Our Purpose & Beliefs

The purpose of the church is summed up in the commission Christ gave His disciples just before He ascended to Heaven: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:18–20).

This last command of Christ should be our highest priority; every facet of church activity should in some way relate to this, the purpose of the church. Acts 5:42 records that the Jerusalem church was indeed fulfilling this purpose: “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” This young church was constantly engaged in making the Gospel known to the world.

First Baptist Church exists for the purpose of glorifying God. We strive to lead people to biblical salvation through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; facilitate spiritual growth within believers through discipleship and Bible study; and foster an environment of service towards God and others through ministry involvement and soul-winning.

The following comprise the Scriptural beliefs of this church and its members.

The Bible

We believe the Bible to be the revealed Word of God, fully and verbally inspired of God. We believe the Scriptures to be the inerrant, infallible Word of God, as found within the sixty six books from Genesis to Revelation. We believe that God not only inspired every word, but that He has preserved them through the ages. The initial miracle of divine inspiration also extends to the divine preservation of a pure text to this day. We have, therefore, the very Word of God preserved in the received texts. For the English language, we believe that the King James Version is the inspired, preserved Word of God and is the translation used in church services. (Psalm 12:6–7; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:19-21)

God

We believe in one God; Who is eternal, self-existent, infinite, and immutable. We believe He has one nature, one essence, and one substance; yet reveals Himself to man in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Timothy 1:17; James 1:17; 1 John 4:4)

Jesus Christ

We believe Jesus Christ to be the one and only Saviour of mankind. We believe Jesus Christ to be eternally God and to possess all the attributes of Deity. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was virgin-born, that He was God incarnate, and that the purposes of the incarnation were to reveal God, to redeem men, and to rule over God's kingdom. We believe Jesus Christ never relinquished any attributes of His Deity, but merely veiled them. We believe He lived a perfect, sinless life, at the end of which He was offered for all mankind as a substitutionary sacrifice for man's sin. This sacrifice was a just payment to God for the forgiveness of sin. It was activated by His death through the shedding of His blood on the cross and was accepted by God upon His resurrection. We believe He ascended into Heaven after His resurrection to be seated at the right hand of the Father and is now waiting for the time of receiving His church at the rapture, which is followed by His return seven years later to earth to rule and reign as King for 1,000 years. (Psalm 2:7-9; Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, 43:11; Micah 5:2; Matthew 1:25; Luke 1:26-35; John 1:1, 1:3, 14, 18, 29; Romans 3:19-25; Romans 5:6-15; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Timothy 3:16; Titus 2:10-15; Hebrews 7:26, 9:24-28; 1 Peter 1:19, 2:2; 1 John 1:3; Revelation 20:1-6)

The Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit of God is a person who has personality and all the attributes of Deity. We believe the Holy Spirit has always been involved in the affairs of mankind; however, we believe He has a special ministry that began at Pentecost and will continue until the rapture. This ministry includes reproving the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit was also sent to regenerate, sanctify, seal, and fill all who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1:2; John 3:5-6; John 14:16; Acts 1:5; Acts 11:15; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Corinthians 12:13)

Sin and Salvation

We believe all men were born with an inherited sin nature received from our common ancestor, Adam. We believe that because of his nature, man is a sinner by choice, and he is totally incapable of reforming himself or ceasing from his sin by his own power. We believe the only hope of deliverance for man is a total change of mind concerning his sinful condition and inability to change it, and a turning to Jesus Christ as the only Saviour. We believe that only through the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the cross can a man be delivered from his sin. We believe that all those who reject Jesus Christ as their Saviour are already condemned to an eternity in the lake of fire. (Genesis 5:1-5; Acts 4:19; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:10-23; Romans 5:6-12; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-6; Revelation 20:11-14)

Eternal Security of Believers

We believe that once a person is saved, he is kept by God’s power and remains secure in Christ forever. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word; which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1; 38-39; 13:13-14; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 1:4-5; Titus 2:11-15)

The New Testament Church

The church’s membership is to be composed of regenerated, baptized believers. The two ordinances of the local church are believer’s baptism by immersion, and the memorial of the Lord’s supper until He returns. 

We believe God has ordained the ministry of local, independent, indigenous assemblies of believers to accomplish His work in this time till His appearing. We believe the local church is composed of members who have been saved and baptized according to the command of Christ, and have voluntarily united together for the purposes of worship, fellowship, service, and observance of the ordinances of water baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. The church is to be evangelistic in spreading the Gospel into all the world. It is not the mission of the church to “Bring in the Kingdom,” work for political or economic justice, major on social improvement, or “Christianize” society. It is to strive together for the faith of the Gospel, proclaim and maintain purity of doctrine and practice, and worship and serve the Lord in “spirit and in truth.” (Matthew 16:16-18; Acts 1:15; Acts 2:41-43; Acts 11:15; Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 15: 51-58; Ephesians 1:12-14; Ephesians 4:11-16; Ephesians 5:25-30; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Timothy 3:4-15)

The Last Days

We believe in the literal interpretation of the Scriptures in their grammatical and historical context. We believe in the pre-tribulational rapture of the church saints, followed by the seven-year tribulation. We believe in the pre-millennial return of Christ to the earth and His literal rule of 1,000 years. Following this one-thousand-year reign is the Great White Throne judgment and then the new heaven and new earth. (1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9; Revelation 19-22)

This Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. Please contact us regarding a more exhaustive Statement of Faith.