What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most
important thing about us." - A.W. Tozer
If you are interested in more information about what we believe, you can find additional details, along with supporting Scripture references, in the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message.
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The following are the core beliefs of Ringgold First Baptist Church based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.
God is the creator, ruler, and redeemer of the universe. There is only one God, and He has eternally existed in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God. God is all powerful, all knowing, eternal, and infinite and absolute in perfection. God the Father reigns with providential care over all of His creation with perfect power, love, wisdom, and judgment.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus became a man and was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless human life, and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all men by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to heaven’s glory and will return again to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son as God. He draws people to God through Jesus Christ and enables people to understand the truth. He comes to live in every Christian at the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power, understanding, guidance, gifts and abilities, comfort, conviction, and help for life and obedience to God. The Christian seeks to live under his control daily.
God made man in His image so that man would live in loving fellowship with God and be like him in character. Man is the supreme object of God’s creation. Every life is precious, possessing dignity and worthiness of respect and Christian love. Man’s relationship with God, however, is marred by an attitude of disobedience & by actions of disobedience toward God called “sin.” This attitude & corresponding actions separate man from God through spiritual death. God in His love and mercy sent His Son Jesus to save all who would believe in Him, and through Jesus God restores people into loving fellowship with Him.
Man was created to exist forever. He will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is hell. To be eternally in union with him is eternal life. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence. Each person will face God’s judgement after death and be assigned eternity in heaven or hell.
Salvation is an undeserved gift from God to man. The only way a person can be saved from sin into fellowship and life with God is to trust in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness and rescue from sin’s penalty. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his or her life by faith. Salvation comes by God’s grace through faith and not by the works of man.
The Bible is God’s word to all men. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without any mixture of error.
The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance given to all believers by Jesus Christ. Through it we remember His sacrificial death for us and anticipate His second coming. The elements of bread and wine are symbols of Christ’s broken body and shed blood. Communion is not a means of salvation but is a sacred testament of a believer’s faith in the atoning work of the cross and resurrection glory of Christ. It should be celebrated regularly (we celebrate the Lord’s Supper quarterly) with reverence and joy.
Baptism by immersion symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and a person’s participation in the work of Jesus through faith. Baptism is a visible declaration that one has accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Baptism does not save, but it shows the world that one has been saved. Baptism does not save, but it is a sacred act of faith commanded in Scripture which demonstrates one’s love for and obedience to Christ.
We believe that baptism is taught and demonstrated in Scripture as an act of faith on the part of the one being baptized. We therefore do not practice infant baptism but rather celebrate baptism with those who are able & willing by their own conscious volition to choose to believe in Jesus for salvation and eternal life. In keeping with the example set by Jesus upon His baptism we practice baptism by immersion.
We believe that faith in Jesus is what unites a person with God. In Christ, each and every Christian has free access to God and is invited to know Him, seek Him, and freely enjoy His presence and life personally. No one stands between a person and God to forbid, permit, or mediate access to Him other than Jesus Christ. Just as all have equal access to God through Christ, all are also equally called to serve Him. Though there are many different gifts, roles, callings, and activities we can employ to serve God, service to God is commanded to every believer and is not reserved for a special class of Christian.
We believe that leadership of the local church body is entrusted to the local church. While Baptists have long enjoyed strong associations and collaborations with other churches to advance God’s kingdom, the ultimate ruling authority over the local church is the local church congregation itself acting in obedience to the leadership of Jesus Christ who is the head of the church. The local church is the final authority on the interpretation of Scripture and matters of faith and practice.
Baptists believe in the urgency of man’s need for Jesus and the immediacy of Christ’s presence and power to save. Everything we do is done with great mindfulness of the command of Christ in the “Great Commission” to go unto all nations baptizing, making disciples, and teaching people to obey all that Christ has commanded. Every Christian has a responsibility to share the Gospel in word and deed.