Tampico Baptist Church

The Scriptures

We believe the Bible is God- breathed, inerrant, infallible, and it is as it claims to be, the Word of God (2 Tim.3:16). God the Holy Spirit used holy men through the process of inspiration to move them to write not just thoughts, but every word (2 Pt.1:21)(Mt.4:4). This “moving” of the Holy Spirit was not the same as the moving or inspiration that a poet feels as he writes, but more of carrying them to write.

God not only gave His Word, but He promised to preserve it for every generation (Psalm 12:6-7) (Is.40:8). As a result, the King James Bible is the Word of God preserved by God for the English-speaking people. The Bible is just as true, relevant and profitable today as it was when it was written in the original manuscripts (Hebrews 4:12). According to 2 Tim. 3:16, the Bible is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.

Creation

We believe in a %100 literal interpretation of the Creation story as recorded in Genesis that God spoke the entire world into existence in six, literal, 24 hour days. We reject the theory of evolution as a theory invented by man in an attempt to remove the authority of God, and not only is it completely contrary and incompatible with God's word, but it is also unscientific. We also reject any attempts twist God's word in or to fit the theory of evolution into the Bible. We are a Church that is passionate about apologetics and we strive to equip believers to always be prepared to give a reason to anyone who asks for the hope that is in them. (I Peter 3:15).

The Fall Of Man

We believe God made man in His image; this image is one of a perfect state. God also gave man a freewill, making him responsible for his own decisions. Because Adam sinned in the garden, every man born after him is born with a sin nature (Rom.3:10, 23, Rom.5:12). A man is not a sinner because he sins, but he sins because he is a sinner.

Theology Proper

There is one God and supreme being that is holy, ever existent, all powerful, all knowing and ever present in the affairs of man today (Deut.6:4, Lk.1:37, Is.40). God is a triune God, but manifests Himself as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, forming the Trinity. God is then three Persons in one Essence, not three distinct gods (1 Jn.5:7). God is a loving God and at the same time a holy God, therefore, though He loves man, He hates sin. Because of the sin of man, the world today has rejected God and His Word. As a result, God required death as a payment for the sin of man and sent His Son to pay that price. (Rom.6:23, Jn.3:16, 2 Cor.5:21).

Jesus The Son Of God

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and at the same time God the Son. Christ was not created, but the relationship between Jesus' humanity and deity can be seen in the hypostatic union (100% God and 100% man) (Jn.10:30, Jn.8:58, Jn.1:1,14). Since Jesus is God in the flesh, He possesses all of the attributes of God the Father (Mk.2, Jn.1:3, Col.1:16-18; 2:9).

Jesus Christ was born of a virgin by the Holy Spirit and lived a perfect life while on earth(Lk.1:34-35). The purpose of His coming was to pay the price of sin on the cross, and therefore provide a way for man to receive the forgiveness of sins (Lk.19:10, Jn.3:16). Without this sacrifice, man would have no hope of ever receiving eternal life.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the trinity. He is not just a force, a power, or a pleasant feeling that one experiences, but is One with God the Father (Acts 5:3-4, 1 Jn.5:7). When Christ left, He left us the Holy Spirit; to reprove the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (Jn.16:8). At the point of salvation, the Holy Spirit seals the believer, dwells in him, and gives him eternal life (Eph.1, 4:30). The Holy Spirit then guides, teaches, testifies and witnesses to the believer as One who comes alongside of him in order that he might please God while on the earth (Jn.14:26,15:26). The single most important attribute of God is His holiness, hence the Holy Spirit (Is.57:15).

Salvation

Salvation from eternal punishment is only received one way, through Jesus Christ (Jn.14:6). A person must recognize that he is a sinner, repent of his sins, realize that Christ died to pay his payment on the cross, and must ask Him to forgive him of his sins and be his Savior. A person must trust Christ and Christ alone for his salvation, for He is the only way (Acts 4:12).

A person does not need to “get his life right” with God before he can approach Him. The whole reason why man needs a Savior is because he cannot “get his life right” enough to find favor in God’s eyes, so he must let God do the work in him. On the other hand, when a person is saved, his works will change (Eph.2:8-10). The way of knowing if someone is saved or not is by looking at their works (Mt.7:20, Acts 26:20). Salvation is repentance from sin and faith towards God (1 Thes.1:9, Acts 20:21). Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a changed life. It is not the prayer that saves someone, but the decision of repentance and accepting God’s terms through Jesus Christ for salvation.

Eternal Security

When a person receives Jesus Christ as Savior, he also receives the eternal life that He gives (1 Jn.5:11-13). Once a person receives eternal life, he cannot lose it. Because a person cannot receive eternal life by his works, it is impossible that his eternal life be taken away because of works. Moreover, there is no man that can take it away from him, not even himself (Jn.10:27-29, Rom.8). If this were the case, eternal life would not be eternal, but temporal. It is God that saves, not the person; therefore it is God who keeps one saved, and not the person.

The Church

The English word "church" in the Bible is the word ecclesia in the Greek. This is a compound word that uses the words ek and kalew. The word ek means out of, and the word kalew means to call. The word ecclesia then by definition is a called out assembly. But not every called out assembly is a church, for the Bible clearly teaches that only those that have accepted Christ as their Savior are part of the church (Acts 2:47). The Bible frequently refers to the church as the Bride of Christ, Christ himself being the Bridegroom. Another name in the Bible for the church is the body of Christ, and specifically names Christ the Head of the church (Col.1:18). The church in the Bible is very significant, for Ephesians 5:25 says that Christ gave himself for it. The Bible teaches that even though the church is significant, no one can receive salvation by means of a church, for it is only Christ that can forgive sins (Mk.2:7, Jn.14:6, Acts 4:12).

Marriage

Tampico Baptist Church joyfully complies to the God- ordained definition of marriage (one man married to one woman) as identified in the Bible (Genesis 2:19-25; Mark 10:6-9; Ephesians 5:25).

Baptism

As a Baptist Church we believe that the ordinance of Baptism is to be practiced only after one has been saved and made a profession of faith, and is to be by total immersion in water. We believe that Baptism is to be an outward picture of an inward change that has already taken place in a person who has put their faith in the Lord Jesus for their Salvation, Baptism has no salvaic power or spiritual power of any kind, it is simply the first step of obedience in the Christian life.