What We Believe
Family Oriented Worship
Landmark Baptist is a family integrated church, with all ages worshipping together in song, prayer, giving, and fellowship. Families are not separated into various age-segregated classes but assemble together to hear preaching and instruction from the Word of God. We find this pattern in the Bible. Consider the following examples:
When the children of Israel gathered to hear Moses farewell address in Deuteronomy 31:12
At the rebuilding of the temple in Ezra 10:1
As people gathered to hear the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 14:21 and Matthew 15:38
As Paul’s letters were being read in the churches to whom he wrote, we must conclude that entire families were assembled together in worship to hear the reading of the letters and obey the instructions directed to fathers, mothers, husbands, wives and children in such passages as Colossians 3:17-21 and Ephesians 5:22-33 and 6:1-4.
At Landmark Baptist, we desire to help parents embrace their God-given responsibility to train their children “in the way they should go” by giving them the opportunity to experience church together as a family and then providing parents with instruction, resources, and encouragement to make their homes a place of instruction and training for their children.
1. We believe in one God, eternally existing, the Lord God Almighty, (Deut. 4:35; Deut. 33:27; Isa. 45:20-22; Isa. 46:9-10; Ps. 90:1-2; Rev. 1:8; I Tim 1:17) that He is revealed in three persons, Father, Son & Holy Spirit, (Matt. 28:190 that we are commanded to worship Him alone, (Deut. 6:4; Ps. 86:9-10), and that the worship of Almighty God includes, but is not limited to, the following:
a. Corporately meeting with like-minded believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to study God's Word, to pray to the True and Living God, to sing, to share The Lord's Supper, and to praise His holy name.. (Heb. 10:25; Acts 2:42)
b. Individually spending time with the Lord in Bible study, prayer and praise whether in private or in public, and living with an awareness of His constant presence. (Ps. 33:13-14; Heb. 4:13; Prov. 15:3; I Thess. 5:17; Ps. 108:3; Heb. 13:15; Ps. 119:105; Ps. 119:11)
c. Showing reverence to God by believing and obeying His Word wherever we are in this world--at home, at work, at church, and at play. To worship God is to eschew that which offends God's holiness and to urge our leaders to do likewise since our Founders instituted a representative form of government which governs by the consent of the people. (John 17:17; Jer. 7:23; John 4:23; Prov. 14:34)
2. We Believe in the Genesis Account of Creation. (Gen. 1 & 2)
3. We believe in the infallible, verbal inspiration of the whole Bible and that the Bible is the all-sufficient guidebook and final authority for all we believe and practice. (Ps. 119:160; II Tim. 3:16-17; John 17:17; Isa. 40:8; Heb. 4:12; I Pet. 1:25)
4. We believe that Satan is a fallen angel, the archenemy of God and man, the unholy god of this world, and that his destiny is the eternal lake of fire. (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:11-19; Matt. 25:41; II Cor. 4:4; Eph. 6:10-12; Rev. 20:10; I Pet. 5:8-9)
5. We believe in the virgin birth and sinless humanity of Jesus Christ. (Matt. 1:18-20; Lk. 1:26-35;
II Cor. 5:21; I Pet. 2:22)
6. We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. (John 1:1-14; John 10:30; II Cor. 5:19)
7. We believe that the suffering and death of Jesus Christ was substitutionary for all mankind and is efficacious only to those who believe. (Isa. 53:6; Rom. 5:6-8; Heb. 2:9; I Pet. 2:24; I Pet. 3:18; II Pet. 3:9; I John 2:2)
8. We believe in the bodily resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ and the bodily resurrection of His saints. (Matt. 28:1-7; Acts 1:6-11; I Cor. 15:42-58; I Thess. 4:13-18)
9. We believe in “that blessed hope”, the premillennial, personal, bodily return of Christ to receive his saints, both living and dead, who will be with Him forever. We also believe in the millennial reign of Christ on earth followed by the resurrection of the unsaved unto eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (John 14:1-6; Titus 2:11-13; I Thess. 4:13-18; II Thess. 2:8; Rev. 19; Rev. 20:4-6; Rev. 20:11-15; Rev. 21:8)
10. We believe the Holy Spirit, being God, convicts sinners, does the work of the new birth, indwells, seals, and secures eternally every believer, is our comforter, teacher and guide and that He empowers the Lord’s churches to do the work of God on earth. (John 3:6; Rom. 8:9-11; I Cor. 3:16; I Cor. 6:19-20; Eph. 1:13-14; Eph. 4:30; I Pet. 1:5; John 14:16-17; Luke 24:49; John 15:26; John 16:7-11,13; Acts 1:4,5,8; Acts 2:1-4)
11. We believe that Man was created in the image of God and lived in a state of innocence until he fell by voluntary transgression from his sinless state the result being that all mankind are sinners. (Gen. 1:26; Gen. 2:17; 3:1-24; Rom. 3:9-18; Rom. 5:12,19; I Cor. 15:22a)
12. We believe the sinner is saved wholly by grace as he repents toward God and places his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Luke 13:3-5; Acts 20:21; John 1:12; John 3:16-18; Rom. 6:23; Rom. 10:9-13; Eph. 2:8-9)
13. We believe that all who trust Jesus Christ for salvation are eternally secure in Him and shall not perish. (John 3:36a; John 5:24; John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:35-39; I Pet. 1:5; I John 5:11-13)
14. We believe that God deals with believers as His children, that He chastises the disobedient, and that He rewards the obedient. (Matt. 16:27; Matt. 25:14-23; John 1:12; Heb. 12:5-11; II John 8; Rev. 22:12)
15. We believe that all who reject Jesus Christ during their lifetime will suffer eternal destruction in Hell, separated from the presence of God. (John 3:36b; II Thess. 1:7-10)
16. We believe that Jesus Christ established His church during His ministry on earth and that it is a visible assembly of scripturally baptized believers who unite together in covenant relationship to carry out the commands of the Lord, and who constitute the Body of Christ in a particular locality to reflect His glory to the world. We believe that True New Testament churches have existed with an unbroken history from the days of Christ to this present day, and will continue until Jesus comes back. (Matt. 4:18-22; Matt. 16:18; Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 1:14-20; John 1:35-41; Acts 2:41-47; I Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 3:21)
17. We believe that Baptism is the immersion of believers in water, to be administered by the authority of Jesus Christ through a New Testament church. (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41; Acts 8:12, 38; Rom. 6:3-5) Based on Acts 2:41 we see Baptism as an ordinance of the church and prerequisite to church membership.
18. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the eating of unleavened bread and drinking of the fruit of the vine for the purpose of remembering the Lord and showing His death until He comes, as well as a time of spiritual examination, and that participation in the supper is restricted to the members of the local church observing it. (Mark 14:22-26; I Cor. 5:11-13; I Cor. 11) Based on Acts 2:41-47 and I Corinthians 11:2, 18-34 we see the Lord’s Supper as an ordinance of the church. For further information see the paper entitled “The Lord’s Supper”.
19. We believe there are two divinely appointed offices in a church, pastors/elders and deacons, to be filled by men whose qualifications are set forth in I Tim. 3 and Titus 1.
20. We believe in male leadership in the church and that women should not usurp authority over men. (I Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:6; I Cor. 14:33-35; I Tim. 2:11-15)
21. We believe that miraculous spiritual manifestation gifts were done away when the Bible was completed. Faith, Hope and Love are the vital abiding Spiritual Gifts. (I Cor. 12-14)
22. We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. (Gen. 1:26-27; Ps. 139:13-16)
23. We believe that marriage was instituted by God to be a lifelong exclusive union between one man and one woman only, that it is honorable in all, that the marriage bed (sexual intimacy) is holy, undefiled, and to be shared only by a man and a woman who have been joined by God in marriage. (Gen. 2:18-25; Matt. 19:3-9; Mark 10:1-12; Luke 16:18; Rom. 7:1-3; I Cor. 6:18; I Cor. 7; Heb. 13:4)
24. We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, use of pornography, etc.) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matt. 15:18-20; Rom. 1; I Cor. 6:9-10)
25. We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 10:9-10; I Cor. 6:9-11)
26. We believe we are to love all people as God loves all people. Therefore, hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be rejected and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Landmark Baptist Church. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:27-36; John 3:16-18; Matt. 5:43-48)
27. We believe that husbands are called to be the head of their family, to love their wives as their own bodies and as Christ loved the church, and to train their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We believe that wives are called to be submissive to their husbands as unto the Lord, to be keepers at home, and to love their husbands and love their children as they teach them to be wise and obedient. There is no higher calling, greater occupation or grander ministry. (Eph. 5:21-33; Eph. 6:1-4; I Pet. 3:1-7; Prov. 1:8; Prov. 6:20; Prov. 22:6; Prov. 31)
28. We believe that all human life is created by God in His image, is very precious to Him, and is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Ex. 4:11; Ps. 94:9; Ps. 139; Prov. 20:12; Eccl. 11:5)
29. We believe that we are to value children as God values children. (Mark 10:13-16) We believe that the life of every child begins at conception and that to terminate that life through abortion would be murder. (Psalm 139:13-18) We believe that children are blessed gifts from God, the Lord’s reward, and therefore are to be welcomed with love and rejoicing. (Ps. 127:3-5) We believe that God opens and closes the womb and therefore every husband and wife should leave with the Lord the decision of how many or how few children they have, if God allows them to have children. (Gen. 20:18; 29:31; 30:1,2,22,23; I Sam. 1:5,6) We believe that children should worship with their parents and not be separated from them into various age-segregated classes and programs. (Ex. 10:9; Deut. 31:10-13; Joshua 8:35) We believe parents, under the leadership of the father, are responsible to train their children and teach them the Word of God. (Gen. 18:19; Deut. 4:9,10; 6:6-7; Prov. 4:1-4; Prov. 13:24; Prov. 22:6,15; Prov. 23:13,14; Prov. 29:15,17; Eph. 6:4; Heb. 12:5-11) We believe the church’s job should be to help equip the parents for their ministry to their children. (Eph. 4:12)
30. We believe in the freedoms of speech and religion protected by Amendment 1 of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States which declares “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” (emphasis ours) and Article 1 of Indiana’s state constitution, Bill of Rights, Section 2. Right to worship, which states “All people shall be secured in the natural right to worship ALMIGHTY GOD, according to the dictates of their own consciences,” and Section 3. Freedom of religious opinions, which states “No law shall, in any case whatever,(emphasis ours) control the free exercise and enjoyment of religious opinions, or interfere with the rights of conscience,” and that these Constitutions entitle us to practice the aforementioned beliefs without interference from the government. We affirm our belief in civil obedience, unless the laws and regulations of civil government run contrary to the teaching of the Holy Bible. (Matt. 13:24-30; Matt. 22:21; Acts 5:29; Rom. 13:1-7; I Pet. 2:13-16)