What We Believe

Baptists are a people of deep beliefs and cherished doctrines. Throughout our history we have been a confessional people, adopting statements of faith as a witness to our beliefs and a pledge of our faithfulness to the doctrines revealed in Holy Scripture.

Our confessions of faith are rooted in historical precedent, as the church in every age has been called upon to define and defend its beliefs. Each generation of Christians bears the responsibility of guarding the treasury of truth that has been entrusted to us (2 Timothy 1:14). We honor the principles of soul competency and the priesthood of believers, affirming together both our liberty in Christ and our accountability to each other under the Word of God. In an age increasingly hostile to Christian truth, our challenge is to express the truth as revealed in Scripture, and to bear witness to Jesus Christ, who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

God the Father Jesus Christ  Holy Spirit  
Holy Bible Man The Church
Ordinances Church and State The Family
         Church Polity


I. God the Father

            We believe there is only one true God.  We believe He is a living, intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being who is the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. We believe God is eternal and infinite in holiness and all other perfections.  We believe God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.  We believe God concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; He hears and answers our prayers.  We believe He saves from sin and death all that come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ. 

      (Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7)

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 II. Jesus Christ

            We believe Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son.  We believe He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life.  We believe in His substitutionary atonement by the shedding of His blood and death on the cross.  We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into heaven, and His perpetual intercession for His people.  We believe He will one day visibly return to earth, call forth His people, and judge all humankind according to His righteousness.

        (Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16)

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III. Holy Spirit

      We believe the Holy Spirit was given to us by God the Father upon the request of His Son Jesus.  We believe He is the Spirit of Truth.  We believe He convicts the world of sin, testifies of Christ, and brings glory to Christ Jesus.  We believe He regenerates, sanctifies, and empowers all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe He indwells every person who is a believer in Christ, and that He will forever abide with us as our helper, teacher and guide.

      (Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7ff.; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17)

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 IV.Holy Bible

                 We believe the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation
             of Himself to man.  We believe Bible Scripture to be true, without error, and useful for
             teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.  We believe the Bible
             reveals the principles by which God judges the world and is the supreme standard in
             all matters.  We believe Bible Scripture to be a testimony concerning Christ, who is
             Himself the focus of divine revelation.

             (Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10;
             119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18;
             22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11;
             Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25;
             2 Peter 1:19-21)

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V. Man

      We believe man was created by God in His own image.  We believe man disobeyed God and thereby incurred physical, spiritual and eternal death, which is separation from God.  As a consequence, all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are sinners  by choice and therefore under condemnation. We believe that those who repent and  forsake sin and trust Jesus Christ as his/her Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit  and become new creatures, which are delivered from condemnation and receive eternal  life. We believe that God loves all persons and in demonstration of this love He sent  His Son, Jesus, to provide forgiveness and deliverance from the penalty for our sins.

       (Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5;  Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19;  6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22;  Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11)

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VI. The Church

             We believe the church is a living, spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all  regenerated persons are its members. We believe the local church consists of a  company of believers in Jesus Christ who have been baptized on a credible public  profession of faith, and who associate for worship, service, and fellowship. We believe  that the mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ, baptizing and  teaching them according to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. 

       (Matthew 16:15-19; 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42,47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 13:1-3; 14:23,27; 15:1-  30; 16:5; 20:28; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14; 12;  Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11,21; 5:22-32; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18; 1  Timothy 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14; Hebrews 11:39-40; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation 2-3; 21:2-3)

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VII. Ordinances

             We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ has committed two specific ordinances
            (prescribed practices) to the local church.  Those ordinances are baptism and the Lord's
             Supper. We believe the ordinance of baptism is to be observed through immersion of
             the believer in water in the name of the triune God. We believe that the ordinance of
             the Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ to commemorate of His atoning sacrifice for
             us. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered by the
             church until His return.

             (Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20;
             John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians
             10:16,21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12)

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VIII. Church and State

                         We believe that each church is independent and must be free from interference by any
             ecclesiastical or political authority; therefore, Church and State must be kept separate
             as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from dictation or patronage of
             the other. We believe in the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of
             all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without
             interference by any civil power.

             (Exodus 20:3-17; Leviticus 6:2-5; Deuteronomy 10:12; 27:17; Psalm 101:5; Micah 6:8;
             Zechariah 8:16; Matthew 5:13-16,43-48; 22:36-40; 25:35; Mark 1:29-34; 2:3ff.; 10:21;
             Luke 4:18-21; 10:27-37; 20:25; John 15:12; 17:15; Romans 12–14; 1Corinthians 5:9-10;
             6:1-7; 7:20-24; 10:23-11:1; Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:12-17;
             1 Thessalonians 3:12; Philemon; James 1:27; 2:8)

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IX. The Family

             We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human
             society.  We believe marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in a covenant
             relationship for a lifetime. We believe children, from the moment of conception, are a
             blessing and heritage from God.  We believe parents are to teach their children spiritual
             and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving
             discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth.

             (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15;
             1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20;
             6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31;
             Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9;
             Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4;
             Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4;
             1 Peter 3:1-7)

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IX. Church Polity

             West Franklin Baptist Church is ruled by Christ, led by Elders, and served by
             Deacons.  We believe decisions about membership, leadership, doctrine, worship,
             conduct, missions, finances, property, relationships, and the like are to be made by
             the gathered congregation except when such decisions have been delegated by the
             congregation to individual members or to groups of members.  West Franklin Baptist
             Church is a congregation that affirms the priesthood of all believers.  We believe the
             Holy Spirit enables us to realize our joy in being members of a royal priesthood of
             believers in Jesus Christ, as explained in 1 Peter 2:9, giving us opportunities both
             in word and in deed to declare the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness
             into His wonderful light; thus, as royal priest and in this manner, each member of
             our congregation is personally accountable to Christ and to one another. 

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