Answers to some of your questions

What does it mean to be “born again” ?
Jesus himself when answering the Pharisee Nicodemus, said in John 3:7 “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” Jesus was of course speaking of the second birth because you nor I can enter the second time into our mother’s womb. Your first birth was of water.(not by baptism but from your Mother’s womb) But your second birth must be of the Spirit. John 4:24 says: God is a Spirit: and they that worship God must worship him in spirit and in truth. Acts 3:19 says: Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out… Romans 10:9 says: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. So let me ask you a question ? Are you born again ? Have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ for your never dying ever living souls sake ? I hope you have.

Is the King James Bible the inspired & preserved words of God ?
God promised in Psalm 12:6-7 That He would purify, keep and preserve his words from this generation for ever. And God, who cannot lie, preserved them (his words) just like He promised He would. God did this by taking the inspired original autographs and preserving them and inspiring them today in the English and more specifically in the Authorized 1611 King James Bible.

Is Jesus Christ God ?
Jesus Christ was labeled a blasphemer by the chief priests and brought before Pilate for making the following statement in John 10:30 “I and my Father are one.” Jesus is the Resurrection and the life. None other but God who was manifest in the flesh could make the following statement found in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” The Apostle Paul settles the matter once and for all in 1 Timothy 3:16 when he states “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Jesus IS Lord !

Statement of Faith

(A) We believe the The Holy Bible, The King James 1611 Authorized Version, is the inspired word of God, the written record of a supernatural revelation of Himself to man, absolute in its authority, complete in its revelation, final in its content, the standard by which all human conduct, creed, and opinions should be tried, and is without error.

1. Holy Bible: By the “Holy Bible” we mean the collection of sixty-six books, from Genesis to Revelation, which God has preserved for the English speaking people in the Authorized Version of the King James Bible; they not only contain and convey the word of God but are the very words of God.(Ps.12: 6,7)

2. Inspiration: By “Inspiration” we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy men of old, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, in such a definite way that the writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from error, as no other writings. (2 Tim.3:16)

3. Faith and Practice; Joy Baptist Church embraces the Holy Scriptures (A.V. 1611 K.J.V.) as our ONLY authority in matters of faith and practice, should there ever be a conflict between the constitution and the clear writings of Scripture, the latter shall prevail.

(B) THE GODHEAD. We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; John 14:10,26).

1. We believe the The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (Isa. 7:14, 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor 5:19-2 1; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8).
2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24; Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
3. We believe that The Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfils the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 7:25, 9:24; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2).

(D) THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

1. We believe that The Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14).
2. We believe that He (the Holy Spirit) is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 1:17-18, 5:18; 1 John 2:20,27).
3. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28; Eph. 4:7-12).
4. We believe that the sign gifts of The Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary (died along w/the apostles). We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of The Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing (1 Cor. 1:22, 13:8, 14:21-22).

(E) MAN IS MORALLY CORRUPT. We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adams sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23, 5:12, 6:23 10:13; Eph. 2:1-3, 4:17-19; 2 Pet. 3:9).

(F) SALVATION. We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Eph. 1:7, 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

(G) THE ETERNAL SECURITY AND ASSURANCE OF THE BELIEVER.
1. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by Gods power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38-39: 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:4-5).

2. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of Gods word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).

(H) THE CHURCH.

1. We believe in a universal and invisible Church which is entered into by an individual at the moment of salvation. The agent of this transaction is the Holy Spirit who baptizes that believer spiritually into the Church invisible: the Body of Christ. We reject the so-called Baptist Bride positions and their theories on the Church, Baptism, the nature of John Baptist's work, etc.

2. We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; 1Peter 5:1-4).

3. We recognize water baptism by immersion, and that baptism is a (figure) & testimony of our salvation and by no means a prerequisite to salvation (1 Pet.3:21). Also the Lords Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:18; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; 1 Cor. 5:7,8).

(I) Separation. We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as NOT to bring reproach upon their Saviour and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God (Rom. 12:1-2, 14:13; 2 Cor 6:14, 7:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11).

(J) THE SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. We believe in that “blessed hope”, the personal, imminent return of Jesus Christ for his bride (the Church) 1 Thess 4:13-18. v 17…”Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them (the dead in Christ) in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord”. He will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period . At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel (Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; 1 Thess.1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6).

(K) THE ETERNAL STATE.
1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment in a lake of fire.(Matt. 25:46; John 5:28,29, 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-15).
2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23, 3:21; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6).
3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when with the soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15).

(L) THE PERSONALITY OF SATAN. We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and, he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job 1:6-7; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11, 25:41; Rev. 20:10).

(M) CREATION. We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, The Day-Age Theory and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural & heretical theories of origin. (Genesis 1:2; Exodus 20:11).