Cornerstone Baptist Church Statement of Faith
We believe in the plenary, verbal, Divine inspiration of the sixty-six canonical books of the Old and the New Testaments of the Bible (from Genesis to Revelation) in the original languages. (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:21; 1 Thessalonians 2:13)
We believe in God’s promise to preserve His Word. The Bible says, “Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.” (Psalm 119:152) Also, “The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” (Psalm 12:6-7)
We believe that the King James Version (or Authorized Version) of the English Bible is a true, faithful, and accurate translation which in our time has no equal among all of the other English Translations. The translators did such a fine job in their translation task that we can without apology hold up the Authorized Version and say, “This is the WORD OF GOD!”
We believe that there is one God, a living intelligent Spirit, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth, eternally expressing Himself through three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:26, Matthew 3:16-17, I John 5:7)
We believe that the material universe, including man, came into being by the direct creation of God, and not by evolution (not even theistic evolution). (Genesis 1, II Peter 3:5-7)
We believe that man was created sinless (Genesis 1:31) but voluntarily sinned (Romans 5:12-21, Genesis 3:1-7) and that because of this fall, all men are now sinners by birth and destined for hell (Romans 6:23, Romans 5:19) with no “spark of Divinity” and must be born from above to be fit for fellowship with God. (John 3:3-6)
We further believe that the unsaved will spend eternity in torment in a literal hell. (Revelation 20:14-15)
We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Ghost of the virgin Mary. (Matthew 1:20)
We believe that salvation of the sinner is wholly of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 4:4-5), and made possible alone through the vicarious death of Jesus Christ upon the cross of Calvary (Isaiah 53:3-4, 10-11, Luke 22:19-20), and that there is salvation in none other (Acts 4:12) and that all that is necessary for salvation is an acceptance by faith of His infinite work. (John 1:12, 3:16)
We believe that justification includes pardon from sin (Romans 8:1, 5:9, 8:30-34), the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23, 5:10), and a perfect standing before God (Jude 24-25, Romans 5:11), and that a born again believer cannot ever lose his salvation. (John 10:28-29, I John 5:11-13)
We believe in the sanctity of the home as instituted by God in the garden of Eden (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:21-25), consisting of marriage between one man and one woman (Hebrews 13:4, I Corinthians 7:1-5), united by love and Christian Faith, and that this marriage bond is intended by God to be a lifelong commitment that man should not put asunder (Matthew 19:3-9, Mark 10:1-12; Ephesians 5:22-23; Colossians 3:18-20; Titus 2:1-8, I Peter 3:1-7). We do not believe Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:31-33, fornication (sexual uncleanness in Jewish betrothal) is scriptural ground for allowing divorce (I Corinthians 7:10-11). Moreover, children are to be desired from this union of husband and wife and brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Genesis 3:20; 9:1; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 22:6).
We believe all forms of sexual impurity (including sodomy, homosexuality, and effeminacy) are an abomination to God (Romans 1:18-32; I Corinthians 6:9-11; Leviticus 18:22-30); and that by recognition and repentance of these sins, salvation of the lost is still possible (John 7:8-11).
We believe that the local church is a congregation of immersed believers (Acts 10:46-47, Romans 6:3-6, I Peter 3:21) associated by covenant of faith and fellowship in the Gospel (Romans 12, Hebrews 10:23-25); that the local church has the absolute right of self-government (Matthew 18:18-20) and is answerable only to God, her Administrator, and the Lord Jesus Christ, her Head (Ephesians 5:23-24); that in all matters of membership, policy, discipline, and benevolence the will of the local church is sovereign. (Matthew 18:18-19)
We believe that there are only two church ordinances, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the immersion of the believer in water. (Romans 6:3-6, Acts 8:36-39, Colossians 2:12, I Peter 3:18-21) We believe that participation in the Lord’s Supper is symbolic of the Lord’s vicarious death and is to be shared in only with true believers. (I Corinthians 11:23-24, Luke 22:19-20)
We believe that the gift of tongues was the miraculous ability to speak in foreign, knowable, human, understandable languages. (Acts 2:4-11) We believe this gift ceased before the full Scriptures were completed. (I Corinthians 13:8) We are not a Charismatic church.
We believe in the personal, visible, premillennial return of our Lord for His church (I Thessalonians 4:13-18), which event will initiate the great seven year tribulation (the culmination of human government divorced from God), (II Thessalonians 2:7-12, Matthew 24, Revelation 19:17-21) which had its origin at Babel. (Genesis 11:1-9) At this time, the Lord Himself shall return in glory to judge the living nations. (Matthew 25:31-46, Joel 3) The end of the tribulation will be immediately followed by the thousand year reign of our Lord Jesus Christ on earth from Jerusalem. (Revelation 20:2-6) At the end of which time Satan will be loosed to show man’s preference for evil. (Revelation 20:7-8, John 3:19) This brief period of Satanic freedom is to be quickly followed by the Great White Throne Judgment.
