We Believe
God's purpose for the church is to advance the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in this community and throughout the world. First and foremost, we encourage you to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Romans 6:23 (Living Bible)
"For God loved the world so much that he gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it but to save it."
John 3:16-17 (Living Bible)
"Look! I have been standing at the door, and I am constantly knocking. If anyone hears me calling him and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him and he with Me. I will let everyone who conquers sit beside me on my throne, just as I took my place with my Father on his throne when I had conquered."
Revelation 3:20-21 (Living Bible)
Shelburne Baptist Church is a Southern Baptist church and part of the North Grand River Baptist Association.
Southern Baptists have prepared a statement of generally held convictions called The Baptist Faith and Message. It serves as a guide to understandng who they are. Copies are avaialbe at Southern Baptist churches. The topics here provide only a brief, partial summary. The full text on the issue discussed is also available.
The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revlation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.
God
There is one and only one living and true God. ... The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes but without division of nature, essence, or being.
God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. ... God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. ... He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. ... He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement. ... He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
Man
Man was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. ... By his free choice, man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. ... The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every man possesses dignity and is worhy of respect and Christian love.
Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the who man and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense, salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification.
God's Purpose of Grace
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. ... All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ and sanctified by His Spirit will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.
The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. ... and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. ... This church is an autonomous body. ... The New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ, which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believe in water. ... It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.
The Lord's Supper is symbolic act of obedience whereby members ... memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
The Lord's Day
The first day of the week is the Lord's Day. ... It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion.
Last Things
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. ... Jesus will return personally and visibly ... the dead will be raised, and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell. ... The righteous ... will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
Evangelism and Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations ... to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort.
Education
The cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the causes of missions and general benevolence ... there should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsiblity. ... The freedom of a teacher in a Christian school, college, or seminary is limited by teh pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, by the authoritative nature of the Scriptures, and by the distinct purpose for which the school exists.
Stewardship
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talens, and material possessions.
Cooperation
Christ's people should ... organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizaton have no authority over one another or over the churches. ... Cooperation is desirable between the various Christian denominations.
The Christian and the Social Order
Every Christian is under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in his own life and in human society. ... The Christian should oppose in the spirit of Christ every form of greed, selfishness, and vice.
Religious Liberty
Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. ... A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal.
Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. ... Marriage is the unity of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. ... The husband and wife are of equal worth before God since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. ... Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.
We believe in living life for Christ and that each of us has a special purpose and story in Him. Read some of our members' stories on our Testimonies Page.