All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
The desire of Gantt Street Baptist Church is to be:
- A Christ Centered Church: Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. He is to be the center of attraction and the object of our devotion.
- A Bible-Believing Church: We believe the Bible, and we teach and preach without apology that the (King James) Bible is the infallible Word of God.
- A Loving Church: We are taught to love one another sincerely, therefore we stand opposed to pettiness, gossip, and such conduct that unduly disturbs the church body.
- An Old Fashioned Church: We enthusiastically embrace the old time way of worship with lively singing and the kind of preaching that glorifies God and edifies God's people is encouraged.
Here are some excerpts from our church constitution that define our doctrine.
Preamble
Resting entirely in our faith in the Lord Jesus for our salvation, and believing
in the Bible as the completed inspired Word of the living God, we have affiliated
ourselves with one another as a body of immersed believers, and we adopt this Constitution
as a declaration of our convictions so that we may carry on the Lord's work decently
and in order.
Government
The government of this church, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit is vested
in the body of believers who compose it, whose majority vote shall be final. Be
it the action of the church in electing its spiritual leaders, whose responsibility
will be to help determine the direction of the spiritual and temporal affairs of
the church. This church acknowledges the Lord Jesus Christ as its head, and receives
the Holy Scriptures as the only infallible guide in matters of faith, church order
and discipline, and is amendable to no other body.
The Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally
and plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and
God-breathed, and therefore are 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 Bible shall be the official and only translation used by
the church (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
The True God
We believe there is one and only one living and true God, as the infinite, sovereign
spirit, the maker and supreme ruler of heaven and earth. He is inexpressibly glorious
in holiness, and worthy of all possible honour, confidence and love. In the unity
of the Godhead, there are three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Spirit. Each person is equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct
but harmonious offices in the work of redemption.(Exodus 20:2-3; I Corinthians 8:6
Revelation 4:11)
The Devil (Or Satan)
We believe in the personality of Satan. He is the unholy god of this age and the
ruler of all the powers of darkness. He is destined to the judgement of an eternal
justice in the lake of fire. (Matthew 4:11; II Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:10)
Creation
We believe the Genesis account of creation as being neither allegory nor myth, but
a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate creative acts of God without
any evolutionary process. Man (spirit, soul, and body) was created by a direct act
of God and not from previously existing forms of life. All men are descended from
the historical Adam and Eve who were the first parents of the entire human race.(Genesis
1 and 2; Colossians 1:16,17; John 1:3)
The Fall Of Man
We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his maker, but by
voluntary transgression, Adam fell from his sinless and happy state and as a consequence,
all men are totally depraved. Man is a partaker of Adam's fallen nature and are
sinners by nature and by conduct. Man is, therefore, under just condemnation without
defense or excuse. (Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 1:18-32; 3:10-19; 5:12, 19)
The Virgin Birth
We believe that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost in a miraculous manner, born
of Mary, a virgin, as no other man was ever born or can ever be born of woman, and
that he is both the Son of God and God the Son. (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew
1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:14; Hebrews 1:8)
Death, Burial, Resurrection And Priesthood
We believe in the death, burial and the bodily resurrection of Christ. In his ascension
into Heaven, he now sits at the right hand of the Father as our High Priest. (Matthew
28:6,7; Luke 24:39; John 20:27; I Corinthians 15:1-4; I John 2:1; Hebrews 2:17;
5:9,10)
Grace In The New Creation
We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again. This new birth
is a new creation in Christ Jesus. It is instantaneous and not a process. In the
new birth, the one dead in trespasses and sins is made a partaker of the divine
nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God. (John 3:3; II Corinthians
5:17; I John 5:1, Acts 16:30-33; II Peter 1:4; Romans 6:23)
Repentance
We believe that repentance is a change of mind and purpose toward God as promoted
by the Holy Spirit. It is characterized by godly sorrow for sin as offensive to
God and ruinous to the soul. True repentance is inseparably connected to true faith.
(Luke 13:1-3; 15:7; Acts 8:22; Romans 2:4; II Corinthians 7:10; Acts 20:21)
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received
by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary
for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
We believe that faith in the Lord Jesus is the only condition of salvation (Acts
16:31)
Sanctification
We believe that sanctification is the divine setting apart of the believer unto
God. It is accomplished in a threefold manner:
- An eternal act of God, based upon redemption in Christ, establishing the believer
in a position of holiness at the moment he trusts the Saviour;
- A continuing process in the Saint as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God
to the life;
- The final accomplishment of this process at the Lord's return. (Hebrews 10:10-14;
John 17:17; II Corinthians 3:18; I Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 5:25-26; I Thessalonians
4:3-4; I John 3:2; Revelation 22:11)
The Security Of The Saints
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus
secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians
1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:4-5).
We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of
their salvation through testimony of God's Word which, however, clearly forbids
the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians
5:13; Titus 2:11-15).
Baptism
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, under
the authority of the local church, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful picture
of our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour. It was through Him that
we died to sin and rose to a new life. Baptism is a prerequisite to the privileges
of church membership. Immersion, as a believer, shall be a prerequisite to church
membership.
The Lord's Supper
We believe the Lord's Supper is always by solemn self-examination. We believe that
the biblical order of the ordinances is baptism and the Lord's Supper. (Acts 8:36,38,39;
John 3:23; Romans 6:3-5; Matthew 3:16; Colossians 2:12; I Corinthians 11:23-28;
Matthew 28:19,20; Acts 2:41-42)
Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach
upon their Saviour and Lord. Separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly
and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God. (Romans 12:1-2;
14:13; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)
The Rapture Of The Church
We believe in the imminent, pre-millennial return of Christ for his church. At that
time, the dead in Christ shall be raised in glorified bodies, and the living in
Christ shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. This will occur before the
tribulation begins. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:42-44, 51-54; Philippians
3:20,21; Revelation 3:10).
The Great Tribulation
We believe that the Great Tribulation, which follows the rapture of the church,
will be culminated by the revelation of Christ in power and great glory to sit upon
the throne of David and to establish the millennial reign of Christ. (Daniel 9:25-27;
Matthew 24:29-31; Luke 1:30-33; Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:1-9; Acts 2:29-30; Revelation 20:1-4,
6)
The Righteous And The Wicked
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous
and the wicked. Only those who are justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and
sanctified by the spirit of our God are truly righteous in His esteem. All who continue
in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked and under the curse.
This distinction holds among men both in and after death, in the everlasting bliss
of the saved, and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost in the lake of
fire. (Malachi 3:18; Genesis 18:23; Romans 6:17,18; I John 5:19; Romans 7:6; 6:23;
Proverbs 14:32; Luke 16:25; John 8:21; John 8:44; Revelation 20:14-15)
The Church
We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ,
is solely made up of born-again people. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2;
Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27)
We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught
and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy
3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).
We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or
control (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7,
13; 1 Peter 5:1-4).
Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic
institutions: The Home, The Church, and The State.
Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities
themselves) are answerable to God and governed by his Word. God has given each institution
specific biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the
understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other.
The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective
biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians
5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-14)
Divorce And Remarriage
We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the
spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the grounds
of fornication. Although divorced and remarried persons of divorced persons may
hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian
service, they may not be considered for the offices of Pastor or Deacon (Malachi
2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12;Titus 1:6).
Abortion
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living
human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human
life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due
to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control or
the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable (Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 139:14-16;
Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
Missions
We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the gospel
to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe,
ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors
of Christ, we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not
wait for them to come to us. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John
20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20)
Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of the portion of God's wealth entrusted
to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God
has established the tithe as a basis for giving but that every Christian should
also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church,
the relief of those in need, and the spread of the gospel. We believe that a Christian
relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift
has been made (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Corinthians 16:2;
2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17)
Reception Of Members
This church shall be composed of members who profess to be saved by grace, through
faith, and have been baptized following their profession of faith in Christ, by
single immersion in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Members may be received in one of four ways:
- By Baptism (immersion) as a true believer in Christ Jesus as personal Saviour.
- By letter of transfer from another Bible-believing church of like faith and practice
- By testimony of faith, having been baptized by immersion or
- By restoration, after public confession before the church of the sin(s) involved
The Pastor
The Pastor shall have charge of the spiritual welfare of the Church; he shall preach
the gospel, teach the Word, and have charge of the services of the Church; he shall
administer the ordinances and perform the usual duties of a Baptist minister. The
Pastor shall moderate the business sessions of the Church. The Pastor must meet
requirements of I Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9.
The Deacons
The Deacons shall consist of men elected by the Church. These shall be elected each
year for a term of three years. There shall be no specific required number of Deacons.
They must meet all the requirements of Acts 6 and I Timothy 3:8-13.
It shall be the duty of the Deacons to assist the Pastor in promoting the spiritual
welfare of the church; to be his helpers and counselors; to exercise prudent watch
care over the church membership; to seek out such members as need alms; to visit
the sick; to be active in the church visitation program; to examine, with the Pastor,
candidates for church membership; to assist at baptisms, their wives assisting the
ladies; and to supervise the preparation and distribution of the Lord's Supper.
Monetary Principles
The systematic giving of money for the support of the work of the Lord is worship
as well as duty. It must be kept in the plane of voluntary, free-will offerings.
All members are expected to give financial support to the Church. We believe and
affirm with the Scriptures that at least one-tenth of one's income should be faithfully
and cheerfully given. (II Corinthians 9:6-7) No monies shall be raised for the support
of the Church but by the biblical plan of tithes, and offerings, and gifts.
