What We Believe
At Community Bible Church, we believe in the core teachings of the Bible.
God and His Word
We believe that God the Father is Father only to those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior; that He is perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, and measureless in power; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; that He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; and that He is the object of our worship and praise. (Ps. 65:2; Ps. 139:1-24; Matt. 5:45; Ps. 147:5; Matt. 6:24-34; John 14:6; I Tim. 2:5).
Man, Sin, and Salvation
God created man in His image, sinless and innocent. As a result of his disobedience, man incurred both physical and spiritual death. Men are universally sinful and will endure eternal punishment if not saved after the age of accountability. (Gen. 1:26-27; 2:7-3:24; II Sam. 12:23; Ps. 51:5; Matt. 18:10-14; Rev. 20:14-15).
Sin is the transgression of the law of God. We believe in the universality of sin; that it separates man from God; that there is no remission of sin apart from the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God and man's repentance. (Ezek. 18:4; Luke 24:46-47; Rom. 3:10-26; 6:23; 7:23-24; I John 3:4).
We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace, a free gift of God in the Person of Jesus Christ; that salvation is received individually by a repentance from sin and a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; that through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, who, by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Himself our nature, yet without sin, He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and by the shedding of His blood in death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins. He is in every way an all-sufficient Savior. (John 1:12; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9; Heb. 9:24-25; John 10:19; 12:24; I Peter 1:18-19; Rev. 1:5).
The Church
The establishment and continuation of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament. The church as an organization is an assembly of baptized believers, voluntarily associated by covenant in faith for fellowship, worship, and service. Its mission is to spread the gospel to all men and to earnestly contend for the faith.
Its officers are a pastor and deacons whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. The local church has the absolute right of self-government free from the interference of hierarchy of individuals or organization, religious or governmental, and that its only superintendent is Christ. Scripture teaches that true churches should cooperate in contending for the faith and the furtherance of the gospel.
Each local church is the sole judge of the measure and methods of its cooperation. On all matters of membership, policy, government, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final. (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 14:27; I Cor. 3:9-17; 16:19; II Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:2; I Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11; Rev. 2:1-3:22).
Baptism and Communion
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It testifies to the transformation of the believer's heart: death to sin and resurrection to walk in newness of life. Baptism after salvation is an act of obedience and is a prerequisite for local church membership. (Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 6:4; Acts 2:41; 8:12, 26-39).
The Lord's Supper is a commemoration of the Lord's death to be observed until His return. The elements are only symbols of Jesus' broken body and shed blood, and our observance of it is a pictorial testimony of the believer's fellowship with the crucified Savior and should be preceded by solemn heart-searching and self-judgment. (Matt. 26:26-30; I Cor. 10:16-21; 11:17-34).