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Statement of Faith

All bible verse references are New King James Version. Move your mouse over the verse reference to see the scripture. We recommend that you use your own Bible but if that is not available, check out BibleGateway.com.

I.  THE SCRIPTURES
We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired of God, and inerrant in the original writing; and we believe they are of supreme and final authority in faith and practice (2 Timothy 3.16-17, 2 Peter 1.19-21, John 20.31, 1 Corinthians 2.13).

II.  THE GODHEAD
We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three persons - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - and that these are ONE God; having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections (Matthew 28.18-19, Mark 12.29).

A.  God, the Father - We believe in God, the Father, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ (John 14.6, 1 Corinthians 1.3).

B.  God, the Son - We believe in God, the Son, the deity, humanity and virgin birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2.5; 3.16, John 1.1, Matthew 1.23, Isaiah 7.14; 9.6-7). We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the ONLY Lord and Savior of mankind (John 14.6, Acts 4.12, Galatians 2.20). We believe that faith in His shed blood is the ONLY means of salvation from sin (Hebrews 9.22, John 3.14-17; 19.16-24, 28-30).

We believe that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15.3-4, John 20.1, 14-18). We believe that He is seated at the right hand of God, the Father (Hebrews 10.11, Romans 8.34).

C.  God, the Holy Spirit - We believe in God, the Holy Spirit, that He is the third person of the Trinity, co-equal with God, the Father, and God, the Son (John 14.26; 15,26). We believe that He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment (John 16.7-11). We believe that He is the agent of the New Birth and that He seals, indwells, empowers, guides, teaches, witnesses to, sanctifies, comforts, and abides with the believer forever (John 14.16-17, Matthew 28.19, Hebrews 19.14, John 14.26, Ephesians 1.13-14, Romans 8.14-16; 26-27).

III.  MANKIND
A.  God Created Mankind as Two Distinct Genders - We believe that God created the male and the female as distinctly separate genders meant to be distinguishable (Genesis 1.27).  Since creation, God by procreation wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1.26-27). We believe that rejection of one’s biological gender is rebellion against God and a rejection of the image of God within that person.

B.  God Established Marriage and its Intimacy Between a Man and a Woman – We believe the first marriage established by God set the standard of marriage and its intimacy between a male and a female (Genesis 2.24; 4.1).

We believe that the term "marriage" has only one meaning: The uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2.18-25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Corinthians 6.18; 7.2-5; Hebrews 13.4).

C.  Sexual Immorality - We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Matthew 15.18-20; 1 Corinthians 6.9-10).

D.  God and Life – God orders the life of man. We believe that God is the ultimate authority over all life (Deuteronomy 32.39). Therefore, we believe that all human life is sacred as created by God in His image and sustained by Him from conception to the grave. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including unborn babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value human life (Psalm 139.1-24).  Within God’s Laws He defines the need for capital punishment (Genesis 9.5-6), warfare (Psalm 144.1; 1 Chronicles 5.22), self-defense (Exodus 22.2), and defense of human life born or unborn.

IV.  MAN CREATED AND FALLEN
We believe that man was created in the image of God, after His likeness, as stated in the Word of God, but the whole human race fell in the fall of the first man, Adam. By acting independently of God, Adam sinned. As a consequence, man lost his spiritual life, became dead in trespasses and sins, and subject to the power of the Devil (Ephesians 2.1-2).


This depravity was transmitted to the entire human race, the Man, Christ Jesus, alone being excepted. Therefore, every child is born into the world with a nature, not only void of the divine spark of  life, but essentially evil and unchangeable apart from divine grace (Genesis 1.26, John 3.5-8, Romans 3.10-19, Ephesians 2.1-3, I Timothy 5.6).

V.  SATAN
We believe in the reality and personality of Satan, the progenitor of evil, the deceiver of the world, the Christian's adversary, whose doom is sealed through Christ's victory (I Peter 5.8-9, Isaiah 14.12-17, Matthew 4.2-11, Revelation 20).

VI.  SALVATION
A.  The New Birth - We believe that the new birth of the believer comes only through faith in Christ, and that repentance is a part of the believing, and is in no way, in itself, a separate and independent condition of salvation; nor are there any other acts such as confession, baptism, or service, to be added to believing as a condition of salvation (John 1.12, John 3.16, Acts 16.31, Romans 1.16-17, Galatians 3.22).

B.  Complete - We believe that when an unregenerate person exercises faith in Christ, he passes immediately out of spiritual death into spiritual life. We believe that a person may grow in the realization of his blessings in Christ; however, he is, as soon as he is saved, in possession of every spiritual blessing and complete in Christ, and is, therefore, in no way required by God to seek a so-called "second blessing", or a "second work of grace" (John 5.24; 17.23, Acts 13.39, Romans 5.1, I Corinthians 3.21-23, Ephesians 1.3).

C.  Eternal Security - We believe that, because of the very nature of God and the nature of the divine gift of eternal life, we and all true believers everywhere, once saved, shall be kept saved forever. He who cannot fail will in the end present every believer faultless before the presence of His glory and conformed to the image of His Son (John 5.24; 10.28; 14.16, Romans 8.29, Hebrews 7.25, Jude 1.24).

VII.  THE CHURCH, A UNITY OF BELIEVERS
We believe that all who are united to the risen and ascended Son of God are members of the church which is the body and bride of Christ, which began at Pentecost and is completely distinct from Israel. We believe that by the same Holy Spirit, all believers in this age are baptized into, and thus become, whether Jews or Gentiles, one body that is Christ's (Matt 16.16-18, Acts 2.42-47, Romans 12.5, Ephesians 1.20-24, I Corinthians 12.12-27).

VIII.  THE ORDINANCES
We believe that water baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper are the only ordinances of the Church, and that they are a Scriptural means of testimony for the Church in this age, and acts of obedience to the Lord's command. Baptism is not essential to salvation, but is a testimony of our identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. The Lord's Supper is in remembrance of Him until He comes (Matthew 28.19, Acts 10.47-48, I Corinthians 11.26, Galatians 3.27, 1 Corinthians 10.16).

IX.  THE CHRISTIAN'S WALK AND SERVICE
A.  Walking Worthy of God’s Calling (Ephesians 4.1) - We believe that we have a holy calling to walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, and so to live in the power of the indwelling Spirit. We believe that divine, enabling gifts for service are bestowed by the Spirit upon all who are saved (Romans 6.11-13, Galatians 5.16-23, Colossians 2.10, Romans 12.6, I Corinthians 12.4-11, Ephesians 4.11).

B.  Walking in the World, but not of the World (Ephesians 4.17) - We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity (Mark 12.28-31; Luke 6.31). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Evergreen Baptist Church.

C.  Not Living in Sin - We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Evergreen Baptist Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Evergreen Baptist Church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by moral beliefs and statements made in this, our Statement of Faith (Matthew 5.16; Philippians 2.14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5.22).  We also believe that God offers restoration to those who confess their sin and claim His promise of forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1.9).

X.  THE GREAT COMMISSION
We believe that it is the explicit message of our Lord Jesus Christ to those whom He has saved that they are sent forth by Him into the world and are related to the world as strangers and pilgrims, ambassadors and witnesses, and that their primary purpose in life should be to make Christ known to the whole world (Matthew 28.18-19, Acts 1.8, I Peter 1.17).

XI.  THE BLESSED HOPE (PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE)
We believe that, according to the Word of God, the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of the Lord in the air to receive His own to Himself and we should be looking constantly for this event (John 14.1-3, I Corinthians 15.51-52, I Thessalonians 4.13-18, Titus 2.13).

XII.  THE TRIBULATION
We believe that, after the translation of the church, the fulfillment of Israel's seventieth week will take place. This will be a time of judgment for the whole earth, during which time the body of Christ will be in heaven (Daniel 9.27).

XIII.  THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST (PRE-MILLENNIAL RETURN)
We believe that the period of great tribulation in the earth will be climaxed by the bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth to introduce the Millennial Age. He is to bind Satan, lift the earth's curse, and restore Israel to her own land (Deuteronomy 30.1-10, Ezekiel 37.21-28, Matthew 24.15, Romans 8.19-23, Revelation 10.1-3).

XIV.  THE PERFECT AGE
We believe that at the close of the Millennial Age the present heaven is to be removed and a new heaven and a new earth will be formed. The saved will be with the Lord for eternity (I Peter 3.13).

XV.  THE ETERNAL STATE
We believe in a literal heaven. Believers pass immediately into God's presence at death. They remain there in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the glorified body at the Rapture, when body and soul will be united. We believe in a literal hell. Those who reject God's provision of Redemption through Christ are eternally lost. They will not be annihilated, but will be punished with everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power (Luke 16.19-26, Philippians 1.23, Jude 1.6-7, Revelation 20.11-15).

XVI.  STATEMENT OF FINAL AUTHORITY IN FAITH AND PRACTICE
Evergreen Baptist Church’s Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself is the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with the final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind.  It is the sole and final source of all that we believe.  The beliefs of Evergreen Baptist Church are based on this authority as understood by our Pastor and Board of Deacons.

Revised on February 19, 2016 and approved on March 13, 2016

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