The Person And Work Of Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Acts 2:18-36 Rom. 3:24-25 Eph. 1:7 1 Pet. 1:3-5 1 Pet. 2:24
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate.
Basic Southern Baptist Beliefs
Southern Baptists view the Bible as the ultimate authority in shaping a person’s life. It is God’s divinely inspired revelation of himself to man. It is true, trustworthy, and without error.
Baptism: A primary Baptist distinction is their practice of adult believer’s baptism and their rejection of infant baptism. Baptism is an ordinance for believers only, by immersion only, and as a symbolic act, not having any power in itself. The act of baptism pictures what Christ has done for the believer in his death, burial, resurrection. Likewise, it portrays what Christ has done through the new birth, enabling death to the old life of sin and newness of life to walk in. Baptism gives testimony to salvation already received it is not a requisite for salvation. It is an act of obedience to Jesus Christ.
Church Authority: Each Southern Baptist church is autonomous, operating under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. Each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Church officers are pastors and deacons.
Because of the congregational style of governance, Baptist churches often vary significantly, especially in the following areas:
Communion: The Lord’s Supper memorializes the death of Christ.
Heaven and Hell: Southern Baptists believe in a real heaven and hell. Those who have been saved will live eternally in the presence of God in heaven, and those who die without being saved will go to hell.
Baptists: What Makes A Baptist A Baptist
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone whoasks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect I Peter 3:15 NIV
I just believe in being a ChristianI dont want to be part of a denomination. Have you ever heard a statement such as this? It seems very pious, but it makes it sound like there is something wrong with being part of a denomination of Christians.
What Is a Denomination?
Sometimes people do not distinguish between a denomination and a religious organization. Denomination describes a set of beliefs and practices held in common by a group of persons. Denominations usually develop various organizations to help fulfill the values and beliefs of the denomination, but the organizations are not the denomination, they are just an expression of it. For example, the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist World Alliance are not separate denominations they are organizations within the Baptist denomination.
Although some people feel that it would be ideal if all Christians held exactly the same beliefs and followed the same practices, that is not the way it isand never has been. From the beginning of the Christian movement, various opinions have existed about different matters such as the nature of the church, the way of salvation and the meaning of baptism.
What Makes Baptists Distinctive?
The Baptist Recipe
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Baptists Are Traditionally Strong Believers In Biblical Authority
Since the origins of the church, Baptists have said the Bible is the only authority for Christian faith and practice. Baptists believe that the Bible is the only authority because it is divinely inspired or has a divine nature.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 is an oft-cited example of why Baptists believe strongly in the Bible. The verses say, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The Holy Spirit inspired the Bible and empowered men to record the truth about God and give directives on how to apply the Bible to the Christian life. Some Baptist churches may disagree on certain practices, but many say the Bible is their sole authority.
Controversies That Have Shaped Baptists
Baptists have faced many controversies in their 400-year history, controversies of the level of crises. Baptist historian Walter Shurden says the word crisis comes from the Greek word meaning ‘to decide.’ Shurden writes that contrary to the presumed negative view of crises, some controversies that reach a crisis level may actually be “positive and highly productive.” He claims that even schism, though never ideal, has often produced positive results. In his opinion crises among Baptists each have become decision-moments that shaped their future. Some controversies that have shaped Baptists include the “missions crisis”, the “slavery crisis”, the “landmark crisis”, and the “modernist crisis”.
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Guidelines For Beliefs And Practice
Queensland Baptists recognise that every local church has liberty to interpret and implement Christianity within the constraints of the Word of God. The following Statement of Belief is an outline of what, according to general agreement, Queensland Baptists do believe that the Bible teaches.
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He is absolutely holy, infinitely good, great, all powerful, all present, all knowing. God is eternal. He eternally exists in three persons: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. This Holy Trinity is a union of these three co-equal Persons in one god-head. The one triune God created the heavens and the earth and all that exists in them. He continues to care for and govern His creation, working out His sovereign purposes for all that He has made.
2. About God the Father
The Fatherhood of the First Person of the Trinity is eternal. He has always had a Son and the relationship of Father to Son is from eternity, and not only due to the Second Person of the Trinity becoming incarnate. Their Fatherhood and Sonship are the source from which we derive our approximations to fatherhood and sonship in our human relationships. Our being made in the image of God enables humanity to partially reflect Gods eternal Fatherhood. God the Father is spirit and has never been incarnate but nonetheless has always been immanent in the actions of both God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
4. About the Holy Spirit
5. About the Bible
6. About People
The Baptist Church Started In The 17th Century In America
In America, a former member of the Church of England, Roger Williams, separated from officials in the Massachusetts Bay Colony over his belief about church functions. In 1638, he founded the first Baptist church in America in uncolonized Rhode Island. Also in Rhode Island, Englishman John Clarke founded a Baptist church around the same time. The two men later received a charter from King Charles II guaranteeing religious freedom in Rhode Island.
According to American Baptist Churches USA, by 1790 there were 35 Baptist associations in America and some 560 ministers. Estimates say there were some 750 churches and 60,000 Baptists in the states. Historians say that the Baptist belief in religious freedom was a significant influence on the forming of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
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Christs Atonement For Human Sin
In order to redeem people from the guilt, penalty and power of sin, Jesus Christ became human and died a sacrificial death as our representative substitute. By His resurrection, Gods acceptance of His atoning death was demonstrated. This atonement is sufficient for the whole world, but effective only in those who receive it. The sinner is justified and reconciled to God, not through any personal merit, but solely on the basis of Gods gracious gift of salvation in Jesus Christ received through faith.
Baptist Origins In North America
Both Roger Williams and John Clarke, his compatriot and coworker for religious freedom, are variously credited as founding the earliest Baptist church in North America. In 1639, Williams established a Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island, and Clarke began a Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island. According to a Baptist historian who has researched the matter extensively, “There is much debate over the centuries as to whether the Providence or Newport church deserved the place of ‘first’ Baptist congregation in America. Exact records for both congregations are lacking.”
The Great Awakening energized the Baptist movement, and the Baptist community experienced spectacular growth. Baptists became the largest Christian community in many southern states, including among the enslaved Black population.
Baptist missionary work in Canada began in the British colony of in the 1760s. The first official record of a Baptist church in Canada was that of the Horton Baptist Church in Wolfville, Nova Scotia on 29 October 1778. The church was established with the assistance of the New Light evangelist Henry Alline. Many of Alline’s followers, after his death, would convert and strengthen the Baptist presence in the Atlantic region. Two major groups of Baptists formed the basis of the churches in the Maritimes. These were referred to as Regular Baptist and Free Will Baptists .
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The Work Of The Holy Spirit In Salvation
The ministry of the Holy Spirit is necessary for the acceptance of Gods provision of salvation. The Holy Spirit convinces sinners of their sinfulness, leads them to personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and so brings them to spiritual birth as Gods children and to fellowship in Christ. Working within the life of believers the Holy Spirit makes real the presence of Christ, witnesses to their relationship with God, leads into all truth, bestows gifts for effective service and produces graces for holy living.
The Priesthood Of All Believers
The Bible affirms the value of each person as having been created in the image of God, and also declares each person morally responsible for his/her own nature and behaviour. Baptists believe that inherent in the worth of each person is also the right and competency of each individual personally to deal directly with God through Jesus Christ. This principle also suggests our responsibility to serve other believers in intercession and nurture: we are priests to each other. Baptists believe that no group or individual has any right to compel othersforcefully or politicallyto believe or worship as they do. Rather, Baptists have historically been champions of religious liberty.
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Baptist Origins In Ukraine
The Baptist churches in Ukraine were preceded by the German Anabaptist and Mennonite communities, who had been living in the south of Ukraine since the 16th century, and who practiced adult believers baptism. The first Baptist baptism in Ukraine took place in 1864 on the river Inhul in the Yelizavetgrad region , in a German settlement. In 1867, the first Baptist communities were organized in that area. From there, the Baptist movement spread across the south of Ukraine and then to other regions as well. One of the first Baptist communities was registered in Kyiv in 1907, and in 1908 the First All-Russian Convention of Baptists was held there, as Ukraine was still controlled by the Russian Empire. The All-Russian Union of Baptists was established in the town of Yekaterinoslav in Southern Ukraine. At the end of the 19th century, estimates are that there were between 100,000 and 300,000 Baptists in Ukraine. An independent All-Ukrainian Baptist Union of Ukraine was established during the brief period of Ukraine’s independence in early 20th-century, and once again after the fall of the Soviet Union, the largest of which is currently known as the Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine.
In Oceania, the Baptist Union of Papua New Guinea with 489 churches and 84,000 members, the Australian Baptist Ministries with 1,021 churches and 76,046 members.
Church Autonomy And Association
Government in a local church is controlled by the principles of the priesthood of all believers, the Lordship of Christ, the authority of the Scriptures and the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. Christ, present in the lives of congregational members, leads them corporately to discover and obey his mind and will. Such congregational government calls for and expresses the equality and responsibility of believers under the Lordship of Christ. Baptist churches also recognize the need to temper the exercise of their autonomy in order to associate by linking regionally, nationally and internationally for ministry, mission, support and fellowship.
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Baptist Beliefs & Values
The Baptist denomination is Christian and has been around for over 400 years. Baptists have a primary concern for religions freedom, freedom of conscious, Believers Baptism and the centrality of the church meeting as a means for discerning the mind of Christ and the direction of church life.
Whilst as an autonomous Baptist Church we do not adopt any creedal statement of belief, within the wider scope of the world-wide Christian Church, churches of the Baptist Union tradition in England hold to three main principles:
The first principle defines where we believe authority lies:
That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and that each church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.
For Baptist Christians there is no greater authority than Jesus. Seeking his will for us and being obedient to his calling and his authority is exercised by the members of the local church gathering together at church meetings, to discern the will of God in all matters of church life.
The second principle is a commitment to only baptising those who accept faith for themselves:
The third principle is all about Mission:
That it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelisation of the world.
There Are A Few Differing Opinions On The Origin Of The Baptist Church
According to Bruce Gourley, who served as executive director of Baptist History & Heritage Society, there are four main opinions on how Baptists originated. The first is that Baptists grew from within the English Separatist movement, in the 16th-18th centuries, Protestant Christians separated from the Church of England. This is the most accepted view and the earliest Baptist church is considered a 1609 church in Amsterdam.
The second opinion holds that Baptists originated from English Separatism and were greatly influenced and formed out of Anabaptists, or Dutch Mennonites. The third and fourth opinions say that the Baptist church has existed in some form since Christ and John the Baptist.
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The Deity And Humanity Of Christ
Jesus Christ as the second Person of the Godhead is eternally one with God the Father of whose person and glory Jesus is the accurate expression. To become human He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, so that two whole and perfect natures, the nature of God and human nature, were united in one Person truly God and truly human.
Sanctification And Christian Conduct
We believe that Christian growth comes through trusting obedience in Christ as the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God for the glory of God. We believe that Christians should live for the glory of God and the well being of others that their conduct should be blameless before the world that they should be faithful stewards of their possessions and that they should seek to realize for themselves and others the full stature of maturity in Christ.
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The Main Belief In The Baptist Church Is Baptism
The Baptist church believes in Baptism only after a person has professed Christ as their Savior. Baptism symbolizes the cleansing of sins. Some churches use a sprinkling of water as Baptism, but most practice full immersion, where the candidate is fully immersed in water. This symbolizes the disciples own baptism as stated in John 3. The practice also stems from Romans 6, which says Christians are buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Baptism is not a requirement for salvation and many churches do not subscribe to infant baptism Instead, Baptism in the Baptist church is a public expression of faith. While it is personal, it is not private, an article from the Southern Baptist Conventions journal says. Such an act of obedience actually then clarifies their testimony and opens the door for ministry in the church.
The Sinfulness Of People
People were made in the image of God and for fellowship with God. By transgression of Gods command humankind fell from fellowship with God and their nature was corrupted. As a consequence all people are spiritually dead under Satans dominion and control and subject to Gods wrath and condemnation. Therefore, apart from Gods grace, people are helpless and hopeless.
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Perpetuity And Succession View
Traditional Baptist historians write from the perspective that Baptists had existed since the time of Christ. Proponents of the Baptist successionist or perpetuity view consider the Baptist movement to have existed independently from Roman Catholicism and prior to the Protestant Reformation.
The perpetuity view is often identified with The Trail of Blood, a booklet of five lectures by J.M. Carrol published in 1931. Other Baptist writers who advocate the successionist theory of Baptist origins are John T. Christian, Thomas Crosby, G. H. Orchard, J. M. Cramp, William Cathcart, Adam Taylor and D. B. Ray. This view was also held by English Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon as well as Jesse Mercer, the namesake of Mercer University.
In 1898 William Whitsitt was pressured to resign his presidency of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for denying Baptist successionism.