Articles of Faith
Of the People of God called Original Free Will Baptists
Article 1. Doctrine of God
We believe that there is but one living, true,
and eternal God, the Father; of whom are all things, from everlasting to everlasting,
glorious and unchangeable in all His attributes.
We believe that God is the only proper object of
worship. The mode of His existence, however, is a subject far beyond the
understanding of mankind. There is no thing in all creation that can adequately
represent Him. He is the source of all existence and the Scriptures teach
that He is Spirit, present everywhere, all knowing, all powerful, independents
good, wise, holy, just, merciful, redeemer, Saviour, sanctifier the judge of
mankind and all other attributes ascribed to Him in the Scripture.
Article 2. Doctrine of Christ
We believe that there is one Lord, Jesus Christ,
by whom are all things, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, who
was truly God and truly man, whom God freely sent into this world, because of
the great love wherewith He loved the world; and Christ as freely gave himself
a ransom for all, tasting death for every man; who was buried and rose again
the third day, and ascended into Heaven from whence we look for him the second
time, in the clouds of Heaven, at the last day to judge both the living and the
dead.
We believe that the Scriptures ascribe to Christ
all the attributes of God.
Article 3. Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
We believe that there is one Holy Spirit, the
precious gift of the Father through his dear Son, who is the divine presence in
our lives, who regenerates and sanctifies us, and whereby we are kept in
perpetual remembrance of the truth of Christ, and in whom we find our strength
and help.
We believe that the Scriptures ascribe to the
Holy Spirit all the attributes of God.
Article 4. Doctrine of the Trinity
We believe that God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit are one God, without beginning or end, who is indivisible
in His nature or being.
Article 5. Doctrine of Creation and Divine
Government
We believe that in the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth, and all things therein, visible and invisible; and that
God is continually working through His creation to sustain it and to nurture
His creatures.
We believe that all things are foreseen in the
wisdom of God, so that God knows whatsoever can or cannot come to pass upon all
supposed conditions. All events are present with God from everlasting to
everlasting; but His knowledge of them does not in any sense cause them, nor
does He decree all events which He knows will occur.
Article 6. Doctrine of Man
We believe that in the beginning God created man
in His own image and placed him in a state of glory without the least mixture
of misery, from which he voluntarily by transgression fell, and by that means,
brought on himself a miserable and mortal state subject to death.
Unbelief is the reason why men are condemned in the sight of the just and
righteous God.
We believe that the human will is always active
and may rebel or respond to the call of Christ in His redemptive offer, that
through the grace of God mankind may be saved.
Article 7. Doctrine of the Church
We believe that the Church is the body of
Christ, all Christians everywhere.
We believe that the local church is an organized
body of believers in Christ who statedly assemble to worship God and who
sustain the ordinances of the Gospel. The local church does not exist in
isolation; rather, those churches who believe and practice the Original Free
Will Baptist faith and order join together to form a denominational
church. Neither the local church nor the denominational church exists
independent of the other.
Article 8. Doctrine of the Holy Scriptures
We believe these are the Old and the New
Testaments, that they were written by holy men, inspired by the Holy Spirit,
and are God’s revealed word to man. We believe that they are a sufficient
and infallibly true rule and guide to salvation and all Christian worship and
service.
Article 9. Doctrine of Salvation
We believe that salvation is the restoration of
man to his right relationship with God.
General Provision: We believe in the
doctrine of General provision made of God in Christ, for the benefit of all
mankind who repents and believes the Gospel.
We believe that God is not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance and the knowledge of the
truth, that they might be saved; for which end Christ hath commanded the Gospel
to be preached among all nations and to every creature.
We believe that sinners are drawn to God the
Father by the Holy Spirit through Christ His Son, and that the Holy Spirit
offers His divine aid to all the human family so that they all might be saved,
if they accept His divine teaching; and if any fail of eternal like, the fault
is completely his own.
Faith: We believe that faith
is the response of an individual in total trust and commitment to God’s
provision in Christ. The power to believe is the gift of God, but
believing is an act of the individual which is required as a condition of
salvation. “Faith if it hath not works is dead, being alone.”
Repentance: We believe that
the repentance which the Gospel requires includes a deep conviction, a
penitential sorrow, an open confession, a decided hatred and an entire
forsaking of all sin. This repentance God has enjoined on all men; and
without it in this life the sinner will perish eternally.
Regeneration: We believe that
regeneration is an instantaneous renewal of the heart by the Holy Spirit,
whereby the penitent sinner receives new life and becomes a child of God.
(This is called in Scripture being “born again,” “born of the Spirit,” being
“quickened,” passing “from death unto life,” and “partaking of the divine
nature.”)
Justification: We believe
that justification means that persons who accept by faith the atonement of
Christ are pardoned and absolved from the guilt of sin and restored to divine
favor where once they stood guilty before God.
Sanctification: We believe
that sanctification is the setting apart of the believer for continuing growth
in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, for service to God and
man.
Article 10. Doctrine of the Perseverance
of the Saints
We believe that those who abide in Christ have
the assurance of salvation. The Christian, however, retains his freedom
of choice. Therefore, he should watch and pray since it is possible for
him to turn away from God and be eternally lost, which is called making
shipwreck of faith.
Article 11. Doctrine of Individual
Accountability
We believe that all persons are accountable to
God, except those incapable of responding to God’s call.
Article 12. Doctrine of Christian Service
We believe that it is the Christian’s duty to be
tender and affectionate one to another, to study the happiness of the people of
God in general, to do justly by all people, and to be singly engaged to promote
the honor and glory of God.
Article 13. Doctrine of the Lord’s Day
We believe in the sanctity of the first day of
the week, or Lord’s day, and that it ought to be observed in the corporate and
private worship of God, and that on it we should abstain from our worldly
concerns except in cases of necessity or mercy.
Article 14. Doctrine of Worship
We believe that worship is the adoration of God
and is duly required of all His children through praise, prayer, and the
reading and preaching of His Word. Every Christian may worship God
privately; however, this should never replace the corporate worship of the
church.
We believe that in addition to the ordinances of
the Gospel, there are other rites of worship which are valid for use by the
local church. Some of these rites are: laying on of hands,
anointing the sick with oil, fasting, singing praise to God, corporate
affirmation of faith, and corporate prayer.
Article 15. Doctrine of Christian
Stewardship
We believe that good works are the fruits of
saving faith and include being good stewards of all God’s blessings.
Christians are to be responsible in the use of their time and talents.
Furthermore, Christians are required to be faithful in the use of their
finances for the expense of the program of Christ in the world.
The Old and New Testaments teach tithing as
God’s financial plan for the support of His work.
Article 16. Doctrine of the Ordinances of
the Gospel
1. Christian Baptism: We believe that this
is the immersion of believers in water, in the name of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit, in which are represented the burial and resurrection of
Christ, the death of Christians to the world, the washing of their souls from
the pollution of sin, their rising to newness of life, their commitment to
serve God, and their resurrection at the last day.
2. The Lord’s Supper: We believe that this
is a commemoration of the death of Christ for our sins, in the use of bread
which He made the emblem of His broken body, and the cup, the emblem of
His shed blood; and by it the believer expresses his love for Christ, his faith
and hope in Him, and pledges to Him perpetual fidelity.
3. Washing the Saint’s Feet: We believe that this
is a sacred ordinance, which teaches humility, the necessity of the servanthood
of every believer, and reminds the believer of the necessity of a daily
cleansing from all sin. It was instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ as an
“example” on the night of His Last Supper and betrayal.
It is the duty and happy prerogative of every
believer to observe these sacred ordinances. We believe that no man has a
right to forbid these tokens to the least of His disciples.
Article 17. The Doctrine of Death
We believe that Adam, while in the Garden of
Eden in a state of innocence and in the image of God, was commanded by God not
to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and if he did he would
surely die. As a result, Adam was liable or subject to death, but not under
the result or penalty of it. However, when he disobeyed and rebelled
against the command of God, he passed under the result and penalty of death;
and as Adam represented all the human race, death passed upon all men.
We believe that there is much mystery associated
with the act or fact of dying; therefore, no living person can completely
understand it. However, the Bible assures that Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, changed death from the destroying scourge to the doorway to heaven to all
who exercise saving faith in Him.
Article 18. The Doctrine of Immortality
We believe that the soul does not die with the
body, but immediately after death enters into a conscious state of happiness or
misery, according to the individual’s relationship to the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Article 19. The Doctrine of the
Resurrection
We believe in the resurrection of the bodies of
all people, each in its own order; the Christian to eternal life and the
non-Christian to eternal damnation.
Article 20. Doctrine of Last Things
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended
into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father. He will come
again to glorify His saints, to judge the world, and to consummate His Eternal
Kingdom.
Article 21. Doctrine of Angels
We believe that angels are created spiritual
beings (and are not spirits of the dead, nor are they glorified human
beings). Angels are ministering spirits and messengers of God.
Angels convey the instructions of God to men, announce special events; protect
the faithful, both individually and collectively, and execute punishment on the
adversaries of the work of God.
Article 22. Doctrine of Satan
We believe that Satan is a created spirit
being. Names applied to Satan in the Bible are: Lucifer, Belial,
Beelzebub, the Devil, the Evil one, the Accuser, the enemy, the tempter, the
Prince of Demons, the prince of the power of the air and the Ruler of this
world.
In the New Testament Satan appears as a
distinctive personality. He incites people to shut their ears to God’s
message. He maliciously hinders Christian endeavor and is essentially a
power of darkness, the enemy of the Light and of God, though he sometimes
disguises himself as an angel of light.
Though Satan is all of the above, man is a free
moral agent and is responsible for his own sins and is responsible for his
acceptance or rejection of Christ, who gives victory over all evil.