The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's 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.
God
There is one and only one living and true God. …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.
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. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
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. …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.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. …He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. …He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
Man
Man was created by the special act of God, in His own image and is the crowning work of His creation. …By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. 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 person possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. God's Purpose of Grace Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. …All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.
The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. The New Testament also speaks of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages.
Baptism
The most common doctrinal questions received at FBC Sealy typically involve baptism. Followers of Jesus are intrigued by the differences found between denominations, and even more-so when comparing Evangelical practices to belief systems outside of Protestant/Evangelical traditions. For this reason, it is important to elaborate a bit more than the other areas of this page. Please read below:
We receive much of the practice and purpose for baptizing followers of Jesus from the Bible. Of many passages worth noting, Matthew 3:13-17 is a wonderful example to study: "Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
First, Jesus was of age. Other portions of the Gospel of Matthew and other Gospels substantiate the fact that Jesus Christ was a young adult at this point in time. Therefore, in addition to the other examples of baptism found in the New Testament, our church utilizes this example in our own practices. When someone desires to be baptized, it is important for our leadership to affirm their salvation and understanding of the meaning of baptism. In order for someone to desire to be "baptized," and for the leadership of the church to affirm their desire, the person must be capable of communicating their desire and the meaning of baptism. This desire is similar to the manner by which John and Jesus both revealed in the passage above.
Second, "...Jesus came up immediately from the water." This means that Jesus Christ, was baptized by immersion, or "dunked" under water. Not only was Christ immersed, but a valuable passage is buried in the midst of the discussion between Jesus and John the Baptist, "I need to be baptized by You, and you are coming to me?" John knew that he needed to be baptized by Jesus and he intended to utilize the same method or practice that Jesus utilized. For these reasons, our church utilizes this example and others in our own practice of baptism. Followers of Jesus asking to be baptized in order to publicly profess their faith, are immersed in water.
Baby Dedications
It is important to dedicate children unto the Lord. Parents, family, friends, and fellow church members should commit to pray for children as they are reared in a anti-Christian society. Our congregation typically celebrates baby dedications on or around Mother's Day each year. It is a special service, where parents are asked to stand at the front of our Worship Center with their child. The pastor prays for the child, and challenges the parents to commit to raising the child in a godly manner, while asking the congregation to commit to support and pray for the child.
If you are coming from another denomination, where perhaps infants or young children were "sprinkled" or "baptized," please spend time reading through this section of our "Beliefs." We are here to answer any questions or comments you might have.
Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members reflect upon the death of Jesus Christ, and anticipate His second coming. We believe this reflection is to involve two elements within the worship service, juice and crackers. The juice is grape juice, meaning it is not fermented. The crackers are made from unleavened bread. We conduct the Lord's Supper due to the emphasis placed on remembering Christ's sacrifice throughout Scripture. We believe the elements that are partaken during the Lord's Supper are symbolic of the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for the sin of the world and the flesh or body of Christ.
Evangelism & Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations... to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by all methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
The Lord's Day
The first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion.
Last Things
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly…the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell. The righteous will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
Stewardship
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debt to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions.
Marriage
We believe in the Biblical ordinance of marriage. Where one man and one woman commit themselves to each other forever. Biblical marriage is a picture of Jesus and the Church. It represents fidelity, commitment, sacrifice, joy, kindness, understanding and LOVE.