What We Believe

We believe that the 66 books of the Bible are the Word of God, divinely inspired, and without error in the original manuscripts. The Bible has been preserved by God, and it is the authoritative standard in all matters of faith and conduct for every life and every age.

We believe that there is only one true God, the maker and supreme ruler of heaven and earth, inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all honor, praise, and love; eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—equal in every divine perfection but distinct in function.

We believe in God the Father, an infinite personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, justice, power and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayers, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.

We believe that Jesus Christ in the flesh was both God and man; He was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life in which He confirmed all He taught with mighty works, wonders and signs as revealed in the four Gospels; He was crucified, died to pay the penalty for our sin, and was raised from the dead bodily on the third day. Later He ascended to the Father’s right hand where He is head of the church and intercedes for believers. He is coming again personally, bodily, and visibly to this earth to establish and reign over His kingdom.

 We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person, is God, and possesses all the divine attributes. He indwells all believers at the moment of salvation, and baptizes them into the body of Christ. He fills and supernaturally empowers believers for service, and imparts spiritual gifts individually as He wills for the edification and healthy function of the body of Christ.

We believe that Satan, an angel created by God, was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honors, but through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell and drew after him a host of angels. We believe that he is now the great tempter, the deceiver, the enemy of God, the accuser of the saints, and the author of false religions. He is destined, however, to a final judgment of banishment in an eternal Lake of Fire at the hand of God’s own Son.

We believe that although created in God’s image, all men and women, because of being born into sin and practicing sin, are separated from Him and His purpose for their lives, and are subject to His wrath apart from salvation through Jesus Christ.

We believe that salvation is possible only through personal appropriation of the shed blood of Jesus, who died once for the sins of all men in all generations. Salvation is wholly by grace through faith and is entirely apart from man’s effort or good works.

We believe that salvation is the forgiveness of sin, adoption into the family of God, eternal life, the impartation of a new nature, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and entrance into a personal relationship with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe that a true believer gives evidence of his salvation by growing in good works, in the conviction of sin, and in Christ-like character. Although he cannot lose his salvation, sin may interrupt the joy of his fellowship with God and bring the loving discipline of his heavenly Father.

We believe in the everlasting conscious blessedness of the saved and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost in the Lake of Fire.

We believe that the Church is the precious bride of Christ for whom Jesus will return, and that it is the Body of Christ of which Jesus is the head and the ruler. We believe that this Body of Christ is manifested through local congregations of baptized believers. Within the local church, Christ has ordained that elders (which include the New Testament terms: elder, bishop, overseer, and pastor) and deacons oversee its spiritual and physical well-being.

We believe that Jesus Christ stipulates two ordinances for the local church to observe: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Both ordinances are symbolic practices and neither is necessary for salvation. We believe that baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, under the authority of the local church, to symbolize the believer’s unity with Christ. Through baptism, the believer gives a public testimony of his or her faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration of His death by born-again Christians until He comes and should be preceded by self- examination.

We believe that, following salvation, every believer should seek the membership, fellowship and discipleship of a local church. Church membership involves commitment to the work and ministries of the Church through personal involvement and financial support.

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26-27; Matthew 19:4-5). Rejection of one's biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

We believe that the term "marriage" has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18-25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity occur outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.

We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including but not limited to adultery, fornication, pedophilia, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Centreville Baptist Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by the church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:22).

We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:3l). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Centreville Baptist Church.