Southern Baptists
have prepared a
statement of generally
held convictions called
The Baptist Faith and
Message. The
topics below provide only
a brief, partial
summary. The
full text on the
issues discussed is
available by clicking on
the above link.
The
Scriptures
The Holy
Bible was written by men
divinely inspired and is
God's revelation of
Himself to man. It is a
perfect treasure of
divine instruction. It
has God for its author,
salvation for its end,
and truth, without any
mixture of error, for
its matter.
God
There is one
and only one living and
true God. The eternal
God reveals Himself to
us as Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, with
distinct personal
attributes, but without
division of nature,
essence, or being.
God
the Father
God as Father reigns
with providential care
over His universe, His
creatures, and the flow
of the stream of human
history according to the
purposes of His grace.
God is Father in truth
to those who become
children of God through
faith in Jesus Christ.
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. He honored the divine
law by His personal
obedience, and in His
death on the cross, He
made provision for the
redemption of men from
sin.
God
the Holy Spirit
The Holy
Spirit is the Spirit of
God. He exalts Christ.
He convicts of sin, of
righteousness and of
judgment. He enlightens
and empowers the
believer and the church
in worship, evangelism,
and service.
Man
Man was
created by the special
act of God, in His own
image, and is the
crowning work of His
creation. By his free
choice man sinned
against God and brought
sin into the human race.
The sacredness of
human personality is
evident in that God
created man in His own
image, and in that
Christ died for man;
therefore every man
possesses dignity and is
worthy of respect and
Christian love.
Salvation
Salvation
involves the redemption
of the whole man, and is
offered freely to all
who accept Jesus Christ
as Lord and Savior, who
by His own blood
obtained eternal
redemption for the
believer. In its
broadest sense salvation
includes regeneration,
sanctification, and
glorification.
God's Purpose of Grace
Election is
the gracious purpose of
God, according to which
He regenerates,
sanctifies, and
glorifies sinners. All
true 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, but shall
persevere to the end.
The
Church
A New
Testament church of the
Lord Jesus Christ is a
local body of baptized
believers who are
associated by covenant
in the faith and
fellowship of the
gospel and seeking to
extend the gospel to the
ends of the earth. This
church is an autonomous
body. The New Testament
speaks also of the
church as the body of
Christ, which includes
all of the redeemed of
all the ages.
Baptism & the Lord's
Supper
Christian
baptism is the immersion
of a believer in water. It is an act of
obedience symbolizing
the believer's faith in
a crucified, buried, and
risen Saviour, the
believer's death to sin,
the burial of the life,
and the resurrection to
walk in newness of life
in Christ Jesus.
The Lord's Supper is
a symbolic act of
obedience whereby
members memorialize
the death of the
Redeemer and anticipate
His second coming.
The
Lord's Day
The first day
of the week is the
Lord's Day. It
commemorates the
resurrection of Christ
from the dead and should
be employed in exercises
of worship and spiritual
devotion.
Last Things
God, in His
own time and in His own
way, will bring the
world to its appropriate
end. Jesus Christ will
return personally and
visibly. The dead will be
raised; and Christ will
judge all men in
righteousness. The
unrighteous will be
consigned to Hell. The
righteous will receive
their reward and will
dwell forever in Heaven
with the Lord.
Evangelism & Missions
It is the
duty and privilege of
every follower of Christ
and every church of the
Lord Jesus Christ to
endeavor to make
disciples of all nations
to seek constantly to
win the lost to Christ
by personal effort.
Education
The cause of
education in the Kingdom
of Christ is co-ordinate
with the causes of
missions and general
benevolence there
should be a proper
balance between academic
freedom and academic
responsibility. The
freedom of a teacher in
a Christian school,
college, or seminary is
limited by the
pre-eminence of Jesus
Christ, by the
authoritative nature of
the Scriptures, and by
the distinct purpose for
which the school exists.
Stewardship
God is the
source of all blessings,
temporal and spiritual;
all that we have and are
we owe to Him.
Christians have a
spiritual debtorship to
the whole world, a holy
trusteeship in the
gospel, and a binding
stewardship in their
possessions. They are
therefore under
obligation to serve Him
with their time,
talents, and material
possessions.
Cooperation
Christ's
people should organize
such associations and
conventions as may best
secure cooperation for
the great objects of the
Kingdom of God. Such
organizations have no
authority over one
another or over the
churches. Cooperation
is desirable between the
various Christian
denominations.
The
Christian & the Social
Order
Every
Christian is under
obligation to seek to
make the will of Christ
supreme in his own life
and in human society.
The Christian should
oppose in the spirit of
Christ every form of
greed, selfishness, and
vice.
Religious Liberty
Church and
state should be
separate. The state owes
to every church
protection and full
freedom in the pursuit
of its spiritual ends.
A free church in a free
state is the Christian
ideal.
Family
God has
ordained the family as
the foundational
institution of human
society. Marriage is
the unity of one man and
one woman in covenant
commitment for a
lifetime. The husband
and wife are of equal
worth before God, since
both are created in
God's image. The
marriage relationship
models the way God
relates to His people.
Children, from the
moment of conception,
are a blessing and
heritage from the Lord.