Introduction
Thank you for visiting our website. The purpose of this document is two-fold. For one: we are burdened for the church – both our local church and the church-at-large. We are living in very confusing times in church history – some would characterize them as the most confusing in the history of the church. People today, Christians and non-christians alike, are confused about the Gospel; they are confused about the definition of the true Christian life; they are confused about the purpose of a church – and so on. And the second purpose of this document is that we recognize that churches are different – even churches with “Baptist” in their names.
1. Glory of God Focused
“Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God and to fully enjoy Him forever” (taken from various historic catechisms). “Glory of God focused” means that we believe that we have been created and redeemed by God and for God, therefore, we long for our chief desire to be to know God and promote His glory in every circumstance of life and among all the peoples of the earth. In a word: “…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1st Cor. 10:31).
2. Christ-Centered
God is most glorified through the Person and work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. By His unrivaled character and work (merit), He has redeemed for Himself a people (the Church). As His church, we strive above all things to know Him, love Him, praise Him, and serve Him. It is by, through, and for Him that we exist. It is our goal to keep Him the honored center of all that we say and do! “In all things He must have the preeminence…” (Col. 1:18).
3. The Sufficiency of Scripture
We believe that God has provided us in the Scripture with everything necessary to nurture and sustain spiritual life. That means we are committed to teaching and to counseling directly and exclusively from the Word of God. We teach that secular psychology does not have any legitimate role in the sanctification of the believer. Regarding creation, due to our position on the sufficiency of Scripture we teach that the Book of Genesis provides a straightforward, literal presentation of the historical events it describes. We teach and believe, therefore, that God created everything in six literal days. We reject every form of theistic evolution.
4. Bible Saturated and thoroughly Biblical
It is our desire to be thoroughly biblical in the totality of our lives – recognizing that none of us is perfect. Our purpose, our methods, and our goals must be from sound, biblical teaching. We reject the modern concept that biblical goals can be achieved by man-centered, man-empowered methods. Our theology must dictate our methodology.
5. Expository Bible Preaching
We view the hub of the wheel of God’s church as the preaching of the word of God in the power of the Spirit (2nd Tim. 3:16-4:2). Therefore, it is our view that pastors or teachers in our church must strive to be thoroughly Biblical. They must avoid the temptation of misusing Scripture to support a man-centered or culturally relevant message. The biblical text should be preached exegetically in its historical and grammatical context, giving application for today’s world. We view the pulpit as being indispensable to the church’s growth in knowledge, holiness, and love. It cannot and should not be replaced or diminished.
6. Biblical Worship
The music we use in our worship services strives to lead our church family to glorify God and to edify one another through singing and musical instruments, ministering with spiritual passion and doctrinal integrity, while maintaining high standards of musical excellence. Worship through music is to reinforce the faith through song and to express congregational praise and worship to a transcendent triune God who is our Audience.
7. Biblical Conversion and Assurance
A biblical understanding of regeneration and conversion is absolutely essential to the Christian faith. We believe that salvation is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5) that is enduring (Phil. 1:6), and that it is evidenced by the bearing of fruit (Matt. 7:16-20). The man who walks in a continual state of carnality with no divine discipline can have no assurance of true sonship (Heb. 2:8) – no matter how adamantly he professes his allegiance to Christ. All Christians still sin, sometimes horribly, and sometimes for extended periods without repentance. But a decreasing pattern of sin and an increasing pattern of holiness will characterize the life of every true Christian.
8. Discipleship
The purpose of Sun Oak Baptist Church is to glorify God by obediently making and equipping disciples of Christ, in Citrus Heights and throughout the world, by the power of the Spirit. The primary means employed to disciple believers are expository preaching, small group interaction, accountability, and personal one-on-one discipleship.
9. Compassionate Church Discipline
Although church discipline is a foundational doctrine in church history, it is now almost non-existent among “contemporary” churches. This forgotten and often misunderstood Bible doctrine is still practiced in our church. We teach that if we truly seek to honor God, and if we truly care for the well-being of His people, we will obey Christ’s commands to practice church discipline. When practiced biblically and compassionately, it is a powerful tool to restore the fallen and to preserve Christ’s honor in the church and the unbelieving world.
10. Biblical Evangelism
It is the duty of every believer to evangelize the lost. We stand against what some people refer to as "hyper-Calvinism" on the one hand and “easy believism” on the other. We are committed to preach the Gospel to every creature and to implore all men to repent and believe. At the same time, we recognize that neither repentance nor faith can be produced by manipulating the emotion or coercing the will. They are the result of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.
11. Personalized World Missions
The Great Commission is a great command. Personal involvement in world missions is not a suggestion or an option, but it is demanded of every true believer. The entire local church family should be personally and strategically involved in world missions, mobilizing laborers, prayer, and finances to the end of glorifying God among all peoples. We are either called to go down into the well (be a missionary) or to hold the rope for those who are going down (support missionaries). Either way, our dedication must be costly and enduring.
12. We are a Baptist Church
We hold to the historic Baptist distinctives often expressed by the acrostic “B-A-P-T-I-S-T” as follows: the Bible alone is our authority; Autonomy of the local church; Priesthood of the believer; Two ordinances: baptism by immersion after salvation and Communion; Individual Soul Liberty; Saved church membership; Two offices in the church: pastors/elders and deacons.
We teach and believe that church membership is limited to those who have publicly professed that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior, have obediently followed the Lord in Believer’s Baptism by immersion, and have evidenced true conversion by a changed life. Anyone wishing to join our church completes a membership application and attends a class taught by our pastor.
13. Congregational Government
A New Testament church is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers. Church government or leadership is congregational in context and, therefore, the final word in matters pertaining to the congregation must come from the congregation itself (Matt. 18:15-17, Acts 6:2-5, 1st Cor. 5:4-5, 2nd Cor. 2:6).
14. The Local Congregation
We teach and believe that meaningful and enduring fellowship in a local congregation is absolutely essential to the Christian’s life and ministry. Media ministries can never take the place of the local church and its ministers. We are committed not only to congregate, but to do so for the purpose of encouraging one another and stimulating one another to love and good deeds (Heb. 10: 24-25).
15. Every Member Ministry
Every Christian in the local congregation without exception has been given spiritual gifts, which they are commanded to employ for the edification of the entire congregation. The administration of such gifts by every member is necessary for the proper growth and ministry of the church.
16. Parent-Driven Children’s Ministry
Parents are primarily responsible for the discipleship and discipline of their children. The church should not usurp the authority of godly parents, nor assume the responsibilities of parents who are lax in their duties. The church should give itself to teaching the biblical principles of parenthood and to holding parents accountable to carry them out in the context of families. While we have an active program for children, it should be viewed as an extension of the parents’ roles, and it is never to replace them.
17. Parent-Driven Youth Ministry
At the present time our youth ministry is limited because of the size of our church. However, as the Lord sees fit to grow His church, we are committed to the proposition that a youth ministry is not to be designed around the presumed unique needs or desires of young people, but it is centered on God’s will for young people as revealed in His Word. Our youth ministry is parent-driven. Our goal is to strengthen parents in their God-called responsibility to “bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). The so-called “generation gap” and the “adolescent years” are a result of sin and should not be encouraged by the church or youth ministries. Our youth ministry will not be centered on music, drama, comedy, or other entertainments but on the faithful preaching of God’s Word and Small Groups for application of Scripture, meeting personal needs, and one-on-one discipleship and accountability. While other activities may be allowed, they must never take the place of or de-emphasize the preaching of the Word or the leadership of fathers in discipling their children.
18. Biblical Courtship
We believe that dating as it is practiced in our contemporary culture is an unbiblical practice that has led to untold misery among the people of God. Although the Scriptures do not specifically address courtship in every aspect, it does give us countless sound principles by which our young men and women may guide their relationships with the opposite sex and discover God’s will for marriage.
19. The Role of Women
We believe that both men and women bear the image of God and that those in Christ enjoy equal spiritual standing before God. However, Scripture teaches that God has assigned different roles and responsibilities to men and women – both in the church and at home. The husband is to be the gracious and loving head of his home, while the wife is to submit to her husband’s leadership. God has provided equally clear roles in the church. While there are many ways women can serve, we believe that Scripture forbids women from teaching and leading men, or in any way exercising authority over men in the context of the church.