We believe that God is; He is alive! There is only one true God; He is the God worshipped by Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
God has made himself known to us in three ways:
(1) as the Father (creator-owner of everything and everyone),
(2) as the Son (the loving redeemer),
(3) as the Holy Spirit (God's caring presence with us).
WE WORSHIP THIS ONE GOD AND ONLY THIS GOD
We believe that every individual is competent, under God, to make his or her own decisions in matters of religion. God gives every person the freedom to choose. With freedom comes responsibility: every individual is responsible to God for the decisions he or she makes.
We believe that every person has the right to interpret the Bible for himself or herself, and he may choose to be Baptist, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Jewish, atheist, or anything else he or she chooses to be.
We believe that the Bible is the only authority in all matters of our Christian faith and practice, that every church is to be independent and democratic, and that every individual is equal in the sight of God and has equal access to God. Every person has equal rights and privileges in the church and shares in its responsibilities. And, neither the church nor the state may exercise any control over the other or use the other for accomplishing its own purposes.
The Bible tells us that all people have sinned. All of us are estranged from God because of sin. But God loves the people that he created, and he has provided a way that each individual may come into a right relationship with him -- that is, to become his true child, to enter into his holy family.
HOW TO HAVE A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD |
(Scriptures taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. |
1. Realize that your relationship with God is not right; you have sinned; You have made decisions to do what you want to do rather than what God wants you to do. Your disobedience has brought spiritual death and has isolated you from God; |
1 Kings 8:46: "There is no one who does not sin." Isaiah 59:2: "Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you; so that he will not hear." |
2. Turn away from your disobedient life. Ask God to forgive you. |
Ezekiel 18:4: "The soul who sins is the one who will die" Ezekiel 18:32:"I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!" Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17: "The righteous will live by faith." |
3. Believe that Jesus died to take the punishment for your disobedience and that God brought him back to life. |
John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." |
4. Believe that God forgives; accept his forgiveness; let Jesus take charge of your new life. |
Ephesians 1:7: "In [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace." Ephesians 2:10:"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." |
5. Tell someone that you have trusted Jesus and have given him control of your life. |
Romans 10:9-10: "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." |
AS GOD'S CHILD, YOU WILL WANT TO |
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1. Be baptized. |
Romans 6:4:"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." |
2. Be filled with the loving presence of God; come into the fellowship of the church. |
Ephesians 5:18-19:"Do not get drunk on wine, ...... instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs." |
3. Let Jesus make changes in your life that He wants to make. |
Romans 12:1-2: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." |
Where should you worship God?
WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO ATTEND YOUR OWN CHURCH OR SYNAGOGUE TO WORSHIP GOD EVERY WEEK
We invite you to worship with us at any of our worship services.
We invite you to participate in any of our Bible-study meetings.
If you are not in a right relationship with God, we encourage you to discuss this with the pastor or any church member.
IF YOU ARE NOT AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF ANOTHER CHURCH, WE INVITE YOU TO CONSIDER BECOMING PART OF NEW SALEM BAPTIST CHURCH BY ANY WAY THAT WE ACCEPT MEMBERS:
(1) Through baptism,
If you are a true child of God (see above section, "WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT ONE'S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD" to understand how to become a true child of God), you may request that the New Salem Baptist Church baptize you by immersion. This baptism makes public your commitment to Jesus and shows that you have "buried your old, sinful life with Jesus" and have been "raised with Jesus to a new life." Baptism does not make you right with God. It shows that you have already made your decision to become a true child of God by placing your trust in Jesus and letting him take charge of your life. After you have requested church membership "through baptism," and have been received by the church, New Salem Baptist Church requires that you attend a New Member Orientation Class of four one-hour sessions. When you complete this class, you will be baptized into the membership of the church.
(2) By Letter of Recommendation
If you are a member of another Baptist church, we will, at your request, write to them for a letter of recommendation for you. The letter they send will indicate that you are a true child of God and have been baptized as stated above. This letter will transfer your membership to New Salem Baptist Church. After the church votes to receive you by Letter of Recommendation, New Salem Baptist Church requires that you attend a New Member Orientation Class of four one-hour sessions. When you complete this class, you become a member of the church.
(3) by statement of your faith in Jesus and your previous believer's baptism.
If you have become a true child of God through Jesus (see above section, "WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT ONE'S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD" to understand how to become a true child of God), and if you have publicly professed your faith and trust in him, and if you have been baptized by immersion in a church which believes as we do, and if, because of circumstances beyond your control, we cannot obtain a letter of recommendation from another congregation, you may request membership by statement. After the church votes to receive you by statement, New Salem Baptist Church requires that you attend a New Member Orientation Class of four one-hour sessions. When you complete this class, you become a member of the church.
To apply for membership in New Salem Baptist Church, walk to the front of the chapel as we sing the invitation hymn, or speak to the pastor after the service. The pastor will talk with you and present you to the church. You are not required to make a public statement to the church.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 - NIV)