STATEMENT OF FAITH

This statement is representative of what Fellowship Bible Church believes and teaches. Though this is not a comprehensive statement of what we believe the Bible teaches, it does represent the substance of core doctrinal beliefs that our church holds to.


I.  The Holy Scripture

We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the verbally inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings.  They were written by men controlled by the Holy Spirit.  They tell us the way of salvation, and are the final authority in the life of the believer.  (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; Prov. 30:5-6; 1 Pet. 1:23; Matt. 4:4)

II.  The Godhead

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19)

A.  God the Father

We believe in God the Father, creator of all things.  He is Spirit.  He is holy, righteous, loving, all-powerful, unchangeable, and continually hears the prayers of believers.  (Gen. 1:1; Jn. 4:24; Lev. 11:44; Ps. 145:17; 1 Jn. 4:8; Jer. 32:27; Mal. 3:6; Jn. 5:14-15)

B.  God the Son

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God.  He became man without ceasing to be God, being conceived by the Holy Spirit and being born of a virgin.  He came to earth to reveal God and to redeem sinful man.  As a sinless sacrifice He redeemed man by voluntarily dying on the cross, thus satisfying God’s righteous judgment against sin.  He finished this work by bodily rising from the dead, then ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He intercedes on behalf of the believers.  He will return to take His people to be with Him.  (Phil. 2:6; Jn. 1:1; Heb. 4:15, Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-20; Jn. 17:6; Is. 53; Rom. 5:8-10; Matt. 28:6-7; Lk. 24:51; Rom. 8:34; Jn. 14:3)

C.  God the Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is the Divine Person whose ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.  He convicts men of sin, brings men to repentance, regenerates (brings new life to) believing sinners, and places (baptizes) them into the Body of Christ, the Church. He indwells them permanently, seals them until the day of redemption, gives them spiritual gifts, and controls (fills) those who are yielding to Him. He guides, instructs, and empowers the believer for godly living and service.  He is the Inspirer and Interpreter of Scripture.  (Jn. 16:14; Jn. 16:8-11; Jn. 3:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:13; Jn. 14:16-17; Eph. 4:30; 1 Cor. 12:4-6; Eph. 5:18; Jn. 16:13; 2 Tim. 3:16)

III.  The Condition of Man

We believe that man was created in the image of God, innocent and without sin.  He lost his innocence and fellowship with God through Adam’s sin, thus bringing physical and spiritual death upon himself.  Man cannot be saved by good works because all have sinned, and only through Christ’s redeeming work can man be brought back into fellowship with God.  (Gen. 1:26-27; Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12, 15-17; 1 Cor. 15:21-22; Eph. 2:8-9)

IV.  Salvation and Assurance

We believe salvation is freely offered to all who will repent of their sins and put their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.  Salvation cannot be gained by good works, but by receiving God’s grace (underserved favor).  All who trust in the shed blood of Jesus Christ are forgiven of their sins and are born into the family of God by the work of the Holy Spirit.  Thus, they receive eternal life.  (Acts 3:19; Jn. 1:12; Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8-9; Eph. 1:7; Acts 2:38; Jn. 3:36; Jn. 5:24)

We believe all the saved (those who have put their trust in the finished work of Christ) are kept by his power, and are, therefore, secure in Christ forever.  This assurance does not give the freedom to sin, because God in His holiness cannot tolerate continual sin in His children.  In His infinite love He corrects them.  True faith in Christ is expressed by a fruitful, God-pleasing (holy) life.  (Jn. 10:27-29; Rom. 8:28-39; 1 Jn. 5:13; Heb. 12:6; Matt. 7:20; 1 Pet. 1:15-16)

V.  The Church

We believe the Church is the Body of Christ, made up of all persons who have trusted Jesus Christ for salvation.  The Holy Spirit places believers into this body, of which Christ is the head.  Scripture teaches that groups of redeemed individuals are to gather in local churches for worship, instruction, fellowship and service. (Hebrews 10:24-25; Eph. 1:22-23)

The Great Commission of the Church is to preach the gospel, both here and to the ends of the earth.  Prayer and giving are two supporting arms of the Church in its proclamation of the gospel.  (1 Cor. 12:12-13, 27; Col. 1:18; Acts 2:42; Acts 13:12; Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Mal. 3:8-10; 2 Thess. 3:1; 1 Thess. 5:17)

VI.  The Ordinances

We believe our Lord Jesus Christ gave the Church two ordinances for all believers to observe until his return–believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  (Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)  Neither is to be considered as a means of salvation, but as an act of obedience to Christ’s desire for fellowship with Him.

A.  Baptism

We believe baptism to be a one-time, outward expression by a believer of an inward confession of trusting Christ as Savior, thus identifying the person with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-5).  We believe that baptism should be by immersion (which best pictures that truth) unless the person is physically unable.  Through baptism, the person is testifying that he or she is a child of God, and a member of His family, the Church.

B.  The Lord’s Supper

We believe the Lord’s Supper is a time for believers to remember Christ’s death, resurrection and His coming again (1 Cor. 11:23-26).  The bread symbolizes Christ’s body which was given for us (Luke 22:19).  The cup symbolizes the shed of blood of Christ and the new covenant which made possible the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 26:28; Luke 22:20;  Heb. 9:22).  It is an act of thankful dedication to Him and serves to unite His people until He returns (Matt. 26:20, Mark 14:26, 1 Cor. 11:23-26).

VII.  Last Things

A.  The Rapture

We believe that the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy is the Rapture of the Church.  This event is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air to gather to Himself believers who are alive (translation:  1 Thess. 4:13-18) and believers who have died (resurrection: 1 Cor. 15:51-58).  We believe that this event is the “blessed hope” for which we should be constantly looking (Titus 2:11-14).

B.  The Tribulation

We believe that the Rapture of the Church will be followed by the Tribulation.  The Tribulation is the fulfillment of Israel’s seventieth week, seven actual years (Dan. 9:21-27; Rev. 6:1- 19:21), during which the Church, the Body of Christ, will be in heaven.  The last three and one-half years of this period (Dan. 9:26-27; 12:7-11) will be the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jer. 30:7) which our Lord called the great tribulation (Matt. 24:15-21).  The entire period of Israel’s seventieth week will be a time of the outpouring of the wrath of God on the earth (Rev. 6:16-17) to purify and prepare Israel and the whole world for the second coming of Christ to establish His millennial kingdom.

C.  The Second Coming of Christ

We believe that the Tribulation will end with the Second Coming of Christ.  The Second Coming of Christ is the bodily return of the Lord Jesus in power and great glory to establish the millennial kingdom. (Rev. 19: 11-21)

D.  The Millennial Kingdom

We believe that the Millennial Kingdom is the one thousand year period of time during which the Lord Jesus Christ will rule over the Earth from Jerusalem (Is. 2:3; Rev. 20:1-10).  We believe that the Millennial Kingdom will be characterized by:

1.  The binding of Satan in the abyss (Rev. 20:1-3);

2.  The lessening of the effects of the curse of the fall;

a.  Animal life is docile (Is. 11:6-9)

b.  Longevity is restored (Is. 65:20)

c.  Productivity of the earth is restored to pre-fall levels (Is. 35:1-2; cf. Is. 30:23; 35:7)

3.  The fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel (Deut. 30:1-10; Ez. 37:15-28; Amos 9:11-12);

4.  The universal knowledge of God (Is. 11:6-9).

VIII.  The Eternal State

We believe that at the end of the age, Jesus Christ will judge all men.  Those who have trusted Christ for their salvation will go to be with the Lord in Heaven.  Those who remained unbelievers will spend eternity separated from the Lord in Hell.  (Phil. 1:23; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 20:11-15; Luke 16:19-26)

IX.  The Charismatic Movement

We are a non-charismatic fellowship, and we must ask that neither members or attenders propagate the teaching and emphasis of the modern-tongues-speaking movement within our fellowship.  We should rather seek the more excellent way of love and be zealous about the more useful and edifying gifts.  (1 Cor. 12:13-14)

X.    Gender:

We believe that God created two genders, male and female, in His own image.  While different in some roles, men and women are equal in dignity as bearers of the image of God.  Male headship in marriage and the leadership of men in the church are intended by God for the good of man and woman, family, church, and society.  Headship, and all authority, is to be modeled on Christ’s loving service for the church.  We are to refer to God as we are taught in Scripture.  Jesus was a man, and He teaches us to refer to God as “our Father”. (Gen. 1-2;  Matt. 6:9-13; Eph. 5: 22-33; 1 Cor. 11:1-3)

XI.   Marriage:

We believe that the biblical standard for marriage is between one man and one woman.

And any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, pedophilia, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sin and violate God’s gift of sex to humanity.  As Christians we must exhibit compassion to all those whose sexual behavior the Bible describes as sinful, but we cannot endorse any public policy or view that legitimizes such sinful behavior as an alternative or appropriate lifestyle.

Therefore, Fellowship Bible Church will only recognize marriages between a biological man and a biological woman.  Further, the pastor(s) of Fellowship Bible Church will only participate in weddings and solemnize marriages between one man and one woman.  Finally, the facilities and property of Fellowship Bible Church will only host weddings between one man and one woman. (Gen. 19; Lev. 18; Romans 1; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 1 Tim. 1:1 I John 3:4; James 4:13-17; Rom. 1:22-25; 1 John 2:15-17.)