The ultimate way we express God’s worth as a church is to live and function according to Scripture. Since the Bible was written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:21), it is the true and inerrant Word of God and serves as our highest and final authority for matters of faith and practice. In Scripture, God has revealed everything we need to know about life and faith in order to bring him glory. 

While the Bible is our sole foundation of truth, we affirm what Scripture teaches as outlined in the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. This confessional statement summarizes the theological beliefs of our church.  However, even though believers have liberty to debate and differ on some points of doctrine, there are several theological principles that we consider essential and non-negotiable in order to be a member of Bethel Baptist Church:

• The Authority of Scripture: The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, the highest and final authority for life and faith.
• The Trinity: God has revealed himself as One God, Three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All are equal in deity and glory.
• The Divinity and Humanity of Jesus: In the incarnation, the eternal Son of God was born into the world as Jesus, both fully God and fully man.
• The Active and Passive Obedience of Jesus: In order to accomplish salvation, Jesus lived a perfect life and suffered a sacrificial death, where he took upon himself the wrath of God in the place of sinners, making full atonement for sin.
• The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus: On the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead, proving that his sacrifice was complete and guaranteeing the salvation and future resurrection of believers. Jesus now rules over creation from heaven.
• Salvation by Grace through Faith: Salvation is solely based on God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, not the result of personal works or obedience. Only those who have experienced the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit will be saved.
• The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit regenerates, indwells, sanctifies, empowers, equips, and perseveres believers until the end.
• Humanity and Marriage: God created humans as male and female, defined biologically at birth. Life begins at conception. Biblical marriage is between one man and one woman for life.
• The Great Commission: The church is called to proclaim the gospel and make disciples of all nations.
• The Second Coming of Jesus: Jesus will personally and visibly return to the world, bringing final judgment and the new creation. 
• The Lord’s Supper: The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
• Baptism: Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership.