STATEMENT OF FAITH AND BELIEFS
The affirmations that follow provide a summarized view of the basic doctrinal positions that we hold as a church body and provide the framework from which we conduct our ministry. You can find a full and complete The Ranch Doctrinal Statement in the Southland Baptist Temple Constitution and By-Laws.
· THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
We believe in the verbal inspiration, inerrancy, and complete trustworthiness of both the Old and New Testament Scriptures. Through His providence, God has preserved the Scriptures for humankind and they are the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and life. SBT has chosen the King James Version (KJV) of the English Bible as our standard biblical text for the preaching and teaching ministries of the church (Psalm 19:7; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
· GOD
We believe that there is one—and only one—true and living God, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of Heaven and Earth, existing in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each is a distinct Person, but all are of one essence, all have the same nature, perfections, and attributes, and each is worthy of precisely the same worship, confidence, and obedience (Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 90; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19).
· GOD THE FATHER
We believe that God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace. As the only absolute and omnipotent Ruler in the universe, He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with humankind. He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ (Psalm 103:19; Psalm 145:8-9; John 1:12; Romans 8:15; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:5; Hebrews 12:5-9).
· GOD THE SON
We believe that Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, is the Son of God, begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, shed His blood on Calvary as a vicarious substitute for sin, was buried, rose again bodily, and ascended to the Father according to the Scriptures (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Hebrews 4:15).
· GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, very God coexistent with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the chief agent in regeneration, the chief convictor of sin, and the chief comforter of the believer. Concurrent with regeneration, the Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ (Matthew 28:19; John 16:7-11; Acts 5:3-4; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14).
· CREATION
We believe that the triune God created the universe apart from pre-existing materials and without any evolutionary process. We believe in the historicity of the first eleven chapters of Genesis (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 19:4; John 1:1-3; Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 11:3).
· MAN
We believe that man is the direct creation of God—body, soul, and spirit—and is not in any sense the result of evolution but is made in the image of God. Adam, the first man, sinned by disobedience. This act resulted in the fall of mankind and incurred both physical and spiritual death for all (Genesis 1:26; Romans 3:10, 23; 5:12).
· SALVATION
We believe that all who, in faith, receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior are born again by the Holy Spirit and thus become the children of God. The salvation of sinners is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the redemption of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works. Salvation involves redemption, regeneration, sanctification, and glorification (John 1:12; 3:3; 17:17; Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 2:8-9; 4:30; Titus 3:5).
· PROVIDENCE
We believe in the sovereignty and providence of God, but that God is not the author or approver of sin nor the destroyer of the free will and responsibility of man (John 3:16; Romans 8:28-30).
· SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER
We believe that salvation is not only a gift from God but also is sustained by God. The Holy Spirit permanently indwells the believer and seals him in salvation for all eternity. Therefore, since salvation is wholly of the Lord, apart from the works of man, we hold that the believer shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal salvation (John 10:28; 14:16-17,26; 1 Corinthians 2:9-14; Ephesians 1:13; 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24-25).
· PRIESTHOOD OF THE BELIEVER
We believe in the priesthood of all believers; so every Christian has direct access to God in prayer through Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, and that there is no mediator between God and man other than Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:16; 1 Timothy 2:5; Revelation. 1:6).
· SPIRITUAL GIFTS
We believe that the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church. The Holy Spirit glorifies neither Himself nor His gifts by ostentatious displays, but He does glorify Christ by implementing His work of redeeming the lost and building up believers in the most holy faith. We further believe, that God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts for the perfecting of the saints today, and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles present in the beginning days of the church were for the purpose of authenticating the apostles as revealers of divine truth, and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers after the apostolic era. In this regard, we are non-charismatic and non-Pentecostal (John 16:13 14; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 13:8-10; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; Hebrews 2:14).
· THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED
We believe that that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and sanctified by the Spirit of our God are truly righteous in His esteem; while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked and under the curse. We further believe that this distinction holds among men both in life and after death in the everlasting conscious blessedness of the saved and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost (Romans 3:19-23; Romans 8:1-10; Revelation 20:11-15).
· THE LOCAL CHURCH
We believe that the New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers with Christ as its head and the Holy Spirit as its guide. The local church is the visible manifestation of the universal body and bride of Christ. New Testament churches promote God’s work by cooperating together for missions and many other joint efforts. The local church is to be governed independent of outside persons, bodies, groups, or authorities. The one supreme authority for the church is Christ; and its biblically designated officers are pastors (also called in the New Testament elders or bishops) and deacons. (Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:6-8; 6:3; 20:28; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:3-6,22-23; 4:11; Colossians 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5).
· ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH
We believe that that the local church observes only two ordinances—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that all who have received Christ as Savior and Lord should be baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; that baptism is by immersion in the likeness of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; and that the Lord’s Supper should be observed in remembrance of Christ to show forth His death for our sins until He comes again (Matthew 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Romans 6:3-6; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
· THE LORD’S DAY
We believe that that Sunday is the Lord’s Day and is a Christian institution for regular observance of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private (1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10).
· SATAN
We believe that that Satan was originally created a perfect being, but rebelled against God. Consequently, he became depraved, the Devil and adversary of God and His people, and leader of a host of angels who fell with him. Satan has been judged and defeated at the cross and awaits his ultimate doom at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 28:13-17; John 16:11; 1 Timothy 3:7; Revelation 20:10).
· SECOND COMING
We believe in the literal, visible, personal, pre-millennial, pre-tribulational return of Jesus Christ and that His return will be accomplished in two phases: the rapture and the revelation. At the rapture, which is imminent, the dead in Christ and living believers will be translated to meet Christ in the air to be forever with Him. At the end of a seven-year period of tribulation, Christ will visibly descend with His saints to the earth in the revelation to establish His earthly millennial kingdom for one thousand years. At the conclusion of the millennium, our Lord Jesus Christ, having fulfilled His redemptive mission, will then deliver up the kingdom to God the Father that in all spheres the triune God may reign forever and ever (Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:1-6).
The affirmations that follow provide a summarized view of the basic doctrinal positions that we hold as a church body and provide the framework from which we conduct our ministry. You can find a full and complete The Ranch Doctrinal Statement in the Southland Baptist Temple Constitution and By-Laws.
· THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
We believe in the verbal inspiration, inerrancy, and complete trustworthiness of both the Old and New Testament Scriptures. Through His providence, God has preserved the Scriptures for humankind and they are the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and life. SBT has chosen the King James Version (KJV) of the English Bible as our standard biblical text for the preaching and teaching ministries of the church (Psalm 19:7; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
· GOD
We believe that there is one—and only one—true and living God, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of Heaven and Earth, existing in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each is a distinct Person, but all are of one essence, all have the same nature, perfections, and attributes, and each is worthy of precisely the same worship, confidence, and obedience (Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 90; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19).
· GOD THE FATHER
We believe that God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace. As the only absolute and omnipotent Ruler in the universe, He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with humankind. He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ (Psalm 103:19; Psalm 145:8-9; John 1:12; Romans 8:15; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:5; Hebrews 12:5-9).
· GOD THE SON
We believe that Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, is the Son of God, begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, shed His blood on Calvary as a vicarious substitute for sin, was buried, rose again bodily, and ascended to the Father according to the Scriptures (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Hebrews 4:15).
· GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, very God coexistent with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the chief agent in regeneration, the chief convictor of sin, and the chief comforter of the believer. Concurrent with regeneration, the Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ (Matthew 28:19; John 16:7-11; Acts 5:3-4; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14).
· CREATION
We believe that the triune God created the universe apart from pre-existing materials and without any evolutionary process. We believe in the historicity of the first eleven chapters of Genesis (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 19:4; John 1:1-3; Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 11:3).
· MAN
We believe that man is the direct creation of God—body, soul, and spirit—and is not in any sense the result of evolution but is made in the image of God. Adam, the first man, sinned by disobedience. This act resulted in the fall of mankind and incurred both physical and spiritual death for all (Genesis 1:26; Romans 3:10, 23; 5:12).
· SALVATION
We believe that all who, in faith, receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior are born again by the Holy Spirit and thus become the children of God. The salvation of sinners is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the redemption of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works. Salvation involves redemption, regeneration, sanctification, and glorification (John 1:12; 3:3; 17:17; Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 2:8-9; 4:30; Titus 3:5).
· PROVIDENCE
We believe in the sovereignty and providence of God, but that God is not the author or approver of sin nor the destroyer of the free will and responsibility of man (John 3:16; Romans 8:28-30).
· SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER
We believe that salvation is not only a gift from God but also is sustained by God. The Holy Spirit permanently indwells the believer and seals him in salvation for all eternity. Therefore, since salvation is wholly of the Lord, apart from the works of man, we hold that the believer shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal salvation (John 10:28; 14:16-17,26; 1 Corinthians 2:9-14; Ephesians 1:13; 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24-25).
· PRIESTHOOD OF THE BELIEVER
We believe in the priesthood of all believers; so every Christian has direct access to God in prayer through Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, and that there is no mediator between God and man other than Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:16; 1 Timothy 2:5; Revelation. 1:6).
· SPIRITUAL GIFTS
We believe that the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church. The Holy Spirit glorifies neither Himself nor His gifts by ostentatious displays, but He does glorify Christ by implementing His work of redeeming the lost and building up believers in the most holy faith. We further believe, that God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts for the perfecting of the saints today, and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles present in the beginning days of the church were for the purpose of authenticating the apostles as revealers of divine truth, and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers after the apostolic era. In this regard, we are non-charismatic and non-Pentecostal (John 16:13 14; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 13:8-10; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; Hebrews 2:14).
· THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED
We believe that that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and sanctified by the Spirit of our God are truly righteous in His esteem; while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked and under the curse. We further believe that this distinction holds among men both in life and after death in the everlasting conscious blessedness of the saved and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost (Romans 3:19-23; Romans 8:1-10; Revelation 20:11-15).
· THE LOCAL CHURCH
We believe that the New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers with Christ as its head and the Holy Spirit as its guide. The local church is the visible manifestation of the universal body and bride of Christ. New Testament churches promote God’s work by cooperating together for missions and many other joint efforts. The local church is to be governed independent of outside persons, bodies, groups, or authorities. The one supreme authority for the church is Christ; and its biblically designated officers are pastors (also called in the New Testament elders or bishops) and deacons. (Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:6-8; 6:3; 20:28; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:3-6,22-23; 4:11; Colossians 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5).
· ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH
We believe that that the local church observes only two ordinances—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that all who have received Christ as Savior and Lord should be baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; that baptism is by immersion in the likeness of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ; and that the Lord’s Supper should be observed in remembrance of Christ to show forth His death for our sins until He comes again (Matthew 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Romans 6:3-6; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
· THE LORD’S DAY
We believe that that Sunday is the Lord’s Day and is a Christian institution for regular observance of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private (1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10).
· SATAN
We believe that that Satan was originally created a perfect being, but rebelled against God. Consequently, he became depraved, the Devil and adversary of God and His people, and leader of a host of angels who fell with him. Satan has been judged and defeated at the cross and awaits his ultimate doom at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 28:13-17; John 16:11; 1 Timothy 3:7; Revelation 20:10).
· SECOND COMING
We believe in the literal, visible, personal, pre-millennial, pre-tribulational return of Jesus Christ and that His return will be accomplished in two phases: the rapture and the revelation. At the rapture, which is imminent, the dead in Christ and living believers will be translated to meet Christ in the air to be forever with Him. At the end of a seven-year period of tribulation, Christ will visibly descend with His saints to the earth in the revelation to establish His earthly millennial kingdom for one thousand years. At the conclusion of the millennium, our Lord Jesus Christ, having fulfilled His redemptive mission, will then deliver up the kingdom to God the Father that in all spheres the triune God may reign forever and ever (Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:1-6).