What We Believe
The Scripture
We believe that the Holy Bible was written by inspired men and that it is a perfect rule of faith and practice.
God
We believe that there is only one living and true God who is infinite in every natural and moral excellence, and that He has revealed Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the same in essence and equal in divine qualities.
Human Depravity
We believe that Adam and Eve were created in a state of innocence. By disobedience they fell into a state of sinfulness which has been passed down to all their descendants. As a result, everyone capable of exercising free will eventually sins and becomes guilty before the holy God.
The Way of Salvation
We believe that the only way of salvation is through the righteousness and blood of Jesus Christ our Lord whom God sent “to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us.” (Romans 3: 25, NLT).
Grace, and the Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that all those who exercise repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ experience new birth, a work of God’s grace, whereby a person becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus. Salvation, therefore, is not a result of good works, but is a gift of God based solely upon repentance and faith. Those who have experienced new birth and who have followed Christ in scriptural baptism are proper candidates for membership in the First Baptist Church family.
Final Perseverance
We believe that all true believers will, by the grace of God, persevere in His love and service, being “protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (I Peter 1: 5, NASB)
The Ordinances
We believe that in the church there are only two ordinances, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is by immersion and is a powerful symbol of Christ’s death and resurrection. Through baptism, a believer announces his or her faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Lord’s Supper is a meaningful symbol of the death of Christ for the sins of the world. It reminds believers of His body and blood and causes believers to look forward to fellowship with Him in heaven.
Church Offices
We believe that the Bible authorizes two offices in the church: Pastor and Deacon.
Church Government
We believe that each individual church, with Christ as its Head and the Word of God for its guide, possesses within itself all the requisite authority for self-government.
The Lord’s Day
We believe that, according to the example of the apostles and early Christians, sanctioned by the repeated appearance of the Son of God after the resurrection, the first day of the week is to be observed as the Lord’s Day.
Resurrection and Judgement
We believe that there will be a resurrection, both of the just and unjust, and that the Son of Man will come “in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’ … Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; … And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
(Selected verses, Matthew 25: 31-46)
To read The Baptist Faith and Message in its entirety, click here.