THE SCRIPTURES

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

 

THE ONE TRUE GOD

There is one and only one living and true God, whose name is YAHWEH. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as co-eternal, co-existant Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

 

THE FALL OF MAN

Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. We believe that Man was created in holiness, under the law of his Maker; but by voluntary transgression fell from that holy and happy state; in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint but choice; being by nature utterly void of that holiness required by the law of God, positively inclined to evil; and therefore under just condemnation to eternal ruin, without defense or excuse. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God.

 

THE ONLY WAY OF SALVATION

We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of God's grace. Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept the risen Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He obtained, by His death, the full atonement for our sins and provides eternal redemption for the believer. Having risen from the dead He is now enthroned in heaven and is qualified in every way to be a suitable and all-sufficient Savior. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

 

THE DUTY OF REPENTANCE AND FAITH

We believe that Repentance and Faith are sacred duties, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God; whereby being deeply convinced of our guilt, danger and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with genuine repentance, confession, and supplication for mercy; at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our perfect Prophet, Priest and King, and relying on Him alone as the only and all-sufficient Savior.

 

THE PURPOSE OF GOD'S GRACE

We believe that Election is the eternal and gracious purpose of God, according to which He graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners; that being perfectly consistent with the free agency of man, it comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, being infinitely free, wise, holy and unchangeable.  It utterly excludes boasting, and promotes humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God, and active imitation of His free mercy. 

 

THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS

Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors; that a special Providence watches over their welfare, and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

 

THE GOSPEL CHURCH

We believe that a visible church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Its congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ. Its scriptural officers are Pastors, Elders, and Deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are defined in the Epistles.

 

THE ORDINANCES OF BAPTISM AND THE LORD'S SUPPER

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to their faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is a prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation and to the Lord's Supper.  The Lord's Supper is preceded always by solemn self-examination and is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

 

THE LORD'S DAY

We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord's Day, or Christian Sabbath. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord's Day should be commensurate with the Christian's conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

 

THE WORLD TO COME

We believe that the end of the world is approaching and that God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. A solemn separation will then take place; the wicked will be adjudged to endless punishment, and the righteous to endless joy; and this judgment will fix forever the final state of men in heaven or hell, on principles of righteousness. The righteous in Christ will receive their reward and will dwell forever with the Lord.

 

First Southern Baptist Church also affirms the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

Read the Baptist Faith and Message 2000