Forward Baptist Church, Toronto

Glorify God. Grow in Christ. Go with the Gospel.

Contact Us
416.699.7156
info@forwardbaptist.com

Our Statement of Faith


Bible:
We believe the Bible to be the complete Word of God; that the sixty-six books, as originally written, comprising the Old and New Testaments were God-breathed and were entirely free from error; we believe that God, in His providence, ensured the  preservation of His Word so that that the Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice and the true basis of Christian union.

God: We believe in One God, Creator of all, holy, sovereign, eternal, existing in three equal Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit who have enjoyed perfect love and community for all of eternity.

God the Father: We believe in one God, the Father almighty who is over all and who sovereignly works through all and in all according to His purpose.  He shares the same divine essence as His Son and the Holy Spirit so that they are each fully God. We believe that He sent the Son to redeem the church, whom He chose and adopted to make them co-heirs with the Son and true children of the Father, blessing them with every blessing, and disciplining them, as a loving Father.

God the Son: We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  He shares the same divine essence as His Father and the Holy Spirit and is fully God.  We believe in His eternal existence with the Father and Holy Spirit in preincarnate glory.  We believe that He took on full humanity when He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin.  He lived a sinless life, died a substitutionary death, was resurrected bodily, and ascended triumphantly.  He is the head of the church and now sits at the right hand of the Father, mediating for His people until the day He returns to reign.

God the Holy Spirit: We believe in one Holy Spirit of God, who shares the same divine essence as the Father and the Son and is fully God.  We believe He is a person and not merely a force. The Spirit spoke through the prophets and apostles so the Scriptures are the very words of God.  He actively convinces of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement. He regenerates, indwells, and sanctifies those who put their faith in Jesus Christ.  He also illuminates, comforts, unifies, and gives gifts to those who believe in Jesus Christ.

Satan: We believe that Satan is a spirit being who is an evil personality, the originator of sin, the archenemy of God and humankind, whose eternal destiny in hell is certain.

Humanity: We believe that God created humanity in His own image to glorify and enjoy Him forever.  

We believe that because we were created in the image of God, we were created to work, to be creative, to care for and cultivate the earth.

We also believe that because we were made in the image of God, the value, dignity and personhood of human life comes from God; He knits us together in our mothers' wombs and numbers our days according to His will.

Furthermore, we believe that because we were created in the image of our Triune God, we were created for community.  Friendship and family reflect this reality, as does the unity and diversity of the local church. This is also reflected in gender differences between male and female and in the covenant relationship of marriage, where one man and one woman are joined together as husband and wife.  God created sexual activity to be practiced and enjoyed by a husband and wife in marriage to celebrate and deepen that union and for procreation. Therefore, sexual activity practiced outside of marriage is forbidden by God.

Sin: Sin was introduced into the world when Adam disobeyed God.  The result of this first sin is that all humanity is alienated from God; every aspect of their total being is depraved.  Humanity thereby incurred the condemnation of God, resulting in physical, spiritual and eternal death.

Salvation: We believe that salvation is by the sovereign, electing grace of God; that Christ voluntarily suffered a substitutionary death for sinners that completely satisfied God’s righteous demands; that justification is by faith alone in the all-sufficient sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and that those whom God has saved shall be divinely preserved and finally perfected in the image of the Lord.

Future Things: We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ; in the resurrection of the just and unjust; in the eternal blessedness in heaven of the redeemed and in the judgement and conscious, eternal punishment in hell of the wicked.

The Local Church: We believe that the church is a company of immersed believers, voluntarily associated for worship, instruction, fellowship, edification, evangelism and the observance of the ordinances. We believe it is an autonomous, independent body, under the Lordship of Christ, the Great Head of the church. Its Pastors and Board members are elected by the membership.

Ordinances: We believe there are only two ordinances for the church regularly observed in the New Testament and commanded by Christ:

1. Baptism which is the immersion in water, whereby a person publicly identifies with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.

2. The Lord’s Supper which is the memorial wherein the believer partakes of the two elements, the bread and the cup, which symbolize the Lord’s body and shed blood, proclaiming His death until He comes.

The Church And State: We believe in the entire separation of church and state.

Religious Liberty: We believe in religious liberty; that every person has the right to practice and propagate his beliefs.

The Lord’s Day: We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day and that it is the biblically normal day for corporate worship and spiritual exercise.

Civil Government: We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interest and good order of society; that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honoured and obeyed, except only in the things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience and Prince of the kings of the earth.