Doctrinal Statement
of Baptist College of MinistryThe Scriptures
We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the original manuscripts of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, which constitute the inerrant, infallible, and authoritative Word of God.
The Trinity
We believe in the Trinity of the Godhead; that there is only one true God, eternally existing in three uncreated Persons (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit), having the same essence, nature, and attributes; equal in every divine perfection, yet executing distinct but harmonious offices.
Jesus Christ
We believe in the deity, eternal sonship, incarnation and virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, and imminent personal and visible return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the personality of God the Holy Spirit, Who convinces men of sin, righteousness, and judgment; by Whom believers are called, regenerated, baptized into the body of Christ, indwelt, sealed, gifted, filled, and empowered for service.
Creation
We believe in the creation of the universe by the direct act of God, from nothing, in six literal days, apart from any process of evolution.
Angelic Beings
We believe in the personal existence of angels; that they are created beings, yet distinctly different from man in their nature and activity. We believe in the personality of Satan and the demonic angels who, though created by God for His service, rebelled against God, and though defeated by Christ at the cross, continue to oppose God and His work until their ultimate judgment, whereupon they will be cast into the Lake of Fire to suffer everlasting punishment.
Sin & Judgment
We believe that man was created in the image of God, but that through willful disobedience Adam fell from his original state; that consequently every man is born with a totally corrupt sin nature, that he is personally guilty before God, and that he is under divinely decreed condemnation because of his sin.
Salvation
We believe in the salvation of man by grace alone on the basis of the vicarious, redemptive death and shed blood of Jesus Christ, which is made effective to man only upon his humble acknowledgment of his own sinfulness and the exercise of personal faith in Jesus Christ, which faith is not in any way a meritorious work or act of personal reformation.
Eternal Security
We believe that one who has truly believed on Christ for salvation will be kept eternally secure by the promise and power of Jesus Christ. Proof of conversion is not a matter of fruit but rather primarily a matter of fact based on the unchanging promise of God.
Sanctification
We believe that positionally every believer is in Christ and is completely set apart unto God, but that experientially he retains his sin nature, which is not eradicated in this life, thereby necessitating his continual dependence on the unhindered power of the Holy Spirit for progressive sanctification, whereby the saved person grows in Christlikeness in his practical experience.
Personal Holiness
We believe that every Christian should live in a manner that honors and glorifies Christ, separating himself from the world and the things of the world, and setting his affections on the things of God.
The Local Church
We believe in the local church, an assembly of immersed believers, as God’s ordained institution for the perpetuation of the Truth and the advancement of His work in this age. We believe that it is the responsibility of the local church to glorify God, to edify itself, to evangelize the world, and to observe the ordinances of believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We further believe that the two offices of a New Testament church are those of pastor and deacon.
Separation
We believe that the Bible commands separation from all forms of religious liberalism, apostasy, and doctrinal compromise, as well as separation from disobedient brethren who choose to tolerate or condone liberalism and compromise, rather than separating from it.
The End Times
We believe in the bodily resurrection and pretribulational rapture of all believers. We believe that at the close of the seven-year Tribulation Period, the Lord Jesus Christ will be revealed in His glory, returning to the earth with His saints to establish His messianic, Millennial Kingdom. We believe that after the Millennium, the redeemed shall enter into a state of eternal bliss, dwelling in the presence of God forever. We further believe that the unsaved of all ages will be resurrected bodily, judged at the Great White Throne, and cast into the Lake of Fire, where they will be condemned to everlasting conscious punishment.
Other Doctrinal Distinctives
Biblical Hermeneutic
Theological Paradigm
Cessationism
Baptist College of Ministry stands in full agreement with the cessationist position and is firmly opposed to the man-centered emphasis of the modern charismatic movement. While readily acknowledging that God the Holy Spirit still gifts believers for the edification of the body of Christ, we recognize that those gifts no longer include the miraculous sign gifts that were extant during the first generation of the Church prior to the recording of the New Testament Scriptures.
Fundamentalist & Baptist
Baptist College of Ministry is unashamedly Fundamentalist, repudiating the compromise and toleration of New Evangelicalism in the realms of both personal and ecclesiastical separation. As reflected in its name, Baptist College of Ministry is resolutely Baptist in its polity, practice, and distinctives.
Revival Theology
At Baptist College of Ministry, students are challenged to embrace the belief that God still works miraculously in every age. Rather than pointing to “the Will of God” as the explanation for spiritual defeat in evangelism or discipleship, students are encouraged instead to put their trust confidently in God for spiritual victory and to expect to see His reviving work in this day.
Biblical Text Position
We believe that God has preserved His Word for every age. We accept the preservation of the Old Testament through the Hebrew Masoretic text, and we accept the preservation of the New Testament through the time-honored Byzantine, majority text stream represented by the Textus Receptus. We desire to teach the doctrines of inspiration and preservation in a faith-based, non-divisive manner. We use only the King James Version in our public ministry and academic work.