Beliefs

We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. For the purposes of Berean’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, the Board of Deacons, under counsel of the pastors, is the final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.

We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons, that these are equal in every divine perfection; and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence and redemption.

We believe in God, the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.

All uses of he, him, man and men when referring to creation refer to both male and female

We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth.

We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide.

We believe that all men are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore, under condemnation. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.

We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, work and fellowship. We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of giving the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world.

We believe that a Christian should live for the glory of God and the well-being of his fellow men; that his conduct should be blameless before the world; that he should be a faithful steward of his possessions; and that he should seek to realize for himself and others the full stature of maturity in Christ.

We believe that God created each person as male or female, two distinct complementary sexes that together reflect His image. We believe that from the beginning God established marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman for mutual fulfillment, for growth in holiness, for building morality and good structure within society and for the establishment of family bonds. For these reasons we believe Christian marriage as described in the Bible (Gen. 2:21-24; Matt. 19:4-9; I Cor. 6:9-10, 18-20; Eph. 5:22-33) reflects the relationship Christ has for his church. We believe that all sexual intimacy should be reserved exclusively for the marriage relationship.

We believe that from conception to natural death all human life is created by God in his image and is therefore sacred. Human life is of inestimable worth including the pre-born, the aged, the infirm and those with physical and mental disabilities (Gen. 1:27; Gen. 9:5-6; Deut. 5:17; Ps. 139:13-16; Pr. 23:22; Jer. 1:5; Lk. 12:6-7).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church – baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water into the name of the triune God. We believe that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe that every human being has direct relations with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith; that each church is independent and must be free from interference by an ecclesiastical or political authority; that therefore, Church and State must be kept separated as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from dictation or patronage of the other.

We believe that local churches can best promote the cause of Jesus Christ by cooperating with one another in a denominational organization. Such an organization, whether a regional or district conference, exists and functions by the will of the churches. Cooperation in a conference is voluntary and may be terminated at any time. Churches may likewise cooperate with inter-denominational fellowships on a voluntary independent basis.

We believe the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal bliss of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked.