Posts Tagged ‘Baptist Distinctives’
God’s Work through His People
A History of Baptist Principles As Baptists we are a part of His story. I believe that the core of Baptist beliefs that will be enunciated in this issue by the faculty of International Baptist College and Seminary are the closest to the New Testament Church as is possible today.1 That makes us “primitivists.” We…
Read MoreCongregational Church Government
What is a Baptist? What is it about our “faith and practice” that distinguishes us from believers in other denominations? Chester Tulga served in years past as the research secretary for the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship. This outstanding Baptist thinker and spokesman affirmed the principle with which we rightly begin our discussion. He said, “The basic…
Read MoreFrancis Wayland: The Ideal of Autonomous Baptist Churches
Throughout their history Baptists have been committed to autonomous local churches. Like other Christians, however, they have often noted the value of cooperation and fellowship between churches. A tension has resulted between the principle of independence and the benefit of association. Actual Baptist practice has resulted in a range that has, at one end, radically…
Read MorePartial Baptists
Baptists have distinctives, and in a typical ordination council, a Baptist ministerial candidate is asked to articulate them. Though some people may include additional items, these seven elements are at the heart of Baptist distinctives: The Bible: the only rule of faith and practice Priesthood of the believer Soul liberty Autonomy of the local church…
Read MoreRegenerate Membership – A Good Idea!
Several years ago I attended a breakfast hosted by a large Grand Rapids-based publishing house. The event targeted local ministers from various denominations in order to promote recent publications. I like both books and good food so I accepted the invitation. At the breakfast I sat next to an Episcopalian rector. As we talked, I…
Read MoreThe Importance of Strong Biblical Leadership
In the headlines, we occasionally see stories of abuse of power and failure of leadership. Some of these stories are of failures at a church or other religious organization. Many voices rise up when these events occur, clamoring for a renovation of church polity, denigrating the status quo, calling for change to forms of church…
Read MoreRegenerate Church Membership
Dave Sproul FrontLine • March/April 2014 Regenerate church membership is a Baptist distinctive that can be traced back to the Book of Acts. It certainly was practiced by the early New Testament Church. We believe it was sustained during the Dark Ages by different groups outside the Catholic Church and then became especially prominent in…
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