A Summary of Free Will Baptist Doctrine as Practiced at Tabernacle Free Will Baptist Church
1. The Bible—–The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and are our infallible rule of faith and practice. We believe the King James Version of the Bible is the preserved Word of God.
2. God—There is one living and true God, revealed in nature as the Creator, Preserver, and Righteous Governor of the universe, and in the Scriptures as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; yet as one God, infinitely wise and good, whom all intelligent creatures are supremely to love, adore, and obey.
3. Christ—Christ is God manifest in the flesh; in His divine nature truly God, in His human nature truly man. The mediator between God and man, once crucified, He is now risen and glorified, and is our ever present Savior and Lord.
4. The Holy Spirit—The Scriptures assign to the Holy Spirit all the attributes of God.
5. The Government of God—God exercises a wise and benevolent providence over all beings and all things by maintaining the constitution and laws of nature. He also performs special acts, not otherwise provided for, as the highest welfare of men requires.
6. The Sinfulness of Man—Man was created innocent, but by disobedience fell into a state of sin and condemnation. His posterity, therefore, inherit a fallen nature of such tendencies that all who come to years of accountability, sin and become guilty before God.
7. The Work of Christ—The Son of God by His incarnation, life, sufferings, death and resurrection effected for all a redemption from sin that is full and free, and is the ground of salvation by faith.
8. Salvation and Sanctification —To be saved one must: (1) Recognize one’s sinful and lost condition without Christ; (2) repent (turn away) from the sin that separates us from God and (3) turn toward Christ by exercising saving faith (trusting belief) in His finished work of the on the cross, in that He paid the sin penalty on the cross and shed His blood for all. Jesus’ shed blood satisfies God’s requirement that blood be shed for the remission of sin. In the exercise of saving faith, (a) the believer is instantly justified and made righteous in the sight of God; (b) instantly the soul is renewed by the Holy Spirit; (c) the believer is instantly freed from the dominion of sin; and (d) instantly the believer becomes a child of God. (e) The process of sanctification begins and the believer, as a result of his/her renewed heart and soul should begin following Christ in love and obedience under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God. (4) A continuing trusting faith until death or the Lord’s return ensures the believer’s eternal security.
9. Election— God determined from the beginning to save all who should comply with the conditions of salvation. Hence by faith in Christ men become His elect.
10. Freedom of the Will—The human will is free and self-controlled, having power to yield to the influence of the truth and the Spirit, or to resist them and perish.
11. Salvation Freely Offered—God desires the salvation of all, the Gospel invites all, the Holy Spirit strives with all, and whosoever will may come and take of the water of life freely.
12. Perseverance—All believers in Christ, who through grace persevere in faith to the end of life will inherit the Kingdom of God.
13. Gospel Ordinances—Baptism, or the immersion of believers in water, and the Lord’s Supper, are ordinances to be perpetuated under the Gospel. Feet Washing, an ordinance teaching humility, is of universal obligation, and is to be ministered to all true believers.
14. Tithing—God commanded tithes and offerings in the Old Testament; Jesus Christ endorsed it in the Gospels (Matt. 23:23), and the apostle Paul said, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him.” (I Cor. 16:2a)
15. The Lord’s Day (Sunday) - The Scriptures teache that one day in seven be set apart for rest. The first day of the week is the day that our Lord arose from the dead and should be honored with worship and personal communion with God.
16. Resurrection, Judgment, and Final Retribution—The Scriptures teach the resurrection of all men at the last day. They that have been saved will come forth to the resurrection life, and they that have not been saved will come forth to the resurrection of damnation; then the wicked will “go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
17. Human Sexuality – God has commanded that no sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman. Any form and practice of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of marital, sexual intimacy. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5; 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4).
18. Marriage – Marriage is defined by the Bible as the joining of one man and one woman in the sight of God and man. (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23).
19. Ecclesiastical Separation – Separation of the church from the world is taught in scripture and practiced by believers. The church, through its members, is to minister to the individuals in the world by giving out the gospel message through personal testimony, written material, evangelism, personal witnessing, church services, and other methods, but is not to become entangled in the world system of fulfilling the lust of the flesh through entertainment, immorality, or other ungodly practices. In order to be in close fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit we must not grieve Him by partaking in worldly activities. Some examples of these activities would be frequenting dance halls or night clubs, going to public movie theaters, drinking alcohol, using tobacco products, immodest dress, worldly dress (ex. T-shirts with advertisements and logos for ungodly businesses), watching inappropriate TV programs, listening to ungodly music, sexual immorality, pornography, and other things which feed the flesh and hinder the believer’s walk in the Spirit.
Any questions regarding these statements may be directed to the church through the use of e-mail on this web site or contacting the church office by phone at 252 523 0000.
