ages. These
dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather are divinely
ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His
purpose. Three of these dispensations-the law, the church, and
the kingdom-are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture.
(Gen. 1:28; 1 Cor. 9:17; 2 Cor. 3:9-18; Gal. 3:13-25; Eph. 1:10;
3:2-10; Col. 1:24-25, 27; Rev. 20:2-6)
(C) The
Godhead. We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in
three persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-each co-eternal in
being, co-identical in nature, coequal in power and glory, and
having the same attributes and perfections. (Deut. 6:4; Matt.
28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; John 14:10, 26)
(D) The Person and
Work of Christ. 1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the
eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having
been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in
order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Isa. 7:14;
9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil.
2:5-8) 2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our
redemption through His death on the cross as a representative,
vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification
is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.
(Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; 1 Pet. 2:24; Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is
now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He
fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and
Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2)
(E) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. 1. We believe
that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of
righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural
Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of
Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption.
(John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph.
1:13-14) 2. We believe that He is the divine Teacher who assists
believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it
is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the
Spirit (Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27) 3. We believe that
God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every
believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to
equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work
of the ministry. (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28; Eph. 4:7-12)
4. We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as
speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary.
Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the
baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit, and that ultimate
deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the
consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God
frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical
healing. (1 Cor. 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
(F) The Total
Depravity of Man. We believe that man was created in the image
and likeness of God; but that in Adam's sin the human race fell,
inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is
totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his
lost condition. (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph.
2:1-3; 4:17-19)
(G) Salvation. We believe that salvation
is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by
repentance and personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose
precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our
sins. We believe that all sins, except blasphemy of the Holy
Spirit, are forgivable. (John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet.
1:18-19; Matt. 12:31-32; 1 John 1:9)
(H) The Eternal
Security and Assurance of Believers. 1. We believe that all the
redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure
in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1; 38-39; 1
Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:4-5) 2. We believe that it is the privilege
of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation
through the testimony of God's Word, which, however, clearly
forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.
(Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
(I) The Church
1. We believe that the local church, which is the body and the
espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons.
(1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27) 2. We
believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches
is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures.
(Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11) 3. We
believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external
authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4;
1 Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet. 5:1-4) 4. We recognize water
baptism and the Lord's Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of
obedience for the church in this age. (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts
2:41-42; 18:18; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)
(J) Separation. We
believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to
bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands His people
to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful
pleasures, practices, and associations, and to refrain from all
immodest and immoderate appearances, piercings, and bodily
markings. (Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1
John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11; Lev. 19:28; 1 Cor. 6:19-20)
(K)
The Second Advent of Christ. We believe in that blessed hope, the
personal, imminent return of Christ Who will rapture His church
prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the
Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His
saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was
promised to the nation of Israel. (Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45;
Zech. 14:4-11; I Thess. 1:10; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev.
3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
(L) The Eternal State. 1. We
believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to
eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting
punishment. (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6,
12-13) 2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death,
absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious
bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and
body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke
23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; I Thess. 4:16-17; Rev.
20:4-6) 3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after
death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second
resurrection, when with soul and body reunited, they shall appear
at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the
Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting
conscious punishment and torment. (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48;
Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15)
(M) The Personality of Satan. We believe that Satan is a fallen
angel, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he
is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall
be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isa.
14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10)
(N)
Creation. We believe that God created the universe in six
literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Day-Age
Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin.
(Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11)
(O) Civil Government. We believe
that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of
three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the
state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all
(including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and
governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific
Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with
the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe
upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and
sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of
responsibility under God. (Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17;
1 Pet. 2:13-14)
(P) Human Sexuality. 1. 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. We believe that God
disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one's gender by
surgery or appearance. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9;
Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1: 26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb.
13:4) 2. We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the
joining of one man and one woman. (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor.
7:10; Eph. 5:22-23)
(Q) Family Relationships 1. 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 the church.
The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be
the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly,
only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church.
(Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12) 2. We believe
that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution
of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves
the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural
leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of
Christ. Children are an heritage from the Lord. Parents are
responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values
and leading them, through consistent lifestyle example and
appropriate discipline, including Scriptural corporal correction.
(Gen. 1:26-28; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Ps. 127:3-5; Prov. 19:18;
22:15; 23:13-14; Mk. 10:6-12; I Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4,
Col. 3:18-21; Heb. 13:4; I Pet. 3:1-7)
(R) Divorce and
Remarriage. We believe that God's plan for marriage is one man
for one woman for life. 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. (Mal. 2:14-17; Matt. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12;
Titus 1:6)
(S) Abortion. We believe that human life
begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human
being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of
unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching
that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects,
gender selection, birth or population control, or mental well
being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Ps. 51:5;
139:14-16; Isa. 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
(T) Love. We believe that we should demonstrate love for
others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward both
those who are not believers and those who oppose us. We are to
deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and
humbly. God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of
revenge, or the threat or the use of violence as a means of
resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice.
Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love
and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions. (Lev.
19:18; Matt. 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Rom. 12:9-10;
17-21; 13:8-10; Phil. 2:2-4; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1 John
3:17-18)
(U) 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 the church possesses all the resources necessary to
resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe,
however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from
another Christian's insurance company as long as the claim is
pursued without malice or slander. (1 Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32)
(V) Missions. We believe that God has given the church a
great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that
there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic
group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to
the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. (Matt.
28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor.
5:20)
(W) 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, 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. (Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts
4:34-37; 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim.
5:17-18; 1 John 3:17)
AUTHORITY OF STATEMENT OF
FAITH
The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent
of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all
that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing
Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible
and, therefore, is binding upon all members. All
literature used in the church shall be in complete agreement with
the Statement of Faith
