The Bible
We affirm that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, in their entirety, to be the inerrant, infallible, verbally inspired word of God revealed to men, under the superintendence of the Holy Spirit, to be the church’s sole authority in matters of doctrine and practice. Given the centrality of the Word in the life of the believer, we affirm the importance of rightly dividing the Word of truth through expositional preaching and Bible studies in order to grow in our understanding of the whole counsel of God.  (Psalm 19:7; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; Mark 13:31; John 8:31, 32; John 20:31; Acts 20:32).

God
We affirm the existence of the one true living God, creator and sustainer of all creation, the one and only necessary being upon whom all contingent beings are dependent upon, and in and of himself residing all perfections in an infinite degree, such as holiness, goodness, wisdom, power, and love, and who alone deserves the full praise and devotion from all mankind.

Trinity
We also affirm that this God has not left us with only a natural knowledge of Himself, but has specifically revealed His nature and character by means of Scripture and in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We affirm the testimony of Scripture that God exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that these are without division of nature, essence, or being and equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption (Genesis 1:1,26; John 1:1,3; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; John 4:24; Romans 1:19, 20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:5, 6).

God the Father
We believe that God the Father, a transcendent and personal spirit, infallibly foreknows all that shall come to pass, including the future free choices of all humans and other moral beings, that he concerns himself mercifully in the affairs of humanity, that he hears and answers prayer, and that he saves from sin and death all who come to him through Jesus Christ (Luke 10:21, 22; Matthew 23:9; John 3:16; 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Timothy 1:1, 2; 2:5, 6; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:6).

Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s only begotten Son and is fully God and fully man. We believe in his virgin conception by the Holy Spirit, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in his penal-substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for his people, and personal, visible return to earth. We believe that he is the divinely appointed and only Mediator between God and man, the Prophet, Priest, and King of the Church, and Sovereign of the universe (Isaiah 53:10-12; Matthew 1:18-25; 20:28; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1, 14; 20:28, 30-31; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 5:6-8; 6:9, 10; 8:34; 9:5; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 1:4; Hebrews 1:1-3; 7:25; 9:28; 1 Timothy 2:5; 3:16; 1 Peter 2:21-23).

The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son to bring glory to the Father and the Son, to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, to regenerate sinners, and to sanctify and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ, giving spiritual gifts to each of them for the purpose of building up the body of Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ and that he is the Spirit of Adoption, the Seal of our Salvation, the Guarantor of our inheritance in Christ, and an abiding helper, teacher, and guide (John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26, 27; John 16:9-14; Romans 8:9, 14-17; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26; Ephesians 1:13-14).

Man
We believe humanity to be the pinnacle of God’s creation, as seen in the fact that humanity was created in God’s image meaning, at the very least, that humanity possesses inherent dignity and worth, along with the capability to fellowship and commune with God. We also affirm the goodness in gender at creation and the complementary roles associated with biblical manhood and womanhood as designed by God. We believe that it was not necessary for God to create man, but rather God freely chose to do so for at least the following reasons: 1) for the glory of God (Isa. 43:7); 2) that man may delight in God (Psa. 16:11, 27:4, 73:25-26, 84:1-2, 10); 3) that God may delight in man (Isa. 62:5; Zeph. 3:17-18); 4) that God may share life with man (John 10:10). Furthermore, we believe that humanity, although initially created with the ability to not sin, committed sin from their own volitional will, and thus incurred, for themselves and all of their posterity, physical, spiritual, and eternal death, along with a fallen nature that is now bent and inclined against God and under condemnation. (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:17; 3:1-7, 19; 6:5, 12; 8:21; Jeremiah 17:9; John 5:24; Romans 3:9-20; 5:12-19; 6:21, 23; 7:13; 8:6-7; 9:22; Ephesians 2:1-3; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; James 1:14-15; 1 John 3:14; Revelation 21:8).

Salvation
We affirm that salvation is the application of the work of Christ to the life of the individual, and that this doctrine is of particular relevance because it pertains to our most crucial need, namely, how to be made right with God. We believe that salvation is a change of heart, wrought by the Holy Spirit, who gives life to those dead in trespasses and sins, enlightening their minds and renewing their whole nature so that they love and practice holiness according to the word of God. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. In addition, we believe that the medium of salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, on the basis of Christ’s righteousness alone. Thus, we affirm that the extent of salvation is provided exclusively through the person and work of Jesus Christ. (Ezekiel 36:25-26; John 1:13; 3:3, 5-8; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:1-6; Titus 3:5; 1 John 5:1).

Christian Life
We believe that Christians should live for the glory of God and the well-being of others, that their conduct should be above reproach and blameless before the world, that they should be faithful stewards of their possessions, and that they should seek, through the strength that God supplies, to realize for themselves and others the full stature of maturity in Christ, pressing after a heavenly life in joyful obedience to all Christ’s commands. We believe in monogamous, life-long, heterosexual marriage and oppose all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography (Ezekiel 36:27; Matthew 5:16, 31-32; 19:1-9; 28:20; John 14:15, 23-24; Romans 1:26-27; 6:1-7:6; 8:3-4, 12-14; 12:1-3; 1 Corinthians 4:2; 6:9-10, 18; 10:31; 2 Corinthians 9:6-9; 12:21; Galatians 5:13-24; 6:7-10; Ephesians 5:3-6; Hebrews 12:1-2; 13:5; Colossians 1:9-10; 3:17; 1 Timothy 6:6-10; 1 Peter 2:12; 2 Peter 1:3-11; 1 John 2:3-6; 3:16-18; Revelation 21:8).

The Church
We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of baptized believers in Jesus Christ, who have given a credible profession of faith and have associated for worship, work, edification, and fellowship. We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world (John 10:16; Acts 1:8; 2:42; Ephesians 1:22; 2:19-22; 4:11-16; 5:19-21, 23; Colossians 1:18; 3:16; Hebrews 3:13; 10:24-25).

The Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that Christian baptism occurs in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as a sign of a person’s fellowship with the death and resurrection of Christ and of remission of sins. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is in no sense a sacrifice, but was instituted by Christ to commemorate his death, to confirm the faith and other graces of Christians, and to be a pledge and renewal of their communion with him and with each other. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:26-29; 28:18-20; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 11:23-31; 12:13).

End Times
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of his kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal felicity of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked (Matthew 16:27; 25:31-46; Mark 14:62; John 5:28-29; 14:3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Romans 2:6-11; Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; 2 Timothy 4:1, 8; Titus 2:13; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:12-28; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:4-6,11-15).

Following from our beliefs, we seek to promote the following values to our church body to live out from day to day:

Everyday Values We Seek To Promote Include:

……a passion for Christ

We believe it is the goal of all believers to always be cultivating a passion and love for God which transcends all others as stated in the greatest commandment (Matt. 22:37). We recognize that everyone treasures something ultimately, whether it be a relationship, money, possessions, etc., in order to attain joy for himself/herself. However, we are persuaded that what makes people ultimately happy is loving and delighting in the ultimate treasure, namely God. To this end, we also recognize that the Bible is central to this task as God uses it to reveal Himself and “shine within our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

……a love for community

Fostering a love and support for community is a strong commitment here at Ancient City Baptist Church. We desire to uphold and strengthen the community and fellowship we have within the church through genuine relationships and sharing our lives in Christ together. All of our programs and events are aimed to serve and cultivate our fellowship with each other, as well as to encourage and equip one another for the work of ministry (Eph 4:11-12). We also desire to extend those relationships to our geographic community at large, looking for tangible ways to love and serve those in the St. Augustine area. We truly desire to be a church that has a positive impression in our community for both the good of the people and for the glory of God (Matt. 28:18-20).

……a desire for the nations

Love for others extends beyond our own walls and community to the nations of the world. We believe that fulfilling the second greatest commandment – loving your neighbor as yourself (Matt.22:39) – is best expressed in helping to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of others, with the hopes of helping them to find their ultimate treasure in Christ. We believe that God has clearly commanded the church to this missionary task, and if we are not actively sending or actively going, then we are disobedient. We encourage members to participate in mission trips/opportunities and will continue having church trips both domestically and globally for members to serve in. We also actively partner with the following organizations in their missionary endeavors to fulfill the Great Commission: International Mission Board; Indian Gospel League; and TCM.