Our Beliefs

We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Old and New Testaments and that God’s Word is true without any mixture of error. We believe the Bible to be the true center of Christian unity, and final authority in faith and life. The Authorized King James Version is the official and only Bible translation used in the ministries of Lakewood Baptist Church.

(2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21)

We believe that there is only one living and true God, and that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit They are three, yet one in essence, and they are equal in every divine perfection.

(Exodus 20:2, 3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 John 5:7)

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. He is true God and true man.

(John 1:1,14; Luke 1:35)

Jesus died on the cross as a vicarious substitute for man’s sin. He was buried, rose again bodily, and ascended to the right hand of the Father according to the Scriptures.

(Exodus 20:2, 3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 John 5:7)

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, co-existent with the Father and the Son. He is the chief agent in the conviction of sin, in regeneration, and in the comfort of the believer. The Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ, and permanently indwells, fills, and seals him in salvation for all of eternity.

(2 Corinthians 13:14; John 14:16, 17; Romans 8:14-27)

We believe in the distinct personality of Satan. He is the god of this world and the prince and power of the air. We believe he is destined to the judgment of eternal justice in the lake of fire.

(Matthew 4:1-3; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10)

We believe that God created the heavens and the earth, including all life, by direct act, in six literal 24-hour periods.  We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin.

(Genesis 1, 2; Colossians 1:16, 17; John 1:3)

We believe that man is the direct creation of God. Man is created in God’s image with a body, soul, and spirit. Adam, the first man, sinned by disobedience. This act resulted in the fall of mankind and incurred both physical and spiritual death for all. We believe that all men have sinned, and are therefore guilty before God, and under his condemnation.

(Romans 3:23, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3; Matthew 4:1-3, 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10)

We believe that all who, by faith and in repentance, receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior are born again by the Holy Spirit and thus become the children of God. Salvation is a gift of God, apart from works, and based solely upon the finished work of Jesus Christ.

(Ephesians 2:8, 9; John 1:12)

We believe that salvation is not only a gift of God, but that it is also sustained by the power of His Spirit in the believer. Therefore, since salvation is wholly of the Lord, we hold that the believer shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

(John 3:16, 10:28-29)

We believe in the literal, personal, pre-millennial, pre-tribulation return of Jesus Christ for His church. At this event, the dead in Christ and living believers will be translated to meet Him in the air. At the end of the seven-year tribulation, Christ will visibly descend with the saints to establish His earthly Millennial Kingdom. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved in glory, and the everlasting, conscious punishment of the lost in hell.

(Revelation 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Revelation 19-22)

We believe all the saved are called into a life of separation from all worldly and sinful practices and alliances. We believe the Bible calls us to personal standards of conduct, which include dress, music, and morality. We believe in personal and ecclesiastical separation, necessitating the avoidance of entanglement with moral and doctrinal impurity.

(2 Corinthians 6:14-18, 7:1; 2Timothy 3:1-5)

We believe that a New Testament church is a local group of born again, baptized believers united for the purposes of winning the lost, preaching the Word, equipping the saints, and sending laborers into the harvest. The church is the pillar and the ground of the truth and a light to this present world. It was established by Jesus Christ, who is the Head, it began with the New Testament saints, and it will be consummated at the Rapture.

We believe the church to be completely independent, with no other person, group, or body having any authority, right, or control in any form whatsoever over or within a local church. We believe that Baptism and the Lord’s Table are the only two ordinances given to the local church; that it has the absolute right of self-government directed by the Holy Spirit; and it is answerable only to the Bible, and that, in all matters of membership, government, discipline, and benevolence, the Scriptures are our final authority.

(Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 6:4, 5, 7:17, 11:16; 1 Timothy 3:1-15)

We believe that all Christians should strive to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and enjoy fellowship together with those who have obtained like, precious faith. We avoid, however, any group that promotes compromise or heresy among God’s people. We stand opposed to modernism, liberalism and the ecumenical movement.

We are conservative in our practice, our standards, and our music. We are opposed to the modern-day contemporary movement and believe it to be a compromise of God’s Word. We do not fellowship with groups that interfere with local church autonomy, and we stand opposed to the teachings of Calvinism and the Reformed movement.

(Ephesians 4:3, 11; 2 Timothy 3:5)

We believe that the Holy Spirit baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ at salvation without tongues or other outward signs. The gift of tongues never was, nor is, proof of the Spirit’s presence or evidence of a spiritual experience. The modern tongues movement contains much doctrinal error; therefore, we are non-Charismatic in belief and practice.

(1 Timothy 4:1, 2; 1 Corinthians 12:28-31; 1 Corinthians 13:8-10)

We believe God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, or pornography is a sinful perversion of God’s gift of sex.

(Genesis 19:5, 13, 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1, 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)

We believe that God intends for marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. We believe ALL divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may serve in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service. We strongly encourage restitution, forgiveness, and fellowship in the case of a broken family. We believe the offices of pastor and deacon are reserved for those who meet the Biblical requirements put forth by the Word of God.

(Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6)

We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well-being of a mother are acceptable.

(Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)

We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe, teach, and practice Faith Promise giving as a means of support in world-wide missions.

(Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17)

We believe that scriptural baptism is the immersion of believers, administered by a New Testament church. We believe baptism is the first step in obedience to God AFTER salvation. It is NOT a means of grace nor the way of salvation. We oppose the doctrine of baptismal regeneration.

(Luke 3:21; Acts 8:36-38, 10:47-48, 18:8)

This Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the preceding Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible and the beliefs of Lakewood Baptist Church.