What is a Statement of Faith?
As a church, our corporately held beliefs bind us together in unity. Our Statement of Faith serves to express our shared faith and articulate how our church understands the key teachings of Scripture. Affirmation of our Statement of Faith is a standard of membership at First Baptist Church.
The following are the core beliefs of First Baptist Church based on the foundational truths taught in the bible.
All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.
The Scriptures
We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:19-21), and inerrant in the original writings (Mathew 5:18), and that they are the supreme and final authority in faith and life (2 Peter 1:3; 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The True God
We believe that there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:4-6; Jude 20-21; Revelation 1:8; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:1, 8-9; Mathew 1:23) That Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary and is the true God and true man (Luke 1:35; John 1:14, 10:30).
The Fall of Man
That man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God (Genesis 1:23-24, 5:5); and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature (Romans 5:12-15, 6-6), and, in the the case of those who reach the age of moral responsibility, become sinners in thought, word and deed (Romans 3:23)
The Way of Salvation
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3) as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice (2 Corinthians 5:21) and that all who believe in him are justified on the grounds of his shed blood (Romans 3:23-25, 5:9). We believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God (Romans 10:9, 1Corinthians 12:13; John 1:12)
Eternity with Christ
We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord (1 Corinthians 15:20), in His ascension into Heaven and in His present life there as High Priest and advocate for us (Hebrews 4:15, 7:25-8:1). In "That blessed hope", (Titus 2:13), the personal (Zechariah 14:4), premillennial (Revelation 20:4b, 6) return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18; Philippians 1:21-23,3:20-21).
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust (John 5:28-29), the everlasting blessedness of the saved (Revelation20:6) and the everlasting, conscious punishment of the lost (Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 20:11-15).
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust (John 5:28-29), the everlasting blessedness of the saved (Revelation20:6) and the everlasting, conscious punishment of the lost (Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 20:11-15).
The Security of Salvation
That all redeemed, once saved, are sealed by the Holy Spirit and kept by God's providential power and are thus secure in Christ forever (Ephesians 4:30; 1Peter 1:5).
The Call of the Believer
That all legitimate authority is granted by God (Romans 13:1-2) and that God has granted authority to three basic institutions: The Home (Ephesians 5:22-6:4; 1 Corinthians 11:1-3,), The Church (Ephesians 5:23; John 20:23) and The State (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17).
Marriage and Family
That the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman (Genisis2:24), intended by God to last until one of the spouses dies (Romans 7:2-3). Jesus did have two exception clauses: If a spouse is found to be sexually immoral (Mathew 19:9); or if an unbelieving spouse leaves, then the believer is not bound (1 Corinthians 7:155).
Gender and Sexuality
That God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a 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 (Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1. 6:9, Hebrews 13:4). We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one's gender by surgery or appearance (1Thessalonians 4:1-8).