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The Bible
We believe that the Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments are
verbally inspired of God, error-free in the original writings, and the supreme
authority of faith and practice for the believer in Jesus Christ. We further
believe that there is but one method of Bible interpretation: the literal
method. The literal method recognizes the fact that the authors of Scripture
meant what they said. Therefore, the literal method consistently applies the
rules of grammar, literature, history, and culture to Scripture in order to
unlock and understand the author's meaning.
(II Timothy 3:16-17, II Peter 1:20-21, Hebrews 4:12)
God
We believe there is but one living and true God, who is one in essence, while
eternally existing in three distinct personalities: Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. Though each person of the Godhead possesses the same nature, each functions differently in respect to God's dealings with
man.
(Deuteronomy 6:4)
The Father
The first Person of the Trinity orders and directs all things according to
His own purpose, pleasure and grace. He has decreed all things that come to
pass for His own glory. He graciously involves Himself in the affairs of men,
hears and answers prayer, and saves from sin and death all who come to Him
through Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 6:9, John 5:19-24, Ephesians 1:3-6)
The Son
Jesus Christ is both the eternal Son of God and virgin-born Son of man. Fully
God and fully man, He surrendered nothing of His deity during His earthly
life. Having led a sinless life, He satisfied the Father's justice concerning
sin by His death. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His physical
ascension, and His visible return to this earth to establish His earthly
kingdom.
(John 1:14-18, I Corinthians 15, Hebrews 2:17-18, Romans 3:24-26, Revelation
20:11-15, Colossians 2:9)
The Holy Spirit
The third Person of the Trinity executes the will of God in the world of men.
It is the Holy Spirit who applies the salvation Jesus Christ secured through
His death on the cross. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin,
righteousness and judgment. It is the Holy Spirit who empowers the church to
live a lifestyle pleasing to God, endowing it with special gifts which equip
believers to accomplish distinct ministries, planned beforehand by God the
Father.
(I Corinthians 12, Ephesians 2:10, John 3:1-8, John 16:4-15, Ephesians
1:13-14, John 15:16, Galatians 5:16-25)
The Nature of Man
We believe that man was directly created in the image of God to enjoy His
fellowship and to fulfill God's will on this earth. Man fell into sin by a
voluntary act of personal disobedience to the will of God; consequently all
men are spiritually dead and subject to the certainty of both physical and
spiritual death apart from Jesus Christ. The fall of man was a once-for-all
historical fact. Its spiritually deadening effect
spread to all men, each of whom is born with a sinful nature and sins
habitually in thought, word and deed.
(Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 2:7, Genesis 3:3-4, Romans 1:18-32, Romans 3:10-23,
Ephesians 2:1-3)
Salvation
We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins as the only sufficient
sacrifice. All who believe in Him are declared justified by the Father on the
grounds of Jesus’ death and resurrection. All who receive the Lord Jesus
Christ by grace through faith have been regenerated by and baptized in the
Holy Spirit. They are thereby the children of God forever and members in the
one true church, the Body of Christ. This salvation results in righteous
living and good works as the believer submits his life to the Word of God and
the direction of the Holy Spirit.
(John 14:6, Titus 3:4-7, Acts 4:12, John 1:12, Romans 3:21-26, I Corinthians
15:1-4, Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-9, Hebrews 10:10-12, I John 5:11-13, Galatians
3:26, John 1:12, 3:16, 5:24)
The Church
We believe that all who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit belong to
the one true church and are directed by the Scriptures to associate
themselves in local, visible churches. The local church is the only visible
representation of Christ's invisible church and consists only of regenerated
believers. The local church is autonomous in its relationship, and elects its
own members to the biblical offices of Deacon. The twofold purpose of the
church is to lead men to Christ and mature them in the faith.
(Hebrews 10:24-25, Acts 2:41-47, 4:1-16, I Corinthians 12-14, Matthew
16:13-28, 28:18-20, Ephesians 2:19-22, 24, Matthew 24:36, I Thessalonians
4:15-17, John 14:1-3, Matthew 24-25, Acts 2:9-11)
The Future
We believe that the next great event of human history will be the personal
return of Jesus Christ. This is the BLESSED HOPE, for which all those who
love Jesus Christ yearn. Though the time of Christ's return is a mystery known
only to the Father Himself, we believe that it is as sure as Jesus’ first
coming was fact.
(Matthew 24:36, I Thessalonians 4:15-17, John 14:1-3, Matthew 24-25, Acts
2:9-11)
Baptism
Baptism is an essential “first step” for a believer who seeks to become a
disciple of Jesus Christ. In taking it, he reveals that a coup has taken
place in the secret recesses of his soul. The government of self has been
toppled and overthrown. In its place, a new authority now reigns and rules.
It is Christ, the living Lord!
We at FBCW uphold the act of baptism as a sacred, uncompromisable injunction of the Scripture. Every
believer, serious in his or her faith, will also be serious about baptism. It
is the “badge” of our identity with Christ. In many ways, baptism is to Christianity
what a ring is to marriage. A picture is indeed worth a thousand words. And
the picture portrayed in baptism declares a variety of scriptural truths:
It proclaims Christ's death and resurrection (I Corinthians
15:1-4).
It serves public notice to the world of one's new life in Christ (Matthew
10:32).
It pictures a believer's death to sin and his resurrection to a spiritual
life and lifestyle through the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:3-7,
10-11).
Our method of baptism is the method of immersion. We feel strongly that this
mode is the one presented in the New Testament for the following reasons:
The Greek word for baptism means: “to submerge, plunge,
drench, saturate, dip.” (Arndt and Guingrich, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament,
p.131).
Immersion followed the Jewish proselyte practice.
The practice of the early church was immersion.
The command of Scripture is “be baptized.” By it, we both
please the Lord and declare His reality in our lives and to the world.
The Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper is primarily summed up in the command of Christ, “Do this
in remembrance of Me.” It is first and foremost a memorial of Christ and His
redemptive death, and secondly an expression of our First Baptist with one
another. (Luke 22:19, I Corinthians 11:24-25)
We believe the Lord's Supper is open to all who meet the
prerequisites outlined in Scripture. They are: first, that one personally know Jesus Christ as Savior, and secondly, that they have
a cleansed life.
We corporately share the Lord's Supper in the Sunday worship service every
month. (Psalm 24:3-4, I Corinthians 11:17-34)
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