1. The Scriptures

We believe that the Bible, consisting of sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the verbally inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. The Bible is God- breathed, and is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

We further believe that God has promised to preserve His words to every generation. We believe the Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Received Text of the New Testament (Textus Receptus) are those texts of the original languages that carry the full authority of the original autographs. It is from these texts that the King James or Authorized Version is translated. The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official and only English translation used by the church.

For languages other than English, we believe the translation must be based upon the Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Received Text (Textus Receptus) of the New Testament.

2. The Godhead

We believe in the one triune God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, co-eternal in being, co-equal in power and glory, and co-equal in attributes and perfections.

3. The Person and Work of God the Father

We believe in God the Father, a perfect Spirit in whom all things have their source, support and end. He is perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power, everywhere present, never changing, and ever loving. He hears and answers prayers, and accepts those who come to him through Jesus Christ.

4. The Person and Work of Christ

We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the second Person of the Triune God, the eternal Word and only begotten Son; that without any change in His divine Person, He became man through the miracle of the Virgin Birth, thus to continue forever as both true God and true man; that as man He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin; that as the perfect Lamb of God He gave Himself in death by the shedding of His blood upon the cross, bearing there the sin of the world, and suffering its full penalty of divine wrath in our stead; that He arose from the grave in a glorified body; that as our great High Priest He ascended into Heaven, where He is now exalted at the right hand of the Father and ministers as our Advocate and Intercessor.

We believe in the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones, and in His subsequent return to the earth with His saints to establish His millennial kingdom.

5. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Holy Trinity, inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit acts in a variety of capacities in this age. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; He bears witness to the Truth; He is the agent of the new birth; He baptizes all true believers into the body of Christ at the moment of regeneration; and He indwells, guides, teaches, and comforts those who are saved.

6. Satan

We believe in the existence of Satan, the devil, who was created as a perfect angelic being; who willfully led a host of other angels in rebellion against God. He is the author of sin and wickedness; he is the accuser of the saints, the tempter of all men; and he shall be cast into the lake of fire with his followers at the end of the millennium. We also believe his powers are vast, but strictly limited by the permissive will of God, who overrules all his wicked devises for good; that he was defeated at the cross, and therefore, his final doom is certain; that we are able to resist and overcome him only in the armor of the Holy Spirit.

7. Man and His Depravity

We believe that man was created in the image of God with a body, soul, and spirit; that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death and a sin nature. All human beings are, therefore, born with this sin nature and become sinners in thought, word, and deed.

8. Salvation

We believe that the salvation of sinful man is wholly by God’s grace and not by any work of man. We believe that Jesus Christ came into the world to make full atonement for sinners by His shed blood on the cross, His vicarious death, and His bodily resurrection from the dead; that by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, one receives eternal life and power to overcome sin; that the believer is indwelt immediately by the Holy Spirit upon putting his faith in Christ, and is regenerated, justified, and sanctified.

9. Eternal Life

We believe that, once a person is saved, he/she has eternal life and, after death or the rapture, will spend eternity in bliss with God.

10. Sanctification

We believe that sanctification is threefold and is the divine setting apart of the believer unto God to accomplish the will of God.

1. It is an act of God, based on the work of Christ, establishing the believer in a position of holiness at the moment of salvation.
2. It is a continuing process in the life of a child of God as he/she draws closer to the Lord by the understanding of scripture and work of the Holy Spirit.
3. The final accomplishment of this process will be the Lord’s return when the saints will be changed and become like Jesus.

11. Spiritual Gifts

We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts, and that He bestows gifts as is necessary to teach all nations. We believe that the sign gifts, including speaking in tongues, have ceased, and are not valid gifts of the Holy Spirit today.

12. The Church

We believe that a local, New Testament church is an assembly of baptized believers associated together by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel, whose purpose is the proclamation of the Gospel, the instruction and edification of the saints, the observance of the ordinances; and the faithful contending for the faith once delivered to the saints; that its Biblical officers are two, pastor (elder, bishop) and deacon; and that each local church has the absolute right of self government without any outside interference, whether individual or ecclesiastical, and that the one and only Head of the church is Christ.

We further believe in the authority and responsibility of the church to exercise New Testament church discipline upon offending members and that each member is subject to such discipline if, in the judgment of the church, the member is determined to be a reproach upon Christ and the church in either attitude, creed, or conduct. Therefore, any person desiring membership in a New Testament church willingly submits himself to the disciplinary authority of the church.

Furthermore, we believe that in the event of differences and conflicts arising between believers, the Scripture requires that those differences and conflicts be settled between the believers involved or, if necessary, with the judgment of the church, without resorting to the secular court system.

13. Separation

We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Saviour and Lord, and that separation from all worldly and sinful pleasures and practices is commanded by God. We further believe that the Scriptures plainly teach that a Christian should not marry or have other entangling alliances with unbelievers.

14. The Priesthood

We believe that Christ is our great high priest, and through Him every born-again person has direct access into the presence of God, without the need of a human priest; that the believer has the personal right and responsibility to study and interpret the scriptures, guided by the Holy Spirit.

15. Two Ordinances

We believe that the church has two ordinances that are to be observed today:

1. Baptism by immersion is commanded for those who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. Baptism has no saving qualities, but pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and is an act of obedience for the new believer.
2. The Lord’s Supper is an observance of the death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The bread and the fruit of the vine are symbols of the body and the blood that Christ gave for us on the cross. There are no saving merits in the partaking of the Lord’s Supper.

16. Missions

Because all men everywhere without Christ are lost and bound for eternal punishment, and because men cannot believe in Him of whom they have not heard, we believe that we are debtors to all men and have the responsibility of giving them the gospel. We believe that it is a command of our Lord to take the gospel to the lost. This is accomplished in two ways:

• By being an active witness to every creature, sharing the good news of the gospel everywhere we go.
• When unable to go ourselves, such as to foreign lands, we support missionaries and mission projects that will take the message of Jesus Christ to these foreign lands as we give unto them financially and prayerfully. We will not support any missionary or mission work that is affiliated in any way the apostates or with any teaching contrary to the Word of God.

17. Church and State

We believe that, as good Christians, we are to obey the laws of the land, provided that the laws do not violate our ability to serve our Saviour. In the case where man’s law violates God’s principles, we are to obey God rather than man. We believe that we are to pray for our government leaders, even if they are wicked, because it is God who sets up one and takes down another to establish His purpose among men. We further believe that the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord.

18. Eternal State

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust. We believe in the literal existence of both Heaven and Hell; that at death the spirits of the saved go immediately to be with Christ in Heaven; that likewise at death the spirits of the unsaved go immediately to Hell, where they are kept under punishment until the final day of judgment, at which time they will be raised to stand before the Great White Throne, and then be cast into the Lake of Fire, the place of final, conscious, and everlasting punishment.

19. The Family

We believe in the institution of the home as defined by Scripture; that it was divinely established in the beginning as the union by marriage of a male and female; that it is the basic unit of society; that each family member, husband, wife, or child, has distinct duties and responsibilities. It is the responsibility of parents to train up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and to provide them with Godly instruction and discipline.

Men and women are spiritually equal in position before God. God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by Gateway Baptist Church.

We believe any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, transexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, and adultery are chosen lifestyles that violate the teachings of Scripture. We believe that such conduct is sinful and abominable in the sight of God, believing also that those involved in such behavior may be forgiven as others, such as fornicators and adulterers, through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.

20. Abortion

We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the murder of the unborn human life.