What We Believe
At First Baptist Killen, we affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 as our statement of faith. This document outlines our beliefs regarding essential doctrines and provides extensive Scripture references. A full copy of the Baptist Faith and Message can be found here.
Who is Jesus?
Jesus is the most important person who has ever lived. His life radically transforms every facet of reality. How can we make such a bold statement? It’s because we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is both truly God and truly human. Miraculously born of a virgin by the Holy Spirit’s power, Jesus lived a completely perfect, sinless life. He was brutally killed on a cross so that fallen humans might be rescued from their sin and reconciled to the true and living God. He died a gruesome death, but on the third day he rose from the dead. Even now he lives and reigns as the God-man in heaven, and one day he will return to earth to bring the fullness of his perfect kingdom. Sounds like a wild story, right? A man died and rose again with unending life? And yet, this is the truest and most important story in all of history. It’s a story that God has been unfolding since the beginning of time.
In the beginning, God created heaven and earth with man and woman as the pinnacle of his good creation. Humanity was created in God’s image, a gift uniquely given to humanity. This means that people have a unique relationship with their Creator. The living God gave humanity dominion over the rest of creation that they might joyfully steward God’s gifts in dependence upon him. However, the first humans, Adam and Eve, rebelled against the Creator and sin entered the world in an event we call “the Fall.” Sin is turning away from God, rebelling against his gracious and righteous rule, and following after the self-centered desires of our own hearts. Because of the Fall, the entire human race is born into a broken and sinful world. We all experience the effects of living in this broken world when we face strained relationships, broken marriages, sickness, death of loved ones, violence, famine, poverty, global turmoil, and all of the other terrible problems of our world. Yet, our good and loving Heavenly Father did not abandon his creation. He began to unfold his plan of redemption that would fix everything that had gone wrong. God’s plan for all of human history is to rescue a people for the glory of his name and their joy in his presence. He is making everything right once more. To borrow from a well-known line in literature, all the sad things will come untrue. How does this happen?
God accomplishes his plan through his Son, Jesus Christ. Because of our rebellion against holy God, we all deserve eternal punishment and death. But God made a way for us to have our deserved punishment exchanged for undeserved eternal life. This is the beautiful exchange that takes place on the cross. Christ lived a sinless life, never rebelling against God. He did not deserve death or punishment. However, he willingly suffered both death and punishment on our behalf. But Christ did not stay dead. He rose from the dead, forever conquering death. Because Christ died the death they deserved, those who trust in him are given the blessing of unmerited salvation. How do we obtain this salvation? It is only by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. We must all recognize that there is nothing we can ever do to obtain eternal life apart from Christ and his righteousness. Today you can trust in Jesus Christ as your only hope in life and in death.
Would you like to know more about how to begin this relationship with God and confess Christ as your Lord and Savior? As a church, we would love nothing more than to share with you how Jesus has radically transformed our lives. Christ has rescued us from eternal death, and now we have the hope of new and eternal life in Christ. This hope has changed everything. Please call or email one of our pastors, and we will look forward to sharing more with you about how to follow Jesus. We would be happy to help answer any questions you may have. We pray if you are reading this, from this moment on, you will experience freedom in Christ to live a life filled with hope, grace, peace, and love that can only come from God.
What can I read to know more about Jesus? Reading the Gospel of John is a great place to start. It is the fourth book in the New Testament portion of the Bible. It announces Jesus’ identity and recounts his earthly ministry, his substitutionary death, victorious resurrection, and what this means for people who believe in him. Regardless of your age, you can also read The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible by Jared Kennedy. The author of this book beautifully and clearly captures how every story throughout the Bible points to Christ who has come as the great rescuer. This book is written for children, but can be helpful for believers of all ages to see how the whole Bible is telling one big story. Once again, we hope you will reach out and allow us to encourage you as you begin this life-transforming journey of faith!