What We Believe

Calvary Baptist Church was established in October of 1954. Over these many years of ministry in Sparta, God has allowed our congregation to see people come to Christ, be baptized, and serve here in Sparta and around the world. We say along with Paul in Ephesians 3:21, “To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus…”

THE SCRIPTURE

We believe that the Scripture, as originally written, was verbally inspired and the product of the Divine Spirit who controlled men, the human authors, to write down the very words of God which are infallible and inerrant. We believe that God has preserved His Divine Word for us; therefore, we believe that we can know God’s truth. We believe that the Bible is our sole authority of both faith and practice (Matthew 5:18, II Timothy 3:16-17, and I Peter 1:19-20).

THE NATURE OF GOD

We believe that there is only one true and living God, infinite in every excellence; that in unity of the God-head there are three personal distinctions- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are one in substance and equal in every divine perfection (Exodus 20:2-3, I Corinthians 8:6, I John 5:7, John 14:20).

THE DEITY OF CHRIST

We believe in the absolute Deity of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ; that he is divine as no other man could be, being very God of very God, existing from all eternity, co-equal with the Father and the Spirit; that he never ceased to be God for one instant and that his humiliation did not consist of the laying aside His Deity. We believe that Jesus Christ was miraculously begotten of the Holy Ghost and born of the virgin Mary (John 1:1-2, John 5:20, Matthew 1:20, Luke 1:26-28).

THE NATURE OF MAN

We believe that man, in the person of the first Adam, was created in innocence but by voluntary transgression fell into sin, thus plunging the whole race into condemnation and death, so that now all mankind is born in sin and shapen in iniquity and become willful sinners. We believe that without Jesus Christ and His salvation man is destined for an eternity separated from God in the Lake of Fire (Genesis 3, Romans 5:1-19, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, and Revelation 20:15).

THE SALVATION OF MAN

We believe that the only escape from the condemnation of sin is through the final finished redemption and atonement wrought by Jesus Christ, when He voluntarily took upon Him a human body and nature, and yet without sin, and by His suffering, death, and resurrection made full and final satisfaction to the justice of God for the sin of man. The blessings of this salvation are given on the grounds of grace to all who believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ alone (John 1:1-3; 3:1-17, Hebrews 10:4-14, Acts 16:30-33, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5-6, Romans 10:9-17, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

THE RETURN OF CHRIST

We believe in the bodily, personal, premillennial return of Jesus Christ; that He will come before the seven year tribulation period to catch his church away, coming only into the air, and that He will come with his church at the close of the tribulation to judge the living nations and to set up His literal kingdom on earth for a thousand years. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18, Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 19:11-21, Revelation 20:1-6)

CBC is an independent assembly of believers that embrace the fundamental doctrines of the faith. This means that we as a congregation are autonomous and do not answer to any outside denominational convention, hierarchy, or rule. We are fundamental in that we stand upon those doctrines which are essential for salvation. We are distinctly baptistic through our understanding of the clear teachings of the Word of God.