What We Believe

First Baptist History | What We Believe

Staff

Back to 'About Us'

 

The Bible

We believe that "all scripture is given by inspiration of God" (2 Timothy 3:16). We understand this to mean all 66 books of the Old and New Testaments were inspired, that holy men of God "were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21) to write the very words of scripture. We believe that this divine inspiration extends to all parts of the scriptures as recorded in the original manuscripts and therefore is without error or contradiction. (Deuteronomy 29:29; Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39; John 10:35; Romans 15:14; I Corinthians 2:13; I Corinthians 10:11).
 

God

We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing, all-wise, all-truth, all-holy, and omnipresent (Psalm 99:9; Psalm 145; Isaiah 57:15; Matthew 3:16-17; Matthew 28:19; John 14:6; Romans 5:8; Romans 8:35, 38-39; Titus 1:2; I Peter 1:15-16; I John 4:8; I John 5:7).
 

The Father

God as Father, reigns over all of His universe with providential care. He is the originator and orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace (I Corinthians 8:6). His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind. As creator He is Father to all men (Ephesians 4:6), but spiritually He is Father only to those who have become children of God through Jesus Christ (Jeremiah 10:10; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; I Corinthians 8:6).
 

Jesus - The Son

We believe that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, that he became man without ceasing to be God, that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin so that He could redeem sinful man. He voluntarily gave Himself as a sinless, substitutionary sacrifice on the cross, thereby satisfying God's righteous judgment against sin. He bodily rose from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of the Father where he intercedes on behalf of those who trust Him (Matthew 1:23-25; Luke 1:34-35; John 1:1,2,14,18; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:24-26; Romans 8:34; I Corinthians 15:3,20; Phillippians 2:5-11; I Timothy 2:6; Hebrews 4:14-16; I Peter 2:22).

 

The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the divine third Person of the Trinity, and He is coequal with the Father and the Son.  He convicts the world of sin; brings new life to those that are spiritually dead; baptizes (places) all believers into the one true Church, which is the Body of Christ.  He indwells them permanently; seals them until the day of final redemption; bestows spiritual gifts upon them; and fills and empowers those who are yielded to Him.  His work in this age began at Pentecost and will continue until the completion of His church.  His function is to bring glory and honor to Jesus by pointing people to the Son (John 3:5; John 14:16-17; John 16:7-8, 13-14; Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 2:10; I Corinthians 3:16; I Corinthians 6:19-20; I Corinthians 12:1,7;  Galatians 5:16, 22-23; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 5:18; Titus 3:5).

 

Creation

We believe that the universe and everything in it was created directly by God in six literal 24 hour days (Genesis 1:1-2:25: Psalms 33:6-9; Isaiah 45:12, 18; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17).

Man

We believe that man was originally created by a definite act of God in His own image to glorify God and to have fellowship with Him.  Through disobedience man lost fellowship with God, and brought upon himself and the entire human race the penalty for sin, which is a spiritual and physical death.  Since Adam,  every person is born with an inherently sinful nature and is a sinner in thought, word and deed.  Every person, therefore, stands under the just condemnation of God and is unable to save himself or present deeds worthy of merit before God. (Genesis 1:26, 27; John 3:36; Romans 2:6-16; 3:10,23; 5:12-21; 6:23)

Salvation

We believe that a person is saved by God's grace alone, made possible through the shed blood of Christ, whereby He died a substitutionary death for mankind, and through the resurrection of Christ.  Salvation becomes effective when a person, by an act of faith, acknowledges Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord.  The benefits of this salvation include the forgiveness of sins and a new standing before God, the impartation of a new life and all the privileges that accompany a new family relationship with God.  The assurance of salvation as a present possession is the privilege of every believer in Christ. (John 1:2; 3:3, 16; 10:28; Acts 3:19; 16:31; Romans 3:20-28; 4:4-5;10:9; I Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-9; Phillippians 1:6; 3:9; I Peter 3:18)

Baptism

We believe that a Christian baptism is the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  While not necessary for salvation, it is an act of obedience whereby the believer symbolizes his faith in a crucified, buried and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of list in Christ.  It also is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead.  It should take place after one has received Jesus Christ as Savior.  Being a command of God, it is required for church membership. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, 41)

Marriage

We believe that the Bible teaches that marriage is a holy institution which is ordained by God, and as such should only be between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:18-24; Mark 10:6-9; I Corinthians 7:2; Ephesians 5:31)

Satan

We believe that Satan is a fallen angel, the author of sine, and the great enemy of God and Man.  We believe that along with the rest of his fallen angels (demons) work out their evil plans through the ungodly world system, limited only by the soverign rule of God.  He will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire where he and his followers will spend eternity. (Genesis 3:1; Ezekiel 28:11-17; Isaiah 14:12-17; Luke 4:5-7; John 8:44; Ephesians 2:2; I Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10)

The Future

We believe in the imminent, premillenial return of Christ to take his people to be with Him and to judge and rule the earth in righteousness.  We believe in the resurrection of the body for both believers and unbelievers.  We believe that the believer goes to be with Christ in conscious blessedness immediately after death, having escaped the condemnation of his sins through the death of Christ.  He will, however, stand before God to receive rewards for works approved by God or to suffer loss for works disapproved.  The believer will live eternally in the immediate presence of God, while the unbeliever must face the eternal and holy judge, who will sentence him for his sins.  He will experience the punishment of eternal separation in hell from the presence of God (Psalms 62:12;Ecclesiates 12:14; John 14:3;Acts 1:9-11; Romans 2:16, 8:1; I Corinthians 3:10-15, 15-20, 23,51-53; 2 Corinthians 5:8-10; Philippians 1:23; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:11-21:5)