GRANBY BAPTIST CHURCH

As an autonomous Baptist Church we hold to Reformed Tradition.

 

The following is a summary of the beliefs we hold to.

 

God (Theology Proper)

We believe in the one true God of the Bible Who exists in three eternal distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Although God is fully sufficient, holy, and sovereign over all, He chooses to interact with His creation. 

Scripture references: Genesis 1:1, 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:1ff; 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

Jesus Christ (Christology)

We believe that Jesus Christ was pre-existent but came to earth, being born of a virgin. He was both fully God and fully man. The Father sent His only Son to redeem, call, justify, sanctify and glorify those whom He had chosen to be His children from eternity past. Christ died, having lived a sinless life for sinful men. 

Scripture references: 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.

Holy Spirit (Pneumatology)

We believe the Holy Spirit is truly and eternally God. He indwells all believers and places His seal on them from the moment of their salvation. He illumines believers so they might understand the Scriptures and grow in personal holiness. 

Scripture references: 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.

Creation

We believe God created the Heaven and the Earth in six literal days i.e., 24 hour day. He spoke creation into existence ex-nihilo i.e., from the Latin for “from nothing.” Prior to that moment, there was nothing. God didn’t make the universe from preexisting matter.

Scripture references: Genesis 1-2; Job 26:13; Psalm 16:4; 33:9; 104:30; 135:6 John 1:3, 10; Colossians 1:16; Revelation 4:11

Bible (Bibliology)

We believe the sixty-six books of the Bible are inspired by God and are inerrant and infallible in the original writings. They are sufficient to provide all we need for life and salvation; thus, they are the final authority in matters of faith and practice.

We believe in expository verse by verse preaching of God's Word.

We believe in the authority and sufficiency of the sixty-six books of the Bible as the absolute truth for all matters of life.  

Scripture references: 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.

Man (Anthropology)

We believe man was created in the image and likeness of God for the purpose of glorifying Him. Man was originally created with the ability to obey God’s commands but chose not to.

• We believe God designates each individual their gender. God ordained two genders, male and female.
• Mankind does not possess the authority to identify themselves differently than their biological sex assigned by God.
• Any attempt to alter one's gender is sin.

Scripture references: 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.

 

Sin (Hamartiology)

We believe that because Adam chose to sin, death, condemnation, and a sinful nature were brought upon all his offspring. Thus, every man and woman are born a sinner. Sinful man is totally depraved and is totally unable to please God or seek after Him.

Article of reference from Easton's Bible Dictionary - M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Published in 1897; public domain. 

• Sin
  • (1.) Is “any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God” (1Jn_3:4; Rom_4:15), in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by omission or commission (Rom_6:12-17; 7:5-24). It is “not a mere violation of the law of our constitution, nor of the system of things, but an offense against a personal lawgiver and moral governor who vindicates his law with penalties.
  • The soul that sins is always conscious that his sin is
    • (1.) intrinsically vile and polluting, and
    • (2.) that it justly deserves punishment, and calls down the righteous wrath of God.
  • Hence sin carries with it two inalienable characters,
    • (1.) ill-desert, guilt (reatus); and
    • (2.) pollution (macula).”,
  • The moral character of a man's actions is determined by the moral state of his heart. The disposition to sin, or the habit of the soul that leads to the sinful act, is itself also sin (Rom_6:12-17; Gal_5:17; Jas_1:14, Jas_1:15). The origin of sin is a mystery, and must for ever remain such to us. It is plain that for some reason God has permitted sin to enter this world, and that is all we know. His permitting it, however, in no way makes God the author of sin.
  • Adam's sin (Gen_3:1-6) consisted in his yielding to the assaults of temptation and eating the forbidden fruit. It involved in it,
    • (1.) the sin of unbelief, virtually making God a liar; and
    • (2.) the guilt of disobedience to a positive command. By this sin he became an apostate from God, a rebel in arms against his Creator. He lost the favour of God and communion with him; his whole nature became depraved, and he incurred the penalty involved in the covenant of works.
  • Original sin. “Our first parents being the root of all mankind, the guilt of their sin was imputed, and the same death in sin and corrupted nature were conveyed to all their posterity, descending from them by ordinary generation.” Adam was constituted by God the federal head and representative of all his posterity, as he was also their natural head, and therefore when he fell they fell with him (Rom_5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:22-45). His probation was their probation, and his fall their fall. Because of Adam's first sin all his posterity came into the world in a state of sin and condemnation, i.e.,
    • (1.) a state of moral corruption, and
      • (2.) of guilt, as having judicially imputed to them the guilt of Adam's first sin.
  • “Original sin” is frequently and properly used to denote only the moral corruption of their whole nature inherited by all men from Adam. This inherited moral corruption consists in,
    • (1.) the loss of original righteousness; and
    • (2.) the presence of a constant proneness to evil, which is the root and origin of all actual sin. It is called “sin” (Rom_6:12, Rom_6:14, Rom_6:17; Rom_7:5-17), the “flesh” (Gal_5:17, Gal_5:24), “lust” (Jas_1:14, Jas_1:15), the “body of sin” (Rom_6:6), “ignorance,” “blindness of heart,” “alienation from the life of God” (Eph_4:18, Eph_4:19). It influences and depraves the whole man, and its tendency is still downward to deeper and deeper corruption, there remaining no recuperative element in the soul. It is a total depravity, and it is also universally inherited by all the natural descendants of Adam (Rom_3:10-23; Rom_5:12-21; Rom_8:7).
  • The doctrine of original sin is proved,
    • (1.) From the fact of the universal sinfulness of men. “There is no man that sinneth not” (1Ki_8:46; Isa_53:6; Psa_130:3; Rom_3:19, Rom_3:22, Rom_3:23; Gal_3:22).
    • (2.) From the total depravity of man. All men are declared to be destitute of any principle of spiritual life; man's apostasy from God is total and complete (Job_15:14-16; Gen_6:5, Gen_6:6).
    • (3.) From its early manifestation (Psa_58:3; Pro_22:15).
    • (4.) It is proved also from the necessity, absolutely and universally, of regeneration (Joh_3:3; 2Co_5:17).
    • (5.) From the universality of death (Rom_5:12-20).
  • Various kinds of sin are mentioned,
    • (1.) “Presumptuous sins,” or as literally rendered, “sins with an uplifted hand”, i.e., defiant acts of sin, in contrast with “errors” or “inadvertencies” (Psa_19:13).
    • (2.) “Secret”, i.e., hidden sins (Psa_19:12); sins which escape the notice of the soul.
    • (3.) “Sin against the Holy Ghost” (q.v.), or a “sin unto death” (Mat_12:31, Mat_12:32; 1Jn_5:16), which amounts to a willful rejection of grace.

Salvation (Soteriology)

We believe that because all men are totally unable to believe unto salvation by the exercise of their own will, salvation is a product of the sovereign grace of God. In eternity past, God chose, by His complete and sovereign will, some persons from among the mass of sinful humanity to be His own. This election was according to His sovereign purpose alone and was not conditioned on any foreseen faith or merit of those chosen. Christ died for the purpose of securing the salvation of those chosen. Those for whom Christ died are regenerated by sovereign grace and are thus made willing and able to come to Christ in faith. Those genuinely saved will persevere in the Christian life until the end.

Scripture references: Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 6:37-40; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.

Church (Ecclesiology)

We believe the church is both universal (all believers everywhere) and local (believers gathered in a common locality). Christ is the Head of the church and has given each local church the authority necessary for conducting forms of worship and discipline that are in harmony with the Word of God and in submission to the authority of Christ. The local church, being governed by duly authorized elders, gathers for worship, edification, fellowship, service, and observance of the two ordinances (baptism and communion).

Scripture references on the Church: 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.

Scripture references on Baptism and Lord's Supper: 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.

Last Things (Eschatology)

We believe Christ will one day return to the earth in sovereign rule and final judgment. The righteous will enjoy eternal life with Christ, and the wicked will endure everlasting punishment.

Scripture references: Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-48; Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-28,35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 5:1ff.; 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13.

 

For a detailed description of our beliefs, please refer to the following link below.

The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith