"I am The Vine, you are the branches"

Our Doctrine

What We Believe

God

a.) We believe there is only one true and living God and He exist eternally in three persons- the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

b.) We believe Jesus is both fully God and fully human. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the Cross as a substitute for mankind, was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven, and will one day return. (John 10:11; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

c.) We believe God the Holy Spirit is a person who restrains evil in the world and convicts men of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He dwells in all who believe in Jesus. From the moment of belief in the Son, the Spirit baptizes believers into the body, seals them for salvation, regenerates them to new life, bestows spiritual gifts on each one, and is fully present to continually fill (control and guide) His own (John 16:7-11; John 3:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 13; John 14:16-17; Ephesians 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19).

The Bible

We believe the Bible is God’s written revelation of Himself to mankind divinely given through human authors who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is entirely true, totally sufficient, and completely authoritative for matters of life and faith. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

Man

a.) We believe Human Beings are created by God to bear His image. They are the crowning work of His creation worthy of love, dignity, and respect regardless of matters like age, race, gender, or class. (Genesis 1:27)

b.) We believe God created mankind in His image, forming each person in the womb from conception (Psalm 139:13-16; Isaiah 44:2; 49:5; Jeremiah 1:4-5) until the point of death when they breathe their last (Genesis 25:8; Luke 23:46); and assigning gender to His people, male (man) and female (woman), as He created them sexually and biologically different, but with equal personal dignity and value (Genesis 1:26-28).

c.) Because of the Fall (Genesis 3), the image of God in people is distorted but not lost. All people have disobeyed God willfully through sin; thus inheriting both physical and spiritual death and the need for redemption. All human beings are born with a sin nature and into an environment inclined toward sin. Only by the grace of God through Jesus Christ can they experience salvation.

Salvation

a.) We believe salvation is a sovereign gift of God and is received by man through personal faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for sin. We believe man is justified by grace through faith apart from works (Acts 13:38-39; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 1:4-5; 2:8-10).

b.) We believe that Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation and that no one is saved apart from a conscious and personal decision to trust in Christ as his or her one and only Savior (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9-10).

c.) We believe all true believers who are in Christ Jesus, once saved, are kept secure in Christ forever (Romans 8:1; 29-30; 38-39; John 10:27-30).

The Church

a.) We believe the Church, the Body and Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism, made up of all born-again persons of this present age.

b.) We believe the local church is an assembly of professed believers in Jesus Christ who are voluntarily joined together in one locality for the purposes of worship, study of the Word of God, observance of the ordinances, Christian fellowship, equipping for and practice of Kingdom service, specifically stewarding our lives for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission (Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; Ephesians 4:11-13; Matthew 16:18; 28:19-20).

Baptism

Baptism is by immersion and is an outward expression of a heart that has been transformed by the power of the gospel. Baptism does not bring forgiveness of sins, but rather declares publicly that salvation is found in the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 3:21-22; Romans 6:3-5;

The Lord's Supper

The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church partake of the bread and the fruit of the vine in order to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 26:26-30; 28:19-20; 14:22-28;22:19-20; I Corinthians 10:16, 21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12)

Sexual Ethic

We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. Any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexual or bisexual conduct, polygamy, pedophilia, bestiality, incest, pornography, or attempts to change one’s biological sex, any form of sexual immorality we believe to be sinful and offensive to God based on the authority of Scripture (1 Corinthians 5:1-5, 6:18-20; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8).

Marriage

We believe that the term ‘marriage’ has only one meaning, a bond which is sanctioned by God joining one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union as delineated in Scripture. The church does not condone or recognize any alternative definition of marriage, nor permit staff members to perform such ceremonies, nor allow the use of church resources for such (Genesis 2:18-24; Matthew 19:1-12; Hebrews 13:4).

Humanity

We believe that every person is equal in the sight of God and of equal value to this church regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender. All persons are to be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful or harassing behavior or attitudes toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accordance with Scripture, nor Christian doctrine. All forms of racism are considered offensive to God and should be rejected (Genesis 1:27; John 13:34-35; Ephesians 4:29-32).

Separation, Divorce, and Remarriage

We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one spouse dies. We recognize that under certain conditions separation might be necessary, divorce might be permitted, and remarriage might be allowed. However, whether a person has a biblical reason to separate or divorce, or whether a divorced person has biblical grounds for remarriage, should be carefully evaluated in accordance with the Scriptures and in conjunction with godly counsel. When possible, the reconciliation of the separated or divorced couple is to be pursued. However, we recognize that some marriages might have one party who is unwilling to reconcile. (Genesis 1:27, 2:24; Malachi 2:13-16; Matthew 19:3-9; Mark 10:1-9; 1 Corinthians 7:10-13; Ephesians 5:22-23).

Sanctity of Human Life

We believe that human life is a sacred gift from God and must be respected from the moment of conception until natural death. We believe that abortion is the intentional, willful termination of a pregnancy at any time after conception and constitutes the taking of unborn human life. Accordingly, abortions for any reasons including birth defects, gender selection, birth control, population control, or even tragic instances of rape or incest, as well as acts of encouraging, facilitation, or paying for an abortion are inconsistent with Scripture and the glory of God (Psalm 139:13-16; Isaiah 46:3).

Additionally, we oppose active intervention with the intent to produce death, including euthanasia and doctor assisted suicide, whether for the relief of suffering economic or quality of life considerations or convenience of the person, family, or society (Isaiah 46:4; Job 14:5; Acts 17:26-28).

The Branch Community Church affirms the Baptist Faith & Message 2000