Washington Baptist Church

The Bible

We believe the Bible, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is the verbally inspired Word of God, inerrant and infallible as originally written by Spirit-controlled men, divinely preserved for us and all ages. The Bible is the supreme and final authority for faith and practice, is complete, and is sufficient for doctrine and godly living.

God

We believe in one God, eternally existent in three person: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are equal in essence and in every divine attribute, and execute distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.

Jesus Christ

We believe Jesus Christ is the virgin-born Son of God, fully God while becoming fully human, but without sin. Jesus atoned for the sins of all mankind by the shedding of His blood on the cross; rose bodily from the grave; ascended into Heaven where He now ministers as our high priest; is preparing a place for us; saves sinners who come to God by Him; and is coming again to receive believers unto Himself and set up His earthly kingdom.

Angels/Satan

We believe angels are created beings, eternal spirits who do God’s will and work, and minister to the believer in many ways. We believe Satan is an angel, created perfect, yet became the author of rebellion and sin, the unholy god of this age, the accuser of the brethren. Satan was dealt the death blow by Jesus Christ on the cross, and is destined to eternal justice in the Lake of Fire. Demons are fallen angels who carry out Satan’s work of rebellion against God, are confirmed in their sinful state, and await judgment. We believe a Christian may be satanically influenced, but not demon-possessed.

Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is a person, fully God; was active in creation; convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment; and restrains the evil one according to God’s purposes. The Holy Spirit is the agent in the New Birth; baptizes the believer into the body of Christ; seals him until the day of redemption; enables, guides, helps him pray, comforts, teaches assurance of salvation, sanctifies and produces His fruit in the believer.

We believe the baptism of the Spirit is a one-time event occurring at the moment of salvation, when we are given the Holy Spirit, and He places us into the Body of Christ; the filling of the Spirit is to be continuous, and is dependent upon our obedience in yielding to the Holy Spirit.

We believe the Spirit bestows spiritual gifts upon every believer at salvation for service to Christ, and the edification of the local church. We believe the sign gifts were temporary during the infancy of the church to authenticate the ministry and message of the apostles, and have ceased, their purpose fulfilled.

Creation, Man, Sin

We accept the Genesis account of creation as a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate creative acts of God; that the days of creation were six literal 24-hour days, and that the earth is relatively young. We reject both theistic and naturalistic evolution.

We believe that man was created in the image of God by a direct work of God, and that all humanity descended from the historical Adam and Eve, parents of the entire human race. Man was created in innocence, but willfully fell from his sinless state, the result being that all men are now sinners by nature and choice; dead to spiritual things; under the deserved condemnation of physical and spiritual death; depraved (every area of his nature being affected by sin); and that he can be saved only through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Sin is anything that comes short of God’s glory seen in the person of Jesus Christ.

Future Things

We believe the fundamental truth regarding the future is that Jesus Christ is personally coming again to receive His own unto Himself, fulfill His promises of a literal kingdom to Israel, and punish the wicked. While believing we should be charitable and non-dogmatic about certain interpretations of prophecy, we hold to the following:

• The rapture of the church before the Tribulation.
• The 7 year time of ‘Jacob’s trouble,’ the Tribulation, closing with the Battle of Armageddon.
• The second coming of Jesus Christ with His saints to establish His kingdom for 1,000 years and occupy the throne of David.
• The resurrection of all the lost to the Great White Throne Judgment, to be cast into the Lake of Fire.
• A new heaven and earth which will be the eternal dwelling place of believers of all ages.

Salvation

We believe that to be saved, a sinner must be regenerated (born again) of the Holy Spirit; that salvation is divinely initiated, wholly of grace, a free gift of God; is instantaneous, not a process; and involves more than just mental assent. When a person realizes he is a lost sinner, he must turn from his sin to God (repentance), and, through faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ, receive Him as Savior and Lord. He is then justified (declared righteous) on the basis of Christ’s imputed righteousness, and is kept eternally secure by God the Father and Jesus Christ his Lord. True salvation will be evidenced in the holy fruits of repentance and faith, and in newness of life.

The Church

We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers, which compose the true Church, the Body of Christ. This Church is an organism, not an organization, it’s first meeting being future – in Heaven. We believe this doctrine in no way takes away from a believer’s responsibility to be a part of, and active in, a Bible-believing local church. We believe that a local church is a congregation of immersed believers, associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, with two offices, pastors and deacons. We hold that the local church is self-governing under its head, Jesus Christ. In matters of membership, polity, government, benevolence, discipline, and cooperation, the will of the local church is final.

We believe that baptism is the immersion in water of a believer in the Name of the Triune God; is a matter of obedience and identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, is a prerequisite for church membership; and under normal circumstances will only be administered to those joining in membership with us. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of the Lord’s death until He comes, and is to be preceded by solemn self-examination. We believe in “close”, not “closed” communion, inviting members of churches of like faith and practice to fellowship at the table with us, with the same Biblical guidelines our members would have.