What We Believe
First Baptist Church of Crofton, many years ago, adopted the Baptist Faith and Message (edition 1963) as an official statement of church doctrine. A complete copy is available by clicking on the following link 1963 BFM. The following is an extract on a few key issues. The Scriptures: The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God's revelation of Himself to man...It has God for its author, salvation as its end and truth without any mixture of error, for its matter...The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ. God: There is one and only one living and true God...The eternal God reveals himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ is the eternal Son of God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He made provision for the redemption of people from sin. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and exalts Christ, convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism and service. The Church: A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel...and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth...This church is an autonomous body...The New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ which includes all the redeemed of all the ages. Baptism & Lord's Supper: Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water...It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby Christians memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. Religious Liberty: Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends...A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal. Family: God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society...Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime...The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationlaship models the way God relates to His people...Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.
First Baptist Church of Crofton, many years ago, adopted the Baptist Faith and Message (edition 1963) as an official statement of church doctrine. A complete copy is available by clicking on the following link 1963 BFM. The following is an extract on a few key issues. The Scriptures: The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God's revelation of Himself to man...It has God for its author, salvation as its end and truth without any mixture of error, for its matter...The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ. God: There is one and only one living and true God...The eternal God reveals himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ is the eternal Son of God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He made provision for the redemption of people from sin. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and exalts Christ, convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism and service. The Church: A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel...and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth...This church is an autonomous body...The New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ which includes all the redeemed of all the ages. Baptism & Lord's Supper: Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water...It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby Christians memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. Religious Liberty: Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends...A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal. Family: God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society...Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime...The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationlaship models the way God relates to His people...Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.
