About Jersey RBC
What We Believe & Teach
We affirm and teach the following doctrinal truths
The Holy Scriptures
We affirm that the Bible, consisting of 66 books inspired by the Holy Spirit, is God’s written revelation and the plenary Word of God. It is an objective, propositional, verbally inspired, and inerrant guide for faith and practice. We interpret it using a literal, grammatical-historical approach. The Bible is the sole infallible authority (Matthew 5:18; 24:35) and was written through a process of dual authorship, with the Holy Spirit guiding human authors. While various applications are possible, there is one true interpretation, found through diligent study under the Holy Spirit’s illumination. Believers are responsible for understanding Scripture’s true intent and meaning, recognizing that its application is binding for all generations. The truth of Scripture judges us, not the other way around.
God
We teach that there is but one living and true God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5- 7; I Corinthians 8:4), an infinite, all-knowing Spirit (John 4:24), perfect in all His attributes, one in essence eternally existing in three Persons–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13: 14)–each equally deserving worship and obedience.
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit
<ul>
<li>We teach that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, possesses all the divine excellencies, and in these He is coequal, co-substantial, and co-eternal with the Father (John 10:30; 14:9).</li>
<li>We teach that God the Father created everything according to His own will through His Son, Jesus Christ, by whom all things continue in existence and in operation (John 1:3; Col. I: 15-17; Hebrews 1:2).</li>
<li>We teach that in the incarnation (God becoming man), Christ surrendered only the prerogatives of deity but nothing of the divine essence, either in degree or kind. In His incarnation, the eternally existing second person of the Trinity accepted all the essential characteristics of humanity and so became the God-man (Philippians 2:5-8; Colossians 2:9).</li>
<li>We teach that Jesus Christ represents humanity and deity in indivisible oneness (Micah 5:2; John 5:23; 14:9-10; Colossians 2:9).
We teach that our Lord Jesus Christ was virgin born (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23,25; Luke 1:26-35); that He was God incarnate (John 1:1,14), and that the purpose of the incarnation was to reveal God, redeem men, and rule over God's kingdom (Psalm 2:7-9; Isaiah 9:6; John I :29; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 7:25-26; 1 Peter I:18-19).</li>
<li>We teach that in the incarnation the second person of the Trinity laid aside His right to the full prerogatives of coexistence with God, assumed the place of a Son, and took on an existence appropriate to a servant while never divesting Himself of His divine attributes (Philippians 2:5-8).</li>
<li>We teach that our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through the shedding of His blood and sacrificial death on the cross and that His death was voluntary, vicarious, substitutionary, propitiatory, and redemptive (John 10:15; Romans 3:24-25; 5:8; 1 Peter 2:24).</li>
<li>We teach that on the basis of the efficacy of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, the believing sinner is freed from the punishment, the penalty, the power, and one day the very presence of sin and that he is declared righteous, given eternal life, and adopted into the family of God (Romans 3:25; 5:8-9; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18).</li>
<li>We teach that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead and that He is now ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He now mediates as our Advocate and High Priest (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:38-39; Acts 2:30-31; Romans 4:25; 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2: 1 ).</li>
<li>We teach that in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, God confirmed the deity of His Son and gave proof that God has accepted the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Jesus' bodily resurrection is also the guarantee of a future resurrection life for all believers (John 5:26-29; 14:19; Romans 1:4; 6:5-10; 1 Corinthians 15:20,23).</li>
<li>We teach that Jesus Christ will return to receive unto Himself in the air at the rapture the church, which is His body (Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18; Revelation 20).</li>
<li>We teach that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one through whom God will judge all mankind (John 5:22-23):
<ul>
<li>Believers (1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10)</li>
<li>Living inhabitants of the earth at His glorious return (Matthew 25:31-46)</li>
<li>Unbelieving dead at the Great White Throne (Revelation 20: 11-15)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>As the mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5), the head of His body the church (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23; Colossians 1: 18), and the coming universal King who will reign on the throne of David (Isaiah 9:6; Luke 1:3133), He is the final judge of all who fail to place their trust in Him as Lord and Savior (Matthew 25:14-46; Acts 17:30-31).</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>We teach that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, eternal, underived, possessing all the attributes of personality and deity including intellect (1 Corinthians 2:10-13), emotions (Ephesians 4:30), will (1 Corinthians 12:11), eternality (Hebrews 9:13), omnipresence (Psalm 139:7-10), omniscience (Isaiah 40:13-14), omnipotence (Romans 15:13), and truthfulness (John 16:13). In all the divine attributes He is coequal and consubstantial with the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 28:25-26; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; and Jeremiah 31 :31- 34 with Hebrews 10: 15-17).</li>
<li>We teach that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to execute the divine will with relation to all mankind. We recognize His sovereign activity in creation (Genesis 1:2); the incarnation (Matthew 1: 18), the written revelation (1 Peter 1:20-21), and the work of salvation (John 3:5- 7).</li>
<li>We teach that the work of the Holy Spirit in this age began at Pentecost when He came from the Father as promised by Christ (John 14:16-17; 15:26) to initiate and complete the building of the body of Christ, which is His church (I Corinthians 12:13). The broad scope of His divine activity includes convicting the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ and transforming believers into the image of Christ (John 16:7-9; Acts 1:5; 2:4; Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 2:22).</li>
<li>We teach that the Holy Spirit is the supernatural and sovereign agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:13). The Holy Spirit also indwells, sanctifies, instructs, empowers them for service, and seals them unto the day of redemption (Romans 8:9; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians I: 13).</li>
<li>We teach that the Holy Spirit is the divine teacher who guided the apostles and prophets into all truth as they committed to writing God's revelation, the Bible. Every believer possesses the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit from the moment of salvation, and it is the duty of all those born of the Spirit to be filled with (controlled by) the Spirit (John 16:13; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18; 2 Peter 1:19-21; 1 John 1:10,27).</li>
<li>We teach that the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church. The Holy Spirit glorifies neither Himself nor his gifts by ostentatious displays, but He does glorify Christ by implementing His work of redeeming the lost and building up believers in the most holy faith (John 16:13-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 3:18).</li>
<li>We teach, in this respect, that God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts for the perfecting of the saints today, but that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles in the beginning days of the church were for the purpose of pointing to and authenticating the apostles as revealers of divine truth, were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers, and are not required as evidence of salvation (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 13:8-10; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; Hebrews 2:1-4).</li>
</ul>
Man
- We teach that man was directly and immediately created by God in His image and likeness. Man was created free of sin with a rational nature, intelligence, volition, self-determination, and moral responsibility to God (Genesis 2:7, 15-25; James 3:9).
- We teach that God’s intention in the creation of man was that man should glorify God, enjoy God’s fellowship, live his life in the will of God, and by this accomplish God’s purpose for man in the world (Isaiah 43:7; Colossians 1: 16; Revelation 4: 11 ).
- We teach that in Adam’s sin of disobedience to the revealed will and Word of God, man lost his innocence, incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death, became subject to the wrath of God, and became inherently corrupt and utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God, apart from divine grace. With no recuperative powers to enable him to recover himself, man is hopelessly lost. Man’s salvation is thereby wholly of God’s grace through the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-19; John 3:36; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 2:13-14; 1 John 1:8).
- We teach that because all men were in Adam, a nature corrupted by Adam’s sin has been transmitted to all men of all ages, Jesus Christ being the only exception. All men are thus sinners by nature, by choice, and by divine declaration (Genesis 5:3; Psalm 14:1-3; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:9-18,23; 5:10-12).
Salvation
- We teach that salvation is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the redemption of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; Peter:18-19).
Regeneration
- We teach that regeneration is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit by which the divine nature and divine life are given (John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5). It is instantaneous and accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of the Word of God (John 5:24) when the repentant sinner, as enabled by the Holy Spirit, responds in faith to the divine provision of salvation. Genuine regeneration is manifested by fruits worthy of repentance as demonstrated in righteous attitudes and conduct. Good works will be its proper evidence and fruit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 2:10) and will be experienced to the extent that the believer submits to the control of the Holy Spirit in his life through faithful obedience to the Word of God (Ephesians 5:17.21; Philippians 2:12b; Colossians 3:16; 2 Peter 1:4-10). This obedience causes the believer to be increasingly conformed to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). Such conformity is climaxed in the believer’s glorification at Christ’s coming (Romans 8:17; 2Peter 1:4; 1 John 3:2-3).
Election
- We teach that election is the act of God by which, before the foundation of the world, He chose in Christ those whom He graciously regenerates, saves, and sanctifies (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1 :4-11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:10; 1 Peter 1:1-2).
- We teach that sovereign election does not contradict or negate the responsibility of man to repent and trust Christ as Lord and Savior (Ezekiel 18:23,32; 33:11; John 3:18-19,36; 5:40; Romans 9:22-23; 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12; Revelation 22:17). Nevertheless, since sovereign grace includes the means of receiving the gift of salvation as well as the gift itself, sovereign election will result in what God determines. All whom the Father calls to Himself will come in faith and all who come in faith the Father will receive (John 6:37-40, 44; Acts 13:48; James 4:8).
- We teach that the unmerited favor that God grants to totally depraved sinners is not related to any initiative of their own will but is solely of His sovereign grace and mercy (Ephesians 1:4-7; Titus 3:4-7; 1 Peter 1:2).
- We teach that election should not be looked upon as based merely on abstract sovereignty .God is truly sovereign, but He exercises this sovereignty in harmony with His other attributes, especially His omniscience, justice, holiness, wisdom, grace, and love (Romans 9: 11-16). This sovereignty will always exalt the will of God in a manner totally consistent with His character as revealed in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:25- 28; 2 Timothy 1:9).
Justification
- We teach that justification before God is an act of God (Romans 8:33) by which He declares righteous those who, through faith in Christ, repent of their sins (Isaiah 55:6-7); Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:10) and confess Him as sovereign Lord (Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Philippians 2: II ). This righteousness is apart from any virtue or work of man (Romans 3:20; 4:6); and involves the imputation of our sins to Christ (Colossians 2: 14; 1 Peter 2:24) and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us (1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21). By this means God is enabled to “be just, and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).
Sanctification
- We teach that every believer is sanctified (set apart) unto God by justification and is therefore declared to be holy and identified as a saint. This sanctification is positional and instantaneous and should not be confused with progressive sanctification. This sanctification has to do with the believer’s standing, not his present walk or condition (Acts 20:32; 1 Corinthians 1:2,30; 6:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 2:11; 3:1; 10:10, 14; 13:12; 1 Peter 1:2).
- We teach that there is also by the work of the Holy Spirit a progressive sanctification by which the state of the believer is brought closer to the standing the believer positionally enjoys through justification. Through obedience to the Word of God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, the believer is able to live a life of increasing holiness in conformity to the will of God, becoming more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ (John 17:17, 19; Romans 6:1-22; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4; 5:23).
- In this respect, we teach that every saved person is involved in a daily conflict-the new creation in Christ doing battle against the flesh–but adequate provision is made for victory through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The struggle nevertheless stays with the believer all through this earthly life and is never completely ended. All claims to the eradication of sin in this life are unscriptural. Eradication of sin is not possible, but the Holy Spirit does provide for victory over sin (Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Philippians 3:12; Colossians 3:9-10; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 3:5-9).
Security/Perseverance of the Saints
- We teach that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion for sinful living and carnality (Romans 6:15-22; 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13,25-26; Titus 2:11-14).
- We teach that all the redeemed, when saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 5:24; 6:37-50; 10:27-30; Romans 5:9-10; 8:1,31-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 7:25; 13:5; 1 Peter 1 :5; Jude 24).
- We teach that God, in His grace, will so work with His people that they will inevitably persevere to the end and be saved (1 Peter 1 :5; Jude 1; John 10:28-30; Philippians 1 :6). Thus, no true child of God, born of the Holy Spirit, will ever be lost (Romans 8:29-30). True believers are eternally secure because God has ordained that they be eternally secure and so will work as to bring it to pass.
- We teach that no person is saved who does not persevere to the end (Matthew 10:22; 24:13; Mark 13:13; Colossians 1:22-23; Hebrews 3:14; 12:14). Future and final perseverance is the ultimate test of past participation in Christ. Those who make some kind of beginning in the Christian faith, but do not continue, give evidence that they never really had saving faith (1 John 2:19; Hebrews 3:14; 6:4-9).
- We teach that the means God uses to bring about our perseverance are His magnificent promises (2 Peter 1 :3-4) which will be ours if we persevere, and His terrifying warnings which will come true if we fall away (Hebrews 10:26-27). God causes His people to persevere by giving them a deep longing for His promises and a healthy fear of His judgments through His Spirit and through the exhortation, admonition, and encouragement of His people (Hebrews 3:12-13; 10:23-25).
Separation
- We teach that separation from sin is clearly called for throughout the Old and New Testaments, and that the Scriptures clearly indicate that in the last days apostasy and worldliness shall increase (2 Corinthians 6: 14- 7: 1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5).
- We teach that out of deep gratitude for the undeserved grace of God granted to us, and because our glorious God is so worthy of our total consecration, all the saved should live in such a manner as to demonstrate our adoring love to God and not bring reproach upon our Lord and Savior. We also teach that separation from all religious apostasy and sinful practices is commanded of us by God (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 1 John 2:15-17; 11 John 9-11).
- We teach that believers should be separated unto our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians I: 11-12; Hebrews 12: 12) and affirm that the Christian life is a life of obedient righteousness demonstrated by a beatitude attitude (Matthew 5:2-12) and a continual pursuit of holiness (Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 12:14; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 3:1-10).
The Church
We believe that when people put their faith in Jesus Christ, they are immediately united by the Holy Spirit into a spiritual body called the Church, with Christ as its head.
The Church started on Pentecost and will be completed at Christ’s return. It’s distinct from Israel and operates autonomously, following the guidance of local leaders chosen based on biblical qualifications. The purpose of the Church is to glorify God, teach the Word, promote fellowship, observe ordinances like baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and spread the gospel worldwide.
Believers are called to serve and are equipped with various spiritual gifts for edification. While miraculous gifts were present in the early church, today, they’ve ceased, and only equipping gifts remain. Baptism is by immersion, and the Lord’s Supper commemorates Christ’s death.
Eschatology
- After death, bodies return to dust, but immortal souls go to paradise for the righteous and hell for the wicked until the final judgment.
- At the last day, living saints will be changed, and the dead will be bodily raised.
- We anticipate the personal, bodily return of Jesus to gather His church.
- A day of judgment is appointed when all will be held accountable for their actions, leading to eternal salvation for the righteous and eternal damnation for the wicked.
- This judgment reveals God’s glory in His mercy and justice.
- The exact day is unknown, emphasizing vigilance and preparedness for Christ’s return.