What We Believe

The following statements of faith are taken from the By-Laws of Koza Baptist Church and the Baptist Faith and Message.

God

We believe there is one, and only one, living and true God, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of Heaven and Earth; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each equal in every divine perfection.

God the Father 
We believe God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe and His creatures; according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.

God the Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is the virgin-born Son of God, being true God and true Man, and that His sacrificial death on the cross and subsequent resurrection bring redemption and hope to every penitent believer. He is the Lord of our lives and the Head of the Church.

The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit exalts Christ, convicting men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer a spiritual gift when they are saved. As Christians, we seek to live under His control daily.

Humanity

We believe man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherits a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

Salvation

We believe salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

Regeneration
Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.

Justification 
Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.

Sanctification 
Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.

Glorification
Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

The Bible

We believe that the Holy Bible is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction, that it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter; and that it is the sole and sufficient authority as the rule of doctrine and practice.

The Church

We believe the New Testament Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. The church observes two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ. The New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ which includes all the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people and nation.

The baptist
faith & message

We believe and hereby affirm “The Baptist Faith & Message” as revised on June 14th, 2000. To see a complete version of the Baptist Faith and Message click the button below.