WHAT WE BELIEVE
Preface
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We believe that the authors of the Bible, not the readers, determine the meaning of it. Therefore,
on matters of doctrine, we cannot assume the Scriptures to mean anything other than what they
were intended to mean originally. We hold this statement of faith to be authoritative for matters
pertaining to church practice.
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A. The Scriptures
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The Bible was written by divinely inspired men and is God’s revelation of Himself and His
will to man. The Bible in its entirety is the Word of God, and as such is wholly true in
everything it affirms. The Scriptures are the unique, full, and final authority on all matters of
faith and practice. (Ps. 18:30, 119; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; 3:15-16; Rev. 22:18-19).
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B. God
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The Godhead exists eternally in three persons in perfect unity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
These three persons are one God, and are worthy of precisely the same confidence,
obedience, and worship. God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, and all-wise. (Mt.
28:18-19, Mk. 12:29, Jn. 1:14, Acts 5:3-4)
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1. God the Father
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God as Father 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. God is Father in
truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ, yet He remains
fatherly in His attitude toward all men (Gen. 1:1, 2:7; Ex. 3:14, 6:2-3, 15:11ff, 20:1ff,
Lev. 22:2; Dt. 6:4, 32:6; 1 Chr. 29:10; Ps. 19:1-3; Isa. 43:3,15, 64:8; Jer. 10:10, 17:13;
Mt. 6:9ff, 7:11, 23:9, 28:19; Mk. 1:9-11; Jn. 4:23-24, 5:26, 14:6-13, 17:1-8; Acts 1:7;
Rom. 8:14-15; 1 Cor. 8:6; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 1:17; Heb. 11:6, 12:9; 1 Pet. 1:17).
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2. God the Son
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The Son of God has existed from eternity past and became incarnate in the person of
Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus, who is the Christ, the preexistent Son of God, in the flesh is
fully God and fully man. Jesus was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life. He taught and
worked mighty works, wonders and signs as recorded in the four Gospels. He was
crucified, died as a propitiation for our sins, and was later raised from the dead, bodily,
on the third day. Later, He ascended to the Father’s right hand where He is head of the
church and intercedes for believers. He will come again personally, bodily, and visibly to
this earth (Matt. 16:27; Acts 1:11; Rom. 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:3-8; Heb. 1:2, 2:17, 4:15).
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3. God the Holy Spirit
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The Holy Spirit is God and possesses all the divine attributes. He exists to bring glory to
the Father and the Son. He convicts the world of sin, indwells all believers, and baptizes
and seals them at the moment of salvation. He uniquely endows each believer with gifts
for the building up of the body. He guides believers in understanding and applying the
Scriptures and empowers them to lead a life of Christ-like character (Jn. 16:7-15; Rom.
8:9; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:30; Gal. 5:22-23).
C. Providence
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God, from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds,
directs, and governs all creatures and all events; yet He is not the author or approver of sin
nor does He destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures (Prv. 16:33; Isa.
46:9-11; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3; Jas. 1:13-15).
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D. Man
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Man is the special creation of God, made in God’s own image. God created them male and
female as the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and
was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. The sacredness of human personality is
evident in that God created man in His own image; therefore, every person of every ethnicity
possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love (Gen. 1:26-30).
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E. Sin
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By his free choice, man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the
temptation of Satan, man transgressed the command of God and fell from his original
innocence, whereby his future generations inherit a nature and an environment inclined
toward sin and evil. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become
transgressors and are under condemnation. (Gen. 3; Rom. 1:19-32, 3:10-23, 5:6-19, 6:6; Eph.
2:1-3).
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F. Salvation
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God the Father, by His sovereign choice and His love for mankind, sent His Son, Jesus, into
the world to bring people back into fellowship with Him through regeneration. Regeneration
is a change of heart, wrought by the Holy Spirit, who gives life to those dead in trespasses
and sins, enlightening their minds to understand the word of God, and renewing their whole
nature in the act of salvation. This salvation, with its forgiveness of sin, is a gift, wholly a
work of God’s grace, not the result of human works, and this salvation must be personally
appropriated by repentance and faith, resulting in God declaring believers righteous through
the merit of Christ. Through sanctification, beginning in regeneration, the believer is set apart
to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the
presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue
throughout the regenerate person's life. All those whom God has regenerated will never
totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace but shall certainly persevere to the end.
Though they may fall, through neglect and temptation, into sin, they shall be renewed again
unto repentance and be kept by the power of God through faith unto the culmination of
salvation. (Mk. 1:15; Jn. 6:37-40, 10:28-29; Rom. 3:23, 5:8, 8:28-39; 1 Cor. 1:8-9; Eph. 2:8-
9; Phil. 1:6; Heb. 12:5-6; 1 Jn. 5:12-13).
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G. The Church
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The Lord Jesus is the head of the church, which is composed of all His true disciples, and in
Him is invested supremely all power for its government. There is one universal church which
is comprised of all who place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. According to His
commandment, Christians are to associate themselves into particular, local churches; and to
each of these churches He has given needful authority for administering that order,
discipline, and worship which He has appointed. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd of the church,
and he has appointed under shepherds (elders) as leaders of local churches. The regular
ordinances of a church are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. (Mt. 26:26-29, 28:19; Jn. 10:16;
Acts 2:38, 20:17, 28; Rom. 6:3-5; 1 Cor. 10:16-17, 11:23-34, 12:13; Eph. 1:22-23, 5:23; 1
Tim. 3:1-13, 5:17-18; Tit. 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5; Heb. 10:25)
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1. Baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus, obligatory upon every believer, wherein he is
immersed in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, as a
sign of his fellowship with the death and resurrection of Christ, of remission of sins, and
of giving himself up to God, to live and walk in newness of life. It is prerequisite to
church membership.
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2. The Lord's Supper is an ordinance of Jesus Christ, to be administered with the elements
of bread and the fruit of the vine, and to be observed by His churches till the end of the
world. It is in no sense a sacrifice, but it is designed to commemorate His death and to be
a bond, pledge and renewal of a believer’s communion with Him, and of their church
membership, preceded always by solemn self-examination.
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H. Marriage and Sexuality
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The gift of sex as male and female is part of the goodness of God’s created order and is the
fundamental and universal biological distinction of the human race. This divinely ordained
distinction is therefore a part of the core of the body-soul unity that determines the essence of
human nature and is significant in its image-bearing capacity. Consequently, this biological
distinction is integral to God’s design for self-conception as male or female. It is therefore
not possible to sever the connection between one’s gender and one’s biological sex at birth.
Marriage is the covenantal union of one man and one woman, before God, in an exclusive,
lifelong, public relationship, meant to reflect the beauty of Christ’s love for his redeemed
church and God’s ordained means for procreation. Sexual intimacy, when enjoyed within the
confines of marriage, exists as a good gift from God and serves as a metaphor for the
intimacy of our spiritual union with Christ. Any form of sexual intimacy outside the marriage
covenant corrupts this divine intention and therefore constitutes immorality. (Gen. 2:18-25;
Matt. 15:18-20; Mark 7:21-22; Rom. 1:21-32; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; 6:18; 7:2-5; Eph. 5:21-33; 1
Tim. 1:9-10; Heb. 13:4; Jude 7).
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I. Last Things
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The bodies of men after death return to dust, but their spirits return immediately to God—the
righteous to rest with Him; the wicked, to be reserved for the final judgment. The bodies of
all the dead, both just and unjust, will be raised. God has appointed a day, wherein He will
judge the world by Jesus Christ, when everyone shall receive according to his deeds; the
wicked shall go into everlasting and conscious punishment; the righteous, into everlasting
life (Mt. 25:46; Jn. 5:22-29; Acts 17:31; Rom. 2:6-11; 1 Cor. 15:12-28; 2 Cor. 5:1-10; Phil.
1:23; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; 2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 7:13-17, 14:9-11).
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In addition, Infinity Church affirms the “Baptist Faith and Message 2000” adopted by the
Southern Baptist Convention as our larger statement of faith with scriptural references.