FBC Doctrinal Statement

Fellowship Bible Church Doctrinal Statement

The Bible – We believe that the Scriptures, consisting of the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, are the verbally inspired Word of God and inerrant in the original writings. They are the supreme and final authority for faith and life. (2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:21)

The Godhead – We believe that there is one and only one living and true God, Creator of the heavens and the Earth. Though inexpressibly glorious, He has revealed Himself with such attributes as love, truth, eternality, omnipotence, perfection, immutability, omniscience, infinite wisdom, justice, and holiness. The Godhead eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection and performing distinct but harmonious roles in the outworking of God’s plan for the ages, including the great work of redemption. (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5-6; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 12:29; John 1:1-3, 14, 10:30; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

God the Father – We believe that God the Father, the first person of the Godhead, is spirit and Creator of all things. He arranges, directs, sustains, and rules over His creation according to His sovereign purposes to bring Himself glory and praise. His fatherhood involves His designation within the Godhead and His relationship with mankind. He is father to all mankind because He is Creator but spiritually a father to only those who place their trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. He concerns Himself lovingly and mercifully with the affairs of mankind. He hears and answers prayer according to His will. He saves those from sin and spiritual death who come to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ, to the praise of His glorious grace. (Genesis 1:1-3; 1 Chron. 29:11; Psalm 150:6; Matt. 6:9-13; John 3:16-17; John 4:24; Ephesians 1:11; Ephesians 3:9;)

Jesus Christ – We believe that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead and the one and only Son of God, is the Eternal Word through whom all things were created. (John 1:1-3, 8:58, 17:5; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-3)

a. The Birth of Christ – We believe that at the Father’s appointed time, the pre-existent Christ took on human flesh, being conceived by the Holy Spirit, and was born of a virgin, Mary. He thus became a true man without ever ceasing to be God. (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:30-35; John 1:14, 18, 3:16; Galatians 4:4; Philippians 2:5-7)

b. The Death of Christ – We believe that, according to the Scriptures, the sinless Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins once and for all upon the cross as our representative and substitutionary sacrifice. All who believe in Him, by grace through faith alone, are justified on the basis of His shed blood and are freed from the eternal punishment they otherwise deserve. (Romans 3:23-26, 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3-5; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 2:8; Colossians 2:13-14; Hebrews 10:5-19; 1 Peter 2:24, 3:18; 1 John 2:2)

c. The Resurrection of Christ – We believe that, according to the Scriptures, Jesus Christ arose physically from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in which He had lived and died. He was raised for our justification and His resurrection body is the pattern of that body which will be given to all believers. (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:20; Acts 2:32; Romans 4:24-25; 1 Corinthians 15:23, 42-45, 51-53; Philippians 3:20-21)

d. The Work of Christ – We believe that Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now seated at His Father’s right hand, assuring us of the perfection of His work of redemption, and that He now, as Head over the Church, is engaged on behalf of the saved as Intercessor and Advocate. (Ephesians 1:22-23; Hebrews 1:3, 13, 4:14-15, 7:25; 1 John 2:1)

e. The Return of Christ – We believe in our Lord Jesus Christ’s personal, imminent, pre-tribulational coming for His Church at the rapture, when the bodies of Church Age believers will be instantaneously transformed and will meet the Lord in the air to be with Him. Christ will return to Earth at the end of the seven-year tribulation period, when, along with His saints, He will reign for a literal 1,000-year period during His Millennial Kingdom. At the end of the Millennial Kingdom, Christ will judge those from all ages who have rejected Him and His offer of eternal salvation at the Great White Throne Judgment. (Zechariah 14:4-11; Matthew 24:29-31; John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:7-10; Revelation 19:11-20:15)

The Holy Spirit – We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, convicts men of sin, regenerates, indwells, baptizes, seals, and sets believers apart to a holy life. He keeps and empowers believers day by day to live in obedience to God’s Word. He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel and is the Teacher of the Word of God. (John 3:6; 14:16-17, 26, 16:7-11; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 12:13; Ephesians 1:13, 4:30; 1 John 2:20-27; 1 Peter 1:1; Romans 8:2, 4, 9, 12, 14)

We believe the Holy Spirit bestows gifts to believers for building up the Body of Christ. These gifts are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today. The sign gifts of speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing, and working of miracles were associated with the ministries of the Apostles and served to authenticate their message and authority in the early Church. The offices of Apostle and Prophet along with the sign gifts gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed. (Acts 5:12; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; 1 Corinthians 13:8-12; Hebrews 2:3-4)

Humanity and Sin – We believe that Adam and Eve were created by God in innocence and in the image and after the likeness of God as the first human beings upon the Earth. Adam chose to disobey a direct command of God and thereby committed sin against his perfect and holy Creator. As a consequence of his sin, Adam lost his spiritual relationship with God, becoming spiritually dead in his trespasses and sins, and deserving of God’s eternal condemnation. Adam’s sin and resulting spiritual death have been transmitted to the entire human race, corrupting the human nature in body, soul, and spirit, with the Man Jesus Christ being the only exception. All human beings face the universal problem of having no possible means of saving themselves from the righteous judgment of God that is due them as a result of their sin. (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:16-17, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-14; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Genesis 6:5, 11-12)

Salvation – We believe that salvation is the free gift of God’s grace, based entirely on the merit of Christ’s shed blood and not human merit or works. Faith alone in Jesus Christ alone is the only requirement for salvation. All who by grace through faith believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and who confess Him as such, are born again of the Holy Spirit and become children of God and inherit eternal life with Christ. Those who are born again will give evidence of their new life in Christ through their desire to be separated from sin and to live in a way that pleases and glorifies God. They are kept by the power of God and are secure in Christ forever. (John 1:12-13, 3:3-8, 16, 36, 5:24; Acts 16:31; Romans 5:1, 8:1, 16, 10:9-10, 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 John 1:5-2:6; 2 John 9)

Eternal Destiny – We believe that all human souls will continue to exist for eternity in one of only two possible places:

a. Heaven – We believe that Heaven is the literal, eternal home of everlasting joy for only those who through faith in Christ have been made righteous before God. Those who believe in Christ as their Savior are heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ, and will be eternally with Christ. All those who died in Christ will one day be raised from the dead to reign with Christ and share in His glory. (John 14:1-3; Romans 8:16-18; I Corinthians 15:20-23; Philippians 1:23; 1 Peter 1:3-5; Revelation 21-22)

b. Hell (Lake of Fire) – We believe that the unredeemed, because of their unbelief and sin, are under the just condemnation of God and will suffer everlasting, conscious punishment for sin. They will be raised from the dead to stand before the Great White Throne of God to receive their final judgment and will then be cast into the Lake of Fire for all eternity without any hope of future redemption. (Daniel 12:2; Matthew 25:41-46; John 3:18, 5:28-29; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:11-15)

The Church – We believe that all believers in this present age (Pentecost through Christ’s return for His Church) comprise the Church in its universal and invisible aspects and are the Body and Bride of Christ, which is distinct from Israel. The universal Church is represented by local congregations of redeemed, baptized believers who have organized themselves for the purpose of worship, discipleship, edification, fellowship, observance of ordinances, and evangelization of the world. (Matthew 16:18; 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; I Corinthians 12:12-13,27; Ephesians 2:11-22, 3:4-6)

a. Church Ordinances – We believe that the two ordinances given to the local Church by its Head, Jesus Christ, are baptism and communion (Lord’s Supper). These ordinances give witness to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and our identification with Him by faith. Water baptism is a one-time act of identification with Christ; communion is a repeated act of remembrance and reflection.

i. Baptism – We believe that baptism is the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, showing the solemn and beautiful picture of our identification with the crucified, buried, and risen Savior. Baptism, in obedience to Christ’s command and following His example, is a public testimony of one’s salvation and is evidence of one’s newness of life. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:9; Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:4-13; Colossians 2:11-12)

ii. Communion (Lord’s Supper) – We believe that the Bible affirms that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration of His death until He comes and should be preceded by solemn self-examination. The elements themselves represent the body and blood of the Savior in symbol only. God does not extend saving grace to us through the elements of communion. (Matthew 3:16; 28:19-20; Luke 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:38, 41, 8:36-39, 10:47-48; Romans 6:3-6; 1 Corinthians 11:23-28; Colossians 2:12)

b. Church Leadership – We believe that the local Church is to be led by biblically qualified, spiritually mature, male elders. (1 Timothy 2:11-12, 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Hebrews 13:17)

Human Equality and Value – We believe that God created humans in His image as male and female. Every human life begins at conception, has equal and intrinsic value as God’s creation, and is distinct from all other forms of life. All human life is sacred. (Genesis 1:27; 9:6; Exodus 21:22-23; Psalm 139:13-16; Matthew 19:4; Luke 1:44)

Marriage – We believe that God ordained the institution of marriage, which is the lifelong union between one man and one woman. Marriage is a representation of the relationship between Christ and His Bride, the Church. (Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:1-12; 1 Corinthians 7:2; Ephesians 5:22-33)

Human Sexuality –We believe that God has reserved sexual acts for marriage; therefore, the practice of any sexual act outside of marriage is sin. (Leviticus 20:10-21; Matthew 5:27-28; Romans 1:24-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 15-20; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Hebrews 13:4)