What is an independent Baptist Church?

A Baptist church is an assembly of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ that accepts the Bible as the sole authority fortheir faith and for their practices. The membership of a Baptist church is comprised of regenerated people that have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and baptized by immersion. The Lord Jesus Christ is their only Saviour. HE is also their interceding High Priest. Baptist churches are established, organized, and operate in accordance with the instructions provided in the New Testament.

The Origin of Baptist Churches

 Baptists were never part of the Roman Catholic Church.  Unlike Protestant groups that include Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists etc; Baptists never had to separate from the Roman church because they were already local assemblies that believed and practiced Baptist doctrine in existence prior to the Protestant Reformation. Baptist churches are New Testament assemblies with roots in apostolic teaching:

 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  (Matthew 28:19 KJV)

 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:41 KJV)

 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:42 KJV)

 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. (Acts 8:12 KJV)

 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. (Acts 8:37-38 KJV)

 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. (Acts 10:47-48 KJV)

 Water baptism by immersion is the manner of publicly declaring faith in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Sprinkling was not practiced by the New Testament church leaders, neither was infant baptism. Only sincere believers were baptized.

 The apostles of Christ faithfully fulfilled their duties to spread the gospel throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Asia Minor, and Southern Europe during the first century. They trained faithful men who were also called to the ministry by the Lord. These were called the apostolic fathers. These men continued to establish churches based on the doctrine of the apostles in the second and third centuries. They were known by many names in different parts of the world. Sometimes they were called Anabaptists, or Catabaptists. Sometimes they were known by the region where they settled, as were the Albigenses. Regardless of their geographical location or what they were called, they were Baptist churches in doctrine and practice, separate and distinct from the Roman Catholic Church.

Baptist Distinctives.

 These distinctives set Baptist churches apart from other denominations. While Baptists may differ in certain areas of church polity, they generally agree on these practices.

I-                 Believer's baptism; that baptism is for believers only by immersion only.

II-              Salvation by grace alone through faith alone.

III-          The eternal security of the believer.

IV-            The autonomy of the local church. Baptists reject all hierarchical structures of church polity.

V-               The priesthood of the believer. Baptists reject any separate priesthood in the church.

VI-            A regenerate church membership where only those who profess Christ and give evidence of salvation can join the church.

VII-        The Bible is the sole authority for the church.

VIII-     Separation of church and state i.e. the churches should not be united with or supported by the secular government.

An independent Baptist church is a self-governing congregation. It has Christ as its eternal head; the Bible as its rulebook and the pastor is the leader under Christ. The pastor is a shepherd-teacher who is to lead by his Christian example and by spiritual maturity. He is the elder that Peter wrote about:

 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.  (1 Peter 5:1-3 KJV)

The Baptist pastor is accountable to God and to his flock or congregation. He is not to set himself up as a ‘lord’ above the church. He is a called and trained servant who is to lead the flock to serve God through Jesus Christ. His authority is in the Word of God. Neither does the pastor have a hierarchy of bishops over him. No pastor has a right to rule over another pastor’s congregation. If he is concerned about other pastors he should call them and talk to them about what is on his mind. Perhaps he should take the other pastor out to lunch, but he should never seek to undermine another pastor’s authority. Independent Baptist churches may be classified as a denomination by some but in reality they are autonomous local churches that God has used and is still using to preach the Gospel around the world. An independent Baptist church is free from ecclesiastical authorities. It does not answer to the Pope in the Vatican, neither to cardinals, archbishops, or bishops. All of its members are priests. Its only Mediator between God and men is the Man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5) It bows to no earthly king, or potentate.

Independent Baptist churches are not yoked up with apostate bodies such as the World Council of Churches or National Council of Churches. They do not belong to conventions that may be manipulated by theological modernists, and neo-evangelicals. They are autonomous local churches that may have fellowship with other churches of like precious faith. This means that there must be doctrinal and spiritual concord between the assemblies. Politics, wealth, or ethnic differences should not prevent spiritual congregations from having fellowship or working together.

The Mission of independent Baptist churches.

They are to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and seek to make disciples of all nations. They are to show people their hopeless state without Christ and urge them to trust Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour or face burning in Hell forever. They are to establish local churches all over the world and train workers in every place. They are to show mercy to the helpless, weak, orphans, and widows. All churches are of equal importance in the sight of God and all have been commanded to fulfill the same mission, but all may not have the same number of members, or the same ministries. When a missionary-pastor establishes a new local church, that assembly is placed temporarily under a sponsoring church. That sponsoring church would be the sending church of the missionary-pastor. In time, God will allow that local Baptist church to become autonomous. Its members then take on the duties of supporting whatever ministries God led HIS servants to start. Baptist churches should evangelize people inside and outside of its facility. It is to teach its converts the precepts of the Christian faith, it should hold services several times a week, seminars, Bible studies, Bible Conferences, youth ministries, establish a music program, promote Christian education from Kindergarten through college. Above all, it must preach and teach the Bible, for it is the Gospel message contained in the Word that illuminates the darkened soul.

Why belong to an independent Baptist church?

I am an independent Baptist by conviction and by study.  I believe the Bible is the verbally inspired and preserved Word of the Living God. It is inerrant and it is authoritative in all matters pertaining to the faith. I believe that obeying its precepts and truths bring blessings to one’s life and home and that ignoring those precepts and truths will bring a certain curse. I believe that the church is a sovereign entity that does not need any human authorization to exist and fulfill its mission. Christ is our Lord and Master, and we are all brethren. I know that God has delegated power to the local church to accomplish HIS work on earth. I fellowship with those pastors who believe the same things and desire to witness the power of the Gospel operating through the church, but have very little desire for the politics and gossip of fundamentalism. ( there is a lot of that going on today and it is killing the fundamental Baptist movement.) If you desire purity in your doctrine, preaching without compromise, and to see people coming to faith in the Biblical Christ, then you belong at an independent Baptist church like Victory Baptist in Tampa. The genuine independent Baptist church has a:

a-     Message that is Biblical.

b-    Ministry to the entire community.

c-     Mission to evangelize the world.

d-    Music that is appropriate for worshipping a holy God, not merely entertainment.

e-     Manifestation of God’s Spirit in the membership.

Lastly, Baptists have always loved freedom. Soul liberty is something that we cherish. The freedom to worship God as He has dictated to our conscience without restrictions imposed by men. The privilege of reading the Bible for ourselves and approaching our God based solely on the shed blood of HIS beloved Son.

 Dr. Tony Smart

2-20-07