Our Beliefs
Our Statement of Faith captures what we believe, creating a foundation for why we do what we do as a church.
Overview OF CORE BELIEFS
Here is a summary of our statement of faith
3-in-1 God
We believe in the Trinity. There is one God, Creator and Sustainer of all, eternally existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Father saves all who come to Him through His son Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit redeems the lost and empowers the believer for godly living. All three are equal in perfection and execute distinct and harmonious offices.
Jesus Christ
We believe Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. We believe in His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on behalf of His people, and His visible, pre-millennial return from heaven. When this happens, we believe in: the bodily resurrection of the saved and lost; the eternal existence of all in either heaven or hell; and in divine judgments, rewards, and punishments.
The Word of God
We believe the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original, complete as the revelation of God’s will for salvation, and the supreme authority in all matters. We believe God’s Word provides all essential direction for believers to glorify God in their lives, conduct themselves as an example to the world, be faithful stewards of their possessions, and realize full maturity in Christ.
Salvation
We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We further believe this salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God, and was purchased by Christ on the cross, and is received by man through faith, apart from any human merit, works, or rituals. We further believe salvation results in righteous living, good works, and proper social concern.
The Church
We believe the Church is the spiritual body, with Christ at the head. We believe in a true Church of all who, through saving faith in Jesus Christ, have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We believe this body expresses itself in local assemblies of members who follow the ordinances of believer’s baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. Finally, we believe we are all responsible to God in matters of faith and life, and we must be free to worship God according to our conscience.
Man
We believe God created man, male and female, in His image and free from sin. We believe man rebelled against God, is sinful, and therefore spiritually dead. We believe those who repent of sin and trust Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We believe God established marriage as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman and that all intimate sexual activity outside this relationship is sin. Finally, we believe all conduct with intent to adopt a gender other than one’s birth gender is also sin.
Full Statement of Faith
While the Bible is our only infallible rule of faith and practice, we are also committed—and accountable—to a specific statement of faith that represents a summary of the teaching of Holy Scripture on key points of doctrine essential to the beliefs, conduct, and witness of our churches.
We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, complete as the revelation of God’s will for salvation, and the supreme authority in all matters to which they speak.
(Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39; Acts 17:2-3; Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 2:13; 10:11; 2 Tim. 3:16-17)
We believe in one God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; that these are equal in every divine perfection and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.
(Gen. 1:1-3, 26; Matt. 3:16,17; John 14:26; 2 Cor. 13:13, Gal. 4:4-6)
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
(Matt. 28:18-19; Mark 12:29; John 1:14; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 13-14; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 1:4-6)
We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son, and has precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. We believe further that He is not only true God, but true man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. We also believe in His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on behalf of His people, and His personal, visible, pre-millennial return from heaven.
(Luke 1:30-35; 2:40; John 1:1-2, 1:18; 3:16; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 4:15)
We believe in the Holy Spirit, His personality, and His work in regeneration, sanctification, and preservation. His ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, and implement Christ’s work of redeeming the lost and empowering the believer for godly living and service.
(John 16:7-13; 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 2:2-12; 3:16; 2 Cor. 3:17; Gal. 5:25; Eph. 1:13; 5:18)
We believe God created man, male and female, in the image of God and free from sin. We further believe man is a sinner by nature and choice and is therefore spiritually dead. We also believe that those who repent of sin and trust Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
(Gen. 1:26; 2:17; 6:5; Ps. 14:1-3; 51:5; Jer. 17:9; John 3:16; 5:40; 6:35; Romans 3:10-19; 8:6-7; Eph. 2:1-3; 1 Tim. 5-6; 1 John 3:8)
We believe that God has established marriage as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman and that all intimate sexual activity outside the marriage relationship, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise, is immoral and therefore sin. (Gen. 2:24-25; Ex. 20:14, 17, 22:19; Lev. 18:22-23, 20:13,15-16; Matt. 19:4-6; 9, Rom 1:18-31; 1 Cor. 6:9-10, 15-20; I Tim. 1:8-11; Jude 7).
We believe that God created the human race male and female and that all conduct with the intent to adopt a gender other than one’s birth gender is immoral and therefore sin. (Gen 1:27; Deut 22:5).
We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We further believe that this salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God, and was purchased by Christ on the cross, and is received by man through faith, apart from any human merit, works, or rituals. We further believe salvation results in righteous living, good works, and proper social concern.
(Romans 6:23; Eph. 2:8,9; John 1:12; 10:29,30; 14:16; Titus 3:5; 1 John 3:8)
We believe that the Church is the spiritual body of which Christ is the head. We believe that the true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We believe that this body expresses itself in local assemblies whose members have been baptized upon credible confession of faith and have associated themselves for worship, for instruction, for evangelism, and for service. We believe the ordinances of the local church are believer’s baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. We also believe in the interdependence of local churches and the mutual submission of believers to each other in love.
(Matt. 16:18; 1 Cor. 12:13, 27,28; Eph. 1:22, 23; Eph. 4:12)
We believe that each local church is self governing in function, and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority. We further believe that every human being is directly responsible to God in matters of faith and life, and that each should be free to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience.
(Isa. 9:6,7; Matt. 22:18-21; Acts 5:29; Rom. 13:1-17)
We believe that the supreme task of every believer is to glorify God in his life; that his conduct should be blameless before the world; that he should be a faithful steward of his possessions; and that he should seek to realize for himself the full stature of maturity in Christ.
(1 Thess. 2:10; 2 Thess. 3:7; 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 2:7)
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and lost, the eternal existence of all men either in heaven or hell, in divine judgments, rewards, and punishments.
(Luke 12:33,34; John 6:39,40; John 12:48-50; Phil. 1:23; Heb. 12:22-23)
Explore Bayview Church
Meet the Leadership
Get to know the people who love the Lord and aim to humbly serve Bayview Church.