Calvary Baptist Church - Dedham, MA

Equipping everyone to be complete in Christ - Col. 1:28.

Our Mission & Beliefs

Mission

The mission of Calvary Baptist Church is to go into the world starting in Dedham and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit; gathering these disciples together so that we worship the Lord, obey his commands, and be conformed to the image of Christ to the glory of God the Father.

Vision

Equipping Everyone to be Complete in Christ.

Doctrine

The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, preserved and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for faith and life. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning.
(Is. 51:6;40:8; Matt. 24:35; 5:18; Mk.13:31; Luke.21 :33;16:17; Rom. 4:21-25; 15:4; 1 Cor. 9:9-10; 10:11; 1 Timothy 6:11-14; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfection.

Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 10:30, 14:26, 15:26, 14:10,16; I John 5:7; 1 Peter 1:2

The Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became Man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men.
Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 1:14; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-8

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death and shed blood on the cross as representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.

Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate.

Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in Regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption.

John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:5-6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30

We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit.

Luke 24:45; Ephesians 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27

We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry.

Romans 13:3-8; 2 Corinthians 12:4-11, Ephesians 4:7-12

We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues, and the gift of healing, were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of baptism of the Holy Spirit and that the ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer prayers of believers for physical healing.
1 Corinthians 1:22; 13:8-10; 14:21-22
 
The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.

Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12, 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19

Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.

John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19

The Eternal Security of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever.

John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:4-5

We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's word. However, God's word clearly forbids the use for Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.

Romans 13:13-24; Galatians 5:13

The Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.

Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6,12-15

We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when the spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.

Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6

We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment in hell until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment.

Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 1:6-7; Revelation 14:10-11; 20:11-15

Missions
We believe that God has given the Church a Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us.

Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20

Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God's wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to support the Church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made.

Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; I John 3:17