First Baptist Church

WE BELIEVE that the following truths accurately reflect God’s revelation in Scripture. To agree with these biblical truths is to confess Christ as Savior. To live them is to possess Christ as Lord. As such, we find that those who become members of First Baptist Church do both, serving Jesus as Savior and Lord by holding to these core doctrines of salvation in word and deed.

A detailed document with all the Scripture passages referenced below can be found here. FBC Statement of Faith Reference Document

Revelation

WE BELIEVE that God, in some way, reveals Himself to all human beings. The knowledge of God as the Creator and Moral Lawgiver of all is generally available to all persons through creation and conscience.^[1] In addition, the redemptive Word of God was put into written form using the unique personalities of human authors under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,^[2] both before and after the coming of Jesus Christ, who is the Word incarnate.^[3] The resulting Scriptures reveal all of the knowledge about God that is necessary for salvation and right living.^[4] The Scriptures are absolutely true and without error as originally written,^[5] may not be added to or detracted from,^[6] and are the supreme and final authority and standard by which all of life is to be judged.^[7]

God

WE BELIEVE that there is only one true God^[1] who revealed Himself in the Old Testament as Yahweh,^[2] the Creator and Sustainer of all things.^[3] He is unique and beyond our comprehension,^[4] although we can know Him through His self-revelation.^[5] He is an infinite,^[6] personal,^[7] and self-existent spirit.^[8] While completely distinct from His creation, He is present everywhere and intimately involved with all things.^[9] He is eternal and unchangeable,^[10] all-powerful^[11] and all-knowing.^[12] Being morally perfect in every way, God is absolutely good,^[13] holy,^[14] righteous,^[15] just,^[16] and truthful.^[17] He is perfectly loving,^[18] gracious,^[19] and merciful.^[20] This one God has revealed Himself to exist eternally in the form of three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.^[21] In this we recognize diversity in unity and unity in diversity—three persons yet only one essence, equal in nature, attributes, power, and glory.^[22]

God the Father. WE BELIEVE in God the Father, one in essence with the Son and the Holy Spirit.^[1] God is the Creator, Sustainer, and Sovereign Ruler of all things^[2] through His Son Jesus Christ.^[3] He has freely and unchangeably ordained and foreknown everything that has or will come to pass.^[4] And while nothing occurs outside of God's perfect will, His sovereignty does not eliminate or minimize human responsibility.^[5] His fatherhood involves both His position within the Trinity and His relationship with the redeemed.^[6] The Father adopts as His own, through Jesus Christ, all those He mercifully chose and effectually calls to Himself for all eternity.^[7]

God the Son. WE BELIEVE in God the Son, one in essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit.^[1] The entire Old Testament pointed forward to Him,^[2] and the New Testament is God’s climactic revelation of His reconciliation of man to Himself through His Son.^[3] For our sakes and for the Father’s glory, God the Son voluntarily humbled Himself by taking human form,^[4] conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary and born as Jesus, the Christ.^[5] He is therefore both God and man, possessing two natures—divine and human.^[6] Though subject to human temptations,^[7] Jesus lived a sinless life.^[8] He died a real death on the cross.^[9] On the third day He rose bodily from the grave and appeared to the disciples and many others.^[10] He then ascended into heaven, retaining His glorified human form.^[11] Jesus is now seated in victory at the right hand of the Father^[12] and will return to judge all humanity.^[13] He sent the Holy Spirit to establish and empower the Church,^[14] of which Jesus is the Head and Savior.^[15] He is deserving of the same honor, love, faith, and worship as God the Father.^[16]

God the Holy Spirit. WE BELIEVE in God the Holy Spirit, one in essence with the Father and the Son.^[1] The Holy Spirit was active in the creation of the universe^[2] and the inspiration of the Bible.^[3] He was sent by the Father and the Son to carry out the will of God on the earth.^[4] He testifies of divine truth, which convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.^[5] He glorifies Jesus Christ and applies Christ's work of redemption.^[6] The Holy Spirit regenerates the ungodly, which allows us to overcome our spiritual blindness and resistance.^[7] He baptizes all believers into the Body of Christ and indwells them, sealing and securing them in Christ forever.^[8] He also guides, teaches, intercedes, and distributes spiritual gifts to every believer, empowering them for godly living and service.^[9]

Salvation

Humanity. WE BELIEVE that God directly created humanity without sin.^[1] Together, as male and female, we form the image of God.^[2] Separately, as individuals, we have equal access to and standing before God by faith.^[3] Because we are made in the image of God, human life is sacred in God’s eyes.^[4] He created us to fully display His glory by exercising responsible stewardship over the earth and enjoying a loving relationship with Him forever.^[5]

Sin. WE BELIEVE that the human race is in desperate need of salvation. We are slaves to sin,^[1] which is any action,^[2] inaction,^[3] or attitude^[4] that is contrary to the nature or Word of God. Through Adam's rebellious disobedience, sin broke into the world and made all persons sinful by nature and sinners by choice.^[5] This brought corruption—guilt, tragedy, sickness, death, and condemnation—to each of us individually and to all human institutions.^[6] We deserve nothing but God’s righteous wrath.^[7] It is not that we are willing to do right yet are being prevented. It is that we are not willing to do right. The darkness of our mind, will, and emotions is total and self-imposed.^[8] We cannot be good on our own or earn salvation.^[9]

          The Gospel of Jesus Christ. WE BELIEVE that into our hopeless situation God has acted freely and decisively to save us^[1]. This good news is only revealed to us in Scripture.^[2] Beginning with Abraham, God called to Himself a people with whom He established His covenant and to whom He offered salvation.^[3] The sacrificial, ceremonial system of His covenant with Israel anticipated and foreshadowed the sacrificial, substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross for our sins. The old ceremonial system has therefore been set aside as having been fulfilled by Christ, the perfect Lamb of God.^[4] In the new covenant, Christ’s sinless life empowers Christians to obey God’s moral standards from the heart by means of the indwelling Holy Spirit.^[5]
          By His death, Jesus has provided a just basis for God to appease His wrath,^[6] forgive our sins,^[7] justify us immediately by giving us credit for Christ's righteousness,^[8] and welcome us into His presence forever.^[9] It is entirely a free and gracious gift of God. In fact, because we were all dead in our sins and morally incapable of pleasing God or seeking Him,^[10] no one could repent of their sins and delight in God without first being called by God and regenerated by the Holy Spirit.^[11] Salvation is entirely of the Lord,^[12] the author and perfecter of our faith.^[13] It is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.^[14]
          Just as we cannot earn or deserve God's salvation by works or ritual, neither do we maintain this right standing by good works.^[15] Rather, good works and right living are the fruit and proof of salvation, performed—imperfectly until death—in a context of a loving relationship formed and sustained only by God's grace.^[16]

The Church

WE BELIEVE that the one universal Church consists only of people chosen by the true, living God and brought into a saving relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ,^[1] who is its all-authoritative Head.^[2] The Church is visible throughout the world in the form of local gatherings,^[3] though only God knows its true members.^[4] Its charter and standard is God’s revelation of Himself in Scripture.^[5] Its purpose is to love, honor, worship, obey, and trust the triune God, and to glorify Him by reflecting His character and nature in the actions of its people.^[6] Its basis for existence is the salvation accomplished by Christ and applied to its members by the Holy Spirit,^[7] who baptizes all believers into one Body.^[8] Its future is eternal glory in the presence of God.^[9] Its mandate is to proclaim the true Gospel of Jesus Christ,^[10] make disciples,^[11] properly administer the ordinances of baptism^[12] and the Lord’s Supper,^[13] and maintain purity of doctrine and practice in a loving manner through biblical church discipline until the return of Christ.^[14]

The Future

WE BELIEVE that God is moving history toward a final consummation when all His purposes in creating and redeeming humanity will be fulfilled.^[1] Until then, the elect who die are immediately made perfect in holiness and enter into heaven’s worship.^[2] The unsaved who die are destined for eternal damnation to which they sentenced themselves, having loved darkness rather than light.^[3] At a time known only to God, Jesus Christ will return to earth personally, visibly, and suddenly.^[4] The living and the dead will then be physically resurrected^[5] to final judgment.^[6] The lost will be condemned to eternal punishment along with Satan and his fallen angels, all subjected to God’s wrath and displeasure.^[7] The righteous, having already been judged on the basis of the saving works of Christ,^[8] will have their own words and works that followed salvation judged and rewarded.^[9] They will inherit the Kingdom of their Father in which all will know, love, and obey God faultlessly and joyfully. Having been perfectly transformed into the incarnate image of Christ, they will live in eternal bliss in the presence of God.^[10]

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