Midway Village Baptist Church

I. GOD—We believe in one God and that He is revealed in the unity of the Godhead, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Romans 1:20; Matthew 28:19, Ephesians 1; Deuteronomy 4:35; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 5:7&20).



II. THE SCRIPTURES—We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration and the verbal, plenary preservation of the Scriptures; that the whole Bible from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 was written by men moved like a pen by the Holy Spirit of God so that it was perfectly recorded, inerrant and infallible from the very first writing, and is therefore a perfect treasure of Holy instruction. Furthermore, we believe God has preserved His word through time and translation. We believe that the Bible is our sole rule for faith and practice, it is God’s Revelation to man and is the supreme and final authority in all matters of doctrine, faith and life. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21; Psalm 12:1-7).



III. CREATION—We believe in the Genesis account of creation: that God created the heaven and the earth in six literal days; that it was very good; that He created all things for His own pleasure and glory, as revealed in the biblical account of creation, and that man was created in the image of God, distinct from, and eminently higher than all forms of lower life; that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death which is separation from God. All human beings are born with a sinful nature and are condemned in God’s eyes, and for those who reach moral responsibility become sinners in thought, word, and deed, and that they must be born-again to be accepted by God. (Genesis 1:1-2:7; John 1:2, 3; Colossians 1:16, 17; Revelation 4:11; Romans 5:12; 3:10, 23; John 3:1-21).



IV. SATAN—We believe that Satan is a personal being, a fallen angel, prince of demons, the god of this age, the great enticer and deceiver, the adversary of Christ and His people, the accuser of the brethren, whose end is the Lake of Fire. (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; Revelation 20:10)



V. THE FALL OF MAN—We believe that man was created in a state of holiness, under the law of his Maker; but by voluntary transgression fell from that holy and happy state; in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint but choice; that man is by nature utterly void of that holiness required by the law of God, wholly given to the gratification of the world, of Satan, and of his own sinful passions, and is therefore under just condemnation to eternal ruin, without defense or excuse (Genesis 3:6-24; Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:10-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3).



VI. SALVATION—We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the LORD Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins, and is a free choice for "whosoever" chooses to put their trust in Christ. (Romans 10:13; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19).



VII. SEPARATION AND SANCTIFICATION—We believe that the Scripture clearly teaches non-conformity to the world for every believer; that born-again people should be separated from the world and unto Christ; that it is clearly commanded by God to all believers to live lives of separation from all worldly and sinful practices and to be holy as He is holy. We believe that positional sanctification occurs at the moment of regeneration and that practical sanctification is to be progressive throughout the entire life span of a believer here on Earth. God’s provision for holy living is in the believer’s identification with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection and ascension; the indwelling person and power of the Holy Spirit and the believer’s yieldedness to Him; and by the powerful Word of God. (Colossians 3:1-4; 2 Corinthians 6:14-17; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:14-16; Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 10:1, 10:14; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 3:18; 2 Peter 3:18; Romans 6:1-14; Ephesians 1:15-2:6; John 17:17; Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Galatians 5:16-23; Romans 6:13).



VIII. ETERNAL SECURITY—We believe that salvation is an eternal state, that once truly secured cannot be lost. (John 5:24; 10:27-29; Romans 11:29; Philippians 1:6; Ephesians 4:13-14; 4:30; 1 Peter 1:3-5).



IX. THE CHURCH—We believe that the New Testament church was founded by Jesus Christ during His personal ministry on earth, and that it is composed solely of born-again people who have been called out from among the Jews and Gentiles. Christ, glorified in Heaven, is its Head and the Holy Spirit, on Earth, is the active agent of the Godhead Who ever seeks to bring about conformity within its ranks, and obedience to the Word of God and the will of God. The church unites believers to each other, and all to Christ, and its chief purpose of existence is to proclaim the Gospel to the world. We believe in the perpetuity (“the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” Matthew 16:18) of the church; that there have been New Testament churches on the earth since His personal, earthly ministry and that they will continue to be here until He returns. The local New Testament church is a visible body of baptized believers covenanted together to carry out the Great Commission; observe the ordinances Christ has placed in the church and maintain discipline within the body. Its only proper officers are Pastors, and Deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are defined in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. Each local church is autonomous, recognizing Jesus only as her Head, and the Bible only as her rule for faith and practice.  The church is the pillar and the ground of truth. (Acts 2; Romans 1:16; Acts 15:14; Ephesians 5:23-24; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; Matthew 16:18; 18:17a; 28:19,20; Acts 2:41-47; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 3:15).



X. BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER—We believe that there are two ordinances given by Jesus to the local church that Christians are commanded to observe, namely, water Baptism and the LORD’s Supper. While recognizing that water Baptism has no saving merit, it is our conviction that after one is saved, Baptism is the next step in order to portray to the world the believer’s union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. It is our conviction that the Scriptural method of water Baptism is immersion; it is symbolic of ones faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership. New Testament churches only (not individuals) have been given divine authority to administer these ordinances, and both of them are to be observed under the auspices of local visible New Testament churches. We believe that Jesus Christ instituted the LORD’s Supper to commemorate His death until He comes, through the sacred use of breaking of unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine, symbolic of our LORD’s sacrifice of His body and His blood for our salvation. It also commemorates His promise to return and receive us unto Himself. It should always be preceded by solemn self-examination. It is to be administered only by the authority of a local New Testament church and is to be partaken of only by those who are members of that church who are living in obedience to Christ. Each believer is to “examine himself” to be sure they are in accordance with the Scriptures concerning this local church ordinance. We further believe that water Baptism by immersion is observed once, after salvation, and is a sign of identification, and a testimony to newness of life, but the LORD’s Supper is commemorative and is to be observed on a regular recurring basis directed by the Pastor as a memorial of the broken body and the shed blood of our LORD Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20; Matthew 3:13-17; 1 Corinthians 11:23-33; Luke 22:19, 20).



XI. HEAVEN AND HELL—We believe in a literal hell, originally prepared for the devil and his angels where immediately after their death, the unsaved will suffer irreversible separation from God and fiery punishment until the resurrection of the lost, at which time their spirits will be reunited with their bodies, and they will be judged by at the Great White Throne Judgment by Jesus Christ whom they refused to receive as LORD and Saviour and must then face as their Judge. After this they will be cast in a state of consciousness into the lake of fire where they will remain forever.  
We also believe in a literal heaven, where the saved, those who receive Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, go immediately upon death into the presence of the LORD to enjoy the comforts that He has prepared for all of the redeemed. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:44-49; Luke 16:19-31; John 14:1-6; 1 Peter 1:3, 4; Hebrews 12:22-24; Revelation 14:13; Psalm 16:11; Philippians 1:21, 23; Psalm 9:16; John 8:24; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:10-15).