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Jesus Christ is to be glorified in the Church
The church should exalt Christ alone. He is worthy of all praise and preeminence in every facet of every meeting. Men no matter how gifted and ministries regardless of their accomplishments, are not to be given the praise and glory due unto God alone.)
The Church is God's house - Not Man's
As such it should be God-centered and not man-centered. The church is to be an oasis for thirsty souls seeking the grace of God through Christ, not operated according to humanistic philosophies nor guided by cultural pressures.)
Evangelism should be Biblical not mechanical
Evangelism is to be driven by a desire to see God's glory declared throughout the whole earth, to see salvation come to those who believe the gospel and to leave unbelievers without excuse. Mechanical gospel presentations, appeals based solely on emotion and the repeating a prayer cannot be allowed to become alternatives to genuine Spirit led gospel evangelism.)
Grace governs the Christian's life
The same Spirit of God that brings true saving grace also brings true teaching grace, which instructs the believer to “deny ungodliness, worldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” (Titus 2:11-12) The absence of this grace being operational in a persons life indicates the absence of saving grace. True believers in Christ are to be directed to Christ rather than the commands and traditions of men.)
Salvation brings a radical change
The “new birth” is evidenced by a sense of sin, repentance toward God, sincere faith” toward Christ and a desire to live according to the Word of God. Christian fellowship is to be in Christian unity, servanthood, accountability and generosity. A Christian performs acts of mercy & kindness motivated by Christian love, as directed by the Spirit of God, done in a Scriptural manner and empowered by God-given abilities.)
Preaching is vital to the life of the church
The survival and growth of a church is directly linked to confident and joyful exposition of the Scriptures. Since preaching is God's appointed method for proclaiming the infinitely valuable realities of the Scripture it is to remain central in the church and is not to be replaced by other forms of communicating the gospel. The use of self-improvement, self-esteem or self-fulfillment cannot become alternatives to the gospel or its teachings.)
The Bible Sets The Pattern For The Church
Since the church belongs to God, the church is to conduct it's meetings and worship in the manner which God prescribes in His Word. Worship is to be God-focused, Scriptural, personal, joyful and authentic. Worship cannot be replaced by unbiblical man-centered emotional religious entertainment.Distinctives
As a Reformed Baptist church Wilderness Road Baptist Assembly is distinguished by 5 distinctive truths it is our conviction that:
The Word of God is inspired, infallible, sufficient and authoritative in matters of faith and practice.
We believe the Bible defines not only what we should believe, but that it also describes what constitutes a local church. It gives us the qualifications and functions of it’s membership and officers, outlines how its meetings are to be held, and how it’s worship should be conducted.
The church exists for the glory of God.
We believe that the Bible teaches us that the church exists for the glory of God. The worship of God and the Word of God are central to the life of the church. At Wilderness Road Baptist Assembly we believe that the church is God’s house and not man’s. We do not believe it is to be a dull, grim, unfeeling, or insensitive place. The place where we meet should be an oasis to those who are thirsty for the grace of God.
Preaching is foundational to the life of the church.
We believe that God is pleased to bring the message of salvation to those who do not know Christ and to exhort, challenge, and build up his believers by the preaching of the Word. Therefore, we believe it is inappropriate to replace preaching & teaching services with other activities not found in the Bible.
The Word of God is to be central in the worship of God.
Salvation radically alters the life of those who believe on Christ. We believe that according to the Bible the “new birth” is brought about by the Holy Spirit and is attested to by a changed life. The evidences of this new birth are seen in varying degrees in different people, however they all have one thing in common – a love for the Lord Jesus Christ and for others that was previously unknown.
The rule of life for the Christian is the Law of Christ written in their heart.
God has promised that He would write His laws in the hearts of those who have truly believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and with this writing He also promised to give us a disposition of mind that would be inclined to keep that inward law. The motivation and ability to obey God’s laws springs from the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who, by His death, satisfied the holy wrath of God that was against us due to our sins. It is by the enablement of the Holy Spirit that we obey, in loving gratitude for Christ’s righteousness which has been imputed to us, and not to establish our own righteousness before God. We obey with the confidence “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,” Rom.8:1-4, and that we should be a people “zealous of good works,” Titus 2:14Titus 2:14
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
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If these truths have echoed in your heart as biblical, it is our desire that you will seek out a church that exemplifies these truths.
