What Does it mean that we are a Baptist Church? As a Baptist Church we are orthodox, separatist, and confessional.
Orthodox
Catherine Lake Baptist Church is Orthodox. This means that as a Baptist Church have an orthodox view of the Trinity and of Salvation. We hold to an Orthodox view of the Trinity as expressed in the first creeds of the church including the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Chalcedonian Definition, and the Athanasian Creed. Consequently, we also hold to an Orthodox view of Salvation. That is, we hold to the five solas of the reformation and the Doctrines of Grace (Calvinism). The Five Solas are described as follows: Salvation is according to the Bible alone (Sola Scriptura), by grace alone (Sola Gratia) through faith alone (Sola Fides), in Christ alone (Solus Christus), and for the glory of God alone (Sola Deo Gloria). The Doctrines of Grace (I.e. Calvinism often placed in the acronym T.U.L.I.P.) Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance (or Preservation of the Saints).
Separatist
Catherine Lake Baptist Church is Separatist in our view of the local church; that is, the local church must be distinct from every other sphere of governance (self, family, state) in order to positively influence them for the glory of God. This means we hold to Baptism for Believers Alone by immersion; Regenerate Church Membership (that is, only credible baptized believers are permitted to Membership and the Lord’s Table); Liberty of Conscience (that is, freedom from the commandments and doctrines of men, especially when man’s law contradicts God’s law); Freedom For (not from) Religion in what is called Separation of Church and State including the right to and protection of private property; Congregational Church Governance; and the Necessity of Missions & Gospel Preaching—supporting the establishment of churches and ministers to proclaim the gospel at home and abroad.
Confessional
Catherine Lake Baptist Church is Confessional. This means that we publish our beliefs in agreement with Baptists historically. In our case we hold to the Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) in the same manner that the Baptist C.H. Spurgeon held it, “This ancient document is the most excellent epitome of the things most surely believed among us. It is not issued as an authoritative rule or code of faith, whereby you may be fettered, but as a means of edification in righteousness. It is an excellent, though not inspired, expression of the teaching of those Holy Scriptures by which all confessions are to be measured. We hold to the humbling truths of God’s sovereign grace in the salvation of lost sinners. Salvation is [in] Christ alone and [through] faith alone.“