Faith and Beliefs
Holy Scriptures
We believe in the Holy Scriptures, accepting fully the writings of the Old and New Testaments as the very Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts, the only infallible, inerrant and authoritative rule of faith and practice.
Trinity
We believe there is one God eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ
We believe in the Deity of Christ; His virgin birth; His blood shed for our atonement; His physical, bodily resurrection; His physical, bodily ascension into Heaven there to be our Intercessor.
Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, makes believers children of God through the new birth, assures them of Heaven and, by His indwelling presence, enables Christians to live a godly life.
Man
We believe that all men are by nature and by choice sinful and lost and have within themselves no possible means of salvation.
Salvation
We believe in salvation by grace through faith; that salvation is the free gift of God and is received, not by any virtue or works of men, but only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; that all true believers possess the gift of eternal life, a perfect righteousness, sonship in the family of God, and the divine guarantee that they shall never perish.
Satan, the Devil
We believe in the existence of Satan, the deceiver and prince of this present world; that he was defeated and judged at the Cross, and therefore his final doom is certain.
Second Coming of Christ
We believe in the Second Coming of Christ; that His return from Heaven will be personal, visible and glorious, the time being unrevealed; that when He comes He will first, by resurrection of the righteous dead and the translation of the righteous living, remove from the earth His waiting Church, then pour out the righteous judgments of God upon the unbelieving world, and afterwards descend with His Church and establish His glorious and literal Kingdom on Earth over all the nations for a thousand years.
The Soul
We believe that the spirits of the saved at death go immediately to be with Christ in Heaven; that at His Second Coming their works will be judged and rewards determined; that the spirits of the unsaved at death descend immediately into Hell until the final day of judgment, at which time their bodies shall be raised from the grave, judged, and cast into the Lake of Fire, the place of final and everlasting punishment.
Saints
We believe in the priesthood of all believers, that Christ is our Great High Priest and through Him every born-again person has direct access into God’s presence without the need of a human priest, and that the believer has the right and responsibility to study and interpret the Scriptures for himself, guided by the Holy Spirit.
The Church
We believe that the New Testament Church is an organized body of born-again, baptized believers practicing scriptural ordinances and actively engaged in fulfilling the Great Commission.
Lord's Supper
We believe the two scriptural ordinances given to the local church are baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper.
Hell
We believe in the everlasting, conscious punishment of the wicked in Hell and the everlasting, conscious blessedness of the saints in Heaven.
Sexuality
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male and female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. Sexual intimacy is God’s wedding gift. We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and the use, sales, production, or distribution of pornography) is sinful and offensive to Almighty God. We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of our church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the church’s members and the community, it is imperative that this doctrine of marriage, gender, and sexuality be preached and defended in any circumstance. We believe that the pastor (or deacon, layman, etc.) of Cross and Crown Baptist Church has the right given by God Almighty and protected by constitutional, biblical, and natural law in any capacity to propagate this truth so long as he does not physically harm another human being. We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of this local church.
Marriage
We believe that God has ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a man, a woman, and Himself, Cross and Crown Baptist Church will only recognize marriages between a biological man and biological woman. Further, the Pastor and staff of this church shall only participate in weddings and solemnize marriages between one biological man and one biological woman. Finally, the facilities and property of Cross and Crown Baptist Church shall only host weddings between one man and one woman, being the said sex from natural birth. Members of Cross and Crown Baptist Church also reject polygamy in any form.
Conception
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that claims it is acceptable to abort a pregnancy in cases due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, threat to the mother’s life or mental wellbeing, birth, or population control.
Dispute Resolution
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members or a member(s) with the church. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander.