Being Baptist

At Tomahawk Baptist Church, we are first and foremost Christians—believers in and followers of Jesus Christ.  Our basic faith/belief is summed up in the Scripture, John 3:16, "God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (NIV)

So why are we Baptist?  Why do we add that title to our name?  What are some of our primary beliefs, and what are the things that give us a unique identity within the great family of all Christians?

Centrality of Christ

 "Jesus Is LORD!" was the earliest and most concise Christian confession.  It continues to be ours today.  With all other Christians, we believe in the Deity, Humanity, and Saving Power of Jesus Christ.  God placed in Jesus the power to rule over all creation.  We, therefore, owe Jesus absolute obedience.  Our primary task as Christians is to tell the "Good News" about what Christ has done for the world and what He has done and continues to do for us personally. 

World history was transformed in one century because God sent Christ into the world and because He his teachings were central in the lives of His early disciples.  He continues to transform the world today through us, His current disciples.  When we give ourselves wholly to being witnesses and to lifting up Christ, our differences as Christians fade, and we can focus on a common call to share His message of love and salvation.

Praise God!  Jesus is LORD!

Scriptures:  Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:2-3

Priesthood of All Believers

We believe in the doctrine of the Priesthood of All Believers.  This doctrine has two major components:  Soul Competency and Soul Liberty.

Soul Competency:  Each individual is competent to interpret scripture---according the dictates of conscience; in the context of Christian community; and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Any individual may come directly to God through Christ without any human mediator.  All Christians, through faith and baptism, are called to be priests, ministering to the world with Christ.  Soul Competency is a major factor in Baptists' understanding of Salvation by Faith.

Soul Liberty:  Every individual can be trusted in matters of religion.  We must each accept responsibility for our decisions before God and the Church.  This radical freedom demands radical responsibility.  We live in community.  Community and individuality are always in dynamic tension.  Differences of opinion are normal in any community and we accept disagreements  as a part of our Baptist way of doing church.  The Priesthood of all Believers is not merely an individual matter.  We belong to a community of believers.  God's people are all priests, ministering to one another in Christ's name.

The Priesthood of All Believers is:

Ø      A call to humility;

Ø      A calling to serve persons who are in need;

Ø      A radical idea that the people of Christ can be trusted;

Ø      An affirmation of the real possibility of differences of opinion; and

Ø      An occasion for growth.

 

The Priesthood of All Believers is not:

Ø      An occasion for arrogance;

Ø      Carte blanche for believing anything we choose and retaining the name "Baptist;"

Ø      An occasion for denying the role of Christian communities in the lives of individual believers; and

Ø     An excuse to not cooperate with other Christians--which call us to look seriously at Scripture, at local church autonomy, at associational cooperation, at regenerate church membership, and at religious liberty (just to name a few other important Baptist distinctives).

 

Scriptures:  Ephesians 2:5-10; Hebrews 9:11-28

Authority of the Bible

We believe in the authority of the Scriptures, the Bible.  The 1963 Baptist Faith and Message states, "The criteria by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ."

The Bible:

Ø     Points us to the Savior, Jesus Christ;

Ø     Neither speaks of itself, redeems us, nor saves us;

Ø     Is neither to be worshiped nor idolized;

Ø     In the hands of the individual believer, empowered and directed by the Holy Spirit, is each person's primary spiritual director; and

Ø     Is the written revelation of the human incarnation of God in Jesus Christ.

 

Many other Christian groups rely heavily on confessions of faith and creeds as definitive statements of faith.  We, as Baptists, believe that confessions of faith and creeds do not hold authority over us.  Baptists originally came into existence because they rejected what they saw as non-scriptural practices of other groups.  At Tomahawk today we continue to hold fast to the doctrine of the Authority of the Bible.

Scriptures:  Psalm 119:105; Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12-13

Religious Liberty

We believe in religious liberty.  Only free religion is vital.  Coerced religion loses its meaning.  This doctrine leads us naturally to a strong belief in the separation of church and state.  The church must not have control over the state and the state must not have control over the church.  By following this path, both the church and state avoid corruption.

The Constitution of the United States says:

                Article 6:  that there shall not be "any religious test for public office."

                The First Amendment:  there shall be "no establishment of religion" and we are "guaranteed free exercise of religion."

In other words, there are to be no advantages to practicing religion…freedom to have religious beliefs of your choice or having no religious beliefs whatsoever.  Hear the words of people down through the ages concerning religious liberty:

Ø      The philosopher, John Locke said, "Religious liberty is…just and true…equal and impartial liberty." 

Ø      One of our early Baptist leaders, Thomas Helwys, stated, "Man's religion…is between God and himself." 

Ø      Our Virginia Baptist forefather, John Leland, declared, "Let every man speak freely without fear and maintain principles that he believes in, and worship according to  his faith, whether that's three gods, one god, no god or twenty gods.  And let the government protect him in doing so."

Ø      Bill Moyers, contemporary commentator and a Baptist says:  "True prayer is no ornament of culture.  It is an act of conscience.  Prayer officially sanctioned is faith with string attached."  

 

What would we say if we were in the minority?  At one time we were.  Baptist preachers were imprisoned in our state, Virginia, and in our county, Chesterfield, for preaching the Gospel without an officially sanctioned state license.  As Baptists we have stood and continue to stand firmly for the belief that:

Ø      There is only one authority in religion.

Ø      No one should interfere with an individual's right to practice faith.

Ø      Every church should have accountability only to God.

Scriptures:  Matthew 22:21; Romans 6:6-18; Galatians 5:1, 13-16; 1 Timothy 2:1-6

Autonomy of the Local Church

We believe in the autonomy of the local church.  The local church is the primary entity in doing the work of Jesus Christ in the world.  Jesus Christ, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is our authority.  There is no earthly authority over our local church.  We are responsible to interpret and carry out the Gospel as we understand it from our LORD.  We have the responsibility of cooperating with other churches in doing ministry.  However, all decisions about cooperation and independence rest within the democratic process of our church alone.   

 

This doctrine comes out of several important beliefs:

Ø      God is at work in our world today.

Ø      Each and every Christian is called to partnership with Christ and other Christians in that world.

Ø      God created and God lives in the local church as a base of operation for that partnership.

 

These are the distinct marks of an autonomous, local church:

Ø      Local congregational decision making.

Ø      Every church member's voice is to be heard.

Ø      Out of that local church autonomy come voluntary associations and cooperative service.

 

Local Church Autonomy:  "Where each particular congregation is called, gifted and freed by Christ to govern its own destiny…."

 

Scriptures:  1 Corinthians 12

Believer's Baptism

We believe in the ordinance of Believer's Baptism.  An ordinance (or mandate) is something that Jesus has told us we should do.  Baptism, immersion under water, is one of those "orders."  The act of baptism does not save us from our sins.  Only Jesus can do that as a gift of grace.  He gave us that gift when he died for us on the cross.  Baptism is an expression, a witness, to a change that has taken place in the believer's life when she/he chooses to become a follower of Jesus Christ.  In Baptism, the believer gives witness to the fact that his/her first allegiance is to Jesus Christ from now on.

When Jesus was baptized, He identified Himself with the human family.  He identified with our sinful ways, though He had no sin of His own.  He gave us a preview of the cross, its meaning and what was to happen there.

When we are baptized, God smiles down upon us and gives us His approval, just as He gave approval of His Son, Jesus at His baptism.  We are each given gifts and assigned service.  He claims us as His own.  He acknowledges us as His children.

Baptism is: 

Ø     A witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ through the symbolism of death, burial and resurrection.

Ø     A personal testimony about what God has done for me. 

Ø     A statement that my old ways have died and I have been raised up to a new way of life in Christ.

Ø     My confident hope that I may look to the future knowing that death has no more control over me.

 

Jesus says:  "Come, be baptized!  Go into the world in My name!  Make disciples of those you meet!  Baptize them!

 

Scriptures:  Matthew 3:13-17; Acts 8:26-40; Romans 6:1-4