Statement of Faith
Woodmont Baptist Church affirms the historic, robust, orthodox beliefs of the Christian faith. Classically, “orthodoxy” has been defined as what all Christians have believed at all times and in all places throughout history (Jude 3; 1 Timothy 1:3-4; 1 Timothy 6:3; 2 Peter 2:1). We also hold to the distinctive Baptist principles of the priesthood of believers – that people are able, through Christ Jesus, to relate to God without any other intermediary (Hebrews 4:14-16), and individual soul liberty – that each person is free, under the authority of God’s sovereignty and empowered by His grace, to choose to whom they will entrust their soul (Joshua 24:15; Revelation 22:17).
What We Believe About God
God is a personal God who is both sovereign (totally in control of everything – (Job 42:1-2; Isaiah 46:8-10; Romans 9:18) and good all the time (Psalm 119:68; Psalm 107:1; Matthew 19:17). He has existed before all time, and He will exist forever (Jude 1:25). God lovingly created the heavens and the universe and all that is in it (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 40:28; Revelation 22:13).
God is one God who has always existed and will always exist in the three persons of the Holy Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14; Luke 1:35; Matthew 28:19). The Trinity demonstrates both God’s unity and His relational nature (Ephesians 4:4-6).
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God the Father reigns from Heaven in sovereign power and eternal glory (Exodus 15:11-13)
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God the Son, while always being a part of the eternal Trinity, was born as a human and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father having completed his work on earth (John 1:14; Hebrews 9:12-15)
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God the Spirit indwells God’s people and gives them special gifts that serve the church (John 14:16-17; 1 Corinthians 12:3-11)
What We Believe About People
God made humans special from the rest of the created world – He created us in His own image (Genesis 1:26-30). This means that every person is born with the dignity of bearing God’s image to the rest of the world. Humanity is the crown of creation, made to fulfill God’s purposes in a special way (Genesis 2:15-19).
All people are born into a fallen world, and are therefore sinful from birth and in need of a Savior to make them whole (Romans 3:10,23). People are made to be in relationship with God and with other people (Genesis 2:18; Acts 17:26-31).
What We Believe About Salvation
The gospel is the good news that God, in His perfect plan to redeem all things, personally came to rescue us and undo the curse of sin (John 1:14; Galatians 4:4). By sending His Son, Jesus, God broke into our world in an amazing way that changed everything (Hebrews 1:2-3).
Jesus lived a perfect life among us, giving us words of life and showing us God’s good ways (Hebrews 4:15; John 6:68). Then, while we were in the wrong and He was in the right, He took the curse of sin upon Himself by dying on the cross, paying the debt for the sin of the world (2 Corinthians 5:21). God then raised him from the dead, defeating death, the power of sin, forever (John 11:25; 1 Peter 1:3).
People can become redeemed from their sin and brokenness and saved from death and despair by the grace of God through faith in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).
What We Believe About the Church
The Church universal is the body of Christ around the world (Galatians 3:28-29; Romans 12:4-5). Local Baptist churches are autonomous (there is no governing body outside our church), yet we seek to partner with other churches to bring about God’s Kingdom on earth. The Church is empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve as the hands and feet of Christ in a fallen world to work for redemption and healing (Genesis 12:3; John 15:16)
We believe that men and women are both made equally in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), and that both are capable of serving as Spiritually-gifted leaders and teachers in our church (Acts 16:40; 1 Corinthians 1:11, 16:19). Woodmont practices the ordinances of believers’ baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 11:24-26).
What We Believe About the Bible
The Bible is God’s holy Word and is exactly as He intended for it to be (2 Timothy 3:16). It is God’s gracious, written self-revelation to the world (Luke 24:27,44-45). It is a living document, and gives us eternal words of life, instruction, wisdom, and love (Hebrews 4:12). We know God better and grow in grace through deeply engaging His Word (Ephesians 1:15-17).
We seek to submit ourselves under the authority of God’s Word (2 Peter 1:20-21). We therefore approach scripture with humility, discipline, and faith (1 Thessalonians 2:13). We believe the Holy Spirit guides us as we engage with the Bible (1 Corinthians 2:13).
What We Believe About God's Mission
God is the hero, the protagonist, in the Story of everything. He made the cosmos “very good,” (Genesis 1:31) but then the first humans chose their own path over God’s path (Genesis 3). They missed the mark of God’s ways, which is called “sin.” Sin then plunged the creation into death, darkness and decay (Romans 8:19-20).
Ever since the fall of creation, God has been about the work of bringing it all back to Himself (Ephesians 1:9-10; Colossians 1:19-20). He is working out his purposes of redemption, re-creation, renewal, reversal, reconciliation, and restoration. The greatest part of this story is what we call “the gospel.”
What We Believe About Last Things
Jesus will come again to finish making all things new, once and for all (Matthew 16:27). We have a strong hope that He will break into our world and put an end to death and sin and evil (Philippians 3:20). He will then join with the Church in perfect unity forever in a New Creation that is a New Heavens and New Earth (Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21:1-5).