 | God - We believe that God is the
creator, Sustainer, and Righteous Ruler of the Universe. He has
revealed Himself in nature, and in the Scriptures of the Holy Bible as
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; yet as one God. |
| Jesus Christ - He is God's unique
Son; the only one of a kind. The scripture teaches that He is God
revealed in flesh. In hi Divine nature He is truly God and in His
human nature truly man. He is the One once crucified for man's sin,
the now risen and glorified Savior and Lord who mediates between God and man
and who gives us access to the Father through His intercession. None
can come to the Father unless they come through Him. |
| Holy Spirit - All of the attributes
of God are ascribed to the Holy Spirit by the Scriptures. It is he who
convicts and convinces men of their sin. He also convinces man of that
which is right, and that a final day of judgment will come. He, it is,
who comes to live in us at conversion, to open our understanding to the
Scripture, and to lead us into the truth. |
| The Bible - God used holy men to
write the Scriptures. They are, in both the Old and New Testaments,
the very words God intended us to have. They are, as given by God,
without error and are our only rule of faith and practice. We profit
from them by learning the truth about many things; they also speak to us
about wrongdoing; they even correct us and get us back on course as well as
instructing us in right living. |
| Man - God created man in a state of
innocence. Man, being tempted by Satan, yielded and willfully
disobeyed God, becoming a sinner and incurring God's judgment upon
sin. All of Adam's descendants inherit his fallen nature and thus have
a natural inclination to sin. When one comes to an age of
accountability, he is guilty of sinning before God and in need of salvation. |
| God's Relationship to His Creatures and
Creation - God exercises a wise and benevolent providence over all
beings and things. He maintains the laws of nature and performs
special acts as the highest welfare of mankind and His created order of
things require. |
| Salvation - Man receives pardon and
forgiveness for his when he admits to God that he is a sinner, when in godly
sorrow he turns from them and trusts in the work of Christ as redemption for
his sin. This acceptance of God's great salvation involves belief in
Christ's death on the cross as man's substitute and the fact of God's
raising Him from the dead as predicted. It is a salvation by grace
alone and not of works. |
| Who Can Be Saved? - It is God's will
that all be saved, but since man has the power of choice, God saves only
those who repent of their sin and believe in the work of Christ on the
cross. Those who refuse in this life to repent and believe have no
later chance to be saved and thus condemn themselves to eternal damnation by
their unbelief. |
| Perseverance - We believe that there
are strong grounds to hope that the saved will persevere unto the end,
and be saved because of the power of divine grace pledged for their
support. We believe that any saved person who has sinned (whether we
call him a backslider or sinner), but has a desire to repent, may do so and
be restored to God's favor and Fellowship. Since man, however,
continues to have free choice, it is possible because of temptations and the
weakness of human flesh for him to fall into the practice of sin and to make
shipwreck of his faith and be lost. |
| Gospel Ordinances - Free Will
Baptists believe the Bible teaches three ordinances for the church to
practice: Baptism in water by immersion, the Lord's Supper, to be
perpetuated until His return, and the Washing of the Saints' feet, an
ordinance teaching humility. |
| Resurrection - Free Will Baptists
believe the Scriptures teach the resurrection of the bodies of all men, each
in its own order; they that have done good will come forth to the
resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of
damnation. |
| Church Government - Free Will Baptist
churches enjoy local church autonomy (self-governing). The local
church is the highest authority in the denomination. Local churches
voluntarily organize themselves into quarterly meetings, district, state,
and national associations for the purpose of promoting the cause of Christ
on the local, state, district, national, and world-wide level. |
| Christ's Second Coming - The Bible
teaches that Jesus Christ, who ascended on high and sits at the right hand
of God, will come again to close the Gospel dispensation, glorify His
saints, and judge the world. |
| Missions - Free Will Baptists believe
that Jesus commanded the church to go into all the world and preach the
Gospel to every creature. For an in-depth study of Free Will Baptist
beliefs and practices, ask for a copy of the Free Will Baptist Treatise.
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