By Stan Metts
Why Should I be a Fundamental, Independent Baptist?
The only way a person can become a Christian is to be born one. I am not talking about being physically born into a Christian family. One does not become a Christian because his or her mother and/or father is one. True, a person can learn much of the traditions, motions and vocabulary of the Christian, but that is not enough to be a Christian. Jesus said in John 3, “Ye must be born again.” One of the major differences between most Churches is what that second birth means. So in the following points, that aspect of doctrine will appear frequently.
My information about the alternatives comes from personal interviews with people who are members of the alternatives as well as compiling the facts that I have learned through reading about the alternatives. In each article I focus on what Baptists are in contradiction to what the alternative is.
Since the number of Churches, denominations, cults, & etc. are innumerable, I will only be able to deal with major differences, so lets get with it.
Why am I a Fundamental, Independent Baptist instead of a Catholic?
Baptists do not believe that Mary is God or related to God. She needed a saviour just like everybody else. There is only one mediator between God and man, that is the man Christ Jesus.1 Timothy 2:5. Mary is not mentioned in the New Testament Bible after the book of Acts. She had no part in the founding or building of Churches. There are no verses in the Epistles lifting her as a heavenly authority at all. The Book of Romans which was Paul’s doctrinal treatise for Churches says not one word about Mary or Mariolotry.
Baptists can find no biblical or historical proof that departed saints can hear, much less do anything about our prayers.
Baptists can find no biblical evidence that the bread or fruit of the vine, actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Baptists can find no biblical evidence that a pope or any other man can become the vicar of Jesus Christ.
Baptists would not be comfortable with a Church that changes in regard of its environment or with the times.
Baptists wonder that if purgatory once existed; what happened to it and all the souls that were supposed to be in it?
Baptists have never chained the Bible in an attempt to keep the average person from reading it.
Why am I a Fundamental, Independent Baptist instead of a Jehovah Witness?
Baptists know that Jesus Christ is The Lord. That descriptive term is applied to him in many Old Testament prophetic passages. Those passages linked with the Gospel of John Chapter one, verifies that Jesus, as the living Word of God was with God in the beginning and He was God. John 8:19-24 tells us that anyone who does not believe that Jesus and God are one and the same are still in their sins. In Philippians chapter 2, the Bible tells us that God has given the one that does not think it robbery to be equal with God, a name that is above every name. Every knee shall bow and every tongue must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (God)!
Every American Baptist is a loyal American and honors the United States flag. Baptists will not hesitate to defend their country even if they have to participate in declared war. Blood transfusion is a proven method of healing ailing bodies and there is no scripture that forbids this medical proceedure.
Baptists would never dream of revising the Bible to fit their philosophies or doctrine. They are not confused by who the 144,000 are in the book of Revelation Chapters 7 & 14. Fundamental Baptists know that this world and its heavens will ultimately be destroyed rather than turned into a Kingdom. God will then create a new earth and new heavens. The new Jerusalem will then be brought down to the new earth and be the dwelling place of the saved of the earth. Revelation 21. Until then we presently wait for the rapture of those of us in whom the Spirit of the Lord dwells. Romans 8:9
Baptists wonder why the founders of the Jehovah Witnesses, Russell and Rutherford, have been for the most part shunted into shadows, because their doctrines were so weird and tainted. That is why Jehovah Witnesses avoid talking about the pyramids of Egypt.
Why am I a Fundamental, Independent Baptist instead of a Mormon?
The Mormons deceitfully imply that their largest source of converts come from Baptist Churches. We cannot deny that many Baptists have no idea what truth is.(See the comments at the top of this page.) But a real Baptist would have nothing to do with Mormonism. The first reason is that Mormonism has ignored a primary law of God. The have added to the Word of God. They have printed their own holy book. This book is their final authority and has been sumarily changed to fit times and needs. Earlier versions forbad black people a place in the Mormon god’s plan. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon religion, said he had carried over 200 pounds of gold plates. Pictures show that he was not a large man. Paid witnesses tried their best to affirm what Joseph Smith was trying to foist on to the public, but most of those witnesses backed out when the lies became preposterous. The writings that Joseph Smith said came from either one or two angels, described cities, landmarks and peoples here in America that never existed.
The Mormon religion began to form hardly recognizing Jesus. They taught that he was only one of many gods. That in fact any person can become god through the Mormon religion. The error of excluding Jesus Christ was recognized along the way and today, they prefer to be called the Church of Jesus Christ reorganized. Contrary to Joseph Smith’s original purposes, they are doing every thing possible to be recognized as a sister Christian denomination yet hold onto their autonomy. They still deny the basic Christian doctrines of God, the Bible, the Church, Heaven & Hell, Salvation and the deity of Jesus Christ.
Why am I a Fundamental, Independent Baptist instead of a Protestant?
Mankind has come up with two philosophies about religion. The first is that we are free to choose what religion we want. This is a true statement. But along with that philosophy comes the idea that all these religions ultimately lead to the same end; Heaven. This is error. There is only one way to Heaven. That one way is not a religion but a person. Jesus said in John 14:6, “no man cometh to the Father but by me.” Jesus said in John 3 that in order to see or enter heaven, one must be born again. This Jesus has to be the true Jesus. This new birth must be the Bible New Birth. This new birth is not connected to baptism. The first birth had to do with water, the second birth must be enacted by the Spirit.
With that said, now I will get to protestantism. A protestant is someone who protests the Catholic religion. Through the centuries, individuals and groups saw the glaring errors of the Catholic religion and came out. Many of them brought out as many false doctrines as they left. The Catholic church and most protestants, believe that baptism is part of the salvation work. In other words, we have to be baptized in order to be saved according to them. This is a major difference from Baptists. Simply put, error says that baptism is some sort of cleansing. Truth says that baptism is a picture of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The two beliefs cannot be mixed. Baptists believe that the Blood of Jesus Christ and only the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses sin. The gift of the Holy Spirit, which is eternal life, performs regeneration not baptism. The thief on the cross is the first of many who went to heaven without baptism. Baptism is the first step of faith for a person who says he believes in Jesus Christ. Refusal to be baptized is the strongest form of Christ denial. If we deny him, then he will deny us. Scriptural baptism is the picture of death, burial and resurrection. Sprinkling, pouring or annointing are no substitutes.
I need to interject here an important point. The new birth is not the property of any particular Church. The new birth comes when a person realizes his or her sin, and knows that pardon and forgiveness comes through Jesus Christ. Whosoever shall call upon the name ot the Lord shall be saved. Many people are saved in spite of their Church. Churches that believe the scripture and practice the scripture will see more come to Jesus Christ.
I am a Baptist because I believe the Bible and shun doctrines that are based on traditions. Most of the protestant movement is gradually being drawn back into their Catholic mother and they are going willfully. Proof is how the public world treats the beloved popes of the Catholic religion.
Why am I a Fundamental, Independent Baptist instead of a Pentecostal?
Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Jesus Christ is none of His. Jesus used John 14-16 to define the Spirit of God and His ministry. The presence of Jesus was going away, so he promised the comforter. That comforter would not speak of himself, but would glorify Jesus.
The second chapter of Acts gives the story of how the Holy Spirit manifested himself to the Jerusalem Church. It is amazing how the Pentacostal Churches use that chapter to describe what they call “tongues.” Anyone who reads that chapter carefully will suddenly realize that the Pentacostal interpretation is not truth. The disciples from Galilee were the only ones who spoke miraculously. Their miraculous speech was that what they spoke was understood by several different languaged people. Every mention of tongues manifestation in the book of Acts refers back to Chapter 2. Gibberish is not from God, nor does it have the authority of God. God has given his final Word in the Holy Bible. There cannot and will be no further revelation or communication from God. The Pentacostal faith feeds upon the perception that God will somehow show his existence or power through the Holy Spirit. It is only by faith in his Word that we can prove the power and existence of God.
It is obvious that the misinterpretation of the ministry of the Holy Spirit by the Pentacostals, leads to misinterpretation of other important doctrines. The most glaring error regards salvation. God’s Word emphasizes that there is none good, no not one. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death. We are dead in our trespasses and sins. The only hope that we have is the offer of God to forgive us our sins through Jesus Christ. His death on the cross satisfies God’s demand of death for sin. When a person deliberately accepts Christ’s death as the punishment for his own sin, then God recons our sin to be forgiven and covered by the Blood of Jesus Christ. Everywhere the Bible relates works and grace, grace must stand alone. Salvation cannot be of works and grace. Works are a result of God’s creation. Ephesians 2:8-10 is the best passage that describes God’s work of salvation of lost souls. Pentacostals and Protestants both attribute salvation as some sort of combination of works and grace. Salvation would be the wrong term if we could become holy before God or kept by our own works. The Arminian doctrines of minimizing the work of Jesus Christ are held high by most of the Pentacostals and Protestant Churches. It is logical to them that salvation can only be kept or maintained by our own efforts or determinations. This philosophy is totally opposite to what Baptists believe.
Why am I a Fundamental, Independent Baptist instead of a Southern Baptist?
Even though I have tried to be nice about the approach of defining why I am a Fundamental, Independent Baptist in the paragraphs above I have had to make comparisons. It has not been a difficult choice when faced with absolute doctrinal error. And I am pretty sure that readers of this article will not have a problem understanding why I make the choice I make. I now make an effort to assure readers that this part of the page is written with a different motivation. I am fully aware that it is impossible to lump all Southern Baptist Churches under one cover. One would never know for sure what he or she might find by simply walking into such a Church. I think the main problem is their loss of the authority of God’s Word. I could not be a Southern Baptist because the convention holds sway over the local congregations. When there is a domineering structure of any kind over a local Church then majority rules and the autonomy of that local congregation loses its identity. Baptist Churches are being influenced by the Convention in several areas. The wickedness of evilution has wormed itself into official Convention literature. The Broadman Commentary, the official SBC publication, long ago postulated the idea that God started the process by creation, but has allowed evilution to continue the process. The Convention has opened doors that cannot be reshut in its stand concerning female leadership in its Churches. Individual Churches risk being ostracized by the majority or even the factions that are fighting for female ordinations. Southern Baptists demean their doctrinal beliefs, by allowing non-denominational influences to permeate their ministries, the most recent being Rick Warren’s, Purpose series. Doctrinal truths of salvation, baptism, local Church and the Holy Spirit have been mellowed by these influences. In fact some leaders of the SBC have intimated that they would like to narrow the Baptist distinctive doctrines down to about five points instead of over twenty. While I am on the subject of mellowing, it is almost like going against the whole world to talk about separation today. Eccliesiastical or personal separation are non politically correct subjects. The universal cry is, “Surely God wants us all to just get along?”
Why can’t Christian leaders see the avalanche of falling morals, standards and traditions from our society today? Why can’t they see that this fall is related to the loss of Biblical instruction.
More coming…stay tuned.
How to be a Good Member of a Fundamental Baptist Church
They do not give enough in their offerings to pay their way to have a Church in the first place. I think they think that somehow God sends down a paycheck to the preacher each week with which to keep the utilities payed etc.
They are not an encouragement to the preacher. They do not give him any assurance that he is any help to their individual or familial lives. By just showing up on Sunday mornings, they indicate that they are only coming out of some sort of obligation or self appeasement. Visitors who are inspecting the Church become a bit apprehensive when they see the disparity between the Sunday morning crowd as compared to the Sunday night crowd.
A Church member can be rated for faithfulness by what it takes to make him or her miss Church.
A good Church member has Jesus Christ as Lord of his or her life. They know that Church is the pillar and ground of the truth. They know that they are more likely to grow spiritually by attending Church services. They know that they will be better prepared to reach their friends and neighbors by being faithful to all services of Church. They know that their fellowship with the Lord is less likely to be broken, if they are faithful to attend Church weekends and midweek. They know that they will be better prepared to to face the world, the flesh and the devil if they have been faithful to Church services all week.
A good Church member who is in every service possible, is more likely to see the spiritual, physical and financial needs of his or her Church. They witness God’s blessings upon those who volunteer to take the mundane tasks that are necessary to be taken in any Church. Somebody must be available to watch the babies in the nursery. Somebody must be available to drive the Church bus or van. Somebody must be available to teach the Sunday School Classes. God commands every believer to study his Word. God calls individuals who are studying their Bibles into the ministry of teaching. A teacher, not only teaches with words, but also with their life. A person who is not faithful to attend all services of Church, does not qualify to be a Sunday School teacher. A person who does not have a clean and clear testimony for Jesus Christ does not qualify to be a Sunday School teacher.
A good Church member is a born again believer who believes the Bible and the Pastor of his or her Church. He should not be in a Church where the Pastor and the Bible disagree! A good Church member should be loyal to Christ and His Church. If Christ is not the head of that Church then you shouldn’t be a member of it anyhow.
A good Church member should be willing to be what God wishes and commands him to be. His Church should expect no less and no more. A good Church member should not compare what he or she is to do by what others are doing. A good Church member should not be discouraged from doing what God says if nobody else is doing it either. A good Church member should always do what he or she does for the Lord first.
A good Church member should always be prepared to give a reason for what she or he believes.
Remember those who follow best make the best leaders!
Stan Metts, Website