Authority & Intent

        The Word of God is our ultimate authority and is superior to the content and meaning of this constitution and the by-laws which this organization will be administered. This church shall not be bound by the customs(ie Jewish), practices(such as paying the bride price or circumcision), or dietary type rules given to us in the New Testament. It shall not be subjugated to the desires, rules of faith, or the restrictions of any individual, association, committee, convention or fellowship. This church shall be local, self-governing, self-perpetuating and without any outside control of any form. It shall adhere to and exercise the right of separation of church and state.

Statement of Faith

SECTION 1 - Statement of Faith of Trinity Baptist Church

      This church receives the "King James Bible" as God's Holy Word and its supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice. The church's understanding of Christian truth as contained in the Bible is the essence stated in this doctrinal statement:

        1.     THE BIBLE - We believe the scriptures of the entire Old and New Testaments to be the verbal inspired word of God. We believe the Old and New Testaments are God's completed revelation to men, wholly without error. All together sufficient within themselves as our only infallible authoritative rule of faith and practice. (2nd Timothy 3:16, II Peter 1:19-21, John 10:35). 

        2.     GOD - We believe in one living 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 it's 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 revelation to His creation and people. (Genesis 1:1; Exodus 15:11; Psalm 83:13;
139:7-9; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30; 15:26)

        3.     THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST -
                A.            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).

                B.            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 Peter 2:24; Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
                C.            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).

                D.            We believe in the bodily, personal, imminent, premillennial return of Jesus Christ. We believe that He is coming in the air to rapture His saints which is our blessed hope, that when He has, first by resurrection of the dead and translation of the living, removed from the earth His awaiting church.

                He will then pour out the righteous judgments of God upon the unbelieving world (seven year tribulation period) and afterwards descend with His church and establish His glorious and literal kingdom over all the nations for a thousand years. (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-58; Heb. 19:37; Matt. 24:21; Jude 14:15; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:4-7).

        4.     THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT -

                A.            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).

                B.            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).
                C.            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).
                D.            We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing were temporary. We believe that 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).

        5.     MAN - We believe that man was the direct creation of God, made in His image and likeness. We believe that man in the person of the first Adam was created in innocence but by voluntary transgression fell into sin, thus plunging the whole human race into condemnation and death, so that now all mankind, with Adam as the father of our fallen race, is born 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 attaining salvation (Gen. 1: 26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3).

        6.     SATAN - We believe in the distinct personality of Satan, that he was originally created a holy and perfect being, but fell 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 of man and God of this present world; his power is so 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. (Isa. 14:12-15; Eph. 6:12; 1 Peter 5:8; 1 John 3:8; Rev. 12:9-11; 20:10).

        7.     CREATION - We believe that God created the heavens and the earth, including all life, "each after its kind", by direct act and not by process of evolution, theistic or otherwise.

        8.     SALVATION - We believe that salvation is by grace through faith, that it 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 death, burial, and resurrection of God's son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all true believers have as a present possession, the gift of eternal life, a perfect righteousness in Christ, sonship in the family of God, 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 further believe in the eternal security of the believer; that when a person is truly born again of the Holy Spirit he becomes a child of God forever; that the believer is kept by the power of God, and sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption; that it is impossible for one born into the family of God ever to be lost again. (Eph. 1:13-14; 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; John 1:12; 3:14-18; 5:24; 10:28-29; Rom. 8:1; Phil. 1:6; 1 Peter 1:3-5).

        9.     THE CHURCH -

                A.         We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again baptized believers (1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27).
                B.            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).

                C.            We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:2-4; 15:19-31; 20:28: Rom. 16:1,4; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4).

                D.            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).

        10.   ORDINANCES  - We believe the ordinances given to the local church are two, baptism and the Lord's Supper. We believe that baptism is the immersion of the believer in water thus portraying the death, burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and is a picture of the believer's death to the old life and resurrection to new life in 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 till He comes again. We further believe that the elements of the Lord's Supper (bread and fruit of the vine) should be unleavened and unfermented.

        11.   CHURCH OFFICES - We believe that the offices of the local church are two, Pastor and Deacons. We believe that the Pastor is the spiritual leader and overseer of the church, that the Deacons are for helps to the Pastor in His ministry to the local assembly.

        12.   SEPARATION - We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God (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).

        13.   FUTURE LIFE - We believe that the spirits of the saved at death go immediately to be with Christ in heaven, that their works shall be brought before the judgment seat of Christ for the determination of rewards which will take place at the time when Christ comes for His own; that the spirits of the unsaved at death descend immediately into hell where they are kept under punishment until the final day of judgment (Great White Throne Judgment), at which time their bodies shall be raised from the grave, that they shall be judged and cast into the
Lake of Fire, the place of final and everlasting punishment. We believe in the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost. (1 Cor. 15:11; 2 Cor. 5:8-10; Luke 16:19-23; Rev. 14:9-11; 20:11-15).

        14.   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, beastiality, 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; I Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4).

                        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)

         15.   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 (Mal. 2:14-17; Matt. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6). 

        16.   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 the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable (Job 3:16; Psalms 52:5; 139: 14-16; Isa. 44:24; 49:1, 5: Jer. 1:5; 20:15- 18; Luke 1:44).

        17.   MISSIONS - We believe that God has given the church the 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).

        18.   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).

        19.   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).

SECTION 2 - 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.