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Our Doctrine

What We Believe

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

— A.W. Tozer

The Historic Bethsaida Baptist Church stands on the Word of God and the finished work of Jesus Christ. We are a Bible-believing, Christ-centered Baptist church with a rich history and a heart for our community. The following are the foundational truths we believe, teach, and hold to as our final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

01

The Scriptures

We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God — God-breathed, without error in its original writings, and preserved for every generation. It is our sole and final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 119:105; Matthew 24:35

02

God

We believe in one true and living God, eternally existing in three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — the same in essence and equal in power and glory.

Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14

03

Jesus Christ

We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ — that He is the eternal Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, died on the cross as our substitute, was buried, and rose again bodily the third day. He ascended to the right hand of the Father and is coming again.

John 1:1, 14; Isaiah 7:14; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 1 Timothy 3:16

04

The Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine person who convicts the world of sin, regenerates and indwells every believer at the moment of salvation, and empowers the child of God to live for Christ and serve Him.

John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:13-14

05

Man & Sin

We believe man was created in the image of God but fell through sin, and that all people are now sinners by nature and by choice, separated from God and unable to save themselves.

Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:10-23; Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23

06

Salvation

We believe salvation is the free gift of God, received by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone — apart from works or human merit. A person must be born again: repenting toward God and trusting Christ, who died for our sins and rose again, as their personal Saviour.

Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:7; Romans 10:9-13; Titus 3:5; Acts 16:31

07

The Church

We believe the local church is a body of baptized believers, joined together for worship, the preaching of the Word, the observance of the ordinances, fellowship, and the carrying out of the Great Commission — reaching our community and the world with the love of Christ.

Acts 2:41-47; Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 1:22-23; Acts 20:28

08

The Ordinances

We believe the Lord gave His church two ordinances. Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, picturing the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and our identification with Him. The Lord's Supper is a memorial in which believers remember the Lord's death until He comes.

Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

09

The Christian Life

We believe every believer is called to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, to worship Him in spirit and in truth, and to serve one another and the community in love — showing, sharing, and sending the light of the Gospel wherever God gives opportunity.

2 Peter 3:18; John 4:24; Galatians 5:13; Matthew 5:16

10

The Second Coming

We believe in the personal, visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust: the saved to everlasting life with the Lord, and the lost to everlasting separation from Him.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Titus 2:13; John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:11-15