Expert: John of AllFaith - 6/11/2007

Question
Hi,
I was raised Church of Christ which is very conservative and I fell away because I wasnt sure I belived in everything they taught... which their basic line is pretty much if youre not in the COC youre going to hell... My fiance was saved and baptized as an Independent Baptist... studying the KJV bible.. i was raised on NKJV Bible... I want to go back to church and re-dedicate my life and accept him back in my heart but not really sure where to start, what the practices of a Baptist church are or why I should go to Independent Baptist as opposed to Southern Baptist or Methodist or Presbyterian or anything else. Can you please help me or point me in a biblical direction for a church home?

Thank You
Kristine

Answer
Hi Kristine,
Thanks for writing.

Essentially there are a couple of things that make Baptists different from most other denominations.

First, in principle all Baptists believe in "the priesthood of all believers." This means that while Baptists may attend  local congregations, accept the spiritual authority of this or that pastor or teacher or convention... no one is recognized as having the authority to define truth but God through the Bible via the Holy Spirit. Many Baptists accept only the King James Version (they say the 1611 but they don't mean that, they mean the present version of the KJV that dates later than that. The 1611 is very archaic and almost no one uses it). Some Baptists accept the New King James, some will even use the NIV and the other, in my opinion, inferior versions. personally, I use the King James mainly (I use the Amplified etc. as resource material. The NIV and even the NKJV contradicts the KJV on many points as you apparently know.

While Baptists typically hold most of the "fundamental" teachings in common, each stands before God, through Jesus, alone. This holds Baptists personally accountable for what they believe and do.

The second distinction is the doctrine of eternal security.

In many denominations it is taught that if one stops going to church, stops praying, falls away etc. they will loose their salvation, as you implied when you said, "...I want to go back to church and re-dedicate my life and accept him back in my heart..."

From a Baptist understanding, if you were ever saved, if you ever received Jesus into your heart, you will remain saved for all of eternity no matter what. As we know both from the Bible and from our experiences that we ALL sin and will sin in the future. With this understanding Baptists enjoy a peace of mind that is missing in some other denominations. For a Baptist, when we are saved we are literally adopted into God's own family, forever secure in our salvation no matter what.

As for types of Baptists...

Because Baptists are historically so independent minded, refusing to let others dictate their beliefs and practices, many are opposed to the Southern Baptist and other Conventions. In some cases the individual Baptists feels the conventions are becoming too liberal, or too conservative, etc., but essentially its usually it boils to a question of authority. For a Convention or non-local board to require individual churches or individual Baptists to do this or that is viewed as an unbiblical and extra-biblical intrusion.

There are a few real differences of course. Seventh Day Baptist worship on the Sabbath. Primitive Baptists forgo music and are usually very conservative. Free Will Baptists will sometimes question eternal security and are sometimes fairly liberal. Southern Baptist tend to be more liberal than independent Baptists, but it varies. Independent Baptists are generally more fundamentalistic than many other Baptists prefer. Progressive Baptists are usually very liberal. Missionary Baptists usually don't stress Bible study as much as others....

So... in my opinion, the best course is to find a church that feeds you spiritually, that upholds you personal beliefs, morality, and convictions, and keep your eyes on God. It is God through Christ that saves, not any denomination.

Hope this helps,
Write back any time  

~John of AllFaith