Edgefield Baptist Church family...friends...community
Our Vision...
"Our purpose is to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in our world, and to build up the body of Christ in love, through worship, discipleship, fellowship & ministry."
More than a building or a name, Edgefield Baptist Church is a fellowship of believers committed to worshiping and serving the Lord, Jesus Christ. Here at Edgefield, you'll discover that our ministries are geared to various life stages and needs.
At Edgefield, we have a place for everyone to worship, connect, and serve. Together, we worship God, giving honor and glory to our Heavenly Father. Together, we connect in Bible study, small groups, and fellowship. Together, we serve one another, striving to meet not only the needs of our church family, but our surrounding community as well.
We sincerely hope you'll find your home here with us.
Our Affiliations...
At Edgefield Baptist Church, we gladly associate ourselves with three important groups of churches for the purpose of reaching more people for Christ and starting even more churches.
1) The Nashville Baptist Association is made up of other Baptist churches in our area who desire to reach more people and start more churches. There are currently about 170 churches in this association.
2) The Tennessee Baptist Convention is made up of about 2,800 churches all over our state. We have committed to work together to impact our state for Christ. On any given Sunday, worship services are held in about 30 languages.
3) The Southern Baptist Convention is made up of about 45,000 churches and about 16 million members. It is the largest association of Christian churches in America. SBC churches include every race, nationality and ethnic group. Each Sunday, services are held in over 110 language groups. Also, it is one of the fastest growing groups. The SBC baptizes over 1,000 new Christians a day in the U.S., and begins nearly 5 new churches a day.
Our Beliefs...
The
Scripture...The Holy
Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to
man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author,
salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.
Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the
principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end
of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by
which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All
Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine
revelation.
Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10;
119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18;
22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11;
Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2
Peter 1:19-21.
God...There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
A. God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over
His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history
according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all
loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God
through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2;
Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8;
Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John
4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6;
Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6;
12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7.
B. God the SonChrist is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.
Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1- 8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1- 3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.
C. God the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7ff.; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17.
Man...Man
is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and
female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of
the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was
endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned
against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan
man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence
whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin.
Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become
transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man
into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God.
The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His
own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every
race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah
6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23;
5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22;
Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11.
Salvation...Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
A. RegenerationThe new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.
Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.
B. JustificationGod's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.
C. SanctificationThe experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.
D. GlorificationThe culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28- 32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.
God's
Purpose of Grace...Election
is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies,
sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man,
and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious
display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and
unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.
All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and
sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but
shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and
temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts,
and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves;
yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-8; 1 Samuel 8:4-7,19-22; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah
31:31ff.; Matthew 16:18- 19; 21:28-45; 24:22,31; 25:34; Luke 1:68-79; 2:29-32;
19:41-44; 24:44-48; John 1:12-14; 3:16; 5:24; 6:44-45,65; 10:27-29; 15:16;
17:6,12,17-18; Acts 20:32; Romans 5:9-10; 8:28-39; 10:12-15; 11:5- 7,26-36; 1
Corinthians 1:1-2; 15:24-28; Ephesians 1:4-23; 2:1-10; 3:1-11; Colossians
1:12-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Timothy 1:12; 2:10,19; Hebrews 11:39–12:2;
James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:2-5,13; 2:4-10; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:19; 3:2.
The
Church...A
New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local
congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and
fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by
His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His
Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each
congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes.
In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as
Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women
are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as
qualified by Scripture.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes
all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and
people, and nation.
Matthew 16:15-19; 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42,47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 13:1-3;
14:23,27; 15:1-30; 16:5; 20:28; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5;
7:17; 9:13-14; 12; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11,21; 5:22-32; Philippians
1:1; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14; Hebrews 11:39- 40; 1 Peter
5:1-4; Revelation 2-3; 21:2-3.
Baptism
and the Lord's Supper...Christian
baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's
faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the
burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in
Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the
dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church
membership and to the Lord's Supper.
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church,
through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death
of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22;
22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; 1
Corinthians 10:16,21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12.
Evangelism
and Missions...It
is the duty and privilege of every
follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to
make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man's spirit by God's Holy
Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all
rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly
and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has
commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every
child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness
undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the
gospel of Christ.
Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-6; Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 9:37-38; 10:5-15;
13:18-30, 37-43; 16:19; 22:9-10; 24:14; 28:18-20; Luke 10:1-18; 24:46-53; John
14:11-12; 15:7-8,16; 17:15; 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2; 8:26-40; 10:42-48; 13:2-3;
Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 3:1-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; 2 Timothy 4:5; Hebrews
2:1-3; 11:39-12:2; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 22:17.
Stewardship...God
is the source of all
blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him.
Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in
the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore
under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material
possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the
glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians
should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically,
proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer's cause on
earth.
Genesis 14:20; Leviticus 27:30-32; Deuteronomy 8:18; Malachi 3:8-12; Matthew
6:1-4,19-21; 19:21; 23:23; 25:14-29; Luke 12:16-21,42; 16:1-13; Acts 2:44-47;
5:1-11; 17:24-25; 20:35; Romans 6:6-22; 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 4:1-2; 6:19-20;
12; 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 8-9; 12:15; Philippians 4:10-19; 1 Peter 1:18-19.
Cooperation...Christ's
people should, as
occasion requires, organize such associations and conventions as may best secure
cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have
no authority over one another or over the churches. They are voluntary and
advisory bodies designed to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our
people in the most effective manner. Members of New Testament churches should
cooperate with one another in carrying forward the missionary, educational, and
benevolent ministries for the extension of Christ's Kingdom. Christian unity in
the New Testament sense is spiritual harmony and voluntary cooperation for
common ends by various groups of Christ's people. Cooperation is desirable
between the various Christian denominations, when the end to be attained is
itself justified, and when such cooperation involves no violation of conscience
or compromise of loyalty to Christ and His Word as revealed in the New
Testament.
Exodus 17:12; 18:17ff.; Judges 7:21; Ezra 1:3-4; 2:68-69; 5:14-15; Nehemiah
4; 8:1-5; Matthew 10:5- 15; 20:1-16; 22:1-10; 28:19-20; Mark 2:3; Luke 10:1ff.;
Acts 1:13-14; 2:1ff.; 4:31-37; 13:2-3; 15:1- 35; 1 Corinthians 1:10-17; 3:5-15;
12; 2 Corinthians 8-9; Galatians 1:6-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Philippians 1:15-18.
700 Russell Street I Nashville, Tennessee 37206 I 615.255.0468 I ebcsbc@bellsouth.net