Salem Baptist Church is currently studying the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith as a congregation on Sunday evenings. Upon completion of this study, we anticipate constitutionally adopting this Historic Baptist Confession to signify the full return to our Particular Baptist roots.
Additionally, we confess the five ‘solas’ of the Protestant Reformation:
“Without these five confessional statements–Scripture alone, Christ alone, grace alone, faith alone, and glory to God alone–we do not have a true church, and certainly not one that will survive for very long. For how can any church be a true and faithful church if it does not stand for Scripture alone, is not committed to a biblical gospel, and does not exist for God’s glory? A church without these convictions has ceased to be a true church, whatever else it may be.”
-James Montgomery Boice
Scripture alone is our all-sufficient and final authority for the work and life of our church. The Bible alone, when empowered by the Holy Spirit, is sufficient to convict, convert, counsel, comfort, and conform us into the image of Christ. We are committed to expository preaching, because God exalting sermons obtain their authority from God’s Word. Whether going verse-by-verse through entire books of the Bible or preaching a topical-expository sermon, the sermon’s theme and application must be tethered to the Scripture itself.
Christ alone is the recognition that Jesus has completely accomplished everything needed to justify sinners at the cross. His blood is sufficient to atone for every sin His elect have committed, and to appease the Father’s wrath against us. There is nothing we can do to add to His atoning sacrifice. The cross is at the very essence of Christianity, and Christ deserves all praise for accomplishing redemption. Therefore, we are a Christ-centered church, with all of our hearts and minds directed towards exalting Him.
Grace alone means that God owes us nothing but punishment for our sin. When He chooses to save someone, He does so for no other reason than it pleases Him to do so. If any part of salvation were by human merit, then it would cease to be by grace alone. God has sovereign freedom to act according to His good pleasure and to carry out His eternal decrees. For this reason, we unashamedly proclaim the Doctrines of Grace, also called Calvinism. These include Radical Depravity, Sovereign Election, Definite Atonement, Irresistible Call, and Preserving Grace.
Faith alone is the Bible’s teaching that sinners are saved by trusting in the person and work of Christ alone. Only Jesus has fulfilled the Law that God requires us to keep. Through Christ, God supplies a foreign righteousness that comes from outside us. Faith alone, not faith plus works, is the mechanism God has chosen to apply this righteousness. Justification can be both by grace alone and by faith alone, because supplying saving faith is an act of God’s unmerited grace. Faith alone ensures that God receives all glory in His plan of redemption.
Glory to God alone refers to the truth that God is jealous for His own glory and will not share it with another. He created the heavens and earth for His own glory. For God to receive all glory in salvation, the other four solas must be true. When a church loses its passion for God’s glory, the other solas will soon follow. The purpose for our existence is to glorify God, and we have more joy when He is glorified through us. Therefore, we aspire that everything we say or do as a church be aimed at ascribing glory and honor to God alone.