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Doctrine


Doctrine of the Church

  • We believe that the local church is composed of:

  • A local group of believers who are self-governing, with no ecclesiastical organization in authority over them.

  • Believers who are baptized by immersion.

  • Believers who meet regularly for fellowship, worship, and Bible study.

  • Believers who observe the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

  • Believers who carry out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).

  • We believe the only Scriptural officers of a local church are Bishops (Pastors or Elders) and Deacons (Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1, 😎. The titles Bishop, Elder, and Pastor in the New Testament refer to the different functions of the same office.


Doctrine of Satan and Fallen Angels
We believe that Satan is a person. He is a created being who sinned and became the archenemy of God and His creation. He is the chief adversary of God’s children. He seeks to keep man from the Lord, and when he cannot succeed in this, he seeks to weaken the testimony of Christians. He has at his command a great host of fallen angels and demons to carry out his purposes. He is not omnipotent and can be overcome by the power of God. His doom is sealed in the Lake of Fire forever and ever (Ezekiel 28:12- 19; Isaiah 14:12-14; Revelation 12:10; Revelation 20:10).


Doctrine of Last Things
We believe there will be a resurrection of all, first, the just at the coming of Jesus Christ, and finally, the unjust after the Millennium. The saints are raised to be forever with the Lord, and the unsaved will be confined for eternity in the Lake of Fire. We believe in the ‘Blessed Hope,’ which is the personal, bodily, pre-tribulational, pre-millennial, and imminent return of our Lord and Saviour for His Church (the Rapture). ‘Blessed Hope’ also includes His later return to the earth in power and glory with His saints to set up His Kingdom, the Millennium (John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9, 11; Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:20; Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2; Revelation 21:1-8.)


Doctrine of Separation
We believe that God commands Christians to be a separated people according to 2 Corinthians 6:17, 18 and 7:1:
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”


The Gospel Light Baptist Church will be separated from all forms of apostasy and religious inclusivism. We reject the ecumenical movement, joining all churches into one body regardless of doctrine or practice, and the Charismatic renewal movement, with its unscriptural emphasis on tongues and healing. Gospel Light Baptist Church will enjoy fellowship with churches of like faith and order, but will have no part in any council of churches that is ecumenical in nature and thrust.


We believe Christians are to be personally separated from all worldly practices that hinder spiritual growth and stability. We believe that God’s people should not love the world’s system or the things that are in the world (1 John 2:15-16).


Doctrine of Christian Practice
The Gospel Light Baptist Church believes that a Christian should live a holy life, be separated from the world, and maintain a testimony consistent with the New Testament. We also believe that by the power of the Holy Spirit, we all should walk together in Christian love, strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness, and godliness, holding a conviction that Christianity is a way of life. Therefore should be propagated through Bible-centered and Christ-centered teaching, promoting the prosperity and spirituality of this church, sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines, contribute cheerfully, and regularly support the church with our tithes and offerings so that the ministry is supported, expenses are met, the poor are helped, and the gospel is spread through all nations.


This church encourages all of its members to maintain family and private devotions; to seek the salvation of kindred and acquaintances, walk circumspectly in the world, be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment, zealous in our effort to win souls to Christ, to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger, and to abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating drink as a beverage, and from the improper sale and use of narcotics.


We further encourage each member to show brotherly love toward one another, to remember each other in prayer, to aid each other in sickness and distress, to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech, to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, and mindful of the rules of our Savior, to secure it without delay. Should the will of God direct any to move from this area, we encourage each, as soon as possible, to unite with some other church of like faith and practice and thereby continue living a testimony for Christ and living the principles of God’s Word.
 

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