What We Believe

---

Biblical: Providence Reformed Baptist Church holds the Bible to be the only standard by which we determine what we will teach and what we believe. Our conscience is bound by Scripture alone in the duty God requires of us, the doctrine we hold to, and the ordering of our church. 

Historically Grounded: Being grounded in the Scriptures alone, our faith “was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3 NKJV). For this reason, we find church history of great value as we see that faith confessed by the church over nearly two thousand years.

Reformed Baptist:  We are not part of a denomination, yet we do think it is helpful to be open and up-front regarding what we believe. We know that saying we are Baptist would mean many things to many people, and so we narrow the field by making clear that we believe that the Bible teaches what is historically known as the Reformed faith.

Confessional: The term Reformed Baptist has clear historic definition; it is not a term we assign our own meaning to. As a church, we hold to the statement of faith for Baptists of a Reformed position set forward at the end of the 17th century: The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith that has come to be referred to as the 1689 Confession. We are in thorough agreement with the confession, not on its own authority, but because we believe it to be thoroughly Biblical.

How did the 1689 Confession Come About?  The Confession is the result of many careful statements of what the Bible teaches on various subjects that have been published over the past two thousand years of Church history. We highlight the following as the major features of the confession and therefore what it means to be Reformed Baptist:

Orthodox Christianity in the Early Church: 

The central truths of the Christian Faith and the Gospel, the Doctrine of the Trinity, the Person of Christ, the Bible as the Inspired Word of God, and salvation by the grace of God alone in view of the corruption of the entirety of man’s being in his fall into sin.

The Reformers in the Protestant Reformation: 

The five Solas: Scripture Alone, Christ Alone, Faith Alone, Grace Alone, to the Glory of God Alone

The Reformed Faith: 

The Regulative Principle of Worship, the abiding authority of the Moral Law of God in its three uses regarding sin and righteousness (exposing/convicting, restraining/encouraging, and instructing/guiding) and the Doctrines of Grace (what has become known as the Five Points of Calvinism).

Puritan Theology and Practice: 

Covenant Theology, and the continued validity of the Fourth Commandment in the Lord’s Day as the Christian Sabbath.

Congregationalist Church Order: 

Christ’s Headship over independent congregations, and the Civil Magistrate denied authority over churches in religious affairs.

Baptist Church Order: 

Believers baptism by immersion, church membership for believers only, Covenant Theology fully consistent with Baptist distinctives, and true separation of church and state with full religious liberty. 

Note: For those interested in a more detailed explanation, we have provided an expanded answer to the question, What is a Reformed Baptist? You can reach this from the button below.