What we Believe…

The First Baptist Church of San Diego is a Christian church. We follow Jesus, we teach from the Bible, and we worship God as the Creator and Ruler of the universe.

Through our relationship with Christ, we are healed, renewed, redeemed, forgiven, transformed, loved. It's our passion to share this faith and hope with the world. We invite everyone to be a part of our fellowship in order to develop into a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.

Below is our general statement of faith that covers some basic theological issues. People who have already been a part of a church probably already understand the terms and concepts below, so this list is primarily for believers who are looking for a church that upholds Biblical teaching and that demonstrates grace through belief in Jesus. If anything here is confusing to you, please feel free to contact the Pastor with your questions.

God the Father

We Believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayers, and that he saves from sin and death all who come to him through Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ

We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only beloved Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings. We believe in his substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people and personal visible return to earth.

The Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and is an abiding helper, teacher and guide.

The Trinity

We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons; God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, that these are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.

The Bible

We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.

The Church

We believe in the universal church. A living spiritual body of which Jesus Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a body of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized upon a profession of faith and associated for worship, God’s work, and fellowship. We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of giving the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost world.

Regeneration

We believe that all people are sinners by nature and choice, and are therefore under condemnation. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

The Ordinances

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church - Baptism and Communion. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the Name of God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We believe that Communion is a testimony and memorial of the death of Jesus Christ for the sins of the world, ushering in the new covenant. The bread symbolizes His body and the cup symbolizes His shed blood. Only believers in fellowship with Christ and their Christian brothers and sisters should partake of communion since it symbolizes their union with Christ. We believe that these two ordinances shall be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christian Conduct

We believe that Christians should live for the glory of God and the well being of humanity. We believe that their conduct should be blameless before the world, that they should be faithful stewards of their possessions and that they should seek to realize for themselves and the benefit of others, their full stature of maturity in Christ.

The Last Things

We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth and the establishment of His Kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, eternal life for those who have accepted God’s gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ, eternal suffering for those who reject God’s gift of salvation.