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At FBC, we aim to be modern and relevant, but we are old-fashioned to the core when it comes to what we believe. Revelation One of our key beliefs as Christians is that God speaks. God constantly reveals himself to man through nature (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20), and this is why all over the world people believe in the existence of God or gods, but God wanted us to know Him clearly, so he spoke to holy men who communicated these truths and had them written down (2 Peter 1:21). His ultimate revelation of himself is in the person of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:2). These records of God's revelation are known as the Bible, God's Word, and they are the source of everything we believe and practice. Through God's Word He reveals himself as the maker of Heaven and Earth, our Creator (Genesis 1:1), as the One who has always loved us (Jeremiah 31:3), one God existing eternally in three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:2; Matthew 28:19). God's Word shows also reveals the great barrier that separates us from God: Sin (Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23); the penalty of sin (Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23); our physical birth (Genesis 2:17; Ephesians 2:1); our relative righteousness (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 9:30-33); God's character (1 John 1:5; Romans 8:8). Yet the greatest expression of God's love for us and his desire to reveal Himself is when through the Holy Spirit He was conceived within the Virgin Mary, was born and lived among us in the person of Jesus Christ, who is himself the Word of God (John 1:1, 14; John 3:16). We believe because God has spoken to us through the Son. Jesus Christ Jesus Christ is Lord! That was what the early church declared that put them at odds with the rest of the world, but we still proclaim it today. We believe that God the Son became flesh and lived among us. During His life He demonstrated and proclaimed that the Kingdom of God was at hand as he healed the sick, taught the multitudes, and made disciples. His death on a cross was not an accident. He was actually fulfilling God's will and plan from all eternity. When He died on the cross, our sins were laid on Him and judged. His death was the full payment for our sin. Jesus rose again, destroying the power of death and the grave. He ascended to heaven, where he has gone to prepare a place for those who will place their trust in Him. One day He will return to the earth personally, bodily, and visibly, and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The Holy Spirit Jesus promised his disciples that if He went away, he would send them a comforter. That comforter is the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that makes us aware of our need for God’s salvation through Jesus’ death. He also provides us power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. A true child of God lives daily under the Holy Spirit’s guidance. The Church The Church is all the people who have ever existed who have placed their trust in Christ for salvation. It exists in heaven and on earth, and it is not ruled or led by any one man. Christ himself is the head of the Church, and the Church is the Body of Christ, who leads us by the Holy Spirit. Because the Church Christ leads on earth has not yet been perfected, many divisions exist between those who believe in Christ, but from Heaven's view there is only one, holy catholic (universal) church. It is apostolic as well, meaning that the faith we have and practice is the faith that was handed down by Jesus' apostles, men who were appointed by Jesus himself to preach the gospel and make disciples. The best visible expression of the body of Christ is the local church. We believe that wherever people who believe in Jesus meet to worship, pray, study God's Word, and serve God together, Christ is in the midst of them and they are the Church. The local church is led by the Spirit of God working through its members, as each does his or her part in the Spirit's power to accomplish God's purpose. The spirit gives gifts to the members of Christ's body, and some will be gifted to serve as the human leadership, but the ultimate source of authority is Christ working among the members. The mission of the church is to preach the good news about Jesus, demonstrating and proclaiming the Kingdom of God as Jesus did. Our vision is to see lives transformed through the work of the Holy Spirit as we preach and teach God's Word. Our purpose is always God's glory and fame, so we strive to do what we do with excellence, surrendering our time and resources to that end. (MORE COMING SOON)
The Creed The Nicene Creed is the profession of faith that most accurately lists the core beliefs that Christians all over the world have held for close to 2000 years. It was written and adopted by the Church at a council held in the city of Nicaea (around 325 AD). I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
For a fuller description of what we believe at First Baptist Church of Hialeah, click on the following link to read the Baptist Faith and Message:
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