Our Beliefs
God made everything and everyone. He rules the universe and made us in His image. He is perfect and made us to know and serve Him. But sin entered the world through one man’s disobedience and so broke the relationship that we were designed to have with Almighty God.
However, the GOOD NEWS is that the just and gracious Creator of the universe has looked upon hopelessly sinful people and has sent his Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, to bear his wrath against sin on the cross and to show his power over sin in the resurrection, so that everyone who turns from their sin and themselves and trusts in Jesus as Saviour and Lord will be reconciled to God forever and empowered to live a new life through His Spirit.
This is the gospel we believe: the good news about Jesus Christ.
The Bible (The Word of God)
We believe the Bible, being the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God and the final authority for faith and life (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:21).
God
We believe there is only one true God creator of heaven and earth, who eternally exists in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Gen 1:1; Deut 6:4; Matt. 28:19; Luke 3:22).
Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. That He is both fully God and fully human, being born of the virgin Mary so that He might reveal God to the world and redeem sinful people. We believe that Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, substitutionary sacrifice and that our justification is made sure by His physical resurrection from the dead. We believe that Jesus Christ, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters of faith and practice and that there is salvation in no other name (Mark 1:1; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 1 Tim 2:5; John 14:6; Eph 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and of judgment; He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptising all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them until the day of redemption. The Spirit empowers all believers with gifts that edify the Church and embolden believers to proclaim the good news of Jesus to all people in all the world. (John 16:8–11; Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 12:1–13; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18).
Sin and Salvation
We believe that all people are created in the image and likeness of God, but through Adam have fallen into sin and are therefore lost and have a broken relationship with God. However, salvation is the gift of God brought to all people by grace and received by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is through His blood shed at the cross and His resurrection that we are forgiven and justified, being restored in our relationship with God and filled with the Spirit so that we might live a life of worship. (Genesis 1:26, 27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1–3, 8-10, 12; John 1:12; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Peter 1:18–19).
The Church
We believe that the church, which is the universal body and bride of Christ, is a spiritual community made up of all those who have received God’s grace in the person of Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:22, 23; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; 2 Corinthians 11:2).
Church Membership
The church admits to membership only for those who profess repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Considering the sinful state of humankind, it is the duty of each member to bear witness to the gospel of Christ and to share in reaching the world through the exercise of gifts, in order that the Holy Spirit may bring about the regeneration of people through the atoning death of Christ Jesus.
The Ordinances of Believers Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
Baptist churches observe the two ordinances of believers’ baptism and the Lord’s supper.
Christian baptism is commanded by our Lord and is expressed by immersion in water into the name of the Triune God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our sins, was buried and rose again on the third day (Matt 3:13-17, Matt 28:19-20; Acts 2:37-38; Acts 18:8).
For further reading on our position and practice of Baptism please refer to the document linked below.
The Lord’s Supper, instituted by our Lord as an obligation, is the privilege of all who have professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose atoning death is declared in the ordinance until He shall come again. This observance is a part of the responsibility of the Church in witnessing to the Gospel of Christ (Acts 2:42, 1 Cor 11:23-26)
The Priesthood of All Believers
We believe in the ‘priesthood of all believers in which the only mediator between God and humanity is Jesus Christ. We affirm the gift of the Holy Spirit to all God’s people, male and female, young and old, significant, and seemingly insignificant, and we recognise that all members of the church have a role to play using their God-given gifts, skills and talents for the good of the church and the community in the service of God’s mission. In this, we believe in the equal authority of men and women who, from the beginning have been designed as equal partners in the stewardship of creation and the gospel (Gen 2:18-3:24; Eph 2:14; 1 Cor 12:11; Eph 4:11-13; Rom 16:1-2; 1 Peter 2:4-5).
For further reading refer to the article linked below, written by Craig Keener which summarises our overarching view of the Biblical narrative. Also linked below is an article written by Melinda Cousins on Women, Preaching, The Bible, and 1 Timothy 2.
Marriage/Singleness/Sexuality
We believe that we are to order our marriages/singleness and sexuality out of a theology of marriage to Christ. The theme of marriage is central to understanding our relationship with God. We are frequently referred to as the bride of Christ and to have no other loves above Him, loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Marriage is symbolic of the covenant between Christ and the Church. Therefore, this primary relationship with Christ Jesus informs all others and how we view sexuality, and as such, we believe that marriage, as ordained by God and commanded in the Bible, is a life-long covenant between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others (Deut 6:4-9; Luke 14:25-27; 2 Cor 11:1-3; Gen 2:24; Matt 19:5-6; Eph 5:25-27, 31).
Conflict Covenant for Times of Tension
As members of the Body of Christ at Enfield Baptist Church and in obedience to the Word of God we will seek to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace and commit that we will show grace to one another in our thoughts, minds, actions, words and lives.