Statement of Faith

Historic Christian Faith

We believe there is one and only one living and true God. He is the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of all things, infinitely holy and perfect in every way. God has eternally revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — three distinct Persons, yet one God without division of nature, essence, or being.

We believe Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived in perfect obedience, fully revealed the Father, and gave Himself in substitutionary death on the cross to redeem sinners. He was raised bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, and now reigns as the one Mediator between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and consummate His kingdom.

We believe the Holy Spirit is fully divine. He inspired the Scriptures, convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, calls sinners to Christ, brings about the new birth, indwells believers, empowers obedience, gives gifts for service, and leads the church in worship, mission, and holy living.

The Holy Scriptures

We believe 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, fully true and trustworthy, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions are to be tested. All Scripture bears witness to Jesus Christ, who is Himself the center of divine revelation.

Because the Bible is God’s Word, we receive it with humility, teach it with confidence, and submit our lives to it in faith and obedience.

Humanity, Sin, and the Need for Salvation

We believe humanity is the special creation of God, made in His image as male and female. Human life therefore carries God-given dignity and worth. Yet by free choice, mankind sinned against God and fell from original innocence. As a result, all people are sinners by nature and by choice, estranged from God and under condemnation apart from His grace.

Only the grace of God can bring sinners into holy fellowship with Him and restore them to the purpose for which they were created.

Salvation by Grace Through Faith in Christ

We believe salvation is the redemption of the whole person and is freely offered to all who repent and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Him.

We believe salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification.

Regeneration

Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace by which sinners become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart brought about by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Justification

Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal of sinners who repent and believe in Christ. It brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.

Sanctification

Sanctification begins in regeneration and continues throughout the believer’s life as the Spirit of God works to conform us to Christ in holiness, obedience, and maturity.

Glorification

Glorification is the final and blessed state of the redeemed, when Christ returns and His people are fully conformed to Him forever.

God’s Purpose of Grace and the Perseverance of the Saints

We believe God’s saving purpose is gracious, wise, holy, and unchanging. All true believers are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Though believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, grieving the Spirit and bringing reproach upon the name of Christ, God remains faithful to preserve His people and bring them to final salvation.

This truth excludes boasting, promotes humility, and strengthens believers to endure in faith.

The Church

We believe the church is the body of Christ, composed of all true believers united to Him by faith. Christ is the head of the church, and the church exists to glorify God through worship, prayer, the teaching of Scripture, fellowship, evangelism, discipleship, service, and mission.

A local church is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. It seeks to live under the lordship of Christ, submit to the authority of Scripture, and carry out the ordinances and mission entrusted by the Lord.

We believe every church should labor to make disciples, strengthen families, care for one another, pursue holiness, and hold forth the gospel in both word and deed.

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

We believe 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 the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, union with Christ in His death and resurrection, and the believer’s new life in Him.

We believe the Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers, through the bread and the cup, remember the death of Christ and proclaim it until He comes.

The Christian Life

We believe all believers are called to walk in the Spirit, grow in grace, pursue holiness, pray fervently, love one another, and bear faithful witness to the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. The Christian life is one of repentance, faith, obedience, humility, endurance, stewardship, and love.

We believe every believer is gifted for service and called to participate in the life and mission of the church.

Evangelism, Missions, and the Great Commission

We believe the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, and that the church has been commanded to make disciples of all nations. Every Christian is under obligation to seek to make Christ known through personal witness, church ministry, prayer, generosity, and support of gospel mission.

We believe the unfinished task of global evangelization remains urgent, and that the church must proclaim Christ faithfully in every generation.

Religious Liberty, Truth, and Public Faithfulness

We believe God alone is Lord of the conscience, and that every person should have freedom to seek and respond to God without coercion. At the same time, we believe Christians are called to bear witness to truth, righteousness, justice, mercy, and the lordship of Christ in every sphere of life.

The Family

We believe the family is ordained by God and is foundational to human society. Marriage is the covenant union of one man and one woman. Husband and wife are of equal worth before God, both made in His image, and are called to love, serve, and honor one another. Children are a gift from the Lord and should be nurtured in the instruction and discipline of the Lord.

Last Things

We believe Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly. God will bring history to its appointed end. The dead will be raised, Christ will judge all people in righteousness, and God will make all things new. The righteous will dwell forever with the Lord in the new heaven and new earth, and the wicked will face everlasting judgment apart from Him.

Our final hope is not in this world, but in the coming kingdom of God and the everlasting reign of Jesus Christ.

Our Confessional and Missional Commitments

Fidelis Church stands in continuity with the historic Christian faith and gladly acknowledges the value of the following confessional and missional documents:

• Apostles’ Creed
• Nicene Creed
• The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)
• The Baptist Faith and Message 2000
• The Lausanne Covenant

These documents do not replace Scripture, which alone is our final authority, but they help express the historic and confessional stream in which we gladly stand.