The Beliefs that Unite our Fellowship, Shape our Lives, and Motivate our Ministry
About God
God is the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
About God the Father
He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. He reigns with providential care over the universe and the flow of human history goes according to His purposes and plan.
About God the Son, Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus has eternally existed and became man at His incarnation. He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He bodily arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.
About God the Holy Spirit
He is the third person of the Trinity. He guides men into all truth; exalts Christ; convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; cultivated Christian character; comforts believers; bestows spiritual gifts by which believers serve God; and, seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the lives of believers is the assurance of God to bring us into the fullness of the stature of Christ.
About Scriptures
The Bible is God’s Word to us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it has salvation for its end and is truth without any mixture of error.
About Human Beings
People are made in the image of God and are the supreme object of God’s creation. All of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called sin. Sin separates people from God and causes many problems personally and in society.
About Salvation
Salvation is God’s free gift to us that everyone must accept for eternal union with God. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into this life by faith.
About Eternal Security
Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot lose your salvation. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by self–effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.
About Eternity
People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence.
About Baptism by Immersion
We believe that scriptural baptism must be: (1) by being completely immersed under the water, and (2) must be after salvation, not before salvation. Jesus was immersed and all baptisms in the New Testament were by immersion. These two facts set the standard for baptism today. Baptism has no saving power but is the first act of obedience symbolizing: (1) the believer’s faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus; (2) the believer’s death to sin and resurrection to walk anew in Christ; and (3) the Christian’s belief that he will die, be buried, and that Jesus will resurrect him from the dead.
About the Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers remember the death of the Lord Jesus and anticipate His second coming. The bread is symbolic of His body and the juice represents His blood.
Shiloh Baptist Church is in full cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention and affirms the Baptist, Faith, and Message, 2000. This is a summary of our beliefs. For a more detailed explanation, please read the Baptist Faith and Message at www.bfm.sbc.net/.
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Three Statements of Distinction
Evangelism and Missions
God’s love extends to every person, and He desires for everyone to be saved—reconciled to Himself through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we give ourselves to personal witness, community service, church planting, and global missions in the power of the Holy Spirit so that everyone has multiple opportunities to hear and respond to the Gospel.
Marriage, Sexuality, and Gender
God has created each person as male or female. To honor this God-ordained distinctive, we respect every person as an image bearer of God worthy of respect, we affirm the biological gender of every person, and we encourage every person to experience God’s grace to live the life he or she was created by Him to live.
In the same way, God established marriage to reflect His glory and to be enjoyed by a man and a woman in an exclusive and life-long union. Thus any form of sexual expression outside of a heterosexual marriage relationship dishonors God, harms our neighbors, and undermines the social structures of a society.
Roles of Men and Women in Ministry
Both men and women are called and gifted by God to serve in many capacities through the local church ministry and in the broader work of God in the world, We encourage, equip, and empower everyone, both male and female, to fulfill their ministry. According to the Scripture, the two offices of the church are pastor and deacon, and the office of pastor is reserved for biblically qualified and ordained men.