Statement of Faith
Bonnyville Baptist Church’s Statement of Faith is a statement of the fundamental, biblical convictions that are the foundation of our ministry.
Bible - We believe the Holy Bible to be:
That collection of sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation which, as originally written was objectively the very Word of God (1Thess. 2:13).
That it was by men supernaturally moved: that it is verbally and plenarily inspired (2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Peter 1:19-21, 2 Sam. 23:1).
That it is truth without any admixture of error (John 17:17, Psalm119:160) and therefore is and shall be to the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to men (Heb. 1:1,2, Psalm 119:89).
The true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried (John 12:48, Isa. 8:20).
God - We believe:
That there is one and only one, living, eternal and true God (Deut. 6:4; Jer. 10:10, 1 Tim 1:17), an infinite, intelligent Spirit, the Creator and the Supreme Ruler of Heaven and earth (Psalm 147:5, John 4:24, Heb 1:2, Rev. 19:6), inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honour, faith, and love (Ex. 15:11, Heb. 1:3, Rev. 4:11).
That in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19, Eph. 4:4-6), equal in every divine perfection, executing distinct and harmonious offices in the work of redemption. (John 15:26, Eph. 1:13-14).
Jesus Christ - We believe:
That Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God (John 1:18).
That He is truly and eternally God, equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit (John 1:1, 10:30, 2Cor. 13:14).
That for our redemption He took upon Himself the nature of unfallen man (Rom 8:3),
That He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in a unique and miraculous manner, and was born of Mary, a virgin (Matt 1:18-25, Luke 1:35).
That in the one Person of Christ there are two natures, the Divine and the human, each distinct and indissolubly united (Phil. 2:6-8).
That being tempted in the flesh He lived a sinless life (Heb 4:15).
That He was crucified under Pontius Pilate (John 19:13-16).
That the third day He arose bodily from the tomb and manifested Himself for forty days to His disciples (Matt 28:6, John 20:27, Acts 1:3).
That in His glorified body He ascended to the Father (Acts 1:8-9, Phil. 3:20-21).
That as High Priest He ever lives to make intercession for His own (Heb 7:25).
That according to His promise He will come again in person, visibly, with power and great glory (Acts 1:11, Heb. 9:28, Rev. 1:7, Titus 2:13,14, Matt 24:30, 1Thess 4:13-18).
The Holy Spirit - We believe:
That the Holy Spirit is a divine person, equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature (Acts 5:3-4, Eph. 4:4-6).
That He was active in creation (Gen. 1:1-3).
That He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment (John 16:8-11).
That He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and in testimony (Acts 5:32).
That He is the agent of regeneration (Titus 3:5, John 3:3-6).
That He dwells in every believer from the moment of his conversion (Rom. 8:9, 1Cor. 3:16).
That every believer is baptized in the Spirit by Christ (1Cor. 12:13, Matt 3:11).
That He fills the believer as control is yielded to Christ (Eph. 5:18).
That the evidence of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the life (Rom. 8:1-8; Gal 5:22-23).
The Devil or Satan - We believe:
That Satan is a person (Matt 4:3, James. 4:7).
That he is the malignant prince of power of the air, and the unholy god of this world (Eph. 2:2, 2 Cor. 4:4).
That he is man’s greatest tempter, the enemy of God and His Christ, the accuser of the saints (Gen. 3:1-15, Zech 3:1-2; 1 Peter 5:8, Rev. 12:1-9).
That he is the author of all false religions, the inspirer of all apostasy and the chief of all the powers of darkness (2 Cor. 11:13-15, 1 John 3:8, Eph. 6:12).
That he with his principalities is overcome by our appropriation of Christ’s victory on Calvary (1 John 3:8, Col. 2:15, Luke 10:17-19).
That he along with his hosts is destined to final defeat at the hands of God’s Son, and to suffer eternal punishment in a place prepared for him and his angels (Matt 25:41, Rev. 19:11-16, 20: Rev. 20:10).
Creation and Man - We believe:
That all of creation is by divine decree by the benevolent and all-knowing God of the Bible who made the earth and universe as the expression of His creativity and intelligence and for His glory (Gen. 1:1).
That man was created directly in God’s own image and after His own likeness (Gen. 1:26-27).
That man serves as God’s visible representative in the exercise of responsible dominion over the created world.
The Fall of Man - We believe:
That man was created in innocence under the law of his Creator, but by voluntary transgression fell from his sinless and happy state (Gen. 3:1-6, 24; Rom 5:12, 19), in consequence of which all men are now sinful, and all are sinners not only by constraint but of choice (Rom. 3:10-23; Eph. 2:1-3, Isa. 53:6) and therefore under just condemnation without defense or excuse (Rom. 1:20, 28, 32; Gal. 3:22).
That man in his fallen state is in a condition of total depravity by which is meant his utter incapacity to receive the things of the Spirit of God apart from the quickening grace of the Holy Spirit (Rom 3:10, 8:7; 1Cor. 2:14: John 6:44).
The Atonement for Sin - We believe:
That the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace (Eph. 2:8-9; Acts 13:38-29; 15:11; Rom. 3:24).
That it is through the mediatorial office of the Son of God, who by the appointment of the Father (John 3:16, 1Tim. 2:5-6) freely took upon Him our nature, yet without sin, honoured the divine law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full and expiatory atonement for our sins (2Cor. 5:21, Gal. 3:13; Heb. 2:14, Rom. 3:25).
That His atonement consisted in the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner’s place, bearing the penalty of God’s Holy Law, shedding His precious blood (John 10:17-18; Gal. 3:10-13; 1Peter 1:18-19, 2:24) the Just dying for the unjust, Christ the Lord, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree (1Peter 3:18, Isa. 53:5-7).
That having risen bodily from the dead, He is now enthroned in heaven, and is in every way qualified to be a suitable, compassionate and all sufficient Savior (Heb. 10:12-22; 1John 2:2; Heb. 7:25-26).
Election - We believe:
That election is the eternal act of God’s sovereign grace by which He chooses, calls, justifies, and glorifies sinners (Rom. 8:28-30, 9:16, 11:5).
That it is effectuated by the Holy Spirit through God’s Word in drawing sinners to Christ so that their wills are freely brought into compliance with God’s elective purpose (John 6:37, 44; Acts 13:48; 1 Peter 1:2).
That it excludes all human boasting (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 3:24-27).
That it is demonstrated in believers by their personal faith in Christ, their love for God and their desire for holiness (Eph. 1:4; Col. 3:12, 1Thess. 1:3-7).
That it is the ground of the believer’s assurance and promotes humility and service (2 Peter 1:5-11; Rom. 8:33, 11:27-36).
The New Creation - We believe:
That in order to be saved a sinner must be born again through personal faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:3, 5, 7; John 1:12).
That the new birth is a new creation; that it is instantaneous and not a process (2 Cor. 4:6, 5:17; John 5:24).
That in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life as the gift of God (Eph. 2:1; 2 Peter 1:4; Rom. 6:23).
That such is kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal salvation and shall never perish (1 Peter 1:5; John 10:28-30).
That the new birth is brought about in a miraculous manner above man’s comprehension wholly and solely by the grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth (John 1:12-13, 3:7-8; 1 Peter 1:23).
That its proper evidence appears in the fruits of repentance, faith and newness of life (2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 2:10; Titus 2:11-12; Eph. 4:22-24).
Justification - We believe:
That justification is the great blessing by which God accepts, accounts and declares man righteous (Rom. 3:24, 28; Eph.1:6).
That it includes pardon from guilt and condemnation of all his sin, the gift of eternal life on the principles of divine righteousness (Rom. 1:17, 5:1; Acts 13:38-39).
That it is bestowed by grace through faith solely upon the grounds of Christ’s perfect life, and expiatory death whereby the righteousness of Christ is imputed to the believing sinner (Phil. 3:9; Rom. 4:4-5; 2 Cor. 5:21).
Sanctification - We believe:
That sanctification is primarily the believers position in Christ by the grace of the New Testament sealed to the believer by the blood of the everlasting covenant whereby he is set apart unto God as the recipient of all heavenly perfections (1Cor. 1:30; Heb. 9:14-15; 10:10, 14).
That it is also a process by which the believer sets himself apart from sin to God in the gradual attaining of moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in his heart and in obedience to the Word of God (John 17:17-19; 1 Tim. 2:21-22; Heb. 13:12-13; 2Cor. 3:18, 1Thess. 4:3-4).
That it will culminate in the glorious and eternal state of entire sanctification at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:26; 1Thess. 5:23-24; Phil. 3:20-21; 1John 3:1-3).
The Local Church - We believe:
That the church is a congregation of baptized believers organized according to the New Testament pattern, associated by a covenant of faith, and fellowship of the Gospel, and observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws and exercising the rights, and privileges invested in it by His Word (Acts 2:41-42; 13:1-2; 1Cor. 11:2, 23-26; Eph. 4:11-16).
That its officers are pastors (or elders or bishops) and deacons, whose qualifications and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Phil. 1:1).
That the true mission of the church is found in our Lord’s commission, namely to evangelize, to baptize, and to teach believers to observe all that the Lord commanded, and to equip the congregation in the use of its God given gifts in order to build up the Body of Christ, (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 1Cor. 12:7; 2Tim. 3:16-17).
That the church has the absolute right of self-government free from any outside interference, and that the one and only superintendent is Christ, acting through the Holy Spirit in harmony with the Word of God (Matt. 18:15-17; Acts 15:22, 25, 28; Rev. 1:12-20).
That in all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline or benevolence, the will of the church is final (Matt 18:15-17; Acts 5:1-11; 2Cor. 8:1-7).
That it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in the furtherance of the Gospel and in contending for the faith, and that each church is the sole and only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation (Acts 15:22-31; 2Cor. 8:23-24).
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper - We believe that Jesus Christ has given two ordinances to the local church:
Water baptism by immersion whereby the believer obeys Christ’s command and sets forth his identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19, Acts 2:41, Rom. 6:3-5).
The Lord’s Supper is the memorial wherein the believer, after solemn self-examination, partakes of the two elements, bread and fruit of the vine, which symbolize the Lord’s body and shed blood, proclaiming His death until He comes (1 Cor. 11:23-26).
Marriage and Sexuality - We believe:
That God’s plan for marriage was that marriage involves a man and a woman. Jesus clearly states that God’s view of marriage is the holy union of a man and woman.
That marriage is to be a monogamous, heterosexual covenant entered into by a man and woman with God. No other relationship can be deemed a marriage in God’s sight and this Church will not recognize, participate in, or support any other concept of marriage (Lev. 18:22-26, 15-56, Rom 1:24-29, 1 Cor 5:9-13, 15-20).
That God intends for his people to maintain sexual purity.
Civil Government - We believe:
That the civil government is divinely appointed for the interests and good order of society (Rom. 13:1-7).
That the individual should fulfill faithfully his responsibilities as a good citizen (Tit. 3:1).
That magistrates should be conscientiously honoured and obeyed except in things opposed to the revealed will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience (Acts 5:29; 1Tim. 2:1-2; 1Peter 2:13-14, 17; James 4:12).
That the church should remain distinct and separate from the state, and that there should be no intrusion of the one into the affairs of the other (Matt. 22:21; Acts 5:29).
The Righteous and the Wicked - We believe:
That there is an essential difference in the nature, belief and practice of the righteous and the wicked (Mal. 3:18; Rom. 6:6, 8, 18; 1Peter 4:18).
That those who through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and set apart by the Spirit of God, are truly righteous in God’s esteem, and those who continue in impenitence and unbelief are wicked in His sight and under the curse (John 3:18, 36; Acts 10:34-35; Rom. 1:17, John 2:29).
That this distinction holds even after death; that the righteous depart to be with Christ, and are in a state of conscious blessedness awaiting the resurrection of the just and the receiving of their glorified bodies (2 Cor. 5:8; Phil 1:21, 23; 1Cor. 15:35-44; 51-52).
That the wicked depart to Hades where they are in conscious torment until the final resurrection and judgment (Luke 16:19-31); at which time the righteous enter into everlasting felicity in heaven and the wicked into everlasting conscious suffering in hell (Matt 25:46; 2Thess. 1:8-9; Rev. 20:15, 22:3-5).
The Lord’s Day - We believe:
That the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day commemorating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the day we keep for worship and spiritual exercise (John 20:19,26; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2).