The Holy Scriptures.  At Lighthouse Baptist Church in Saint Maries we believe the Old and New Testament Scriptures are the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God.  The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed and are, therefore, 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. The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official translation used by the church.  (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)  

The Godhead. We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing, one in essence but three in person—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections.  (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 14:10, 26; 2 Cor. 13:14)

The Person and Work of Christ.  We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8) We believe the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 Peter 1:3-5) We believe the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues was temporary. 

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.  We believe the Holy Spirit is God, a Person of the trinity, who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14) We believe He is the divine Teacher who assists believers in understanding and appropriating the Scriptures and it is the privilege of the saved to be filled with the Spirit. (Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27) 

The Depravity of Man. We believe man was created in the image and likeness of God; but in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is depraved and, of himself, unable to remedy his lost condition. (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19)

Salvation.  We believe salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed His blood on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.  We believe salvation is free to any and all who will call upon the Lord.  (Matt. 12:31-32; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:9)

The Church.  We believe the local church is solely made up of born-again baptized believers. (1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27) We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or controls, and any affiliations, societies, organizations, associations, or agencies. (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) We recognize water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church. The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance given to the local church, and is offered to those who have covenanted together with the Lord. (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)

Separation. We believe believers should maintain a godly testimony and live in such a way that their lives do not bring reproach upon their Savior. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations; and to refrain from all immodest and immoderate appearances and piercings; and to refrain from bodily marking or mutilation. We stand against any and all worldly philosophies that seek to destroy or undermine the truth of Biblical Christianity. (Lev. 19:28; Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)

The Second Coming of Christ. We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, imminent return of Christ, Who will rapture His church. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom, which was promised to the nation of Israel.  (Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; 1 Thess. 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)

The Eternal State.  We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.  (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13) We believe the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, wherein 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 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6) We believe the souls of 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 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 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15)

Creation.  We believe the Genesis account of creation is neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of God’s creation of the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject all theories of evolution, including the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. Any view outside a literal six 24-hour day account of creation, is incompatible with scripture. (Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11)

Abortion. We believe human life begins at conception and the unborn child is a living human being.  Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life, and therefore abortion is murder.  We reject any teaching that abortions due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical or mental 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)

This Statement of Faith is not all-inclusive. If you have questions or would like further information, please feel free to contact us.