1. We believe in one true and living God: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and these three are one.
2. We believe the Old and the New Testaments to be of divine origin and authority, and our only rule of faith and practice; we consider the King James translations as orthodox and prefer it over all other translations.
3. We believe in the doctrine of personal and unconditional election, that God chose His people in Christ before the foundation of the world, that they are regenerated in time according to God’s eternal purpose.
4. We believe in the doctrine of original sin, and that all of Adam’s posterity are sinners by nature; that man is unable of his own free will and ability to recover himself from his fallen state, nor can he act in any way to move God to save himself from his lost condition.
5. We believe that sinners are justified in the sight of God only by the direct Operation of the Holy Ghost in their hearts.
6. We believe that the saints are kept by the power of God, that they have final preservation in grace to glory, and that none of them finally shall be lost or fall away.
7. We believe that baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances of Jesus Christ, and all of the saints should wash on another’s feet in a church capacity, and that none but regularly baptized believers have a right to commune at the Lord’s table.
8. We believe that the mortal bodies of all mankind are laid in the graves or elsewhere, and will be raised, some to joyous righteousness in everlasting eternal life in Christ, and some to everlasting shame and contempt.
9. We believe that those who give evidence that they are called of God to preach the gospel, by edifying the church in that exercise, should be ordained to the ministry by the authority of the church and by coming under the hands of a presbytery, and that only those so ordained have the authority to administer the ordinances of Jesus Christ.
10. We believe that Christ set up the New Testament church with all necessary elements, and that no unscriptural auxiliaries of human origin such as musical instruments, segregated Sunday schools, or missionary boards should be added.
11. We believe that it is unscriptural for any church member to unite or practice with or in any other institution or society, secret or otherwise, which has a form of religion.
12. We believe every duly organized church is a sovereign and independent local body, having exclusive authority to receive and to discipline her own members. While she should be considerate of her sister churches, she is accountable only to Jesus Christ, her Head and King.
A note to our readers: The Banner of Love is not a church body and, as such, does not have its own Articles of Faith. While these Articles of Faith are considered typical of those adopted by many Primitive Baptist Churches, they are presented here for informational purposes only. Articles of Faith vary from congregation to congregation.