What We Believe

God

There is but one God, the Maker, Sustainer, and Ruler of all things, having in and of Himself all perfections and being infinite in them all. To Him all people owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. God is revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes but without division of nature, essence, or being.  (Deut. 6:4-5; Matt. 28:19).

Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a unique Person of the Godhead. That he convicts the world of sin, that He regenerates the sinner by the Word of God, that He indwells, enlightens, instructs, and guides the child of God, (John 16:8; Acts 2:4; Rom. 8:9; John 16:13).

Salvation

We believe that the salvation of sinners is divinely initiated, and wholly of grace, through the mediatorial office of the Son of God, Who by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Him our nature, yet without sin, honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and by shedding His blood on the cross, made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins; that His atonement consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, nor by keeping the law for us, but was a voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner's place - the Just dying for the unjust, Christ, the Lord bearing the complete volume of our sin in His own body on the cross. (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 3:24-26; John 3:16; Isa. 53:4-7; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; 2 Cor. 5:21.)

Regeneration

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose the third day, according to the Scriptures, and that all who trust in Him are justified on the basis of His shed blood, and that all who receive Him as Savior by faith are born again by the Holy Spirit and thereby become the children of God, that this regeneration, called the “new birth”, is solely a product of the grace of God based upon the merit of the death and resurrection of the Savior, Jesus Christ, (1 Cor. 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; John 3:5-18; Eph. 2:8-9; 5:30-32).

Separation

We believe the Bible clearly teaches that believers should not be conformed to this world, and that it is incumbent upon them to live lives of separation from all worldly and sinful practices; that violation of this teaching affects our joy, peace, and testimony before the world and that it incurs the chastening of the Lord; that non-conformity can be maintained only by constant abiding in Christ, by living a life which is directed by reading, studying, and meditating on God's Word, by prayer, & by worship; that the world will not learn of the love wherewith Christ has loved us unless believers are willing to be exhibitors of that love in action & spirit. (Rom 12:1-2; John 1:1, 5-21; 15:5; 2 Tim. 2:15; 2 Cor. 6:14, 18; 7:1).

Church

We believe the church to be an institution of divine origin, founded by the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. That church and its ministry has been the pattern for all New Testament churches since. We believe that every generation since the ministry of Christ has experienced the witness of the visible New Testament local church on earth. We believe that a true church is an assembly of believers, who obediently followed the Lord's command to be baptized by immersion upon the profession of their faith in the finished work of Christ and have covenanted together under the Headship of Jesus Christ and the authority of the Word of God to do the Lord's work, to observe the ordinances as given by Christ, to be governed by His Word, and to exercise the power, gifts, and privileges invested in them through the Holy Spirit for the purpose of accomplishing His divine will on earth. Jesus Christ is the head of the church, His undershepherd is the pastor, and his assistants are the deacons whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. The true mission of the church is twofold, including earnestly endeavoring to witness Christ to all men, and also, faithfully working to edify the Christian brethren. (Matt. 16:18; 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 6:1-4; 1 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 4:11-13). Thus, we believe that Main Street Baptist Church is a true New Testament church in its origin, doctrine and practice.

Second Coming of Christ

We believe that the second coming of Christ will take place in two stages:

First, the rapture of the church, which involves the appearance and summoning of Christ and the instantaneous transformation and gathering together of all believers, both living and dead, to meet the Lord in the clouds. The Rapture is imminent (no man knows the day or the hour) and thus the believer is to be continually looking for the appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. (John 14:3; Thess. 4:16-17; 1 Cor. 15:52; Matt. 24:44; 25:13).

Second, the glorious revelation of Christ as He physically returns, as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to judge the earth and set up His earthly kingdom. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will someday return to earth in His physical body at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem in the same way as He was seen by the apostles ascending into Heaven, that His bodily return will conclude the seven year period of Great Tribulation, in which God will judge the wicked and draw His people, national Israel, to accept Jesus Christ as their promised Messiah, that the Revelation of Jesus Christ will commence the Millennial (1000 year) Reign of Christ on Earth. (Acts 1:9-11; Matt. 24:30; Luke 21:27; John 14:3; Rev. 1:7; 19:11-20:6).

Baptist Distinctives

Biblical Authority - II Tim. 3:16-17; John 17:17 (That the Bible is our only authority for all matters of belief and behavior.)

Autonomy of the Local Church - Eph. 1:22; Acts 6, 13, 15 (That each local assembly is self-governing, under the headship of Jesus Christ alone, without outside hierarchy or convention.)

Priesthood of every believer - I Peter 2:9-10; I John 1:9; I John 2:1-2; I Tim. 2:5 (That every believer has direct access to God through Jesus Christ alone.)

Two Ordinances - Acts 2:41-42; I Cor. 11; Acts 8:38 (Baptism of believers by immersion and the Lord’s Supper - memorial, not sacramental.)

Individual Soul Liberty - I John 2:27; Rom. 14:4-5; John 16:13 (That every person has the right to worship according to conscience without external coercion.)

Saved Church Membership - Acts 2:41-47; I Cor. 12:13-27 (Church membership is for those who have been saved and biblically immersed upon repentance and confession of faith.)

Two Officers - I Tim. 3:1-16; Titus 1; Eph. 4:11-16 (The Lord has established Pastors (also referred to as bishops/elders in the scriptures) and Deacons to minister to His flock in this age.

Separation of Church and State - Matt. 22:21; Rom 13; Titus 3:1 (That the Lord has established the state to administer civil, secular government, and the church to minister to man’s spiritual needs, and that the two are separate entities never to be mixed or intertwined in authority or enforcement.)

Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and that in His Incarnation, is true God and true man; that He died for our sins, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and is our Divine Advocate with the Father, (John 1:1-19; 1 Tim. 3:16; 1 Thess. 1:10).

Creation

We believe that God created all things from nothing, that the biblical account of a six-day creation in Genesis 1 and 2 is literally accurate and historical, not mythical; hence, evolution is a theory contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture on creation, that man was made in the image of God; that man sinned and thereby brought upon this creation, not only physical death, but also spiritual separation from God (spiritual death); that all descendants of Adam are born with a sinful nature and are totally depraved, and need redemption from the penalty and power of sin, (Rom. 5:12-21; 3:10-20; John 3:1-21). Consequently, all of creation suffers and awaits deliverance from the consequences of sin, (Rom. 8:22).

Ordinances

The Church Ordinances recognized and practiced by Main Street Baptist Church are two in number: Baptism and the Lord's Supper:

Section 1: Baptism is the immersion in water of a professed believer upon the affirmation of his faith, by a duly authorized administrator, to identify himself with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. A duly authorized administrator shall be the pastor or any other minister chosen by the church. In cases where the pastor is physically incapable of baptizing, one of the deacons may be chosen by the church to administer baptism. (Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:41; Rom.6:4).

Section 2: The Lord's Supper, a memorial Ceremony of the Lord's death, is to be observed by the church perpetually until the Lord comes. Unleavened bread and grape juice are to be used as symbols of His body and blood. We believe that partakers of this communion should be biblically baptized believers who are obediently living in fellowship with the Lord and are members in good standing of this church or another church of like precious faith. (Matt. 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:15-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-29).

Heaven and Hell

We believe in a literal Heaven & a literal Hell. Heaven is a place of eternal, conscious joy for all who have accepted by faith, the merits of Christ's atoning sacrifice. Hell is the place of eternal, conscious punishment for all who have rejected salvation through unbelief in the complete merits of Christ's atonement. (Psa. 9:17; John 14:1-6; Phil. 3:20-21; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 20:10-15).

Marriage

We believe that, in the beginning of creation, God Himself established the institution of marriage and defined marriage as the union between one man and one woman for life (Genesis 2:23-24), and

We believe that, the Lord Jesus Christ also honored the institution of marriage and reaffirmed its definition by quoting from Genesis 2 (Mark 10:1-12), and

We believe that, the New Testament epistles are consistent in their support of the importance of the institution of marriage and in reaffirming the definition of one man and one woman for life (Romans 7:1-16; I Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:22-23; I Peter 3:1-7).