Statement of Faith

We, the members of ANCHOR BAPTIST CHURCH OF SOUTHERN MARYLAND, INC. believe the following statements to be a summary of those doctrines which are essential to practice and propagation of true biblical Christianity, and therefore are upheld by this church.

The Scriptures
Without apology and without hesitation, we believe that the God who inspired the Scriptures is powerful enough to preserve them in the manner in which He intended us to have them. We believe that the providential preservation of the New Testament concentrated itself on the Greek text within the sphere of the Greek church through Antioch of Syria; and that the text of the majority of manuscripts from that area are the providentially preserved and Authorized text; in fact, the text of the majority is the standard text. This is the Textus Receptus of the Syrian (Byzantine) extraction coming to the English speaking people through the Reformation of the Balkans and Germany. The final and outstanding representative of this text is the AUTHORIZED VERSION of 1611, otherwise known as the King James Bible, which represents a purified, neutral text, without proven error [Beza’s fifth edition with improvements over Erasmus] (Psalm 12:6-7; 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:21).

The Nature of God
We believe the only true and living God is a Triune God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, the Ruler of all things. He has been revealed to man only through the Son, the Word made flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, equally divine and eternal with the Father, and is also the Son of Man, truly human, but without sin. The Holy Spirit is a person, one with the Father and Son in the Godhead, whose work it is to glorify God in Christ, convicting men of sin and regenerating those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Further, concerning the name of Jesus Christ, that there is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; Genesis 1:1; Matthew 28:19; John 3:17-18, 10:30, 37-38; Romans 5:10 and Acts 4:12).

The Work of Jesus Christ
We believe the eternal Son became flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, born of the virgin Mary by miraculous conception and virgin birth. He lived a sinless life, perfectly fulfilling the divine law. He then offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of every man. He died on the Cross, shed His precious Blood, in full substitution and atonement for the sins of all men everywhere. He was buried, and on the third day He arose bodily from the grave, alive forevermore. He later ascended bodily into Heaven where, at the right hand of the Father, he now continually intercedes for those who put their trust in Him (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:35; Hebrews 4:15, 7:26; John 2:11; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; Hebrews 2:9, 9:12; John 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:4; Mk. 1:19; Acts 1:11 and Revelation 19:11-16).

The Origin and Nature of Man
We believe all things were created and are sustained by God; man in particular was created for the purpose of mutual love and fellowship between him and his Creator. The Genesis account of creation is a true and historical record, revealing that man came by direct creation of God, not by a process of evolution. Though created in the image of God, man willfully sinned against God bringing sin and death into the world. Through Adam, all men have inherited a sin nature, evidenced by willful acts of sin; therefore, all men are guilty sinners under the just condemnation of a Holy God (Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 5:1-2; Colossians 1:16; Romans 3:23; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20; Ephesians 4:40, 5:18 and Titus 3:5-7).

Salvation
We believe man is utterly unable to save himself from either the power or penalty of sin. Each man must be saved wholly on the basis of the work Jesus Christ has done in dying for his sins and rising for his justification. This salvation is received instantly and appropriated by simple faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and personal Saviour. A true Christian is one who has been “saved” or “born again,” being regenerated by the Holy Spirit through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The reality of this experience as well as one’s personal assurance of salvation will be evidenced by a life characterized by Christ like motives and standards. Salvation thus includes deliverance from the penalty of sin, from the power of sin in one’s life, and ultimately from the presence of sin (John 1:12; John 1:29, John 3:36; John 16; John 18; John 20:31; Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24; Galatians 3:13; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Tim. 2:5-6; 1 Peter 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Titus 3:5-6 and 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 10:9-13).

Resurrection of The Saved and The Lost
We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost: those who are saved are resurrected to eternal life in the presence of the Lord God Almighty, and the lost will be resurrected to eternal damnation (John 5:28-29).

The Institution of The Family
We believe that the family is the first God-given institution established in the Garden of Eden, and that God has given parents stewardship and sole authority over their own children (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5; and Ephesians 6:1-5). We believe that government is not responsible for the education or welfare of our families or our children; rather, it is the responsibility of government to reward good and punish evil judiciously (Romans 13:1-4).