ARTICLE I – Name and Location
This body shall be known as the Cornerstone Baptist Church located on Highway 701 South of Four Oaks, North Carolina, established July 9th 2000.
ARTICLE II – Purpose
The purpose of the Church is to glorify God through the magnification of Jesus Christ in our lives to reach the lost; ( 1 Corinthians 10:31-33)
ARTICLE III – STATEMENT OF FAITH
The Church holds the following Statement of Faith as being a summary of Christian doctrine whose authority consists only in its agreement with the Word of God.
THE CONSTITUTION
The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Bible is God’s written revelation to man. All Scripture is inspired by God being infallible (unfailing in its purpose) and inerrant (fully trustworthy, accurate, and free from any error) in its original manuscripts. The Scripture is comprised only of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. The Bible is to be interpreted literally, which means normally, grammatically, historically and contextually.
We believe the Bible to be the center of true Christian unity and the supreme standard by which all other philosophies and activities must be measured.
Therefore, we commit ourselves to regular reading and studying of God’s Word with conformity to godliness being the goal that we may be equipped to do all the work that God has for us individually and collectively to accomplish.
2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Luke 24:44
The True God
We believe that one true God exists as a triunity of three persons; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; equal in every divine perfection, but executing distinct, but harmonious offices.
Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14
We believe in God the Father, perfect in holiness, abounding in love, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. We believe that He concern Himself mercifully in all the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all that come to Him through Jesus Christ, His Son.
Isaiah 6:3; 1 John 3:6; Psalms 147:5; Revelation 19:6; John 3:16
We believe in Jesus Christ, God the Son, pre-existent with the Father, begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, sinless in His nature and life; infallible in His teaching and making atonement for the sin of the world by His substitutionary death on the cross. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, His perpetual intercession for His people and His literal, pre-millennial, pre-tribulation return
John 1:1, 14; Matthew 1:18-25; 1 Peter 2:22; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18; 1 Peter 3: 18-20; Ephesians 4:9-10
We believe in the deity and the personality of the Holy Spirit. He is the agent of the New Birth, who at the time of salvation permanently indwells and seals the new believer, (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1: 13-14) baptizes (places) him into the body of Christ, interceding (Romans 8:28), guiding (Romans 8:14), filling, (Acts 4:31), and imparting spiritual gifts (1 Peter 4:12: 1 Corinthians 12:11). We will maintain orderly services according to the order of 1 Corinthians 14:26-40.
Creation
We believe the Genesis account of creation. We believe that man came by direct creation of God and not by evolution. We believe that He spoke into existence all creation in six days then rested on the seventh day and that the days of creation were literally twenty-four hour periods.
Genesis 1; (Genesis 2:7; Colossians 1:16-17)
Angels
We believe God created innumerable sinless, spiritual beings known as Angels. They serve as God’s ministering messenger, advancing the cause of the kingdom of God.
Lucifer, a high-ranking angel, sinned through pride and rebellion. Becoming Satan, he led a great number of the angelic host to oppose God and to be expelled from Heaven. These fallen angels, now known as demons and evil spirits, join with Satan to thwart the program of God.
Therefore, recognizing that the conflict of the ages is primarily spiritual, we focus our efforts on the victory found in God’s kingdom.
Ephesians 6:10-18; Hebrews 1:14
Man
We believe that man was created in the image of God with moral innocence and holiness, yet man fell into sin by voluntary transgression of God’s commands. As a result, all mankind are sinners and therefore under just condemnation. Man is totally depraved and unable to choose to do anything that pleases God until after salvation. Man’s only remedy is the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Hebrew 11:3; Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 3: 1-6; 1 Timothy 2:14; Romans 5:12
Salvation
We believe that man is destined for Hell because of his sin and that God cannot allow sin into Heaven. Therefore man must have the forgiveness for his sin in order to obtain eternal life. God offers eternal life, as a gift to man and that man can in no way contribute to the gift through good deeds or religious sacraments.
Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Romans 6:23
Eternal life can only be received as a repentant person exercises saving faith in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross and in His resurrection from the dead.
Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; John 1:12
We further maintain that the new birth is the instantaneous impartation of life, not a process and that all those who are truly born again can never lose their salvation. They are eternally secure.
John 10:27-29; 1 Peter 1:5; Romans 8:35-39; Ephesians 1:13-14
The Christian Life
We believe that those who personally receive Christ are called with a holy calling to walk not after the sinful nature, but after the righteousness of the Spirit of God within them. While believers are positionally sanctified before God at the point of faith, it should be the Christians desire to advance progressively in personal growth as well. Growth can be enhanced as born-again followers of Christ practice the following
- Daily study of God’s word.
- Regular prayer.
- The exercise of Spiritual gifts.
- Immediate confession of sin.
- Faithfulness and involvement in the Church.
- Avoidance of divisive or destructive speech, but rather, conversation that edifies.
- Proper respect for other Christians and striving for unity in the Spirit of God within them.
- Separation from sin and its lure.
- Refraining from all substance abuse, which would serve to harm the body, the dwelling place of the spirit of God
- A responsible family life, including abstaining from fornication, adultery, and homosexuality.
- Submission to human government, except where government is contrary to Biblical principle.
- The work of evangelism.
The Church
We believe that the universal church is a New Testament institution, a spiritual organism, composed of all the regenerated people from the day of Pentecost to the Rapture, with Christ as its head.
Acts 2:1-4; 1 Corinthians 4:13; Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17
We believe the local church is a congregation of immersed believers, having three offices; Pastor, Elder, and Deacon or leadership team; and two ordinances; Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Each local church is autonomous in polity (self - governing) and is banded together for edification, worship, and worldwide evangelism.
Acts 2:40-42; Acts 6:3-4; Philippians 1:1; Ephesians 4:11; 2 Corinthians 8:19
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water to show forth, in a solemn and beautiful emblem, identification with the crucified, buried, and risen Savior through whom we died to sin and rose to a new life. We believe that baptism is to be performed under the authority of a New Testament church and that is a prerequisite to the privilege of church membership unless prohibited by a physical impairment.
Acts 8:36, 38-39; Romans 5:3-5
We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Jesus’ death until He comes and should always be a solemn self-examination.
1 Corinthians 11:23-28; Matthew 28: 18-20; Acts 2:41-42
We believe in obedience to the biblical commands to separate ourselves unto God from worldliness, ecclesiastical apostasy (false teaching), and religious compromise.
2 Corinthians 6:14-17; 2 John 7:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14-15; Romans 16:17
Future Events: We believe God has a plan and program for future events to the ultimate culmination of His divine purposes. Included for believers are the following:
- Rapture to Heaven
- Bema Seat judgment
- Marriage supper of the Lamb and union with Christ
- Return to Earth with the Lord
- The millennial Kingdom
- The New Heaven and New Earth
The future for those who reject Christ includes:
- Death and torment in Hell
- Seven year worldwide tribulation
- Final rebellion and crushing of Satan
- The Great White Throne Judgment
- The Lake of Fire
With the view of God’s future for mankind, it then becomes the Christian’s responsibility to prepare himself with purity and to seek the conversion of the world from the powers of darkness to the Kingdom of God’s light.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 10:25; Revelation 22:12-13
ARTICLE IV – COVENANT
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and, on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God, and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ. We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church, in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations. We also engage to maintain family and personal devotions; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our behavior; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to use our influence to combat the abuse of drugs or alcohol, and the spread of pornography; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of the Savior. We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember one another in prayer; to aid one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and Christian courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Savior to secure it without delay. We moreover engage that when we remove from this place we will, as soon as possible, unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of the covenant and the principles of God’s Word.
