The
Word of God
We
believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the verbally
inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, and complete
as the revelation of God's plan of redemption. It is the
supreme
and final authority in all matters to which it speaks, and sufficient
for the equipping of God's people for every good work.
The
Trinity
We
believe in one God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, eternally
existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; that these are
equal in every divine perfection and that they execute distinct but
harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.
God
the Father
We
believe in God the Father, an infinite, sovereign, personal Spirit,
perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe He
concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of humanity, that He hears
and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come
to Him through Jesus Christ.
Jesus
Christ
We
believe that Jesus Christ is God's only begotten and eternal Son, and
has precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections as God the
Father and God the Holy Spirit. We believe further that He is
not
only true God, but true man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of
the virgin Mary. We also believe in His sinless life, His
substitutionary atonement, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His
ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession of behalf of His
people, and His personal, visible return from heaven.
Holy
Spirit
We
believe in the Holy Spirit, His personality, and His work in
regeneration, sanctification, and preservation. His ministry
is
to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, and implement Christ's work of
redeeming the lost and empowering the believer for godly living through
obedience and service. We also believe that it is the work of
the
Holy Spirit to comfort and teach the people of God through the
illumination of His Word.
Humanity
We
believe that on the sixth day God created man, male and female, in the
image of God and free from sin. We further believe that in
Adam
all people are sinners and are therefore spiritually dead, unable and
unwilling to understand spiritual things or to contribute anything
toward their own salvation.
Salvation
We
believe
in salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ
alone. We further believe that this salvation is based soley
upon
the sovereign grace of God, was purchased by Christ on the cross, and
is received through faith, apart from any human merit, works, or
ritual. We further believe that salvation will inevitably
result
in the progress of holiness and spiritual maturity.
The
Church
We
believe that the Church is the spiritual body of which Christ is the
head. We believe that the true Church is composed of all
persons
who have been regenerate by the Holy Spirit. We believe that
this
body expresses itself in local assemblies whose members have been
immersed upon a credible confession of faith and have associated
themselves for worship, for instruction, for evangelism, and for
service. We believe the ordinances of the local church are
believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. We
also
believe in the interdependence of local churches of like faith and the
mutual submission of believers to one another in love.
Separation
of Church and State
We
believe that each local church is self-governing and must be free from
interference by any political authority. We further believe
that
every human being is directly responsible to God in matters of faith
and life, and that each should be free to worship God according to the
dictates of his or her conscience.
Christian
Conduct
We
believe that the supreme task of all believers is to glorify God by
striving toward holiness, being faithful stewards of the possessions
that God has entrusted to them, and by seeking to realize for
themselves the full stature of maturity in Christ.
Satan
We
believe that Satan is a person, the accuser of the brethren, the prince
of this world system, and that he shall be eternally punished.
Last
Things
We
believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and the lost, the
eternal existence of both in either heaven of hell, in divine
judgments, rewards, and punishments.
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Position Papers:
On Marraige
On Homosexuality
RMBC is a fellowship which is strongly committed to Reformation
theology, with its emphasis on the glory, grace, and sovereignty of
God. Although the Scripture alone is our authority, and though there
are strengths and weaknesses in any human document, we find that in
general, the various confessions arising out of the Reformation provide
an excellent summary of biblical truth.
We also recognize that because
the various reformed confessions are human creations, whether Baptist,
Presbyterian, Congregational, etc., they may contain statements with
which RMBC is free to take exception. For example, RMBC is a Baptist
church and as such would disagree with the Westminster Confession's
teaching regarding infant baptism. Nonetheless, we find the Westminster
Confession to be extremely clear and helpful on many other points. The
same would be true of the other documents which have been mentioned, as
well.
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