Salem Baptist Church Covenant

Having, as we trust, been brought by divine grace to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to give up ourselves to Him, and having been baptized upon our profession of faith, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, relying on His gracious aid, solemnly and joyfully renew our covenant with each other.

We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace with one another. (Eph. 4:1-3)

We will walk together in Christian love, exercising an affectionate care and watchfulness over each other and faithfully encouraging, admonishing and entreating one another as occasion may require, being slow to take offense and being ready always for reconciliation and mindful of the command of our Savior to seek it without delay. (John 13:34-35; 2 Tim. 2:15; 1 Cor. 5:1-2; Heb. 3:12-14)

We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, nor neglect to encourage and pray for ourselves and others. (Heb. 10:23-25)

We will endeavor to bring up our children and those who may at any time be under our care in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and through prayer and by a pure and loving example, to seek the salvation of our loved ones, friends and acquaintances. (Titus 2:1-6; Deut. 6:4-7)

We will rejoice in one another’s happiness and endeavor with tenderness and sympathy to bear one another’s burdens and sorrows. (Rom. 12:15; Gal. 6:2; James 2:14-17)

We will seek, by God’s grace, to live carefully in the world, denying ungodliness and worldly passions which bring unwarranted harm to the church body or jeopardize our own or another’s faith, and remembering that, as we have been voluntarily buried by baptism and raised again to newness of life, so there is on us a special obligation now to lead a new and holy life. (Rom. 12:1-2; Rom. 14:13-18; Eph. 5:15-21; Titus 2:12; 1 Pt. 1:14-16, 2:11-12)

We will work together to maintain a faithful evangelical ministry in this church by upholding the preaching and teaching of the Bible, by the right administration of believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper and, when necessary, by the exercise of church discipline. (Mt. 18:15-20; Acts 2:38; 1 Cor. 5:9-13, 11:26; 2 Tim. 4:2)

We will contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, and the spread of the Gospel to all nations. (2 Cor. 9:7; Gal. 6:10; 1 Jn. 3:17-18)

We will serve one another using the gifts God has granted us in His sovereignty and grace and, in doing so, we will strive always to rely on the power of His Holy Spirit that all glory may be given to Him. (Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:7, 12-13; Jas. 1:27)

We will, if we move from this place, as soon as possible, unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word. (Heb. 10:23-25)

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, to the praise of the glory of God in Christ Jesus, Amen.