Statement of Faith

First Baptist Church of Des Moines is a Reformed Baptist church.  We believe that the "Doctrines of Grace" best describe what the Bible teaches and we hold more or less to the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith.  However, the Bible itself is our authority and we are constantly examining and re-examining our doctrine.  We are members of the Southern Baptist Convention and interact with several other associations as well.  Following is a brief outline of our beliefs:

God:

We believe there is one living and true God, the self-existent, sovereign, transcendent, perfect, infinite and eternal creator of the universe. He is revealed in the unity of the Godhead as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each having a distinct ministry in relation to His creation and His people.

God the Father is the Supreme Ruler of the universe. He providentially directs the affairs of history according to the purposes of His grace.

God the Son is the Savior of the world. Born of the virgin Mary, He declared His deity among men, died on the cross as the only sacrifice for sin, arose bodily from the grave, and ascended back to the Father. He is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for believers until He returns to rapture them from the world.

God the Holy Spirit is the manifest presence of deity. He convicts, guides, comforts and teaches spiritual truths according to the written Word, permanently indwells believers, and gifts every believer at conversion for the purpose of ministry.

The Word of God:

We believe the Bible, the complete writings of both the Old and New Testaments is the literal Word of God, verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit, inerrant as originally given by God, and infallible as the standard of our faith and practice.

The Nature of Man:

Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God but became a sinful creature by personal rebellion against God and perpetuated a sinful nature to all his descendants. Man is universally sinful by nature and by choice. He is void of spiritual life and incapable of saving himself. He stands under the righteous judgment and wrath of God, condemned to a literal, eternal, and fiery hell.

Salvation:

Salvation is the free gift of God by grace through faith; it is totally the act of God apart from any work or merit of man.

We believe in God’s Sovereignty and in Human Responsibility. The facts that God chooses all who come to Him and that man chooses to come to God are entirely consistent in Scripture. In His sovereignty, God purposed, planned and executed salvation in eternity. Man has the responsibility to receive this salvation and be saved, or reject it and suffer God’s judgment.

We believe in the atonement for sins by the blood of Jesus Christ. This atonement is sufficient for the sins of all men yet efficient only for the sins of those who believe.

We believe in regeneration. Regeneration is the act of God by which the human spirit passes from spiritual death into life in Christ, born again with a new nature.

We believe in Sanctification. God sets apart every believer as a saint at conversion. All are commanded to pursue practical holiness by applying the truths and principles of the Word of God and following the leadership of the Spirit of God.

We believe in Eternal Security. Because believers are kept by the power of God and not their own works, salvation can never be lost; thus all believers shall spend eternity in the glorious and heavenly presence of God.

Christ’s Second Coming:

We believe that Christ will literally return from Heaven in a personal, visible and glorious fashion. We believe that His return is the Blessed Hope, for which all believers should continually watch and pray, and that it signals the consummation of the age and the final disposition of all creation. We also believe that the time of His return is unrevealed but always imminent.

The Church:

We believe in the Importance of the Local Church. A New Testament church is a local congregation of born-again, baptized believers united together to proclaim the good news and exalt the Lord Jesus.

We believe in the Autonomy of the Local Church. A New Testament church has Christ as its only Head and is free to govern itself apart from ecclesiastical interference.

We believe in the two Ordinances of the Local Church. Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer as a public profession of his personal faith in Christ. The Lord’s supper is the sharing of the bread and the cup by the assembled church as a memorial to the broken body and shed blood of Christ.

After much study, discussion, prayer, and reflection we adopted a plural-elder-led church government in Fall 2003.  Our elders and deacons are selected, and their roles defined, on the basis of Acts 6, 1 Timothy 3, and Titus 1.