Why Rozetta Baptist?
Our Purpose
As stated in our constitution:
The purpose of this church shall be to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and, thus, God the Father through obedience to the Word of God and the worship of the triune Godhead. To that end, the church will execute the Great Commission in the preaching of the Gospel for the purpose of making disciples, baptizing the same in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all things the Lord has commanded by proclaiming the whole counsel of God. By these means, the church will endeavor to be used instrumentally to perpetuate the faith once delivered to the saints.
(Acts 2:42; Ephesians 4:14; Romans 12:10; Romans 15:14; Ephesians 4:32; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; 1 John 3:11; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 3:15)
What We Believe
The Scriptures
We believe the 66 books of the Bible are in every part inspired by God so that they are in fact, His very words and, as such, they are our only sufficient rule of faith and practice. We believe the Bible is, without error, in the original manuscripts in matters of fact as well as faith and is our final authority in matters of faith and conduct.
(2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
The Trinity
We believe the Godhead eternally exists in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—that these three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections.
(Genesis 1:1, 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal and only begotten Son of God; that He was conceived miraculously when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, a virgin, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her. We believe that Jesus Christ was sinless in His life and is fully God and fully man.
(Luke 1:35; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1; John 1:18; Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:26; 1 John 5:20)
Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, convicts men of sin, regenerates, indwells, seals, and sets believers apart unto a holy life; that He keeps and empowers believers day by day; that He is the teacher of the Word of God and guide for our daily life. Anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit living in him is not a child of God.
(John 16:8; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9)
Creation
We believe in the Genesis account of creation and that it is to be accepted literally, not allegorically or figuratively.
(Genesis 1-2; John 1:1-3; Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 11:3)
Satan
We believe in the existence and personhood of Satan and that he and his demonic forces consisting of fallen angels are busily engaged in opposing the work of Christ. We believe, however, that he and his angels, at the last judgment, will be forever confined to eternal fire
(Luke 10:18; Matthew 4:1; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10)
Man
We believe that God created the first man, Adam, in God’s image and that sin entered the world through that man and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is conscious and eternal separation from God in Hell. We believe that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, evidenced by sinful acts, that human beings are totally depraved, and if a person is not born again, he is eternally lost.
(Genesis. 1:26-27; Psalm 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Luke 16:23; Romans. 3:10-23; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:8)
Salvation
By grace alone, not by works – We believe that salvation is solely by grace through faith alone in the blood sacrifice, atoning death, burial, and miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God alone.
(1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5)
Second Birth
We believe that all who personally receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior by faith are indwelt by and regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are born again, becoming children of God.
(John 1:12; John 3:1-7; Romans 8:14; Romans 8:16; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 Peter 1:2)
Repentance and Faith
We believe that salvation is an utterly and completely free gift of grace and cannot be earned, only received. It is received only through repentance of sin toward God and faith in Jesus Christ alone. Once convinced of our guilt and helplessness and trusting in the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God for mercy and forgiveness; and at the same time, we heartily receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and rely on Him alone as the only and all-sufficient Savior.
(Mark 1:15; Acts 2:37-38, 11:18; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8)
Justification
We believe that justification is God's declaration that the believer is righteous, based on the free (gracious) imputation of Christ's perfect righteousness to everyone who trusts the Gospel message. Justification includes the pardon of sin, the promise of eternal life, and peace with God.
(John 1:16; Acts 13:39; Romans 4:4-5, 5:1-2, 9)
Regeneration
We believe that, in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated or born again; that regeneration consists of a change of attitude toward sin; that it is effected in a manner above our comprehension by the power of the Holy Spirit, in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel; that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith, and newness of life.
(John 3:3, 8; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:16-23; Ephesians 5:9; 1 Peter 1:22-25)
Perseverance of the Saints
We believe that such only are real believers as endure unto the end; that their persevering faithfulness to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors and false converts; that a special Providence watches over their welfare; and that they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation (those who are saved are eternally secure).
(John 10:27-28; Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 1:4-5; 1 John 2:19, 25; 1 John 5:11-13)
The Church
We believe that the local church is composed of regenerated, baptized believers who voluntarily united together for the purpose of worship, edification, fellowship of believers, spiritual growth, and service. We believe that it has been commissioned by Christ to propagate the Gospel unto the uttermost parts of the earth. We believe that the local church has the absolute right of self-government (autonomy) and independence (free from interferences of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations) and that the one and only Head is Christ, through the Holy Spirit. We believe that on all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of benevolence, the will of the local church is final.
(Acts 2:41-47, 4:33-37, 5:1-20)
Church Ordinances
We believe that the ordinances of the Church are two (2) in number and that these offer no special grace or merit; they are simple acts of obedience. These two ordinances are baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Baptism
We believe that immersion pictures the believer's union into Christ's death, burial, and resurrection and is the only form of baptism revealed and commanded in the Scriptures, that it has no power to wash away sin—no saving power whatsoever—but is only for those who are already saved. We believe that the new birth, which comes through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, is the Scriptural prerequisite to baptism; therefore, only those who are capable of believing for themselves should be baptized.
(Matthew 3:16; Acts 2:28, 8:35-39; Romans 6:3-7)
Lord's Supper
We believe that the Lord's Supper is a memorial of the death of Christ. The unleavened bread and cup are pictures or symbols of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ when He died once for all men on the cross. The Lord's Supper has no saving power and is only for believers walking in obedience to God's Word. We practice open communion (open to believers who are in fellowship with the Lord). We reject the unbiblical teaching that the elements transubstantiate into the literal, physical blood and body of Jesus when ingested.
(1 Corinthians 11:23-32)
Marriage
Rozetta Baptist Church unwaveringly affirms and submits to the definition of marriage as set forth by the creator of the institution—God Himself—in the person of Jesus Christ, who said, “Haven’t you read...that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate” (Matthew 19:4-6). This is an unambiguous truth: God Himself defines marriage as the holy union of one man and one woman for life. Therefore, Rozetta Baptist Church cannot and will not participate, sanction, perform, or bless any service, ceremony or ritual that in any way deviates from the biblical definition of marriage. We cannot and will not allow the church or her pastor to be involved in any way in the solemnization or recognition of any union other than that of one man and one woman; this includes polygamous relationships, homosexual relationships, and any other attempts to counterfeit the previously stated biblical definition of marriage.
(1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Romans 1:18-32; Galatians 5:19)
The Last Things
We believe that, according to the Word of God, the next great fulfillment of biblical prophecy, known as the Rapture of the Church, will be the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air to receive to Himself into Heaven both His own who are alive and remain until His coming, and also all who have fallen asleep in Jesus, and that this event is the blessed hope before us in the Scripture, and for this we should be constantly looking. We believe that the Rapture of the Church will be followed by seven years of Tribulation, during which the church, the body of Christ, will be in Heaven. The entire period of Tribulation will be a time of judgment on the whole earth.
We believe that the climax of this period of Tribulation will be the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth with power and great glory to introduce the 1000-year reign of Christ on the earth known as the Millennium. At the end of the Millennium will be the resurrection and judgment of the lost of all ages. They shall then be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction away from the presence of the Lord. Following this will be the creation of a new Heaven and a new earth in which the saved of all ages shall live forever with the Lord.
(John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14; Matthew 24:15-21; Revelation 7:13-14; 19:11-22; Matthew 24:29-31; John 5:28-29; Luke 16:19-26; Matthew 25:41-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)
Colossians 1:28
"Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ."