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Mission
Our mission at First Baptist is to develop a church that follows
Biblical principles in assembling together as a body of believers to
exhort and encourage one another while at the same time seeking to share
the faith, hope and love in Christ with all who attend and to seek to
extend these truths around the world through foreign and home missions
programs.
Statement of Faith
1. The
Bible – We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, without
error in the original writings, and therefore our authority for faith
and conduct. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
2. The Trinity –
We believe in one God, eternally existing in Three Persons: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, identical in essence, equal in power and glory.
(Deut. 6:4; 2 Cor. 13:14; Matt. 28:19).
3. God the Father –
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect and
eternal in all divine attributes, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
and all who believe in Christ. We believe God created everything other
than Himself. (Ex. 3:14; Isa. 44:6; Mat. 6:9; 23:9; Jo. 4:24; 2 Cor.
1:3; 1 Pe. 1:3).
4. God the Son, Jesus Christ –
We believe Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son, equal in essence with the
Father and the Holy Spirit. He is fully God and fully man, conceived by
the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. We believe in His sinless life,
atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, and
intercession for His own. (Isa. 7:14; 53:4,7; Mat 1:18-25; John
1:1,14,18; 8:58; Acts1:9; Rom. 5:8; 6:9-10; 9:5; 2 Cor. 5:21; Col.
1:15,17,19; Heb. 7:25; 9:28; 1 Pe. 2:24).
5. God the Holy Spirit –
We believe the Holy Spirit is a living, eternal Person, equal in essence
with the Father and the Son. He proceeds from the Father and the Son to
convict unbelievers of their need of Jesus Christ, and to regenerate,
seal, indwell, and empower believers, as well as give gifts for service,
and baptize believers into the body of Christ. (Jo. 3:3-7; 14:16,17;
16:7-14; Acts 2:6-11; Rom. 8:9; 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 12:4-31; Eph.
4:11-16,30; 5:18).
6. Mankind –
We believe all humans were created in the image of God. As a result of
Adam’s sin, however, the human race fell into sin resulting in physical
death and spiritual death, which is separation from God. All human
beings are born with a sinful nature and are sinners by choice, unable
to regain their former position on their own. (Gen. 1:26; 3:1-24; Rom.
3:10,23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:18-19).
7. Salvation –
We believe salvation is by God’s grace alone, received by faith alone in
the Lord Jesus Christ who died as a sacrifice for our sins. All who
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are born again by the Holy Spirit, and
thereby become children of God. All who are born again are forever kept
secure in Christ by God’s sovereign grace. (Isa. 53:4-7; Jo. 1:12;
3:16; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Eph. 2:8-9; Ro. 8:1; 38-39; Titus 3:5; I Peter
2:24; 3:18).
8. Sanctification –
We believe that from salvation God works progressively in the believer
to make us increasingly free from sin and like Christ in thought,
character and action. The spiritual growth process is a God-human joint
operation with His Spirit initiating, and we taking real steps in
growth, primarily by learning and living God’s Word. The Christian life
enjoys freedom, avoids sin, and displays the fruit of the Spirit. (Ro.
12:1-2; 2 Cor. 3:17; Gal. 5:1, 13, 16,22-23, 25; Phil. 1:6; 2:12-13; 1
Thes. 5:23).
9. The Church –
We believe the universal church is the family of God, the living,
spiritual body of Christ under His headship, and that it is expressed in
local churches composed of like-minded, born again people. We believe
people in local churches associate for worship, instruction,
discipleship and service. We believe that the Lord instituted baptism
as a one-time, public symbol of the believer’s identification with
Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, best pictured by
immersion. We believe that the Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper as a
repeatable commemoration of His death, and that all believers are
eligible to partake. (Mat. 28:19-20;Jo. 13:34-35; 17:20-23; Acts
2:41-42; Rom. 6:3-5; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; 15:51-53; Gal. 3:27-28; Eph.
1:22-23; 4:1-6; Phil. 2:1-5; Col. 1:18; 1 Thes. 1:1; Titus 3:9-11; 1 Pe.
2:9)
10. The Future –
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ will come again to the earth to
establish the full expression of His Kingdom. We believe in the
resurrection of the body, the final judgement, the eternal happiness of
the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked. (Dan. 12:2;
Mat. 16:27; 24-25; Lu. 16:19-26; Jo. 5:28-29; 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thes.
4:13-18; 2 Thes. 1:7-9; Rev. 19-20).
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