ABOUT US
Our Identity
First Baptist Church is a body of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who have experienced His saving grace through faith in His sacrifice for our sins on the cross. We have followed Him in believers’ baptism by immersion and know Him personally as our living Lord through His bodily resurrection and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
God’s Nature
We believe in one eternal God manifested in three ways through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each of whom is a separate personality, but all are identified as God in the Bible. The members of the Godhead are fully God and not divided. We believe God is creator of the universe and man, and is the sustainer of life. He is the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present God, revealed through His son Jesus Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit in believers’ lives.
Sin’s Definition and Solution
We believe man was created in God’s image. Man’s innocence was defiled through sin in Adam’s disobedience and passed on to succeeding generations. We believe sin is the breaking of God’s moral law found in the Bible and embodied in the Ten Commandments. God is holy and just and must punish sin. However, God loves us and has provided for our sin through Christ’s sacrifice. We have all broken God’s moral law and need forgiveness of sin offered by God through accepting Christ and the full payment He made for our sin on the cross.
Christ’s Character and Work
We believe Christ is the virgin born Son of God and did not inherit the sin nature that makes us sinners by birth. He was God revealed in the flesh, sinless and perfect. He is our Saviour through His being a substitute for our sin. He paid the penalty of sin by dying for us, making it possible for us to have a personal relationship with God and to be saved from sin’s punishment. Christ took the punishment for our sins.
Salvation and its Result
We are all saved by what God has done for us in Christ without any human effort of our own. We accept God’s salvation as a free gift. God has provided for eternal life through His Son. We must turn to Him to be saved. We are lost because we are sinners, separated from God; we will be separated from God eternally in Hell if we do not trust in Christ to be saved. We pay for the penalty of sin personally if we do not trust in Christ. When we trust in Christ, we are saved and will got o heaven when we die.
Christ’s Return and Our Final Destiny
We anticipate Christ’s literal, visible return to earth. Bodies of believers will be raised to a glorified existence. Christians will reign with Him. Unbelievers’ bodies will be raised and will stand in judgment before Him.
Eternal Salvation and the Christian Life through the Holy Spirit
We have victory over sin through God’s salvation in Christ and His work in our lives. God’s work in us is continual and eternal. We are kept by his grace forever and will not lost our salvation. We may stray from God’s will for our lives, but will be disciplined by Him. We live the Christian life through the power of the Holy Spirit, as we continue to grow and mature as believers. When we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are controlled by Him.
The Bible’s Nature and Purpose
We believe the Bible is the final authority for our faith and practice. God has given us His word in the Bible through human authors and by supernatural revelation. The Bible is God’s inspired Word and is without error. When we study, apply, and obey the Bible, we will grow in the Christian life.
Church Structure
We believe the church is a self-governing, independent body without control from any ecclesiastical authority. We fellowship with other churches of life faith and practice to support missionaries and mission efforts through cooperation with these churches. The head of our church is Christ. Our congregation governs itself with equal representation under His guidance. Our church is a visible assembly of baptized believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Church Worship and Ordinances
We believe we are exhorted to gather faithfully for worship of God our creator on the first day of the week in celebration of Christ’s resurrection. All believers should honor the Lord’s day. We observe the two ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper that Christ gave to His church. The ordinances picture the gospel of Christ and symbolically illustrate immersion illustrating His death, burial, and resurrection. The bread and juice in the Lord’s Supper cause us to remember Christ’s sacrifice for us. These ordinances are for believers and are administered by our church.
Church Support, Leadership, Involvement, and Work
We believe the church ministry is supported by the continual, faithful giving of our membership in tithes and offerings. The Pastor is our spiritual leader and is assisted in ministry by our deacons. Every believer should be part of and have a ministry in the local church as the visible body of Christ. We are committed to sharing the saving message of the gospel with everyone.
Invitation to Membership
We invite you to join us in this great work through your Profession of Faith in Christ and Baptism, Transfer of Church Membership from a church of life faith and practice, or by your Statement that you have been a member of a church of life faith and order. Come forward during the invitation hymn and tell the Pastor of your decision or schedule a time to talk with him about this matter on your welcome card or by calling our church office at (805) 484-2879 (805) 484-2879 .