What We Believe

The Foundation of our Beliefs

The bylaws of the First Baptist Church of Morehead, Kentucky affirm the following:

  • The Greatest Commandment

    • (i) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and (ii) love your neighbor as yourself.

  • The Scriptures

    • The Holy Bible is divinely inspired by God and is the foundation of our beliefs.

  • The Church

    • We voluntarily band ourselves together as a body of baptized followers of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, and commit to sharing his Good News of God’s grace for all.

The Four Fragile Freedoms of The Baptist Tradition

Our history and polity (how the church is organized and makes decisions) are rooted in the Baptist tradition. But what does that mean?

Unlike many Christian denominations, Baptists are not unified through a central governing authority. Baptists do not have an equivalent to the Pope. What we have are four freedoms that we piece together to create our distinctively Baptist identity:

Bible Freedom

The Bible is foundational to us as individuals and as a congregation. Every Christian has the freedom and right to interpret and apply Scripture under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The wisdom and counsel of the larger congregation should nurture individual believers as they seek to interpret and apply Scripture.

Soul Freedom

We are each accountable to God individually without the imposition of creed or the control of clergy or government. This personal experience with God is indispensable to the Christian life and necessary for a vital church. This is sometimes described as the "priesthood of all believers."

Church Freedom

Baptist churches are free, under the Lordship of Christ, to determine their membership, leadership, doctrine and practice. This is sometimes known as "autonomy of the local church." Individual churches should work together to achieve goals that one church by itself could not reach.

Religious Freedom

Everyone should be able to worship (or not) as they feel led without unnecessary interference by the government. Just as religious freedom involves the freedom to practice religion, it also includes the freedom not to practice religion. If you can't say "no," your "yes" is meaningless. The separation of church and state affords an important constitutional protection of religious freedom for all. 

Resources:

Walter B. Shurden, The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc.), 1993.

"What is religious liberty?" The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. http://bjconline.org/religiousliberty/.

"Baptist Identity Introduction," Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. June 2017. https://vimeo.com/223198709

The Creeds of the Christian Tradition

Baptists aren’t always known as lovers of creeds. Throughout our history, we’ve tended to emphasize the authority of Scripture itself rather than requiring formal confessions for church membership. In that same spirit, First Baptist does not ask new members to recite or officially affirm any creed in order to belong.

At the same time, we also recognize that the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed are rich, time-tested summaries of the Christian faith that have shaped the Church for centuries. These two confessions are embraced across many Christian traditions, and most members and regular attenders of First Baptist would gladly affirm the truths they proclaim. They help us stand in line with the great cloud of witnesses who have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord throughout the ages.

As you read them, you’ll notice the phrase “the holy catholic Church.” In these historic creeds, “catholic” simply means “universal”—the whole, worldwide body of Christ—and does not refer to the Roman Catholic Church.

We offer these creeds not as requirements, but as beautiful expressions of the faith Christians have cherished for generations, and as reminders that we are part of something larger, older, and deeper than ourselves.

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God,

the Father almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,

the Only Begotten Son of God,

born of the Father before all ages.

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;

through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation

he came down from heaven,

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,

and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,

he suffered death and was buried,

and rose again on the third day

in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead

and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins

and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God,

the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried;

he descended into hell;

on the third day he rose again from the dead;

he ascended into heaven,

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and life everlasting.

Amen.