Perdido Bay Baptist is a Southern Baptist church. Our Core Beliefs regarding:
God
- God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
- The Father – He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. He reigns with providential care over the universe and the flow of human history goes according to His purposes and plan.
- The Son (Jesus) – Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus has eternally existed and became man at His incarnation. He lived a sinless human life and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He bodily arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
- The Holy Spirit – He is the third person of the Trinity. He guides men into all truth, exalts Christ, convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment, cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, bestows spiritual gifts by which believers serve God and seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the lives of believers is the assurance of God to bring us into the fullness of the stature of Christ.
The Bible
- The Bible is God’s revealed word to mankind, written by the hand of man under the inspiration of God.
- The Bible is inerrant, sufficient, and the final authority for His Church.
- The Inerrancy of scripture means that God’s word is true and without error.
- The Sufficiency of scripture means that scripture alone (no other writings) are required for the teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness for the church is required.
- The Authority of scripture. As the Word of God, the Bible is God’s authoritative word.
- The Bible reveals God, the sin of mankind, and God’s redemptive plan.
Mankind
- Mankind is made in the image of God and are the supreme object of God’s creation.
- God created mankind with permanent sexes being male and female.
- All of mankind is marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called sin.
- Sin separates mankind from God and is the cause of many problems in life.
Salvation
- Salvation is God’s free gift to us
- Mankind must accept salvation by responding to God’s Spirit.
- Salvation is the complete work of God.
- Faith Alone: Mankind cannot be saved by works. Salvation is only by faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
- Grace Alone: Mankind receives salvation by grace alone. We do nothing to earn God’s love.
- Christ Alone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
- Salvation is eternal.
- Salvation, the work of God alone, cannot be lost.
- Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian.
The Church
- The New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by their common faith and fellowship with Jesus.
- A local church is to observe the two ordinances: (1) baptism and (2) the Lord’s Supper.
- The church should exercise their God-given gifts and extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.
- The church is an autonomous body serving under the Lordship of Christ.
- All members are equally responsible as they serve with the scriptural officers of the church; the pastors and deacons.
Baptism
- Baptism has no saving power but rather is the first act of obedience symbolizing:
- The believer’s faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
- The believer’s death to sin and resurrection to walk anew in Christ.
- The Christian’s belief that they will die, be buried, and that Jesus will resurrect them from the dead.
- Baptism by Immersion is scriptural baptism.
- Jesus was immersed and all subsequent baptisms recorded in the New Testament were by immersion.
- The Greek word for baptism means to immerse or submerge.
The Lord’s Supper
- The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers remember the death of the Lord Jesus and anticipate His second coming.
- The bread is represents of His body broken for us.
- The cup represents His blood poured out for our sin.
Evangelism
- Evangelism It is the duty of every born again follower of Jesus Christ and of every church to endeavor to make disciples of all men everywhere.
- It is the command of Christ for every believer to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
Giving
- Tithe is the standard by which the Christian is give from the blessings in which God has given.
- The tithe, which predates Mosaic law, was shown to be 10% of gross income in which God has blessed the giver with.
- The tithe is to be given as an undesignated offering to the “storehouse” ministry of the local church.
- The tithe is to be given cheerfully, regularly, proportionately, liberally and in worship of the greatness of God.
- Gift is the giving outside of the tithe, from the blessings in which God has given.
- Gifts can be given as designated offerings to specific areas of ministry or programming.
- Gifts come in various forms and are not all monetary.
- The gifting of talent to the local church is one of the most cherished of gifts.