What We Believe

Christian-

-We believe that all Christian faith and practice is determined by the Bible, the inspired, inerrant, infallible, and sufficient Word of God.

-”We believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended to the dead, and on the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from where He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic [meaning universal] church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. “
~The Apostles’ Creed

-Shepherd RBC holds to historic, orthodox Christian faith in line with the Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, and Definition of Chalcedon, as they faithfully summarize the teaching of Holy Scripture.

Protestant-

-We believe that we are saved by grace alone and not our own merit, by faith alone and not by our works, in Christ alone and not any other mediator, according to Scripture alone and not human tradition, all to God’s glory alone.
These are commonly called the 5 Solas (“alones”) of the Protestant Reformation.
We believe in the necessity of pure, biblical worship and the freedom of conscience from the commandments of men.

Reformed-

-We believe that the life of the church, especially worship, must be directly regulated by the Word of God. As the New Covenant church, we must do everything God commands us to do in worship, and only do those things.
-We believe that salvation ultimately originates in God’s gracious election- that He saves a people for Himself from every nation, tribe, and tongue based on His own free grace and not of anything He foresees in us.
-We believe that God saves across redemptive history through a series of covenants that are ultimately fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
-We believe that the Law expresses the perfect moral standard of God’s character, exposes our sinfulness and need for a savior, and directs us in how we should live in a way that honors God. In harmony with the Law, the Gospel proclaims what Jesus Christ has done to satisfy the demands of the Law on our behalf, so that everyone who believes in Him will be saved.

Baptist-

-We believe that the New Covenant church is made up of believers united to Jesus Christ by faith. Therefore, baptism, which is sign and seal of entrance into the New Covenant church, is only for those who have repented of their sins and confessed faith in Jesus Christ.
-We believe that Christ instituted two offices in His church: pastor/elder and deacon. Pastor/elders are called to oversee the spiritual teaching and shepherding of the church, and deacons are called to organize the physical care of the congregation and its ministry of mercy. Both must be men who meet the qualifications set laid out in 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9.
-We believe the universal church of Christ is made up of individual local churches which cooperate with one another for the sake of Gospel ministry, but each individual church has the responsibility to make final decisions for itself.

The Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689-

-For a fuller explanation of what we believe as a church plant, see the Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689. This was the confession of faith adopted by the first general assembly of Baptist churches in London in 1689, and we have adopted it as a faithful summary of the teaching of Scripture. See also the Baptist Catechism of 1693.