NMBC adheres to the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message
NMBC CORE DOCTRINES
We believe that all of the Bible is the inspired Word of God that is without error and totally true in everything it affirms. (Psalm 138:2; Matthew 5:17-18; Mark 12:26, 36; Luke 24: 27, 44; John 5:39-47, 10:33, 16:13, 17:17; Acts 1:16; Romans 15:4; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
We believe that the Bible is the authority for our lives and that it is sufficient to guide us in what we believe, how we live, and how this church functions. (Luke 6:46-49, Acts 15:15, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12, James 1:22)
We believe that there is one God who eternally exists in three distinct but equal persons (the Trinity) who have the same essence, nature and attributes: the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. (1 Timothy 2:5; Romans 11:33-34; Isaiah 45:21; 2 Peter 1:17; John 1:1, 5:17, 8:58, 10:30-33, 20:28; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1; Revelation 1:8; John 14:16-17; Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 4:16; Hebrews 9:14)
We believe that God is the sovereign Creator and Ruler of the universe. (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 33:10-11, 66:7; Isaiah 45:5-12; Daniel 4:17, 32; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17; Revelation 19:6)
We believe that Jesus Christ is fully and eternally God who entered this world through the virgin conception and birth as a genuine human being with a human body and sinless human nature. He is fully God and fully man simultaneously. Jesus lived a sinless and perfect life, died on the cross as the substitutionary sacrifice for our sins, bodily rose from the dead, ascended to heaven where He is now making intercession for us, and He will someday literally, bodily, and visibly return to set up His kingdom on the earth. (Isaiah 7:14; Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1, 14; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 4:14-16)
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity (John 14:16-17; 16:5-15; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 12:1-14:40; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 1:13-14, 2:22, 5:18)
We believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. Only those who receive Christ are children of God who know God personally as their Heavenly Father. We are made right with God only on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus. (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Romans 3:24-26, Galatians 4:4-6, 1 Peter 1:18-19)
We believe that all men are created in the image of God and not evolved from a lower order of beings. However, all people are born in sin and are sinners by nature and conduct. Our sin has separated us from God and results in spiritual and physical death. (Genesis 1:1, 26-27; Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 59:2, 64:6; Romans 3:9-23, 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3)
We believe that all who receive Christ through genuine repentance and faith are born of the Holy Spirit and permanently become children of God with all of the blessings and responsibilities associated therein. (John 1:12, 3:16, 5:24, 10:28; Acts 3:19; Romans 3:21-4:8, 5:1, 8:1-17, 10:9-10, 13; Galatians 2:16-21, 3:10-14, 4:4-7; Ephesians 1:14,2:8-10, 4:30; Hebrews 7:25; Jude 24)
We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ is His Body of elect believers who have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ at the moment of salvation. The church is comprised of the universal body of all believers and is expressed in autonomous local churches where the people of God gather together. It is the function of the church to fulfill the Great Commission until Christ returns for us. The ordinances of the church are believer’s baptism by immersion in water and the Lord’s Supper which are symbols of our salvation. (Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 12:23; Revelation 2-3)
We believe that sanctification (a setting apart unto God) occurs positionally when the believer is placed into Christ at the moment of salvation, continues progressively as the believer grows spiritually throughout the rest of life, and is completed permanently and perfectly when the believer is glorified in heaven. (John 17:17; Romans 8:18-30; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 7:1; Ephesians 4:17-24, 5:27; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 10:10, 14)
We believe that it is the calling of every Christian to live a holy life, love God and other people, grow spiritually, use his or her God-given spiritual gifts for the glorification of Christ and edification of the body, and to be a witness for Christ in the world. (Matthew 22:34-40; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7; 1 Peter 1:15-16, 4:10-11; 2 Peter 3:18)
We believe in the reality of angels, who are spirits created by God. They continually worship and serve God and also minister to believers. We also believe in the reality of Satan and demons, who are fallen angels. However, we also believe that Christ defeated Satan on the cross and believers have authority over him today. (Isaiah 6; Hebrews 1; Genesis 3; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Peter 5:8; 2 Peter 2:4; 1 John 3:8; Jude 6; Revelation 12)
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous, the eternal blessedness of the saved in heaven, and the eternal punishment of the lost in hell. (Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19-31; John 5:29; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 John 3:13; Revelation 19-22)
We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The husband and the wife are equal before God, since both are created in God’s image. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously and voluntarily to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. In other words, husbands and wives are equal persons with distinct, God-given roles. They are to work together to manage the household and nurture the next generation. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to raise their children with a godly example, loving discipline, wise teaching and training, and proper affection. Children are to honor and obey their parents. (Genesis 1:26-28, 2:15-25, 3:1-20; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127; 139:13-16;; Ephesians 5:21-33, 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; Titus 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:1-7)
We believe that Jesus Christ is Lord over everything. (Matthew 28:18, 1 Corinthians 15:27-28, Philippians 2:9-11, Colossians 1:18)