What is a Baptist?

Bless you for asking and welcome to your new home away from home. :jesus: You'll find many wonderful people to help you here and I hope I am one.

The "Baptist distinctives" are 1) belief in Christ as Savior and Lord (you already got one answer right! :laugh: ),

2) Belief in the God-breathed, literal (insofar as the Bible doesn't indicate otherwise) interpretation of the Bible (Old and New Testament vs. Jewish only believe Old). Preaching is "line-by-line" from scripture as you probably already know.

3) Belief in baptism as the first act of obedience to God and as the "confession"/testimony of your salvation,

4) congregant-centered leadership (all believers are priests -- we have no priestly hierarchy like Catholics, etal.). Some Protestant denoms have elders who who vote and lead -- Baptist usually do "one man/woman one vote on budget, new pastor, etc.

5) Smokers go out behind the concession stand to smoke after church and if a Baptist runs into a Baptist in a liquor store, they don't recognize each other! :laugh:

Scripturally, we begin at Eph 4:3-6, our unity of the Spirit which is the basis of our grwoth in grace.

I'm sure there will be others remembering what I left out but, once again, welcome.
:wavey:
skypair

 

Dear Noregrets:

If you grew up in an FBC church, and I assume you mean First Baptist Church, it is probably Southern Baptist (SBC). This assumption is fortified by the fact that you seem to know very little about what Baptists believe. Southern Baptists have distinctive beliefs which are pretty much the same as other Baptists, but they don't talk about them much in church, and they do very little to pass them on to their children. They do have a strong heart for missions and winning the lost to Jesus Christ. Incidentally, FBC is not a fellowship of churches. In most instances, it is simply the oldest Baptist Church in town--thus the name "First."

If you would like to learn about the core beliefs of the SBC, read the Baptist Faith and Message. It's an easy read, containing only 11 pages including the table of contents. You can find it here: http://www.sbc.net/bfm/

 

You know very little about the SBC then and your opinion is grossly inaccurate, though it might be your limited experience with it.
In every SBC Church I have ever attended the FIRST thing you learn is what that Local Church believes. THEN what the SBC veiws as a common concensus of all other SBC Churches relating to doctrine specifically believed as a common ground with the other participating CHurches, better known among us as the Baptist Faith and Message.
You get this in our SBC schools, colleges, and seminaries. It is the first thing I teach in my Church - our doctrinal beliefs.

An FBC can be either Independant Baptist Church or Southern Baptist Convention. In the South many of the FBC's are SBC in the North many are Independant.

So next time when you give an answer try to be more factual and not spuing opinion as fact.


That said, I would encourage noregrets1987 to read the the link provided as it is the most commonly held position of baptist groups with some modification here and there.



NOREGRETS:

Ask your pastor if they are SBC or Independant. Find out from the leadership what they hold as doctrinal truths. It is the doctrinal truths that seperate the many versions of Baptists in minor areas and a few in major ones. However, more specifically it reveals itself as a larger difference relating to other denominations and it is here we see differences on Major issues and a few on minor ones.

 

Allan says:

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Allan, I have been a member of a 1,000+ member SBC church more than 30 years where I have taught Sunday School to adults more than 25 years and served as a deacon more than 18 years. Before that, I was a member of a small SBC church in another association for 21 years. I have several close relatives who have graduated from Baptist colleges. I have also been active in associational missions efforts, so my experience is not limited. We do a good job of teaching our young people the fundamentals of the Christian faith (mere Christianity), but we do a miserable job of teaching Baptist distinctives. I am convinced that is why so many of our young people grow up and leave to join other denominations. Also, I can't remember when one of our young people married someone of another denomination and the non Baptist joined our church. I've been beating my head against a wall for years and no one seems interested. In fact, I have in my personal acquaintenance not more than five or six people who are interested in topics like those discussed on this board.

Having said that, I have no experience with Baptist churches outside the South and I didn't mean to imply that all First Baptist Churches are SBC.

 

To add to the list of Baptist distinctives, some pretty standard ones:

The authority of Scripture. It was already mentioned that Baptists tend to believe in a historical literal interpretation of the Bible. (Preaching varies widely, and is not necessarily line-by-line.) Conservative Baptist churches hold that Scripture is the only sure rule of faith and practice, and the only text which may bind the conscience of a believer. Thus, a conservative Baptist would deny the authority (although not necessarily the truth) of church law and "creeds," referring instead all questions back to the Scriptures as authoritative.

Saved church membership. Many other denominations include children in their membership roles, usually following infant baptism. Baptists believe that the local church is composed of regenerated (reborn) believers, thus membership is only for those who are saved, and usually only after believer's baptism.

The autonomy of the local church. Along with the "congregant-centered leadership," Baptist churches hold strongly to the concept of congregational autonomy. Each local church is not subject to the rule of others from outside the church -- there are no bishops, no denominational courts, etc. Baptist denominations are associations of churches who work together for common purposes, missions for instance. But each church is free to function, believe, and worship as it sees best.

 

http://www.fbinstitute.com/moore/baptistdist.html

 

Here is what I have learned and considered as the Baptist Distinctives:

1. Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and doctrine.
2. Baptized and regenerated church membership.
3. Autonomy of the local church.
4. Priesthood of the believer
5. Soul liberty.
6. Baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper are the only two ordinances of the local church.
7. Separation of church and state.
8. Separation ecclesiastiacally and personally.

 

I'm gonna get into what this Baptist believes a little bit here. Yes, Jesus is God. Here's the "scoop" on the trinity:

God created us in His own image, triune -- body, soul, and spirit.

But there are 3 of Him because He decided to make His triune Persona into 3 Persons -- 1) His body would be Jesus,

2) His soul would be Himself (what in us is our conscience and which rules over our spirits and flesh), and

3) His Spirit (His mind, emotions, and will) would be His Holy Spirit.

Does that not make it sooo easy? :thumbs:

So now that we are saved and His Holy Spirit indwells us, we're talking about we have the "mind of Christ [and God]" which is precisely what 1Cor 2:15 says!!

Now the neat end result of all this is that once God has redeemed all His people of all time, He (in the New Earth) will resume being one Person just like we are. Then God will be "all in all" rather than, as we have it today, Christ "all in all."

skypair

 

Another thing Baptists get excited about is the pretribulation rapture. This is tied in with their further belief that God has administered the earth in 7 periods of time called "dispensations." In each, God gave man a "test" (say, the apple), man failed (Adam ate), God began a new program with new rules (conscience became the governing rule over man), and God protected man from Satan taking over planet earth during man's weakness (sent the flood for instance).

Anyway, the next era is the tribulation for 7 years, the Millennial Kingdom of Christ for 1000 and then God will reign eternally here in the New Earth/New Heavens/New Jerusalem.

skypair

 

Is this Maranatha's BRAPSISS Model?

 

A lot of Baptists believe "dispensational theology" (Ryrie, et al.) and in a pre-tribulation rapture, but I don't think these can be called distincitives of the Baptist faith.

Indeed, most Baptist confessions and statements of faith are intentionally vague on eschatology and dispensationalism, because it is not a subject that is generally agreed upon by "Baptists."

I like the way the Baptist Faith & Message (SBC) puts it: