NBC Confessional Statement

(Updated March 25, 2011)

1. The Tri-une God
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three eqally divine !ersons" the #ather, the $on,
and the %oly $pirit, &ho 'no&, love, and glori(y one another) *his one tre and living God is
in(initely per(ect both in his love and in his holiness) %e is the +reator o( all things, visible
and invisible, and is there(ore &orthy to receive all glory and adoration) ,--ortal and
eternal, he per(ectly and exhastively 'no&s the end (ro- the beginning, sstains and
sovereignly rles over all things, and providentially brings abot his eternal good prposes to
redee- a people (or hi-sel( and restore his (allen creation, to the praise o( his glorios grace)
2) Revelation
God has graciosly disclosed his existence and po&er in the created order, and has spre-ely
revealed hi-sel( to (allen h-an beings in the person o( his $on, the incarnate Word)
Moreover, this God is a spea'ing God &ho by his $pirit has graciosly disclosed hi-sel( in
h-an &ords" &e believe that God has inspired the &ords preserved in the $criptres, the
sixty.six boo's o( the /ld and 0e& *esta-ents, &hich are both record and -eans o( his
saving &or' in the &orld) *hese &ritings alone constitte the verbally inspired Word o( God,
&hich is tterly athoritative and &ithot error in the original &ritings, co-plete in its
revelation o( his &ill (or salvation, s((icient (or all that God reqires s to believe and do,
and (inal in its athority over every do-ain o( 'no&ledge to &hich it spea's) We con(ess that
both or (initde and or sin(lness preclde the possibility o( 'no&ing God1s trth
exhastively, bt &e a((ir- that, enlightened by the $pirit o( God, &e can 'no& God1s
revealed trth trly) *he 2ible is to be believed, as God1s instrction, in all that it teaches3
obeyed, as God1s co--and, in all that it reqires3 and trsted, as God1s pledge, in all that it
pro-ises) 4s God1s people hear, believe, and do the Word, they are eqipped as disciples o(
+hrist and &itnesses to the gospel)
5) Creation of Humanity
We believe that God created h-an beings, -ale and (e-ale, in his o&n i-age) 4da- and
6ve belonged to the created order that God hi-sel( declared to be very good, serving as
God1s agents to care (or, -anage, and govern creation, living in holy and devoted (ello&ship
&ith their Ma'er) Men and &o-en, eqally -ade in the i-age o( God, en7oy eqal access to
God by (aith in +hrist 8ess and are both called to -ove beyond passive sel(.indlgence to
signi(icant private and pblic engage-ent in (a-ily, chrch, and civic li(e) 4da- and 6ve
&ere -ade to co-ple-ent each other in a one.(lesh nion that establishes the only nor-ative
pattern o( sexal relations (or -en and &o-en, sch that -arriage lti-ately serves as a type
o( the nion bet&een +hrist and his chrch) ,n God1s &ise prposes, -en and &o-en are not
si-ply interchangeable, bt rather they co-ple-ent each other in -tally enriching &ays)
God ordains that they ass-e distinctive roles &hich re(lect the loving relationship bet&een
+hrist and the chrch, the hsband exercising headship in a &ay that displays the caring,
sacri(icial love o( +hrist, and the &i(e sb-itting to her hsband in a &ay that -odels the
love o( the chrch (or her 9ord) ,n the -inistry o( the chrch, both -en and &o-en are
encoraged to serve +hrist and to be developed to their (ll potential in the -ani(old
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-inistries o( the people o( God) *he distinctive leadership role &ithin the chrch given to
qali(ied -en is gronded in creation, (all, and rede-ption and -st not be sidelined by
appeals to cltral develop-ents)
:) The Fall
We believe that 4da-, -ade in the i-age o( God, distorted that i-age and (or(eited his
original blessedness;(or hi-sel( and all his progeny;by (alling into sin throgh $atan1s
te-ptation) 4s a reslt, all h-an beings are alienated (ro- God, corrpted in every aspect o(
their being (e)g), physically, -entally, volitionally, e-otionally, spiritally) and conde-ned
(inally and irrevocably to death;apart (ro- God1s o&n gracios intervention) *he spre-e
need o( all h-an beings is to be reconciled to the God nder &hose 7st and holy &rath &e
stand3 the only hope o( all h-an beings is the ndeserved love o( this sa-e God, &ho alone
can resce s and restore s to hi-sel()
5) The Plan of God
We believe that (ro- all eternity God deter-ined in grace to save a great -ltitde o( gilty
sinners (ro- every tribe and langage and people and nation, and to this end (ore'ne& the-
and chose the-) We believe that God 7sti(ies and sancti(ies those &ho by grace have (aith in
8ess, and that he &ill one day glori(y the-;all to the praise o( his glorios grace) ,n love
God co--ands and i-plores all people to repent and believe, having set his saving love on
those he has chosen and having ordained +hrist to be their <edee-er)
=) The Gospel
We believe that the gospel is the good ne&s o( 8ess +hrist;God1s very &isdo-) Utter (olly
to the &orld, even thogh it is the po&er o( God to those &ho are being saved, this good
ne&s is +hrist.centered, centering on the cross and resrrection" the gospel is not proclai-ed
i( +hrist is not proclai-ed, and the athentic +hrist has not been proclai-ed i( his death and
resrrection are not central (the -essage is >+hrist died (or or sins ) ) ) ?and@ &as raisedA))
*his good ne&s is biblical (his death and resrrection are according to the $criptres),
theological and salvi(ic (+hrist died (or or sins, to reconcile s to God), historical (i( the
saving events did not happen, or (aith is &orthless, &e are still in or sins, and &e are to be
pitied -ore than all others), apostolic (the -essage &as entrsted to and trans-itted by the
apostles, &ho &ere &itnesses o( these saving events), and intensely personal (&here it is
received, believed, and held (ir-ly, individal persons are saved))
B) The Redemption of Christ
We believe that, -oved by love and in obedience to his #ather, the eternal $on beca-e
h-an" the Word beca-e (lesh, (lly God and (lly h-an being, one !erson in t&o natres)
*he -an 8ess, the pro-ised Messiah o( ,srael, &as conceived throgh the -iraclos
agency o( the %oly $pirit, and &as born o( the virgin Mary) %e per(ectly obeyed his heavenly
#ather, lived a sinless li(e, per(or-ed -iraclos signs, &as crci(ied nder !ontis !ilate,
arose bodily (ro- the dead on the third day, and ascended into heaven) 4s the -ediatorial
Cing, he is seated at the right hand o( God the #ather, exercising in heaven and on earth all o(
God1s sovereignty, and is or %igh !riest and righteos 4dvocate) We believe that by his
incarnation, li(e, death, resrrection, and ascension, 8ess +hrist acted as or representative
and sbstitte) %e did this so that in hi- &e -ight beco-e the righteosness o( God" on the
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cross he canceled sin, propitiated God, and, by bearing the (ll penalty o( or sins, reconciled
to God all those &ho believe) 2y his resrrection +hrist 8ess &as vindicated by his #ather,
bro'e the po&er o( death and de(eated $atan &ho once had po&er over it, and broght
everlasting li(e to all his people3 by his ascension he has been (orever exalted as 9ord and has
prepared a place (or s to be &ith hi-) We believe that salvation is (ond in no one else, (or
there is no other na-e given nder heaven by &hich &e -st be saved) 2ecase God chose
the lo&ly things o( this &orld, the despised things, the things that are not, to nlli(y the things
that are, no h-an being can ever boast be(ore hi-;+hrist 8ess has beco-e (or s &isdo-
(ro- God;that is, or righteosness, holiness, and rede-ption)
D) The ustifi!ation of Sinners
We believe that +hrist, by his obedience and death, (lly discharged the debt o( all his
people) 2y his sacri(ice, he bore in or stead the pnish-ent de s (or or sins, -a'ing a
proper, real, and (ll satis(action to God1s 7stice on or behal() 2y his per(ect obedience he
satis(ied the 7st de-ands o( God on or behal(, since by (aith alone that per(ect obedience is
credited to all &ho trst in +hrist alone (or their acceptance &ith God) ,nas-ch as +hrist
&as given by the #ather (or s, and his obedience and pnish-ent &ere accepted in place o(
or o&n, (reely and not (or anything in s, this 7sti(ication is solely o( (ree grace, in order
that both the exact 7stice and the rich grace o( God -ight be glori(ied in the 7sti(ication o(
sinners) We believe that a Eeal (or personal and pblic obedience (lo&s (ro- this (ree
7sti(ication)
F) The Po"er of the Holy Spirit
We believe that this salvation, attested in all $criptre and secred by 8ess +hrist, is applied
to his people by the %oly $pirit) $ent by the #ather and the $on, the %oly $pirit glori(ies the
9ord 8ess +hrist, and, as the >otherG !araclete, is present &ith and in all believers) %e
convicts the &orld o( sin, righteosness, and 7dg-ent, and by his po&er(l and -ysterios
&or' regenerates spiritally dead sinners, a&a'ening the- to repentance and (aith, baptiEing
the- into nion &ith the 9ord 8ess, sch that they are 7sti(ied be(ore God by grace alone
throgh (aith alone in 8ess +hrist alone) 2y the $pirit1s agency, believers are rene&ed,
sancti(ied, and adopted into God1s (a-ily3 they participate in the divine natre and receive
his sovereignly distribted gi(ts) *he %oly $pirit is hi-sel( the do&n pay-ent o( the
pro-ised inheritance, and in this age ind&ells, gides, instrcts, eqips, revives, and
e-po&ers believers (or +hrist.li'e living and service)
10) The #in$dom of God
We believe that those &ho have been saved by the grace o( God throgh nion &ith +hrist by
(aith and throgh regeneration by the %oly $pirit enter the 'ingdo- o( God and delight in the
blessings o( the ne& covenant" the (orgiveness o( sins, the in&ard trans(or-ation that
a&a'ens a desire to glori(y, trst, and obey God, and the certain hope o( the glory yet to be
revealed) Good &or's constitte indispensable evidence o( saving grace) 9iving as salt in a
&orld that is decaying and light in a &orld that is dar', believers shold neither &ithdra&
into seclsion (ro- the &orld, nor beco-e indistingishable (ro- it" rather, &e are to do
good to the city, (or all the glory and honor o( the nations is to be o((ered p to the living
God) <ecogniEing &hose created order this is, and becase &e are citiEens o( God1s
'ingdo-, &e are to love or neighbors as orselves, doing good to all, especially to those
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&ho belong to the hosehold o( God) *he 'ingdo- o( God, already present bt not (lly
realiEed, is the exercise o( God1s sovereignty in the &orld to&ard the evental rede-ption o(
all creation) *he 'ingdo- o( God is an invasive po&er that plnders $atan1s dar' 'ingdo-
and regenerates and renovates throgh repentance and (aith the lives o( individals resced
(ro- that 'ingdo-) ,t there(ore inevitably establishes a ne& co--nity o( h-an li(e
together nder God)
11) God%s Ne" People
We believe that God1s ne& covenant people have already co-e to the heavenly 8ersale-3
they are already seated &ith +hrist in the heavenlies) *his niversal chrch is -ani(est in
local chrches o( &hich +hrist is the only %ead3 ths each >local chrchG is, in (act, the
chrch, the hosehold o( God, the asse-bly o( the living God, and the pillar and (ondation
o( the trth) *he chrch is the body o( +hrist, the apple o( his eye, graven on his hands, and
he has pledged hi-sel( to her (orever) *he chrch is distingished by her gospel -essage, her
sacred ordinances, her discipline, her great -ission, and, above all, by her love (or God, and
by her -e-bers1 love (or one another and (or the &orld) +rcially, this gospel &e cherish has
both personal and corporate di-ensions, neither o( &hich -ay properly be overloo'ed) +hrist
8ess is or peace" he has not only broght abot peace &ith God, bt also peace bet&een
alienated peoples) %is prpose &as to create in hi-sel( one ne& h-anity, ths -a'ing
peace, and in one body to reconcile both 8e& and Gentile to God throgh the cross, by &hich
he pt to death their hostility) *he chrch serves as a sign o( God1s (tre ne& &orld &hen its
-e-bers live (or the service o( one another and their neighbors, rather than (or sel(.(ocs)
*he chrch is the corporate d&elling place o( God1s $pirit, and the contining &itness to God
in the &orld)
12) Baptism and the &ord%s Supper
4) We believe that +hristian baptis- and the 9ord1s $pper are ordained by the 9ord 8ess
hi-sel() *he (or-er is connected &ith entrance into the ne& covenant co--nity, the
latter &ith ongoing covenant rene&al) *ogether they are si-ltaneosly God1s pledge to
s, divinely ordained -eans o( grace, or pblic vo&s o( sb-ission to the once crci(ied
and no& resrrected +hrist, and anticipations o( his retrn and o( the cons--ation o( all
things)
2) We believe that proper +hristian 2aptis- is the i--ersion in &ater o( a believer, into the
na-e o( the #ather, and $on, and %oly Ghost3 to sho& (orth in a sole-n and beati(l
e-ble-, or (aith in the crci(ied, bried, and risen $avior, &ith its e((ect, in or death to
sin and resrrection to a ne& li(e3 that it is ordinarily a prereqisite to the privileges o( a
chrch relation3 and to the 9ordHs $pper, in &hich the -e-bers o( the chrch by the
sacred se o( bread and &ine, are to co--e-orate together the dying love o( +hrist3
preceded al&ays by sole-n sel(.exa-ination)
+) We believe that or gospel nity secres a nity &ith or pedobaptist brethren that
transcends or disagree-ent on this i-portant isse) *he 6lders at 0aset 2aptist +hrch
-ay reco--end (or -e-bership to the chrch a brother &ho in good conscience
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disagrees &ith or nderstanding o( +hristian baptis- as stated above in section 12.2
&ith the (ollo&ing stiplations"
1) *hey can a((ir- section 12.4
2) *heir vie&s are sincerely held, clearly nderstood and biblically de(ended)
5) *hey can in good conscience live nder the athority o( this local chrch leadership
&ith a clear nderstanding that in(ant baptis- &old not be practiced here)
:) *hey &old in &ord, attitde and practice, &ith God1s gracios help, treat this -atter
as both i-portant bt secondary and cold 7oy(lly serve side by side &ith their
brothers to pro-ote the nity and glory o( the gospel)
5) *hey &old be &illing to discss the -atter as it ca-e p in di((erent teaching
settings &ith h-ility and a desire to bild p the body o( +hrist)
15) The Restoration of 'll Thin$s
We believe in the personal, glorios, and bodily retrn o( or 9ord 8ess +hrist &ith his holy
angels, &hen he &ill exercise his role as (inal 8dge, and his 'ingdo- &ill be cons--ated)
We believe in the bodily resrrection o( both the 7st and the n7st;the n7st to 7dg-ent
and eternal conscios pnish-ent in hell, as or 9ord hi-sel( taght, and the 7st to eternal
blessedness in the presence o( hi- &ho sits on the throne and o( the 9a-b, in the ne& heaven
and the ne& earth, the ho-e o( righteosness) /n that day the chrch &ill be presented
(altless be(ore God by the obedience, s((ering and tri-ph o( +hrist, all sin prged and its
&retched e((ects (orever banished) God &ill be all in all and his people &ill be enthralled by
the i--ediacy o( his ine((able holiness, and everything &ill be to the praise o( his glorios
grace)
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