Home
Pastors
Missionaries
Church History
Statement of Faith
Doorstep Articles
Books By Dr. Tottingham
Great Plains Baptist Divinity School and College
STATEMENT OF FAITH
I - Introduction:
The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself (Authorized 1611 King James Version) is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members.
(1) Preamble.....We, being born again and Bible-believing Baptists, relying wholly on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, on the Holy Spirit's enabling, and the Holy Scriptures for our guidance; and in the interests of growth in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ; and that we might fulfill our responsibilities to propagate the Word of God; and to contend earnestly for the faith; so that all things may be done decently and in order in accordance with the accepted tenets of other churches of like precious faith, and that we may more readily help each other in our Christian service, declare and establish this constitution, to which we voluntarily submit ourselves.
(2) Statement of Position.....We declare ourselves to be old-fashioned, New Testament Baptists and oppose Interdenominationalism, New Evangelicalism, and the modern Charismatic movement. We stand for the "faith once delivered unto the saints." We declare ourselves to be an independent, autonomous Baptist Church. We, the members of Empire Baptist Temple, use the Holy Scriptures; the Bible translated into the English language from the Masoretic Old Testament and Textus Receptus New Testament (the Authorized Version 1611 Translation commonly called the King James Version) for our sole rule of faith and practice, and exhort all others to do likewise. We will preach and teach the "whole counsel" of God's Word with definite intent on winning lost souls to a saving knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We will baptize those who receive Christ as personal Saviour. We will then teach them to "observe all things whatsoever" the Lord has commanded us; and when the Holy Spirit calls, we will separate and send others forth into the world to proclaim the same Gospel and carry out the same great commission work in its entirety with the anticipated goal of establishing New Testament Baptist Churches.
I I - Issues of the Holy Scripture:
(1) General.....We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and Divine revelation of God to man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning.
(2) Version.....We believe that The King James Version (Authorized Version 1611) of the Bible is the accurately preserved, authoritative and true Word of God in the English language, and shall be the official and only translation used by the Church. We disavow all other English versions and translations of the Bible as corruptions because they delete the pure meaning of redemption and pervert the absolute Deity of Jesus Christ. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:19-21; Psa. 119:89; Heb. 4:12; Isa. 8:20; Rom. 15:4)
III - Issues of Salvation:
(1) All mankind is without hope of eternal life..... Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
(2) No one can give himself eternal life..... Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
(3) God has provided all salvation in Christ Jesus..... Heb. 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. Romans 3:23-26 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
- (4) God loves every person and desires them to have eternal life...
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. - (5) God regenerates all who receive Christ by repentance and faith instantly and eternally...
Romans 10:9-10, 13 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
John 1:12-13 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
IV- Issues of Theology:
(1) The Godhead.....We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, andHoly Spirit, each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, having the same
attributes and perfections. (Ex. 20:2-3; Deut. 6:4; Psa. 90:2; Matt 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; John 4:24, 14:10, 26;
Rom 11:33; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim 1:17)
(2) The Person and Work of Jesus Christ.....
be God, having been conceived by God the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin, Mary, in a miraculous
manner as no other man was ever born or can be born of woman, in order that He might reveal God and
redeem sinful men. (Gen 3:15; Isa. 7:14, 9:6; Matt 1:18-25; Mark 1:1; Lk. 1:35; Jn. 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Gal
4:4-5; Phil 2:5-8)
(B) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through his death on the
cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His
literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Acts 2:18-36; Rom 3:24-25; 1 Pet 2:24; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet 1:3-5)
(C) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ bodily ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right
hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate.
(D) We believe that His resurrection assures all the redeemed the same bodily resurrection at His
second coming. (Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 9:24, 7:25; Rom 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2)
(3) The Second Coming of Christ.....We believe in that "blessed hope," the personal, imminent return of
Christ that will remove all the saved in a pretribulational and premillennial Rapture. At the end of the
Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return, with His previously raptured Saints, to establish His earthly
Messianic Kingdom in which the Nation of Israel was promised the King and the priesthood. (Ps 89:3-4;
Dan 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Cor. 15:51-55; Phil 3:20-21; 1 Thes. 1:10, 4:13-18;
Titus 2:13; Rev 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6)
(4) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.....
judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, indwelling and sealing those who
receive Jesus Christ as Saviour unto the day of redemption. We do not believe in "Holy Spirit baptism," or being
baptized into anything but the local New Testament Baptist Church by water.(John 14:16-17, 26, 15:26-27,
16:8-11; Rom 8:9-10, 16, 26-27; Eph. 1:13-14)
(B) We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate
the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 1:
17-18, 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27)
(C) We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every member of His New
Testament Baptist Churches. God uniquely uses Pastors, Evangelists (to include Missionaries, or
Evangelists, both foreign and national), and Teachers to equip God's Saints in the New Testament Baptist
Church in order that they can do the work of the ministry. (Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28; Eph. 4:7-12)
(D) We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of
healing, were temporary and lasted only until the completion of the written New Testament. We believe that
speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of salvation or the filling of the Holy Spirit,
and that the ultimate deliverance of the physical body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of
our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer prayers of His Saints for
physical healing. (1 Cor. 1:22, 13:8, 14:21-22)
that in Adam's voluntary sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God;
and that man is totally depraved, and of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Gen 3:6-24;
Rom 1:18-19, 5:12, 19; Eph. 2:1-3)
(6) Salvation.....
personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious, Divine, and absolutely sinless blood was shed on
Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. (Isa. 53:12; John 1:12, 10:17-18; Rom 3:25; Eph. 1:7, 2:8-10; Heb.
9:22, 12:2; 1 Pet 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7)
(B) We believe that there is no other way to God than through personal faith in the blood of Jesus
Christ as shed for sin.
(C) We believe that repentance, the result of Godly sorrow working repentance to salvation, is
necessary for true salvation. We believe that this is preceded by the Holy Spirit teaching the truth of God to the
depraved heart, working conviction of man's guilt of sin before God. (Hos. 11:4; Luke 13:3; John 6:44; Acts
3:19, 20:21; Rom 10:17, 14; 2 Cor. 7:9-10; 1 John 3:16)
(7) The Eternal Security and Assurance of God's Saints.....
Christ forever. (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Rom 8:1, 38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Pet 1:4-5)
(B) We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through
the testimony of God's Word, which does however, clearly forbid the use of "Christian liberty" as an
occasion to the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. (Rom 13:13-14; Gal 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
(8) The Eternal State.....
the unregenerate to judgment and everlasting punishment in the Lake of Fire. (Matt 25:46; John 5:28-29,
11:25-26; Rev 20:5-6, 12-13)
(B) We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with
the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited
to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil 1:23, 3:21; 1 Thes. 4:16-17; Rev 20:4-6)
(C) We believe that the souls of the unregenerate, or unbelievers, remain, after death, in conscious
punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall
appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast alive into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated,
but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Matt 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26;
2 Thes. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev 20:11-15)
Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and, that he shall be eternally
punished in the Lake of Fire. We believe that Satan and Lucifer, and the Devil, are all one and the same. (Job 1:
6-7; Isa. 14:12-17; Eze. 28:11-19; Matt 4:2-11, 25:41; John 8:43-44; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 John 3:8; Jude 6; Rev 20:10)
(10) Creation.....We believe that God created the entire universe in six literal 24-hour periods. We reject
evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin.
(Gen 1-2, 26-27; Ex. 20:11; John 1:1-3; Acts 17:23-26; Rom 1:20; Heb. 11:3)
V - Issue of the Theology and Mission of the New Testament Church:
(1) Description.....
do not believe in the "universal, invisible church" theory. We also believe that this local church is the
espoused bride of Christ, is Baptist by doctrine, and is solely made up of born again and Scripturally baptized
(water immersion) people. (Matt 16:18; Acts 2:47, 8:1, 11:22, 16:5; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22
-23, 3:21, 5:25-27; Col 1:24)
(B) We believe in the perpetuity of the church, meaning that the establishment and continuance of
God's Baptist churches, is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27, 20:17,
28-32; 1 Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
(C) We believe in the autonomy of the local church free from any external authority or control. (Acts
13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28; Rom 16:1, 4; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet 5:1-4)
(2) Ordinances.....We recognize water baptism and the Lord's Supper as the only ordinances of obedience
for the Church in this age.
Testament Church by John the Baptist (as one sent from God) as this Scriptural ordinance. To be Scriptural,
baptism must have:
2] A Proper Mode - total submersion in water (immersion),
3] A Proper Design - to show forth the true Gospel of Jesus Christ (death, burial, and resurrection),
4] A Proper Motive - to join, or be placed into the baptizing Church,
5] A Proper Authority - the New Testament Baptist Church. (Matt 3:13-17, 26:17-30; Acts 28:19-20; Rom 6:3-5;
1 Cor. 11:23-34)
Scriptural ordinance. It is to be administered by, and only to members in good standing of the administering
Baptist Church. We also believe it should be held once a year after the example of the Passover Supper.
(Matt 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:18; 1 Cor. 1:23-26)
(3) Authority.....We believe that God's Church should not be under the subjection of any ecclesiastical
authority, any other Church, (once fully organized into a Church), or individuals in the conduct of its affairs,
either financial or spiritual. The historic Baptist views of liberty recognizes the limited, but legitimate power
of the state to strongly suppress crime and vice, but it holds that individual conscience may be judged by
God alone. Anarchy is NEVER the goal, nor does liberty of conscience mean libertinism for the
unconscionable. It should function as an independent, Baptist congregation.
(4) Missions.....
proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic
group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use
all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. (Matt 28:19-20; Mark
16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20)
(B) We believe that all missionary endeavors should be carried on under the authority of the local
Church; that it is the privilege and right of the separate New Testament Baptist Churches to cooperate with
each other in carrying out the great commission, but in such a manner as to preserve the sovereignty of
each Church.
program which is based on, and consistent with, Biblical teachings in both content and structure. It is this
Church's belief that the home and Church together are responsible before God for providing a Christian
education to its members. To this end, the Church shall engage in ministries of education in keeping with
this belief. (Deut. 6:6-9; Eph. 6:4; Col 3:17)
(6) Giving.....We believe that every Child of God, as a steward of that portion of God's wealth entrusted to
him, is obligated to support his local Church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe and
offerings as a basis for giving, and that members should give sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of
their Church; the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel as done through their own Church.
We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has
been made. (Gen 14:20; Lev 27:28-34; Prov. 3:9-10; Mal 3:8-11; Matt 23:23; Luke 6:38; Acts 4:34-37;
1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 8:1-8, 9:6-7; Gal 6:6; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17)
VI - Issues of Civil Government:
(1) Establishment of Authority.....We believe that God has ordained and created all authority, consisting of
three basic institutions: (1) the home; (2) the Church; and (3) the state. Every person is subject to these
authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His
Word. (Rom 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet 2:13-14)
(2) Establishment of Responsibility.....God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and
balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the
other. The Home, the Church, and the State are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically
assigned spheres of responsibility under God. We believe the State was instituted by God to be the enemy of all
that is evil and friend of all that is righteous, as defined by God's Word, and that its powers are to be limited
to protecting the good and punishing the evil doers. (Rom 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet 2:13-14)
VII - Issues of Christian Living:
(1) Separation.....We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon
their Saviour and Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures,
practices and associations is commanded of God. (Rom 12:1-2, 14:13; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1-2; 2 Tim 3:1-5; 1
John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)
(2) Lawsuits Between Saints.....We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits
against other members of their Church especially (since there are so many professing Christians who are not
true believers [Matt 13:24-30] we believe this prohibition is certainly applied within a Church membership),
or against true believers in general, or against any true New Testament Church to resolve personal
disputes. We believe the Churches possess all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between
members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another
Christian's insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. (1 Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32)
VIII - Issues of Social Consequence:
(1) Human Sexuality.....We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be
engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of
homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful
perversions of God's gift of sex. (Gen 2:24, 19:5, 13, 26:8-9; Lev 18:1-30; Rom 1:26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1, 6:9; 1 Thes. 4:1-8)
(2) Divorce and Remarriage.....We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of
the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication,
which is understood to be a sexual apostate. Although divorced and remarried persons, or divorced
persons may hold positions of service in the Church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may
not be considered for the offices of pastor, evangelist (national or foreign, or a missionary), or deacon.
Though we do believe that divorce and remarriage is a very serious error which has certain lifelong
penalties, we do not believe it is an unpardonable sin. (Mal 2:14-17; Matt 19:3-12; Rom 7:1-3; 1 Tim 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6)
(3) Abortion.....We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human
being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We
reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth
or population control, or emotional well-being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Ps 51:5, 139:14-16;
Isa. 44:24, 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)