About Deforest Baptist Bible Study
The purpose of Deforest Baptist Bible Study is to bring glory to God. We believe the best way is by showing individuals that God loves them and demonstrated that love by giving His only begotten Son (John 3:16-17) to die for the sins of every man, woman, and child. We want you to know that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, loves and cares for you, and that He came to save souls from the penalty of sin! Our theme is CHRIST CARES, and through the weekly Bible studies we hope that individuals can get a glimpse of that love and care. Most importantly, we desire that individuals would not only KNOW of Christ and His love, but that they would ACCEPT it, BELIEVING on Him as their only way to an intimate relationship with the God of the Bible.
About Our Staff
David Pritchett
I grew up in a military family in Illinois. It was during that time my family and I attended a church that became our church home for several years. I attended and graduated from the Christian school and also went to the Bible college there. As a sophomore in college, I received the assurance of my salvation. As a young person I trusted Christ to be my Saviour, but during my teenage years, I began to have doubts. On a Sunday night in 2006, my salvation was settled and secure!
In 2010, a few years after Bible college, I moved to the Madison area and attended Madison Baptist Church where I was also married. The Lord allowed me to serve in several ministries at the church including soul-winning, children's ministries and choir. In November of 2014, I took the position of Assistant to the Pastor, and I am grateful to the Lord for where He has brought me. It truly is a joy and a blessing to serve God here and to work with and for His people.
About Our Beliefs
1. THE SCRIPTURES
We believe that the Holy Bible was verbally and plenarily inspired and the product of Spirit-controlled men, and therefore is TRUTH without any admixture of error for its matter. We believe the A.V. 1611 (King James Bible) to be the preservation of that Word. We believe the Bible to be the center of true Christian unity and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions shall be tried.
(II Tim. 3:16,17; II Pet. 1:19-21)
2. THE TRUE GOD
We believe there is one and only one living and true God, an infinite, sovereign Spirit, Maker and Supreme Ruler of Heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible honor, confidence and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are manifest in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection, and executing harmoniously the great work of redemption.
(Exod. 20:2,3; I Cor. 8:6; Rev. 4:11)
3. THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature; that He was active in the creation; that in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the evil one until God's purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; that He bears witness to the truth of the gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the new birth; that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies and helps the believer.
(John 14:16,17; Matt. 28:19; Heb. 9:14; John 14:26; Luke 1:35; Gen. 1:1-3; John 16:8-11; Acts 5:30-32; John 3:5,6; Eph. 1:13,14; 3:30; Mark 1:8; John 1: 33; Acts 11:16; Luke 24:49; Rom. 8:14,16,26,27; 15:19; Heb. 2:4)
4. THE DEVIL, OR SATAN
We believe in the personality of Satan, that he is the unholy god of this age, and the ruler of all the powers of darkness, and is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire.
(Matt. 4:11; II Cor. 4:4; Rev. 20:10)
5. CREATION
We believe the Genesis account of creation as being neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate creative acts of God without any evolutionary process; that man, spirit, soul and body, was created by a direct work of God and not from previously existing forms of life; and that all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race.
(Gen. 1 & 2; Col. 1:16,17; John 1:3)
6. THE FALL OF MAN
We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker; but by voluntary transgression Adam fell from his sinless and happy state, and all men sinned in him, in consequence of which all men are totally depraved, are partakers of Adam's fallen nature, and are sinners by nature and by conduct; and therefore are under just condemnation without defense or excuse.
(Gen. 3: 1-6,24; Rom. 3:10-19; 5:12, 19; 1:18, 32)
7. THE VIRGIN BIRTH
We believe that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost in a miraculous manner, born of Mary, a virgin, as no other man was ever born or can ever be born of woman, and that He is both the Son of God and God the Son.
(Gen. 3:15; Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:14; Heb. 1:8)
8. THE ATONEMENT FOR SIN
We believe that the salvation of sinners is divinely initiated and wholly of grace through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God Who, by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Him our nature, yet without sin, honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins; that His atonement consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, but was a voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner's place, the Just dying for the unjust, Christ, the Lord, bearing our sin in His own body on the tree.
(Jonah 2:9; Eph. 2:8; Acts 15:11; Rom, 3:24,25; John 3:16; Matt. 18:11; Phil, 2:7,8; Heb. 2: 14: Isa. 53:4-7; I John 4:10; I Cor. 15:3; II Cor. 5:21)
9. GRACE IN THE NEW CREATION
We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new creation is brought about by our sovereign God in a manner above our comprehension, solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel; that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith and newness of life.
(John 3:3; II Cor. 5:17; I John 5:1; John 3:6,7; Acts 16:J0-33; II Pet. 1:4; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:1,5; II Cor. 5:19; Col. 2:13; John 3:8)
10. RESURRECTION AND PRIESTHOOD
We believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, in His ascension into Heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of the Father as our High Priest.
(Matt. 28:6,7; Luke 24:39; John 20:27; I Cor. 15:4; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:2-6,51; Acts 1:9-11; Rev. 3:21; Heb. 8:6; 12:2; 7:25; I Tim. 2:5; I John 2:1; Heb. 2:17; 5:9,10)
11. JUSTIFICATION
We believe that justification is the judicial act of God whereby He declares us to be righteous through faith in Christ Jesus; that justification includes the pardon of sin and the imputation of God's righteousness; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer's blood.
(Acts 13:39; Isa. 53:11; Zech. 13:1; II Cor, 5:18-21; Rom. 5:1,9; 8:1)
12. REPENTANCE
We believe that repentance is a change of mind and purpose toward God prompted by the Holy Spirit; that it is characterized by godly sorrow for sin as offensive to God and ruinous to the soul; and that true repentance is inseparably related to true faith.
(Luke 13:1-3; 15:7; Acts 8:22; Rom. 2:4; II Cor. 7:10; Acts 20:21)
13. FAITH AND SALVATION
We believe that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition of salvation.
(Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:9-10; Eph. 2:8-9)
14. SANCTIFICATION
We believe that sanctification is the divine setting apart of the believer unto God accomplished in a threefold manner: first, an eternal act of God, based upon redemption in Christ, establishing the believer in a position of holiness at the moment he trusts the Savior; second, a continuing process in the saint as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to the life; third, the final accomplishment of this process at the Lord's return.
(Heb. 10:10-14; 3:1; John 17:17; II Cor. 3:18; I Cor. 1:30; Eph. 5:25,26; I Thess. 4:3,4; 5:23,24; Eph. 5:27; John 3:2; Jude 24,25; Rev. 22:11)
15. THE SECURITY OF THE SAINTS
We believe that all who are truly born again are kept by God the Father for Jesus Christ.
(Phil. 1:6; John 10:28,29; Rom. 8:35-39; Eph. 1:13 & 4:30)
16. THE CHURCH
We believe in the unity of all true believers in the Body of Christ, which was completed on the Day of Pentecost, and that all believers, from Pentecost to the Rapture, both Jews and Gentiles, are added to this Body by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. As a church this body is known only in Heaven. Heb. 12:23. We believe that the Church is manifested through the local church which is a congregation of immersed believers associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word; and that its officers are pastors and deacons, whose qualification, claims and duties are clearly defined in the Scripture. We believe the true mission of the church is the faithful witnessing of Christ to all men as we have opportunity. We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; that the one and only superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit; that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the gospel; that each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; and that on all matters of membership, of polity, of government, of discipline, of benevolence, the will of the local church is final.
(Eph. 3:1-6; I Cor. 12:12, 13: Acts 2:41, 42; I Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22, 23; 4:11; Acts 20: 17-28; I Tim. 3:1-7; Col. 1:18; Eph. 5:23, 24; Acts 15:13-18)
17. BAPTISM AND THE LORD'S SUPPER
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, under the authority of the local church, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior, through Whom we died to sin and rose to a new life; that baptism is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership. We believe that the Lord's Supper is the commemoration of His death until He come, and should be preceded always by solemn self-examination. We believe that the Biblical order of the ordinances is baptism and the Lord's Supper, and that participants should be immersed believers.
(Acts 8:36, 38, 39; John 3:23; Rom. 6: 3-5; Matt. 3:16; Col. 2:12; I Cor. 11:23-28; Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 2:41, 42)
18. SEPARATION
We believe in obedience to the Biblical commands to separate entirely from worldliness and ecclesiastical apostasy unto God. We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations, and to refrain from all immodest and immoderate appearances.
(Lev. 19:28; Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; I Thess. 1:9, 10; I Tim. 6:3-5; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)
19. CIVIL GOVERNMENT
We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed, except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the only Lord of the conscience and the coming King of kings.
(Rom. 13:1-7; 2 Sam. 23:3; Exod. 18:21, 22; Acts 23:5; Matt. 22:21; Acts 5:29; 4:19, 20; Dan, J:17,18)
20. ISRAEL
We believe in the sovereign selection of Israel as God's eternal covenant people, that she is now dispersed because of her disobedience and rejection of Christ, and that she will be regathered in the Holy Land and, after the completion of the Church, will be saved as a nation at the second advent of Christ.
(Gen. 13:14-17; Rom. 11:1-32; Ezek. 37)
21. THE RAPTURE AND SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
We believe in the premillennial return of Christ for His Church, and that at that moment the dead in Christ shall be raised in glorified bodies, and the living in Christ shall be given glorified bodies without tasting death, and all shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. (I Thess. 4:13-18; I Cor. 15:42-44, 51-54; Phil. 3:20, 21; Rev, 3:10). We believe that the Great Tribulation, will be culminated by the revelation of Christ in power and great glory to sit upon the throne of David and to establish the millennial reign.
(Dan. 9:25-27; Matt. 24:29-31; Luke 1:30-33; Isa. 9: 6, 7; 11:1-9; Acts 2:29, 30; Rev. 20:1-4,6)
22. THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that only those who are justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Spirit of our God are truly righteous in His esteem; while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked and under the curse; and this distinction holds among men both in and after death, in the everlasting felicity of the saved and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost in the lake of fire.
(Mal. 3:18; Gen. 18:23; Rom. 6:17, 18; I John 5:19; Rom. 7:6; 6:23; Prov. 14:32; Luke 16:25; Matt. 25:34-41; John 8:21; Rev. 20:14,15)
23. HUMAN SEXUALITY & MARRIAGE
(1) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one naturally-born man and one naturally-born woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God's gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one's gender by surgery or appearance.
(Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen.26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1: 26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4)
(2) We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one naturally-born man and one naturally-born woman for life.
(Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23)
24. FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
(1) We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church.
(Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12)
(2) We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are a heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values and leading them, through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline, including Scriptural corporal correction.
(Gen. 1:26-28; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Ps. 127:3-5; Prov. 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mk. 10:6-12; 1 Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21- 33; 6:1-4, Col. 3:18-21; Heb. 13:4; 1 Pet. 3:1-7)
25. ABORTION & EUTHANASIA
We believe in the unique value of all human life in all phases from the point of conception to the point of death. Guided by God's Law, which orders and preserves life, human beings are called to respect and care for the life that God gives. We uphold the sanctity and worth of all human life, both born and preborn, as being created in the image of God. Our church is in opposition to both abortion and euthanasia based on the principle that life has intrinsic value, worth, and dignity at all stages.
(Job 3:16; Ps. 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
God's Free Gift
You Can Be Saved Today! Jesus Died For You!
The Bible Way To Heaven
"What happens when I die?" "Is there life after death?" "Where will I spend eternity?" At some point in time, these questions have haunted our thoughts. Perhaps you have even asked yourself this question, "If I were to die today, would I be 100% sure that I would spend eternity in Heaven with God?" That is the single most important question that you will ever answer. Your relationship to Jesus Christ is the central answer to that question.
The truth is that God wants you to know and be absolutely sure of where you are going. In His Word, the Bible, God tells us that we CAN KNOW! The Bible says in 1 John 5:13, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life…" Let's look together at what God's Word has to say about getting to Heaven.
Understand Who You Truly Are
Have you ever been lost and not wanting to admit it? Or have you ever been unable to find to find your way but don't want to ask for help? The Bible calls that pride. I, too, have been where you are. In order for us to find the way to eternal life with God, as an individual I must ADMIT that I am lost. Not just "lost" but lost IN SIN.
Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
According to Romans 5:12, since the first man on earth — Adam — sinned, a sin nature has been present in ALL people. The Bible also states in Romans 3:23 that everyone is a sinner.
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
Sin is any act contrary to God's law and commandments, and those sins that you and I have committed separate us from God. Our sin will cause us to miss out on an eternity in Heaven with God. Before we can ever be given eternal life in Heaven, we must truly understand that we are SINNERS before a Holy and Perfect God, and we are lost in our sin. Not a single one of us is good enough for God to excuse us and allow us to be an exception to the rule. Romans 3:10 clearly states this truth about us…
Romans 3:10 "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one."
Religions try to create their own ways to God. Their ways and systems seem logical, but ultimately, they cannot bridge the gap that has been created by our sin. Neither good works nor religion will ever be the answer to receiving eternal life in Heaven!
Proverbs 14:12 "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."
Understand What You Truly Deserve
Our sin not only separates us from God, but it also has a penalty. The Bible teaches that the consequence for our sin is death.
Romans 6:23a "For the wages of sin is death…"
The "wage" or payment for our sin is spiritual death and eternal separation from God. God is holy and perfect. Therefore, He is sanctified (set apart) from sin. God is also just, in that, He must punish our wrongdoings. We may think that all of the good deeds and good works we have done will "outweigh" the bad and evil trespasses we have committed against Him. We must understand that God's Word tells us that all good deeds will be no better than a bucket full of filthy rags!
Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…"
So if our good deeds and good works cannot pay for the sins we have committed and our sin MUST be paid for, then we ourselves have to pay the penalty of our sin. And according to the Bible, the penalty is that spiritual death. The Bible refers to this as the "second death."
Revelation 20:14,15 "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Although, we try to find ways around this thought (or we try not to think about it at all), the Bible makes it clear and plain that what we truly deserve because of our sin is eternal separation from God in a literal lake of fire called Hell.
Know That A Way Has Been Provided For You
Seeing that the Bible teaches we are sinners and that there is not enough good that we can perform to merit eternal life in Heaven, God's Word also provides true answers to our dilemma! In fact, the Bible gives us answers of grace and forgiveness.
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Even though we are lost and separated from God, He loved us, and because He is love, God sent His Son (Jesus Christ) to die on the Cross and raise from the dead three (3) days later! This is great news for us!
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus — the only begotten Son of God, He became the payment for our sin! All of our sins were laid Him, and He paid the penalty for our sin IN FULL! He then overcame the power of death by raising back to life. Now, we do not have to pay for our sin ourselves because by His grace, salvation has been provided!
Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
God demonstrated and proved (meaning of "commendeth") His love for us by giving His precious Son to take our place and suffer God's wrath for OUR sins. The way to have eternal life in Heaven has been provided for you, and Jesus did all of the work!
What This Means For You
We can have a relationship with God and an eternal home in Heaven, but we must stop trusting ourselves, our works and our religions, and place our full trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of our sin and eternal life.
Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
This is a clear and direct promise to all ("whosoever") from God, as well as an invitation for you. If you will pray to Him ("shall call"), confessing that you are a sinner, asking Him to forgive your sins, and turn to Him alone to be your Saviour, then He promises to save you and give you the FREE GIFT of eternal life.
Romans 6:23b "…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Believing and receiving Christ is the only way to obtain the eternal life in Heaven. You can decide to make that gift yours today by praying from your heart, a prayer similar to this:
Dear God, I know that I am separated from you because of my sin. I confess that in my sin, I cannot save myself. Right now, I turn to you alone to be my Saviour. I ask you to save me from the penalty of my sin, and I trust you to provide eternal life to me. Amen!
Rest assured that this is the best decision you will ever make and you will never regret! As God has promised, eternal life is now yours, and Heaven will be your eternal destination! Also, know that eternal life can never be lost nor taken away from you. If you have trusted Christ, we would love to know about your decision and rejoice with you. We would love to also help you learn more about Jesus Christ, salvation and what God wants you to do now that you are saved. You can call or email us and let us know today!