COMMON BELIEFS

We are partnering churches that are united where it matters most.

Plant Indy is a partnership of churches that unites for the purpose of planting and revitalizing churches in the central Indiana area. While these churches hold a variety of theological beliefs, Plant Indy is united by two theological documents, both of which are found below. While we affirm the goodness of theological diversity within certain limits, at least one pastor from each partner church is required to affirm these documents.

  1. Indianapolis Theological Seminary Statement of Common Beliefs
  2. Baptist Faith and Message 2000
ITS Statement of Common Beliefs

1) GOD

We believe there is one true God who subsists eternally in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

2) THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

We believe the sixty-six books of the Bible are verbally and plenarily inspired by God and are thus inerrant in the original autographs. The Bible is the final and sufficient authority for all matters of faith and practice, the only locus of God’s revealed will.

3) CREATION

We believe God sovereignly and effortlessly created the cosmos, for his own joy and glory, by the power of his word. As sovereign creator, he has every right and every beneficent purpose to impose his good design on creation. Accordingly, he created humanity in his image as either biological male or biological female, each with full ontological value and dignity, and distinct gender roles in the created order, as summarized in the Danvers Statement. Humanity’s original state was sinless, joyful, and free.

4) HUMANITY’S FALLEN STATE

We believe our first parents fell from that felicitous and innocent state by rebelling against their Creator, thus becoming sinners. Every human being fell with them and now, therefore, possesses a sinful nature from conception and performs acts of sin in likewise rebellion. It is utterly beyond the capacities of fallen humans to love God, to keep His laws, to understand his will, to repent of sin, or to trust in Christ for salvation.

5) JESUS CHRIST

We believe in the preexistence and the deity of Jesus Christ, the eternally begotten Son of God, who with the Father is equally worshipped and glorified.  He became incarnate, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and is thus and always will be fully divine and fully human. He came to the earth in order to redeem sinners through His perfect obedience to the Father, vicarious death, and true resurrection. He thus is, and always will remain, the sole mediator between God and sinners.

6) THE NATURE OF CHRIST’S ATONEMENT

We believe that Christ lived, died, and rose in order to secure, and did actually secure, the salvation of His elect as a penal substitutionary sacrifice for their sins.

7) THE NATURE OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION & ASCENSION 

We believe that on the third day after Christ’s death that he was bodily raised back to life in a glorified state, never again to taste death. He then ascended to the right hand of the Father, from where he now makes intercession for his people, rules the nations, and together with the Father pours out the Holy Spirit on His church.

8) THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, and is with the Father and the Son equally worshipped and glorified. He inspired the Scriptures and indwells the church. He convicts of sin and sovereignly regenerates rebellious hearts.

9) THE NATURE OF SAVING GRACE

We believe that God, before the foundation of the world, in love and for His own glory, did graciously elect a great multitude of men and women to eternal life as an act of free and sovereign grace. This election was in no way dependent upon His foresight of human faith, decision, works, or merit, but is wholly of grace alone.

10) EFFECTUAL CALLING

We believe that the Holy Spirit regenerates the hearts of the elect by sovereign grace through the proclamation of Christ’s person and work. They are thus made willing and able to come freely and gladly to Christ in faith.

11) REGENERATION

We believe that at the appointed time the Holy Spirit fundamentally changes the hearts of the elect to liberate them from the deceitfulness of sin, reveal to them the glory of God through Christ, bring understanding of their own fallen state and need for salvation, convict them of the truth and beauty of the work of Christ, and plant repentance and faith in their hearts.

12) JUSTIFICATION

We believe that sinners are declared righteous in the sight of God on account of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, received by faith alone.

13) SANCTIFICATION & THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS 

We believe that all who are regenerated will grow in Christ-likeness, at varying rates, throughout their lives. They will persevere through the proclamation of Christ’s person and work, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the normal means of grace, and will never finally fall away from the faith.

14) EVANGELISM AND MISSIONS

We believe God’s people are to participate in fulfilling the Great Commission by making disciples of all nations. As to motivation and efficacy, we believe that the doctrines of grace impel evangelism, missions, and prayer.

15) THE CHURCH

We believe the church is the duly authorized institution for the accomplishment of God’s work on earth. As such, it is under the authority of Christ alone, whose will is expressed in the Scriptures alone.

16) MARRIAGE & FAMILY

We believe that God established marriage to be between one man and one woman for life; therefore unbiblical divorce and all forms of porneia (e.g., adultery, pornography, homosexual activity, so-called same-sex “marriage,” etc.) are sinful to God. Likewise, self-identifying as any gender that does not cohere with God’s assigned sex at birth (either male or female) is equally sinful to God. The family is the most basic cultural social unit where one man and one woman, united in marriage, raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Though these institutions are ruined by sin, God has promised to make all things new, including fallen humanity, through the redemption of his elect.

17) LAST THINGS

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ shall come again to raise the dead bodily, both righteous and unrighteous, and that the righteous shall enjoy everlasting life and the wicked endure everlasting punishment

 
Baptist Faith and Message (2000)
I. The Scriptures

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 24:4Deuteronomy 4:1-217:19Joshua 8:34Psalms 19:7-10119:11,89,105,140Isaiah 34:1640:8Jeremiah 15:1636:1-32Matthew 5:17-1822:29Luke 21:3324:44-46John 5:3916:13-1517:17Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11Romans 15:416:25-262 Timothy 3:15-17Hebrews 1:1-24:121 Peter 1:252 Peter 1:19-21.

II. 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 1:12:7Exodus 3:146:2-315:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2Deuteronomy 6:432:61 Chronicles 29:10Psalm 19:1-3Isaiah 43:3,1564:8Jeremiah 10:1017:13Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:1123:928:19Mark 1:9-11John 4:245:2614:6-1317:1-8Acts 1:7Romans 8:14-151 Corinthians 8:6Galatians 4:6Ephesians 4:6Colossians 1:151 Timothy 1:17Hebrews 11:612:91 Peter 1:171 John 5:7

B. God the Son

Christ 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 7:14Isaiah 53:1-12Matthew 1:18-233:178:2911:2714:3316:16,2717:52728:1-6,19Mark 1:13:11Luke 1:354:4122:7024:46John 1:1-18,2910:30,3811:25-2712:44-5014:7-1116:15-16,2817:1-521-2220:1-20,28Acts 1:92:22-247:55-569:4-5,20Romans 1:3-43:23-265:6-218:1-3,3410:41 Corinthians 1:302:28:615:1-8,24-282 Corinthians 5:19-218:9Galatians 4:4-5Ephesians 1:203:114:7-10Philippians 2:5-11Colossians 1:13-222:91 Thessalonians 4:14-181 Timothy 2:5-63:16Titus 2:13-14Hebrews 1:1-34:14-157:14-289:12-15,24-2812:213:81 Peter 2:21-253:221 John 1:7-93:24:14-155:92 John 7-9Revelation 1:13-165:9-1412:10-1113:819:16.

C. God the Holy Spirit

The 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 Saviour, 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 1:2Judges 14:6Job 26:13Psalms 51:11139:7ff.; Isaiah 61:1-3Joel 2:28-32Matthew 1:183:164:112:28-3228:19Mark 1:10,12Luke 1:354:1,18-1911:1312:1224:49John 4:2414:16-17,2615:2616:7-14Acts 1:82:1-4,384:315:36:37:558:17,3910:4413:215:2816:619:1-6Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-271 Corinthians 2:10-143:1612:3-11,13Galatians 4:6Ephesians 1:13-144:305:181 Thessalonians 5:191 Timothy 3:164:12 Timothy 1:143:16Hebrews 9:8,142 Peter 1:211 John 4:135:6-7Revelation 1:1022:17.

III. 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 1:26-302:5,7,18-2239:6Psalms 18:3-632:1-551:5Isaiah 6:5Jeremiah 17:5Matthew 16:26Acts 17:26-31Romans 1:19-323:10-18,235:6,12,196:67:14-258:14-18,291 Corinthians 1:21-3115:19,21-22Ephesians 2:1-22Colossians 1:21-223:9-11.

IV. Salvation

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, 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. Regeneration, or the 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 Saviour.

B. Justification is God’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. Sanctification is the 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. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

Genesis 3:15Exodus 3:14-176:2-8Matthew 1:214:1716:21-2627:22-28:6Luke 1:68-692:28-32John 1:11-14,293:3-21,365:2410:9,28-2915:1-1617:17Acts 2:214:1215:1116:30-3117:30-3120:32Romans 1:16-182:43:23-254:3ff.; 5:8-106:1-238:1-18,29-3910:9-10,1313:11-141 Corinthians 1:18,306:19-2015:102 Corinthians 5:17-20Galatians 2:203:135:22-256:15Ephesians 1:72:8-224:11-16Philippians 2:12-13Colossians 1:9-223:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-242 Timothy 1:12Titus 2:11-14Hebrews 2:1-35:8-99:24-2811:1-12:8,14James 2:14-261 Peter 1:2-231 John 1:6-2:11Revelation 3:2021:1-22:5.

V. 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 12:1-3Exodus 19:5-81 Samuel 8:4-7,19-22Isaiah 5:1-7Jeremiah 31:31ff.; Matthew 16:18-1921:28-4524:22,3125:34Luke 1:68-792:29-3219:41-4424:44-48John 1:12-143:165:246:44-45,6510:27-2915:1617:6,12,17-18Acts 20:32Romans 5:9-108:28-3910:12-1511:5-7,26-361 Corinthians 1:1-215:24-28Ephesians 1:4-232:1-103:1-11Colossians 1:12-142 Thessalonians 2:13-142 Timothy 1:122:10,19Hebrews 11:39–12:2James 1:121 Peter 1:2-5,132:4-101 John 1:7-92:193:2.

VI. 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 16:15-1918:15-20Acts 2:41-42,475:11-146:3-613:1-314:23,2715:1-3016:520:28Romans 1:71 Corinthians 1:23:165:4-57:179:13-1412Ephesians 1:22-232:19-223:8-11,215:22-32Philippians 1:1Colossians 1:181 Timothy 2:9-143:1-154:14Hebrews 11:39-401 Peter 5:1-4Revelation 2-321:2-3.

VII. 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 Saviour, 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 3:13-1726:26-3028:19-20Mark 1:9-1114:22-26Luke 3:21-2222:19-20John 3:23Acts 2:41-428:35-3916:30-3320:7Romans 6:3-51 Corinthians 10:16,2111:23-29Colossians 2:12.

VIII. The Lord’s Day

The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Exodus 20:8-11Matthew 12:1-1228:1ff.; Mark 2:27-2816:1-7Luke 24:1-3,33-36John 4:21-2420:1,19-28Acts 20:7Romans 14:5-10I Corinthians 16:1-2Colossians 2:163:16Revelation 1:10.

IX. The Kingdom

The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God’s will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.

Genesis 1:1Isaiah 9:6-7Jeremiah 23:5-6Matthew 3:24:8-10,2312:25-2813:1-5225:31-4626:29Mark 1:14-159:1Luke 4:438:19:212:31-3217:20-2123:42John 3:318:36Acts 1:6-717:22-31Romans 5:178:191 Corinthians 15:24-28Colossians 1:13Hebrews 11:10,1612:281 Peter 2:4-104:13Revelation 1:6,95:1011:1521-22.

X. Last Things

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

Isaiah 2:411:9Matthew 16:2718:8-919:2824:27,30,36,4425:31-4626:64Mark 8:389:43-48Luke 12:40,4816:19-2617:22-3721:27-28John 14:1-3Acts 1:1117:31Romans 14:101 Corinthians 4:515:24-28,35-582 Corinthians 5:10Philippians 3:20-21Colossians 1:53:41 Thessalonians 4:14-185:1ff.; 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 21 Timothy 6:142 Timothy 4:1,8Titus 2:13Hebrews 9:27-28James 5:82 Peter 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:283:2Jude 14Revelation 1:183:1120:1-22:13.

XI. 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 12:1-3Exodus 19:5-6Isaiah 6:1-8Matthew 9:37-3810:5-1513:18-3037-4316:1922:9-1024:1428:18-20Luke 10:1-1824:46-53John 14:11-1215:7-8,1617:1520:21Acts 1:828:26-4010:42-4813:2-3Romans 10:13-15Ephesians 3:1-111 Thessalonians 1:82 Timothy 4:5Hebrews 2:1-311:39-12:21 Peter 2:4-10Revelation 22:17.

XII. Education

Christianity is the faith of enlightenment and intelligence. In Jesus Christ abide all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All sound learning is, therefore, a part of our Christian heritage. The new birth opens all human faculties and creates a thirst for knowledge. Moreover, the cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the causes of missions and general benevolence, and should receive along with these the liberal support of the churches. An adequate system of Christian education is necessary to a complete spiritual program for Christ’s people.

In Christian education there should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility. Freedom in any orderly relationship of human life is always limited and never absolute. The freedom of a teacher in a Christian school, college, or seminary is limited by the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, by the authoritative nature of the Scriptures, and by the distinct purpose for which the school exists.

Deuteronomy 4:1,5,9,146:1-1031:12-13Nehemiah 8:1-8Job 28:28Psalms 19:7ff.; 119:11Proverbs 3:13ff.; 4:1-108:1-7,1115:14Ecclesiastes 7:19Matthew 5:27:24ff.; 28:19-20Luke 2:401 Corinthians 1:18-31Ephesians 4:11-16Philippians 4:8Colossians 2:3,8-91 Timothy 1:3-72 Timothy 2:153:14-17Hebrews 5:12-6:3James 1:53:17.

XIII. 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 14:20Leviticus 27:30-32Deuteronomy 8:18Malachi 3:8-12Matthew 6:1-4,19-2119:2123:2325:14-29Luke 12:16-21,4216:1-13Acts 2:44-475:1-1117:24-2520:35Romans 6:6-2212:1-21 Corinthians 4:1-26:19-201216:1-42 Corinthians 8-912:15Philippians 4:10-191 Peter 1:18-19

XIV. 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 17:1218:17ff.; Judges 7:21Ezra 1:3-42:68-695:14-15Nehemiah 48:1-5Matthew 10:5-1520:1-1622:1-1028:19-20Mark 2:3Luke 10:1ff.; Acts 1:13-142:1ff.; 4:31-3713:2-315:1-351 Corinthians 1:10-173:5-15122 Corinthians 8-9Galatians 1:6-10Ephesians 4:1-16Philippians 1:15-18

XV. The Christian and the Social Order

All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.

Exodus 20:3-17Leviticus 6:2-5Deuteronomy 10:1227:17Psalm 101:5Micah 6:8Zechariah 8:16Matthew 5:13-16,43-4822:36-4025:35Mark 1:29-342:3ff.; 10:21Luke 4:18-2110:27-3720:25John 15:1217:15Romans 12–141Corinthians 5:9-106:1-77:20-2410:23-11:1Galatians 3:26-28Ephesians 6:5-9Colossians 3:12-171 Thessalonians 3:12; Philemon; James 1:272:8.

XVI. Peace and War

It is the duty of Christians to seek peace with all men on principles of righteousness. In accordance with the spirit and teachings of Christ they should do all in their power to put an end to war.

The true remedy for the war spirit is the gospel of our Lord. The supreme need of the world is the acceptance of His teachings in all the affairs of men and nations, and the practical application of His law of love. Christian people throughout the world should pray for the reign of the Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 2:4Matthew 5:9,38-486:3326:52Luke 22:36,38Romans 12:18-1913:1-714:19Hebrews 12:14James 4:1-2.

XVII. Religious Liberty

God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained in it. Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. In providing for such freedom no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more than others. Civil government being ordained of God, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience thereto in all things not contrary to the revealed will of God. The church should not resort to the civil power to carry on its work. The gospel of Christ contemplates spiritual means alone for the pursuit of its ends. The state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind. The state has no right to impose taxes for the support of any form of religion. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power.

Genesis 1:272:7Matthew 6:6-7,2416:2622:21John 8:36Acts 4:19-20Romans 6:1-213:1-7Galatians 5:1,13Philippians 3:201 Timothy 2:1-2James 4:121 Peter 2:12-173:11-174:12-19.

XVIII. The Family

God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.

The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.

Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

Genesis 1:26-282:15-253:1-20Exodus 20:12Deuteronomy 6:4-9Joshua 24:151 Samuel 1:26-28Psalms 51:578:1-8127128139:13-16Proverbs 1:85:15-206:20-2212:413:2414:117:618:2222:6,1523:13-1424:329:15,1731:10-31Ecclesiastes 4:9-129:9Malachi 2:14-16Matthew 5:31-3218:2-519:3-9Mark 10:6-12Romans 1:18-321 Corinthians 7:1-16Ephesians 5:21-336:1-4Colossians 3:18-211 Timothy 5:8,142 Timothy 1:3-5Titus 2:3-5Hebrews 13:41 Peter 3:1-7.

 

Ecclesiology Supplement

Below is an articulation of historic baptist ecclesiological beliefs and practices that Plant Indy seeks to advance. While not every Church Plant or Church Revitalization may be marked by the following ecclesiology due to various circumstances, it is the goal of Plant Indy that each approved Church Plant and Church Revitalization would grow towards the beliefs and practices outlined below:

The Nature and Mission and Unity of the True Church

  1. We believe that the marks of a true church are the right preaching of the Word and the proper practice of the ordinances, as defined herein.
  2. We believe that the church has only two ordinances: baptism and communion.
  3. We believe that each local church consists of genuine Christians who have believed the gospel, been baptized as believers, covenanted together as members, and who regularly partake of communion together.
  4. We believe that the mission of the church is to “go into the world and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship the Lord and obey his commands now and in eternity to the glory of God the Father.”

Local Church Governance and Offices

  1. We believe that each local church is autonomous from other churches and ecclesiastical institutions, including but not limited to the governance of its own affairs and the ownership of its assets.
  2. We believe that under the authority of the Triune God’s word, churches ought to be elder-led, deacon-served, and member-governed.
  3. We believe that churches ought to be led by a plurality of elders, unless this is not possible due to lack of qualified men.
  4. We believe that only men qualified in accordance with 1 Timothy 3:1–7, Titus 1:6–9, and 1 Peter 5:1–4 may serve as elders of churches, and must be approved by the congregation.
  5. We believe that only persons qualified in accordance with 1 Timothy 3:8–13 may serve as deacons of churches, and must be approved by the congregation.
  6. We believe that only Christians who have a) been baptized by immersion after their necessary conversion and b) who covenant together under a unified statement of faith may join a church as members.
  7. We believe that a local church is wise to implement practices that ascertain the genuineness of peoples’ conversion before they join the local church, which may include discerning prospective members’ understanding of the gospel, the circumstances surrounding their baptism, and the fruit of repentance in their lives.

Baptism and Communion

  1. We believe that only those who have repented of their sins and trusted exclusively on the gospel of Jesus Christ are the proper subjects of baptism.
  2. We believe that churches ought practice water baptism by immersion after conversion in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  3. We believe that communion ought to be practiced regularly in remembrance of Jesus’s person and work.

Church Membership & Restorative Church Discipline

  1. We believe that a local church gathered in Jesus’s name has the responsibility to receive or remove persons from church membership.
  2. We believe that each church ought to practice restorative church discipline in its various steps according primarily (although not exclusively) to Matthew 18:15–20 and 1 Corinthians 5.
  3. We believe that members who persist in major, outward, and unrepentant sin ought to be excommunicated, and that excommunicated members ought not partake in communion unless they have repented of their sin.

Preaching

  1. We believe that the primary practice of preaching in the local church ought to be expositional, defined as making the main contours of the biblical text the main contours of the sermon, applying them, and continuing this through successive passages of scripture week by week.
  2. We believe that only qualified men may preach from the Bible to an audience of adult men and women in the local church context.
  3. We believe that expositional preaching ought to be live and in-person. We also recognize that this may be reached after a few years in certain church planting proposals.

Inerrancy, Manhood and Womanhood, and Sexuality/Gender

  1. We Affirm the Chicago Statement (1978).
  2. We affirm the Danvers Statement (1988).
  3. We affirm the Nashville Statement (2017).

-Download a PDF version of the Plant Indy Ecclesiology Supplement