As a congregation, we do not subscribe to any creed or formal statement of doctrine.
In fact, our very church constitution emphasizes that we have "no statement
or creed aside from the New Testament" (Article II, Section 2). However,
we do believe that it is helpful and important for us to share with prospective
church members our understanding of some of the essential elements of our faith.
The Scriptures
We believe that the Bible is the written Word of God to man. 2 Timothy 3:16
says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness ..." Notice Paul's emphasis:
he says that all-not part, not some, not even most, but all-Scripture has been
breathed into existence by God. Human writers were clearly involved, but 2
Peter 1:20-21 emphasizes that the Holy Spirit controlled the message: "Above
all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's
own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but
men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." Jesus
said, "... Your Word is truth" (John 17:17).
Because the Bible is God-breathed, it is a spiritual book. And since it is
a spiritual book, we need the help of the Holy Spirit to understand it. You
may have read the Bible before you received Christ and had great difficulty
understanding it. When you received Christ, God gave you the Holy Spirit as
a Helper so that you might understand His truth. The Bible says, "We have
not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit Who is from God, that we
may understand what God has freely given us" (I Corinthians 2:12).
Because the Bible is God's Word to us, we live by it. Jesus said, "...
it is written, 'man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes
from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4). We preach it. We teach it. We urge
every member of the church to read it, to study it, to memorize it, meditate
on it and most of all, to obey it. We offer biblical sermons every Sunday; on
most Sundays we even have two different messages-one in the morning and one
in the evening. We have Sunday school classes and Bible study groups for everyone.
Make it your aim to know God's Word and to obey God's Word.
God the Father
The Bible teaches that there is one God Who exists in three persons: Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. This three-in-oneness is a mystery, but both ideas are
clearly taught by Jesus Himself. In Mark 12:29, He quoted the Old Testament
book of Deuteronomy when He said, "'... Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God, the Lord is One.'" In Matthew 28:19 He commanded us to baptize "...
in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," thus
identifying all three as equally God.
The Bible tells us much about what God is like. He is eternal; He has always
existed. He is all-powerful and all-knowing. He is sovereign-He controls the
course of history and oversees the course of our personal lives. He is holy
and altogether pure in character. He is righteous and just. He is faithful and
true. He is merciful, gracious and forgiving. He is loving-He loves you personally.
He is always consistent; He never changes. He is both our caring Shepherd and
our strong Fortress.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. John 1:1 makes this important statement about
Him: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God." Verse 14 of the same chapter clearly identifies this Word
Who was and always has been God, as the Son, Jesus Christ. Throughout His ministry
on earth Jesus made claims that only God would make, such as His statement in
John 10:30: "'I and the Father are One.'" Even His enemies recognized
Who He claimed to be for in John 10:30-33 it is written, "... Again
the Jews picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus said to them, 'I have shown
you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?'
'We are not stoning you for any of these,' replied the Jews, 'but for blasphemy,
because You, a mere man, claim to be God.'"
But in another mystery, Jesus is not only God, but also man. One of the great
truths of God's Word is found in John 1:14a: "The Word became flesh and
lived for a while among us ..." God the Son voluntarily emptied Himself
of His divine majesty and took to Himself human flesh and blood. As the prophets
Isaiah and Micah had foretold seven centuries earlier, He was born of a virgin
in the Judean town of Bethlehem. He lived a sinless life on earth more than
thirty years. During the last several years of His life He engaged in public
ministry, preaching, healing and training disciples. When, at the divinely appointed
time, He revealed Himself to Israel as their rightful King, the Messiah, He
was rejected by the nation's leaders and was betrayed into the hands of Romans,
who put Him to death by crucifixion. He was buried in a tomb that was sealed
by the Romans and set under armed guard. But on the third day He was vindicated
and shown to be Lord by His bodily resurrection. He appeared to His disciples
and to more than 500 people at one time. His resurrection is the bedrock of
our faith.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the three-in-one God. He is equal with
the Father and
the Son.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit includes convicting people of their sin and
giving new birth to those who respond to God in faith. When a person receives
Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to permanently indwell him or her. The Spirit
places the new believer into the Body of Christ, the Church, and gives him or
her a spiritual gift to use to serve others. He teaches us, guides us, transforms
our character into the image of Christ, and empowers us to share our faith in
Christ with others.
It is possible for us to grieve the Spirit or to quench His work by sinning
against God, but when we yield control of our lives to the Lord, we are filled
with the Spirit and are able to walk in His power.
Salvation
Man was originally created by God to love Him and to serve Him. But mankind
as a whole turned away from God; all people are sinners. Scripture says, "...
'There is no one righteous, not even one,'" "for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God," and "...the whole world is a prisoner
of sin ..." (Romans 3:10, 23; Galatians 3:22). The penalty of sin is
death-not just physical death, but for those who die without personally committing
themselves to Jesus Christ as Lord, eternal separation from God. Hebrews 9:27
says, "... man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment
..." Romans 6:23 insists: "For the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Praise God! Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, paid the penalty for our
sin. His death wasn't a tragic accident; Scripture says that it took place in
accordance with the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God (Acts 2:23).
In His great love, God gave His Son as a substitute for our sin. "God made
Him Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness
of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
For this reason everyone who places their faith in Jesus Christ receives forgiveness
of their sins and the gift of new life from God. "For God so loved the
world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall
not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). We don't earn our salvation
or work for it in any way: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through
faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that
no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). But faith is more than just believing
that Jesus is God's Son, or even that He died for you; faith is a personal commitment
to Jesus Christ as Lord. Scripture says: "... if you confess with your
mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the
dead, you shall be saved" (Romans 10:9).
The Church
The Bible teaches that all men, women, boys and girls who have made this personal
commitment to Jesus Christ make up the worldwide Church. The apostle Paul describes
the Church as "the Body of Christ;" each Christian is a part of the
Body and the Lord Jesus Himself is the head. This universal Church is represented
around the world by numerous local congregations of believers, which are also
called "churches." Since the universal Church is made up of only believers,
we believe that local churches should have only believers as members as well.
This is why two of the requirements for membership in First Baptist Church of
Modesto are a public profession of faith in Christ (expressed by coming forward
at the time of invitation in the worship service), and a personal appointment
with one of the pastoral staff, which includes a discussion of the prospective
member's faith in Christ.
At this point we should briefly mention the ordinances of the Church. An ordinance
is a symbolic practice initiated by the Lord Jesus during His life on earth
for the lasting benefit of His Church. We believe that He has given us two ordinances:
baptism and the Lord's Supper, or Communion. Baptism is a symbol of the believer's
sharing in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and is a pledge which
publicly identifies the believer with Christ (Romans 6:3-4; I Peter 3:21). In
accordance with New Testament practice, we baptize only those who have already
made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. We also baptize by immersion, which
not only agrees with the meaning of the word "baptize," which is "to
dip," but also with the symbolic meaning of baptism. The Lord's Supper
is a symbolic remembrance of the Lord's death on our behalf, His broken body
and His shed blood (I Corinthians 11:23-26). Here at First Baptist Church we
observe the Lord's Supper monthly, usually in the morning services on the second
Sunday of the month, and also on other special occasions throughout the year
such as Good Friday and Christmas Eve.
The Future
The Bible offers two promises to the believer about the future. First, someday
the Lord Jesus will return for His Church. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 tells us:
"According to the Lord's own Word, we tell you that we who are still alive,
who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who
have fallen asleep" (which is the polite way for referring to those who
have died). "For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven, with a loud
command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and
the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are
left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air ..."
For believers who do die before the Lord comes, the promise is just as wonderful.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8: "Therefore, we are always confident
and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord."
Those who die having put their faith in Christ pass immediately into the presence
of the Lord and the joys of Heaven, where all tears will be dried and there
will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. In either case, the ultimate
result is the same, "... And so we will be with the Lord forever (1
Thessalonians 4:17)."
Second, the Bible promises that when He appears, we will be like Him, for we
will see Him as He is. (1 John 3:2) Like a bride awaiting the return of her
husband from a long tour of duty away from home, our eager expectation of His
return encourages us to live pure and devoted lives and to serve Him faithfully
until He comes. And so we pray, "Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus."
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