Baptist beliefs

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The beliefs of Baptist churches are not totally consistent from one Baptist church to another. Baptists do not have a central governing authority, unlike most other denominations.

However, Baptists do hold some common beliefs among almost all Baptist churches. Baptists share so-called "orthodox" Christian beliefs with most other moderate or conservative Christian denominations. These would include beliefs about one God, the virgin birth, the sinless life, miracles, vicarious atoning death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Christ, the Trinity (the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, together with God the Father), the need for salvation (though the understanding of means for achieving it may differ at times), divine grace, the Church, the Kingdom of God, last things (Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge everyone in righteousness), evangelism and missions.

Contents

Overview

The following acrostic backronym, spelling BAPTIST, summarizes Baptists' distinguishing beliefs:[1]

Most Baptist traditions believe in the "Four Freedoms" articulated by Baptist historian Walter B. Shurden:[2]

Two ordinances

Baptists practice believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper (communion) as the two acts of faith-obedience to the example and commands given by Christ for Christians. They differ from the other ordinances of God in that they were specially instituted by Christ. Most Baptists call them "ordinances"[3] (meaning "obedience to a command that Christ has given us")[4] instead of "sacraments" (activities God uses to impart salvation or a means of grace to the participant).[5] Therefore, historic Baptist theology considers that no saving grace is conveyed by either ordinance and that original sin is not washed away in baptism. Baptists have traditionally believed that they are symbols.[5] However, Reformed Baptists and possibly a few others affirm a Reformed view of baptism and communion as a means of grace and therefore by definition refer to them as sacraments in their theology.[6] Some Baptists, particularly in the UK, have been reexamining the theology of the ordinances by questioning the interpretation that they are solely symbolic acts.[7]

Some Primitive Baptists and Free Will Baptists also practice foot washing as a third ordinance.

See also

References

  1. ^ Cummins, David L. This Day in Baptist History 2. Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2000.
  2. ^ Shurden, Walter B. The Baptist Identity: Four Fragile Freedoms. Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 1993.
  3. ^ This distinction by Baptists dates at least back to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith
  4. ^ Sacrament versus Ordinance - Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS)
  5. ^ a b Baptism: Sacrament or Ordinance? :: :: A Reformed, Christian Blog
  6. ^ FAQ on the Reformed Baptist View of Baptism
  7. ^ (1) "Is Baptist Sacramentalism an Oxymoron?" in Baptist Sacramentalism, eds. A. R. Cross and P.E. Thompson (Carlisle (UK): Paternoster Press, 2003); (2) Baptist Sacramentalism (Studies in Baptist History and Thought) James I. Packer (Forward), Carlisle (UK): Authentic Media 2004; (3) More Than A Symbol: The British Baptist Recovery of Baptismal Sacramentalism (Studies in Baptist History and Thought) Stanley K. Fowler Carlisle, UK: Authentic Media 2004.