Our beliefs are firmly rooted in the inspired, never-changing Word of God.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Bible is how God tells us about himself, salvation, and how we should live. While we fail at times to believe or act perfectly, God’s Word is perfect and contains no errors. Our goal is to ground every teaching and every belief in what God says. Where we find differences between God’s word and our own beliefs or actions, we are committed to reforming those areas.
But we want you to know where we stand, and we use historical labels to do it, not because those labels are important in themselves, but because they have a wealth of history and meaning behind them, and they help to describe what we believe the Bible teaches.
WE ARE PROTESTANT.
We believe that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone, with the Bible alone as the highest authority in all matters of the Christian faith and life. These are simple words, but they are far reaching in how we live, how we worship, and how we preach.
WE ARE REFORMED.
This can be summarized in three points. First, we are confessional. We believe that The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 is a faithful representation of the system of doctrine contained in Scripture, with the exception of the points below. All pastors and elders are required to subscribe to this confession. Second, we believe that salvation is a work of God alone and that man is the subject of salvation, not a co-operator with God in it. Third, we are covenantal. We believe that God interacts with his people through covenants.
The two primary covenants of redemptive history are the Covenant of Works with Adam in the garden, and the Covenant of Grace, which is promised in Genesis 3 and instantiated by the death of Christ.
WE ARE BAPTIST.
This means that we believe the visible church should be made up of believers who have been baptized by immersion upon their credible profession of faith. We believe that the local church should be organized in a congregational, elder-led form of government.
WE ARE EVANGELICAL.
We believe the core purpose of the local church is to preach the gospel for the conversion of souls and the edification of the saints. This leads us to believe we should be Christ-centered and ruthlessly Biblical in all that we do.
A confession of faith enables us to clearly state our convictions in matters of theology and practice.
Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 1:13
While the only sure foundation of the Christian faith is the inerrant and perfect Word of God, we find creeds and confessions of faith to be helpful in expressing what we believe the Bible says. While all true Christians believe the Bible is God’s Word, creeds and confessions help us express the conclusions we draw from it.
The Baptist Faith & Message
The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 is a basic confession of faith that binds Southern Baptists together in unity around core doctrine. We subscribe to it without reservation.
The London Baptist Confession of Faith
We also subscribe to the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689. This is a historical confession with roots in the Reformers, Puritans, and Particular Baptists of the 16th and 17th centuries. It more fully expresses the doctrine which we believe God’s Word contains. We subscribe to it with two minor exceptions:
1. While the Roman Catholic Church stands opposed to many of the core doctrines of the Christian faith, we cannot in good conscience affirm the opinion of the writers of the 1689 that the pope is the antichrist. While any given pope may be an antichrist by upholding heretical doctrines, we do believe there to be many antichrists in the world. (See LBCF 26.4)
2. While we do believe that Sunday is to be observed as a day of worship, known to us as the Lord’s Day (from Revelation 1), we do not believe people must abstain from all worldly labor or recreation on that day—only that which interferes with or distracts from corporate worship. (See LBCF 22.8)
HAVE QUESTIONS?
We believe God is glorified as we get to know him through his Word. As we read the Bible, we draw conclusions—that’s theology, and we love talking theology. If you have questions about what we believe, want more information about anything mentioned here, or you’re wondering about something we might have left off, contact us at hello@mosaicrva.com and we’ll be happy to answer your questions.