God’s story is a story of love and redemption. The story or message that most clearly shows this redemptive love is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 John 3:16). Paul says this message is of “first importance” (1 Corinthians 15:3). As God reveals His nature through the stories of the Bible, the following teachings emerge as central doctrines. These teachings form the core of our beliefs here at Antioch Baptist Church.

God

There is one true living God. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. 

A. God the Father – God created the world out of nothing and by His power He sustains all He has created. He is all powerful, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men. (Rom 8:22-25; Eph 1:13-14). 

B. God the Son – Jesus was miraculously born of the Virgin Mary (Matt 1:20; Lk 1:35) and became flesh and blood (Jn 1:1-16; 29-34) without ceasing to be God. He lived a sinless life and performed many miracles to confirm His divinity. He died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice, paying the debt for our sins (Mk 10:45). On the third day after His death, He arose from the dead showing His victory over sin and death (1 Cor 15:3-8). He appeared to His disciples and then ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God serving as our mediator partaking of the nature of God and of man, and in whose Person is affected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission.

C. God the Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son. He makes people aware of their need for Christ (Jn 16:8-11, 2 Cor 6:11). He indwells and empowers the believer (1 Jn 4:13; Gal. 5:16-26). His presence in our life is a seal and guarantee that we are God’s children (2 Cor 1:21-22). The Holy Spirit gives believers spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11; Rom 12:4-8) to be used to help others. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

Man

Man was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into humanity. Through the temptation of Satan, man transgressed the command of God and fell from his original innocence; whereby his posterity inherit a nature, and an environment inclined toward sin, and as soon as they are capable of moral action became transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every man possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

Salvation

Salvation is free and a gift from God. The death of Christ on the cross is the only sufficient payment for our sins. All have sinned, but all can be saved. This salvation is available for any who put their trust in Christ as Savior (Rom 3:23, 6:23; Jn 3:16). Those trusting Christ should repent of sin, confess their faith, and be baptized (Rom 10:9; Acts 2:38). *Though you do not have to be baptized to be saved*

Baptism

Baptism is an outward expression of an inward decision to follow Jesus Christ. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.

Communion

The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming (Matt 18).

Church

The church is the Body of Christ on earth, empowered by the Holy Spirit to continue the task of reaching the lost and discipling the saved, helping them become fully devoted followers of Christ (Eph 4:1-16).

Bible

The Bible is the inspired word of God and is the final authority in life and doctrine (2 Tim 3:16).

Christ’s Return

Christ will one day return and judge all people (2 Thess 1:8-10, 1 Thess 4:13-18). Believers will be welcomed into God’s presence in Heaven. Unbelievers will be in Hell, separated from God’s presence.

Evangelism

It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ (Rom 10:13-15; 1Pe 2:4-10; Rev 22:17).

Religious Liberty

Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal (Jn 8:36; Acts 4:19-20).

Family

God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of people related to one another by marriage, blood or adoption.

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church, and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel for sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.