In fact, I can recall a time or two I have said that very thing myself. Our statement of faith is adapted from the New Hampshire Confession of Faith which in turn derives in faithful adherence to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. To acknowledge that all work performed within the scope of employment will be owned by Boston Baptist College. 6:00pm 8:00pm. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift from God. Baptist Faith and Message I. Second, the 2000 revision of the BF&M removed the assertion that the person of Jesus Christ was to be the exegetical standard by which the Bible was to be interpreted,[citation needed][c] and replaced it with the last sentence in the quotation below. We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations. Confidential issues will be discussed only in secured settings so as to prohibit even the unintentional compromise of sensitive information. Thurs. The establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament . Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:1417; 6:28; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:2126; 27:2228:6; Luke 1:6869; 2:2832; John 1:1114, 29; 3:321, 36; 5:24; 10:9, 2829; 15:116; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:3031; 17:3031; 20:32; Romans 1:1618; 2:4; 3:2325; 4:3ff. 16. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. As stated in Matthew 4:4 (ESV): But He answered, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. We are to observe and do all things Christ has commanded us (teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Leadership We believe, that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again. According to His promise, 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. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. Matthew 3:11; Acts 2:4 God gives all believers spiritual gifts. We stand in the line of the historic Protestant tradition. 5:1921; Eph. Because of His great love, God provided a way for humanity to be put right with him. This phase of His coming is known as the Revelation of Jesus Christ. We believe that repentance and faith are solemn obligations, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the quickening Spirit of God. In Jesus Christ abide all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. To limit any personal matters to momentary attention while on the job, including but not limited to - phone calls, personal visits or conversations or computer use. [2] Described as "the New Hampshire Confession of Faith [of 1833], revised at certain points, and with some additional articles growing out of present needs," it was intended as "a reaffirmation of Christian fundamentals," which was deemed necessary because of "the prevalence of naturalism in the modern teaching and preaching of religion. It is the glorious display of Gods sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. Many folk are very adamant about why they are Baptist!, but their zeal surpasses the Scriptures. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. After one is saved, water baptism shows our faith and union in Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection to a new life that exalts and glorifies Christ. A Statement of Faith is just a summary. These distinctives are easily remembered using the acrostic BRAPSISS and here is a breakdown for us to better understand: These distinctives in faith and practice have set those who have become known as Baptists (and their forefathers) as being distinct from all other forms of religion, including Catholics and Protestants. The living in Christ shall then be caught up to meet the Lord in the air without tasting death, and all shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air before the seventieth week of Daniel. Examples of such work would include course material, books or articles written, video presentation, online courses, or software developed. ; 20:1ff. 2:1214) and thus the college community unites in the conviction that God opposes any attempt to alter ones gender by surgery or appearance. But some of us take it too far to the place of sin. ; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:122:13. (Mark 16:19; John 3:16; Romans 5:8-9; Hebrew 5:9; Hebrew 7:25; Hebrew 8:1; Hebrew 9:11-12 and 1 John 2:1), We believe in the Blessed Hope, the personal, pre-millennial, pre-tribulation, and imminentreturn of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which is known as the Raptureof the Church. The Church. President Baptist.org, Featuring : Statement of Faith The will of the local church is final on all matters of membership, policy, procedure, government, discipline, and benevolence. We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and . Salvation is received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work. ; 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff. (Genesis 1:26-27; 3:1-6; 3:24; John 3:1-21; Romans 1:18, 32; Romans 3:10-19; Romans 5:12, 19), We believe that the salvation of sinners is divinely initiated and wholly of grace through the intervention of the Son of God. 11:79; 1 Tim. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. As terms of relationship at any level within our faith community, Boston Baptist College prohibits all members of the college community from public advocacy or promotion for any position that sex outside of a biblically defined marriage is morally acceptable. Accordingly, the Governing Board, the administration, the faculty, and all other employees of Boston Baptist College affirm the following code of professional ethics. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. It is Gods revelation to man, inerrantas originally written by Spirit-controlled men. If I were to ask you to defend your decision on being a Baptist, what would you say? To work for the betterment of the institution as a whole and to strive to personal excellence and development as a means to that end. The Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) is the statement of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). We believe that the term marriage has only one meaning: A life-long covenant, sanctioned by God, that joins one man and one woman, who were each born as a man and a woman, in a single, exclusive union, as spoken and described by God in Scripture. I. We have multiple campuses serving the specific needs of the areas in which they are located, while receiving centralized teaching from the Blankenbaker Campus in Louisville, KY. ; and Fern Creek . by which to know the Father, than through the Son (John 14:6). (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-5), We believe in the bodily resurrection of our Lord Who ascended into Heaven and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. The denomination's statement of faith was revised in 2000 to state: "While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture." In this Statement of Faith, our Constitution, and all other documents, policies, and ministries of Baptist Christian Church, wherever the word man/men appears, it shall always mean a person who is born, according to Gods sovereign plan and design, male; and wherever the word woman/women appears, it shall always mean a person who is born, according to Gods sovereign plan and design, female. With these thoughts in mind, it is an honor to be considered a Baptist, but we must take heed lest we fall. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. Introduction. (Exodus 18:21-22; Exodus 22:28; 2 Samuel 23:3; Daniel 3:10-18; Matthew 22:21; Acts 4:27-29; Acts 5:29; Acts 23:5; Romans 13:1-7), We believe in the sovereign selection of Israel as Gods eternal covenant people. The consequence of that sin causes all men to be totally depraved and partakers of Adams fallen nature. Christ, by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Himself our nature, yet was without sin. Many us of have good answers to these questions, but are they the right answers? At that moment, the dead in Christ shall be raised in glorified bodies. We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interest and good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayed for and conscientiously honored and obeyed except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience and the coming Prince of the kings of the earth. Boston Baptist College supports the conscientious pursuit of life in submission to biblical principles. The state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind. 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 . He helps empower the believer to develop the character of Christ and live every day in God's will. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. The Holy Spirit on earth is the active agent of the God-head, who constantly seeks within its ranks to bring about conformity and obedience to the Word of God and the will of God. We believe the Bible to be the center of true Christian unity and the supreme and final authority against which all matters of doctrine, faith, human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tested. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, under the authority of the local church. It is bestowed solely through the Redeemers shed blood and not because of any works we have done. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, with authority of the local church, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life, that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation and the Lord's Supper; in which the members of the church by the sacred use of bread and wine are to commemorate together the dying love of Christ; preceded always by solemn self-examination. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of Gods gift of sex. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; John 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6; Revelation 20:12-15), We believe the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for faith and life. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord, and where there are no Christian works of obedience then faith is dead. Inclusion of a statement that Baptists honor the principles of soul competency and the priesthood of believer. Standing, as Jesus does, with the outcast . Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lords Supper. Isaiah 2:4; Matthew 5:9, 3848; 6:33; 26:52; Luke 22:36, 38; Romans 12:1819; 13:17; 14:19; Hebrews 12:14; James 4:12. Special creation of the existing space-time universe and all its basic systems and kinds of organisms in the six literal days of the creation week. The new birth of mans spirit by Gods Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Christ, glorified in Heaven, is the Head of the Church. 7. Baptist Deacon, there are some churches that have no statement of faith. (Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15), (Statement of Faith ratified February 5th, 2017), exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word. (Genesis 1:1-3; Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:8; Luke 1:35; Luke 24:49; John 3:5-7; 14:16,17,26; John 16:7-15; Acts 5:30-32; 11:16; Romans 8:14,16,26,27; Romans 15:19; 1 Corinthians 2:10,11; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 9:14). Church and state should be separate. Genesis 1:2630; 2:5, 7, 1822; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:36; 32:15; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:2631; Romans 1:1932; 3:1018, 23; 5:6, 12,19; 6:6; 7:1425; 8:1418, 29; 1 Corinthians 1:2131; 15:19, 2122; Ephesians 2:122; Colossians 1:2122; 3:911. Since God created mankind into genders distinctly male and female we believe that the only legitimate marriage is that between a man and a woman. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. 8. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. Regarding ministry, the BF&M now explicitly defines the pastoral office as the exclusive domain of men thus prohibiting female pastors. . He will return in power and glory to judge the world which he created, consummate His mission, and assume His rightful throne. ", Those words are commonly referred to as the "red letter words", based on the. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. In setting forth this Doctrinal Statement, we by no means set aside or undervalue any of the Scripture of the Old and New Testaments. [5] The most controversial points were in the areas of male priority (in marriage and in ministry, specifically the pastorate), the exegetical standard by which the Bible is to be interpreted, and a catalogue of specific sins.[6]. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. The change was made over concerns that some groups were elevating the recorded words of Jesus[d] in Scripture over other Scriptural passages (or, in some cases, claiming that Jesus' silence on an issue held priority over other passages explicitly discussing a topic, an example being homosexuality). We do not believe in the reversal of the order. There are a few differing opinions on the origin of the Baptist church. Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6: . I have heard folk say, I am Baptist to the bone if you cut me bless God, Ill bleed Baptist! It is Gods unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. He ascended into heaven and is exalted at the right hand of God the Father where He is our Advocate and High Priest, the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Christian unity in the New Testament sense is spiritual harmony and voluntary cooperation for common ends by various groups of Christs people. When He returns to the earth with His saints, we believe that Jesus Christ will establish His millennial Kingdomand will reign for one thousand years. Russian We believe that Jesus Christ instituted the Lords Supper to commemorate His death until He comes again. All true believers endure to the end. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. ; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:2526; 2 Timothy 3:1517; Hebrews 1:12; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:1921. 6:1820; Gal. Address. (Luke 24:36-42; John 20:24-29). We do consider the knowledge, belief, and acceptance of the truth as set forth in this doctrinal statement to be essential to sound faith and practice. We believe in God's electing grace; that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the Gospel; that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial, penitent, and obedient faith; and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the Gospel; which rejection involves him in an aggravated condemnation. Regarding marriage, the BF&M added Article XVIII to specify the husband is the head of the household (though it is to be understood in a complementarian role, not as an autocrat). [citation needed] Nothing in the BF&M prohibits or discourages the wife from holding outside employment, nor the husband from doing household duties traditionally considered those of the wife. In His incarnation He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, who by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Him our nature, yet without sin, honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins; that His atonement consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, but was the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner's place, the Just dying for the unjust, Christ the Lord, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree; and that, having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in heaven and uniting in His wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfection. The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is Gods revelation of Himself to man. We believe that God instituted the family for the well-being of mankind and designed it to be a unit of order and blessing. We believe that such only are real believers as have placed saving faith in Christ; that a special Providence watches over their welfare; that they are kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal salvation; and that the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors is spiritual fruit produced as they abide in Christ. The Baptist Faith and Message is also available in different language translations. To be a model of biblical character in all aspects of deportment and interactions and so to avoid any offensive or inappropriate activity or appearance that could impugn the integrity of the institution. In Christian education there should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believers faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believers death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. Genesis 12:13; Exodus 19:58; 1 Samuel 8:47, 1922; Isaiah 5:17; Jeremiah 31:31ff. A Statement of Faith is just a summary. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11; Matthew 25:41; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9-10; Revelation 20:10), We believe in the Genesis account of creation as being neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of the direct and immediate creative acts of God without any evolutionary process. We believe that the command to give the Gospel to the world is clear and unmistakable, and this commission was given to the churches. He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. What if I asked you to formulate in your mind right now the reason why you are a Baptist. By "The Holy Bible" we mean that collection of sixty-six books, from Genesis to Revelation, which, as originally written, does not only contain and convey the Word of God but IS the very Word of God. As Gods created beings, living under His Lordship, all other sexual activity, including premarital sex, extramarital sex, polygamy, bisexual acts, same-sex marriage, homosexual acts, and bestiality violate clear biblical teaching on sexual purity (Rom. 216 views, 5 likes, 5 loves, 3 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from New Hope Baptist Church, Marshville, NC: sunday service The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of Gods creation. We commit ourselves to the historical grammatical interpretation of the Scriptures that verify the literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave.