About Independent Bethel Baptist Church
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Welcome to the web page of Independent Bethel Baptist Church in Joplin, Missouri. We believe that baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordained by the Lord Jesus himself - baptism as a symbol of entrance into the body of Christ and the Lord's Supper a regular reminder of the death, resurrection, and return of Christ. Baptism symbolizes the believer's death to sin and new life in Christ. Those baptized are done so in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Together they are simultaneously God's pledge to us, divinely ordained means of grace, our public vows of submission to the once crucified and now resurrected Christ, and anticipations of his return and of the consummation of all things.
We believe that sin, both what we have done and what we have failed to do - the Bible calls it "missing the mark" - describes the reality that things are not as they should be. We are self-obsessed, broken, fearful, and oppressive. We all see the problems in this world, and those of us who are humble enough to admit it realize that we've all played some role in contributing to the problems we see. Sin, its guilt, and its consequences are what Jesus came to save us from.
About Sin: We believe that man willfully sinned against God and is therefore lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ. (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:7; Acts 4:12)
About The Scripture: The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct. 2 Timothy 3:15-17, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Peter 1:21