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What We Believe (Church Constitution)

NBRBC is a 1689 London Baptist Confession confessional church. https://www.the1689confession.com/

DOCTRINE

The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself (God breathed 2 Timothy 3:16; Acts 1:16; Hebrews 3:7; 2 Peter 1:21) to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

God
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing,
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.

God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.

God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth, He exalts Christ, He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior (John 6:44), and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration (2 Corinthians 5:17), He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30) unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

Man
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image (Genesis 1:27). He created them biological male and biological female (Genesis 1:27) as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin. 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. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become 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 person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

SATAN
Satan is a person rather than a personification of evil (John 8:44), and he with his demons opposes all that is true and godly by blinding the world to the gospel (2 Cor. 4:3-4), tempting saints to do evil (Eph. 6:11; 1 Peter 5:8), and warring against the Son of God (Gen. 3:15; Rev. 20:1-10).

 DEPRAVITY
Although man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26; 2:17), he fell through sin and that image was marred (Rom. 5:12; James 3:9). In his unregenerate state, he is void of spiritual life, is under the influence of the devil, and lacks any power to save himself (Eph. 2:1-3; John 1:13). The sin nature has been transmitted to every member of the human race, the man Jesus Christ alone being excepted (Rom. 3:23; 1 Pet. 2:22). Because of the sin nature, man possesses no divine life and is essentially and unchangeably depraved apart from divine grace (Rom. 3:10-19; Jer. 17:9).

Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man and is offered freely to all who are called by God through Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes election, conversion, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

A. Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.
All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

B. Conversion/Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.

C. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.

D. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life.
E. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

God’s Purpose of Grace
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.
All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons 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 of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7.

LAST THINGS
A. Return—Our risen Lord will return personally in bodily form to receive His redeemed unto Himself. His return is imminent (1 Thess. 4:13-17; Rev. 22:20).
B. Resurrections—At the return of Jesus, all of the dead will be raised bodily, each in his own order: the righteous dead in “the resurrection of life” and the wicked dead in “the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:24-29; 1 Cor. 15:20-28).
C. Judgments—Prior to the eternal state, God will judge everyone to confer rewards or to consign to punishment (Matt. 25:31-46; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:11-15).
D. Eternal States—Heaven is the eternal home of the redeemed (John 14:1-3), who, in their glorified bodies (1 Cor. 15:51-58), will live in the presence of God forever (1 Thess. 4:17) in ultimate blessing (Rev. 21, 22). Hell is the place of eternal punishment and suffering (Luke 16:19-31) for the devil, his angels (Matt. 25:41), and the unredeemed (Rev. 20:10-15).

POLITY AND RELATIONSHIP

Jesus Christ is the head of the church; the true source of all that the church is and does, and His glory is to be the objective of every act, function, and motive of the body, both individually and corporately. It is before Him that all other leadership must bow. He communicates His will for the church through His word, the Bible. He gives additional guidance by means of the specific leading of the Holy Spirit who indwells the heart of each believer. He calls forth Elders in accordance with Acts 14:23 for the church to whom He gives responsibility for the oversight of the church body and the shepherding of its members. Persons meeting the membership requirements and making a written request for membership shall constitute the membership. As an autonomous local church, this church is not subject to the control of any ecclesiastical body.

ORDINANCES

SECTION I. BAPTISM (John 3:13-17, I Peter 3:21, Romans 6:4) A baptized believer is one who has been scripturally immersed and understands baptism to be a symbol of the salvation which has already been accepted in their life by the grace of God through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ.

SECTION II. THE LORD’S SUPPER (Luke 22:17-20, I Corinthians 26) The church will observe the Lord’s Supper on a regular basis as led by the Pastor and Elders. This observance is open to anyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior and is seeking His righteousness.

Marriages and Weddings: All who are ordained, licensed, commissioned or otherwise authorized by this church to solemnize marriages may do so, in the exercise of religious freedom, only where the participants are one biological man and one biological woman (Gen. 2:21–24; Matt. 19:4–6; Mark 10:6–9). Church facilities may be used for weddings only where both prospective spouses are church members in good standing; church facilities are not available to the general public for that purpose. Biblical counseling by pastor or Elder is required before any marriage is to take place. All marriages WILL BE BETWEEN A BIOLOGICAL MAN AND BIOLOGICAL WOMAN.

MEMBERSHIP
Membership in the Church is open to anyone who meets the following qualifications:
A. A member must be a born-again believer in Jesus Christ that by the grace of God through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ has received salvation (Ephesians 2:8)
B. A member must have been baptized by immersion after faith in Christ as a testimony of salvation. Infant baptism is not accepted or offered. If said person will not agree to baptism, their membership within New Beginnings Reformed Baptist Church will not be accepted.

C. Any form of “sprinkling” will not be accepted by New Beginnings Reformed Baptist Church.
D. Membership may be established in the following ways:
By Statement:
Candidates may join by affirming that they are baptized believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, holding to the basic doctrinal teaching of this church. Members joining by statement of faith that hold membership in another church are responsible for notifying their former church of their new membership in Church.
By Baptism:
Candidates accepting Christ as their Savior and requesting believer’s baptism by immersion may be accepted as members upon baptism.
E. All candidates for membership shall give a verbal testimony of their conversion, baptism, and current relationship with Christ and acceptance of the church’s mission statement and doctrinal teaching to the pastor or designated member of leadership. All new born-again believers will be asked to take part in a new believers class to help start their new creation in Christ walk.

The 5 Solas of the Reformation

Sola Gratia…Grace Alone

Sola Fide…Faith Alone

Sola Christus...Christ Alone

Soli Deo Gloria…Glory of God Alone

Sola Scriptura…Scripture Alone