Core Beliefs
The following are the core beliefs of First Baptist Church of Boonville based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.
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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.
References: John 14:9-16, Matt. 28:19, Acts 2:33,1 John 5:6-8, Rom. 1:20, Col. 2:9
References: John 14:9-16, Matt. 28:19, Acts 2:33,1 John 5:6-8, Rom. 1:20, Col. 2:9
God The Father
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God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise.
Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7.
Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7.
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God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man.
Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-23; Galatians 4:4-5; 1 Peter 2:21-25
Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-23; Galatians 4:4-5; 1 Peter 2:21-25
Holy Spirit
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The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration, He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption.
Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19
Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19
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Man
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race.
Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31
Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31
Salvation
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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.
John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22
John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22
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Scripture
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.
Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Isaiah 4:16; 40:8; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11;
2 Peter 1:19-21
Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Isaiah 4:16; 40:8; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11;
2 Peter 1:19-21
The Church
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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.
Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Isaiah 4:16; 40:8; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; 2 Peter 1:19-21
Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Isaiah 4:16; 40:8; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; 2 Peter 1:19-21
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Evangelism and Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 9:37-38; 28:18-20; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 3:1-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:8
Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 9:37-38; 28:18-20; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 3:1-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:8
The Family
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God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21
