What We Believe

Mission Statement

The mission of First Presbyterian Church of Baton Rouge is to be a loving, caring congregation which bases its faith and life on the Scriptures and seeks to help others become devoted followers of Christ through prayer, friendship, invitation and witness.

What We Believe

Since 1827, First Presbyterian Church has joyfully affirmed Jesus Christ as Lord of all and Savior of sinners. So we believe in one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We affirm the Bible, the Word of God written, as our only infallible rule of faith and practice.

As part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, we interpret Scripture through the lens of the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms (modern language version, which can be found here. In the expression of our beliefs, we practice the motto of the EPC: In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity.

So, we live from the deep, main stream of what Christians in all times and places have affirmed. Succinctly, our church believes in the Essentials of the Faith as expressed by our denomination:

All Scripture is self-attesting and being truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God’s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. On this sure foundation we affirm these additional essentials of our faith.

1. We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To him be all honor, glory and praise forever!
2. Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through his miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and his virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day he arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, he now is our High Priest and Mediator.
3. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior, indwelling our hearts. He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption.
4. Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God’s free grace. God credits his righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, and thereby justifies them in his sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life.
5. The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity, where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting she awaits the return of her Lord.
6. Jesus Christ will come again to the earth personally, visibly and bodily—to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22: 20).”
7. The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to “him who loved us and gave himself for us.” He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2: 10).”

The Essentials are set forth in greater detail in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

We welcome questions about our beliefs. Theological conversations at our church are robust. We seek to engage the world in discussion of our glorious Lord Jesus.

Explanatory Statement to "Essentials of Our Faith"

The Westminster Confession of Faith is a confessional statement of orthodox Presbyterianism.

"Essentials of Our Faith" is an irenic statement of historic evangelicalism. Both the Westminster Confession of Faith and "Essentials of Our Faith" are important documents in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

Copied from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church website: www.epc.org.