What do We Believe about God?

8/12/2019 What do We Believe about God?

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What do weBELIEVEabout

GOD?

FIRSTBAPTISTCHURCHS L O


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God is growing in us...

a love for Him,a love for His church

and a love for His world.


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Section One:

Our Purpose

At FBCSLO, we believe that God is growing in

us a love for Him, a love for His church and a

love for His world.

A purpose statement built on love must begin at the Source. 1 John 4:8tells us that God is love. Te love we desire to experience in these threeareas is based in and flows from the very essence of who God is.

Gods love

Gods love begins with His love for Himself. Because God is triune,He has eternally overflowed with love for Himself as Father, Son andHoly Spirit. Tis is a mystery, but we revel in the fact. God has never

been lonely, unhappy or needy. God is and always has been fully de-lighted in love.

Tat love overflows to His creatures in a special way. Even though werejected His love and built our lives around selfish desires, God lovedus. He perfectly declared that love on the Cross. God the Father sentGod the Son, in the person of Jesus Christ, to bear the guilt and punish-ment for our sins. In historys darkest hour, Gods burning passion for

His glory and His burning passion for His world came together in Hiswilling sacrifice of His Son. John 3:16 says, For God so loved the worldthat He sent His only Son. Gods love for His world was and is, perfect.

Tis sacrificial death was more than a demonstration of His love,or simply the price to forgive sins. God was purchasing for Himself a

bride. Trough the blood of Christ and by the power of His resurrec-tion He has drawn people from every corner of the world to become

united through faith in Christ to be His Church. Tere is no one in theuniverse who has a deeper passion and love for the Church than God.

And so, Gods three lovesfor Himself, for His world and for His


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churchare all perfect. In all He does, God pursues His glory, the re-demption of the world and the good of His church.

It is helpful here to picture three rings, each representing one ob-ject of Gods love. Tere is a ring for Himself; a ring for His Bride, theChurch; and a ring for His world.

Now, because in all things God loves all three perfectly and at once,Gods rings are entirely convergedthey completely overlap one an-other. When God loves one, He loves the other two as well.

Our love

As Gods people, we are called to participate in what God Him-self has eternally and purposefully pursued. God wants us to grow tothe place where we, too, truly love Him, love His church and love His

worldand, moreover, to that place where those loves are all mergedinto one. If you drew a diagram of a perfectly matured Christian, therings for the three loves would perfectly overlap, just like Gods.

Of course, thats not true for any of us yet. If you drew a diagram ofour present hearts, our three rings wouldnt line up perfectly. For someof us theyd hardly line up at all. Teyd resemble a Venn diagram, wherethe three share intersecting parts but also have parts that do not overlap.

It is possible for us to love God and love His church, but hardly loveHis world and be relatively unconcerned for the needs and welfare of


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those who are outside His church. On the other hand, we may be en-tirely consumed with passion for showing Gods love to unbelievers,

but remain cynical and distanced from Gods people, His church. Inboth these cases, our hearts are still immature. Tey do not representthe heart of the Father.

In this way of looking at Christian discipleship, only the overlappingpart of the rings represents maturitythat place where our love forGod produces a passion for a lost and hurting world and His beloved

bride. It is not enough to simply care for the world or be enthusiasticabout the Church. God wants all of that to flow from an active relation-

ship with Him.

Tis process of drawing closer and deeper in all three areas of rela-tionships we call convergence. In the diagram, convergence is repre-

sented by our rings drawing closer and closer together. Maturity comesas they overlap and begin to become one. Tis process of convergenceis also known by another namediscipleship. We imitate Jesus, andlearn to love like Him.

Wha our purpose means for us

An important point to recognize is that Christian maturity isntabout doing the right thing. Instead, maturity is about love. If maturity

were about doing good deeds, then love wouldnt be necessaryyoucould feed the homeless, or do something nice for a fellow believer, andnot care for the person youre serving. Instead, becoming more matureis about becoming the kind of person who loves God and other people.

As disciples, its not our job to produce love. Tis is the work of theHoly Spirit, producing the fruit that only He can bear. We cant manu-facture it; we could fake it, but thats not real maturity. Faking love leadsonly to pride.

As we focus on Gods purposeto grow in us a love for Him, a love


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for His Church and a love for His worldinstead of pride we find weare humbled. Were humbled, first, because we acknowledge that it isGod who is at work in us to produce real love. We discover that anygood deeds we produce by self-righteous effort are counter-produc-tive to true spiritual maturity.

Secondly, were humbled because we acknowledge that we are all ona path to convergence. We havent arrived at full maturity, because wefind in every-day small ways that we dont love God fully, or love Hischurch perfectly, or love His world in our hearts. Tis realization leadsus to act in gracious humility towards those who are still less mature,

knowing that we are all on the same journey, together.By orienting all our church ministries and purposes around this cen-

tral purpose of Gods heartthat He is growing in us a love for Him, alove for His Church and a love for His worldwe are helped in keepingFBCSLO healthy in two ways.

First, this purpose insists that everything we do is fundamentally re-lational. Every program and ministry of the church will either facilitate

growth in my relationship towards God, other believers, or those out-side the church, or a combination thereof. No program exists as an endin itself. Whatever we do, the aim is deeper, richer love.

Secondly, this purpose helps us check our motives. When our ac-tivities are foundationally relational, our chief motive will be love. If wecant accomplish a programmatic goal from a real love for one of thethree groups, that reveals a deeper heart issue which we will have to

address.In all of this, our goal is to become the Church Jesus described in

John 17. Jesus prayed that they may become perfectly one, so that theworld may know that you sent me and loved them even as you lovedme. As we draw closer to God in love, and nearer to one another, doors

will open for us to demonstrate Gods love and grace in the world. Andwhen this happens, well be careful to give God all the glory, because

well know that it was He who grew love in our hearts.


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Section Two:

Membership

What it means to be a member

Te difference between aenders and members can be summed upin one word: commitment. At FBC we recognize the need for formalmembership, and encourage a commitment to membership for fourreasons:

1. A Biblical Reason: Chris is commited o he church.

... Christ loved the church, and gave himself up for her. (Eph. 5:25)

2. A Culural Reason: I is a unique commimen in our sociey.

We live in an age where very few want to be commied to anything...school... a relationship... our country. Tis aitude has produced a gen-eration of church shoppers & hoppers. Membership swims againstthe current of Americas consumer religion that switches groups forany reason. Membership is an unselfish decision. Commitment always

builds character.

3. A Pracical Reason: I defines who can be couned on.

Every team has a roster. Every school has an enrollment. Every army hasan enlistment. Membership identifies our family of believers who can

be counted on in our aempt to fulfill our purpose.

4. A Personal Reason: I encourages spiriual growh.

Te New estament places a major emphasis on the need for Christians


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to be accountable to each other for spiritual growth. Its tough to beaccountable when youre not commied to any specific church family.

What is expected of members?

At FBC we never ask our members to do more than the Bible clearlyteaches. We only encourage our members to do what the Bible expectsevery Christian to do. Tese responsibilities are spelled out in theMembership Covenant.

Te FBCSLO Membership CovenantHaving received Jesus Christ as my Lord and

Savior, and being in agreement with First Baptist

Churchs purpose, priorities, and leadership, I now

feel led by God to unite with the FBC body. In

doing so, I commit to growing in...

Love for God

By maintaining my hope and faith in Jesus Christ

By aending worship services regularly

By participating in spiritual formation classes anddisciplines

By living a godly life by His Spirit

Hear, O Israel: Te Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lordyour God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all yourmight. (Deut 6:4-5)

Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. ( Joshua 23:11)

But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. (1 Cor 8:3)

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his com-

mandments are not burdensome.(1 John 5:3)


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Love for His Church

By being equipped to serve by my pastors

By gathering in love with other members By refusing to listen to or spread gossip

By actively participating in the lives of small groupmembers

By giving regularly to support the ministries of mychurch

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.(Romans 13:10)

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write toyou, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. (1Tess 4:9)

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is om God, and whoever loveshas been born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7)

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthyof the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentle-ness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintainthe unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Eph 4:1-3)

Love for His World

By inviting unchurched friends to aend with me

By warmly welcoming those who visit

By using my time and abilities to pursue justiceand mercy for the hurting

By developing caring relationships to share Jesuswith others

By supporting our missionaries in prayerLet your light shine before others, so that they may see your good worksand give glory to your Father who is in heaven.(Ma 5:16)


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Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fa-therless, plead the widows cause. (Isaiah 1:17)

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require ofyou but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with yourGod? (Micah 6:8)

And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earthhas been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, bap-tizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the HolySpirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Andbehold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Ma 28:20)

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine uponus, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among allnations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!(Psalm 67:1-3)


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Section Three:

Our Statement of Faith

What we believe

In essenial beliefs, we have uniy.

Tere is one body and one Spiritjust as you were called to the onehope that belongs to your call one Lord, one faith, one baptism,one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all...(Eph. 4:4-6)

In non-essenial beliefs, we have libery.

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over

opinions Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? Itis before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld,for the Lord is able to make him stand So then each of us will give anaccount of himself to God Te faith that you have, keep between your-self and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment onhimself for what he approves (Rom.14:1, 4, 12, 22)

In all our beliefs, we show love.

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and allknowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but havenot love, I am nothing. (1 Cor. 13:2)

The essentials we believe

1. Abou GodGod is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed inthree personalities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Te three


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are co-equal and are one God.

Gen. 1:1,26-27,3:22; Ps. 90:2; Ma. 28:19; 1 Pet. 1:2; 2 Cor. 13:14

2. Abou Jesus ChrisJesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesuslived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice forthe sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead aerthree days to demonstrate his power over sin and death. He ascended toHeavens glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as Kingof Kings, and Lord of Lords.

Ma. 1:22-23; Isa. 9:6; John 1:1-5, 14:10-30; Heb. 4:14-15; 1 Cor.15:3-4; Rom. 1:3-4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 im. 6:14-15; it. 2:13

3. Abou he Holy Spiri

Te Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He ispresent in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ.He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He pro-

vides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritualtruth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer aspiritual gi when they are saved. As Christians we seek to live underHis control daily.

2 Cor. 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 2:12, 3:16; Eph.1:13; Gal. 5:25; Eph. 1:13; Gal. 5:25; Eph. 5:18

4. Abou he BibleTe Bible is Gods Word to us. It was wrien by human authors, underthe supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source oftruth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it isthe truth without any mixture of error.

2 im. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; 2 im. 1:13; Ps. 119:105, 160, 12:6

5. Abou human beingsPeople are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in char-acter. People are the supreme object of Gods creation. Although every


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person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by anaitude of selfishness and independence from God. Te Bible calls thisaitude sin. Trough Adams sin in the Garden of Eden, sin has spreadto all people. Tis sin nature has separated us from God. Because ofGods great love, He sent Jesus to reconcile His People back to Himself.

Gen. 1:27; Ps. 8:3-6; Isa. 53:6a; Rom. 3:23; Isa. 59:1-2

6. Abou salvaion

Salvation is Gods free gi to us, but His saving work always is manifest-ed in our actual, responsible choice to receive Him. We can never makeup for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in

Jesus Christ as Gods offer of forgiveness, can anyone be saved from sinspenalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith,

we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christinto his life by faith.

Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9; John 14:6, 1:12; it. 3:5; Gal. 3:26; Rom. 5:1

7. Abou eernal securiy

Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believeris secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved,

you cannot lose it. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power ofGod, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keepingpower of God that gives us this security.

John 10:29; 2 im. 1:12; Heb. 7:25; 10:10,14; 1 Pet. 1:3-5

8. Abou eerniy

People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally sepa-rated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness andsalvation. o be eternally separated from God is hell. o be eternally inunion with Him is eternal life. Heaven and hell are real places of eternalexistence.

John 3:16; John 2:25; John 5:11-13; Rom. 6:23; Rev. 20:15; Ma. 1:8;Ma. 2:44,46


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Section Four:

Our Lifestyle Statement

What we practice

Beliefs are not worth much unless they are translated into actions.Based on what the Bible teaches, we feel very strongly about the follow-

ing seven practices:

1. Bible as our sole auhoriy.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for re-proof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. (2 im. 3:16)

Since Gods Word is the only completely reliable and truthful authority,we accept the Bible as our manual for living. Our first question when

faced with a decision is What does the Bible say? We practice dailyBible reading, Bible study, and Bible memorization. Te Bible is the

basis for all we believe.

2. Auonomy of each local church.

And [Christ] is the head of the body, the church... (Col. 1:18)

Christ is the recognized head of our church, not any person, group,

or religious organization. While recognizing the value of associatingor cooperating with other groups of Christians, we believe every localchurch should be self-governing and independent from any denomina-tional control. In relating to our daughter churches that we sponsor,

we encourage each congregation to determine its own strategy, struc-ture, and style.

3. Prieshood (Minisry) of every believer.But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people forhis own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who


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called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Pet. 2:9)

Te Bible teaches that every Christian is called to full time Christian

service, regardless of his or her vocation. We practice the truth that ev-ery believer is a minister by encouraging every member to find a placeof service and ministry. Every believer has direct access to God throughprayer and Bible reading.

4. Tihing

Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the uit of thetrees, is the Lords; it is holy to the Lord. (Lev. 26:30)

At First Baptist we practice tithing for the support of Christs Body,the church, as God commands. We recognize that giving 10% of ourincome is the biblical standard of giving.

5. Immersion

having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raisedwith him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised himom the dead. (Col. 2:12)

We practice baptism by immersion under waterthe way Jesus wasbaptized, and the way the Bible commands.

6. Spiri-led living

We believe the only way possible to live the Christian life is by Godspower within us. So we seek to practice a daily dependence on GodsSpirit to enable us to do what is right. (Phil. 2:13; Eph. 5:18)

7. Telling ohers abou Chris

but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being pre-pared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hopethat is in you. (1 Pet. 3:15)

It is the responsibility of every Christian to share the Good News with

those whom God has brought us into contact. We practice personalsharing about Christ and inviting friends to church.


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FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH SLO

2075 Johnson Ave

San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

[email protected]

805.543.0945 | www.fbcslo.org

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