What Do We Believe?
A quick summary of our beliefs...
We believe that all people, regardless of age, sex, race, or religious background are infected by a disease called sin. The Bible says that "all have sinned..." It is because of sin (intentional and unintentional breaking of God's Commandments) that we are separated from knowing and being known by God. Whether we admit to this fact or not, in the eyes of God, we are sinners. However, the Bible says, "while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us." We believe that the only means of being restored into a relationship with God is by and through Jesus Christ. Again, the Bible says, "This is salvation: to know the only true God and His Son, Jesus Christ." (John 17:3) We believe that salvation through Jesus Christ is God's grace-gift to mankind. This gift is given through faith, which is our placing complete and total trust in Jesus to save us from our sin. Apart from Christ, no person will obtain or sustain a relationship with God (salvation). In short, we believe in "Christ alone, through faith alone, by grace alone." We also believe that the Bible is God's revelation to us. Our feelings, attitudes, thoughts, and intents are to be brought into submission to God's Word. We believe that when the Bible speaks, we must listen and obey.
At Wright Baptist Church, we adhere to specific doctrines and beliefs. Membership at Wright Baptist Church indicates that you fully support the following…
The Scriptures
We believe the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.
God
We believe there is one and only one living and true God. The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
God the Father
We believe that God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of human history according to the purposes of His grace. God is Father in truth to those who become His children through faith in Jesus Christ.
God the Son
We believe that Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. By His perfect and sinless life, He honored the divine law by His obedience to the will of God. In His death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of mankind from sin.
God the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
Man
We believe Man was created by the special act of God. Mankind is created in the image of God, and is the crowning work of His creation. By his free choice man (Adam) sinned against God and brought sin into the human race; thereby rendering all of mankind under the curse of sin. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore every man possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Salvation
We believe Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who repent (turn) from sin accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. By the blood of Jesus eternal redemption for the believer is obtained. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification.
God's Purpose of Grace
We believe Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.
The Church
We believe a New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. This church is an autonomous (self-governing) body. The New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ, which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages.
Baptism & the Lord's Supper
We believe Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Jesus Christ.
We believe the Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members … memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
The Lord's Day
We believe the first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion.
Last Things
We believe that God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell. The righteous will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
Evangelism & Missions
We believe it is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all the nations and to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort.
Stewardship
We believe that God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual. All that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debt to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions.
Religious Liberty
We believe the Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal.
Family
We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. Marriage is the unity of one man and one woman in a lifetime covenant commitment. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.
