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Baptists
generally accept the fundamental doctrines of the faith as described below.
Adherence to these doctrines is what defines them. Conversely, it
is their distinctives and various views regarding the finer points of Biblical
interpretation that determines to which form of Baptist practice one identifies. |
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Click the titles
to study the expanded explanations for each doctrine
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| Bible |
| The Bible is God's Word.
It was written by men whom God inspired and is His revealing of Himself
to man. It is perfect because it has God for its author, salvation
as it's primary message, and truth without any error. |
| "All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the
man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."
~ 2nd Timothy 3:16&17 |
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| God |
| There is one and only one
living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being
who is the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God
is infinite in holiness and perfect in every way. |
"That
men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high
over all the earth" ~ Psalm 83:18
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" ~ Matthew
28:19 |
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| God
the Father |
| God as Father reigns supreme
with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the stream
of human history according to the purposes of His divine grace. |
| "Grace
be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,"
~ Galatians 1:3 |
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| God
the Son |
| 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 is perfectly revealed in Scripture
and did the will of God by taking upon Himself human nature with its demands
and necessities. In doing so, He identified Himself completely with
mankind, yet without sin. |
"But
these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."
~ John 20:31 |
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| God
the Holy Spirit |
| The Holy Spirit is the fully
divine Spirit of God. He inspired those men of old whom He chose
to write the Word of God. Through illumination He enables men to understand
God's truth as revealed in His Scriptures. |
| "If
ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how
much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that
ask him?" ~ Luke 11:13 |
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| Man |
| Man is the special creation
of God who made us in His own image. He created us male and female as the
crowning work of His creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin
and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice
man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. |
| "Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death
passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" ~ Romans 5:12 |
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| Salvation |
| Salvation involves the redemption
of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ
as Lord and Saviour. It is Jesus who, by His own blood, obtained
eternal redemption for all who believe. |
"For
he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation
have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is
the day of salvation."
~ 2nd Corinthians 6:2 |
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| Security
of the Believer |
| All truly born-again 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 nor can they
lose God's gift of eternal life. They shall persevere to the end. |
| "And
I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall
any [man] pluck them out of my hand." ~ John 10:28 |
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| The
Church |
| A New Testament church of
the Lord Jesus Christ is an independent local congregation of baptized
believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel.
The church observes the two ordinances of Christ, which are the Lord's
Supper and Believers Baptism. It is governed by His laws while exercising
the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in those who identify with it
by His Word, seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. |
| "Take
heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the
Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he
hath purchased with his own blood." ~ Acts
20:28 |
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| The
Second Coming |
| God, in His own time and
in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate conclusion. According
to His Word, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to
the earth. The dead will be raised and Christ will judge all men
in righteousness according to God's will. |
"For
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall
rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever
be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
~ 1st Thessalonians 4:16 to 18 |
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