First
Baptist
Church
is a body of baptized believers voluntarily associated and prayerfully committed to the following Bible-based mission:
Magnify JESUS through worship and the Word;
Move believers in JESUS toward maturity and ministry;
Make JESUS known to our neighbors and nations.
Beginning in the summer of 2005, the congregation, through a number of messages by Dr. Dyer, adopted the following statements on which we stand in belief that God has directed us as a church...
The Bible
We stand on the belief that the Holy Bible is the divinely-inspired record of God’s revelation of Himself to man. We believe it is a perfect treasure of divine instruction, having God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth—without any mixture of error—for its matter.
The Triune God
We stand on the belief that there is one and only one living and true God, the Creator, sustainer, and ruler of the universe. He reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
Jesus Christ
We stand on the belief that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of His people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and will literally return to earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The Holy Spirit
We stand on the belief that the Holy Spirit is co-equal with God the Father and God the Son. He is the divine helper, counselor, and instructor. He convinces people of their need of Christ, and is the attending agent of salvation. He permanently indwells and empowers every believer, comforting them, guiding them, equipping them for service, and preserving their salvation until they enter heaven.
Salvation
We stand on the belief that a person must experience personal salvation to enter into heaven. We believe that salvation is God’s free gift to us, obtained by the atoning death of Christ on the cross. We believe that salvation is received through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone, and is not a product of our own good works.
Click here for information on how to be saved and gain eternal life.
Believer’s Baptism
We stand on the belief that Jesus commanded all believers—but only believers—to be baptized by immersion in testimony to their faith. We believe that baptism symbolizes the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in new life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to faith in the final resurrection of the dead. We do not believe baptism is necessary to salvation; but it is necessary as an act of obedience to our Lord. Being an ordinance commanded by our Lord, we believe it is a prerequisite to the privilege of church membership.
The Eternal Security of the Believer
We stand on the belief that—because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. We believe that those who have been genuinely saved cannot “lose” their salvation. We believe that salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not the self-effort of the Christian, and that it is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.
Evangelism & Missions
We stand on the belief that it is our duty and privilege as individual followers of Jesus Christ and as a church to endeavor to make disciples of all peoples. We believe that this duty is ours both individually and collectively, and that the duty encompasses both a local dimension and a global dimension. We believe it is our duty to do all that we can realistically do—in giving, sending, partnering, praying, going, telling, and more—to see that people throughout the world have an opportunity to be confronted with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Church
We stand on the belief that a New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who are associated by their common faith and fellowship with Jesus. The church is an autonomous body operating under democratic processes under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We believe that the church membership is to regularly assemble together for worship, fellowship, discipleship, and ministry, and is to cooperate in the effort to spread the gospel of Christ throughout the world.
The Ordinances of Baptism and The Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of our Lord. It has no saving efficacy, but it is an ordinance our Lord gave to us to remind us of the price He paid on the cross of
Calvary for our forgiveness from sin.
(Click here to read the full text of the Baptist Faith and Message.)