Our Distinctives

We are a Reformed Baptist Church located in the Powdersville area in Piedmont, SC. While there are many churches around, here are a few distinctives of our church:

EXPOSITORY PREACHING

We practice expository or expositional preaching. This means that as a regular practice we teach and preach the Bible verse-by-verse. We seek to determine the author's original meaning and apply it to believers today.

BIBLICAL GOSPEL

We teach a biblical gospel. This means that we teach what the Bible teaches, that all people must repent and believe the gospel of Christ. What is the gospel? It is that Jesus, who is God, took on human flesh and lived the perfect life that we cannot and do not live, and He died the death that we deserve. He was resurrected from the dead on the third day. All who repent of their sin and place their faith alone on Christ will be saved. This is a gracious work of God. Therefore we reject the teachings of easy believe-ism and/or cheap grace.

REFORMED THEOLOGY

We teach reformed theology. We believe and teach that salvation truly is a gift of God, and it is all of grace. We affirm that man is totally depraved and is unable to choose God on his own. We believe that God in His great mercy and grace has unconditionally elected some, by no merit of their own, to eternal life. We teach that an atonement is not merely theoretical but is actual, meaning that when Christ made atonement for sins, His sacrifice was actually made for a definite group, namely His people. We affirm God’s irresistible grace. Because regeneration precedes faith, God changes peoples' hearts of stone and gives them hearts of flesh and calls them to Himself. They respond willingly in repentance and faith because of God’s drawing power. We believe in the perseverance of the saints. All those who are God’s elect will persevere in their faith. The perseverance through time and trials actually shows the genuineness of one’s faith. However, ultimately it is not the person holding onto God but rather God who holds the believer and is guarding his heart by faith. We believe and are humbled by the fact that our salvation is truly all of grace! For us the five solas of the Reformation ring out truth and are pillars upon which we stand: Scripture alone, Christ alone, Faith alone, Grace alone, and Glory to God alone.

BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

We hold to Biblical theology. We teach the unfolding story of redemption as finding its fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament puts forth shadows of Christ. Things such as law, temple, and sacrifice all find their fulfillment in Christ. Offices such as Prophet, Priest, and King all find their “yes” in Christ. Where the first Adam failed in temptation and brought forth death, the second Adam (Christ) resisted temptation and brought forth life. Teaching Biblical theology seeks to guard teaching and preaching against using the Bible as a mere guide for inspiration or moralism.

ELDER LEADERSHIP

We have elders for our church leadership. We are led by a plurality of Biblically qualified men (elders) who shepherd the church of God. We also have deacons who serve in a variety of roles. These, we believe, are the two offices of the church: elders and deacons. Our elders are shepherds who seek to lead the church; they do not rule the church. We are a congregational ruled church. The final say comes from the people of God in the church, however, the church affirms elders who lead the church, shepherding them in teaching, praying, pastorally caring, and counseling them as well as making decisions for the church. The “pastor” is an elder in the church. However, he is what we would say, a leader among equals. While he leads the other elders, he does not have more authority than any of the other elders.

COMMITTED MEMBERSHIP

We have committed membership. We take membership seriously. Membership is for people who are truly born again, baptized by immersion, and faithfully committed to walking with the Lord in which attendance and service in the local body is essential. There are a lot of Southern Baptist churches that boast of large church roles yet few are in regular attendance. We seek to keep those balanced. If you are a member at Moriah, we expect that you will attend and serve in the body of Christ.

CHURCH PLANTING

We desire to see healthy reformed churches being planted. While much of that is done through partnering with existing or aspiring church planters being sent out from other church or mission organizations, we seek to have close relationships with men who are seeking to make disciples around the world through church planting. We currently support church planters in Austria, Baltimore (USA), and Burundi (Africa).