Clearview Baptist Church
The aim of Clearview Baptist Church is to glorify God in all things, to edify the saint, and to reach the sinner through the preaching and teaching of the written Word of God. We are an independent fundamental Baptist assembly where the Holy Scriptures are the first and final authority for all matters of faith and practice.
What we believe at Clearview Baptist Church
We seek to be a people of the Book and believe the Bible exactly how it is written and strive to allow the Lord to apply it to our lives. Below is a portion of our Statement of Faith and will show what we believe. It is not the extent of what we believe, but for brevity and clarity's sake, we have highlighted these points for you and hold to the entire Word of God as "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3).
The Holy Scriptures – We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the holy, inerrant, infallible, inspired, and preserved Word of God. God’s Word is verbally and plenarily inspired and is true from beginning to end. The Scriptures are profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and for instruction in righteousness. The Scriptures are the final authority for faith and practice and should be interpreted literally according to their normal, grammatical, and historical meaning. The full revelation of God to man is contained in the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. Moreover, we believe God’s Word has been preserved unto the present day for English-speaking people in the 1611 Authorized or King James Version of the Bible. We are aware that the King James which is most in use today was updated for spelling in 1769 (although some may carry the original 1611). We believe and defend wholeheartedly, the truth that we have the Word of God in our beloved King James Bible. Therefore, the King James text shall be the official and only translation used by the church and we reject all other English versions of the Bible. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; Isa. 40:8; Psalm 12:6-7; Psalm 119:89)
Dispensationalism – We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather are divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these dispensations – law, grace, and the kingdom – are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. (Gen. 1:28; Jn. 1:17; 1 Cor. 9:17; 2 Cor. 3:9-18; Gal. 3:13-25; Eph. 1:10, 3:2-10; Col. 1:24-25, 27; Rev. 20:2-6)
The Godhead – We believe that there is one, and only one true and living God. He is the triune God Who exists eternally in three persons. The three persons of the Godhead are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: each person of the Godhead is co-equal in power and glory, co-eternal in being, co-existent in all attributes, perfections, and power, and co-essential in nature. (Psalm 90:2; Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; II Cor. 13:14; I John 5:7)
We believe in God the Father, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, and measureless in power. We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all that come to Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. We emphasize the Father’s will and desire for all men to be saved, and to bring to revelation and consummation the eternal purposes of God in His dear son, even Jesus Christ our Lord. (Genesis 1:1; 17:1; Exodus 6:3; Deuteronomy 4:35; Psalm 90:2; 139:7-10; Isaiah 40:28; John 4:24; 6:44; Gal. 1:3-5; Eph. 3:8-12; 1 Tim. 2:3-4; 1 John 1:5)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the Messiah of Israel, and the Savior of the world who became man without ceasing to be God (John 1:1-2, 14; John 1:41; John 3:17; I John 4:14; Phil. 2:5-8). Christ was sent by the Father into the world to do the will of God and was born of the virgin Mary being conceived in her womb by the Holy Ghost. He is therefore God manifest in the flesh, and in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Christ took not upon Himself sinful flesh, but the likeness of sinful flesh: He knew no sin, did no sin, is without sin, and in Him is no sin. He lived a pure and sinless life on this earth doing only and always those things that pleased the Father. He fully accomplished the work that the Father sent Him to do. Christ came into the world to reveal God and redeem sinners and He accomplished our redemption by His death on the cross and through His shed blood. He died as a substitutionary sacrifice for every sinner and as an offering for sin to God: He is therefore the propitiation for our sins. Upon being taken off the cross, Christ was buried, but on the third day He rose from the dead and proceeded to show Himself alive to His followers. Thus, He was delivered for our offences, but was raised again for our justification. Forty days after His resurrection the Lord Jesus ascended back to the Father in Heaven and sat down on the right hand of God being exalted, where He now carries out His ministry as our Great High Priest, yea, as our Mediator, Intercessor, and Advocate. (1 John 4:14; John 6:38; Matt. 1:18-25; Gal. 4:4-5; 1 Tim. 3:16; Col. 1:19; Col. 2:9; Rom. 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:22; Heb. 4:16; 1 John 3:5; John 8:29; John 4:34; John 17:4; 1 Tim. 1:15; Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:3; Isa. 53:5-10; Eph. 1:7; 1 John 2:1-2; Rom. 3:25-26; Heb. 2:9; Luke 23:50-53; 1 Cor. 15:4; Acts 13:30; Rom. 1:4; Acts 1:3-9; Phil. 2:9-11; 1 Tim. 2:5; Rom. 8:34)
We believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit and that He is a person and not an inanimate force. The Holy Spirit along with the Word of God is the Agent in regeneration. He convicts or reproves men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment and draws the sinner to Christ. He brings light and understanding into the darkened mind of lost sinners through the Word of God, and particularly through the glorious gospel of Christ. The moment that God saves a sinner, the Holy Spirit indwells that individual, baptizes them into the body of Christ, and seals them unto the day of redemption. He is the divine Teacher and Comforter of the saints and empowers us to live a victorious Christian life and serve the Lord. Every believer should be filled with the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, be led of the Spirit, bear the fruit of the Spirit, and thus be living in the Spirit. (1 John 5:7; John 3:3-8; Jn. 16:7-11; Jn. 6:44; Ps. 119:130; 2 Cor. 4:3-6; Eph. 1:13; 1 Cor. 12:13; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; Eph. 4:32; Jn. 14:16-18; Eph. 5:18; Gal. 5:16-26; Acts 1:8)
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 now totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. Mankind now bears the image of Adam, and in Adam all die but in Christ all shall be made alive. We do not mean total inability when we say that we believe in the total depravity of man. God certainly made man with a free will, and the ability to choose or reject the free offer of full salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image and is mindful of him, and in that Christ died for all men; therefore, every individual possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. (Gen. 1:26-27; Gen. 3:1-24; Gen. 5:1-3; Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:21-22, 47-49; Rom. 3:1-23; Matt. 23:37; Jn. 5:39-40; 1 Tim. 2:3-4; Eph. 2:1-3, 12; Psalm 8:4-9; Col. 3:9-11)
Salvation and the Eternal Security of the Believer – We believe that salvation is the gift of God and is wholly by the grace of God. God’s gift of salvation is received by repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is not the product of man’s works, but of the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the Cross of Calvary. Once the Savior is received the believer is kept eternally secure in Christ Jesus by the power of God. We believe that 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 God’s grace and Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. Turning God's grace into lasciviousness is one of the marks of apostasy. (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Acts 20:21; John 5:24; 6:37-40; 10:28-30; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; 1 Pet. 1:4-5; Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15; Jude 4)
Repentance and Faith – We believe that true repentance is a change of mind about God, and sin, and self that results in a change of life and it is vividly illustrated in the Prodigal Son. As we believe in the convicting work of the Holy Ghost in the lives of sinners, we also believe that through this divine reproof He will cause the sinner to recognize his sinful condition and sense the shame thereof, thereby confronting a man’s free will in order to bring sorrow over his sin. At this point, the sinner now sees that he is guilty before God and justly condemned under the wrath of God. As one admits his sin, he soon comes to abhor his sin, for there is a godly sorrow not to be repented of that worketh repentance to salvation. This godly sorrow is quite different from the sorrow of this world that only works death. The sinner can now choose to turn to God from his sin and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, or he can remain in the darkness of sin and unbelief by rejecting Christ Jesus our Lord. Repentance then involves more than man’s intellect and emotion; it must also involve man’s will. While repentance is not salvation, no man is truly saved apart from repentance. It is a biblical doctrine that must be preached if souls are to be warned and won to Christ and must be included in the foundation of the life of any Christian. It is absolutely imperative because no man can come to faith in Christ who has not first come to repentance. While repentance and faith are not the same, they are like two sides of the same coin and saving faith will follow sincere repentance. No one will truly believe upon Christ who has not first repented. Paul testified to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus taught that men must repent that they might believe. Saving Faith, like repentance is a matter of the whole man. Any repentant sinner, who in mind and heart comes to Christ can call out of his own free will and believe in his own heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead, in order to be saved. Such faith is believing and trusting the Lord to save you knowing that you cannot save yourself. We believe also in the evidence of salvation: biblical repentance and faith always lead to a change of life which manifests itself in one’s desires, deeds, direction, etc. being made new in Christ Jesus our Lord. To be saved, is to be born again, and made a new creature in Christ Jesus. All who are saved are the product of God's workmanship and are created in Christ Jesus unto good works. (Luke 15:18-19; Jn. 16:7-11; Jn. 1:11-13; Jn. 5:39-40; Acts 20:21; 1 Thess. 1:9-10; 2 Cor. 7:9-11; Heb. 6:1-2; Acts 20:21; Mt. 21:32; Jn. 6:37; Rom. 10:8-13; Eph. 2:8-9; Acts 17:30-31; 2 Pet. 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:3-4; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Jam. 2:17-18; Eph. 4:17-24; Jn. 3:3, 5; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10)
The Church – We believe that a New Testament Independent Baptist Church is a congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of Scriptural faith and fellowship in the Gospel; said church being understood to be the citadel and custodian of Divine and Eternal things: and existing to glorify God, observe the ordinances of Christ, and carry out the Great commission; being governed by the laws of Christ and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; its officers of ordination are pastors or elders, and deacons whose qualifications, claims, and duties are laid out clearly in the Holy Scriptures; its ordinances are but two, baptism by immersion and the Lord's Table. (Eph. 1:17-23; 2:19-22; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Rev. 19:7-9; Rev. 21:2; 9: Rev. 22:17; Eph. 5:30; Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:32; Acts 8:1; Acts 13:1; 1 Th. 1:1; Acts 9:31; Acts 15:41; Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:1; Rev. 1:4; Rev. 1:11; Heb. 10:24-26; Acts 2:41-47; 1 Tim. 3; Titus 1:5-7; Matt. 28:19; 26:26-30; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38; 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)
The Autonomy of the Local Church – We believe the local church is a sovereign assembly in and of itself; that it has the absolute right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organization; and that Christ is the head of the church and superintends over the work of the local church through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:19-23); that it is Scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the gospel (Jude 3); that every church is the sole and only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation on all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline, of benevolence, and that the will of the local church is final (Matthew 18:15-20; Acts 5:29; I Cor. 6:1-8).
The Membership of the Local Church – We believe that only those who show evidence of the new birth, and God’s work of faith with power and grace to be real in their lives should be admitted into the membership of the local church. They will be manifestly penitent, believing, regenerate persons. The church must carefully guard the doors of church membership and take care that the assembly only admits truly born again believers. As we guard the doors, we are better able to guard the doctrine and direction of the local assembly. Only those who have a genuine profession of faith, and a genuine desire for Scriptural baptism (unless already baptized in a manner that agrees with Scripture and meets the approval of the church), and a genuine agreement with the doctrines and teachings of the church are to be taken into its membership. (Acts 2:41-47; Rom. 15:1; 1 Cor. 1:10; Eph. 2:8-10; 1Thess. 1:1-10; 1 Pet. 2:9-12; Titus 2:11-14)
Spiritual Gifts – We believe that the Holy Spirit has given gifts to individual believers and also to the church for the training of believers, for the ministry of the Gospel and for Christian Service. We believe that special gifts were given to the early church to meet a need in the church at that time, since the whole of God’s written Revelation had not yet been completed. These special gifts (sign gifts) were the gifts of tongues, healing, and prophecy. The gift of speaking in tongues (languages) was a gift to be used as a sign to the unbeliever, especially the Jew. The gift of prophecy was for believers before the completion of the New Testament. The gift of healing was given to some before the New Testament was completed and individuals could be healed by faith, believing in God’s revealed promises. These gifts were only meant to be temporary and transitional. We do not believe that the gifts of tongues, prophecy, and healing are in effect in our day, and we strongly oppose the charismatic movement and believe that all things are to be done decently and in order among the churches of God. God continues to bestow spiritual gifts sovereignly upon believers and He continues to use as His gifts to the church during this age, evangelists, pastors and teachers. (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:1-11; 13:8; 14:22; Eph. 4:7-16; 1 Cor. 14:21-22, 40; Heb. 2:3-4)
Creation – We believe in the Genesis account of creation, and that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, the Big-Bang Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11)
Israel – We believe that Israel is God’s covenant people, and though they have been set aside, God will take up dealings again with the Jews in the Tribulation in preparation for the Kingdom rule of Christ upon the Earth. Israel has not been replaced by the church. We reject Replacement Theology and believe that the Jews, the Gentiles, and the church of God are to be considered distinct in order to rightly divide the Word of Truth. (Rom. 9-11; Rev. 12-18; 1 Cor. 10:32)
The Personality of Satan – We believe that Satan is a person as the Bible attributes the capacities of a person to him. He is a created being and was once Lucifer, the anointed cherub, but he rose up in pride against God and was judged and separated from God. He does, however, still have access to heaven. Satan is the enemy of God and also of man. He is a murderer, the father of lies, the god of this world, and all who are lost without Christ are children of the devil. Satan is very powerful, but he is a defeated foe and will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire to endure the righteous judgment of God for all eternity. (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:11-15; Job 1:6; Gen. 3:1-7; Rev. 20:8; John 8:44; Eph. 2:2-3; II Cor. 4:3-4; 1 Jn. 3:10; Rev. 20:10)
The Eternal State – We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. The souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. The souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment 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 and torment. (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; John 5:28,29; 11:25-26; 1 Cor. 15:22; 2 Cor. 5:8; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:4-6, 11-15)
The Second Coming of Christ – We believe the Second Coming of Christ consists of two phases. First, there is the rapture of the Church, or “that blessed hope,” which is the personal and imminent return of Christ for His Church prior to the Tribulation. Second, and after the Tribulation period Christ will visibly and powerfully return to the earth with His saints to establish His earthly Kingdom and rule for 1,000 years. We are therefore Pre-Millennial in our eschatological doctrine and teaching. We believe that biblical prophecy should be interpreted in its normal and literal sense unless noted otherwise by the context. (1 Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Acts 1:11; Rev. 19:11-16; Zech. 14:4-11)
The Millennium – We believe the Millennium is the literal kingdom and rule of Jesus Christ upon the earth. Christ will establish His earthly kingdom, which will last for one thousand years, upon returning to the earth with His saints after the Tribulation period. (Ps. 2; Jer. 23:5; Zech. 14:1-9; Rev. 19:11-16; Rev. 20:1-6)
Ecclesiastical Separation – We believe that we are not to fellowship with “churches” or organizations that hold to doctrine contrary to the teaching of God’s Holy Scriptures. In writing to the Romans in chapter 16 Paul mentioned several believers and then he mentioned local churches collectively. It is clear from this passage and other passages (2 Cor. 8) that there was fellowship and partnership between the local churches in the New Testament, but they were instructed to mark and avoid those whose doctrine was corrupt (Rom. 16:1-18; 2 Jn. 9-11). We are to prove what is acceptable unto the Lord, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them (Eph. 5:10-11). The believer must reject and separate from any and all forms of religious apostasy. We are opposed to the ecumenical movement, neo-orthodoxy, new evangelicalism, liberalism, and modernism that emphasizes an unequal yoke with unbelievers, experience over Biblical truth, higher criticism that weakens the inerrancy of the Scriptures, social application of the gospel, and any other beliefs which abandon the historic fundamentals of the Christian faith in an attempt to accommodate Biblical Christianity and make it more acceptable to the modern mind.
Personal Separation – We believe that the individual believer is called out of this world, that he or she might be conformed to the image of Christ day by day as the Spirit of God sanctifies the individual through the Truth. We have received a calling that makes us a holy people, a heavenly people, and His people and should therefore walk worthy of our vocation and calling. We who were sometimes darkness are now light in the Lord and should walk as children of light and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. We must abstain from all appearance of evil! God’s people have been called unto lives of personal and practical holiness. Holiness is worked into our lives by the sanctifying work of God’s Spirit, God’s grace, and God’s Word. We believe in leading a Christian life through a vital and living relationship with God’s dear Son, through the indwelling person of the Holy Ghost; this will result in a visibly different life from the unsaved world around us. (Lev. 19:28; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; Rom. 6:1-8:39; Rom. 12:1-3; Rom. 14:13; John 17:1-19; Eph 1:4-6; 2:4-7; 3:1-7, 13-21; 4:1-5:21; 1 Thess. 5:22; 1 Thess. 4:7-8; 1 Pet. 1:13-16; Rom. 14:17-18; 1 Jn. 2:15-17)
Sanctification – We believe that sanctification is the divine setting apart of the believer unto God; it is accomplished in a threefold manner: first, an eternal act of God, based upon redemption in Christ, establishing the believer in a position of holiness at the moment he trusts the Savior; second, a continuing process in the believer as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to the life; third, the final accomplishment of this process at the Lord’s return. We reject any teaching which is a form of “sinless perfectionism.” (Jn. 17:17; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 5:25,26,27; 1 Thess. 4:3,4; 5:23,24; Heb. 10:10-14; 13:12; 1 Jn. 1:5-10; 1 Jn. 2:1-2)
Civil Government – We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: the home, the church, and the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and should be governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. The Christian is to respect and obey all civil authority until it begins to violate Scriptural commands and godly principles. There is to be no discernible union between church and state. God has established both and intends them to be kept separate, the one from the other. This does not prohibit the church from participating in civil matters and influencing the state, for this she is called to do. The State however should not meddle and interfere with the Church’s business nor beliefs. The State exists to provide a place for the Church and to protect its freedom of worship. While God ordained civil government; it was not, however, established to rule over the Church and its spiritual ministry. The State is to preserve the rights and liberties of the righteous and to punish the wicked and evil. The Church is to support the State and submit to it as conscience and Scripture allows, while both honoring and praying for State officials. A free Church in a free State is the Christian ideal. (Rom. 13:1-7; Eph.5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; Titus 3:1; 1 Pet. 2:13-17; 1 Tim. 2:1-6)
Abortion – We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the un-justified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder! We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical or mental well-being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Ps. 51:5; 139:14-16; Isa. 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
Human Sexuality – We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman. We believe that sodomy (any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality), bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe in only two genders, male and female, as taught in Holy Scripture. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one man and one woman until death do them part. All other governmentally licensed unions are sinful perversions of GOD’s Biblical definition of marriage and will not be recognized by this church. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; 7:2; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4)
Our Mission - It is our aim and desire to glorify God in this age by Jesus Christ our Lord (Eph. 3:21). As a body of believers, we strive together to do this by preaching and teaching the Word of God. We preach the whole counsel of God and proclaim Christ crucified for the sins of the world, buried, risen from the dead, ascended back into Heaven, and coming again. We will by love serve one another and strive together for the faith of the Gospel (Gal. 5:13; Php. 1:27).
Our Focus - It is our aim and desire to obey our Lord and Savior as He gave forth His commandment to the Apostles to Go into all the world and preach the Gospel of Christ to every creature. We therefore maintain a focus on evangelizing sinners with the gospel, and discipling saints with the Word to observe all things that Christ commanded in the Holy Scriptures (Matt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15).