Statement of Faith
We believe that the Bible is God’s Word; that it was written by people divinely and uniquely inspired, that it is absolutely trustworthy and has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
We believe in God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of humanity, that He hears and answers prayer and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, sinless in His life; making atonement for the sin of the world by His death on the cross. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into heaven, His high priestly intercession for His people, and His personal, visible return to the world according to His promise.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from God to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement, and to regenerate, sanctify, and comfort those who believe in Jesus Christ.
We believe that all people are by nature and by choice sinners, but that “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.” We believe, therefore, that those who accept Christ as their Lord and Savior will rejoice forever in God’s presence and those who refuse to accept Christ as Lord and Savior will be forever separated from God.
We believe in the Church – a living, spiritual body of which Christ is the Head and of which all regenerated people are members. We believe that a visible church is a company of believers in Jesus Christ, buried with Him in baptism and associated for worship, work, and fellowship. We believe that to these visible churches were committed for observance “until He comes,” the ordinances of baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper; and that God has laid upon these churches the task of persuading a lost world to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and to enthrone Him as Lord and Master. We believe that human betterment and social improvement are essential products of the gospel.
We believe that every human being is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith.
We believe that each church is independent and autonomous and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that, therefore, Church and State must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from the dictation or patronage of the other.
WOMEN IN MINISTRY
Cambridgeport Baptist Church does not limit the participation of women (or men, for that matter) in any ministry of the church, including leadership ministries; neither do we insist that both sexes be represented in all ministries. In practice, we seek to identify individuals whom God has called to serve in various capacities, without assuming whether those individuals will be male or female.
We acknowledge and celebrate the differences between men and women, and the different ways we have been created to serve God in the family and the Church. We acknowledge that leadership in the Bible tends to be male. However, Biblical examples show that God is not limited in whom He will use to accomplish His purposes. We pray for God’s guidance individually and corporately, rather than relying on cultural models either of (“traditional”) male-only leadership or (“progressive”) 50-50 representation of men and women in all ministries.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
We believe that God has given and continues to give spiritual gifts to every Christian, “to each one, just as He determines.” We believe that the Bible instructs us to pray earnestly for spiritual gifts, to identify spiritual gifts in ourselves and each other, and to use the gifts to build up the Body of Christ (or, perhaps more accurately, to submit to God’s using us to build up the Body of Christ by accepting, discerning, and utilizing His gifts). As a body, we neither recognize any one gift as the sole evidence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, nor assume that God has “ceased” to give certain gifts.