Highland Park First Baptist Church
subscribes to the beliefs of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. These beliefs
are best summarized in the acrostic B-A-P-T-I-S-T.

B-Born
again theology:

Every member of Highland Park publicly confesses Jesus Christ to be their
personal Lord and Savior. (2 Corinthians 5:17-20 & Romans 10:9-10)

A- Autonomy of the Local Church:

Highland Park FBC is guided by the leading of the Holy Spirit as revealed in
God’s Word. It is the responsibility of the congregation to go the Bible, not a
presbytery or council of bishops to understand what God wills for his church.
(Acts 2:41-47 & Ephesians 1:22-23)

P- Priesthood of the Believer:

Since each member of HPFBC has professed Jesus as both Savior and Lord, each
member has the privileged pray directly to the Lord for forgiveness of sin.
There is no need for a priest, for each Christian can approach God’s throne of
grace with confidence. (Hebrews 9:12-15;24-28)

T-Teaching and training through small groups:

Simply stated, this is true discipleship. A life lived obediently to Christ
does not start and stop with a publicly profession of faith. This is only the
beginning, for discipleship is the process of learning and living out God’s
word with the goal of becoming more like Jesus with each passing day.
(Ephesians 2:10 & 4:11-16)

I-Immersion Baptism by Immersion):

Scripture clearly teaches that although Salvation is a personal decision, that
decision does not remain private. Through participation of the ordinance of
baptism (and the Lord’s Supper), we public display the inward change brought by
God’s grace. We firmly believe baptism by complete immersion is the correct,
biblical model, and our firm conviction in the ordinance is the very
distinction from which our name ‘Baptist’ has been coined. (Matthew 28:19-20
& Romans 6:3-5)

S-Security of the Believer:

If one Truly believes Jesus as Savior, he or she has never to wonder if
Salvation will be granted after death. Though not a license to live in
disobedience to the Lord, God’s word allows us to rest knowing that we will
remain a child of God for eternity. (John 10:27-29 & Romans 5:9-10)

T-Testimony:

Through God’s grace every Christian has a story to share of how the Lord
revealed His love to them personally. It is then our responsibility to share
that story with other, hoping that God will use our witness for Christ to allow
other to realize their need for Him. We witness not only through our words, but
through how we live in our work places, worship, leisure time, and in our
families.