Seven Springs Baptist Church

To engender a community of faith and loving service
for the glory of God and the spread of the gospel to all peoples.
(Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 10:3-6; Prov. 11:30)

Church Covenant

Having been led, as we believe, by the Holy Spirit, we hereby covenant together as one people under the Lordship of Christ to give ourselves to him and each other in pursuit of his glory through worship, evangelism, discipleship, godly fellowship, watch-care and prayer. To that end we commit to

Articles of Faith

While we affirm and support in principle the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention, we have chosen to set forth our own summary articles of faith below.

  1. We believe that the true and living God has made plain his self existence and power through creation (Ps 19; Rom 1:18-22), and that he has made himself known personally through the Scriptures, which are his written revelation of himself, and through his Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Word made flesh for us and our salvation (Jn 1:1-18). Just as Jesus Christ himself is fully human and yet without sin, so to the written word, being given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was written by men who were supernaturally guarded from writing as the word of God anything that would be erroneous (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:20-21). The written word, or Holy Bible, in the original languages, is the final source of authority for all matters of faith and practice, and so it stands supreme over all human creeds, confessions, or opinions that people may hold.
  2. We believe that the one true and living God exists eternally in three distinct persons: Father, Son (or Word) and Holy Spirit. Each of these three persons is fully and perfectly God and the three are one God, as the church in all ages has confessed (Matt 28:19; Jn 1:1-2, 14, 18; 8:58; 10:30; 2 Cor 13:14; Heb 10:16).
  3. We believe the one true and living God is self-existent and therefore dependent upon nothing and no one (Acts 17:24-25). He alone is the Creator and Sustainer of all things visible and invisible (Gen 1:1ff; Acts 17:24). He has all power to do whatever he wills (Dan 4:34-35), knows all things past, present and future, and directs all events according to his sovereign, eternal plan (Isaiah 45-48; Eph 1:11). He possesses ultimate wisdom and understanding (Prov 1:12ff; Rom 11:33-35; Jas 1:5) . He is infinitely holy and just (Isa 6:1-4; Rev 4:8; Deut 32:4; Neh 9:33; Zech 9:9); he is merciful and gracious to sinners in Christ Jesus (Isa 53:10-12; Rom 5:8; 8:31).
  4. We believe that the Son, at the appointed time and by the will of the Father, was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin named Mary (Matt 1:18-25; Luke 1: 27, 34; Gal 4:4). Mary was of the house and lineage of King David of old, and so the Son born to her is the true heir to the throne of his father David as foretold in the in the Old Testament. His name is Jesus and he alone is the only Savior of sinners and Lord of lords and King of kings (Luke 1:27-35; Jn 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim 2:5; Rev 17:14; 19:0). He lived a perfect, sinless life in our place, and died a sacrificial death as our substitute (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15). By the power of God he was raised bodily from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven where he rules and makes intercession for his people, and from there he will return in power at the end of the age to claim his own and execute judgment on the wicked (Matt 28:1-8; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-9; Jn 20:1-8; Rom 4:25; 10:9-10; 1 Cor 15:3-5; Acts 1:11; Eph 1:20-23; 1 Jn 1:9; 2:1-2; Acts 17:30-31; 2 Cor 5:10; Rev 20-22).
  5. We believe that the Son, in fulfillment of his promise, sent the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Jn 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4). The work of the Holy Spirit is to empower the preaching of the gospel for the salvation of sinners (Jn 3:1-8; Rom 1:16; 1Cor 1:9; 2Thess 2:13-14; Jas 1:18; 1Pet 1:23), fill believers and give them spiritual gifts for service in the church (Rom 12:3-9; 1Cor 12-14; Eph 2:11-12) and guide them through the written word into holy living and conformity to Christ (Jn 16:13; 2Tim 3:16-17; 1Jn 2:27). In salvation the Spirit convicts of sin, effects the new birth, gives the twin gifts of repentance and faith, and seals the new believer until the final day of redemption (Jn 16:8; Acts 2:37; Jn 3:1-8; Eph 2:5; Acts 11:18; Rom 2:4; 1Thess 1:5; Acts 14:27; 1Cor 12:9 Gal 3:23; Eph 2:8-9; 2 Thess 3:2; Eph 1:13). The Spirit calls and unites believers together into local congregations, or visible churches through baptism by immersion for the purpose of advancing the cause of Christ in the world (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 10:47-48; 16:15, 33; 18:8; 19:5; 13:2).
  6. We believe that every human being is created in the image of God and is therefore worthy of respect regardless of social standing, race or religious persuasion (Gen 1:26-28). We further believe that this image of God was effaced when our original parents fell into sin at the beginning of creation (Gen 3:1-8), and by this fall they brought bondage to sin, death and all the misery of this life upon themselves and all their posterity born by natural generation (Rom 5:12-19; 1Cor 15:21-22). Every person enters this life in a state of spiritual death and condemnation from which he or she can only be saved by the grace of God given in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:1-10).
  7. We believe the goal of our salvation is the complete restoration of the image of God in a redeemed humanity chosen by God in grace as the recipients of the benefits of Christ’s saving work on the cross (Rom 8:28-39; Eph 1:4-11; 1Pet 1:1-5; 2Pet 1:4). Inasmuch as God cannot fail nor his purpose be thwarted, God’s redemptive work in his people will certainly be accomplished (Psalm 2; Isa 54:17; Dan 4:35; Jn 6:37; 44-45, 65; Acts 13:48; Rom 8:28-11:36; Eph 1:11).
  8. We believe that salvation is by God’s grace alone through repentance and faith in Christ Jesus alone. Its attending blessings are justification, adoption, sanctification, perseverance and glorification (Rom 3:21-31; 5:1-2; Eph 1:5; Rom 6:19; 1Cor 1:2; 6:11; 1Thess 4:3-7; Heb 12:14; Rom 5:3-4; Rom 15:4-5; Phil 2:12-13; 1Tim 6:11; Rom 8:30).
  9. We believe that the biblical response to the gospel message is repentance from sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 20:21; 26:20). In the New Testament persons publicly professed faith in Christ by immersion in water as a public testimony to cleansing from sin, identification with Christ and his people and a visible testimony to their faith in his death, burial and resurrection as well as their hope of resurrection when he comes again (Rom 6:1-7; Col 2:9-12; 1Pet 3:21). In obedience to Christ’s explicit command we practice baptism by immersion in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matt 28:18-20) as the basis for admission into the visible church and participation in the Lord’s Supper.
  10. We believe that the visible church is composed of persons who have given a credible profession of faith in Christ through baptism and consistent Christian living, called together by the Holy Spirit and joined to one another by covenant in the faith of the gospel for the purpose of living out the implications of the gospel as a redeemed community filled by the Holy Spirit and gifted by Him for service to each other and the world.
  11. We believe that, as a covenanted community, we are mutually accountable to each other to safeguard the reputation of the church and the honor and integrity of the gospel. Therefore we agree to submit our private judgments in matters of Christian doctrine to the judgment of the church in the interest of unity. We further agree to hold one another accountable for our public witness through the exercise of church discipline as taught in Scripture (Matt 18:15-22; 1Corinthians 5; 2Tim 3:5).