"In a survey several years ago we found that about half of the adults coming to our church were coming from little religious background or other denominations—the largest number coming from Methodist, Presbyterian and Catholic backgrounds. They are continually asking questions on what Baptist believe. It is my hope that this will help all in our congregation to communicate why we have chosen to practice our Christian faith as a member of the Baptist church."

by G. Bryant Wright, Senior Pastor

Baptists believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation and eternal life. We believe a personal decision must be made by each individual to repent from sin and trust Him as their Lord and Savior. We do not inherit our Christianity from our parents.

Baptists believe the Bible is the authority for the way we practice our faith in moral responsibility, theological beliefs, and relationships with others. The Bible, not the church, has the final say in the way we practice our faith as Christians. There has been intense discussion among Southern Baptists about what it means to trust in the Bible as our authority. These are strong convictions among all Baptists about what "authority" means and how the Bible should be interpreted. Yet, in spite of all these heated differences, Baptists believe that the Bible, and not the church, is the final authority for practicing our faith.

Baptists believe all Christians should read and study the Bible. We are not a creedal people. Our only creed is the Bible. In 2000, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a revised confession of faith entitled "The Baptist Faith and Message" which says this about the Bible: "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. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. 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 human conduct, creeds and religious opinions should be tried. All scripture is a testimony of Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

Exodus 24:4"Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel." | Deuteronomy 4:1-2,17;19"Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
2 "You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you."
17 "the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky,"
19 "And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven." | Joshua 8:34"Then afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law." | Psalm 19:7-10"The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb."
Psalm 119:11,89,105,14011"Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You."
89"Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven."
105"Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path."
140"Your word is very pure, Therefore Your servant loves it."  | Isaiah 34:16"Seek from the book of the LORD, and read: Not one of these will be missing; None will lack its mate For His mouth has commanded, And His Spirit has gathered them." | Isaiah 40:8"The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever." | Jeremiah 15-16;36"Then the LORD said to me, "Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people; send them away from My presence and let them go!" "And it shall be that when they say to you, 'Where should we go?' then you are to tell them, 'Thus says the LORD: "Those destined for death, to death; And those destined for the sword, to the sword; And those destined for famine, to famine; And those destined for captivity, to captivity."'...
Matt 5:17-18;22:29"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished."

Matt 22:29  "But Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God." |  Luke 21:33;24:44-4633"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away."

Luke 24:44-46 "Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day," | John 5:39;16:13-15;17:1739"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;"

John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14"He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15"All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you."

John 17:17 "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth."
Acts 2:16;17:11"but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel"
Acts 17:11 "Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." | Romans 15:4;16:25-26"For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

Romans 16:25-26 "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, 26but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;" |  2 Tim 3:15-17"and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."
Heb 1:1-2;4:12"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world."

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." | 1 Peter 1:25"BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER " And this is the word which was preached to you." | 2 Peter 1:19-21"So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."

At Johnson Ferry, we teach that the Bible is the "God-breathed, infallible Word of God". It is perfect truth from cover to cover, and all scripture, both Old and New Testaments, point to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, the Ultimate Word of God. Are you letting the Bible serve as the authority for the way you live your faith in Jesus Christ?

Baptists believe that every Christian has direct access to God through Jesus Christ. We do not have to go through a priest to confess our sins to God or pray to God.

It also means all Christians are ministers. We may have different rolls of leadership in the church (such as pastor, overseer (elder), deacon, teacher), but every Christian is called to be a minister. Are you actively serving and fulfilling your calling as a minister?

Baptists believe that each congregation is to determine it's own doctrine and government according to the leading of the Holy Spirit in a way that is consistent with Scripture. Most, but not all, are congregational in government.

At Johnson Ferry, we have an elder form of government that is also congregational on certain major decisions. The Southern Baptist Convention has no say in the local church. The President of the Southern Baptist Convention speaks for one person only — himself. He is a representative of all Southern Baptists, but he doesn't speak for any Baptist other than himself. His power is in the appointments he makes to determine who serves on denominational agency boards, such as the Sunday School Board, Board of Trustees for Baptist seminaries, etc. He has no say in local church doctrine, government or decisions.

The local association of Southern Baptist churches (for JFBC this is the Noonday Baptist Association, made up of Southern Baptist churches in the Cobb County and a small part of Cherokee County) can withdraw fellowship from a member church that they feel is too radical in doctrinal differences, but the church that is "dis-fellowshipped" from the association is still a Southern Baptist church as long as they give to the Cooperative Program and their funds are received. Southern Baptists are drawn together through our cooperative effort in giving to world missions and evangelism, more than in doctrine. This aspect of being a Baptist is most confusing to people of other denominations who have an eclesiastical structure, which is in authority over the local church.

Baptist origins go back to the Church of England in the early 1600's. Several Anglican priests began to study Scriptural teachings on baptism and felt strongly that baptism should be for believers only and by immersion. They baptized one another in this way and were expelled from the Anglican (Episcopal) church.

Early Baptists faced great hardships and persecution and even imprisonment.  One such man was John Bunyon, the author of Pilgrim's Progress.  Many in this early group were called separatists.  They called themselves the "pure group" as they were trying to follow Scripture alone and not church tradition.  To escape persecution some separatists came to America where they were known as "Puritans".  Three denominational groups came out of the Puritans:  Baptists, Congregationalists and Quakers.  All of these groups spread throughout the United States.

The first Baptist church in the United States was organized in Providence, Rhode Island by Roger Williams.  Because our heritage included religious persecution, religious liberty and the separation of church ad state are a precious part of our beliefs.  One difficult matter for Southern Baptists at this time is determining where the line is drawn on separation of church and state.  The line is more blurred today, and this topic provokes heated discussion among Baptists in America and throughout the world.

Baptists beieve that the Bible teaches that when a person makes a decision to become a Christian, baptism by immersion follows that decision as a public testimony of one's faith in Christ.

In the early church, scholars of all denominations agree, baptism was by immersion.  A theological misunderstanding by Augustine greatly influenced the church to start baptizing infants, and the mode of baptism changed to sprinkling.

Baptists do not believe that baptism is required for salvation, but that it is a symbolic testimony of our faith in Christ.  It is part of obedience to Christ and serves as our "official" entrance into the church, though we enter the body of Christ at the point of Salvation.

Some denominations believe that God provides His grace through participation in certain sacraments of the church.  Baptists do not believe that God's grace must pass through the church, but is given directly to every believer.  Therefore, Baptists practice "ordinances" which serve as symbolic reminders of the reality of God's grace — already given.

Our two ordinances are:

• The Lord's Supper
  It is a symbol of Jesus' death on the cross. We do not believe Jesus is in the elements. We believe the practice of observing the Lord's Supper reminds us of the great price Jesus paid for the forgiveness of our sins by sacrificing His life for us on the Cross.
• Baptism by Immersion
  This symbolically describes what occurs in salvation:
  •We are completely cleansed of all sin
  •We have died to sin and selfishness (a symbol of burial as one goes under the water), and we rise to a new life identifying with the Resurrected Lord Jesus (as we come up out of the water). Baptism by immersion dramatizes the Gospel.

This is certainly distinctive of Southern Baptists, but not all Baptists.  The Handbook of Denominations reported in 1994 that there were 27 major Baptist denominations in the United States, with a total membership of more than 32 million.  The largest group within the "Baptist" denomination is Southern Baptist, with a membership of 15,851,756 in 2001.  Some such as Primitive Baptists, do not believe in missions.

Southern Baptists vary from Independent Baptists in our approach to missions.  We voluntarily give to the "Cooperative Program," a joint fund which provides support for all Southern Baptist missionaries and seminaries.  Independent Baptists support missionaries from their local church.  We feel we can support more people and do more for missions effort through a cooperative effort.

In conclusion, in reading this, are you comfortable being a Christian in a Baptist church?  The next time someone says something about what Baptists believe, you can know for sure whether or not what they say is true.  You might have to gently and lovingly correct them by helping them see that with no creed but the Bible, belief in the priesthood of all believers, and the autonomy of the local church, Baptists are a diverse lot.  The stereotype of a Baptist will be true of some but false for many others.  Nevertheless, when any Baptist is asked "What faith are you?" we should reply, "I'm a Christian" before we say, "I'm a Baptist."