** HPFBC affirms the The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (HPFBC) (BFM) as an accurate summary of our beliefs. Included below is a brief summary of some of the key contents of the BFM. Much of the wording is taken directly or only slightly adapted from the BFM.**
The Scriptures. The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. All Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. (2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:19-21)
The Triune God. There is one and only one living and true God. He is the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. He exists eternally as the Holy Trinity, one God in three persons. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each personally distinct from one another without any division of being or essence. (Deuteronomy 6:4-6, Matthew 28:19-20, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6)
God the Father. God the Father is the eternal Father of God the Son. He is also the father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. (John 17:5, Romans 8:14-17)
God the Son. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, fully divine. He took on a human nature and was born of a virgin. By his substitutionary death on the cross he made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead on the third day. He is the one and only Savior of the world. (Luke 1:31-35, 1 Corinthians 15:1-3, 1 Timothy 2:5-6, 1 Peter 2:24)
God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired the Scriptures, exalts Christ, and works in the hearts of men to draw them to faith in Christ. He indwells every true believer in Christ, enlightening and empowering Christians and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. (John 16:7-11, Acts 5:3-4, Galatians 5:22-23, 2 Peter 1:19-21)
Salvation. Salvation is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior through faith based on his death and resurrection by which he obtained eternal redemption for the believer. (John 3:16, Acts 4:12, Ephesians 2:8-9)
The Church. A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. (Matthew 16:15-19, Hebrews 10:23-25)
Baptism. Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 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. (Romans 6:4-6, Matthew 28:18-20)
The Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. (Matthew 26:26-30, 1 Corinthians 11:23-34)
Last Things. God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelation 20:11-15)
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 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. (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, Romans 1:16)