Doctrinal Statement

What We Believe

Our faith is grounded in the inspired, inerrant Word of God — the foundation for all we teach and practice.

Preamble

The Good News Baptist Assembly recognize that any doctrinal statement is but a fallible human attempt to summarize and systematize the riches of an infallible divine revelation. But this in no way detracts from the importance of such a statement. The affirmations which follow carefully specify our teaching position with regard to the major biblical doctrines, and thus provide a framework for curriculum and instruction at the seminary.

Doctrine matters. Since our actions and attitudes are a reflection of what we think and believe, we want to know and believe the truth. The sovereign God of the universe has spoken and what He said is of utmost importance. Our desire as Christians and our vision as a church can be summarized quite simply: we want to know and do what God has said so that we can please Him and sense His pleasure.

Everything we teach, the way we relate to one another and the decisions we make are all guided by our commitment to Scripture. Our doctrinal statement is a summary of the major themes and truths of God's Word and it allows us to serve side by side in unity and love.

Our Beliefs

What We Believe and Teach

Section 1 – The Scriptures

We believe that all the words and all the parts of the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament are the only inspired Word of God. The Bible is the product of men controlled by the Holy Spirit, and in the original manuscripts it is truth without any mixture of error. God, in His providential care, has also kept these Scriptures authentic and trustworthy from the time of their composition until the present time. The Bible is the center of true Christian unity and the supreme standard by which all human life and conduct will be evaluated and judged.

2 Timothy 3:15–17; 2 Peter 1:19–21

Section 2 – God

We believe that there is one and only one living and true God, the Creator and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth. God is inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love. In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit of one substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole Divine Essence, yet the Essence undivided, equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.

God the Father

We believe that God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, orders and accomplishes all things according to His own purpose and grace. As the only absolute and omnipotent Ruler in the universe, He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind. As Creator He is Father to all humanity, but He is spiritual Father only to believers. He has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass. He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events. He has graciously chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own. He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.

God the Son

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal and Only Begotten Son of God. He was not created, but was eternally begotten of God the Father before all time; there never was a time when He was not. He is coequal, coinherent and consubstantial with God His Father. He came into this world as foretold in the Scriptures to manifest God to mankind and to be the Redeemer of the sinful world. Jesus took upon Himself human flesh and a sinless human nature through the supernatural conception by the Holy Spirit in a virgin, Mary. Jesus was both fully God and fully man. He came to die for the sin of the world—the just for the unjust. Jesus Christ alone is the full and complete propitiation for sin.

God the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit of God is a divine Person, the third Person of the Holy Trinity. He eternally proceeds from the Father and of the Son, and is equal with God the Father and God the Son in every way, being of the same nature, essence and being. He was active in the creation. He restrains the evil one until God's purpose is fulfilled. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony, and He is the agent in the new birth. He seals, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps the believer.

Exodus 20:2–3; Isaiah 6:3; Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:13; Revelation 4:11

Section 3 – Creation

We believe that the creation of the universe from nothing is neither allegory nor myth but a literal, historical event. The existence of all things is the result of the direct, immediate, creative acts of the triune God over six literal days. Humanity—body and soul/spirit—was created by a direct work of God. Humans did not evolve from previously existing forms of life. The entire human race descended from the historical Adam and Eve, the first parents of the entire human race.

Genesis 1–2; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16–17

Section 4 – Spirit Beings

We believe that God created an innumerable company of sinless spirit beings. Although they are a higher order of creation than humanity, they were created to serve God and to worship Him.

Angels

We believe that God created an innumerable company of sinless spirit beings. Although they are a higher order of creation than humanity, they were created to serve God and to worship Him.

Fallen Angels and Satan

We believe that Satan is a created angel and the author of sin. He incurred the judgment of God by rebelling against his Creator, by taking numerous angels with him in his fall, and by introducing sin into the human race by his temptation of Eve. He is the open and declared enemy of God and mankind. He is the prince of this world, who was defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and he will be eternally punished in the lake of fire.

Luke 2:9–14; Hebrews 1:6–7, 14; 2:6–7; Revelation 5:11–14

Section 5 – Mankind

We believe that Adam and Eve were created in innocence under the laws of their Maker, but by voluntary transgression, Adam fell from his sinless and happy estate. Adam represented all humanity and all humanity sinned in Adam. As a result, all men and women are totally depraved, are partakers of Adam's fallen nature, and are sinners by nature and by conduct and, therefore, are under just condemnation without defense or excuse.

Genesis 3:1–6, 24; Romans 1:18–32; 3:10–19; 5:12, 19

Section 6 – Salvation

We believe that, in order to be saved, sinners must be born again. The new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus. Salvation is instantaneous and not a process. In the new birth, someone who is dead in trespasses and sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life. Salvation is the free gift of God's grace, based entirely on the merit of Christ's shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works. Faith alone in Jesus Christ alone is the only condition for salvation.

John 1:12; 3:3–7; Acts 16:30–33; Romans 3:24; Ephesians 2:8–9

Section 7 – The Church

We believe that Jesus Christ is building His Church: all those who are united by the Spirit into His body, and who are born again by faith in Jesus Christ. The Universal Church includes every believer from Pentecost to the Rapture. All members of this one spiritual body are directed to associate themselves together in local churches. A local church is a congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel.

Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:41–47; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; Ephesians 4:11–16

Section 8 – Baptism & Lord's Supper

We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Lord's Supper is the commemoration of His death until He comes, and should be preceded by solemn self-examination. We believe that the Lord's table is open to all believers in good standing in a local church.

Matthew 28:19–20; Acts 2:41–42; 1 Corinthians 11:23–29

Section 9 – Last Things

We believe that Jesus Christ will one day rapture His bride—the Church—to be with Him in His Father's house. We believe in the personal, visible, and pretribulational return of Jesus Christ. Following the period of Tribulation on earth, Jesus Christ will return with His saints to earth to reign literally, historically, and physically for a thousand years. He will then sit in judgment on the great white throne, and will banish forever the unsaved and the rebellious to punishment in hell. Jesus Christ will then deliver the kingdom up to His Father, that God may be all in all.

John 14:1–3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Revelation 19–22

Section 10 – Separation

We believe that all those who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are called out of the world and are to be separated from and unto God. Believers should abstain from sinful pleasures and practices. Believers should live so as to not be a stumbling block to others. Ecclesiastical separation requires that a church separate itself from those who deny the great fundamentals of the faith.

Romans 12:1–2; 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1; 1 John 2:15–17

Questions About Our Beliefs?

We welcome the opportunity to discuss our doctrinal positions with you. Feel free to reach out to our pastoral team for more information.

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