What we Believe - Riverside Baptist Church

Core Beliefs
• The Bible
We believe the Scriptures are the inspired, inerrant, infallible, and complete Word of God. They are the final and supreme authority for all faith, doctrine, and practice.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 2 Peter 1:20–21 Psalm 12:6-7
• God
We believe in one eternal, living, and true God who exists in three co-equal, co-eternal Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Deuteronomy 6:4 Matthew 28:19 2 Corinthians 13:14 Genesis 1:26
• Jesus Christ
We believe Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, died as the substitutionary atonement for our sins, rose bodily from the dead, ascended to the Father, and will return visibly and gloriously. We believe that prior to His return to earth, Jesus Christ Himself will return in the clouds to take His Church, both living and dead in Christ, to be with Him Forever.
John 1:1, 14 Luke 1:35 Isaiah 7:14 / Matthew 1:23 1 Peter 2:22 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 Acts 1:9–11 Revelation 1:7 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 John 14:3
• The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; regenerates all who believe; baptizes them into the body of Christ; indwells them permanently; and empowers them for godly living and Christian service.
John 16:8 John 3:5–6 Titus 3:5 1 Corinthians 12:13 1 Corinthians 6:19 Acts 1:8 Romans 8:9
• Salvation
We believe salvation is the free gift of God’s grace, received through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:8–9 John 3:16 Titus 3:5 Romans 10:9–10, 13 2 Corinthians 5:17
• Humanity
We believe all people are created in the image of God, yet through Adam’s fall have inherited a sinful nature and are separated from God.
Genesis 1:26–27 Romans 5:12 Romans 3:23 Ephesians 2:1
Practice & Principles
• Baptism
We believe baptism is a New Testament ordinance for believers—an outward expression of an inward faith.
Matthew 28:19–20 Acts 2:41 Acts 8:36–38 Romans 6:3–5
• The Lord’s Supper
We believe the Lord’s Supper is a sacred ordinance given by Christ as a memorial of His death and a reminder of His return.
1 Corinthians 11:23–26 Luke 22:19–20
• Religious Liberty
We believe every individual is free and responsible to respond to God personally in matters of faith and conscience.
Romans 14:5, 12 Joshua 24:15 Galatians 5:1 Acts 5:29