What We Believe
FOUNDATION, OBJECT AND PRIORITIES OF MINISTRY AT LBC
1. The foundation of this Church is the Lord Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 3:11), and its code of guidance in all its affairs, the Word of God, and this Church does here affirm its faith that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of Almighty God (Mark 13:31).
2. The object of this Church shall be to worship God according to the teaching of His Word, to practice the precepts and examples of the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ as set forth in the New Testament, to sustain its ordinances and doctrines and to preach and propagate among all peoples the Gospel of Salvation which is by personal faith on Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
3. The priorities of ministry of this church flow from the vision of God's glory revealed in Jesus Christ. We exist to savor this vision in worship (John 4:23), strengthen the vision in nurture and education (I Corinthians 14:26; II Peter 3:18), and spread the vision in evangelism, missions, and loving deeds (I Peter 2:9; 3:15; Matthew 28:18-20; 5:16).
STATEMENT OF FAITH
What we believe at LBC is not man-made but has been revealed by God in Scripture. Our Statement of Faith is simply a summary of biblical teaching that explains what we as a local church agree the Bible teaches about God, the Bible, sin, the church, etc.
The Word of God
a. We believe that the Bible, consisting of the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament, is the revelation of God to mankind.
b. We believe in the verbal plenary inspiration of the Bible.
c. We believe the Bible is infallible and inerrant in its original manuscripts, and is the supreme, sufficient, and final authority for all Christian faith and conduct.
d. We believe that the Bible is sufficient for the knowledge of God, knowledge of His moral will, and that it is necessary for the eternal welfare of mankind.
The Trinity
a. We believe that there is but one God with one nature, infinitely perfect and existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God the Father
a. We believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, an infinite personal spirit who is perfect in holiness, judgement, wisdom, power, and love.
b. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He justly executes His wrath upon those who reject Him.
God the Son
a. We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, that is, He is fully divine and fully human.
b. We believe He preexisted eternally with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
c. We believe that at the time ordained by God, the eternal Son, was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
d. We believe that He lived a perfect life, perfectly obedient to God the Father. He died on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of all who will put their faith, hope, and trust in Him. He arose bodily from the dead on the third day, and ascended into Heaven where He is presently High Priest, High King, and Advocate for his people.
e. We believe He will personally, bodily, and visibly return to the earth at the close of this age to judge the living and the dead.
f. We believe He is the world’s only Savior and is the Lord of all.
God the Holy Spirit
a. We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ.
b. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, the third person of the Trinity.
c. We believe that the Holy Spirit dwells in every believer in Christ, that He is received by grace, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide.
Creation
a. We believe that God created the heavens and the earth, including all life, “each after his own kind”, in six twenty-four hour days, and then He rested.
b. We believe that Adam and Eve were historical persons that existed in history, time, and space, and they were the first two human beings created by God. From them the entire human race is descended.
c. We believe that God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
d. We believe male and female are two distinct biological sexes, and their genders are biological realities, and are so from conception to death.
Man
a. We believe that man was originally created by a definite act of God, made in the image and likeness of God as male and female, and is dependent upon and accountable to the Creator.
b. We believe that through disobedience, the first man sinned and fell from his original state of moral perfection. As a consequence, he brought upon himself and upon the whole human race the penalty for sin, which is spiritual and physical death.
c. We believe that since Adam, every person is born with an inherently sinful nature. All human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, sinning in thought, word, and deed. Every person, therefore, stands under the just condemnation of God and is unable to save himself or to present deeds worthy of merit before God.
Salvation
a. We believe that all human beings have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and have thereby incurred physical and spiritual death, which is separation from God.
b. We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
c. We believe that a person is saved by God’s grace alone, made possible through the shed blood of Christ, whereby he died a substitutional death on the cross for all those who will repent of their sins and confess Him as Savior and Lord.
d. We believe that those who repent of their sins and receive by faith Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord become new creatures. They are delivered from condemnation and the wrath of God and receive eternal life.
e. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved who go to heaven, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost who go to hell.
f. We believe salvation is a gift from God and is not earned by any good works whatsoever.
The Family
a. We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
b. We believe marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
c. We believe marriage is a spiritual and physical union into which one biological man and one biological woman may enter for the glory of God, and under the Scriptural ideal, is only to be broken by death. We also recognize that because of sin, there are times in which divorce occurs such as in instances of adultery.
d. We believe the husband and wife are of equal worth before God.
e. We believe the marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people, therefore, a husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ.
f. We believe that children from the moment of conception are a blessing and heritage from the Lord and are under the care of their father and mother as ordained by God.
g. We believe that the Christian family is a covenant community wherein children are raised to know, fear, and love the Lord, as well as raised to love God and love people as defined in Scripture.
Christian Conduct
a. We believe the ethical standards in the Bible, especially those in the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, should be the basis for personal conduct, interpersonal relations, and public policy. These standards are required of all people, in all cultures, in all generations.
b. We believe that Christians should live for the glory of God and the well-being of their fellow man in Christian charity; that they should strive to be blameless before the world; a faithful steward the time and possessions God has given them; and seek to realize for themselves and others the full stature of maturity in Christ.
c. We believe that God expects every believer to live a life of obedience, in which every area of his life is brought under the Lordship of Christ and the Word of God. Through this the fruit of the Spirit becomes increasingly evident in their life. Obedience to God is an ongoing work of grace applied through the power of the Holy Spirit.
d. We believe the goal of the Christian life is to be conformed to the image of Christ. A believer who resists the gracious working of the Holy Spirit, and fails to grow in obedience, is chastened in infinite love by his Heavenly Father so that he may learn obedience.
e. We believe that God disciplines those he loves and that as Christians we submit ourselves to the correction of the church for the development of Christ in the individual.
f. We believe it is a basic Christian duty to seek the salvation of the lost as well as teaching them to obey all that God has commanded.
The Church
a. We believe in the invisible universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members.
b. We believe in the local visible church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ who are baptized and associate together for worship, evangelism, work, edification, accountability, and fellowship.
c. We believe that the Church and the elders are charged with the spiritual development of the body of Christ through teaching, correction, rebuke, and instruction in righteousness.
d. We believe as Christians we submit to the Lordship of Christ through faithful membership in a local church, submitting to all training and correction according to the Bible.
The Ordinances
a. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church, baptism and the Lord's Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of the believer in water into the name of the triune God. We believe that the Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Religious Liberty
a. We believe 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 and must be free from undue interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that therefore Church and State must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from dictation or patronage of the other.
Church Cooperation
a. We believe that local churches can promote the cause of Jesus Christ by cooperating with one another in a denominational organization. Such an organization, whether a regional or district conference, exists and functions by the will of the churches. Cooperation in a conference is voluntary and may be terminated at any time.