What We Believe

We believe in the one true God who co-exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). God the Father is an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect is all his attributes. He is concerned and acts in the affairs of men and women, hears and answers prayers, and will save all who come to him through his Son, Jesus Christ.

We believe in Christ's deity and his lordship over all (John 1:1,14; Phil. 2:5-11). Jesus Christ is God's eternal Son and is of the same divine essence as the Father, possessing the same attributes and perfections of the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Son is not only truly God, but also truly man. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We believe in his sinless life, atoning death on the cross, his burial, his literal resurrection to life, and his ascension to heaven.

We believe the Holy Spirit indwells each believer to make us effective in our ministry (Acts 1:8; Eph. 5:18). The Holy Spirit includes the believer's regeneration, sanctification, and preservation.

We believe in the divine inspiration and final authority of God's Word (2 Tim. 3:16,17). Both the Old and New Testaments are inerrant in the original writings, the complete revelation of God, and are the supreme and final authority in all matters to which they speak.

We believe that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Acts 4:12; Eph. 2:8). Salvation is received through faith apart from any human merit, works, or ritual. We believe salvation results in righteous living, good works, and proper social concern. There is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ.

We believe the local church is commissioned to spread the good news of Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18-20). The Great Commission given by Jesus is the mission of the local church. The local church exists to make disciples, mature believers, and expand ministries.

We believe love to be an essential ingredient in the life of every believer and is the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 13). Each believer is called to glorify God through his or her life; therefore each is responsible to live blameless lives before the world.

We believe in Christ's lordship over all that we have including our money, time, and talents (Prov. 3:9; Matt. 25:14-27). Each Christian is to be a faithful steward of all possessions and seek to realize full maturity in Christ in every area of life.

We believe in lifting up the Lord Jesus Christ through singing and other expressions of worship and praise (Psalm 100:4-5).

We believe in the actual return of Jesus Christ to receive His Church and judge the world (Matt. 24:42-44; 1 Thes. 4:16-17). We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and lost, the eternal existence of all people in either heaven or hell, in divine judgments, rewards, and punishments.

Eagle Rock Baptist Church is affiliated with the North American Baptist Conference, headquartered at 1 South 210 Summit Avenue, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181.

Statement of Faith
 

The Holy Scriptures We believe both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible to be the only verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant and infallible in the original writings (2 Tim 3:16-17 / 2 Pet 1:20-21 / Mt 5:18 / Jn 16:12-13 / 1 Cor 2:13).

The Godhead We believe in one triune God, eternally existing and manifest in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfectness (Gen 1:26-27 / Gen 11:7 / Deut 6:4 / Isa 6:3-8 / 2 Cor 13:14  / Mt 28:19 / Acts 5:3-5 / 1 Cor 8:6).

The Total Depravity of Man We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen 1:26-27 / Rom 3:22-23 / Rom 5:12 / Eph 2:1-3, 12).

The person and Work of Jesus Christ   (a) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man (Jn 1:1-2, 14 / Lk 1:35 / Col 1:15 / Phil 2:5-8). (b) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a propitiatory, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Rom 3:24-25 / Eph 1:7 / 1 Pet 1:3-5). (c) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10 / Heb 9:24 / Heb 7:25 / Rom 8:34 / 1 Jn 2:1-2) 

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit (a) We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (Jn 16:8-11 / 2 Cor 3:6 / 1 Cor 12:1-5 / Rom 6:1-11 / Rom 8:9 / Eph 1:12-14 / Eph 4:30 / 2 Cor 1:21-22 / Acts 1:5). (b) We believe that the Holy Spirit is the divine teacher who guides believers into all truth and testifies of Jesus Christ; and, that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (Jn 16:13 / 1 Jn 2:20-27 / Eph 5:18).  

Salvation (a) We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and freely received by personal faith in Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (Eph 1:7 / Eph 2:8-9 / Jn 1:12 / 1 Pet 1:13, 19). (b) We believe that genuine faith in Christ guarantees the fruit of good works in the believer's life (Eph 2:10 / Jam 2:20 / Tit 2:11-14 / 1 Jn).

The Security and Assurance of Believers (a) We believe that all the redeemed, once saved are kept by God's power, and are thus secure in Christ forever (Jn 6:37-40 / Jn 10:27-30 / Rom 8:1, 38-39 / 1 Cor 1:4-8 / 1 Pet 1:5).         (b) We believe it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh (Rom 6:1-13 / Rom 13:13-14 / Gal 5:13 / Tit 2:11-15).

The Two Natures of the Believer (a) We believe that even though a Christian is fully redeemed in Christ in a positional sense, the benefits of that redemption are not yet fully applied to the Christian in a practical sense. The full effect of redemption on the believer's body will not be known until the return of Christ for the Church (Rom 8:23). Thus the believer, even though a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), yet lives in a body of sin also referred to in the New Testament as the flesh (Rom 7:23-24). (b) However, in the Gospel of Christ, full provision is made for the believer to live free from the dominion of the flesh (Rom 6:3-14 / Rom 8:1-13 / Col 2:20-3:5), but eradication of the flesh and thus sinless perfection in this life is impossible. 

Holy and Godly Living We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner so as to bring glory and honor to their Savior and Lord; and, that while living soberly, righteously and godly in this present world, they should also deny and separate their lives from ungodliness, religious apostasy and worldly lusts (2 Tim 3:1-5 / Rom 12:1 / Rom 14:13 / Eph 4:1 / 1 Jn 2:15-17 / 2 Jn 9-11 / 2 Cor 6:14-7:1 / 1 Pet 1:16).

The Church (a) We believe that the Church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age (Eph 1:22-23 / Eph 5:25-27 / 1 Cor 12:12-14 / 2 Cor 12:2). (b) We believe in the "holy and royal priesthood" of all born-again believers. Because all believers comprise the priesthood of the New Testament church, every believer has the personal and individual right to boldly enter the presence of God and commune intimately with God through the finished work of Jesus Christ. No particular individual or group may be interposed between any believer and God (1 Pet 2:5, 9) / Rev 1:6 / Rev 5:10). (c) We believe that the establishment and continuance of local church assemblies is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27 / Acts 20:17, 28-32 / 1 Tim 3:1-13 / Tit 1:5-11).

The ministry and Spiritual Gifts We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and, that these gifts are for the purpose of edifying the local church. Each Christian is specially gifted to do a spiritual ministry as led by Christ (Eph 4:16 / Rom 12:3-8 / 1 Cor 12:4-11 / 1 Pet 4:10-11).

Missions We believe it is both the obligation and responsibility of the saved to witness by life and word to the truths of the Bible and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all of mankind (Mk 16:15 / Acts 1:8 / 2 Cor 5:19-20 / Mt 28:18-20).

Ordinances (a) Baptism: We believe that water baptism by immersion is a physical act which pictures the work of spiritual baptism performed by the Holy Spirit at the point of a person's faith in Christ as taught in Rom 6:3-4.  We believe that water baptism is not necessary for salvation, but is an important and even necessary act of obedience for every born-again believer to take part in to display publicly what they believe God has done for them by His Spirit eternally (Mt 28:18-20 / Acts 2:38, 41 / Acts 18:8). (b) The Lord's Supper (Communion): We believe that the Lord's Supper serves as a memorial of the vicarious suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the cross. We believe the elements are symbols of His body and blood; and, that their consumption is neither a means of salvation nor inward cleansing. We believe the Christian's participation in the Lord's Supper is an act of obedience to Christ's command, "this do" (1 Cor 11:23-26).

Correctly Handling the Bible We believe the Bible should be diligently studied, literally interpreted in its grammatical, historical and cultural context, and carefully preached and taught (2 Tim 2:15 / 2 Tim 3:16-17 / 2 Tim 4:1-4).

Personality of Satan We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, and the cause of the fall of man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God;  that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire (Job 1:6-7 / Isa 14:12-17 / Ezek 28:11-19 / Mt 4:2-11 / Mt 25:41 / Jn 8:44 / Rev 20:10).

The Return of Jesus Christ We believe in the "blessed hope," the personal, bodily and visible second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones (1 Thess 4:13-18 / 1 Thess 5:1-2 / Tit 2:11-13 / 1 Pet 1:3-7 / Rom 13:11-12).

The Eternal State (a) We believe in the bodily resurrection of all mankind, the saved to eternal life in the presence of God, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Mt 25:46 / Jn 5:28-29 / Rev 20:5-6, 12-13). (b) We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious rest they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Lk 23:42 / Rev 20:4-6 / 2 Cor 5:8 / Phil 1:23 / Phil 3:21 / 1 Thess 4:16-17). (c) We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the great white throne judgment, and shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment (Lk 16:19-26 / Mt 25:4-26 / 2 Thess 1:7-9 / Jude 6-7 / Mk 9:43-48 / Rev 20:11-15).

The PreMillenial Return of Christ We believe that after Christ raptures His redeemed ones from the earth(1 Thess 4:13-18), He will return to the earth with His saints to establish His millennial kingdom (Zech 14:1-11 / Rev 19:11-20:6).