Why I am a Baptist
Sometimes people ask why I am a Baptist and what does a Baptist believe. Are we Protestant? A resounding NO! But who are the Baptist and what do they believe? The great Preacher, Charles H. Sppurgeon said it well, "We believe the Baptist are the original Christians. We did not commence our exsistence at the Reformation; we were Reformers before Luther and Calvin were born. We never came from the Church of Rome, for we were never in it, but we have an unbroken line up to the apostles themselves. We have always existed from the very days of Christ, and our principles, sometimes veiled and forgotten, like a river which may travel underground for a little season, have always had honest and holy adherents. Persecuted alike by Romanists and Protestants of almost every sect, yet there has never existed a government holding Baptist principles which persecuted others; nor, I believe, any body of Baptists ever held it to be right to put the consciences of others under the control of man. We have ever been ready to suffer, as our martyrologies will prove, but we are not ready to accept any help from the state, to prostitue the purity of the bride of Christ to any alliance with the government, and we will never make the church, although the queen, the despot over the consciences of men."
Baptist Distinctives are often expressed by the acrostic “B-A-P-T-I-S-T-S”:
B – The Bible is Our Final Authority.
We are not bound by tradition, board decisions, papal decrees, or any other extra-biblical books. We take the BIBLE as our ONLY rule for faith and practice. We teach that the Scriptures are sufficient for ALL things and God has provided us with everything necessary to nurture and sustain spiritual life in the Scriptures. That means we are committed to teaching and to counseling directly and exclusively from the Word of God. We teach that secular psychology does not have any legitimate role in the sanctification of the believer. (2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 1:23; 2 Peter 1:20)
A – The Autonomy of the Local Church
Each church is self-governing and self-propagating. The church answers directly to Christ, the Head of the Church. (Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 5:13; Matthew 18:15)
P – The Priesthood of the Individual Believer
Each believer has direct access to God. A person must only go through one Mediator—the Man Jesus Christ. (1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 4:16)
T – Two Offices: Pastor and Deacon
We have two offices to administrate the Church: Pastor and Deacon. We do not have separate elders, bishops, or officers for church government. (1Timothy 3:1-13; Philippians 1:1)
I – Individual Soul Liberty (you have a free will)
We believe that the individual believer will only give an account to God for their own life before the Judgment Seat of Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; Romans 14:1-23; 1 John 2:27)
S – Saved Membership and Security of the Believer
We teach that church membership is limited to those who have publicly professed that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior, have obediently followed the Lord in Believer’s Baptism by immersion, and have evidenced true conversion by a changed life. We do not place infants on our membership list. Each member, regardless of age, must give a testimony of salvation by grace based on faith and not of works. Additionally, we believe that once saved, always saved; that the true believer can never lose their salvation. (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 10:28-29; Romans 8:29-35)
T – Two Ordinances—Baptism by Immersion and Communion
In Baptism by immersion, we publicly confess our commitment to Christ and declare our belief in the death, burial, and resurrection. As we partake in the Lord’s Table, we examine ourselves, publicly renew our commitment to Christ, and proclaim His death until He comes again. There are no sacraments—something that conveys saving grace. (Acts 2:41-47; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:14-16; Romans 6:3-5)
S – Separation of Church and State
The church is not separated from the state (she is active as a voice in policy-making decisions and should vote, etc.). The state is separated from the church and has no power to enforce unbiblical statutes upon the church or does it have the right to have a state-sponsored church. (Matthew 22:21; Romans 13:1-8; Acts 4:17-19)
The Five Marks of a True Biblical Christian Church
Throughout church history scholars and theologians have defined what a “true Christian” church is: For our purposes, we teach that there are five marks to a true Biblical church.
1. Preaching: a church is a group of believers meeting together on a regular basis where the preaching is Biblically centered and the church faithfully, without exception or apology, declares all that the Word of God teaches.
2. Ordinances: we teach that a true church administers the two New Testament Church Ordinances: Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Table as prescribed by scripture.
3. Church Discipline: we teach that the consistent exercise of church discipline (Matthew 18:15ff, 1Corinthians 5:1ff, etc.) reminds us that a sincere profession of faith in Christ is a wholehearted commitment to submit to the Word of God and to live a God honoring lifestyle. We hold to the conviction that members of a church agree to submit to one another’s reproof, correction, and instruction. We willingly uphold, defend, and submit to the government of Christ’s church as taught in the Word of God.
4. Corporate Worship: we teach that worship must be God-centered rather than man-centered. Our expressions of worship are regulated by Biblical principles, not by what is most entertaining. We sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs accompanied by the piano. Our pastor practices the expository method of Biblical preaching. We teach that Christians should meet together regularly for corporate worship and that the focus of those regularly scheduled meetings should be for the purpose of glorifying our Lord.
5. Discipleship: We teach that the commission of the church is to make disciples of people in all nations. We purpose to preach the gospel individually and corporately and wholeheartedly support world wide missionary endeavors with prayers and finances.
Baptist distinctives are those principles laid down in the Bible upon which a church ought to operate. As such they are not to be confused with a doctrinal statement. There are other churches that may hold too many of the same doctrines, but when it comes to the basic principles upon which our lives and our churches are governed, we do find some real Distinctives.
Baptist Distinctives are then those principles that are found in the Bible and have made us different from the other denominations. Baptist do not always call these various principles by the same name nor do they divide them at the same point; but, as to the content, there is agreement.
Baptist Distinctives are often expressed by the acrostic “B-A-P-T-I-S-T-S”:
B – The Bible is Our Final Authority.
We are not bound by tradition, board decisions, papal decrees, or any other extra-biblical books. We take the BIBLE as our ONLY rule for faith and practice. We teach that the Scriptures are sufficient for ALL things and God has provided us with everything necessary to nurture and sustain spiritual life in the Scriptures. That means we are committed to teaching and to counseling directly and exclusively from the Word of God. We teach that secular psychology does not have any legitimate role in the sanctification of the believer. (2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 1:23; 2 Peter 1:20)
A – The Autonomy of the Local Church
Each church is self-governing and self-propagating. The church answers directly to Christ, the Head of the Church. (Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 5:13; Matthew 18:15)
P – The Priesthood of the Individual Believer
Each believer has direct access to God. A person must only go through one Mediator—the Man Jesus Christ. (1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 4:16)
T – Two Offices: Pastor and Deacon
We have two offices to administrate the Church: Pastor and Deacon. We do not have separate elders, bishops, or officers for church government. (1Timothy 3:1-13; Philippians 1:1)
I – Individual Soul Liberty (you have a free will)
We believe that the individual believer will only give an account to God for their own life before the Judgment Seat of Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; Romans 14:1-23; 1 John 2:27)
S – Saved Membership and Security of the Believer
We teach that church membership is limited to those who have publicly professed that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior, have obediently followed the Lord in Believer’s Baptism by immersion, and have evidenced true conversion by a changed life. We do not place infants on our membership list. Each member, regardless of age, must give a testimony of salvation by grace based on faith and not of works. Additionally, we believe that once saved, always saved; that the true believer can never lose their salvation. (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 10:28-29; Romans 8:29-35)
T – Two Ordinances—Baptism by Immersion and Communion
In Baptism by immersion, we publicly confess our commitment to Christ and declare our belief in the death, burial, and resurrection. As we partake in the Lord’s Table, we examine ourselves, publicly renew our commitment to Christ, and proclaim His death until He comes again. There are no sacraments—something that conveys saving grace. (Acts 2:41-47; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:14-16; Romans 6:3-5)
S – Separation of Church and State
The church is not separated from the state (she is active as a voice in policy-making decisions and should vote, etc.). The state is separated from the church and has no power to enforce unbiblical statutes upon the church or does it have the right to have a state-sponsored church. (Matthew 22:21; Romans 13:1-8; Acts 4:17-19)
The Five Marks of a True Biblical Christian Church
Throughout church history scholars and theologians have defined what a “true Christian” church is: For our purposes, we teach that there are five marks to a true Biblical church.
1. Preaching: a church is a group of believers meeting together on a regular basis where the preaching is Biblically centered and the church faithfully, without exception or apology, declares all that the Word of God teaches.
2. Ordinances: we teach that a true church administers the two New Testament Church Ordinances: Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Table as prescribed by scripture.
3. Church Discipline: we teach that the consistent exercise of church discipline (Matthew 18:15ff, 1Corinthians 5:1ff, etc.) reminds us that a sincere profession of faith in Christ is a wholehearted commitment to submit to the Word of God and to live a God honoring lifestyle. We hold to the conviction that members of a church agree to submit to one another’s reproof, correction, and instruction. We willingly uphold, defend, and submit to the government of Christ’s church as taught in the Word of God.
4. Corporate Worship: we teach that worship must be God-centered rather than man-centered. Our expressions of worship are regulated by Biblical principles, not by what is most entertaining. We sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs accompanied by the piano. Our pastor practices the expository method of Biblical preaching. We teach that Christians should meet together regularly for corporate worship and that the focus of those regularly scheduled meetings should be for the purpose of glorifying our Lord.
5. Discipleship: We teach that the commission of the church is to make disciples of people in all nations. We purpose to preach the gospel individually and corporately and wholeheartedly support world wide missionary endeavors with prayers and finances.
Baptist distinctives are those principles laid down in the Bible upon which a church ought to operate. As such they are not to be confused with a doctrinal statement. There are other churches that may hold too many of the same doctrines, but when it comes to the basic principles upon which our lives and our churches are governed, we do find some real Distinctives.
Baptist Distinctives are then those principles that are found in the Bible and have made us different from the other denominations. Baptist do not always call these various principles by the same name nor do they divide them at the same point; but, as to the content, there is agreement.