What We Believe
Southern Baptists have prepared a statement of generally held
convictions called the Baptist Faith
and Message. It serves as a guide to understanding who they are.
Copies are available at Southern Baptist churches. The topics here
provide only a brief, partial summary. The full text on the issue
discussed is also available.
The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's
revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine
instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and
truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.
God
There is one and only one living and true God... The eternal God
reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct
personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or
being.
God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His
creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to
the purpose of His grace...God is Father in truth to those who
become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus
Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin
Mary.... He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in
His death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men
from sin.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God... He exalts Christ. He
convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment... He enlightens
and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and
service.
Man
Man was created by the special act of God, in His image, and is the
crowning work of His creation... By his free choice man sinned
against God and brought sin into the human race... The sacredness of
human personality is evident in that God created man in His own
image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore every man
possesses dignity and is worth of respect and Christian love.
Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered
freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His
own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its
broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and
glorification.
The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of
baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and
fellowship of the gospel...and seeking to extend the gospel to the
ends of the earth...This church is an autonomous body...The New
Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ, which
includes all of the redeemed of all the ages.
Baptism & the Lord's Supper
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water...It is an
act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified,
buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of
the life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ
Jesus.
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience
where members memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate
His second coming.
Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human
society...Marriage is the unity of one man and one woman in covenant
commitment for a lifetime...The husband and wife are of equal worth
before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage
relationship models the way God relates to His people..Children,
from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the
Lord.