Crossroads Baptist Church

A. BASIC TENETS:

1. We believe the Scriptures of the Old (39 books) and New Testaments (27 books) are verbally inspired of God, inerrant in the original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life. (II Peter 1:16-21; II Timothy 3:16-17; Revelation 22:18-19)

2. We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matt. 28:19; John 10:30; Acts 5:3-4)

3. We believe concerning the Incarnation of Christ, that He was begotten by the Holy Spirit, was born of the virgin Mary, and is true God and true man. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Galatians 4:4; Colossians 2:9)

4. We believe that Creation was completed in six literal days, and that man was created in the image of God, and that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also the spiritual death which is separation from God. We believe that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are now sinners by birth and by choice, positively inclined to evil, and therefore under just condemnation to eternal ruin without defense or excuse. (Genesis 2:7; 3:1-24; Exodus 20:11; Romans 5:12-21; Psalm 58:3; I Corinthians 2:14; Romans 1:20)

5. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified by God on the basis of Christ’s shed blood. (I Corinthians 15:1-4; II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:24; Romans 5:9; I Peter 1:18-19)

6. We believe in the bodily resurrection of our Lord, His bodily ascension into heaven and His bodily presence there for us as High Priest and Advocate. (I Corinthians 15:1-4; 15:20-25; Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 7:25; I John 2:1-2)

7. We believe in the “blessed hope”, the personal, bodily, pre-tribulational, premillenial, and imminent return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13;I Thessalonians 4:16-18;John 14:1-3)

8. We believe that Satan is literal and personal, the agent of the fall, the prince and power of this world, and that he shall be judged and eternally punished. (Revelation 20:1-10; Ephesians 2:1-4)

9. We believe that all who through repentance and faith believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and are thereby children of God and are eternally saved. (John 3:3; Galatians 3:24-26; I John 5:13)

10. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead; (I Corinthians 15:12-58) both of the saved and unsaved. We believe in a literal heaven and a literal hell. The spirits of the saved immediately ascend upon physical death to Heaven to be with the Lord (John 14:2-3; II Corinthians 5:8), while their bodies await a physical resurrection (I Thessalonians 4:16). The spirits of the unsaved descend immediately into hades where they are kept under punishment until the final day of judgment (Luke 16:19-31; II Peter 2:9) at which time their bodies shall be raised from the grave, they shall be judged according to their works, and cast into the place of final and everlasting punishment. (Mark 9:43-48; I Thessalonians 4:16-18; Jude 13; Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8)

11. We believe that a New Testament Church is a body of baptized believers, assembled for worship, service, and the spread of the Gospel in all the world. (Acts 2; Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19-20)

12. We believe that immersion is the only form of baptism revealed and it is the believers identification with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. Baptism is commanded in the Scriptures, has no saving power, is only for those who are already saved; and that the new birth is the Scriptural prerequisite to baptism. (Acts 2:38-41; Romans 6:3-5).

13. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of the death of Christ and that only those who have been saved through faith in His atoning blood and are walking in obedient fellowship with Him ought to partake of it. We do not believe in closed communion. ( I Corinthians 11:23-32) This position being commonly known as “close” communion.

14. We believe that the Bible teaches that the offices of Pastor(s) and Deacons should be held by men only. (I Timothy 2:12; Acts 15)

15. We believe that all saved are called into a life of separation. This separation is in at least three areas: moral, personal, and ecclesiastical.

B. MORAL: The Biblical commandments are God’s perfect standard for a perfect man. We are commanded to perfect holiness (II Corinthians 7:1) in the fear of God. The believer is never to suffer as an evil doer (I Peter 4:15), but is commanded to be clean in body and mind. (II Corinthians 10:5).

C. PERSONAL: Each believer has the responsibility to practice before God a personal separation from the evil of this world. (II Corinthians 6:14-7:1) Romans 14 explains that there are going to be areas where believers are going to disagree in matters which they call sin. In matters of eating, holy days, etc., every man should be fully persuaded in his own mind. (Romans 14:5,6; I Corinthians 8:9, 10:23,31)

D. ECCLESIASTICAL: While recognizing the unity of all true believers, it is also evident that unbelief and error in many organized fellowships has developed to the point where recognized and indisputable apostasy exist. We, therefore, as a church body separate from all such compromise. (II Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 5:11-12; Luke 12:51; I Corinthians 14:33,40; 13:8-11)