HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Worship Service - 10 AM
First Baptist in Hope Valley, 1059 Main Street, (PO Box 326) Hope Valley, Rhode Island 02832 -- (401) 539-7553
Articles of Faith
Trinity: We believe there is only one Living and True God, Who is eternal (Deut 33:27), the Creator and Supreme Ruler of all. He is revealed to us in the Scriptures as the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14), equal in nature, power, and glory. Three in office yet One in essence; three eternal and coequal Persons, the same in substance but distinct in subsistence. These Three are One everlasting and true God, blessed for ever (Rom. 9:5).
Jesus Christ: The Eternal Father so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son to die making possible our salvation (John 1:12-13; 3:16-17). The Son of God took upon Him at His incarnation humanity without sin (Matt. 1:21, 25; Luke 1:31-32; Phil. 2:6-8; Heb. 4:15), lived a Righteous life (Mark 7:37; John 5:17, 19-23) and died upon the Cross to satisfy Divine justice (Heb. 9:14-15; Rom. 5:6-10). He arose from the dead (Acts 2:24; 17:31; Rom. 1:4; Matt. 28:6), ascended to Heaven (John 20:17; Acts 1:9-11) and ever lives to intercede on behalf of believers (Heb. 9:24).
Holy Spirit: The work of the Holy Spirit is, among other things, to convict the world of sin, and righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8-11), to regenerate an individual (Titus 3:5), and to indwell a believer (1 Cor. 6:19; Gal. 5:16, 18, 25).
Scriptures: We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as originally given by God were written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They are inspired, infallible, entirely trustworthy (2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:19-20), and are the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
Humanity: We believe that God made man in His Own image (Gen. 1:26-27), but by disobedience humanity fell from the state of rectitude in which it was created (Gen. 3:6-7; Ecc. 7:29), and thereby now all humanity is included in sin and death (Rom. 5:12-19; Psa. 51:5). If a person is not, by the power of the Holy Spirit, created anew in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10) he remains dead in sin, alienated from God (Eph. 2:1-3) and will ultimately suffer everlasting conscious punishment (Matt. 25:41, 46; Rev. 2:11-15; 21:8).
Salvation: We believe that God has commanded all men everywhere to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15; John 3:5-7, 15-36; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 20:21) and that all are under obligation to obey this command (Mark 1:15; Acts 3:19; Matt. 3:2). At the same time we believe that God has “predestined us to adoption” (Eph. 1:5; cf. also Matt. 20:12-15; John 15:16; Rom. 9:20ff) and that salvation is because of God’s will not man’s (John 1:13; 1 John 4:10). Salvation of the lost is through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith apart from works (Eph. 2:8-9). The Holy Spirit enables people to comply with this requirement. True believers in the Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 4:17) having been regenerated shall not perish but have everlasting life (Rom. 3:22; 10:9; Acts 8:37; 16:31).
Life of the Believer: We believe it is the duty of those who have been born of the Spirit of God to make a public profession of their faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9-10), including the act of baptism (Matt. 3:5-6; 28:19-20; Rom. 6:3-5), uniting with the people of God (Heb. 10:24-25), and commemorating with the local Church the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper (Matt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). We believe the primary purpose of God for this age is the building of the church (Matt. 16:18; Acts 15:14) understood in two senses: universal and local with the local churches being a faithful replica of the universal Church. The mission of our church is to glorify God (Rom. 15:6, 9; Eph. 1:5f) edify and purify its members (Eph. 4:12-16; 5:26), educate (Eph. 4:12), evangelize (Acts 1:8), and being spiritual light to the world (Matt. 5:13; Phil. 2:14-15).
Resurrection: We believe in the resurrection of both the just and the unjust dead (Dan. 12:2; John 5:28-29; 2 Thess. 1:8-10; 1 Thess. 4:15-16; 1 Cor. 15:12-58; 2 Peter 3:12).
Return of Christ: We believe that Jesus Christ will someday return bodily to judge the world in righteousness and that all believers will someday appear before the judgment seat and be judged according to deeds done in the body (2 Cor. 5:10). The righteous will enter into eternal life and the wicked into everlasting punishment (Ecc. 12:14; Matt. 25:46; Mark 16:16; Acts 17:31; Rev. 20:12-15). - Adopted July 2023