A Baptist Church

Biblical authority.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 KJV 1900

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

The Bible is our final authority on all matters of faith and practice.

We do not elevate traditions or creeds of men above the Bible.

Autonomy of the local church.

Colossians 1:18 KJV 1900

18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

We’ve spent time talking about this already.

This is a bedrock principle of what we believe.

We do not give up our autonomy to any other head than Jesus.

This is not done overtly through membership in a convention, fellowship, or denomination.

This is not to be done covertly by seeking to gain the approval of a college, mentor, or public opinion.

We answer to and seek the approval of only one, Jesus.

Priesthood of the believer.

Revelation 1:4–6 KJV 1900

4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; 5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

As individual priests we understand that we do not depend on someone else’s religiousness to gain us access to God.

You have just as much access to God as any pastor or grandma that you’ve ever met.

Jesus has made this possible for us, glory to His name.

This goes a step farther than prayer to make a point about where we all stand.

There is no gap between clergy and laity.

Two ordinances.

Baptism

Acts 8:36–38 KJV 1900

36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

Baptism is beautifully illustrated here in this passage.

We see the mode - immersion.

We see the candidate - a believer.

We see the authority - an authorized representative of a local church.

Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 KJV 1900

23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

Jesus defines the purpose of the Lord’s Supper in verse 25, which we just read.

It is a remembrance of Jesus.

There is nothing special imparted to the partakers other than a reminder and a mindfulness of what Jesus has done for them.

Individual soul liberty.

Romans 14:10–13 KJV 1900

10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

This is also known as soul competency.

We believe that every individual is accountable to God and should not be pressured, coerced, or threatened to accept or observe a specific body of beliefs.

Saved, baptized church membership.

Acts 2:41 KJV 1900

41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Why does membership matter?

Well we covered this a few months ago, but it fits with the biblical theme of a church being like a body or a building.

We also know that the word ekklesia has built into it the understanding that membership is understood.

Finally we have the biblical example on the day of pentecost that members of the church in Jerusalem were added to the number after their salvation and baptism.

Two offices.

Pastor, Bishop, Elder

We see all of these words occurring in the New Testament.

Ephesians 4:11 KJV 1900

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

1 Timothy 3:1 KJV 1900

1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

Titus 1:5 KJV 1900

5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

We believe that each of these terms applies to the same position.

The are used in different contexts to describe the job of the pastor.

Pastor refers to the duty of feeding and protecting the sheep.

Bishop which means “overseer” refers to the responsibility that the pastor has to provide oversight, management, and direction to the church body.

Elder refers to the spiritual maturity that someone in this position must possess, regardless of age.

Deacons

The word deacon is also found throughout the New Testament.

The position was established in the book of Acts.

The requirements were laid out by Paul in 1 Timothy 3.

The word deacon is a transliteration that comes from the greek word diakonos which refers to a servant.