Monterey Free Will Baptist Church
This is what we believe
Before Paul Revere made his famous midnight ride shouting, "The
British are coming, the British are coming," Free Will Baptists were
proclaiming the truth that "Jesus is coming." Even before John Hancock
penned his famous signature to the Declaration of Independence, Free
Will Baptists were preaching that Jesus Christ came to set men free.
Free Will Baptists contributed to the rich spiritual heritage of
America even before her birth as a nation. From this fertile Biblical
heritage have grown the faith and convictions which thrust Free Will
Baptists into the field to win persons to a saving knowledge of Jesus
Christ.[Who are Free Will Baptist?]
WHAT FREE WILL BAPTISTS BELIEVE
1.
God--We believe that God is the Creator, Sustainer, and Righteous Ruler
of the universe. He has revealed Himself in nature, and in the
Scriptures of the Holy Bible as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: yet as
one God.
2.
Jesus Christ-He is God's unique Son; the only one of a kind. The
Scripture teaches that lie is God revealed in flesh. In His Divine
nature He is truly God and in His human nature truly man. He is the One
once crucified for man's sin, the now risen and glorified Savior and
Lord who mediates between God and man and who gives us access to the
Father through His intercession. None can come to the Father unless
they come through Him.
3.
Holy Spirit--All of the attributes of God are ascribed to the Holy
Spirit by the Scriptures. It is He who convicts and convinces men of
their sin. He also convinces man of that which is right, and that a
final day of judgment will come. He, it is, who comes to live in us at
conversion, to open our understanding to the Scripture, and to lead us
into the truth.
4.
The Bible--God used holy men to write the Scriptures. They are, in both
the Old and New Testaments, the very words God intended us to have.
They are, as given by God, without error and are our only rule of faith
and practice. We profit from them by learning the truth about many
things: they also speak to us about wrong doing; they even correct us
and get us back on course as well as instructing us in right living.
5.
Man--God created man in a state of innocence. Man, being tempted by
Satan, yielded and willfully disobeyed God, becoming a sinner and
incurring God's judgment upon sin. All of Adam's descendants inherit
his fallen nature and thus have a natural inclination to sin. When one
comes to an age of accountability, he is guilty of sinning before God
and in need of salvation.
6.
God's Relationship to His Creatures and Creation-God exercises a wise
and benevolent providence over all beings and things. He maintains the
laws of nature and performs special acts as the highest welfare of
mankind and His created order of things require.
7.
Salvation--Man receives pardon and forgiveness for his sins when he
admits to God that he is a sinner, when in godly sorrow he turns from
them and trusts in the work of Christ as redemption for his sin. This
acceptance of God's great salvation involves belief in Christ's death
on the cross as man's substitute and the fact of God's raising Him from
the dead as predicted. It is a salvation by grace alone and not of
works.
8.
Who Can be Saved?--It is God's will that all be saved, but since man
has the power of choice, God saves only those who repent of their sin
and believe in the work of Christ on the cross. Those who refuse in
this life to repent and believe have no later chance to be save and
thus condemn themselves to eternal damnation by their unbelief.
9.
Perseverance--We believe that there arc strong grounds to hope that the
saved will persevere unto the end. and he saved because of the power of
divine grace pledged for their support. We believe that any saved
person who has sinned (whether we call him a backslider or sinner), but
has a desire to repent, may do so and be restored to God's favor and
fellowship. Since man, however, continues to have free choice, it is
possible because of temptations and the weakness of human flesh for him
to fall into the practice of sin and to make shipwreck of his faith and
be lost.
10.
Gospel Ordinances--Free Will Baptists believe the Bible teaches three
ordinances for the church to practice: Baptism in water by immersion,
the Lord's Supper, to be perpetuated until His return, and the Washing
of the Saints' feet, an ordinance teaching humility.
11.
Resurrection--Free Will Baptists believe the Scriptures teach the
resurrection of the bodies of all men, each in its own order; they that
have done good will come forth to the resurrection of life, and they
that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation.
12.
Church Government--Free Will Baptist churches enjoy local church
autonomy (self-governing). The local church is the highest authority in
the denomination. Local churches voluntarily organize themselves into
quarterly meetings, district, state, and national associations for the
purpose of promoting the cause of Christ on the local, state, district,
national, and world-wide level.
13.
Christ's Second Coming--The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ, who
ascended on high and sits at the right hand of God, will come again to
close the Gospel dispensation, glorify His saints, and judge the world.
14.
Missions--Free Will Baptists believe that Jesus commanded the church to
go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. For an
in-depth study of Free Will Baptist beliefs and practices, ask for a
copy of the Free Will Baptist Treatise.
ChurchCovenant
Having given ourselves to God, by faith in Jesus Christ, and adopted
the Word of God as our rule of faith and practice, we now give
ourselves to one another by the will of God in this solemn covenant. We
promise by His grace to love and obey Him in all things, to avoid all
appearance of evil, to abstair from all sinful amusements and unholy
conformity to the world, from all sanction of the use and sale of
intoxicating beverages, and to provide things honest in the sight of
all men. We agree faithfully to discharge our obligations in reference
to study of the Scriptures, secret prayer, family devotions, and social
worship, and by self-denial, faith, and good works endeavor to grow in
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We will
not forsake the assembling of ourselves together for church
conferences, public worship, and the observance of the ordinances of
the Gospel, nor fail to pay according to our ability for the support of
the church, of its poor, and all its benevolent work. We agree to
accept Christian admonition and reproof with meekness, and to watch
over one another in love, endeavoring to "keep the unity of the Spirit"
in the bonds of peace, to be careful of one another's happiness and
reputation, and seek to strengthen the weak, encourage the afflicted,
admonish the erring, and as far as we are able, promote the success of
the church and of the Gospel. We will everywhere hold Christian
principle sacred and Christian obligations and enterprises supreme:
counting it our chief business in life to extend the influence of
Christ in society; constantly praying and toiling that the Kingdom of
God may come, and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. To this
end we agree to labor for the promotion of educational and
denominational enterprises, the support of Missions, the success of
Sunday Schools, and evangelistic efforts for the salvation of the
world. And may the God of peace sanctify us wholly, and preserve us
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Further Information
and Activities Free Will Baptists have a strong evangelistic ministry
of soul winning and church planting at home and abroad. Membership in
the United States surpasses the quarter million mark. The work of the
National Association of Free Will Baptists is carried out through eight
separate agencies located in Nashville, Tennessee. They are: The
Executive Department, The Foreign Missions Department, The Home
Missions and Church Extension Department, The Board of Retirement, Free
Will Baptist Bible College, The Sunday School and Church Training
Department, The Woman's National Auxiliary Convention, and the Master's
Men Department. Contact, the national magazine, is produced and
distributed by the Executive Department. Other agencies i.e., Bible
Colleges, Bible Institutes, Children's Homes, and Nursing Homes, are
operated by various state organizations. Free Will Baptists are a
friendly, Baptistic. evangelistic, Bible believing, preaching, and
teaching group of Christians. If you are looking for a place to
worship, serve, and help win the lost to Christ, you will find a warm
welcome at the nearest Free Will Baptist church. "Come thou with us and
we will do thee good."
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
