Gospel: God created the world to share his glorious goodness with his creatures, especially mankind whom he created to love and enjoy Him, freely. However, all have sinned by rejecting a good God and have, therefore, earned condemnation. But God, being rich in love, sent His Son, Jesus, to redeem his people and restore his creation. Jesus does this by atoning for sin through his sacrificial death on the cross. Therefore, God raised him from the dead and enthroned him as his King. Now, Jesus gives redemption and eternal life to all who repent, believe the gospel, and follow Him.
God: There is one God (Yahweh) who exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As Father, God reigns over all creation and works everything according to his good purposes. He is perfect and good in every way.
Jesus: He is the Christ (Messiah) and the eternal Son of God who took on flesh to become God’s saving King. He saves those who trust in Him by his sacrificial death on the cross and victorious resurrection. He will return again to judge the world in righteousness and rule with his followers forever.
Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, who is at work in the world glorifying Christ and drawing men and women into loving relationship with him. He does this chiefly by awakening the believer to the beauty and goodness of Christ in such a way that they joyfully forsake all to follow him. In the same way, the Spirit sanctifies believers (meaning he steadily and increasingly transforms them into the likeness of Christ) by continuing to reveal to them God’s goodness and impress on them his love. This continuing revelation of God’s goodness (1 Cor 2:8-12) and experience of His love (Rom 5:5) keeps motivates followers to ongoing, joyful obedience
Humanity: God created both man and woman sinless in His image, but through Adam’s rebellion, sin entered the world and all have become sinful by nature and by practice. Sin separates fallen humanity from Holy God, making them subject to God’s just wrath and unable to remedy their lost condition.
Salvation: In love, God sent Jesus to save mankind from the penalty of their sins. Jesus secures salvation for all through his substitutionary death on the cross and his resurrection as King. Jesus offers eternal life in his kingdom to anyone who repents (turns from willful sin to willful obedience to God), believes the gospel, and follows (pledges loving allegiance to Christ the King).
Bible: The Bible is God’s written revelation of himself to the world, and especially to his children. It is, thus, first confirmation that God is personal, desiring his creatures to know him in truth. Therefore, the Scriptures (44 OT and 22 NT books) are trustworthy and without error in its original form, as God’s own revelation of himself. As the infallible word of God, the Bible is the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
Church: The true Church is the body of believers, of which Christ is the Head. We also believe in the local expression of the Church – believers gathering together in local assemblies for the purposes of instruction, prayer, fellowship, worship, exhortation, encouragement, observance of the ordinances, and to be witnesses to God’s saving grace in the world.
Baptism: Believers Baptism is the immersion (in water) of a follower into Christ. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s repentance (death/burial of old self) and surrender to Jesus as King (public confession of allegiance). Further, it is a bodily confession that new life is available only in Jesus, through his death, burial, and resurrection.
The End: Jesus will return one day to judge both the living and the dead. His return is imminent, and will be personal and physical. At his return and judgement, believers will be resurrected to eternal, unbroken fellowship with God in his goodness, while unbelievers will be separated from his goodness and experience his wrath.
For our full Statement of Faith, see the Baptist Faith and Message 2002 https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/