What is the doctrine of the Southern Baptist Church?
The Trinity: Southern Baptists believe in only one God who reveals himself as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The True Church: The doctrine of a believer's church is a key belief in Baptist life. Members come into the church personally, individually, and freely. No one is "born into the church."
Do Baptists believe in predestination?
” Ultimately, this is saying that God’s predestination is based on those that in their freedom will make the decision to accept Christ. So “Yes”, Southern Baptist believe in Predestination and the “elect”, but they do not believe in “Unconditional Election” which is one of the 5 points associated with Calvinism.
What is the General Baptist doctrine?
The General Baptists were so called because they believed in a general atonement—the Arminian teaching that Jesus died to make all men, in a universal sense, savable. Particular Baptists held to the more Calvinistic understanding that Jesus died only for the elect and that He died to actually secure their salvation, i.e., particular atonement.
What is the Baptist faith and message?
The Baptist Faith and Message is the statement of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention. It summarizes key Southern Baptist thought in the areas of the Bible and its authority, the nature of God as expressed by the Trinity, the spiritual condition of man, God's plan of grace and salvation, the purpose of the local church, ordinances, evangelism, Christian education, interaction with society, religious liberty, and the family.
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What Southern Baptists Believe
Southern Baptists believe that the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind, with His ultimate revelation being the Gospel message of redemption through Jesus Christ. For that reason, Southern Baptists have summarized their biblical convictions in a statement of faith called The Baptist Faith and Message.
What Southern Baptists Do
At the heart of our mission is the compelling urgency to proclaim the Gospel to everyone. The Baptist Faith and Message summarizes the biblical expectation this way:
Why Southern Baptists Do What They Do
Southern Baptists proclaim and minister the Gospel because the love of Christ compels us to do so. God’s call to us is to present the Gospel of Jesus to every person and to make disciples in every town, every city, every state, and every nation. The SBC is committed to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with the whole world.
How Southern Baptists Do What They Do
Missions, evangelism, and church planting are facilitated through the International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board.
1. 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, where in the 16 th -18 th centuries, Protestant Christians separated from the Church of England.
2. 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 on 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.
3. Baptist churches are broken up into different sub-denominations
In the United States, the largest group is made up of the Southern Baptist Convention. As of 2015, the group was made up of more than 15 million members. Southern Baptists who split with northern Baptists founded the Convention in 1845 in Georgia over the issue of slavery.
4. 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. The 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.
5. 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.
6. Baptists have differing beliefs about Calvinism versus Arminianism
Often considered a major division in the Protestant church is Calvinism vs. Arminianism. Calvinism is named after John Calvin, a theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. The major tenant of Calvinism is predestination, where some people are predestined to be saved. That is, God decided the destiny of some with salvation by grace.
8. Baptists strongly encourage evangelism and missionary work
In response to Christ’s call to “make disciples of all nations,” many Baptists encourage missionary work and evangelism opportunities. Baptists say that millions of people around the world have not heard of Jesus and evangelism is the mission of sharing Christ’s message. Evangelism has a long history in the Baptist church.
