{"id":21,"date":"2021-12-15T06:38:16","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T01:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.olneycalvarybaptist.com\/?page_id=21"},"modified":"2022-01-04T17:14:02","modified_gmt":"2022-01-04T12:14:02","slug":"what-we-believe","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dev.olneycalvarybaptist.com\/index.php\/about-us\/what-we-believe\/","title":{"rendered":"What We Believe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Scriptures<\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Bible, as it is in truth, the Word of God… (I Thessalonians 2:13). We believe in verbal, plenary inspiration in the original writings, and God’s preservation of His pure words to every generation (II Timothy 3:16, Psalms 12:6-8). The Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Received Text of the New Testament (Textus Receptus) are those texts of the original languages we accept and use; the King James Version of the Bible is the only English version we accept and use (See\u00a0Why we use KJV<\/a> page for more info on that issue). The Bible is our sole authority for faith and practice.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\n\t

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The Godhead<\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons\u2014Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14; I John 5:7).<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\n\t

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The Person and Work of Christ<\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; 7:14; Philippians 2:5-8; Galatians 4:4-5).<\/p>\n

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His finished work on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5).<\/p>\n

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24, 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2).<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\n\t

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The Person and Work of Holy Spirit<\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Person who reproves the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, by convicting and drawing men and women to a saving faith in Christ. After salvation He then baptizes all believers into the body of Christ, indwells and seals them unto the day of redemption. He is the Supernatural teacher Who teaches, guides, and reminds us of and in the Scriptures. (John 16:8-11; II Corinthians 3:6; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14 and 4:30).<\/p>\n

We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary and have ceased. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayer of believers for physical healing (II Corinthians 12:12; I Corinthians 13:8; Hebrews 2:3-4; Mark 16:17-20; I Corinthians 1:22, 14:21-22).<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\n\t

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Man<\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God with a free will. After being tempted by Satan and his beguiled wife Eve to take of the forbidden fruit Adam chose to sin. He thus fell from his innocent condition and became guilty before God along with the human race. Mankind then inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Therefore man is totally depraved, and, of himself is unwilling to remedy his lost condition until he experiences the convicting work of the Holy Spirit and is drawn to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for his soul’s salvation. That God, by his presalvation grace as mentioned in Titus 2:11 has given every man enough light to bring him to Himself in his conscience, and in creation as mentioned in Romans 1:18-21. As man responds to the God-given light that he has, God gives more light until He brings man unto Himself. For those who reject the light they have been graciously given, their foolish hearts are darkened and they live and die as enemies of God (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 1:18-32; 3:22-23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12; James 4:1-4).<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\n\t

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The Way of Salvation<\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We believe that the clear message of salvation is repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). We believe that salvation is “by grace” plus nothing minus nothing. We believe that men are justified by faith alone and are accounted righteous before God only through the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That when Christ died He died not just for the sins of those who would be saved, but also for those He knew would reject Him. (Romans 5:6-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; I Peter 1:18-19 I John 2:2)<\/p>\n

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. We believe that eternal life is the present possession of every believer (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5; Jude 1, 2).<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\n\t

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The Church<\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age which began with Christ and the Apostles, was empowered at Pentecost, and will be caught up to be with Christ at the Rapture (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2).<\/p>\n

We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).<\/p>\n

We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4).<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\n\t

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The Ordinances of the Church<\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We recognize the ordinances of baptism by immersion in water and the Lord’s Supper as a Scriptural means of testimony for the Church in this age (Matthew. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:18; I Corinthians 11:23-26).<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\n\t

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Biblical Separation<\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God (II Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1, 2, 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1).<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\n\t

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The Return of Christ<\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We believe the “Blessed Hope” of our Lord’s return is literal, personal, visible, imminent, premillennial, and pretribulational. He will rapture His Church prior to the seven years of tribulation, and at the end of the tribulation Christ will return with His saints to establish His thousand-year reign on the earth. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; I Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 3:10; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-6; Psalm 89:3-4)<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\n\t

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Our Eternal State<\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28, 29, 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13).<\/p>\n

We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:4-6; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17).<\/p>\n

We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting, conscious punishment (Luke 16:19-26; Matthew 25:41-46; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:11-15).<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\n\t

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Our Thoughts on Calvinism<\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We reject the teaching of Augustine and John Calvin and their followers who comprised what we call the Fatal Flower of Theology more known as “TULIP”. It also is the doctrine of a majority of Presbyterian Churches. We understand that some Baptists sects have held this as their belief throughout the years as well, but as we examine the Scriptures we find that God does however give man a free will, this is why there was a Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden. Without this tree there would have been no free will. If man did not have free will, this would mean that God made the choice to sin in the Garden and not Adam, making God a sinner, which we know is not possible. (Gen 3; Lev. 11:44-45; Romans 5:12; 6:23; Titus 1:2; Heb. 4:15) We recommend a couple of sources for extra reading on this subject: (1.) Dave Hunt’s book, What Love Is This?<\/em> (2.) Laurence M. Vance’s book, The Other Side of Calvinism<\/em>.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t <\/div>\n\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Scriptures We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Bible, as it is in truth, the Word of God… (I Thessalonians 2:13). We believe in verbal, plenary inspiration in the original writings, and God’s preservation of His pure words to every generation (II Timothy 3:16, Psalms 12:6-8). The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":15,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"builder_content":"

The Scriptures<\/h2>\n

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Bible, as it is in truth, the Word of God... (I Thessalonians 2:13). We believe in verbal, plenary inspiration in the original writings, and God's preservation of His pure words to every generation (II Timothy 3:16, Psalms 12:6-8). The Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Received Text of the New Testament (Textus Receptus) are those texts of the original languages we accept and use; the King James Version of the Bible is the only English version we accept and use (See\u00a0Why we use KJV<\/a> page for more info on that issue). The Bible is our sole authority for faith and practice.<\/p>\n

The Godhead<\/h2>\n

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons\u2014Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14; I John 5:7).<\/p>\n

The Person and Work of Christ<\/h2>\n

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; 7:14; Philippians 2:5-8; Galatians 4:4-5).<\/p>

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His finished work on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5).<\/p>

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24, 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2).<\/p>\n

The Person and Work of Holy Spirit<\/h2>\n

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Person who reproves the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, by convicting and drawing men and women to a saving faith in Christ. After salvation He then baptizes all believers into the body of Christ, indwells and seals them unto the day of redemption. He is the Supernatural teacher Who teaches, guides, and reminds us of and in the Scriptures. (John 16:8-11; II Corinthians 3:6; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14 and 4:30).<\/p>

We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary and have ceased. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayer of believers for physical healing (II Corinthians 12:12; I Corinthians 13:8; Hebrews 2:3-4; Mark 16:17-20; I Corinthians 1:22, 14:21-22).<\/p>\n

Man<\/h2>\n

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God with a free will. After being tempted by Satan and his beguiled wife Eve to take of the forbidden fruit Adam chose to sin. He thus fell from his innocent condition and became guilty before God along with the human race. Mankind then inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Therefore man is totally depraved, and, of himself is unwilling to remedy his lost condition until he experiences the convicting work of the Holy Spirit and is drawn to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for his soul's salvation. That God, by his presalvation grace as mentioned in Titus 2:11 has given every man enough light to bring him to Himself in his conscience, and in creation as mentioned in Romans 1:18-21. As man responds to the God-given light that he has, God gives more light until He brings man unto Himself. For those who reject the light they have been graciously given, their foolish hearts are darkened and they live and die as enemies of God (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 1:18-32; 3:22-23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12; James 4:1-4).<\/p>\n

The Way of Salvation<\/h2>\n

We believe that the clear message of salvation is repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). We believe that salvation is \"by grace\" plus nothing minus nothing. We believe that men are justified by faith alone and are accounted righteous before God only through the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That when Christ died He died not just for the sins of those who would be saved, but also for those He knew would reject Him. (Romans 5:6-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; I Peter 1:18-19 I John 2:2)<\/p>

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever. We believe that eternal life is the present possession of every believer (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5; Jude 1, 2).<\/p>\n

The Church<\/h2>\n

We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age which began with Christ and the Apostles, was empowered at Pentecost, and will be caught up to be with Christ at the Rapture (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2).<\/p>

We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).<\/p>

We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4).<\/p>\n

The Ordinances of the Church<\/h2>\n

We recognize the ordinances of baptism by immersion in water and the Lord's Supper as a Scriptural means of testimony for the Church in this age (Matthew. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:18; I Corinthians 11:23-26).<\/p>\n

Biblical Separation<\/h2>\n

We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God (II Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1, 2, 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1).<\/p>\n

The Return of Christ<\/h2>\n

We believe the \"Blessed Hope\" of our Lord's return is literal, personal, visible, imminent, premillennial, and pretribulational. He will rapture His Church prior to the seven years of tribulation, and at the end of the tribulation Christ will return with His saints to establish His thousand-year reign on the earth. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; I Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 3:10; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-6; Psalm 89:3-4)<\/p>\n

Our Eternal State<\/h2>\n

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28, 29, 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13).<\/p>

We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:4-6; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17).<\/p>

We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting, conscious punishment (Luke 16:19-26; Matthew 25:41-46; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:11-15).<\/p>\n

Our Thoughts on Calvinism<\/h2>\n

We reject the teaching of Augustine and John Calvin and their followers who comprised what we call the Fatal Flower of Theology more known as \"TULIP\". It also is the doctrine of a majority of Presbyterian Churches. We understand that some Baptists sects have held this as their belief throughout the years as well, but as we examine the Scriptures we find that God does however give man a free will, this is why there was a Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden. Without this tree there would have been no free will. If man did not have free will, this would mean that God made the choice to sin in the Garden and not Adam, making God a sinner, which we know is not possible. (Gen 3; Lev. 11:44-45; Romans 5:12; 6:23; Titus 1:2; Heb. 4:15) We recommend a couple of sources for extra reading on this subject: (1.) Dave Hunt's book, What Love Is This?<\/em> (2.) Laurence M. Vance's book, The Other Side of Calvinism<\/em>.<\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.olneycalvarybaptist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.olneycalvarybaptist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.olneycalvarybaptist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.olneycalvarybaptist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.olneycalvarybaptist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/dev.olneycalvarybaptist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":384,"href":"https:\/\/dev.olneycalvarybaptist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions\/384"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.olneycalvarybaptist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.olneycalvarybaptist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}