The Trinity
It is the testimony of Scripture – both Old and New Testaments – and of the Christian Church that God is Triune. The biblical revelation testifies that there is only one God, and that He exists eternally in three distinct and co-equal divine Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God the Father
God the Father is the Creator and sustainer of all things, who created the universe in love to respond to Himself. He created man (both male and female) in His own image for fellowship, and calls them back to Himself through Christ after the rebellion and fall of mankind.
The Son
Jesus Christ is eternally God. He was together with the Father and the Holy Spirit from the beginning, and through him all things were made. For man’s redemption He left heaven and was born from the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and with the Son as God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for holy living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. The Christian seeks to live under His control daily.
The Scriptures
We affirm that the Bible, in its entirety, is the inspired Word of God. As the Word of God, the Bible is the ultimate and final authority on all matters that it affirms: either positively or negatively. The Bible—both Old and New Testaments—contains everything that the believer needs to know for salvation, and is capable of thoroughly equipping the believer to live the life of holiness that God has called them to live. We believe that the Scriptures are wholly without error in their original manuscripts and that the canon of Scripture is closed; therefore, the 66 books contained in the Bible are all of the inspired books from God and cannot be added to or subtracted from. All doctrine and teaching is only as authoritative as it is faithfully representative of the true and intended teaching of God’s inspired and inerrant Word.
Salvation
We affirm that salvation is not attained by religious works, but by the grace of God alone and is received by the individual through faith alone. The Word of God declares clearly that salvation is a free gift of God, based on the merits of the death of His Son, and is appropriated by faith. Salvation is received by personal repentance (a turning away from sin and rebellion against God and turning towards God in faith as Lord and Savior), belief on the Lord Jesus, and personal acceptance of Him into one’s life as Lord and Savior. The new life in Christ includes the privileges of adoption and inheritance in the Kingdom of God’s beloved Son. The Scriptures proclaim both the Sovereignty of God in salvation and also the responsibility on Man to respond to the gospel. For those who believe, they are predestined to be conformed to the image of their Lord and Savior. All who accept the gospel through repentance and faith can have hope in their eternal security if they endure until the end, because the promise is based on the eternal, unchanging commitment of God, who does not lie and is forever the same. True salvation will produce an active lifestyle of loving obedience and service to Jesus Christ our Savior.
The Christian Life
We believe that the Scriptures portray the life of the saint in this world to be one of balance between what is declared about us as Christians (by God) and what is given to us according to our faith and maturity (by God). Hence God’s provision for His children is total and the promises are final and are forever. The shortcomings of the individual and of the Church are because of the still progressing work of God in bringing about holiness (sanctification) in the lives of the saints. The Christian life is filled with trials, tests, and warfare against a spiritual enemy. For those abiding in Christ until their death or His return, the promises of eternal blessing in the presence of God are assured. To remain faithful through all circumstances of life requires dependence upon the Holy Spirit and a willingness to die to personal desires and passions.
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
The Word of God describes two perpetual ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Church. The first, water baptism, is the outward sign of what God has already done in the believer’s life, and is a public testimony to all that the person belongs now to Jesus. Baptism allows believers to publicly identify with Jesus and is performed in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The second, the Lord’s Supper, is a commemoration of the sacrificial and substitutional death of the Lord and is done in remembrance of Him until He comes again, and is a sign of our participation in Him. Both institutions are restricted to those who are born again believers.
Marriage
“Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife…”, “…For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,…”, “Each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.”, “Finally the time came for him to marry her.” It is our sincere belief that marriage, as ordained by God, must be between one man and one woman. No other can be performed or condoned. (Jeremiah 29:6; Romans 7:2; Genesis 21:21; Genesis 29:21; 1 Corinthians 7:2, 36, 39; Genesis 2:23-24; Ephesians 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:25, 28-29, 31, 33).
Eschatology / End Times
We affirm the bodily, personal, second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His kingdom. This will occur at a date undisclosed by the Scriptures. We affirm the final judgment which will determine the eternal status of both the saints and the unbelievers, according to their relationship with Jesus Christ. We affirm with the Bible the final state of the New Heavens and New Earth.
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
We affirm the reality of the gifts of the Spirit and agree with the Scriptures that it is God who gifts all followers of Christ for the purpose of building up the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:11; Ephesians 4:7-16). We believe that God is sovereign and that He can (and does) continue to distribute the spiritual gifts that are listed in such places as Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4. We also affirm with the Scriptures that the exercise of these gifts should be done fittingly and in order, especially in the corporate worship service (1 Corinthians 14:39-40). It is our most earnest desire to worship the living God in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24) and to allow Him the freedom to move in our midst as He sees fit (1 Thessalonians 5:19). However, we also affirm that it is the Giver that we are seeking, not the Gifts themselves (Acts 8:14-24). The leadership of BCC seeks to help all followers of Christ to identify their spiritual gift(s) and to equip, empower, and release those who understand their spiritual gift(s) into fitting service for the King of kings.
