What we believe
BFCF is an evangelical church that is committed to preserving, promoting, and defending God’s revelation of biblical truth as recorded in the inspired writing of the Old and New Testaments and as understood in historic Christian orthodoxy.
The commitment is entrusted to the Elders of this church, who embrace and defend this body of truth as reflected in the Articles of Faith and in the Distinctive Beliefs of this church. All Elders, wholeheartedly and without reservation, agree with both of these documents. All Deacons, teachers, other church ministry leaders and guest speakers wholeheartedly and without reservation agree with the Articles of Faith and agree not to teach contrary to or knowingly contradict the Distinctive Beliefs. All BFCF Partners shall wholeheartedly and without reservation agree with the Articles of Faith.
What follows is an excerpt from the BFCF Constitution.
The commitment is entrusted to the Elders of this church, who embrace and defend this body of truth as reflected in the Articles of Faith and in the Distinctive Beliefs of this church. All Elders, wholeheartedly and without reservation, agree with both of these documents. All Deacons, teachers, other church ministry leaders and guest speakers wholeheartedly and without reservation agree with the Articles of Faith and agree not to teach contrary to or knowingly contradict the Distinctive Beliefs. All BFCF Partners shall wholeheartedly and without reservation agree with the Articles of Faith.
What follows is an excerpt from the BFCF Constitution.
Articles of Faith
The Articles of Faith is a statement of essential biblical truths that this church considers necessary for the effective functioning of and Partnership in this local congregation.
Scripture
The Bible in its entirety is alone the inspired written Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16).
God
God, perfect in His love, holiness and glory, is the Creator of all things (Gen. 1 & 2; Rev. 4:11). He exists eternally in three Persons-- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19; Lk. 3:21-22; 2 Cor. 13:14).
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully human (Heb. 1:3; Lk. 1:30-35; Jn. 1:1,14).
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a Person and is fully God (Acts 5:3-4). He indwells and is at work in all believers (Rom. 8:1-16; 1 Cor. 3:16).
Mankind
Created by God in His image, mankind has fallen into sin and become sinners separated from God, under the penalty of death, and unable to save themselves (Gen. 1:26; Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:1-5).
The Death and Resurrection of Christ
Jesus Christ demonstrated God’s perfect love and satisfied His justice by dying on the cross and shedding His blood to pay the penalty for sin; He was raised bodily from the dead on the third day (Heb. 9:11-15; 1 Jn. 4:9-10; 1 Cor. 15:3-4).
Salvation
Sinful man is spiritually dead and needs to be born again (Jn. 3:3-8). Salvation, which provides the forgiveness of sin, is a free gift of God’s grace, available to all who repent and place their personal trust in Christ and His work on the cross (Eph. 2:8-9). To those who believe on His name, Jesus guarantees the eternal blessedness of a place in the Father’s home in heaven (Jn. 1:12; 3:16; 5:24-25; 14:2, 19).
Return of Christ
Christ will one day return to earth in glory (Acts 1:11; 2 Thess. 1:10).
Scripture
The Bible in its entirety is alone the inspired written Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16).
God
God, perfect in His love, holiness and glory, is the Creator of all things (Gen. 1 & 2; Rev. 4:11). He exists eternally in three Persons-- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19; Lk. 3:21-22; 2 Cor. 13:14).
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully human (Heb. 1:3; Lk. 1:30-35; Jn. 1:1,14).
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a Person and is fully God (Acts 5:3-4). He indwells and is at work in all believers (Rom. 8:1-16; 1 Cor. 3:16).
Mankind
Created by God in His image, mankind has fallen into sin and become sinners separated from God, under the penalty of death, and unable to save themselves (Gen. 1:26; Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:1-5).
The Death and Resurrection of Christ
Jesus Christ demonstrated God’s perfect love and satisfied His justice by dying on the cross and shedding His blood to pay the penalty for sin; He was raised bodily from the dead on the third day (Heb. 9:11-15; 1 Jn. 4:9-10; 1 Cor. 15:3-4).
Salvation
Sinful man is spiritually dead and needs to be born again (Jn. 3:3-8). Salvation, which provides the forgiveness of sin, is a free gift of God’s grace, available to all who repent and place their personal trust in Christ and His work on the cross (Eph. 2:8-9). To those who believe on His name, Jesus guarantees the eternal blessedness of a place in the Father’s home in heaven (Jn. 1:12; 3:16; 5:24-25; 14:2, 19).
Return of Christ
Christ will one day return to earth in glory (Acts 1:11; 2 Thess. 1:10).
Distinctive Beliefs
It is our conviction that genuine biblical unity must be founded in truth (Eph. 4:1-6, 14-15) and that purity of doctrine always be expressed with love for one another (1 Cor. 13). It is our conviction that in order to facilitate the unity and healthy functioning of a local church, and in order to avoid lengthy debates about these matters, it is important to clarify the distinctive beliefs that this church is committed to preserve and promote.
The Distinctive Beliefs are designed to be a pastoral tool to assist the Elders in their leadership and to clarify for the congregation the particular identity of this local church.
The Scriptures
We affirm that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are in their entirety the verbally inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original manuscripts, and the infallible authority for Christian faith and practice (2 Tim. 3: 16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).
The Godhead
We affirm that God exists eternally in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that these are nonetheless one in essence, sharing the same perfections and attributes. (Mt. 28:18-19; 2 Cor. 13:14).
God the Father
We affirm that God the Father is the Creator of all things (Gen. 1 & 2; Rev. 4:11), the sovereign Ruler of the universe (Isa. 40:13-17; Eph. 1:11), and the author of the eternal plan for the salvation of mankind (Eph. 3:11). He is the Father of the Son of God, Jesus Christ (Jn. 3:16), and of those who place their faith in Christ (Gal. 3:26).
Jesus Christ
We affirm the Son is fully God, possessing all of the attributes of deity (Col. 1:15-19), and being eternally co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit in glory and majesty.
We affirm that God the Son became fully human as well in Jesus of Nazareth, having been born of the virgin Mary (Lk. 1:30-35; Jn. 1:14; Gal. 4:4).
We affirm that in the incarnation Jesus Christ in no way ceased to be God.
We affirm that Jesus Christ was born without sin, lived a completely sinless life on earth (Heb. 4:15), died on the cross for sin (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24), and rose bodily from the dead on the third day (Lk. 24; 1 Cor. 15:4-20). He ascended into heaven, from where He reigns until His return (Acts 1:9-11; 7:55).
The Holy Spirit
We affirm that the Holy Spirit is fully God (Mt. 28:19; Jn. 14:16-17; Acts 5:3-4)
We affirm that the Holy Spirit inspired the human authors of Scripture to deliver God’s revelation to man (2 Pet. 1:21; Jn. 16:13) in written form, and that this ministry ceased with the end of the apostolic era and the completion of the New Testament writings.
We affirm that the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to glorify Christ (Jn. 16:14) by convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (Jn. 16:8-11), by regenerating and subsequently indwelling those who trust in Jesus Christ for salvation (Jn. 3:3-6; Titus 3:5; 1 Jn. 4:13; 1 Cor. 6:19; Gal 4:6), by baptizing believers into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-13), by enabling believers to have victory over sin (Rom. 8:2-4) and to build up the church (1 Cor. 12:12-27), and by illumining the minds of believers in order that they might understand spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:12-15).
We affirm that every believer has full access to the sanctifying ministry of the Holy Spirit from the moment of salvation (Rom. 8:9-16). This ministry involves the empowering of the believer for the life of growing godliness and good works (Rom. 8:1-17; Gal 5:22-23) in obedience to the Scriptures.
Mankind
We affirm that mankind was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27; James 3:9).
We affirm that Adam sinned by disobeying God’s command in the garden of Eden, thereby bringing all mankind under condemnation and the sentence of death (Rom. 5:12-14). Because of Adam’s sin, all people are born sinners by nature (Rom. 5:19), are alienated from God, and can do nothing to save themselves from His just judgment (Rom. 1:18-23; Eph. 2:1-5).
We affirm the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost; those that are saved to the resurrection of life and those that are lost to the resurrection of condemnation and judgment (Jn. 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; 1 Cor. 15:12-49; Rev. 20:12-13).
Salvation
We affirm that Jesus Christ died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for sin (Isa. 53:4-12; Mk. 10:45; Rom. 5:8; 1 Pet. 2:24). On the merits of this payment for sin, all who repent and trust personally in Jesus Christas Savior are justified and declared righteous in God’s sight (Rom. 3:21-22, 26-28; 2 Cor. 7:10; 2 Pet. 3:9), forgiven of all their sins (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14), adopted as sons into God’s family (Eph. 1:5; Gal 3:26), and giveneternal life (Jn. 3:16; 1 Pet. 1:3-5).
We affirm that because of his fallen nature, man is totally unable to save himself (Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:1-5); redemption has been accomplished solely by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and shedding of His blood (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Heb. 9; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 Jn. 1:7). Salvation is bestowed as a free gift of God’s sovereign grace, totally apart from any personal merit, on the basis of faith alone (Rom. 3:24; 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5,7).
We affirm that every child of God may enjoy the assurance of personal salvation (1 Jn. 5:10-13).
We affirm as well God’s gracious perseverance with those whom He has brought to salvation so that the good work of grace thus begun within them will ultimately be brought to completion (Jn. 5:24; 6:35-44; 10:27-29; 1 Cor. 1:8; Phil. 1:6; 2 Thess 3:3).
The Church
We affirm that Christ’s supreme purpose in this age of grace is to build His church, the Body of Christ (Mt. 16:18; Eph. 4:1-16; 5:25, 27) and thus glorify Himself.
We affirm that at the moment of salvation every believer is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12: 12-13; Col. 1:24) and receives in Christ all that is needed for godly living (2 Pet 1:3).
We affirm that the local church is a divinely-instituted manifestation of the universal Body of Christ, and that it exists for the purposes of assembling together for worship, instruction in the Word of God, prayer, and mutual edification; practicing the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper; and evangelizing its neighbors and all the world (Heb. 10:24-25; Acts 2:41-42; Mt. 28: 18-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-28).
We affirm that the local church is to be constantly striving towards unity in truth and in love; the goal of unity should be served by the teaching, care ministries, fellowship, and discipline within the body (Eph. 4:1-16; Phil. 2:1,2; Col. 3:12-16).
We affirm that the New Testament pattern for the local church includes godly leadership taken from that congregation: a plurality of Elders, to whom is entrusted the doctrinal and shepherding oversight of the body (Acts 20:28; Titus 1:9; 1 Pet. 5:1-3); and a plurality of Deacons, to whom various functions of compassionate service are delegated (Acts 6:1-6; Phil. 1:1).
Satan
We affirm that Satan or, as he also is called in the New Testament, the Devil (Mt. 16:23; 1 Pet. 5:8) is a created and fallen angel (Lk. 10:18; Rev. 20:2), who as ruler of this world (Jn. 14:30), leads all evil against God and Mankind and all that is good and holy. Having been created, Satan has great but limited power and was defeated completely at the cross, where Christ finally and publicly triumphed over him (Mt. 4:1; Lk. 22:31; Jn. 16:11; 17:15; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2-6; 6:11-12).
We affirm that there is coming a time, at the last day, when Satan’s final defeat will take place, and his ultimate condemnation and punishment will be sealed forever in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:10).
Angels
We affirm that there is a special order of created beings, called angels, who belong to the heavenly court, surrounding the Holy Throne of God and serving Him as servants, messengers, ministering spirits, and agents of worship (Ps. 103:20; Isa. 6:1-3; Mt. 4:11; 28:2; Lk. 1:26-37; Heb. 1:14; Rev. 5:11).
We affirm that when Satan fell, he took a host of these fallen angels with him, who are called in the Bible, evil spirits or demons (Mk. 5:2; Lk. 7:21; Jas. 2:19) and serve him by entering people, controlling affairs and warring against God and His Church (Mk. 5:1-20; 1 Cor. 10:20). However, as in the case of their master, Satan, Christ has obtained victory on the cross over all ungodly powers of this world and no evil spirit can stand against Jesus’ name but will join the Devil in the eternal fire that awaits them (Mt. 25:41; Eph. 6:10-18).
Last Things
We affirm that the Lord Jesus Christ will one day return bodily to the earth in great glory to establish His reign over creation (Acts 1:11; 2 Thess. 1:10).
We affirm that every believer will spend eternity in heaven in the presence of God, and that rewards will be given or withheld on the basis of the believer’s service to Christ while on earth (1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:10). We affirm that unbelievers will spend eternity in hell, separated from God in conscious torment (Rev. 20:10-15).
The Distinctive Beliefs are designed to be a pastoral tool to assist the Elders in their leadership and to clarify for the congregation the particular identity of this local church.
The Scriptures
We affirm that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are in their entirety the verbally inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original manuscripts, and the infallible authority for Christian faith and practice (2 Tim. 3: 16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).
The Godhead
We affirm that God exists eternally in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that these are nonetheless one in essence, sharing the same perfections and attributes. (Mt. 28:18-19; 2 Cor. 13:14).
God the Father
We affirm that God the Father is the Creator of all things (Gen. 1 & 2; Rev. 4:11), the sovereign Ruler of the universe (Isa. 40:13-17; Eph. 1:11), and the author of the eternal plan for the salvation of mankind (Eph. 3:11). He is the Father of the Son of God, Jesus Christ (Jn. 3:16), and of those who place their faith in Christ (Gal. 3:26).
Jesus Christ
We affirm the Son is fully God, possessing all of the attributes of deity (Col. 1:15-19), and being eternally co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit in glory and majesty.
We affirm that God the Son became fully human as well in Jesus of Nazareth, having been born of the virgin Mary (Lk. 1:30-35; Jn. 1:14; Gal. 4:4).
We affirm that in the incarnation Jesus Christ in no way ceased to be God.
We affirm that Jesus Christ was born without sin, lived a completely sinless life on earth (Heb. 4:15), died on the cross for sin (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24), and rose bodily from the dead on the third day (Lk. 24; 1 Cor. 15:4-20). He ascended into heaven, from where He reigns until His return (Acts 1:9-11; 7:55).
The Holy Spirit
We affirm that the Holy Spirit is fully God (Mt. 28:19; Jn. 14:16-17; Acts 5:3-4)
We affirm that the Holy Spirit inspired the human authors of Scripture to deliver God’s revelation to man (2 Pet. 1:21; Jn. 16:13) in written form, and that this ministry ceased with the end of the apostolic era and the completion of the New Testament writings.
We affirm that the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to glorify Christ (Jn. 16:14) by convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (Jn. 16:8-11), by regenerating and subsequently indwelling those who trust in Jesus Christ for salvation (Jn. 3:3-6; Titus 3:5; 1 Jn. 4:13; 1 Cor. 6:19; Gal 4:6), by baptizing believers into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-13), by enabling believers to have victory over sin (Rom. 8:2-4) and to build up the church (1 Cor. 12:12-27), and by illumining the minds of believers in order that they might understand spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:12-15).
We affirm that every believer has full access to the sanctifying ministry of the Holy Spirit from the moment of salvation (Rom. 8:9-16). This ministry involves the empowering of the believer for the life of growing godliness and good works (Rom. 8:1-17; Gal 5:22-23) in obedience to the Scriptures.
Mankind
We affirm that mankind was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27; James 3:9).
We affirm that Adam sinned by disobeying God’s command in the garden of Eden, thereby bringing all mankind under condemnation and the sentence of death (Rom. 5:12-14). Because of Adam’s sin, all people are born sinners by nature (Rom. 5:19), are alienated from God, and can do nothing to save themselves from His just judgment (Rom. 1:18-23; Eph. 2:1-5).
We affirm the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost; those that are saved to the resurrection of life and those that are lost to the resurrection of condemnation and judgment (Jn. 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; 1 Cor. 15:12-49; Rev. 20:12-13).
Salvation
We affirm that Jesus Christ died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for sin (Isa. 53:4-12; Mk. 10:45; Rom. 5:8; 1 Pet. 2:24). On the merits of this payment for sin, all who repent and trust personally in Jesus Christas Savior are justified and declared righteous in God’s sight (Rom. 3:21-22, 26-28; 2 Cor. 7:10; 2 Pet. 3:9), forgiven of all their sins (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14), adopted as sons into God’s family (Eph. 1:5; Gal 3:26), and giveneternal life (Jn. 3:16; 1 Pet. 1:3-5).
We affirm that because of his fallen nature, man is totally unable to save himself (Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:1-5); redemption has been accomplished solely by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and shedding of His blood (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Heb. 9; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 Jn. 1:7). Salvation is bestowed as a free gift of God’s sovereign grace, totally apart from any personal merit, on the basis of faith alone (Rom. 3:24; 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5,7).
We affirm that every child of God may enjoy the assurance of personal salvation (1 Jn. 5:10-13).
We affirm as well God’s gracious perseverance with those whom He has brought to salvation so that the good work of grace thus begun within them will ultimately be brought to completion (Jn. 5:24; 6:35-44; 10:27-29; 1 Cor. 1:8; Phil. 1:6; 2 Thess 3:3).
The Church
We affirm that Christ’s supreme purpose in this age of grace is to build His church, the Body of Christ (Mt. 16:18; Eph. 4:1-16; 5:25, 27) and thus glorify Himself.
We affirm that at the moment of salvation every believer is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12: 12-13; Col. 1:24) and receives in Christ all that is needed for godly living (2 Pet 1:3).
We affirm that the local church is a divinely-instituted manifestation of the universal Body of Christ, and that it exists for the purposes of assembling together for worship, instruction in the Word of God, prayer, and mutual edification; practicing the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper; and evangelizing its neighbors and all the world (Heb. 10:24-25; Acts 2:41-42; Mt. 28: 18-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-28).
We affirm that the local church is to be constantly striving towards unity in truth and in love; the goal of unity should be served by the teaching, care ministries, fellowship, and discipline within the body (Eph. 4:1-16; Phil. 2:1,2; Col. 3:12-16).
We affirm that the New Testament pattern for the local church includes godly leadership taken from that congregation: a plurality of Elders, to whom is entrusted the doctrinal and shepherding oversight of the body (Acts 20:28; Titus 1:9; 1 Pet. 5:1-3); and a plurality of Deacons, to whom various functions of compassionate service are delegated (Acts 6:1-6; Phil. 1:1).
Satan
We affirm that Satan or, as he also is called in the New Testament, the Devil (Mt. 16:23; 1 Pet. 5:8) is a created and fallen angel (Lk. 10:18; Rev. 20:2), who as ruler of this world (Jn. 14:30), leads all evil against God and Mankind and all that is good and holy. Having been created, Satan has great but limited power and was defeated completely at the cross, where Christ finally and publicly triumphed over him (Mt. 4:1; Lk. 22:31; Jn. 16:11; 17:15; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2-6; 6:11-12).
We affirm that there is coming a time, at the last day, when Satan’s final defeat will take place, and his ultimate condemnation and punishment will be sealed forever in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:10).
Angels
We affirm that there is a special order of created beings, called angels, who belong to the heavenly court, surrounding the Holy Throne of God and serving Him as servants, messengers, ministering spirits, and agents of worship (Ps. 103:20; Isa. 6:1-3; Mt. 4:11; 28:2; Lk. 1:26-37; Heb. 1:14; Rev. 5:11).
We affirm that when Satan fell, he took a host of these fallen angels with him, who are called in the Bible, evil spirits or demons (Mk. 5:2; Lk. 7:21; Jas. 2:19) and serve him by entering people, controlling affairs and warring against God and His Church (Mk. 5:1-20; 1 Cor. 10:20). However, as in the case of their master, Satan, Christ has obtained victory on the cross over all ungodly powers of this world and no evil spirit can stand against Jesus’ name but will join the Devil in the eternal fire that awaits them (Mt. 25:41; Eph. 6:10-18).
Last Things
We affirm that the Lord Jesus Christ will one day return bodily to the earth in great glory to establish His reign over creation (Acts 1:11; 2 Thess. 1:10).
We affirm that every believer will spend eternity in heaven in the presence of God, and that rewards will be given or withheld on the basis of the believer’s service to Christ while on earth (1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:10). We affirm that unbelievers will spend eternity in hell, separated from God in conscious torment (Rev. 20:10-15).