WHAT WE BELIEVE
The Bible Is Our
Final Authority
What a church believes matters. Our faith and practice are grounded in the Word of God and centered upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
DOCTRINES OF FAITH
Those Things Most Surely Believed Among Us
We believe doctrine is not merely a statement on a page. What we believe shapes how we worship, how we live, how we raise our families, how we preach the Gospel, and how we serve the Lord.
The following summarizes the doctrines held by Rockwall Baptist Church. Scripture is the supreme standard by which every teaching, tradition, opinion, and practice must be tried.
AT THE CENTER
Christ First in All Things
Jesus Christ is the head of His church, the only Saviour, and the center of our preaching, worship, discipleship, and mission.
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
Inspired. Preserved. Authoritative.
We believe the Holy Bible is the very Word of God: verbally inspired, without error, and the complete and final revelation of God's will to man.
We believe God has providentially preserved His Word through the generations. Rockwall Baptist Church subscribes to and uses the King James Version as the authoritative English Bible in our preaching, teaching, worship, and ministry.
The Bible is our final rule of faith, doctrine, and practice. Every creed, opinion, tradition, and human authority must remain subject to the written Word of God.
OUR FOUNDATION
“For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”
Psalm 119:89 — KJV
OUR CORE BELIEFS
What We Believe About God and Man
These truths form the foundation of our understanding of God, mankind, sin, and redemption.
The True God
We believe there is one living and true God, eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: equal in divine perfection and working in perfect harmony.
Jesus Christ
We believe Jesus Christ is God the Son, born of the virgin Mary, truly God and truly man, sinless in life, our sufficient sacrifice for sin, bodily risen from the dead, and coming again.
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, equal with the Father and the Son. He convicts of sin, brings about the new birth, indwells believers, teaches, guides, sanctifies, and helps them.
Creation and the Fall
We accept the Genesis account of creation as literal. Man was created directly in the image of God, but through voluntary transgression fell into sin, leaving mankind under condemnation.
SALVATION
Saved by Grace Through Jesus Christ
We believe the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ willingly took the sinner's place, died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. Salvation cannot be earned through religion, good works, baptism, church membership, or human merit.
A sinner must be born again. Repentance and faith are inseparable: turning to God and receiving Jesus Christ as the only and all-sufficient Saviour.
Eternal life is God's free gift, and the blessings of salvation are offered through the Gospel to all who will believe.
Are You Saved? Facts of SalvationTHE GOSPEL
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 — KJV
THE LOCAL CHURCH
A Biblical Church with a Biblical Mission
Christ established the local church to make disciples, build up believers, and carry the Gospel to the world.
The Church
We believe a local church is a congregation of baptized believers, joined together in faith and Gospel fellowship, governed by Scripture under the headship of Jesus Christ.
Baptism & the Lord's Supper
We believe baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, picturing Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. The Lord's Supper is a solemn remembrance of His sacrificial death.
Security of the Believer
We believe true believers are kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal salvation, and that persevering attachment to Christ marks genuine faith.
OUR BLESSED HOPE
Christ Is Risen and Christ Is Coming Again
We believe Jesus Christ bodily rose from the dead, ascended to the right hand of God, and will personally, bodily, and visibly return.
We believe in the resurrection of the dead, the everlasting joy of the saved, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost. The distinction between the righteous and the wicked continues beyond this life.
Our hope is not in this present world, but in the Lord Jesus Christ and the promises of His Word.
THE GREAT COMMISSION
The Gospel Is for the Whole World
We believe Christ gave His churches a clear commission: make disciples, baptize believers, teach His Word, and preach the Gospel to every creature.
Locally. Nationally. Globally.
Missions is not an optional program of the church. It is part of Christ's command to His people.
RBC MissionsDOCTRINAL STATEMENT
Our Complete Articles of Faith
The summary above introduces our beliefs. The articles below provide the complete doctrinal subjects historically confessed by the church.
I. Of the Scriptures
II. Of the True God
III. Of the Holy Spirit
IV. Of the Devil or Satan
V. Of Creation
VI. Of the Fall of Man
VII. Of the Virgin Birth
VIII. Of the Atonement for Sin
IX. Of Grace in the New Creation
X. Of the Freeness of Salvation
XI. Of Justification
XII. Of Repentance and Faith
XIII. Of the Church
XIV. Of Baptism and the Lord's Supper
XV. Of Perseverance of the Saints
XVI. Of the Righteous and the Wicked
XVII. Of Civil Government
XVIII. Of the Resurrection and Return of Christ
XIX. Of Missions
XX. Of the Grace of Giving
These articles should be understood in harmony with the whole counsel of Scripture, which remains our final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
COME AND SEE
Hear the Word of God preached at Rockwall Baptist Church.
Questions about what we believe? We would be glad to meet you, open the Bible together, and help you learn more.