Ministry Distinctives

Berean Baptist Church > Ministry Distinctives

The Supremacy of God Over All Things

  • HIGH VIEW OF GOD: We proclaim a God-exalting theology (1Co 15:27-28), a God-centered worldview (Acts 17:26-27), and a God-glorifying approach to life and ministry (1Co 10:31).
  • GOD-HONORING WORSHIP: We cultivate a transcendent worship that produces the fear of God (Isa 6:1-4) and great joy (Psa 122:1).
  • GOD-DRIVEN CONVICTIONS: We promote a passion for God’s holy name and a defense of His glorious reputation (2Ch 6:32-33).

The Sufficiency of Scripture in All of Life

  • DIVINE REVELATION: We affirm the full inspiration (2Ti 3:16), complete inerrancy (Ecc 3:11), and total infallibility of Scripture (Pro 30:5-6).
  • BIBLICAL AUTHORITY:  We uphold that the Scripture alone is ultimately authoritative for the life of the church and for every believer (2Pe 1:21; 2Ti 3:16-17). We do not hold to the belief that any single translation of the Bible is inspired above another; nor do we use paraphrases or translations that fail to maintain the gender distinctions of male and female in the text.
  • FULL COUNSEL OF GOD: We acknowledge that the Scripture is sufficient for all matters of life and godliness, including equipping the saints for spiritual growth, guidance, counseling, and ministry (Eph 4:11-12).
  • EXPOSITORY PREACHING: We insist that the Scripture should be preached and taught in the power of the Holy Spirit (1Co 2:4-5), giving careful attention to sound doctrine (2Ti 4:2-3) and defense of the faith (Phi 1:7, 17; 1Pe 3:15).

Salvation by Grace through Faith

  • JESUS CHRIST: We insist that there is no salvation outside of the person and work of Jesus Christ God’s Only Son Who is also God the Son (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
  • REPENTANCE: We uphold that even in the age of grace God commands all men every where to repent (Acts 17:30).
  • FAITH: We believe that saving faith must be in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21; Rom 3:25; 1Jo 5:1).
  • WORKS: We affirm that salvific faith produces works which give evidence of authentic faith (Jam 2:18-20).
  • GRACE:  We believe that man, undeserving of God’s mercy, is saved by His unmerited, favor—sovereign grace—and grace alone (Eph 2:8-9).

Eschatology (the Study of the End Times)

  • SECOND COMING: We teach that Jesus the Christ will come again in the same literal sense He left (Acts 1:11), as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (2Ti 4:1; Rev 19:15), to judge the living and the dead, and to establish His eternal kingdom on a new earth (2Pe 3:13, Rev 21:1). We teach that the gathering of the elect (Mat 24:31) occurs after a period of great tribulation on the earth and is not separate from the Parousia (coming) (Mat 24:3, 24:29-31, 1Th 4:15-18, 2Th 2:1-4, Titus 2:13). We do not believe the Scripture teaches that believers have ever been nor will be in the future protected from persecution and tribulation through a distinct rapture event, including the Great Tribulation (John 16:33, Acts 14:22, Rev 1:9).
  • THE FUTURE: We teach that the plain understanding of “this age” and “the age to come” (Mat 12:32, Luke 18:30) is the best way to organize the future with the “day of the Lord” (Acts 2:20, 1Th 5:2, 2Pe 3:10), separating this present age and the eternal age to come (Eph 1:21, Heb 6:5, 2 Pe 1:11). We do not teach that there is another dispensation to come to fulfill covenant promises to Abraham or David. We believe those promises find their fulfillment in Christ, the church, and the gospel (Matt 16:18, 2 Cor 1:21). We believe the lake of fire, the second death, is the eternal future for the devil, the beast, the false prophet, all demons, and all unbelievers (Rev 20; 21:8).
  • ISRAEL: Concerning Israel, we do not teach that God has a separate future for ethnic national territorial (ENT) Israel. We believe the body of Christ is the Israel of God, the true Israel (Gal 6:16). We believe since God formed Israel from the seed of Abraham, there has always been ENT Israel and true (spiritual) Israel (Rom 2:9). We believe the church Christ is building is the Israel of God. Moreover, we believe the hope for all Israelites, and all other ethnicities, is found in “repentance toward God and faith in Christ” and His gospel (Acts 2:38, 20:21). We do not believe God has a separate future plan for ENT Israel. We believe the church must go to ENT Israel, like all the nations, and make disciples (Mat 28:18-20).
  • KINGDOM: We believe the NT uses “kingdom” to describe a present tense reality: the people of God submitted to Christ as King and a future reality. We pray, “Your kingdom come” (Mat 6:10) and strive to live in such a way that King Jesus rules and reigns in our lives as we long for the arrival of the eternal kingdom (1Co 15:24, 2Pe 1:11). We teach this as the already and not-yet aspects of the kingdom the Lord and His Christ (Rev 11:15). The elders do not believe there will be a separate kingdom for Israel after the Parousia and before the new earth. Yet we do not require members to abandon such an understanding of the future.

Believer’s Baptism

  • BAPTISM: We believe that only those who have been born-again should be baptized, in obedience to our Lord, and the only scriptural baptism is baptism by immersion. Check out our Baptism page for more on baptism.

Spiritual Gifts

  • GIFTS: We believe God bestows upon all believers spiritual gifts (Rom 12:6-9) that are to be used for the spreading of the gospel and the edification of the body of Christ (1Co 12:25-31).
  • SIGN-GIFTS: We believe that a believer does not need to speak in tongues to have an assurance of their salvation. Moreover, we believe that the primary purpose of the sign-gifts was to authenticate the authority and ministry of the apostles (Mark 16:15-18; 2Co 12:12; Heb 2:4). We insist that one can experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit without the manifestation of the sign-gifts of tongues, prophecy or the gift of healing (Eph 5:18-20).

More Information

Check out our discipleship page for more about how converts are discipled at Berean.