Eastern Shore Bible Baptist Church, Galena, MD

Doctrinal Statement

Our Faith

Every word of the original autographs, consisting of the Old and New Testaments with no Apocrypha, were given by inspiration of God [II Tim. 3:16]. This inspiration can come in a variety of forms as God moved [II Pet. 1:21] the prophets. The doctrine of inspiration is of little value apart from the doctrine of preservation. God has to keep His promise [Psa. 12:6-7] to preserve the words, not just the message or the meaning. The King James Bible is the preserved, inspired word of God.
The Holy Trinity of God is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God the Father is the Head of the Trinity. God is omniscient - Job 37:16, omnipotent - Psa. 147:5, omnipresent - Isa. 66:1, eternal - Psa. 41:13, the Creator and Sustainer of all things - Gen. 1:1. He is perfect in holiness - Lev. 11:44-45, righteousness - Psa. 50:6, faithfulness - Psa. 36:5, mercy - Psa. 103, and love - John 3:16.
God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is fully God - John 1:1-14. He is the second person of the Trinity, not a lesser deity - I John 5:7. Without changing his person, he became man by miracle of the virgin birth - I Tim. 3:16. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet he is without sin - Heb. 4:15. He was crucified, buried, and rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures - I Cor. 15:1-4. He is now our High Priest making intercession for us - Rom. 8:34.
God the Holy Spirit is fully God - Acts 5:3-4, and is the third person of the Trinity - I John 5:7. He is the divine agent in creation - Job 33:4, revelation - I Cor. 2:9-14, inspiration - II Pet. 1:21, and illumination - John 16:13. In this dispensation, the Holy Ghost works upon the unbeliever in regard to the conviction of sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come - John 16:8-11. He does a work upon the believer as He seals - Eph. 4:30, fills - Eph. 5:18, intercedes - Rom. 8:26-27, guides - John 16:13, and empowers - Acts 1:8.
Faith is believing what God said - Heb. 11:1, I Pet. 1:23. We are saved by grace through faith - Eph. 2:8-9. This happens when we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior - John 1:12. We are washed from our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ - Col. 1:14, and our spirits are literally born again - John 3:7, I Pet. 1:23. Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition for salvation - Acts 20:21.
The Return of the Lord Jesus Christ is in two parts. The first part is the coming of the Lord "for" His saints - I Thess. 4:16-18, I Cor. 15:51. This is the great Hope of the Church - Titus 2:13. After the rapture will be a seven year period called the Great Tribulation - Dan. 9:24-27. The second part is the Lord coming back "with" the saints. He shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives - Zech. 14:4-9. He will establish a literal kingdom that will last for 1000 years. At the end of that time, he will raise all the dead and living outside the church to be judged - Rev. 20.
The Church consists of the saints during this Church age. They are the body of Christ - I Cor. 12:27, the Bride of Christ - Eph. 2:22-32. The Church began shortly after the death of Jesus, and will be completed at the rapture of the Church. Christ is the head of this Church - Eph. 5:23. Local churches are congregations of believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel, who are to observe the ordinances God gave to the church. There is a church government of pastor and deacons, along with the necessary legal offices to be able to conduct the church business. The head of the local church is the pastor.
Church ordinances are Baptism - Matt. 28:19-20, of believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior - I Pet. 3:21, and Communion - I Cor. 11:20-34, for fellowship of the saints with God.
Hell is a literal place of fire and torment. The souls of the unsaved at death descend immediately into hell - Luke 16. They are kept in punishment until the final judgment of all the unsaved when they will be cast into the lake of fire to burn forever - Rev. 20:13-15. The sad fact is that hell was created for Satan - Matt. 25:41, but man's rebellion places his judgment there also. Jesus Christ died and rose again so that nobody has to go to hell if they will repent - I John 2:2, II Peter 3:9

13984 Gregg Neck Road, Galena, MD 21635