Cedar Grove Missionary Baptist Church

Cedar Grove Missionary Baptist Church is a Southern Baptist Church and we cooperate with churches in the Southern Baptist Convention.  Southern Baptists have prepared a statement of generally held convictions called The Baptist Faith and Message which serves as a guide to understanding who they are.  The topics here provide only a brief, partial summary.  The full text on the issue discussed is also available.

The Bible
The Holy Bible is God's Word to us and both the Old and New Testament is verbally and plenary inspired.  It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit and is inerrant, infallible, and God breathed.  It is God's revelation of Himself to man, and therefore the final authority for faith and life.  It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction and the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living.  It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its subject.  It is to be understood by all through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, and its meaning determined by the historical, grammatical, and literary use of the author's language, comparing scripture with scripture.  (II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20-21; II Timothy 1:13; Psalm 12:6; 119:105, 160; Proverbs 30:5)

God
There is one and only one living and true God.  God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe.  The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. (Genesis 1:1, 26-27; Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalms 90:2: 102:25-27; Matthew 28:19; John 4:24; II Corinthians 3:17)

God the Father
God as Father is the first person of the Trinity, and the source of all that God is and does. He reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace.  From Him the Son is eternally generated, and from them the Spirit eternally proceeds.  He is the designer of creation, the speaker of revelation, the author of redemption, and the sovereign of history. (Psalms 33:9; 135:6; John 1:1-2, 14, 18, 26; 6:37; 15:26; 16:7; Matthew 10:29-30; Romans 8:29).

God the Son
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and is the second person of the Trinity.  He is eternally begotten from the Father and He is God.  In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary through a miracle of the Holy Spirit.  He lived a sinless human life in personal obedience to the divine law and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross.  He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, sacrifice; and our justification is made certain by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death.  He ascended to Heaven's glory and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Mediator, Intercessor, and Advocate.  He will return again someday to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; John 1:1-5; 14:10-30; Galatians 4:4; Philippians 2:5-8; Romans 3:24-25; Hebrews 4:14-15; I Corinthians 15:3-4; II Corinthians 5:19-21; Romans 1:3-4; Acts 1:9-11; I Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13; I John 2:1-2)

God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is the Spirit of God and is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God.  He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ.  He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation.  He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right.  He gives every believer a spiritual gift when they are saved.  He exalts Christ, while enlightening and empowering the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. (Genesis 1:26-27; Matthew 28:19; John 3:5-6; 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7-13; Acts 1:8; 5:3-4; Ephesians 1:13; 5:18; I John 5:4; Romans 15:16; I Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; II Corinthians 3:17, 13:14)

Human Beings
People were created by the special act of God, in His own image, to be like Him in character, and is the crowning work and supreme object of His creation.  Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called sin.  By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race, becoming alienated from God, and is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.  The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore every man possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. (Genesis 1:27; 3:6-7; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23; 5:12, 18; 6:23; Isaiah 59:1-2)

Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.   We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works and salvation must be accepted as the free gift of God.  Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin's penalty.  When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved.  Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his/her life by faith.  In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification. (Acts 16:31; Romans 5:1; 6:23; 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:3-5, 16; 1:12; 10:28-29; 14:6; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; I John 5:13) 

Eternal Security
Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot "lose" your salvation.  Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not be the self-effort of the Christian.  It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security. (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:1, 38-39; II Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25; 10:10, 14; I Peter 1:3-5)

The Church
A New Testament Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers, under the discipline of the Word of God and the Lordship of Christ,  organized to carry out the commission to evangelize, to teach, and to adminster the ordinances of believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper.  The Church is an autonomous self-governing body and its offices are pastors and deacons.  The New Testament speaks of the Church as the body of Christ, which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages and it functions through the ministry of gifts given by the Holy Spirit to each believer. (Matthew 16:18; 28:19-20; Romans 6:3-4; Ephesians 3:21; 4:11-16; 5:27; I Corinthians 11:24, 26; 12:13; I Timothy 3:18-13, 15)

Baptism & the Lord's Supper
Water baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two scriptural ordinances of obedience for the Church in this age. Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water and it is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, 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 members memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. (Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; I Corinthians 10:16, 21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12)

The Lord's Day
The first day of the week is the Lord's Day and it commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion. (Exodus 2:8-11; Matthew 12:1-12; 28:1; Mark 2:27-28; 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-3; 33-36; John 4:21-24; 20:1, 19-28; Acts 20:7; Romans 14:5-10; I Corinthians 16:1-2; Colossians 2:16; 3:16; Revelation 1:10)

Last Things
The return of Jesus Christ for all believers is imminent. It will be followed by seven years of great tribulation, and then the coming of Christ to establish His earthly kingdom for a thousand years. The unsaved will then be raised and judged according to their works and separated forever from God in Hell. The saved, having been raised, will live forever in heaven in fellowship with God.  Since people were created to exist forever, we will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation.  To be eternally separted from God is Hell.  To be eternally in union with Him is Heaven, also called eternal life.  Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence. (John 3:6; 14:2-3, 13; 14:17; Romans 6:23; 8:17-18; I Corinthians 2:7-9; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 7:14; 20:4-6, 11-15; 21:1-8)

Evangelism & Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and every Church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations and to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort. (Matthew 9:37-38; 10:5-15; 13:18-30, 37-43; 16:19; 22:9-10; 28:19-20; Luke 10:1-18; John 14:11-12; 20:21; Acts 1:8; 8:26-40; 10:42-48; 13:2-3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 3:1-11; Hebrews 2:1-3; I Peter 2:4-10, Revelation 22:17)

Stewardship
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions.  They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and treasures. (Genesis 14:20; Leviticus 27:30-32; Deuteronomy 8:18; Malachi 3:8-12; Matthew 6:1-4, 19-21; 19:21; 23:23; 25:14-29; Luke 12:16-21; 16:1-13; Acts 2:4-47; 5:1-11; 17:24-25; Romans 6:6-22; 12:1-2; I Corinthians 4:1-2; 6:19-20; 16:1-4; II Corinthians 8-9; Phillippians 4:10-19; I Peter 1:18-19)

The Christian & the Social Order
God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions; the home, the Church, and the state.  Every person is subject to these authorities, and these authorities are answerable to God and governed by His Word.  God has given each instituion specific biblical responsibilities and balances those responsibilites with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other.  The home, the Church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God.  Every Christian is under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in his own life and in human society.  The Christian should oppose in the spirit of Christ every form of greed, selfishness, and vice. (Exodus 20:3-17; Leviticus 6:2-5; Matthew 5:13-16, 43-48; 22:36-40; Luke 4:18-21; Romans 12-14; I Corinthians 5:9-10, 6:1-7; Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 5:22-24; 6:5-9; Colossians 3:12-17; James 1:27, 2:8; I Peter 2:13-14)

Religious Liberty
Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every Church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends.  A  free Church in a free state is the Christian ideal. (Genesis 1:27; 2:7; Matthew 6:6-7, 27; 16:26; 22:21; John 8:36; Acts 4:19-20; Romans 6:1-2; 13:1-7; I Timothy 2:1-2; James 4:12; I Peter 2;12-17; 3:11-17; 4:12-19)

Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society.  Marriage is the unity of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.  The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people.  Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; Romans 1:18-32; I Corinthians 7:1-6; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; Hebrews 13:4; I Peter 3:1-7)

Human Sexuality
God has commanded that intimate sexual activity be engaged in within the confines of marriage between a man and a woman. Any form of homosexualty, lesbianism, bisexuality, beastiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God's gift of sex. (Genesis 2:24; 19:5; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1, 6-9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)

Abortion
God's Word teaches that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of an unborn human life. (Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1-5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)