- The Holy Scriptures: We believe in the Holy Scriptures, accepting fully the writings of the Old and New Testaments as the very Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts and sufficient in themselves as our only infallible rule of faith and practice. The authorized King James Version of the Bible shall be the official translation used by the church. [II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet 1:19-21]
- The Godhead: We believe in the one Triune God, who is personal, spirit, sovereign, self-existent, and self-revealing in three distinct persons: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Each is co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, coequal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections. [Deut 6:4; Matt 28:19; II Cor 13:14; John 14:10, 26]
- The Person and Work of Christ: We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten and eternal Son of God, who, being conceived of the Holy Spirit, became man by the miracle of the Virgin Birth, that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men, thus to continue forever as both God and true man; that He gave Himself in death upon the cross, bearing there the sin of the world, accomplishing our redemption through his death by substitutionary sacrifice; that He rose from the dead, securing our justification; and that as our Great High Priest, He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Advocate and Intercessor for all who believe. [Isa 7:14, 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; Acts 1:9; 2:22-36; Rom 3:24-25, 8:34; II Cor 5:19-21; Gal 4:4-5; Eph 1:7; Phil 2:5-8; Heb 7:25, 9:24; I Pet 1:3-5, 2:24; I John 2:1-2]
- The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; 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; 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. [John 16:8-11; Rom 8:9; I Cor 12:12-14; II Cor 5:5; Eph 1:13-14, 17-18, 4:30, 5:18; I John 2:20, 2:27]
- Spiritual Gifts: 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; I Cor 12:4-11, 28; Eph 4:7-12] We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing were temporary; 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. [I Cor 1:22, 13:8, 14:21-22; James 5:14-16]
- Total Depravity of Man: We believe that man was the direct creation of God and that by personal disobedience to the revealed will of God, man became a sinful creature, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition, and the progenitor of a fallen race that is universally sinful in both nature and practice. [Gen 1:26-27; Rom 3:22-23, 5:12, 6:23; Eph 2:1-3, 4:17-19]
- Salvation: We believe that salvation is free as the gift of God, neither merited nor secured by work of man but received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of sin. Those who have received Christ then possess the gift of eternal life, Sonship in the family of God, deliverance and security from all condemnation. [John 1:12; Eph 1:7, 2:8-10; I Pet 1:18-19]
- Second Coming of Christ: We believe in the Second Coming of Christ, that His return will be personal, visible, premillennial, and glorious, and that the time is always imminent. We believe that, 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. [Psa 89:3-4; Dan 2:31-45; Zech 14:4-11; I Thess 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6]
- Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers: 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, 8:38; I Cor 1:4-8; I Pet 1:4-5] 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 clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. [Rom 13:13-14; Gal 5:13; Titus 2:11-15]
- Ordinances of Obedience: We recognize water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age. [Mat 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:8; I Cor 11:23-26]
- 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, and all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded of God. [Rom 12:1-2, 14:13; II Cor 6:14-18, 7:1; II Tim 3:1-5; I John 2:15-17; II John 1:9-11]
- Eternal State: 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, 20:12-13] We believe that the spirits of the saved at death go immediately to be with Christ, their bodies waiting for the resurrection at the Second Coming of Christ. [Luke 23:43; II Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23, 3:21; I Thess 4:16-17; Rev 20:4-6] We believe that the souls of the unsaved are separated from God until the final day of judgment, at which time their bodies shall be raised to be judged according to their works; that 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; Jude 1:6-7; Rev 20:11-15]
- The Church: We believe that the local church is solely made up of born-again persons who are the body and the espoused bride of Christ. [I Cor 12:122-14; II Cor 11:2; Eph 1:22-23, 5:25-27] 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; I Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11] 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; I Cor 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; I Pet 5:1-4]
A Bible-believing, Independent Baptist Church with a heart for people! Located in Fruitland Park in close proximity to the Villages, Lady Lake, Wildwood and the Tri-County Area!
