What do Baptists Believe about Baptism and the Lord's Supper?

It's pretty obvious that baptism is a pretty big deal for Baptists.

Baptism in the early church was done by immersion. In the New Testament, the word for "baptize" literally means "to immerse." Somewhere along the lines of church history, the Catholic church dominated Christendom, and the Catholics believed in infant baptism. In the 1500s when people began to resist the Catholic church in the Protestant Reformation, the first group to deny Catholics continued to practice infant baptism. These are what we know today as Lutherans and Presbyterians. In Switzerland, the Reformers led the government, specifically a reformer named Ulrich Zwingli. Some of his students, Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz, began to dispute Zwingli in a couple of issues, one being infant baptism. These would be the first anabaptists, and their beliefs led to severe persecution. After they began baptizing adults, they were punished by law, and Manz was drowned.

The idea between infant baptism and adult baptism is still a difficult issue among denominations today. There are still many groups and churches who practice infant baptism, others who aren't baptists who practice believer's baptism, and yet others who practice both. There are some who sprinkle for baptism and some who immerse.

From the Baptist Faith and Message:

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We do this by immersion because we see baptism by immersion as the precedent set forth in Scripture. Also, the original Greek word for baptism, baptizo, literally means "to immerse." We baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit because that is what Jesus commanded in the Great Commission (Mt. 28:18-20).

Baptism is an act of obedience.
Jesus was baptized by John to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:13-17). Jesus is our example. The early church throughout the book of Acts associated believing in Christ with baptism (Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33).

Baptism symbolizes the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:3-5 states, "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Hm in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection..."

Baptism is a testimony to a new believer's faith in the final resurrection of the dead.
Phil. 3:8-11, "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

One must be baptized before becoming a church member.
Because baptism is one of the first public confessions of faith, one's first testimony to what Christ has done in his life, a person must be baptized before he is admitted to the church. If a person is admitted to the church without having gone through this public confession and testimony, then it is possible the person does not know what Christ has done for him, and really is not saved. On the same coin, many people are baptized just to become members of the church, and they have not really repented and put all faith in Christ, yet they have been baptized. We must be careful to only let those who show fruits of salvation enter the waters of baptism, in which they identify directly with Christ. We must also be careful who we allow to become members of our church.

One must be baptized before taking the Lord's Supper.
Likewise, a person cannot remember the body and blood of Christ unless he does not know Christ personally.

From The Baptist Faith and Message:

The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

The Lord's Supper is symbolic.
There are several streams of Christianity that believe partaking in the Lord's Supper helps bring them sanctification, helps them gain holiness, or even salvation. This believe is never seen in Scripture, as Jesus always says to partake in the Lord's Supper "in remembrance" and never hints that one will gain holiness because he has fulfilled the step of taking the Lord's Supper.

The Lord's Supper is a time of fellowship for the church.
1 Cor. 10:16-17, "Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread."

Luke 22:19-20, "And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood."

Only those that live holy lives reflecting that of Jesus should memorialize the death of the Redeemer.
1 Cor. 11:27-29, "Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. "

When we take the Lord's Supper, we are in essence proclaiming the gospel. We are to do this as we anticipate the Lord's second coming, when he will usher in a new kingdom, holy for the Lord.
1 Cor. 11:26, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes."

Easy Version: the church?

I know the last post was a long one, but I was meditating on Ephesians 4, and decided to simplify it all.

"Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." - Eph. 4:15-16

We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ...
In everything we do, God is transforming us into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). The beginning of the race God has set before us is salvation. The end isn't heaven, but it is us transformed into the image of Christ. So as a group of believers, we are also being transformed--growing--into becoming Christ. We do this not just on Sundays and Wednesdays, but every day. Every day you are a member of the local church to which God has called you.

From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love...
- When each part is working properly, the body grows.
--Are you doing your part to strengthen or cause atrophy to the body of Christ?

So what is the church to do when one part is not working properly?

2 Thess. 3--verses to point out
"Now we command you, brother, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us..." (v. 6)
"For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies..." (v. 11)
"If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother." (v. 14-15)

Paul clearly states that the Thessalonians were to have nothing to do with the person who was feeding off those around him. When a useless part of our body is taking nutrients from every other part, it is cut off so that the body can function. As hard and strange as it seems to us, we should hold each other accountable and do the same.

So--are you being idle or are you doing your part in the body of Christ?

What do Baptists Believe about the church?

OK, this is a really long one, but there's a lot of crucial stuff in here. AND I'm more mentally sane since the last post. (I already hear some of you, "Keyword: more.") SO...hopefully this will all make sense.

NOW...
We've all been taught that the church isn't a building, but the people who gather there. The thing is: is that all a church is?

When five new believers begin to have Bible study and worship together, does that make them a church since they are gathering together to praise the Lord? What is the difference between the two?

From the Baptist Faith and Message:

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.

A church is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers.
A church is made up of people who live near one another, who have been baptized upon repentance and faith in Jesus. This means that people who are not baptized are not considered a church, because baptism is always linked with salvation in the New Testament. Does this mean that people who are not baptized are not saved? No, but it does mean that baptism is one of the first outward signs of confessing Christ as Lord and dying to the old nature. In a sense, it is the first way of telling others about your faith in Christ--your first witness. We need baptism in order to identify ourselves totally with Christ's death and resurrection!

Autonomous means "having the right or power of self-government." This means that when believers gather, they are not ordered around by somebody five hours away in another church, but they have the right to make their own rules (what we call bylaws), etc.

A church is associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel.
The baptized believers who come together to make a church have total faith in the gospel, and fellowship with one another according to what Christ has done on the cross. When they come together, they proclaim the gospel to one another because they are thankful for what Christ has done for them.

A church observes the two ordinances of Christ.
By "ordinance" we mean "a prescribed usage." The two ordinances churches should observe together are baptism and the Lord's supper. In baptism, we identify with Christ's death and resurrection. In the Lord's supper, we remember and proclaim Christ's death as we anticipate his coming again. As a church, there is no biblical mandate for other things the church should do together, although some will say that foot washing is an ordinance.

A church is governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word.
A church seeks to follow Christ, and is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23 states, "And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."). The "Body of Christ" literally means that each person who composes a church is like a member of a physical body: they all need to operate together, and when they do they are like Christ on earth. Each person is different and is gifted differently, so that when the entire church comes together, they are complete, with Christ operating as the head of the body (Col. 1:18 states, "And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent."). For example, let's say someone is sick at church. Member A goes to the hospital and prays with the person. Member B cooks meals for the family. Member C takes care of bills while someone is in the hospital. Member D comes and encourages the person who is ill. Together, they have worked together to be Christ to that person--that ill person needed every one of those members to have Christ minister to them. Thankfully, Christ has given each member of the Body a special gift, also known as a spiritual gift. These are special gifts that God uses in your life to minister to others.

A church seeks to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Churches can do this on several levels, some better than others.

• 1) they can pray for the nations and give to the Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong offering
• 2) they have been overseas on a missions trip
• 3) they go overseas regularly on missions trips, but not targeted to one specific group
• 4) they pray for a specific people group and seek to minister to that people group

The fourth level is strategic, although all of them show how Baptists participate on at least some level in extending the gospel to the ends of the earth. As a matter of fact, every church gives some money each year to the Cooperative Program, and over 70% of that money goes straight to the IMB and North American Mission Board. Therefore, if our church gives 10% of its tithe to the Cooperative Program (which goes to fund Baptist activities around the country), and that 10% is $1000, then 500 of those dollars will go to the IMB and 200 of those dollars will go to the NAMB.

A church operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes.
According to Southern Baptists, church government is a system where every decision is guided by Christ, but there are issues within the church that are voted on by people in the church. This is what happens at business meetings, etc. In other types of churches, decisions might be made from higher-up bishops or representatives from the church, known as presbyters.

A church's scriptural officers are pastors and deacons.
These are the two types of leadership within a church. The pastor, or elder, serves as a shepherd for the congregation to help grow them into mature Christians (1 Pet. 5:1-5, "So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock."). Deacons are servant leaders who take on servant roles in the church. Another scriptural office is that of an elder, which is similar to a pastor. In some churches there are multiple pastors or elders to help shepherd the church. These elders can have equal responsibility or different roles, depending on the decision of the church. For more details read 1 Tim. 3:1-15.

A church has men serve as pastors, not women.
Many in America will think this is a sexist statement, but Scripture states that pastors are to be men. The good thing is that Scripture doesn't just declare that a pastor should be a man, but there are very specific requirements to even be a pastor. So what about churches that have women as pastors, or a woman who has been called to pastor? One must ask himself if a woman would be called by God to do something contrary to the word of God. In some cases, a woman might even be gifted in preaching, but that does not mean she should serve as a pastor. You can read more about this in 2 Tim. 2.

From The Baptist Faith and Message:

The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.

All believers around the world from the days of Paul to many years from now, form to make the universal Church. Another analogy we use to talk about the church is to be the Bride of Christ. You can read more of this in Eph. 5:23-32.

THEREFORE...

A church is a group of believers who has local leadership, practices the ordinances provided in Scripture, and recognizes that they are the Body of Christ. They realize that they are responsible for one another, and are members of each other--this means that, in a sense, they are actively involved in each other's lives. Each member is under the authority of his local church, but at the same time it's a good relationship because he chooses the church. This can be five people or two thousand people.

What do Baptists Believe about Grace?

OK guys, this is a weighty topic. Get ready to either ignore the following, or choke on it.

Mercy is when you don't get something that you do deserve, grace is when you get something that you don't deserve.

We've all heard it before, and we know that mercy is when God looks on us and forgives us of our sins. But what's grace? In the song, "Amazing Grace" we're told what it does, but we don't know how it comes around.

If you were going to give a definition of God's grace, what would it be?

From The Baptist Faith and Message:
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.

Eph. 1:3-6, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved."

This verse says that:
1) God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
~ before there was a Garden, God planned that we as believers would be saved in the name of Christ Jesus
2) All of this was done according to the purpose of his will.
~ God loved mankind so much that he purposed that they would be adopted as sons and daughters through believing in faith in Jesus Christ

What's this about an election?
He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners by electing us. Of course we think of a political election when we hear the word "elect" but throughout the New Testament, the Bible refers to believers in Christ as "the elect". The Bible does this because all who believe in Christ Jesus have been elected unto salvation.

There are two disagreeing viewpoints, however, on how God elects people in Christ. These viewpoints have been around for hundreds of years, at least, and both views can be found in Southern Baptists

One view, known as Calvinism, claims that God chooses individuals to which he wills to come to Christ (this means that the individuals could only comply with the will of God when believing in Christ). A second view, known commonly as Arminianism but also known as believing in the free-will of man, says that God could never will a person to come to Christ, but instead allows man to choose to believe in Christ, and the whole idea of election is that Christ has been elected, and therefore everyone in Christ is a member of the elect. Calvinists would say that God's grace is so powerful that it is only by God that a person is saved. Those who believe in the free agency of man would say that God has given us grace through Christ, and then we choose to live in the grace God gives us in Christ. (I know this sounds crazy and unfamiliar, but if you have questions about exactly what I'm saying--just ask.)

Regardless, all Baptists believe that it is only because of God's love in sending his son that we could have a relationship with him, and God is much greater than anything we can imagine.

Questions to think about:
1) When we're saved, how much does God will in our salvation and how much is man's will?
2) What do you think election means according to Scripture? (check a concordance for references)

From The Baptist Faith and Message:
All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

One Baptist mantra is "once saved, always saved." Another form of God's grace is that once we have received God's grace, there is no way we can fall out of God's grace, which is losing salvation. Because of this, all people who have really been born again will stay believers until they die. In a sense, once you are adopted, you are not going to be un-adopted, even if you become disobedient. In real life, if you have an adopted child, you're not going to kick the child out just because he does disobedient things, and how much greater a Father is God?

This does not mean that just because you pray for salvation OR walk the aisle OR get baptized OR become a pastor that you are saved. Scripture says that those who are saved will persevere to the end, and that is one of the only ways we will know.

So how do we persevere, and what happens if we go for a while without giving God a second thought?
The key to walking in Christ isn't doing all the right things or checking off a list of godly things to do. Instead, the key to walking in Christ is, well, being in Christ. Practicing putting on Christ. Abiding in Christ. As Christians we are like a branch that shoots off of Christ, the tree. Because we are connected to Christ (every moment of every day, in meditation of His Word and in deep times of prayer), we will bear fruit then that is the same fruit of the tree we are connected to. However, if we are not connected to Christ, our tree, there will not be any fruit. So, we don't focus on being gentle, loving, or peaceful. Instead, we focus on abiding in Christ, and then those things will just happen. If you stop being connected to Christ, then you won't be healthy.

That's all for now. There are several Bible verses, and I know I haven't put down hardly any.

What do Baptists Believe about Salvation?

"I was saved when..."

"I was born again..."

"I made Jesus my Lord and Savior..."

"I accepted Jesus into my heart..."

How many of us have made statements like the above? I have made them several times, and to an extent, Lady Hamlet was correct when she observed, "Words, words, words!" A lot of times we talk about our salvation without actually knowing what it is. As a matter of fact, I contend today that our salvation is one of the greatest things we as believers don't understand even though we talk about it the most.

From The Baptist Faith and Message:

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

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Redemption is "to get or win back." When we sing that we have been "purchased by his blood" or "redeemed by the blood of the Lamb," we are saying that the blood of Christ has purchased us back, he has won us. A question remains: why were we gone in the first place? The answer is, simply, we were enslaved to sin (see "What do Baptists Beleive about Man?").

Col 1:13-14, "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

God has always been in the business of redemption. While God was speaking of the Fall of man, he already pointed to how he would conquer the Fall through Eve's progeny, Christ (Gen. 3:15). By scholars, this verse is often called the protoevangelion--"the first good news." Since the fall, God has always been in the business of buying back his people from the circumstances they find themselves in. We can see this in Adam and Eve, the sons of Jacob, the Isrealites in Egypt, the nation of Israel in exile. The final stamp of redemption occurs when Gen. 3:15 is played out, and Christ's blood redeems man (Eph 1:7, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace").

The whole man has been redeemed. We might quickly look over this sentence and say, "Duh! Christ isn't going to just buy back part of our soul or body!" However, Catholicsbelieve that Christ only redeemed men and the sin they inherited from Adam--they believe that Christ does not save them from the sins they continue to commit. Anyone may accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Christ saves man, buying him back from sin's chains which lead to damnation.

Regeneration

From The Baptist Faith and Message:

Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.

It hurts to build muscle. The reason it hurts so much after you work out after not for a long time is because when you work your muscles, they break down so when they build up they build up stronger than before. Muscles regenerate in order to get stronger. Similarly, when we are saved, our soul is regenerated; it is no longer dead, but built up and made alive by the Holy Spirit (John 1:12-13, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God").

When a person becomes saved, the first thing that happens is regeneration. We would say our hearts are changed and made alive--reborn (John 3:6, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit").

Every person who has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit recognizes his sin, repents, and places faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. When a new believer repents of sin, he makes a u-turn in the way he lives. Faith means that a person places all he is in the idea that Jesus is Lord of all creation, the leader of that person's life, and that only He can save a person. A person cannot have faith in Christ without repenting of sin. Similarly, a person cannot be saved if he repents of sin but does not have faith in Christ as Savior and Lord. There are lots of people who believe in order to become a Christian, one only needs faith in Christ. However, true salvation only occurs when there is such conviction of sin that a person repents from the way he was living and turns to live completely for Christ.

Justification

From The Baptist Faith and Message:

Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.

There are several things that come to mind when you think "justification." One may be "justice," another "justify." If you have ever seen the scales of justice, they symbolize that whatever action was rendered on one side, then something must happen for the other to be balanced. Justice is served whenever punishment fits the crime. To justify something means to prove that it is right.

John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Justification occurs when God proves that we are in right standing with Him. When we are justified, we our trespasses have been forgiven. Only God justifies man. Man can never earn right standing with God except by placing faith in Christ, who was perfectly right with God (Heb 5:8-9, "Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation"). When we place faith in Christ, God credits us with what Christ did. This does not mean that we are as good as Christ, or we ever will be on earth, but it does mean that God looks to us and declares that we are in good standing with Him. Justification is not something that happens internally like regeneration, but it happens externally.

Rom 3:21-26, "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

Sanctification

From The Baptist Faith and Message:

Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.

When something is sanctified, that means that it is set apart for special use. Throughout new life, believers are sanctified to be like Christ. The process of becoming like Christ is sanctification. This begins when one becomes a Christian and does not end until we are united with Christ in the death or the new creation (whichever comes first).

A Christian is sanctified through the power of the Holy Spirit. While God instigates sanctification, man responds to God by growing in Him. Phil. 2:12-13, "So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

Glorification

From The Baptist Faith and Message:

Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

Glorification occurs when we are in the new creation with Jesus, when we are in the image of God himself (Rom. 8:29-30, "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.").

Salvation is Inclusive

We believe that salvation is only for those who have placed faith in Christ (Acts 4:12, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved"). Therefore, we do not believe that any person can go to heaven unless they profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This means that all people who have never heard the name of Jesus will never have salvation, including the tribesman in the middle of South America who has never even heard the name of Jesus. This idea is one of the distinct beliefs of Baptists, and this is what drives us to tell others about Christ. No matter how good a person is, how authentic their belief in God (or a god), no person will have salvation if he or she has not responded to Christ in faith and repentance.

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Discussion:

• What is the difference between regeneration, justification, and sanctification?
• What are some other ways you can explain how you are saved--without using churchy words like "saved" or "born again'?
• Why would God not save a person who has not even been exposed to Jesus before? Do you think this is right?

the board.

What do Baptists Believe about God the Son?

Over the years, Jesus Christ has been called a lot of things. Today, some say he is imaginary, others say he was a man. Many will say he was a good teacher and we should look to him for morals. Even more will say he is a prophet of God, but could never be the Son of God. When we talk about the "Son of God," what do we believe about Jesus?

From The Baptist Faith and Message:

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.

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Christ existed before he came to earth, before creation. He will always exist (Heb. 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."). Is is because of Christ that everything exists, because nothing existed without going through Christ first. John 1:1-3, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made."

Jesus is the Son of God. Muslims think this is heresy because they do not believe God could ever bear a Son, but this comes from an inaccurate view of the Trinity. Jesus calls himself God's Son (Mt. 11:27, "All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."), God refers to him as His Son (Mt. 3:17, "...and behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'"), men say he is the Son of God (Mt. 14:33, "And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'"), and demons label Jesus as the son of God (Mt. 8:29, "And behold, they cried out, 'What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?'").

Biologically, Jesus did not have a human father, but was wholly man (from Mary) and wholly God (from the Holy Spirit). Matthew explains in Mt. 1:18, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit."

Jesus was perfectly the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation."), even though as man, he had to face the same conditions and temptations as man.

Jesus was the only person to completely follow the Old Testament law perfectly. He fulfilled the Law by not only following rules, but by fleshing out what those rules meant. For example, Jesus explained in Mt. 5:27-30, Jesus explained that to follow a command like "Do not commit adultery" you would need to not even lust after a person who is not your wife. Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7) not to give man more rules to live by, but to show how the Law is impossible to completely obey--unless you are God's Son.

Because Jesus was perfectly obedient, his obedience was the perfect substitute for us. Rom. 3:22b-26, "For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

dictionary (Grenz):

• justified - God makes humans, who are sinful and therefore worthy of condemnation, acceptable before a God who is holy and righteous.
• redemption - how sinful people are "bought back" from the power of sin into a relationship with God.
• propitiation - an offering that turns away the wrath of God.
• forbearance - patience in dealing with man's unrighteousness

Jesus died so that all men would be able to be forgiven of sin (John 1:29, "The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'").

After his resurrection, he appeared to many in the form of a real body--the body he had when he lived on earth (Acts 2:24, "But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.").

He then ascended into heaven, where he sits at God's right hand (1 Pet. 3:21b-22, "Jesus Christ, 22who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him."). He intercedes between man and God (Heb. 7:25, "Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."). No one can come to God except through Jesus Christ, our perfection. Only through Jesus can we be reconciled to God (1 Tim. 2:5-6, "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.").

There will be a day when Jesus will judge all according to what they have and have not done (Mt. 16:27, "For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done."). On this day, he will complete his job, which is to bring creation back to its creator.

He is in every believer. Does he do this because you have "asked him into your heart"? No. As a matter of fact, you can go your whole life without using the words "ask Jesus into my heart" and God will still live in you, if you have placed faith in Christ alone (1 Jn. 4:15, "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.").

Rom. 1:3-4, "...concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord."

Discussion Questions (message board):

1. Why couldn't Jesus be conceived by two human parents?
2. Why is it important that Jesus is God?
3. What are some of the things Jesus did and continues to do?
4. Did Jesus really have to be resurrected to be the Son of God?
5. How does Jesus link man and God?

Works Cited:
Grenz, Stanley J., David Guretzki & Cherith Fee Nordling. Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms. Downers Grove, Ill: Intervarsity, 1999.

What do Baptists Believe about God?

My God is so big,
So strong and so mighty,
There's nothing my God cannot do.
[clap, clap]

My God is so big,
So strong and so mighty,
There's nothing my God cannot do.
[clap, clap]

The mountains are His,
The valleys are His,
The stars are His handiwork too.

My God is so big,
So strong and so mighty,
There's nothing my God cannot do.
[clap, clap]

Did you know that there are around 4.7 billion people in the world who would say the above statement? Out of the 6.7 billion people in the world, more than half could make those claims! Unfortunately, only 1.9 billion of those people call themselves Christians. Even worse, there are many people who will call themselves Christians who only think of God in terms of "big" and "mighty." Thankfully, there is much more to God than that.

From The Baptist Faith and Message:

There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

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"OK, OK!" You say. "What is so special about that statement that I didn't already know?" First, let me quote author Brennan Manning, "The moment you think you understand is the moment you do not understand. I am God not man....When you try to convince others that you understand what you are talking about, I will tell you to shut up and fall flat on your face" (Manning 160).

• God is Creator (Isa. 43:15, "I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King."), Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler. Everything that is created is through Christ. Salvation (redemption) is only through Christ. Every moment the only reason we exist is because God wills it (He preserves us, and if he ever failed to do so, we would not exist). He rules over the universe--even when babies die, moms get cancer, and there's a war in Iraq.

• God is all-powerful and all-knowing. He can do anything because he is so mighty. He can both stop and start natural disasters. He can cause and end temptation. He can turn hearts toward or against Himself. He knows what you will do tomorrow, He even knows what you'll think in your heart while you're reading your Bible, praying, or talking with friends. He knew your heart when he created the world, and he knows all of our motives for doing something.
  

• God exists in the Trinity, with three different personalities who have different attributes, but share the same nature, essence, and being. There are not three parts of God--he is One. There are not three separate forms of God--he is One. In the words of Wayne Grudem, "The fact that God is three persons means that the Father is not the Son; they are distinct persons. It also means that the Father is not the Holy Spirit, but that they are distinct persons. And it means that the Son is not the Holy Spirit" (Grudem 239). Each person (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) has different characteristics and roles, but each share the same qualities: holiness, all-knowing, all-powerful, always present.
  
• There are many people who believe that the idea of "trinity" is ridiculous because 1) the term does not appear in the Bible and 2) it does not make sense. These people include Muslims, Mormons, Unitarians, and Jehovah's Witnesses, and they consequently do not believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, the Lord and Savior.
  
• Although the word "Trinity" does not appear in the Bible, there are times when the Bible mentions the three personalities of God, which help us conclude that there are three distinct persons from the one Holy God (Mt. 28:19, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," Jn. 14:26, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you," and Gen. 1:26, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...").
  

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What do Baptists Believe about God the Father?

From The Baptist Faith and Message:

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.

* * *

Ex. 14:11-14, "Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them. You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.”

prov·i·dence - divine guidance; not ruled by chance or by fate but by God, who directs history and creation toward an ultimate goal (Grenz).

Baptists believe that God really is in control of the universe, and is overseeing everything for an ultimate goal (Acts 1:7, "He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.’"). Today there are people who call themselves Christians who do not believe this, but believe that God has removed himself from creation--either temporarily or permanently. This means that they think God has nothing to do with what happens in the world, but think everything is the consequence of something else.

We also believe that God is all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), all-loving, and all-wise. When a person becomes a Christian, he is adopted as a son of God, and God relates to him as a father to a son. We can see this illustrated in the story of the prodigal son, and in how God relates to the Israelites in the Old Testament.

1 Tim. 1:17, "To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."

Works Cited:
Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.
Grenz, Stanley J., David Guretzki & Cherith Fee Nordling. Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms. Downers Grove, Ill: Intervarsity, 1999.
Manning, Brennan. The Ragamuffin Gospel. Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2000.

What do Baptists Believe about the Scriptures?

What do we believe as Baptists? Often, we can go to church, read our Bibles, and not really think about why we believe what we believe--if we even know what we believe. So, for those who want to know what Baptists believe, and why, there is a booklet called The Baptist Faith and Message.

Today we'll start by looking at the first article of this booklet, which is about the Scriptures.

What do we believe about the Scriptures?

From The Baptist Faith and Message:

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

* * * * *

Baptists believe that the Bible is the word of God written down. A key to understanding why we believe what we believe about the Bible, we need to focus on the fact that the Bible is the word of God.

As the word of God, the Bible was written by men who were inspired by God through the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:19-21, “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”) This does not mean that God dictated the words to men, but it does mean that God brought ideas to the biblical writers, and then guided the process of recording those accounts. Therefore, God was involved with every word included in the Bible. Sometimes he spoke these words directly to men (Ex. 24:4 “And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD…”). Writers like the apostles were empowered by the Holy Spirit to recall the life and teachings of Jesus (John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”).

The entire Bible is an account of the invisible God showing his character to mankind. The Old Testament explains God’s character by tracing God’s work in creation and in saving the nation of Israel. Just as the Old Testament reveals God’s character through the written word, the New Testament reveals God’s character through Jesus, who is God incarnate, the living Word.

Unlike any other “religious book,” the Bible is God showing himself to man instead of man writing about who God is. It is a gift to us from God, a gift of his grace. Psalms 19:7-10, “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”

Ultimately, the result of the word of God is the salvation of man. The Old Testament was sufficient to save the Jews before Christ came. Similarly, Christ is the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation for His People, and is sufficient to save all people (2 Tim. 3:14-15, “But as for you continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”). The Bible is necessary for knowing the gospel (Rom. 10:14, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”), and for maintaining a relationship with the Lord (Matt. 4:4, “…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”).

The most distinct belief from other Christians that Baptists have about the Bible is that Baptists believe that the Bible is inerrant. “Inerrant” means that the Bible is completely without error. We hold this belief because the words of God are true, without even the slightest error. Others may hold a variety of ideas about the Bible, including:

• the Bible contains God’s words, but is not God’s word.
• the miraculous accounts aren’t true, including stories like the flood and resurrection
• the Bible isn’t true word-for-word, but its morals are true
• the Bible is inaccurate about issues of math and science, but true about everything else
• the Bible’s morals were true to Biblical culture, but not for everybody

Because the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself, and is totally true, it is a standard by which we will be judged at the end of time. On that day, we will be judged according to our faith in Christ (Acts 2:21, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”). Until that time, we should judge everything we encounter by the Bible, to see if it is Truthful. This includes books, movies, and even textbooks. Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

All Scripture culminates and revolves around God Incarnate, Jesus Christ (Matt. 5: 17-18, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”).

Finally, Baptists believe that the Bible is all Christians need to know to be saved and to maintain a relationship with the Lord. Others think they need to read spiritual books or “missing books of the Bible” to know about God. Some others believe that God speaks today through other religious books, or through modern prophets. Baptists, however, hold that nothing can have the authority of the Bible, and that the bible is sufficient for all knowledge of God and Jesus Christ (Deut. 4:1-2, "And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.”).

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As we learn why Baptists believe what, we have set up a discussion forum. This forum is a safe place where you can sign up with your parents' permission. The website is secure, so only those who are registered will be able to participate, including in reading the forums. In the future, we'll add things to discuss, but for now we will limit it to our beliefs. You can access the forum and register here.

Discussion Questions:

1) Is the Bible totally 100% without error? What about evolution?

2) Wouldn’t the Apocrypha—the books in the Catholic Bible—help us understand more about God?

3) How can the Bible be called the “word of God” if God did not dictate it to man?

4) How is the Bible useful?

5) What about other religions? Don’t they contain truth?