For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received:
Core Beliefs
The following are the core beliefs of Pea Ridge Baptist Church based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God. He was fully God and fully man. He was born of a virgin, and died a sacrificial death for our sins, rose from the dead on the third day and today reigns in heaven. Jesus Christ is the one and only Head of the church (John 1:1-14; 3:16, Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 5:23).
The Word of God
The Bible in its original manuscripts is the inerrant, infallible Word of God! It is written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God’s revelation of Himself to man (2 Timothy 3:15, 17; Joshua 1:8; Matthew 5:17-18).
Creation
The God of the Bible is the sovereign Creator of all that was, is and will be. He created man in His own image (Genesis 1:1-31).
The Trinity
The eternal God reveals Himself to us in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, also known as the Trinity-the Triune Godhead (John 14:7-21).
-
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purpose of His grace. He is all powerful, all loving, and all wise (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 23:9; John 14:6-13).
-
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 the demands and necessities of human nature and identifying Himself completely with mankind, yet without sin (Mark 1:10-11; Philippians 2:5-11; John 1:1-18).
-
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination, He enables men to understand the truth. He convicts of sin, or righteousness and of judgment (John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4).
-
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purpose of His grace. He is all powerful, all loving, and all wise (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 23:9; John 14:6-13).
-
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 the demands and necessities of human nature and identifying Himself completely with mankind, yet without sin (Mark 1:10-11; Philippians 2:5-11; John 1:1-18).
-
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination, He enables men to understand the truth. He convicts of sin, or righteousness and of judgment (John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4).
Salvation
God loves us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, to the earth. Christ was the perfect sacrifice in His death on the cross. He defeated the power of death and hell when He rose from the tomb on the third day. He ascended from the earth into heaven, where He now reigns at the right hand of God the Father (John 3:16; Mark 14:62; John 1:14).
-
The death and resurrection of Christ provided for man to be reconciled to God through a true faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ is the only way to salvation (John 3:16, 14:6).
-
The death and resurrection of Christ provided for man to be reconciled to God through a true faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ is the only way to salvation (John 3:16, 14:6).
Man
We believe that man was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning, man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice, man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan, man transgressed the command of God and fell from his original innocence; whereby his descendants inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God (Genesis 1:28-30; 2:7; 3:1; Romans 3:10-18, 23; Ephesians 2:8-10).
The Church
The universal church consists of all persons who have been reconciled, through saving faith, to God by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The local church is an assembly of believers that is to function in accordance with principles set forth in the New Testament. It is a body of believers that form a community of faith in all aspects of life. The local church must be relevant to current society (Acts 2:42-47).
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the only ordinances of Christ given to the local Church. Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby we memorialize the death of our Lord and anticipate His coming again. We believe that participation in this ordinance is open to all believers who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and that solemn self-examination must always precede the taking of the Supper (Matthew 26:26-30; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29).