Baptist Identity - Part 1

The church I pastor (Hillsdale Baptist Church) is unapologetically Baptist in its identity.  But what is it that makes a church Baptist? Is it affiliation? There are more than 150 Baptist denominations in America. Members of some of these denominations deny every major tenant of Christianity. In other words, they are not even Christian, much less Baptist. So, what makes a church Baptist? In short, it is what we believe that makes the difference.  Convictions make us Baptists.  

The first conviction that defines Baptists is our insistence on the authority of the Bible. We are a people of the Book. It has often been said that we have no creed but the Bible. To this conviction I would add the associated beliefs of the absolute inerrancy and the sufficiency of the scriptures.  Inerrancy means that all that the Scripture teaches or intends to present as truth is true. Also, we believe that the scriptures are sufficient. Scripture is comprehensive, embodying all that is necessary to one’s spiritual life. The scriptures as we have them are also complete. There is no need for additional revelation to be added to the Bible.  

From these foundational beliefs flow the other hallmarks of Baptist identity. Chief among these is the concept of regenerate church membership. This means that you have to be a born again believer in order to be a member of the local church. Now, this may seem like an obvious requirement, but it has not always been so. In fact, most denominations today engage in the practice of infant baptism. These churches admit children to membership in the church without having a credible profession of faith. Indeed, they are usually baptized before they are even old enough to speak. The major reason for this practice is a misunderstanding regarding the role of the church. The church cannot impart spiritual life or grace through a sacrament. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are only memorials. The church is not the place where salvation is dispensed; it is not the savior, but the home of the saved.  

Others have begun to admit the unregenerate to membership based on theological decline. I read recently of a Presbyterian church which admitted an atheist to its membership simply because he liked the members of the church and they liked him.  

Regenerate church membership is the Biblical model. Acts 2:47b (NKJV) says: ^{. “}. . . And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Other scriptures supporting regenerate church membership include 1 Corinthians 1:2, and 1 Corinthians 12:12-13. Clearly, regeneration comes first, then church membership. Infant Baptism reverses this order.

Any church that intentionally admits unregenerate people to membership violates the teaching of the scriptures. So, the scripture demands that we attempt to intentionally exclude unbelievers from church membership. Not necessarily attendance, but membership.