Our Basic Beliefs: "What we Believe"
1. We believe Adam was the first man. He willfully disobeyed God bringing sin and death to all of humanity. All are sinners from the moment of conception. This is evidenced in man’s willful acts of sin. The punishment for sin is physical death and spiritual separation from God for all eternity.
2. We believe that Jesus Christ died a substitutionary, sacrificial death on the cross for the sins of humanity. He lived a sinless life, died a sinner’s death, was buried, and resurrected physically from the grave on the third day. His death became the atonement for sin of those who trust Christ and follow God in obedience. Jesus ascended into Heaven where He intercedes on behalf of all believers to the Father.
3. We believe that any person may be saved by the confession of their sins, faith in the death, burial, & resurrection of Christ. There is no other name under Heaven that is able to grant salvation. The believer is declared righteous in the sight of God and is assured of eternal life in Heaven. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer as the promise of eternity and the agent of sanctification. What follows is a process of becoming more like Christ with an eye toward eternity.
4. We believe that the Holy Spirit transforms the believer into Christ likeness through a process called sanctification. This process begins at conversion and is completed in Heaven. Every believer is responsible to obey the Word of God in separation from sin. The Holy Spirit is manifest in the believer with ministry gifts, given for the common good of the local church.
5. We believe that certain revelatory gifts were Apostolic in nature, being themselves a portion of Scripture, and have ceased for a time having been suspended with the completion of Scripture. Scripture is the ultimate and final revelation of God’s truth.
6. We believe that the return of Christ to rapture His Church is imminent. This global event will be followed by seven years of tribulation, the Second Coming of Christ, the judgment of humanity, and a literal one-thousand-year reign of Christ upon the Earth. In those days, God will judge the unsaved inhabitants of the earth from the time of creation forward. The unsaved will be judged according to their works of unrighteousness and will be eternally separated from God in Hell. The saved will live with God for all eternity.
7. We believe in a biblical understanding of marriage between one man and one woman. Furthermore, we believe that a homosexual lifestyle is incompatible with the Scriptures. We welcome all who wish to worship with us, and we seek to share our love and the love of Christ with all individuals. Yet, those who hold to a homosexual lifestyle are not eligible for membership.
2. We believe that Jesus Christ died a substitutionary, sacrificial death on the cross for the sins of humanity. He lived a sinless life, died a sinner’s death, was buried, and resurrected physically from the grave on the third day. His death became the atonement for sin of those who trust Christ and follow God in obedience. Jesus ascended into Heaven where He intercedes on behalf of all believers to the Father.
3. We believe that any person may be saved by the confession of their sins, faith in the death, burial, & resurrection of Christ. There is no other name under Heaven that is able to grant salvation. The believer is declared righteous in the sight of God and is assured of eternal life in Heaven. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer as the promise of eternity and the agent of sanctification. What follows is a process of becoming more like Christ with an eye toward eternity.
4. We believe that the Holy Spirit transforms the believer into Christ likeness through a process called sanctification. This process begins at conversion and is completed in Heaven. Every believer is responsible to obey the Word of God in separation from sin. The Holy Spirit is manifest in the believer with ministry gifts, given for the common good of the local church.
5. We believe that certain revelatory gifts were Apostolic in nature, being themselves a portion of Scripture, and have ceased for a time having been suspended with the completion of Scripture. Scripture is the ultimate and final revelation of God’s truth.
6. We believe that the return of Christ to rapture His Church is imminent. This global event will be followed by seven years of tribulation, the Second Coming of Christ, the judgment of humanity, and a literal one-thousand-year reign of Christ upon the Earth. In those days, God will judge the unsaved inhabitants of the earth from the time of creation forward. The unsaved will be judged according to their works of unrighteousness and will be eternally separated from God in Hell. The saved will live with God for all eternity.
7. We believe in a biblical understanding of marriage between one man and one woman. Furthermore, we believe that a homosexual lifestyle is incompatible with the Scriptures. We welcome all who wish to worship with us, and we seek to share our love and the love of Christ with all individuals. Yet, those who hold to a homosexual lifestyle are not eligible for membership.
For further reading, here is Friendship Baptist’s full statement of faith:
| Friendship Statement of Faith |