1. FB C Remaining With. Reaching Out. 2015 Membership Classes SAINT PETERS

2. 1 THE BAPTIST FAITH & MESSAGE Our Summary Statement of Belief

3. OUR VISION: As followers of Christ, we desire to become a church that makes, matures, and mobilizes disciples of Jesus Christ with the gospel for personal transformation and communal impact. OUR MISSION: We exist to regroup to ready ourselves for reaching out and remaining with. Readying ourselves involves doctrine, doxology, and discipleship.

4. DOCTRINE: The Summarized statements concerning the glorious mercies of God in Christ Jesus. Doctrine is the grammar of the Christian faith to inform our minds. DOXOLOGY: The Emotive exclamations reflecting our response to the glorious mercies of God in Christ Jesus. Doxology is the praise of the Christian faith to inflame our hearts. DISCIPLESHIP: The deliberate direction exhibiting how we live in light of the glorious mercies of God in Christ Jesus. Discipleship is the way of the Christian faith to instruct our hands.

5. THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR DOCTRINAL BELIEFS “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:41-42 “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” 2 Timothy 1:13-14

6. THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR DOCTRINAL BELIEFS “I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” 1 Timothy 3:14-16

7. THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR DOCTRINAL BELIEFS “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” Jude 1:3 “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” Romans 16:17

8. THE BAPTIST FAITH & MESSAGE, 2000 Our statement of faith is divided into eighteen articles. Most simply, FBC Saint Peters is a Christian orthodox, Evangelically Protestant Church with Congregational polity that is distinctively Baptist. The Orthodox Christian articles simply show what Christians have always believed and where there has traditionally been little dispute over during the history of Christianity. The Evangelical Protestant articles underscore the critical issues related to the Scriptures and the Gospel recovered during the Reformation. The Congregational Polity article highlights the unique features of how many local churches are governed and structured. The Baptist Distinctive articles emphasis distinctive values and practices that Baptist congregations typically share in common.

9. THE BAPTIST FAITH & MESSAGE While the Southern Baptist Convention was formed in 1845, it did not adopt a statement of faith until 1925 (at that time it also adopted the Cooperative Program Funding mechanism). Baptists have adopted creeds throughout their history. They probably have adopted creeds more than any other denomination. Most Baptist churches adopted a confession of faith when they constituted as a church. Most Baptist associations similarly adopted their own confessions. The Southern Baptist Convention's seminaries had adopted confessions upon their establishment. The mission boards, state conventions and the Southern Baptist Convention however did not adopt confessions until the twentieth century, when the spread of modernism among Southern Baptist missionaries and preachers prompted the convention to take measures.

10. THE BAPTIST FAITH & MESSAGE In 1925, the Baptist Faith and Message Articles of Faith was adopted by the SBC. This statement is essentially the New Hampshire Confession of Faith (1835). The committee which comprised and the 1925 Baptist Faith and Message recommended “The New Hampshire Confession of Faith, revised at certain points, and with some additional articles growing out of certain needs…” as their Confession of Faith. The 1925 Baptist Faith and Message was revised by Southern Baptists in 1963, 1998, and 2000. Each revision was either in response to a theological crisis (i.e. 1963 – The Genesis Controversy), or to add a new article (i.e. 1998 – The Family), or to strengthen the overall wording of the articles (i.e. 2000).

11. THE BAPTIST FAITH & MESSAGE, 2000 Confession Article Orthodox Christian Evangelically Protestant Congregationa l Polity Baptist Distinctive Scripture God Man Salvation God’s Purposes of Grace Church Ordinances Lord’s Day Kingdom Last Things ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

12. THE BAPTIST FAITH & MESSAGE, 2000 Confession Article Orthodox Christian Evangelically Protestant Congregational Polity Baptist Distinctive Evangelism & Missions Education Stewardship Cooperation The Christian and Social Order Peace & War Religious Liberty The Family ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

13. OUR CENTRAL CONFESSION “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:15-17 Jesus Christ is the world's only Savior, Lord of all of History, and the central focus of the Scriptures.

14. OUR CENTRAL CONFESSION Therefore, we affirm the complete truthfulness and authority of the Scriptures, which perfectly show us Jesus Christ. The Scriptures The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

15. OUR CENTRAL CONFESSION Therefore, we affirm the Triune nature of the Godhead who is absolutely wise, powerful, gracious, and good in Jesus Christ. God There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

16. OUR CENTRAL CONFESSION Therefore, we affirm the full spectrum of the salvation, which Jesus Christ graciously provides for His people. Salvation Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Continued…

17. OUR CENTRAL CONFESSION Therefore, we affirm the full spectrum of the salvation, which Jesus Christ graciously provides for His people. Salvation A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior. Continued…

18. OUR CENTRAL CONFESSION Therefore, we affirm the full spectrum of the salvation, which Jesus Christ graciously provides for His people. Salvation B. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God. C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life. Continued…

19. OUR CENTRAL CONFESSION Therefore, we affirm the full spectrum of the salvation, which Jesus Christ graciously provides for His people. Salvation D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

20. OUR CENTRAL CONFESSION Therefore, we affirm the gracious character of God's electing and preserving love in Christ Jesus. God's Purpose of Grace Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility. Continued…

21. OUR CENTRAL CONFESSION Therefore, we affirm the gracious character of God's electing and preserving love in Christ Jesus. God's Purpose of Grace All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

22. OUR CENTRAL CONFESSION Therefore, we affirm the nature and necessity of the local church for carrying out the mission given by Jesus Christ. The Church A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.

23. OUR CENTRAL CONFESSION Therefore, we affirm the nature and necessity of the local church for carrying out the mission given by Jesus Christ. The Church The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.

24. OUR CENTRAL CONFESSION Therefore, we affirm the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, which point us back to Jesus Christ. Baptism and the Lord's Supper Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper. Continued…

25. OUR CENTRAL CONFESSION Therefore, we affirm the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, which point us back to Jesus Christ. Baptism and the Lord's Supper The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

26. FINAL CLARIFICATIONS: Doctrinally Naive VS. Doctrinally Grounded Confessional infallibility VS. “Semper Reformanda” according to the Scriptures Mere Creedalism VS. Trust in the Living Word, Lord Jesus Christ Fundamentalist Christianity lacking True Discernment VS. Essential Christianity via Theological Triage Confessional Beliefs VS. Functional Beliefs