Wednesday, December 21, 2011 01:59:55 AM We are unashamed to declare ourselves a Bible believing, Fundamental Baptist Church. We believe the Bible is the sole rule of faith and practice. This belief has lead us to further define ourselves as Fundamentalists and Baptists. We are in fellowship with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches and the Minnesota Association of Regular Baptist Churches.

What does it mean to be a Fundamentalist?

There is much misunderstanding and misuse of the term fundamentalist these days. As it applies to Christian theology it first came into use during the Niagra Falls Bible Conferences, held yearly from 1883 to 1897 (with the exception of 1884). The term is formally defined by the 12 volume work published in 1910 entitled The Fundamentals A Testimony to the Truth. The purpose of this work was to combat the inroads of theological liberalism (known as modernism at that time). It was a declaration of the fundamental beliefs that define a person as a Christian. Without adherence to these fundamental beliefs one does not have the right to call himself a Christian. The fundamentals of Christianity set forth in this work are:

Divine inspiration of scripture: Scripture was given to us by God and therefore possesses the property of inspiration. The term inspiration as used in scripture could be literally translated “God breathed”. Technically speaking, the property of inspiration only applies to the original autographs, but in practice we believe that the manuscripts in the original languages and the translations which we possess today (with one or two notable exceptions) can be properly called the Word of God. In relation to scripture we also believe in:
- the inerrancy of scripture,
- a normal grammatical, historical approach to the interpretation of scripture,
- a literal 7 day creation and a worldwide flood as recorded in the first 11 chapters of Genesis,
- and literal miracles as recorded in scripture.
Incarnation of Jesus Christ: He is God become man. Regarding the Lord Jesus Christ we also believe:
- in the deity of Christ,
- in the humanity of Christ,
- in the virgin birth of Christ,
- and that He lived a perfect, sinless life here on earth.
Substitutionary atonement: Jesus Christ, the Son of God died for our sins according to the scriptures. He took our place, bearing the punishment for our sin and in exchange gives us His righteousness. Christ has done all for our salvation, there is nothing left for us to do but believe.
Bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ: Christ literally died, was buried and rose from the dead on the third day. The resurrection of Christ is proof that God has accepted His sacrifice for our sin. Our salvation is complete and sure.
Imminent return of Christ: Christ will return bodily to earth to establish a literal earthly kingdom. This return could happen at any moment. There is no prophetic event which must precede Christ’s return. Nor is there any way to predict when He will come. It may be today, or it may be tomorrow, or it may not be for years, decades or even centuries to come.

What does it mean to be a Baptist?

Baptist distinctives are summarized in this clever little acrostic on the word “Baptists”.

Biblical Authority. The Bible is our sole authority in all matters of faith and practice. It is God’s word. It is the truth and it is authoritative and accurate on all subjects it addresses. It is the first duty of believers to know it and obey it.

Autonomy of the Local Church. The local church is an independent body of believers responsible only to the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not believe in denominational hierarchies dictating programs and policies to the local church. The local church choses its own pastor and deacons and any other officers or employees it deems neccessary and Biblical. It alone determines its doctrines and the requirements for membership. We do believe in voluntary association with other churches of like faith and practice.

Priesthood of the Believer. We are called a kingdom of priests in Rev. 1:6. As priests we may go to God directly without the intervention of any other person. No distinction is made in the New Testament between clergy and laity. As priests, all believers are responsible to go to God on behalf of others (that is, to pray for the salvation of the lost) and to go to others on behalf of God (that is, to present the lost with the gospel message).

Two Ordinances. We believe that Christ instituted 2 ordinances (not to be confused with sacraments); Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (or communion). Baptism is public witness to the believer’s identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. Communion reminds us that our fellowship with Christ is made possible by his blood which was shed and his body which was broken for us. Ordinances differ from sacraments in that a sacrament is a means of obtaining God’s favor while an ordinance is only embued with symbolic meaning. For Baptists, there is only one sacrament, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Individual Soul Liberty. No church or individual stands between us and God. Neither the church nor the pastor can dictate what we believe. This does not mean we are free to believe anything we wish, we are required to study and rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15). Every man will answer to God for himself (Rom. 14:12).

Saved, Baptized Church Membership. There are 2 prerequisites for church membership; salvation and baptism by immersion. The pattern we see in the book of Acts is that first a person believed, then he was baptized and finally he was added to the number.

Two Offices. The New Testament defines 2 offices of the local church; Pastor, and Deacon. The people who hold these offices are chosen by the local church. The pastor is the leader of the local church, especially in matters of doctrine and faith. The deacons assist the pastor with administrative and more “secular” matters to free the pastor’s time for Bible study and prayer.

Separation of Church and State. The church is not a part of the state. For a state to collect taxes from its citizens to support a church that they do not believe in would be tyranny over their consciences. Nor is the state answerable to any church. We believe this is the essence of Christ’s command to “Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s and unto God the things that are God’s”.

Baptists and Baptism

Because of the similarity of the name Baptist and the word baptism, many associate Baptists with a peculiar view of baptism, and they are not entirely wrong. Here is a brief summary of the distinctive doctrines that Baptists hold regarding baptism.

Baptism is by immersion. Baptism is a picture, or an object lesson symbolizing the believer’s identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. Sprinkling and pouring spoil the picture. A person who has been baptized by one of these other methods will be required to be baptized by immersion before being accepted into the membership of a Baptist church.
Baptism is for believers. The New Testament pattern is that first a person believes and then he is baptized. Baptism does not save a person but rather is public testimony that the person has come to faith in Christ. Before a Baptist church will accept a candidate for baptism he must give testimony to a conversion experience and his faith in Christ. Naturally we do not baptize babies, nor do we recognize the baptism of a person baptized as an infant. Likewise any person baptized (even by immersion) before he came to faith in Christ is required to be baptized again before being accepted into the membership of a Baptist Church.
Baptism is a prerequisite for church membership. The New Testament pattern is that first people believed, then they were baptized and finally they were added to the number. We require candidates for membership to give testimony to a conversion experience followed by baptism by immersion. When a person trusts Christ as Savior we encourage them to be baptized as soon as possible and normally they are accepted into the church membership immediately after the baptism has been performed. Some Baptist churches may decline to baptize a person who is not also seeking church membership. That is usually left to the discretion of the pastor and the deacons.

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For more information on what we believe and how Blaine Baptist Church operates here is a link to our Constitution with Confession of Faith and Covenant of Fellowship.