Expert: Rev. Robert Woods - 5/18/2009

Question
Have been Southern Baptist all life - What would be the basic difference between Southern Baptist, Free Will Baptist and Independent Baptist?

Answer
In the US, Baptist constitute 27 groupings and their total membership is about 30 million.  Baptist churches are completely independent, yet bound together by an amazing common allegiance to principles and doctrines.  They claim no founder but Christ, and often claim they have been preaching since John the Baptist.  When the Reformation began in the 16th century, scattered Baptist groups in Europe advocated doctrines that eventually united them.  As the left wing of the Reformation, they were called ANA-Baptists ("to baptize again"), because they immersed (dunked) those who had been baptized in infancy.  They held to a literal application of the Bible, were communal and pacifistic, and opposed capital punishment, taking oaths in court, and the holding of public office. They insisted upon the complete separation of church and state.  Undergoing persecution for their then - radical views, they spread all over Europe.  In Holland a group of Mennonites, followers of the former Anabaptist leader Menno Simons, were teaching Anabaptist principles and took in  a group of British refugees undergoing persecution under James I.  One of their leaders, John Smyth, completely accepted the teaching of the Mennonites.  Smyth and his followers were rebaptized, became Anabaptists, and organized the first English Baptist church in 1609.  However, they remained English and refused to take on all the accoutrements of the Mennonites.  As persecution waned, the English Baptists went back across the channel and began a Baptist church in London.  Although they spread, they divided again, this time over the theology of the Atonement.  The General Baptist churches held that Jesus Christ died for everyone, while others held to the teachings of the Particular Baptist church - following the teachings of John Calvin - that salvation was only for those predestined by God.  The first Particular (British) Baptist Church had its beginning in 1638.  A third group, Immersion Baptist, broke away and in 1644 produced a confession of faith that is still in use by many.  For the first time, these Christians were popularly known as Baptists.  In 1631 Roger Williams went to America, and although he was not a Baptist, established a Baptist church at Providence, RI.  In 1814 Baptists organized the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions.  This step marked the first real denominational consciousness and united the Baptists.  They formed a society for publication as well as for missions and education.  In 1845 came the major split.  Southerners seceded from the union over the issue of slavery and state’s rights, and formed the Southern Baptist Convention to carry on the work of their churches.  What was left of the General Missionary Convention formed the Northern Baptist Convention which changed its name to American Baptists Churches USA. The two have remained separated ever since.  Baptists generally agree upon the Bible as the inspired Word of God, the supremacy of Jesus Christ, inherent freedom of individuals to approach God for themselves, salvation by faith through God's grace, two sacraments (called ordinances) of Baptism (non-infant, believer’s immersion) and the Lord's Supper, the independence of the local church, the church as a group of regenerated believers, complete separation of church and state, the immortality of the soul, and the ultimate triumph of God's kingdom.  Because Baptists have had freedom of expression in the pulpit and pew, they are quite democratic.  This means that liberal and conservative doctrines can be preached freely because each church is autonomous.  Local churches license and ordain candidates for the Ministry.

As a whole, there are few differences between Baptists today.  The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) tends to be more conservative or fundamental meaning they take a literal view of the Bible, while American Baptists tend to be more liberal in thinking.  The problem is that every Baptist church is autonomous, that means no one outside the local church can control or tell it what to do.  That means you can have very liberal Baptists and very fundamental Baptists in the same convention.  That also means that any local church can come up with its own doctrine or beliefs and still remain Baptist.

Independent Baptists can fall under a couple of categories.  These churches believe that there should be no denomination but that each church should remain separate.  So again, you can have very liberal and very fundamental churches using the Independent label.  However a great majority of Independent Baptists belong to the IFB movement (Independent Fundamental Baptists) which tends to focus on Fundamental theology, only using the King James Bible and traditional music.  

Many of these IBF churches also may exclude the following, depending on the individual church: Rock, Rap and other forms of modern music, including Contemporary Christian Music, Dancing, Certain contemporary dress styles, such as pants on women, as well as long hair and earrings on men, Visiting movie theaters, tobacco in any form, and some even oppose any form of birth control.  They tend to be politically active following conservative causes and candidate.  

Free Will Baptists are a little different from other Baptist Churches as well.  While they tend to be fundamental, they do not believe in the “unconditional perseverance of the saints” (once saved, always saved).  They instead follow the Armenian position of theology of free grace, free salvation, and free will from Hebrews 6: 4-6 “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”  From these verses they believe in General Atonement, that it is possible to lose your salvation by opening rejecting Christ and the gift of salvation given to you.  So an individual is “saved by faith and kept by faith.”  This does not mean a person sins and thus accidentally end up not saved.  Instead it is someone who repudiates or denounces their free will to follow Christ.  

If you would like to know more, just ask.  Blessings