Our Beliefs

PBC Statement of Faith

THE TRINITY: The Bible presents God as one God in three Persons, referred to as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with three distinguishable functions. They are in perfect unity and harmony in everlasting love.  God the Father planned our redemption, the Son accomplished it, and the Spirit applies redemption to our lives.
 
THE BIBLE:  The Bible, both Old and New Testaments. is the written Word of God.  It is inspired by the Holy Spirit, every word and all its parts in the original documents.  The Bible is without error in all it states.  It is the only infallible authority for Christian faith and practice and the power of God unto salvation.
 
HUMANITY: The first humans were created by God, in God's image, both male and female, through acts of special divine creation.  They were originally perfect and had uninterrupted fellowship with God.  However, they were willfully involved in sin and so suffered separation from God through death. This death is both physical and spiritual and involves the entire human race.  Sin is imputed to all humanity.  Because God is holy, He must punish and condemn sin.
 
JESUS CHRIST:  Jesus Christ died on a cross as a vicarious substitute, the perfect, complete and only sacrifice necessary to restore people back into a relationship with God.  Through faith in Him, we are delivered from the guilt, penalty, dominion and corruption of sin so that we may enjoy salvation both now and forever.  
 
RESURRECTION:  Although Jesus died, death did not triumph over Him.  On the third day, He rose from the dead in bodily form and, after numerous post-resurrection appearances, ascended to the right hand of the Father.  He is now interceding on our behalf.
   
THE HOLY SPIRIT:  The Holy Spirit works in the believer and the unbeliever. He convinces the unbeliever of the reality of personal sin, that righteousness is available, and that judgment is inevitable.  In the believer, He regenerates and indwells to empower, sanctify, comfort, and guide.  He seals believers until the end, gives gifts for service, glorifies Jesus Christ in and through us, and teaches believers.   His work is inexhaustible.
 
SALVATION:  By putting our faith in Jesus Christ, we are justified and declared righteous. God, in justifying us by grace through faith in Christ, credits us with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  That is, in justifying us, God imputes the righteousness of Christ to our account.
 
CHURCH:  The universal church is the Church of Christ, made up of the whole number of regenerate believers in Jesus Christ throughout the world. The church is universal in that it is not confined to any place or people and is the extension of the ministry of Jesus Christ.  The work of Christ will be done on earth through His church.
 
ANGELS:  We believe that angels are a distinct order of created spiritual beings; that they can appear in human form; that good angels minister to human beings and serve God as special messengers; that Satan, a fallen angel, and his evil angels whom he leads, exercise great but limited evil power in the world, and will suffer final defeat at the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
CHRISTIAN CONDUCT: We believe that a Christian should live for the glory of God and the well-being of his fellow men; that his conduct should be blameless before the world; that he should be a faithful steward of his possessions; and that he should seek to realize for himself and others the full stature of maturity in Christ.
 
THE ORDINANCES: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: baptism and the Lord's Supper.  Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water into the name of the triune God. The Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. These two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.                                  
 
THE LAST THINGS: The return of Christ will be visible and accompanied by great carnage on earth.  His return will be unexpected and sudden.  By His coming, the Lord will deliver His people and gather to Himself His elect from all ages.