• Purpose
• Statement of Faith
• Values

Purpose of First Baptist Church

Growing disciples for Jesus Christ through:

Exaltation – Worshipping God
Equipping – Studying God’s Word
Edification – Encouraging God’s People
Evangelism – Witnessing God’s Salvation
Enlightenment – Living God’s Truth and Love

All this is accomplished by God’s grace, in God’s love, for God’s glory.

Statement of Faith of First Baptist Church

SECTION A. THE HOLY SCRIPTURE.

We believe in THE HOLY SCRIPTURE: accepting fully the writings of the Old and New T estaments as the very Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts and therefore wholly without error as originally given of God, altogether sufficient in themselves as our only infallible and authoritative rule of faith and practice. Psalm 119:160; Proverbs 30:5a; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21.

We believe in THE ONE TRUE GOD: who is an intelligent, sovereign, spiritual and personal Being; perfect, infinite, and eternal in His being, holiness and love, wisdom and power; absolutely separate from and above the world as its Creator, yet everywhere present in the world as the Upholder of all things. He is revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three distinct persons but without division of nature, essence or being, and each having a distinct ministry in God's relation to His creation and people. Genesis 1:1; Exodus 15:11; Psalm 83:18; 139:7-9; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30; 15:26.

We believe in THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: who is the second Person of the Triune God, the eternal Word and Only Begotten Son; that without any change in His divine Person, He became man by miracle of the Virgin Birth, thus to continue forever as both true God and true Man, one Person with two natures; that as Man He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin; that as the perfect Lamb of God He gave Himself in death upon the cross, bearing there the sin of the world, and suffering its full penalty of divine wrath in our stead; that He arose from the grave in a glorified body; that as our great High Priest He ascended into Heaven, there to appear before the face of God as our Advocate and Intercessor. John 1:1,14; 3:16; Matthew 1:18-25; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:6-10; 1 Corinthians 15:3-7; Hebrews 4:14-16: 1 John 2:1-2.

We believe in THE HOLY SPIRIT: who is the Third Person of the Trinity, and the divine Agent in nature, revelation and redemption; that He convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment; that He regenerates, indwells, baptizes, seals and anoints all who become children of God through Christ; that He further empowers, guides, teaches, sanctifies and fills believers who daily surrender to Him. John 3:5; 14:16, 17, 26; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 1:13; 5:18.

We believe ALL MEN ARE BY NATURE AND CHOICE SINFUL AND LOST: that man was the direct creation of God, made in His image and likeness; that by personal disobedience to the revealed will of God, man became a sinful creature, the father of a fallen race which is universally sinful in both nature and practice, thus alienated from the life and family of God, under the righteous judgment and wrath of God, and has within himself no possible means of salvation. Genesis 1:27; 3:6; Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:23; 5:12, 19; Galatians 3:11.

We believe in SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH: that salvation is the free gift of God, neither merited nor secured in part or in whole by any virtue or work of man, but received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all true believers have as a present possession the gift of eternal life, a perfect righteousness, sonship in the family of God, deliverance and security from all condemnation, every spiritual resource needed for life and godliness, and the divine guarantee that they shall never perish; that this salvation affects the whole man; that apart from Christ there is no possible salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; John 1:12; 3:14-16; 10:28-29; Romans 8:1; Philippians 1:6.

We believe in RIGHTEOUS LIVING AND GODLY WORKS: not as a means of salvation in any sense, but as its proper evidence and fruit; and therefore as Christians we should obey the Word of our Lord, seek the things which are above, walk as He walked, accept as our solemn responsibility the duty and privileges of bearing the gospel to a lost world; remembering that a victorious and fruitful Christian life is possible only for those who in gratitude for the infinite and undeserved mercies of God have presented themselves wholly to Christ. Ephesians 2:10; Romans 12:1-2; Philippians 2:16, Colossians 3:1-3; 1 Corinthians 10:31.

We believe in THE EXISTENCE OF SATAN: who originally was created a holy and perfect being, but through pride and wicked ambition rebelled against God, thus becoming utterly depraved in character, the great adversary of God and His people, leader of all other evil angels and wicked spirits, the deceiver and god of this present world: that his powers are vast, but strictly limited by the sovereign will of God who overrules all his wicked devices for good; that he was defeated and judged at the cross, and therefore his final doom is certain; that we are able to resist and overcome him only in the armor of God, by the blood of the Lamb and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 14:12-15; Ephesians 6:12; 1 Peter 5:8; 1 John 3:8; Revelation 12:9-11; 20:10.

We believe in THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST: that His coming in the air to rapture His Church, which is our blessed Hope; is pre-tribulational; is always imminent; that when He has first by resurrection of the dead and translation of the living removed from the earth His waiting Church, He will then pour out the righteous judgments of God upon the unbelieving world in the tribulation and afterwards descend with His Church and establish His glorious and literal kingdom over all the nations for a thousand years. Then He will create the New Heaven and the New Earth. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:1-3; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; James 5:7-8; Hebrews 10:37; Jude 14, 15; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:4-7; 21-22.

We believe in FUTURE LIFE, BODILY RESURRECTION AND ETERNAL JUDGMENT: that the spirits of the saved at death go immediately to be with Christ in Heaven, that their works shall be brought before the Judgment Seat of Christ for the determination of rewards which will take place at the time when Christ comes for His own; that the spirits of the unsaved at death descend immediately into Hades where they are kept under punishment until the final day of judgment, at which time their bodies shall be raised from the grave, that they shall be judged and cast into Hell, the place of final and everlasting punishment. 1 Corinthians 15:12-58; 2 Corinthians 5:8-10; Luke 16:19-23; Revelation 20:11-15.

We believe in THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: with each having definite and distinct spheres of responsibility. Matthew 22:21; Romans 13:1-7.

We believe in THE PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS: that Christ is our Great High Priest and through Him every born-again person has direct access into God’s presence without the need of a human priest; that the believer has the right and responsibility to personally study and interpret the Scriptures guided by the Holy Spirit. John 14:6; Hebrews 4:16; 2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Peter 2:1, 5, 9.

We believe in THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH: that Christ alone is Head of the Body of Christ, into which all true believers are immediately baptized by the Holy Spirit; that all believers of all the ages are members of this one spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:11-16.

We believe in THE LOCAL CHURCH: that a New Testament church is a local assembly of born-again baptized believers united to practice New Testament ordinances, to meet together for worship, prayer, discipleship, fellowship, teaching, and to actively engage in carrying out the Great Commission. Acts 2:41-47; 1 Corinthians 11:2; Matthew 28: 19-20; Titus 2:11-14.

We believe in THE INDEPENDENCE AND AUTONOMY OF THE LOCAL CHURCH: that each New Testament church is free to govern itself without ecclesiastical interference, and should cooperate with other New Testament churches as the Holy Spirit leads: that it is responsible to follow the pattern of the New Testament church and is directly accountable to God. Matthew 18:17; Acts 6:1-5; 13:1-3; 15:22-23.

We believe THE ORDINANCES OF THE LOCAL CHURCH ARE BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER: that Baptism is by immersion of believers, thus portraying the death, burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ; that the Lord’s Supper is the partaking of the bread and cup by the believer as a continuing memorial of the broken body and shed blood of Christ. Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41; 8:38-39; Matthew 26:26-30; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34.

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Values of First Baptist Church

Our Heritage:

What we are: Bible Based, Conservative, Evangelical, Baptistic, and in fellowship with Conservative Baptists of America.
What we are not: Legalistic and Isolationist, Liberal and Modernistic, Charasmatic and Pentecostal.

The Bible is the inspired inerrant infallible word of God, the final authority for faith and practice.
The eternal deity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, equal with God.
The virgin birth of Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
The sinless life of Jesus Christ, though tempted, He did not sin. He was thus the spotless lamb of God.
The substitionary atoning death of Jesus Christ. He shed His precious innocent blood and died on the cross for the forgiveness of our personal sins. He died in our place to pay for our sins.
The bodily resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ. On the third day Jesus rose bodily from the grave victorious over sin and death. He is the giver of life, abundant and eternal.
The second coming of Jesus Christ. Beginning with the pre-tribulational, pre-millennial rapture of the church by Jesus and climaxing with His return on the Mount of Olives.
The gift of salvation is by grace through faith. We the sinners are saved by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.

Exaltation: Our highest priority is to give praise and worship to our Triune God. We do this with the balance of reverence and celebration, with humility and thanksgiving.

We desire that our worship is done decently and in order, lead by the Spirit of God, and with the parameters of the Bible. We are not legalistic concerning the style of worship. We appreciate traditional hymns, gospel songs, along with newer praise and worship music.

Equipping: Our faith is built upon God’s Holy Word the Bible. All our teaching and preaching is grounded in the Scriptures.

We recognized the variety of Bible translations. We are not King James Only. The various resources we utilize in the educational ministry of the church are from a conservative evangelical perspective. We affirm the literal interpretation of Scripture and speak where Scriptures speak and are silent where Scriptures are silent.

Edifying: Our faith is strengthened through the fellowship of this local church and like believers. We seek to build each other up in love, desiring the unity of the body of Christ.

We accept unity in diversity. We are called to unity not uniformity. While we can have differences of opinions in the non essentials, we stand united in essentials, seeking love and grace displayed in all occasions.

Evangelizing: Our faith is vitality important to share. We encourage our people to be intentional in living their faith and in sharing their testimony of how God has saved them and blessed their lives.

We believe that our life and words must match, that lifestyle evangelism is important in our witness. People need to come to Christ and we can reach our sphere of influence. We affirm the variety of methods of evangelism, we are blessed by the many ministries who preach Christ through crusades, media, music, publishing. With our church seeks to minister to all ages in our community, we have specialized programs for youth outreach.

Enlighting: Our faith guides us to be lights in a dark world. We must be the instruments of positive change in our world. We must take stands on justice, life, truth and mercy.

We encourage our people to be involved as salt and light in our community. We are not politically motivated, but believe Christians need to be voices in the political and civic arena. We seek not to compromise our faith and values, and we must exercise godly judgment in all our decision making concerning habits, entertainment, leisure, family life, and careers. We believe our conscience must be established by the written Word of God, and our behavior responds to What Would Jesus Do?

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