WHAT WE BELIEVE

The Bible teaches the verbal and plenary inspiration of Scripture. The Bible teaches that it is the Word of God; that it was written by men who were moved by the Holy Spirit so that their writings were supernaturally, verbally, and plenarily inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be. They are the complete, final, and supreme revelation of the will of God to man, and so are supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:19-21). We believe these principles to be true. We believe the Authorized King James Version Bible is the preserved and infallible Word of God for the English-speaking people.

The Bible teaches there is one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we believe this to be true.

The Bible teaches that God the Father is perfect in holiness, boundless in love, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. The Bible teaches that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayers, and that He saves from sin and death all that come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, His son.

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is God the Son, pre-existent with the Father, begotten by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, fully God and fully man, sinless in His nature and life, infallible in His teaching, making atonement for the sins of the world by His substitutionary death on the cross. The Bible teaches  His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, His perpetual intercession for His people and His glorious Second Advent according to promise.  The Bible teaches the promise of His second coming includes: first, “The Blessed Hope” of the believer, namely, the personal, premillenial, and pretribulational return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to rapture His church according to I Thessalonians 4:13-18: second, His return later to earth with His saints to set up His millennial reign.

The Bible teaches the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that He came from God to convince and convict the world of sin or righteousness and of judgement: and to regenerate, sanctify, indwell, and comfort and empower those who believe in Jesus Christ (John 16:7-11).

The Bible teaches that man was created in the image of God; that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also that spiritual death which is separation from God. The Bible teaches that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become sinners in thought and deed by choice (Rom. 3:10-23; Rom. 5:12).

The Bible teaches the reality and personality of Satan (Luke 10:18). We believe this principle to be true.

The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private, and resting from secular employments, work of necessity and mercy only being the exception (Hebrews 10:25, Acts 20:7, Mark 16:9).

The Bible teaches the bodily resurrection of both the saved and unsaved. These take place at different times. Bodily resurrection of the saved before the Tribulation Period at the Rapture (Judgement Seat of Christ) and the bodily resurrection of the unsaved following the millennium at the Great White Throne Judgement. The saved to eternal life and blessedness in Heaven and the unsaved to eternal, conscious suffering and woe in Hell (John 5:29).

The Bible teaches that every human being has direct relations with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith; that each church is independent, indigenous, and autonomous, and must be free from any interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that, therefore the church and state must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from the dictation or patronage of the other.

It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every Church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the Gospel of Christ. The Granite State Baptist Church believes that our responsibility to carry out the Great Commission through personal evangelism and through home and foreign mission projects is among our greatest responsibilities as a Church during this day (John 4:35, Matthew 28:18-20, II Corinthians 5:20).

The Bible teaches that every saved person should strive to be Christ-like by walking in the Holy Spirit, fully and constantly yielding his members to the indwelling Christ, so that he may always in life and word show forth the praises of Him who has called him out of darkness into His marvelous light. The Bible teaches a separated life for all believers as set forth in II Corinthians 6:14-7:1, including separation from unequally yoked marriages and worldly societies that are not that which would bring glory to our Saviour’s name.

God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual, all that we have and are, we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole word, a holy trusteeship in the Gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. Believers are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God in helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, proportionately, sacrificially, and by faith (Matthew 23:23, Hebrew 7:4-8, I Corinthians 16:2, II Corinthians 9:7, Acts 20:35).

The Bible teaches the bodily resurrection of both the saved and unsaved. These take place at different times. Bodily resurrection of the saved before the Tribulation Period at the Rapture (Judgement Seat of Christ) and the bodily resurrection of the unsaved following the millennium at the Great White Throne Judgement. The saved to eternal life and blessedness in Heaven and the unsaved to eternal, conscious suffering and woe in Hell (John 5:29).