What We Believe
Our Statement of Faith as Historic Baptists
We, as historic Baptists, believe in the one eternal God who revealed himself to us as Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and Holy Spirit.
Our eternal salvation comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
We profess that Jesus is the complete and perfect Word of God as revealed through the divine inspiration of the Bible and that a personal relationship with Jesus is the only way to a right relationship with God.
We believe in believer’s baptism by immersion.
We practice baptism by immersing into water those professing faith in Jesus. It is a public expression of a personal relationship. When someone expresses a desire to follow Jesus, the next step is baptism.
Our sole authority for faith and practice is the Holy Bible, and we affirm the freedom and right of every Christian to interpret and apply scripture under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Baptists have historically referred to this as ‘Bible freedom.’ We do not, as a church, ascribe to one interpretation or view of the Bible over another but read and understand the Bible through the lens of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
We emphasize the soul’s competency before God and the freedom and responsibility of each person to relate directly to God without imposition of creed, clergy, or government.
This statement can be summarized as ‘soul freedom.’ As Baptists, we have individual freedoms that are rooted in a personal relationship to God through Jesus. One way this idea plays out in a congregational setting is how we choose our own pastors and ministry staff, how we govern ourselves and how we choose our own form of worship.
We believe in the separation of church and state.
Historically, Baptists have always affirmed religious liberty, even so far as to have been instrumental in the development of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. This “wall of separation,” as described by colonial Baptist pioneer Roger Williams, was and is a way for Baptists to insure that the federal government will protect religious liberty for all and will not impose religion on any.
We recognize the autonomy of the local church under 1) the Lordship of Jesus Christ, 2) the power of the Holy Spirit, and 3) the Holy Bible.
This value is expressed in how we choose with whom to partner and conduct our gospel ministry as a congregation alone, and not by anything that comes from outside groups or Baptist organizations.
We affirm that God calls His people to ministry, leadership, and service in the church, regardless of race, gender, or socio-economic status.
In many ways this is a summary explanation of the idea of the ‘priesthood of the believer.’ If anyone is a follower of Jesus Christ and becomes a member of The Baptist Church of Beaufort, we believe that person has a role to play in all areas of ministry, leadership and service here at The Baptist Church of Beaufort and also in the world, no matter their ancestry, whether male or female, rich, poor or in-between.