Statement of Faith

The Bible is the source of all we believe so we must comment on it first. If this is wrong, all else that follows will be distorted as well (Psalms 11:3). We believe the King James Bible to be the pure, perfect, inerrant and infallible words of God preserved to the last generation before the rapture. We believe that God has worked on His pure words and “purified” them seven times as He promised in Psalms 12:6,7. We believe that the King James Bible is the culmination of God’s purifying process and is the crown of his revelation to us.

We believe that a belief in the “originals” or the “original God-breathed scriptures” (or autographs as they are called) is immaterial as these do not either presently exist or they are too broad of a scope to be of any practical value in determining final authority. Thus we have our final authority in the King James Bible which we can hold in our hand and examine for ourselves. It corrects us, not the other way around.

While we appreciate the Textus Receptus from which the King James comes from, we also are not so naïve as to state on our “What we believe” page that we believe the Textus Receptus. The reason is because a man who says he believes the Textus Receptus actually has five Textus Receptus texts (with multiple editions—23 total) as his final authority and in reality has no single final authority. He is free to pick and choose which edition he wants to believe at which time, making himself the final authority. Some editions of the Textus Receptus have I John 5:7 in—some do not. The TR man gets to pick and choose which edition he wants to believe and when he wants to believe it. He is now become the final authority, instead of God’s words.

Thus, based off the evidence of God’s blessing on the King James Bible, the place it gives Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:18), the fruits it brings forth (Matthew 7: 17-20) and the purity of the words which lack any contradiction in the text (Proverbs 30:5), we place our full faith in the written words of the King James Bible as being God’s pure and preserved words to us. Therefore when we say “the Bible”, we are referring to the King James Bible.

One final note must be addressed. Because man is always trying to wiggle his way out of final authority, the charge is often brought that “there are many interpretations to the Bible and no one can know that his interpretation is right.” This is a lawyer’s way out of truth. It does not face the issue, the facts, or the truth. It is a way to avoid dealing with any truth or final authority. At Bible Baptist Church of Fredericksburg, we believe the right interpretation is the one that comes from the Bible (Genesis 40:8). In other words, we let the Bible interpret itself (II Peter 1:20-21). Often there is no need for an interpretation. You can simply read the text and it will very plainly tell you the truth. For instance, the Bible says “Thou shalt not steal.” That’s plain. You don’t need that interpreted. Someone who wants it interpreted is looking for a way to get around the stealing they are planning on doing. They’ll say, “Well what about if you were hungry and had no other way to get food…” or some other contrived hypothetical situation where they can overthrow the words of God in their own mind. The book still stands. Thou shalt not steal. But when the Bible must be interpreted what rules does our church follow? We believe that the Bible should be interpreted according to its clear and plain meaning in the context that it appears. The rules are listed below:

1. God is the One who interprets—not a man or a church, and definitely not the pope. “Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Genesis 40:8). “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” (II Peter 1:20).

2. God has a set of rules outlined in the Bible for how the bible should be interpreted. The first is that you should interpret it by comparing one scripture with scripture—let the scripture interpret itself. You find out what love means in the bible by finding other places love is used and how it is used in the context. “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdoms teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” (I Corinthians 2:13)

3. The second rule is that the context must determine the interpretation of the text. A text without a context is a pretext and you can make the Bible mean anything you want it to mean if you divorce it from the context in which it appears. The Bible says, “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” (Isaiah 28:9, 10)

4. The third rule is that the scripture is designed to be rightly divided and must be interpreted according to the divisions which it outlines in the text. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (II Timothy 2:15)

5. The fourth rule is that God uses similitudes explain his thoughts. “I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.” (Hosea 12:10). By using words like, “like” or “as” or “so”, the Bible explains something you don’t understand in light of something you do understand.

6. The fifth rule is that you are not to add to God’s words. Proverbs 30:6 says, “Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” See also Revelation 22:18 and Deuteronomy 4:2.

7. The sixth rule is that you are not take away from God’s words. Revelation 22:19 says, “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” See also Deuteronomy 4:2.

8. The seventh rule is that you are not to change or adjust God’s words. “And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living GOD, of the LORD of hosts our God.” (Jeremiah 23:36) See also Romans 1:25.

Failure to use these rules will allow multiple and varied incorrect interpretations of the Bible. Following these rules will allow clarity and consistency of interpretation to any man who is not interested in wresting the scriptures to his own destruction.

“Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.”—The Lord Jesus Christ, Jeremiah 23:30

The Lord Jesus Christ is God the Son. As such, He has always been and is equal in substance and power to the Father. Philippians 2:6 says that Jesus Christ being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. John 1:1 states that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word is identified as Jesus Christ in John 1:14 where the scripture states that “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

But although God became man in Jesus Christ, He was still God because we read in Acts 20:28 that He had God’s blood in Him, He receives worship as God in John 20:28, and is called “the true God” in I John 5:20. Although He is God, He is separate in Person (not deity) from the Father in that the Father calls Him God (Hebrews 1:8). This is summed up in I John 5:7 which states that the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, although three, are one. This is the one same God in three distinct persons.

Salvation according to scripture is the act of God changing the eternal destination of a hell-bound sinner based off the choice of the sinner to trust the blood atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ as payment for his sin (Col 1:14, Romans 5:8,9; 10:13).

Salvation is not based off any works you could possibly do because not only does the Bible say that it is “not of works” (Ephesians 2:8,9, Titus 3:5) and “that by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Galatians 2:16) but the Bible clearly says that it is a gift (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8). As such, a gift cannot be earned; that would be a reward. A gift can be received or it can be rejected (John 3:18, 36).

The sin that sends a person to hell is not adultery, murder, lying, stealing, covetousness, pride, or “living in sin.” According to John 3:18 and John 16:9, the sin that sends a man to hell is not receiving Jesus Christ as the payment for their sin. The Bible says, “For Christ hath also once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” Salvation is a transfer. When a sinner trusts Christ alone for their salvation, their sins are transferred to Jesus Christ and Christ’s perfect righteousness is transferred to them (I Corinthians 5:21).

Salvation is found in four easy steps: 1) Believe you are a sinner. 2) Believe because of your sins you deserve to go to hell. 3) Believe Jesus died to take away your sin so you do not have to go to hell. And 4) Ask Jesus to save you and trust His payment on the cross to save you.

Eternal Security

Because salvation is a transfer of God’s righteousness to the sinner and all the sinner’s sins to Christ, there is no chance of a sinner going to Hell because there is no longer any basis to go there. God has judicially declared the sinner perfect (Romans 4:6-8). Not only is the sinner now sealed until the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30 ) (not till they mess up), but they also are made a part of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:30) which will not have anything cut off it (Ephesians 5:27).

The spiritual circumcision that took place at salvation (Colossians 2:11-13) cut the soul from the body so that the sins of the body are no longer charged eternally to the soul but only temporarily to the body. According to Romans 8:38,39, once a sinner gets IN CHRIST, nothing can separate them from the love of God and thus they can never go to hell.

Second Coming of Christ

We see this to be the main theme of the Bible and something that the Bible instructs us to be watching for in Titus 2:13.  It is very odd that so many independent, fundamental, King James, Baptist churches don’t mention the return of the King (II Samuel 19:10!) in their doctrinal statement. Wonder how they missed that! Since we are to be actively looking for Christ’s appearing, we fully reject the teaching that there is no rapture, or 1000 year reign of Christ. We see in the Bible that there is a rapture in I Thessalonians 4:13-18 that saves us, the church, from wrath (I Thessalonians 5:9). In the Tribulation, there is the wrath of the Lamb (Rev 6), the wrath of God (Rev 15), and the wrath of satan (Rev 12). Being saved from wrath would keep us from that. Thus we believe the biblical teaching that no Christians will ever go through the tribulation. Seeing also that we take the book of Revelation literally, the rapture happens in 4:1 and the church is not mentioned for the entirety of the Tribulation from chapters 4-19. At the end of the Tribulation, Armageddon will take place where the Lord Jesus Christ Himself will come back with us, the church, to physically wipe out the nations of the world and set up His physical kingdom in physical Jerusalem for 1000 years. At the end of that 1000 year reign where Jesus Christ runs the earth for 1000 years, satan will be loosed (Rev 20) and will amass a huge army. That army will come against Jerusalem. Fire comes down from heaven out of God and not only wipes out that army but melts down the universe (II Peter 3). The White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20) follows. After that, the new heavens and the new earth are made (Revelation 21) in which the saved will live forever with their redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ while the lost (those who have rejected Christ by trusting themselves, their religion, their baptism, or something other than Christ) will burn forever in the lake of fire.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

We believe that according to I Corinthians 3:10-15, all Christians will face a judgment separate and distinct from the final judgment at the end of the world. This judgment is called the Judgment Seat of Christ and will judge a Christian’s service, not sin, although they do overlap. The Christian will either gain a reward or lose it but his salvation will not be in question at any time. Christians have an opportunity to gain five (5) crowns and to gain an eternal reign with Jesus Christ (II Timothy 2:12; Revelation 20:6, 22:5) All the service of the Christian will be judged by his motives. The question will not only be “what did you do?” but “why did you do it?”.

The Church

We believe that when discussing the Church, you should recognize that there is the church building/organization which is composed of the people attending the local church. There is also the Church body, which is a spiritual body that is ONLY composed of saved, redeemed sinners. The local church can have both saved and lost people residing in it. We do not believe that the Baptist church is the bride of Christ. The Bride of Christ is composed of saved people and that is not limited to a denomination (I Corinthians 12:13, 27; Ephesians 1:22,23).

The local church has two offices and both have spiritual qualifications: pastor and deacon. A pastor is not supposed to be chosen because he is an accomplished speaker or because his parents want him to be a preacher boy. A deacon is not supposed to be chosen because he has good business sense or has many political connections. IDEAL qualifications are found in I Timothy 3, Titus 1, II Corinthians 6, and I Peter 5 among other places. No preacher hits all those qualifications all the time. Thus we do NOT hold the view that if a pastor has been divorced, then God’s call for him to preach is annulled. This is a false and unbiblical doctrine taught by twisting the plain words in I Timothy 3 and by ignoring I Corinthians 7:27, 28.

A pastor should be an ensample (a small sample of the real thing) to the flock. He should oversee things without lording over the congregation. He should minister. The purpose of the pastor and the necessity of his work is found in Ephesians 4:11-16. A pastor should preach and teach the Bible (II Timothy 4:2), not his opinions, preferences or other immaterial things. The church should follow their pastor (I Corinthians 11:1; I Corinthians 4:17; Hebrews 13:17) as he follows the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ. A church should seek to minister to itself, to save the lost and most importantly, to please the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christian Service

A Christian serves the Lord Jesus Christ, not out of obligation (i.e., serve or end up in hell), but out of a desire to please Him. We are to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. A good soldier is not lazy, treacherous, ineffective or unmotivated. A good soldier is well-equipped, well-trained, disciplined, and faithful. As such, we endeavor to follow the biblical example and preach on the streets, knock on doors, pass out tracts, and take advantage of any other way we can to get the good news of Jesus Christ to a lost, dying world.

A Christian’s love, just as in any good relationship is evidenced by his actions. While we believe that giving (both time and money) and church attendance and modesty are all important aspects of the Christian life, we also recognize that too much emphasis on these outward aspects create Baptist Pharisees. The Bible has a lot more in it than just these three items and it is imperative to preach the whole counsel of God.

 As Bible believers we believe that when a person gets saved, you can’t tell whether they are saved or not by their actions. In the Bible, if you trust Christ, you are “REALLY” saved. And sometimes you live right after you get saved (Paul). And sometimes you let satan fill your heart and you lie to God (Ananias, Acts 5:3), you cave in to the fear of man (Peter, Gal. 2:11-14), you run people out of church who God wants there because you’re stuck on yourself (Diotrephes, III John 9, 10), you go directly contrary to the will of God willfully (Paul, Acts 20:22-24)—in short, a saved person can do anything a lost person can do. There is nothing that happens after you get saved that makes it impossible for you to do ANY sin. You just won’t enjoy it as much as you did before you were saved. A Christian’s flesh still serves the law of sin AFTER he is saved (Rom. 7:24, 25) and it’s up to the Christian if he chooses to walk in the flesh or walk in the Spirit (Rom. 8:4). Of course there are severe consequences if a Christian chooses to walk in the flesh. He can lose his fellowship with God, his testimony, his health, his life, his peace, his joy, his shout, his family and his eternal rewards in heaven. But his actions no longer affect one thing anymore—his eternal salvation. That is sealed (Eph 4:30).

Foreign Missions

A small minority of the world’s population lives within the U.S. That means that any church who is interested in winning souls is going to attempt to do so outside of the borders of our country. Thus our church has a strong emphasis on supporting biblical works across the globe. We do not believe in keeping the money here to build sprawling campuses or large steepled towers whose top may reach unto heaven. The money should be invested in souls and Christians who are doing the work of the Lord in line with the Bible, both locally and globally. That is our intention and prayer. This is not to say that the work of the Lord locally should be ignored or shunned financially. Our first mission field is those within our reach. However we would be remiss in our duties if we neglected the billions of lost souls going to hell across the world. John 4: 35, 36; Matthew 9:36-38; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8.

Jews

We believe the Jews are God’s chosen people, though estranged from him through their rejection of their messiah, the Jewish Lord Jesus Christ. When we say “Jews”, we mean the literal, physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who were the 12 tribes of Israel and now reside in the Jewish state of Israel. We are not referring to Catholics, Muslims, Baptists, Mormons, Worldwide Church of God, Black Hebrews, any Caucasians, or other “lost Jews”. According to the Bible, the terms Jew, Hebrew and Israel are interchangeable and undistinguishable (Galatians 1:13,14 cf I Cor 11:22; Jeremiah 34:9; John 3:1 cf 3:10, John 2:6, 13; Luke 23:5, John 7:2 and Acts 12:3). Being evil does not make a “fake Jew” (Acts 13:6, Romans 11:28, 29; Acts 14:2, 17:5). Jews are not just from Judah (Esther 2:5; 3:6, 10, 13; 9:16, 27; Acts 10:28, Gal. 2:14). Jews can come from a mixed line (Matt 27:11 cf Matt 1:5; Isa. 11:11, 12, Acts 2:5). The 10 tribes did not get lost (Luke 2:36; Rev 7:1-8; 14:1-5). We believe that God is not done with Israel (Rom 11:1, 25) and that if you think someone has replaced them, you are ignorant and conceited (Romans 11:25). The Jewish people are God’s chosen people nationally, but individually they will die and go to hell without Jesus Christ. They are enemies of the gospel but beloved of the Father (Romans 11:29).

False Doctrine

There are many false doctrines that have infected Baptist churches in the last few decades. We will not address all of them but do want to point out several dangerous ones. The false doctrine of hyperdispensationalism teaches, among other things, that you don’t need to be baptized. Tagging on to this is the idea that you don’t have to confess your sins as a Christian (contrary to I John 1:9), that visitation is wrong and that church buildings are wrong. Acts 20:20, the famous 20/20 vision, has in the same sentence (next verse) that as Paul is going house to house, he is telling people to have “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s salvation and visitation (door knocking). Repentance in the Bible is a change of mind, a turning a different direction. A lost person needs to stop trusting whatever he is trusting (repentance) whether it be religion, good works, his baptism, himself, the sacraments, etc and instead trust Jesus Christ (faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ). (Acts 15:9-11, I Thess. 1:9)

We also do not believe in Calvinism. From cover to cover, the Bible freely endorses Free will, including expressly by name (Ezra 3:5, Lev 1:3). The freewill in the bible is usually associated with doing right, not the free will to do wrong as Calvinists believe. The Bible also is clear on the teaching that salvation is open to everyone, that Christ died for all, that God’s grace can be resisted and denied, that God can change His mind and His decrees, and that you play a role, and thus a responsibility, in whether or not someone gets saved by going out and telling them. See Ezekiel 18: 30-32; Zech 6:15, Jeremiah 26:3, Mark 8:47, Romans 10:1, Matthew 11:14, I Corinthians 9:14-17; Matthew 23:37; Ezekiel 13:22; 18:28; Luke 20:13; I Kings 20:42, etc.

We reject the leaning to go back to the Sabbath or the Jewish traditions as the Sabbath was only and always for the Jews (Ezekiel 20:12,20). We reject the emerging church idea and the idea of getting rid of doctrine for any reason since the first reason the Bible was given was for doctrine (II Timothy 3:16). We find especially repulsive that any hireling pastor would water the doctrine down so that they can “reach” more people. We reject the idea of the Nicolaitans which is the doctrine of two classes of Christians, the clergy and the laity. The pastor does have authority according to Hebrews 13:7 and 13:17, but there is nowhere in the bible that you have a clergy and laity class. The pastor is not to lord over the flock but to be an ensample (I Peter 5). He is not super spiritual nor does he have special guidance outside of expounding the clear teachings of scripture and directing the leading of the flock in spiritual matters. Other false doctrines are the idea that you shouldn’t follow a man (I Corinthians 11:1, 4:17), that you can be a Lone Ranger (I Corinthians 12:21-23), that you don’t need to go to church (Heb 11:25; Eph 4:11-13; Luke 4:16), that you don’t need a man to teach you (Eph 4:11-13; Hebrews 13:17, I Corinthians 4:15).

We also reject the idea that being a good American makes you a good Christian. You should be a Christian first and an American third or fourth. Your rights are to believe on Christ and to suffer for his sake (Philippians 1:29). America has no special place in scripture and God puts our country as less than nothing (Isaiah 40;15, 17 cf. Num. 23:9). Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to ANY people (Proverbs 14:34). And why is there no word of bringing the King back? Too many American Christians want to get all they can and can all they get and let the world go to hell. It’s an age where foreign missions is the easiest it could ever be and you got so much stuff that you’re too comfortable to go overseas and tell anyone how you escaped hell. Shame on you!

Marriage and Relationships

The Bible is clear on its description of marriage. “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh.” We believe in God’s definition of marriage according to the bible that marriage is one man and one woman. Matthew 19:5 “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers, God will judge.” Hebrews 13:4 Any physical union outside of the marriage bed is clearly adultery and whoring around. The marriage bed is for one man and one woman. The Bible condemns sexual perversion in all its forms and manifestations.

Ordinances

The two ordinances that our church follows is believer’s baptism as a testimony of salvation and the Lord’s supper to shew His death till He come. Baptism has no bearing on one’s salvation, but is intended to be a public showing of a private act (I Peter 3:21).

Dispensations

We believe in rightly dividing the word of truth according to II Timothy 2:15 and make distinctions between the Jew, Gentile, and Church of God (I Cor 10:32); between the OT and the NT; between passages that apply to the church and those that apply to the tribulation or the millennium; between discipleship and salvation; between Israel and the church; etc. We find that sometimes the divisions not only happen between books but also between chapters, verses, and words within a verse as Christ our Lord showed in Luke 4:17-21 cf Isaiah 61:1-2. We believe that the best way to confirm the right interpretation of scripture is by comparing spiritual things with spiritual (I Corinthians 2:13) which is comparing one verse with another. When you have the right interpretation, scripture will complement and not contradict itself.

satan

We believe that satan is a real being and not a force. We believe that he is smart, capable, and active in his work to undermine and counterfeit the Bible, destroy the testimony and service of the saved, and damn the lost to eternal hell; all while actively going against everything that glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. We, as Christians, must be vigilant against him and not be ignorant of his devices. We also believe that based on scripture, the devil’s activity and interest is to be found in churches and bible committees. That is where he is interested on messing up Christians. The bars and the club scenes and the casinos are the flesh’s battleground. That’s not where the devil is fought. The devil’s tactics are subtle (Genesis 3:1) and have to do with encouraging Christians to hold a grudge (II Corinthians 2:10,11), to discourage Christians who are trying to do right by accusing them before the Father (Revelation 12:10), to encourage Christians to do the right thing at the wrong time (Matthew 4:4-11; Genesis 3), to omit from scripture (Matthew 4:6), to add to scripture (Matthew 2:5,6), to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ as a false counterfeit (Revelation 6:1-2) and to deal in all areas of pride (Job 41:34).

The World

Seeing we have the direct command in scripture to not love the world (I John 2:1-17) and that the example from the Captain of our salvation is not to pray for the world (John 17:9) and that Christ Himself taught that friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4), we will make no attempt to align with the world’s system. While trying to reach those that are in the world, we will be vigilant against compromise in our doctrine, our music, our Bible, our clothes, our language, our habits, and our way of thinking. We know that if we are to be conformed to the image of His dear Son we must not be conformed to the world (Romans 12:2). Therefore, we reject music that names the name of Christ but doesn’t depart from iniquity (II Timothy 2:19). Christian music should be a psalm, hymn or spiritual song. It is not enough to have “Christian words.” We sing the old hymns of the faith and firmly believe that the Laodicean spirit has been very successful in infiltrating the church. We understand that we have not been immune to it but we do not plan on welcoming it either and we will work to bring as many Christians away from the world and to the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5, I Cor. 2:16).

Authority of the Statement of Faith

This statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The  King James Bible itself is the sole and final authority of all that we believe and at no time does our opinion on the matter diminish from its authority. We do believe, however, that the forgoing statement of faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members. We are Independent Baptists which mean that we hold to the Baptist distinctives (autonomy of the local church, baptism of believers, eternal security) and are independent from an “head” organization. However, if the Baptists say one thing and the Bible says another, the Baptist belief is to be thrown out and the Bible followed implicitly. The word of God is always greater than the word of man. (I John 5:9). The King James Bible is the final authority for Bible Baptist Church of Fredericksburg, VA.