We First Baptist Church of West, TX hold to the 1963 edition of the Baptist Faith and message.  Some of the main topics are addressed below.

I. THE SCRIPTURES

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of Gods revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. It reveals the principles by which God judges us; and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.

Ex 24:4; De 4:1-2; 17:19; Jos 8:34
Psa 19:7-10; 119:11, 89, 105, 140
Isa 34:16; 40:8; Jer 15:16; 36:1-32
Mat 5:17-18; 22:29; Lu 21:33; 24:44-46
Joh 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Ac 2:16; 17:11
Rom 15:4; 16:25-26; 2Ti 3:15-17
Heb 1:1-2; 4:12; 1Pe 1:25; 2Pe 1:19-21

 

II. GOD

There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.

The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

 

A. God the Father

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.

Gen 1:1; 2:7; Ex 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11; 20:1
Lev 22:2; De 6:4; 32:6; 1Ch 29:10; Psa 19:1-3
Isa 43:3, 15; 64:8; Jer 10:10; 17:13
Mat 6:9; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11
John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7
Rom 8:14-15; 1Co 8:6; Gal 4:6; Eph 4:6
Col 1:15; 1Ti 1:17; Heb 11:6; 12:9; 1Pe 1:17; 1Jo 5:7

B. God the Son

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ he was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself the demands and necessities of human nature and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, partaking of the nature of God and of man, and in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.

Gen 18:1; Psalm 2:7; 110:1; Isa 7:14; 53:1-12
Mat 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16, 27
Mat 17:5; 27; 28:1-6, 19; Mark 1:1; 3:11
Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46
John 1:1-18, 29; 10:30, 38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50
John 14:7-11, 16:15-16, 28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20, 28
Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5, 20
Rom 1; 3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3, 34; 10:4
1Co 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8, 24-28; 2Co 5:19-21
Gal 4:4-5; Eph 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Php 2:5-11
Col 1:13-22; 2:9; 1Th 4:14-18; 1Ti 2:5-6; 3:16
Tit 2:13-14; Heb 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28
Heb 9:12-15, 24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1Pe 2:21-25; 3:22
1Jo 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14- 15; 5:9; 2Jo 7-9
Rev 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16

C. God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts" by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the assurance of God to bring the believer into the fulness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

Gen 1:2; Jud 14:6; Job 26:13; Psa 51:11; 139:7
Isa 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32
Mat 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mk 1:10, 12
Luke 1:35; 4:1, 18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49
John 4:24; 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-14
Acts 1:8; 2:1-4, 38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17, 39 Acts 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6
Rom 8:9-11, 14-16, 26-27; 1Co 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11
Gal 4:6; Eph 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1Th 5:19
1Ti 3:16; 4:1; 2Ti 1:14; 3:16; Heb 9:8, 14
2Pe 1:21; 1Jo 4:13; 5:6-7; Rev 1:10; 22:17

III. MAN

Man was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence; whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin, and as soon as they are capable of moral action become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore every man possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

Gen 1:26-30; 2:5, 7, 18-22; 3; 9:6
Psa 1:1-6; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isa 6:5; Jer 17:5
Matt 16:26; Acts 17:26-31
Rom 1:19-32; 3:10-18, 23; 5:6, 12, 19; 6:6
Rom 7:14-25; 8:14-18, 29; 1Co 1:21-31; 15:19, 21-22
Eph 2:1-22; Col 1:21-22; 3:9-11

 

IV. SALVATION

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification.

A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of Gods grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.

Justification is Gods gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.

B. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to Gods purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual perfection through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate persons life.

C. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

Gen 3:15; Ex 3:14-17; 6:2-8
Mat 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6
Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32
John 1:11-14, 29; 3:3-21, 36; 5:24; 10:9, 28-29
John 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31
Acts 17:30-31; 20:32; Rom 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3
Rom 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18; 29-39; 10:9-10, 13
Rom 13:11-14; 1Cor 1:18, 30; 6:19-20; 15:10
2Co 5:17-20; Gal 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15
Eph 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:9-22; 3:1
1Th 5:23-24; 2Tim 1:12; Titus 2:11-14
Heb 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8, 14
James 2:14-26; 1Pe 1:2-23; 1Jo 1:6-2:11
Rev 3:20; 21:1-22:5

V. BAPTISM AND THE LORD'S SUPPER

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believers faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believers death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lords Supper.

The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

Mat 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mk 1:9-11; 14:22-26
Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23
Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7
Rom 6:3-5; 1Co 10:16, 21; 11:23-29; Col 2:12

VI. EVANGELISM AND MISSIONS

It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of mans spirit by Gods Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

Gen 12:1-3; Ex 19:5-6; Isa 6:1-8
Mat 9:37-38; 10:5-15; 13:18-30, 37-43; 16:19
Mat 22:9-10; 24:14; 28:18-20; Luke 10:1-18; 24:46-53
John 14:11-12; 15:7-8, 16; 17:15; 20:21
Acts 1:8; 2; 8:26-40; 10:42-48; 13:2-3
Rom 10:13-15; Eph 3:1-11; 1Th 1:8; 2Ti 4:5
Heb 2:1-3; 11:39-12:2; 1Pe 2:4-10; Rev 22:17

Click here to Read More of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message