Constitution and By-Laws
Article 1
This Church shall be known as Immanuel Baptist Church of Rome New York
Article 2
PURPOSE
1. The salvation of souls.
2. The edification of Christians through the teaching of God’s Word.
3. The active engaging, with prayer and financial support, in the world wide proclamation of God’s saving grace expressed in the shed blood and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary.
4. This Church is independent as it relates to its internal organization and revelation of its affairs. It is answerable to no ecclesiastical body, except by its own consent. It controls the admission, discipline, and removal of its members according to its own understanding of the Word of God
Article 3
COVENANT
Having been led, as we believe by the Holy Spirit of God, to accept as our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose blood and righteousness alone we trust as the ground of our redemption; and having been buried with Him in baptism into the likeness of His death, and raised in the likeness of His resurrection, to walk in the newness of life; and having thus been united to His visible Church, we do now most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with God and with one another as one body in Christ.
We solemnly promise and engage that, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, we will love one another as brethren in the Lord; that we exercise Christian care and watchfulness one for another, bearing one another’s burdens and thus fulfilling the law of Christ.
We engage to maintain personal and family devotions, to search the scriptures with all diligence, and to train our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We strive to avoid gossiping, backbiting, excessive anger, and we strive to promote the use of first fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23, along with the principals of Philippians 4:8 in the conduct of our lives.
We covenant that we will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together in the house of the Lord, but will regularly attend its service unless providentially hindered; that we will pray and labor for its prosperity through its doctrines, its ordinances, and its discipline; that we will earnestly and actively endeavor to walk cautiously in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our conduct; to remember each other in prayer. To comfort one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy and courtesy; to be slow to take offense, ready for reconciliation, and mindful of the teaching of our Savior to secure it without delay.
Desiring the triumph of Christ above all earthly good, and joyfully hoping for His coming again in Heavenly Glory, we covenant that, by the help of His enabling Spirir, we will seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, trusting Him to add all material necessities and the fullness of Heavenly Grace.
Article 4
ARTICLES OF FAITH
+ We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, that it was written by men divinely inspired, and that it is of supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
II Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; II Peter 1:2.
+ We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; I Peter I:2.
+ We believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is true God and man.
Matthew I:I8-25; Luke I:26-38; John I:I4; I0:30; John I7.
+ We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity; whose ministry is to convict the world of sin and righteousness and of judgment, to regenerate the unbelieving, and to sanctify and comfort those who believe in Christ Jesus.
John 14:16-17; John 16:7-11
+ We believe that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also that spiritual death which is separation from God, that all men are sinful both by nature and by choice.
Genesis 1-2; John 1-3; Romans 5-12; Romans 6-23; Colossians 1:16-17
+ We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures as a representative and substitution sacrifice; that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His blood.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Peter 2:24; Revelation 1:5
+ We believe that salvation is by grace through faith, not of works, and that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit, thereby becoming children of God.
John 3:1-15; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
+ We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into Heaven, and in His present ministry there for us as High Priest and Advocate.
Luke 24:39; Acts 1:8-11; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4: 14-16; 1 John 2:1.
+ We believe in the personal, visible, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ to set up His kingdom upon the earth.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Revelation 19:15-19.
+ We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust, the everlasting conscious blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.
Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23
+ We believe in the Church, a living, spiritual body of which Christ is the Head, and of which all regenerated people are members; and that the local, visible Church is a company of believers in Jesus Christ, associated together for worship, work, and fellowship.
Acts 2; Ephesians 4:11-12
+ We believe in the observances of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper in obedience to the commands of Christ; that expression of an inward experience of salvation and union with Christ.
Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29
+ We believe that the local Church is directly responsible to God alone in all matters of faith, and the Church is independent and autonomous and must be free from interference from any Ecclesiastical or political authority.
Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Peter 5:4; Revelation Ch 2&3