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I'm often asked, "What's a Baptist?" or "What's the difference between a Baptist church and other churches?" There are a number of characteristic beliefs that distinguish Baptists and similar churches from mainline denominations. The following is an acrostic commonly used in listing these beliefs. Clicking on an item will take you to a further discussion of that topic. Bible as sole rule of faith and practice Bible as sole rule of faith and practice. Stated another way, the Bible is the only authority for what we believe and how we live. The Bible is inspired by God - He directed the human authors to write exactly what was written. As such, it carries the full authority of God. At this time, there is no other means of direct revelation to us. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Autonomy of the local church Autonomy means "self governed". Our local churches do not answer to a higher board or establishment. Instead we elect or appoint our own leaders (based on Biblical guidelines). We do not look to outside sources for our financial support. Decisions affecting the church are made by it's leadership and members. The only outside spiritual power or authority we recognize is God Himself. Priesthood of the believer When an individual is saved, he or she instantly becomes a priest (1 Peter 2:5, Revelation 1:6). We now have direct access to God through our high priest and mediator, Jesus Christ (Hebrews contains much about this; note Hebrews 4:14-15, 8:1). No additional earthly priest is needed. We also serve as priests in offering sacrifice to God (such as our worship). Two ordinances: Baptism and the Lords Supper An ordinance does not save us or contribute to our salvation. It is simply a command to be obeyed. In the case of Baptism, we are instructed to be baptized after we have been saved. It is a picture of the death burial and resurrection of Christ. It also identifies us as followers of Jesus Christ. The manner of baptism is immersion - the Greek word translated "baptism" means to "dip" or "immerse". The Biblical record supports this in its examples of believers being baptized were there was "much water" (John 3:23) and in the statements that after being baptized they "came up out of the water" (Acts 8:38-39). The Lord's Supper is a memorial service for Jesus, instituted by Him shortly before the Crucifixion. The unleavened bread was to represent His broken body. The fresh wine (unfermented grape juice) represents His sinless blood. Observation of this memorial is for obedient Believers and focuses on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. It is intended to be kept until the Lord returns for us. Individual soul liberty We do not force our beliefs on anyone. We are each responsible for our response to God and His commandments. Saved, baptized church membership While we welcome all to our services, membership in a Baptist church is reserved for those who have been saved and baptized (Acts 2:41). The typical process is that an individual makes a public profession of their faith, they are baptized, and then are voted into the local church by the existing members. Two offices: Pastor and Deacon The Bible lists two offices in the local church. Passages detailing the qualifications are found in Acts 6, I Timothy 3 and Titus 1, with supporting references throughout the New Testament. The Pastor is the under shepherd (Christ being the Shepherd). This refers to his responsibility to guide the "flock" of the local church. There are several other titles given to this position, each revealing the roles and responsibilities of this man. Deacons are servants who are responsible to free the Pastor to focus on ministry. When the office was established in the book of Acts (chapter 6), it was to meet the needs of the widows in the church. The deacons were to oversee the distribution of food to the widows so that the apostles could focus on preaching. While needs in current churches are not identical to those of the early church, the continued roll of deacon should be to meet the temporal needs of the church in order to allow the Pastor to devote his time to preaching. For example, our deacons oversee areas of need such as maintenance, Christian education, special ministries, and accounting. In addition, they serve with the Pastor in an advisory capacity. Security of the Believer When an individual is saved from sin and hell, that person is kept by the power of God. If a person is truly saved, that status cannot be taken away or lost. This is the case because our salvation and its security depend totally on God and not at all on us. We have no power to save ourselves, nor to remove ourselves from God's hand. We are kept by that power. He who begins this work will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. The Bible refers to us as having been adopted when we are saved.
We are made heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:15-17).
That family relationship is never in jeopardy, again because God
is faithful and in control. When an individual is saved, the Bible says that they HAVE (present tense) everlasting life. We cannot lose something unending (otherwise it is not unending)! Separation of church and state This statement has been abused greatly in recent years, but we refer to the concept as it was originally intended: the state does not have the authority to establish a state religion or to interfere with the lawful observation of religion. |