Here’s the Good News
We believe the Bible when it says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” God is concerned about all matters of right and wrong and some day will declare every person guilty because of their sin. Because He is not only a just God but a merciful God too, He made a rescue plan for us. He asked His Son to become a man and take upon Himself the sins of the world. The Son then joyfully took on this mission and suffered His Father’s wrath for all human sin and then was raised to life after three days.
When we respond to this amazing plan by believing that Jesus is God’s Son, surrendering to his leadership, and when we are convinced that his death fully satisfied God’s penalty for our sins, God accepts our faith as a substitute for a perfectly lived life. God then ‘saves’ us by clearing our record of sins; adopting us into His family; giving His Spirit to live in us, transform us from the inside out; inviting us to be with Him for all time.
It sounds too good to be true but it is what the Bible says. (Romans 3:23; 1 John 2:1-2; 1 Corinthians 15:1-6; Romans 4:21-25; Colossians 1:27; John 3:16)
To Make Disciples of Jesus
What We Believe
These primary doctrines of FBC guide our ministry decisions and how we go about our mission: "making disciples of Jesus." They are drawn from our FBC Constitution. For a full copy of our constitution, please reach out to the FBC office.
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: the three, one in essence and attributes, yet distinct in office and activity.
Biblical support for the above:
- Mark 12:29
- John 1:1-4
- Matthew 28:19-20
- Acts 5:3-4
- 2 Corinthians 13:14
- Hebrews 1:1-3
- Revelation 1:4-6
We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is true God and true man. He is the 2nd person of the Trinity.
Biblical support for the above:
- John 1:1-2
- Isaiah 7:14
- Luke 1:35
- Galatians 4:4
- Hebrews 10:5
- Acts 3:14
- John 13:13
- John 20:28
- Titus 2:13-3:4
- Philippians 2:6
- Matthew 1:18-25
- John 1:14
- Matthew 2:11
- Matthew 16:16-17
- 1 Corinthians 2:8
- John 1:3
- Romans 9:5
We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired of God, inerrant in the original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life.
Biblical support for the above:
- Psalm 19:7-11
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17
- 2 Peter 1:16-21
- 1 Corinthians 2:13
- Mark 12:26; 13:11
- Acts 1:16, 24
We believe that man was created in the image of God as two separate sexes and that a Biblical marriage involves a commitment to a life-long covenant relationship between one male and one female. We believe that man has sinned, and thereby incurred not only physical death, but spiritual death, which is separation from God; that all humans are born with a sinful nature, are guilty and deserving of the wrath of God, and thereby are in need of salvation.
Biblical support for the above:
- Genesis 1 & 2
- Colossians 1:16-17
- John 1:3
- Genesis 3:16
- Matthew 19:6
- Romans 5:19; 3:10-19
- Ephesians 2:1-3
- Romans 1:18, 32; 1:20
- Galatians 3:22
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died according to the Scriptures as our representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him and receive Him as personal Savior are justified on the ground of His shed blood and finished work on the cross.
Biblical support for the above:
- 1 Corinthians 15:1,3-4
- 1 Peter 3:18
- Romans 4:25
- 1 Corinthians 5:7
- Galatians 3:13
- 1 John 4:10
- 1 Peter 2:24-25
- Romans 5:9
- Ephesians 1:7
We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord; His ascension into heaven, and His present life there for us as High Priest and Advocate.
Biblical support for the above:
- 2 Timothy 2:8
- Matthew 28:6
- Mark 16:6
- Luke 24:6
- 1 Corinthians 15:4-8
- Romans 1:4
- Acts 1:9-11
- Luke 24:51
- 1 John 2:1
- Hebrews 5:1-2; 7:25
- Hebrews 8:1-3; 9:14
We believe in the eternal security of the saved through the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross; the bodily resurrection of the just to an everlasting life of blessedness; and the bodily resurrection of the lost to an everlasting conscious suffering.
Biblical support for the above:
- Ephesians 4:30
- John 6:37-40; 10:27-30
- 1 Corinthians 1:4-8
- 1 Peter 1:5
- Philippians 1:6
- Romans 8:35-39
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
- John 5:28-29
We believe that Christ instituted the ordinances of believers’ baptism (which we believe is by immersion), and the Lord’s Supper, both to be observed until He comes.
Biblical support for the above:
- John 3:23
- Romans 6:3-5
- 1 Corinthians 1:23-32
- Luke 22:19
- Matthew 26:27
We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ is composed solely of those who have been redeemed and washed in His blood, and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and that they are saved to serve; that it is the responsibility and privilege of all who are saved to seek and win others to Christ, “to the uttermost part of the earth”; that they must seek to live a holy life, and to separate themselves from and forsake all that might dishonor God, discredit His cause, or weaken their testimony.
Biblical support for the above:
- Acts 2:41-42
- 1 Corinthians 11:2
- Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:11
- Acts 10:17-18
- Ephesians 5:22-23
- Acts 15:13-18
- Ephesians 4:12
- Mark 16:51
- Acts 1:8
- 1 Corinthians 6:14-17
- 2 Timothy 2:20-21
- 2 John 9-11
- John 17:15
- Galatians 6:1
We believe in the administration of spiritual gifts through the operation of the Holy Spirit; the gifts of the evangelists, pastors, and teachers, (Ephesians 4:7-12), are sufficient for the perfecting of the Church today. Sign gifts, including tongues, gradually disappeared as the Canon of Scriptures was completed and the authority of the Bible generally recognized. But God, being sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts, does hear and answer prayers of faith according to His own will for the sick and the afflicted.
Biblical support for the above:
- Ephesians 4:7-12
- Romans 12:3-8
- 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
- James 5:13-16
- 1 John 5:14-15
We believe in the personal, bodily, imminent, and pre-millennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones, to be followed by His coming glory.
Biblical support for the above:
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
- 1 Corinthians 15:50-55
- Acts 1:11
- Titus 2:13
- 1 Thessalonians 5:4-10
- Revelation 3:10; 20:1-6,11-15
- Matthew 24:21, 29-30; 25:46
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now in the presence of God and the angels and this assembly most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ.
We, therefore, engage by the aid of the Holy Spirit to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and its ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.
We also engage to maintain family and secret devotions, to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances, to walk circumspectly in the world, to be just in our dealings, faithful in our deportment, to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger, and to be temperate in all things, and to be zealous to advance the cause of the Savior.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, and mindful of the rules of the Savior, to secure it without delay.
We, moreover, engage that when we remove from this place, we will as soon as possible, unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.