What We Believe

 

Our Mission 

  • Worship: Made in God's image, we find our life's purpose and deepest fulfillment in joyful and wholehearted worship and obedience. Gen. 1:27; Psalm 150:8.
  • Grow: Sin left us broken, unable to fulfill our purpose. Yet at the cross of Christ, we have discovered the grace and love of the God who gave His life for our sin, and we are growing in His love. Galatians 2:20
  • Love: We aren't perfect, but as we grow in the love of God, we are learning to love Him and one another as He intended. Matthew 22:37-40
  • Serve: The love of Christ inspires and enables us to serve others. We want to see the Moss lake community and Shelby transformed by the same love and grace that is changing us. Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Cor. 5:20

Statement of Beliefs

Buffalo Baptist Church adheres to orthodox Christian doctrine as revealed in the Bible. Below are the articles we subscribe to. For more information, please contact us.

  • We believe that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is the infallible, inerrant, and divinely inspired word of God. (Num. 23:19; Psalm 19:7-11; Prov. 30:5; John 10:35, 17:17; 2Tim. 3:16-17; 2Pet. 1:20-21)

  • We believe in and worship the one true and triune God – one God, existing simultaneously in three distinct Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Deut. 6:4-5; 1Kings 8:23, 27; Isa. 6:1-5, 43:11; Dan. 9:4; 2Cor. 13:14; 1Tim. 1:17, 6:15-16; Rev. 4:1-11)

  • We believe that humankind, gendered male and female, is the special creation of God, made in His image. We believe in the sanctity of human life, from conception to death. (Gen. 1:26-27, 2:7, 5:1-2, 9:6; Psalm 8:3-8, 139:13-16; Jer. 1:5)

  • We believe that, in Adam, we forfeited our original moral perfection and acquired a sin nature. This sin nature includes both a propensity toward sin and sinful acts. This separates us from God, disrupts relationships, and leaves us broken, in need of a Savior. (Gen. 3:1-19, 6:5-7, 11:4; 1Kings 8:46; Psalm 51:5; Rom. 3:9-18, 5:12; 1Tim. 1:15; Titus 3:3; James 4:4)

  • We believe Jesus Christ is the perfect, sinless Son of God, fully divine and at the same time fully human. As the Way, the Truth, and the Life, salvation in Jesus’ name is our only hope of eternal life. (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:35; John 8:58; Acts 4:12; 1Cor. 8:6; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-20; Heb. 1:3)

  • We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer as the guarantee and down payment of our final redemption. He applies the benefits of Christ’s death to those who turn from sin and trust in Christ. He comforts, gifts, and unifies the church, actively working to conform us to the image of Christ. (John 14:26, 16:13-15; Eph. 4:3-4, 30; 1Thess. 5:19)

  • We believe Jesus willingly offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin, as our substitute, bearing both our guilt and its penalty, resulting in a new relationship with God and all the resulting benefits. Salvation is available only by active, personal faith in Jesus Christ. (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 53:4-6; Matt. 27:50-54; 2Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13-14; Heb. 10:12-14; Rev. 5:9-10)

  • We believe in the one, holy, worldwide, and universal church. As Baptists, however, we believe each local church is free to govern itself congregationally, and is led by pastors/elders and deacons, under the sole Lordship of Christ. (Acts 13:1-3; Phil. 1:1; Eph. 1:21-22; 1Tim. 3:1-7)

  • We believe that Jesus will soon return to rescue/rapture His church, and pour out judgment upon the earth, followed by the resurrection and judgment. Those who have trusted in Jesus for salvation will spend eternity with Jesus on a new heaven and a new earth, while those who have rejected Jesus will spend eternity in hell, a literal place of eternal suffering, away from the presence of God.(Isa. 11:4b; Dan. 12:1-3; Zech. 9:9-10; Matt. 24:27-31, 36; 1Cor. 15:24-28; Phil. 3:20-21; 1Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 19-22)

Additional Resources

For more information on how to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation and begin a lifelong personal relationship with Him, check out the following resources found here.

For a fuller statement of the beliefs of this and other Southern Baptist churches, read the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 here.

For more information on our Southern Baptist heritage, click here.