First Baptist Church
Our Beliefs...
XIX. Rapture and Subsequent Events
We believe in the premillennial return of Christ, an event which can occur at
any moment, and that at that moment the dead in Christ shall be raised in glorified
bodies, and the living in Christ shall be given glorified bodies without tasting
death, and all shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air before the seven
years of the Tribulation. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 51-54;
Philippians 3:20, 21; Revelation 3:10.
We believe that the Tribulation, which follows the Rapture of the Church, will
be culminated by the revelation of Christ in power and great glory to sit upon
the throne of David and to establish the millennial kingdom. Daniel 9:25-27; Matthew
24:29-31; Luke 1:30-33; Isaiah 9:6, 7; 11:1-9; Acts 2:29, 30; Revelation 20:1-4,
6.
XVII. Civil Government
We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and
good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously
honored, and obeyed; except in those things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus
Christ Who is the only Lord of the conscience, and the coming King of kings. Romans
13:1-7; 2 Sam. 23:3; Exodus 18:21, 22; Acts 23:5; Matthew 22:21; Acts 5:29; 4:19,
20; Daniel 3:17, 18.
XX. The Righteous and the Wicked
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous
and the wicked; that only those who are justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ
and sanctified by the Spirit of our God are truly righteous in His esteem; while
all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked and under
the curse; and this distinction holds among men both in and after death, in the
everlasting felicity of the saved and the everlasting conscious suffering of the
lost in the lake of fire. Malachi 3:18; Genesis 18:23; Romans 6:17, 18; 1 John
5:19; Romans 7:6; 6:23; Proverbs 14:32; Luke 16:25; Matthew 25:34-41; John 8:21;
Revelation 20:14, 15.
The text from Our Beliefs was copied from the GARBC
Articles of Faith.
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