Our Doctrinal Convictions

The Bible

We believe the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, breathed out by Him in every part and every word, and that Scripture stands as the sole and sufficient authority for what we believe and how we live.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 · 2 Peter 1:20–21 · Psalm 119:105

Dispensations

We believe God has worked among mankind through distinct dispensations, seasons in which He has revealed different responsibilities to His people. These dispensations do not mark different paths of salvation. They simply trace how God has dealt with humanity across the ages.

Ephesians 1:10 · Ephesians 3:2–6 · 1 Corinthians 9:17

God

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are co-eternal, identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and share every attribute and perfection.

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

Jesus Christ

We believe in the full deity and full humanity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of a virgin. Through His death on the cross, He paid the ransom for sin. He rose bodily from the grave and now lives to represent us before the Father.

John 1:1, 14 · Philippians 2:5–8 · Romans 5:8 · Hebrews 7:25

Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is fully God. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He regenerates and indwells every believer, sealing them until the day of redemption.

John 16:8–11 · Titus 3:5 · Ephesians 1:13–14 · 1 Corinthians 6:19

Human Sinfulness

We believe mankind was created in the image of God but fell through Adam’s sin, so that every person is born with a sinful nature and stands powerless to remedy that condition through their own effort.

Romans 3:23 · Romans 5:12 · Ephesians 2:1

Salvation

We believe salvation is the gift of God, brought to us by grace and received through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It cannot be earned or added to. It is His work from beginning to end.

Ephesians 2:8–9 · Titus 3:5 · Romans 6:23

Eternal Security

We believe that all who are truly redeemed are kept by the power of God and are secure in Christ forever, not because we hold on to Him, but because He holds on to us.

John 10:28–29 · Romans 8:38–39 · Philippians 1:6 · Jude 1:24

The Church

We believe the Church, both the local congregation and the universal body of Christ, is made up solely of the born again, and that the local church is free of any outside authority in matters of faith and practice.

Ephesians 1:22–23 · Ephesians 5:23–25 · Acts 2:41–47

Separation

We believe every believer should live in a way that brings no reproach on the name of Christ, separating from religious apostasy and from worldly, sinful practices and associations.

2 Corinthians 6:14–17 · Romans 12:1–2 · 1 John 2:15–17

The Second Advent of Christ

We believe in the personal, imminent, pre-tribulational, and pre-millennial return of Jesus Christ, first to catch away His saints in the Rapture, then to return as King and reign for a literal thousand years.

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 · Titus 2:13 · Revelation 20:4–6

The Eternal State

We believe in the bodily resurrection of every person who has ever lived: the saved raised to eternal life with Christ, and the unsaved raised to judgment and everlasting punishment.

John 5:28–29 · Revelation 20:11–15 · Revelation 21:1–4

Satan

We believe Satan is a real person, the author of sin and the open enemy of God and man, and that he is destined for eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire.

Revelation 20:10 · 1 Peter 5:8 · Ezekiel 28:14–17

Creation

We believe God created the heavens and the earth in six literal, twenty-four-hour days. We reject evolution and theistic evolution as unscriptural accounts of our origin.

Genesis 1:1 · Exodus 20:11 · Colossians 1:16

Civil Government

We believe God established three institutions: the home, the church, and civil government, each given its own responsibilities and each accountable to Him.

Romans 13:1–7 · 1 Peter 2:13–17

Missions

We believe the Great Commission calls us to carry the Gospel to every nation, tribe, and language, and we accept that calling as our own.

Matthew 28:19–20 · Acts 1:8

Giving

We believe Christians should support their local church and the work of the Gospel sacrificially and cheerfully, not under compulsion, but gladly.

2 Corinthians 9:6–7 · Malachi 3:10

Love and Personal Conduct

We believe Christians are called to treat believers, unbelievers, and even opponents with grace, gentleness, patience, and humility, to reject revenge and personal violence, and to pray for others rather than repay them.

Romans 12:17–21 · Matthew 5:44 · 1 Peter 3:15

Marriage, Sexuality, and Family; Divorce and Remarriage; Human Life

Refuge Baptist Church holds established doctrinal positions on marriage, sexuality, family, divorce and remarriage, and the sanctity of human life from conception. The complete, church-approved wording for these sections will be published here and in the downloadable doctrinal statement once the church supplies and confirms the final text.