Christian beliefs help us make sense of the world we live in. How can we explain, the presence of both incredible beauty and ugliness in the world? Why do we see not only goodness but diabolical evil? Christian beliefs help us wrestle with life's questions, strengthen our faith, guide our thinking and direct our behavior. Ultimately, Christian beliefs help us to understand and draw near to God.

In our day there is a wishy-washy relativism that masquerades as faith as seen in statements like, "It doesn't matter what you believe, just as long as you believe," "All roads lead to God" and "The important thing is to be sincere." If we are convinced of what we believe, we are able to resist shallow claims and be firm in our convictions. God is personal and seeks a loving relationship with each one of us that is real. Therefore, He has told us about Himself and what He requires of us. All the rich knowledge of God is expressed through our Christian beliefs.

The following brief statements are designed to assist you in understanding of what First Baptist Church believes. This is not exhaustive by any means but an attempt to describe the basic principles of our faith.

• The Bible: The Bible is more than the historical record of God's activity as written through men but is also inspired by God's Spirit and contains no error. It is truth provided for the believer as a tool to know the heart and mind of God. It reveals the plan, purposes and will of God for all time.
• God in Three Persons: There is one and only one true and living God. He is an intelligent, spiritual and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer and Ruler of the universe. To Him, we owe the highest love, reverence, allegiance and obedience. The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit with distinct personal attributes but without division of nature, essence or being.
• God the Father: God as Father is the Giver and Sustainer of life, the Maker of all things and the Creator of the universe - of things seen and unseen. He is all loving, all just, all wise and all powerful. He is the true God and the One who judges righteously and tests the heart and mind. God is Father in truth to those who become the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ while He is also fatherly toward all people.
• God the Son: God as Son is the perfect representation of the Father in human form. He is both fully human and fully divine. He is equal with God the Father but humbled Himself by taking on the form of a servant and became obedient to a death on a cross. He knew that only through the shedding of His blood would the sinless Lamb of God be able to secure forgiveness and remission of sins. He arose the third day following His death as He declared and now lives and reigns with the Father in glory awaiting His final triumphant return.
• God the Holy Spirit: God as Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and unrighteousness, works in the life of each believer to produce godly character and demonstrates Himself, in the life of the church, through special abilities given to each believer to carry out the work of God and the church.
• Humanity: Man was created by a special work of God in His image and is the finest of all His creation - God said, "It was good!" Man was created innocent and was given a free will, whereby he sinned against God and fell from his original state of innocence. As a result, we are marred by sin and out of fellowship with God, a fellowship which can only be restored through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, God the Son. Since Christ died for all, every person is worthy of respect and Christian love regardless of their ultimate standing before God.
• Salvation: Salvation is the free gift of God that is offered to all of humanity through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was obtained for us by the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross in which the penalty for our sin was paid for. He shed His own blood for our sin that we might be rightly related to God. It comes to those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and not by any of our efforts or religious activity. Salvation comes by God's grace alone through faith in what Jesus Christ did and nothing else.
• Grace: Grace is the unmerited favor of God and shows us His goodness, mercy and love for humanity. All who have accepted Christ as their Savior and are set apart to Him will never fall from grace but will endure to the end. Believers may sin and grieve the Holy Spirit but they are kept by the power of God.
• Sin: When one becomes a believer, he is set free from the sin's penalty of eternal death but not from sin's power. A battle rages within the believer between the carnal and the spiritual nature. When the believer confesses his sin, Christ forgives and cleanses the believer from their sin. Sinning grieves the Holy Spirit, brings shame upon the cause of Christ, hinders the believer's relationship with God and others and causes the believer to endure the consequences of the sin.
• The Church: The church is a group of believers brought together by the Spirit of God to carry out the Great Commandment through practicing the Great Commission and observing the two ordinances of the church - baptism and the Lord's Supper. Each church is an autonomous body operating under the leadership of Christ as the Head of the Church to accomplish God's will and purpose in the world through corporate activity. It is within the context of the church that we learn to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Baptism: Baptism is an outward expression of an inward change that has occurred in the life of the believer through the work of salvation. It is a believer’s identification with Christ by picturing His death, burial and resurrection. It is the first commandment a new Christian is given from the Lord Jesus Christ.
• The Lord's Supper: The Lord's Supper is an opportunity for personal examination and reflection as we observe the "Lord's death until He comes." It is a vivid reminder of all the Lord has done to purchase our salvation, The bread and cup are symbols of His body and blood which were broken and spilled out for our salvation and is done in "remembrance" of Him until He comes again.
• Worship: We view worship from two sides - adoration and service. Worship can be defined as pure adoration for the One who is the object of our worship. It involves the redeemed person contemplating and praising God in His holy perfection. Reverential adoration and committed service are both prominent expressions of the biblical concept of worship. True worship involves a willingness to serve and genuine service to God must be accompanied by a sense of reverence and adoration.

You may not understand or agree with some of these items. Please do not reject them right away but allow us to explain these beliefs to you. You may contact us at 372-3128 or you can e-mail pastor Eric at info@firstbaptistscotia.org and we will gladly explain our beliefs more clearly with evidence for why we believe what we believe.