What We Believe

The following are the core beliefs of Monticello Baptist Church based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.

We believe that the Bible, both Old, and New Testaments, is the complete and revealed Word of God. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. It has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
(Psalm 19:7-11; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:21)

We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These are equal in every divine perfection and perform distinct but harmonious functions in creation, redemption, and providence.
(Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 9:6-7; Matthew 28:19-20; John 1:1, 14; John 10:30)

We believe in God, the Father, an infinite personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe that He is intimately involved in the affairs of humankind, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 19; John 14:13-14; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:16)

We believe in Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His substitution atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth.
(John 1:1-14; Acts 1:11; Philippians 2:5-11; 1Corinthians 15:3-4; Hebrews 1:1-10; Hebrews 4:14)

We believe in the Holy Spirit, who comes from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to generate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer at salvation and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide.
(John 3:3-7; John 16:8-14; Romans 8:26; Acts 2:38-39; Ephesians 5:18)

We believe that man was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning, man was innocent of sin and endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. Man was created to glorify God, worship and serve Him, and have fellowship with Him. Man fell through sin by disobeying God, thus incurring both physical and spiritual death, which alienated him from God. Man’s nature was thus corrupted, and he is utterly lost, “death in trespasses and sins,” and totally incapable of saving himself and coming back into a right relationship with God by his own merit or effort.
(Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:6; Genesis 2:17; Genesis3:17-24; Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 3:9-19; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:6-8; Luke 18:26-27; Ephesians 2:1-3)
We also believe that the Holy Spirit regenerates those who repent of their sins and trust Jesus Christ as Savior. 
(John 14:6; Romans 3:10-18; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Titus 3:5)

We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sins and salvation, which is the free gift of God’s grace. Salvation is affected by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit and cannot be secured by man’s works or personal merit. Salvation is only appropriated by a person placing his faith in the finished work of Christ. Repentance is a turning toward God and away from sin and is part of but not separate from believing faith. “The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,” and those who receive Jesus Christ by faith are born again, have their sins forgiven, become children of God, are a new creation in Christ, and “are sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption, being kept by the power of God.
(Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 1:13-14; John 1:12-13; John 3:1-7, John 3:14-16; 2Corinthians 5:17; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 8:14-17; Romans 8:31-39; John 10:27-29; John 14:6, Acts 26:20; 1Peter 1:3-5)

We believe that the church is the body of Christ, of which Jesus is the head, and of which members have truly received Christ by faith.
This church is an autonomous body, operating through democratic processes under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In such a congregation, members are equally responsible. Its Scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. The New Testament also speaks of the church as the body of Christ, which includes all the redeemed of all the ages. The purpose of the church is to make Christ known to every person, make disciples, and glorify God on earth.
(Acts 1:8; 1Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:20-23; Ephesians 1:1-6; Ephesians 4:12-16; Matthew 28:18-20; John 17; Colossians 1:24-29)

We believe that every Christian should live for Christ and not for themselves and should, by the power of the indwelling Spirit, allow Christ to manifest His life through them to God’s glory. In the power of the Spirit, each believer should live a holy life, not fulfill the lusts of the flesh; exercise his spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ; witness for Christ; be personally involved in making disciples to fulfill the great commission; perform good works and bear fruit to the glory of God. Every believer should mature and progressively become more like Jesus by ever-increasing obedience to the Word of God.
(Galatians 2:20; 1Peter 1:15-16, 1Peter 2:11, 2Corinthians 5:14-15; Romans 6:11-13; Ephesians2:10; Ephesians 4:11-12; Ephesians 4:22-24; 1Peter 4:10; Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:18-20; Colossians 1:10; John 15:8; John 15:16)

We believe that the only two church ordinances Scripture recognizes are water baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Water baptism by immersion is an act of obedience following salvation, symbolically picturing the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to new life. The Lord’s Supper celebrates fellowship and communion with Christ, symbolically commemorates His death, and anticipates His second coming.
(Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:47-48; Luke 22:19-20; 1Corinthians 11:23-28; Romans 6:3-4)

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the endless suffering of the wicked, and the eternal blessedness of the believer.
(Matthew 24:1-51; Matthew 25:41; John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

We believe that we have direct communication with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit through prayer. We believe in the power of prayer for salvation, healing, the filling of the believers by the Holy Spirit, and the furtherance of God’s kingdom.
(Luke 11:1-14; Luke 22:32)