| Lake Hamilton Free Will Baptist |
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Doctrinal Page
We believe in only the King James Version of the Bible being the Closest to the original manuscripts. We are Afflicated with the Central Florida District Association and the State and National Association of Free Will Baptist. The Articles of Faith The Bible The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and are our infallible rule of faith and practice. God There is one living and true God, revealed in nature as the Creator, Preserver, and Righteous Governor of the universe; and in the Scriptures as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; yet as one God, infinitely wise and good, whom all intelligent creatures are supremely to love, adore, and obey. Christ Christ is God manifest in the flesh; in His divine nature truly God, in His human nature truly man. The mediator between God and man, once crucified, He is now risen and glorified, and is our ever present Savior and Lord. The Holy Spirit The Scriptures assign to the Holy Spirit all the attributes of God. The Government of God God exercises a wise and benevolent providence over all beings and all things by maintaining the constitution and laws of nature. He also performs special acts, not otherwise provided for, as the highest welfare of men requires The Sinfulness of Man Man was created innocent, but by disobedience fell into a state of sin and condemnation. His posterity, therefore, inherit a fallen nature of such tendencies that all who come to years of accountability, sin and become guilty before God. The Work of Christ The Son of God by His incarnation, life, sufferings, death, and resurrection effected for all a redemption from sin that is full and free, and is the ground of salvation by faith. The Terms of Salvation The conditions of salvation are: (1) Repentance or sincere sorrow for sin and hearty renunciation of it. (2) Faith or the unreserved committal of one's self to Christ as Savior and Lord with purpose to love and obey Him in all things. In the exercise of saving faith, the soul is renewed by the Holy Spirit, freed from the dominion of sin, and becomes a child of God. (3) Continuance of faith and obedience unto death. Election God determined from the beginning to save all who should comply with the conditions of salvation. Hence by faith in Christ men become His elect. Freedom of the Will The human will is free and self-controlled, having power to yield to the influence of the truth and the Spirit, or to resist them and perish. Salvation Free God desires the salvation of all, the Gospel invites all, the Holy Spirit strives with all, and whosoever will may come and take of the water of life freely. Perseverance All believers in Christ, who through grace persevere in holiness to the end of life, have promise of eternal salvation. Gospel Ordinances BAPTISM, or the immersion of believers in water, and the LORD'S SUPPER, are the ordinances to be perpetuated under the Gospel. FEET WASHING, an ordinance teaching humility, is of universal obligation, and is to be ministered to all true believers. Tithing God commanded tithes and offerings in the Old Testament; Jesus Christ endorsed it in the Gospel (Matthew 23:23), and the apostle Paul said, "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him" (I Corinthians 16:2a) The Christian Sabbath The divine law requires that one day in seven be set apart from secular employments and amusements, for rest, worship, holy works, and activities, and for personal communion with God. Resurrection, Judgment, and Final Retribution The Scriptures teach the resurrection of all men at the last day. Those who have done good will come forth to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation; then the wicked will "go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." Free Will Baptist Church Covenant Having given ourselves to God, by faith in Jesus Christ and adopted the Word of God as our rule of faith and practice, we now give ourselves to one another by the will of God in this solemn covenant. We promise by His grace to love and obey Him in all things, to avoid all appearance of evil, to abstain from all sinful amusements and unholy conformity to the world, from all sanction of the use and sale of intoxicating beverages, and to provide things honest in the sight of all men. We agree faithfully to discharge our obligations in reference to the study of the Scriptures, secret prayer, family devotions, and social worship, and by self-denial, faith and good works endeavor to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together for church conferences, public worship, and the observance of the ordinances of the gospel, nor fail to pay according to our ability for the support of the Church, of its poor, and all its benevolent work. We agree to accept Christian admonition and reproof with meekness, and to watch over one another in love, endeavoring to "keep the unity of the Spirit" in the bonds of peace to be careful of one another's happiness and reputation, and seek to strengthen the weak, encourage the afflicted, admonish the erring, as far as we are able, promote the success of the Church and of the Gospel. We will everywhere hold Christian principle sacred and Christian obligation and enterprises supreme; counting it our chief business in life to extend the influence of Christ in society; constantly praying and toiling that the Kingdom of God may come, and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, To this end we agree to labor for the promotion of education adn denominational enterprises, the support of missions, the success of Sunday Schools, and the evangelistic efforts for the salvation of the world. And may the God of peace sanctify us wholly, and preserve us blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The meaning of the Free Will Baptist Symbol The SHIP symbolizes the Church and represents all the members pulling in one direction, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Seeking to fulfill Christ's last command to the Church, Free Will Baptists unite in one purpose with one priority to proclaim the good news of the gospel throughout the world The FISH, represented in the symbol by the space between the bottom of the sail and the top of the ship's body, is one of the most popular symbols for Jesus Christ. Many believe that it was a secret symbol which identified Christians during periods of persecution. The word "fish" in the first century Greek (ichthus) is an acrostic for Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior The ANCHOR on the bow of the ship symbolizes the Christian hope of salvation, "the sure, strong and steadfast anchor of the soul." The mast of the ship in the emblem forms the most familiar symbol in the history of the world, the CROSS — an instrument of execution and death turned into a worldwide emblem of hope and love by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ The BIBLE has always been at the heart of our life as Free Will Baptists, the centrality of the scriptures. Free Will Baptists adopt the Word of God as our only rule of faith and practice. We believe the scriptures to be inspired, inerrant, infallible and immutable The LOAF and CUP represent the Lord's supper, one of the gospel ordinances. This ordinance commemorates the death of Christ for our sins in the use of the bread which He made the emblem of His broken body and the cup the emblem of His shed blood. Participation in this ordinance expresses love for Christ, faith and hope in Him, and serves as a pledge of perpetual fidelity and faithfulness to Him The BASIN and TOWEL historically symbolize the service and outreach of the church, but for us it has an added significance of representing our practice of washing the saints' feet The CLASPED HANDS symbolize many things to us: fellowship, brotherhood and the warmth of our faith. Perhaps the most important thing symbolized by the clasped hands is our commitment to reach out to people around the world with the good news |
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