Sowing Seeds of Truth


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3055 Satterfield Road
Titusville, FL 32780
321-269-6934
321-917-6467

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Baptist Distinctives

Background:

Baptist churches are unique when compared with all other Protestant churches which, with the exception of the Mennonites, can trace their history back only to the Reformation. Baptist history goes back to apostolic days. Churches holding present day Baptist distinctives have been active since 27 A.D. In the first 15 Centuries of this age they were called by many names, but they were given the name Anabaptists by the Reformers; and later it was shortened to Baptists. The many millions of martyrs who died under the Roman Emperors and later, during the Dark Ages under the Roman Catholic Church, attended the same type of churches as those today are called Baptists.

Baptist doctrine, being New Testament truth, has remained essentially the same from the beginning. The doctrinal statement of this church is, except for some rewording and the Pre-Millennial revision, the same as the old New Hampshire Confession of Faith. Baptists hold the same fundamental doctrines as other major denominations, but there are some, all of which are held only by Baptist Churches, and these are known as "Baptist Distinctives".


Baptist Distinctives are:

B iblical Authority Baptists believe that Bible is the only and the sufficient authority for what to believe and what to practice.

2 Tim 3:16-17 

A utonomy of the Local Church Each local church is sovereign in itself and cannot be controlled by any board, hierarchical system or another church. 1 Tim 3:15
P riesthood of Believers Every "born-again" believer may pray without a human intercessor directly to God through Jesus Christ as High Priest. Rev 1:5-6
T wo Ordinances (Baptism and The Lord's Table) Believer's baptism for identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

The Lord's Table is a memorial service involving worship, fellowship and self examination.  The elements of the service (bread and cup) are only symbolic of the body and blood of Christ.

 Acts 2:41-42
I ndividual Soul Liberty Every man has the right to interpret the Scriptures, to hold and to profess and to worship as he believes the Bible teaches.  These things are not to be forced upon any man. 1 John 2:27
S aved Church Membership The membership of a New Testament local church consists of only those who have openly confessed Jesus Christ as Savior and demonstrated a willingness to obey the teachings of the Bible and agree to the doctrine and standards of the local church. Acts 2:42, 47
T wo Offices (Pastors and Deacons) The offices of pastor and deacon are the only Bible recognized offices in the local church.  both are chosen by the congregation.  Other church offices are necessary but must not be equated with these two. Phil 1:1
S eparation of Church and State Every believer should respect, sustain and obey civil authority so long as is does not cause violation to conscience or Scriptural convictions.  there should be no organic union of church and state, but the state should protect, not dominate or interfere with, the affairs of the church. Matt 22:21


Scripture References

2 Tim 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

1 Tim 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Rev 1:5-6 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Acts 2:41-42  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

1 John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Acts 2:41, 47 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.  . . . 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Phil 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Matt 22:21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

 


Monthly Devotional

“And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.” - Ezekiel 33:31

There is much in all of life that is not what it appears to be. On the surface, one could conclude it to be so. But, going deeper reveals something else altogether: sometimes sinister, sometimes deadly, or sometimes perverted– but always deceptive.

James 1:22, says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own souls.” It is incredible how much effort we put into being deceived by others when ultimately the deception comes from within ourselves. Let’s cite some examples, though these are not the sum total of all that goes on in life. We are interested in buying or renting a house. We drive up and look at it from the outside, and check it over a second time. It is to our liking by what we see. Then we go inside and inspect the rooms, the flooring, the appliances, the a/c and heat. Our entire time of inspecting however, is on the basis of the outside only. We go ahead and get the house, and slowly and surely discover major and expensive problems that were there had we checked. The house was not what it appeared to be.

The same is true with things, or groups, or churches, or people. We can, and should try to check out as much as we can about those we become involved with, but even then we do not know the extent of everything. There is an element of trust involved, yet we must always remember Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” The LORD knows the hearts of all people, but we do not know the extent of what our hearts are capable of. The examples of this are so numerous, we could take years citing them all, and by then, there would be a whole new list.

May this serve as a warning to each of us: things and people may not be what or who they appear to be. Impulsive action on our part, based on primarily the external, can injure or cause us to compromise or worse, destroy our testimonies for Christ.

Missionary of the Month

Benjamin & KatieShore

Church Planting Scotland