Our Beliefs

We believe that all men by nature, choice, and practice are sinners, but that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” We believe, therefore, that those who by faith receive Christ as Lord and Saviour will rejoice forever in God’s presence and those who refuse to receive Christ as Lord and Saviour will be forever separated from God.

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

We believe in Heaven, the eternal home of the redeemed. We believe Heaven to be the place where the saved will live forever in the eternal bliss and blessings of God. We believe in Hell, the Christ-less eternity for the lost, where there will be burning and tormenting for those without salvation, who have refused to receive the gospel and Jesus Christ as Lord. We believe that Hell, unbelievers, Satan and all the fallen angels shall be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented day and night forever and forever.

We believe that the BIBLE is the WORD OF GOD and that it is divinely inspired. We believe in the plenary, verbal inspiration, that it is the only complete and final revelation of the will of GOD to man, and the supreme, infallible authority in all matters of faith and conduct. We use the King James Bible (Authorised Version) for all teaching and preaching.

We believe in the Church: a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and of which all regenerated people are members. We believe that the local church is a company of professing, born-again believers in Jesus Christ, immersed on a credible confession of faith, and associated for worship, work and fellowship. We believe that to those local churches we are committed, for perpetual observance of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and that God has laid upon these churches the task of proclaiming to a lost world the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and the enthroning of Him as Lord and Master. We believe that the human betterment and social improvements are the inevitable by-products of such a gospel, but we do not believe that a social gospel will save.

We believe that every human being is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith; that each church is independent and autonomous and must be free from any ecclesiastical or political authority; therefore, Church and State must be kept separate as having different functions with each fulfilling its duties free from the dictation or patronage of the other.

We believe that spiritual gifts are given to the church for the express purpose of winning the lost and edifying other believers. The Holy Spirit is given to each believer upon acceptance of Christ and His purpose is to exalt and bring people to Christ. Speaking in tongues was the least important of these gifts and was given as a sign for unbelieving Jews. That is why Derry Baptist Fellowship doesn’t teach or practise speaking in tongues.

We believe in the eternal security of all blood-bought individuals or believers and that such inheritance is incorruptible and undefiled and that each believer is kept by the power of God and nothing can separate us from Him, ourselves included. We believe that believers can lose the joy of fellowship with God, can grieve God and can quench the Spirit of God in him or her, but not lose his/her salvation.

We believe that Christ is the founder and head of the church. We believe that He promised to continue the work in and through the church that He started until He comes again. We believe that the ministry of reconciliation is committed to every believer and that every believer is a saint and priest with God who can be directly involved in the ministry.

We believe in the pre-tribulation rapture for the saints. We believe in the bodily/visible return of Jesus Christ with His saints at the close of the Tribulation period to rule and reign for a thousand years on earth. We believe that unbelievers will face and be judged by God at the Great White Throne Judgment according to their works, not for salvation, but for their proper and rightful places in the lake of fire.