Bible Baptist Church

Our Beliefs

Bible:

The fundamentals of Scripture are what have made Bible Baptist Church the success that it is. We regularly affirm our position on the Scriptures and take an uncompromised stand on the fact that the King James Version of the Bible is the infallible, inspired Word of God for English speaking people. Our church is classified among those who are “King James only” because of our unwavering faith in the accuracy, inerrancy, preservation, inspiration, infallibility and reliability of the KJV. Though this standard has been held for years, we have found it to be true that this stand is questioned by every new generation.

A simple summary of our conviction that the Bible is the God-breathed Word of God is that we accept it to be the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. We do not treat the Word of God as some ancient relic that is set aside to be admired and worshiped, but rather a tangible text that is to be studied and obeyed. We have enough confidence in the KJV to encourage each believer and member of Bible Baptist Church to bring their own copy to services and study the Scripture for themselves. We conclude that those who participate in this will find that the practices and teachings of Bible Baptist Church are closely aligned with what the Bible says a church ought to be.

We teach and believe that the Bible is God's written revelation to man. It is our only infallible rule of faith and practice suitable for doctrinal teaching. We believe that the Bible is the product of dual authorship. The Holy Spirit superintended the authorship of human men that, through their individual personalities and styles, composed God's Word to man (II Pet. 1:20-21). Like an instrument in the hands of a skilled musician, the breath and skill comes from the musician, but the instrument add its own unique sound and intonation to the music. The writers of the Bible were instruments that God breathed through to inspire the message of the Bible.

Only the saved can know and understand the truths of Scripture in a suitable way (I Cor. 2:12). The Bible is a spiritual book, therefore, to study the Bible one must be a possessor of the Spirit of God. Attempting to study or interpret the Bible without the essential aid of the Holy Spirit will lead an individual into conjecture, supposition and limitless error.

Though there may be several applications to one given text of Scripture, there can be only one correct interpretation. The meaning of Scripture may be discerned as one submits to the aid of the Holy Spirit and applies the literal grammatical-historical method of interpretation (John 7:17, 16:12-15, I Cor. 2:7-15, I John 2:20). Textual interpretation is essential to right living and obedience. The Word is to be subject to the interpretation of regenerated men, but is never to fall under the judgment of those men. Rather those men fall under the judgment of the Bible and are expected to submit to its authority.

The purity and authority of the KJV is not questioned at Bible Baptist Church. It is the stand of Bible Baptist Church that all other versions of the Bible (i.e. NASV, NKJV, NIV, TEV, TNIV, etc.) are not actually inspired or preserved and therefore are inferior to the KJV. Other versions may contain parts of the Word of God, but they cannot be classified as the Word of God because of the human involvement in the editorial aind interpretive process.

Upon investigation, we have learned that the KJV is translated from the Textus Receptus (received text). The Textus Receptus is the only manuscript that is free from human tampering, Roman Catholic influence and/or error. All other versions besides the KJV are derived from a corrupt manuscript such as the Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, or the Latin Vulgate, and have Roman Catholic influence. The corruption of their roots translated directly into a corrupted and unreliable text.

Baptist:

We are Baptist by conviction. The fundamentals of Baptist distinctives are our creed. We reject the popish doctrines of Roman Catholicism and boldly proclaim that we, as Baptists, have never been a part of Roman Catholicism. Therefore, we are not protestant. Baptists did not protest Roman Catholicism and separate from them. In fact, Catholics actually split off from the Baptists in A.D. 251 and gradually drifted into the papacy.

Most denominations can trace their lineage back to some earthly beginning, but Baptists distinctively trace their heritage back to Christ, Himself. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or Mormons (A.D. 1830), claim Joseph Smith to be their forefather. The Jehovah's Witnesses or Russellites (A.D. 1884) claim Charles Taze Russell as their progenitor. Lutherans (A.D. 1530) trace their origin to Martin Luther. Presbyterians (A.D. 1535) trace their origin back to John Calvin. Episcopalians (A.D. 1540) trace their origin to King Henry VIII. Methodists (A.D. 1729) trace their origin to John Wesley. Campbellites (A.D. 1827) trace their origin to Alexander Campbell. Quakers (A.D. 1648) trace their origin back to George Fox. Seventh Day Adventists (A.D. 1843) trace their origin to William Miller. Nazarenes (A.D. 1845) trace their origin to S.F. Breese. Our strongest Baptist distinctive is being able to trace our origin back to Christ Himself; otherwise known as Baptist Succession.

Our mode of baptism is also distinctively different than most. We reject the notion that any person has been scripturally baptized who has not been totally immersed in water. We believe this because this is the mode that John the Baptist and Christ used (Cf. Matt. 3:16, And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water:). It should also be noted that the Ethiopian Eunuch was baptized by immersion (Acts 8:38, and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.). It is impossible to permit someone to be sprinkled or poured when both the baptist and the candidate are in the water. It is equally impossible for both parties to enter into the water when the water is in some basin.

We also reject infant baptism. Our forefathers were called Ana-Baptists simply because they re-baptized those who had been christened as infants by the Catholic Church. The prefix “Ana” simply functions similarly to our prefix “re”. They were “Re-Baptizers”. An infant cannot be asked if he/she believest with all thine heart (Acts 8:37).

Another distinctive is our practice of communion. In Roman Catholicism the wafer is placed on your tongue for you by the priest. The Bible teaches that we have all been made kings and priests (Rev. 1:6, 5:10); therefore, we retrieve the bread and juice ourselves and minister it to ourselves.

Bible Baptist Church rejects the doctrine of using fermented wine in communion. Fermentation represents the contamination of sin. If our Lord's blood was pure blood, without sin, then our symbol of His blood (i.e. the wine, or fruit of the vine) should be without fermentation or sin.

While Bible Baptist Church does not accept the principle of closed communion (policing the table to insure that only members of the church are allowed to partake), neither do we accept the liberalism of open communion. We do not police the table because every man/woman is his/her own priest and must examine themselves, however we do not publicly advertise our communion services as a community event.

It must also be added that Bible Baptist Church does not accept the doctrine of the "Baptist Bride". We believe that all who are born again in the church age will be part of the bride of Christ. However, the fiends of the bride are not aliens of the Baptist church, but rather those saved outside of the perimeter of the church age. John the Baptist admitted that he was a friend of the bride (John 3:29, He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.) In other words, those saved in the Old Testament (like John the Baptist), and those saved in the future Dispensation of Tribulation are the friends of the bride, but not the bride.

Church:

While "Bible" and "Baptist" were our choice in defining who we are, Church was mandated by God. The term "church" refers to a called out assembly. In the New Testament, synonyms for the word "church" can refer to a synagogue or even a herd of animals that have been drawn into a corral. The main difference between "church" (Gr. eklesia) and the other synonyms is that the church is a called out, invited assembly. This leads to the question, "Called out of what, or where?" Called out of the world. The idea is that though the church is in the world, it is not of the world. The church is called to be different from the world that surrounds it. As believers, we are citizens of another land - a heavenly country. Our conduct in this world has a heavenly seasoning. We do not speak as the world speaks. We do not dress as the world dresses. We do not enjoy the world's music and entertainment. We are not of this world. We are heavenly in our disposition. Love for the world classifies an individual as worldly (I John. 2:15) and reveals that he/she is not in the church, but rather in the world. To be in the church is to be separated from the world and its philosophies. The church is not earthbound.

Because we are heavenly citizens, we urge our members to live distinctly by what the Bible teaches in terms of personal conduct. We believe in separation. Our witness in this world necessitates a distinguishable difference from the world. Recommending this difference in people's lives is accomplished by verse-by-verse, expository preaching. We do not patrol our member's daily activities, but we do preach the truth and expect a positive response to the truth from the members of Bible Baptist Church.