WHAT IS AN INDEPENDENT FUNDAMENTAL BAPTIST
I. WHAT IS AN INDEPENDENT FUNDAMENTAL BAPTIST CHURCH?
A. The name Independent Fundamental Baptist Church is used traditionally by churches which pattern themselves strictly after the example of the early church as found in the New Testament.
1. Today the name Baptist is used by many churches who are not truly following the teachings of the New Testament.
2. Thus the words "Independent" and "Fundamental" have been added by many Baptist churches to further identify themselves as truly Bible believing churches and to show a distinction between themselves and Baptist churches who were not following God’s word.
3. Many "Baptist" churches have drifted away from many of the teachings of the Scriptures.
4.Some have denied the fundamental teachings of the Bible, such as a)the deity of Christ, b)the virgin birth and c)salvation by the Grace of God, through faith.
5.Other Baptist Churches have compromised the Word of God a)by their teaching, b)practices and c)church polity trying to confront to popular religious tends d)they do not believe or practice what true Baptists have historically believed and what the Word of God says.
6. The true Independent Fundamental Baptists have no association or fellowship with these churches because they teach or practice things contrary to the New Testament.
II. The name Fundamental Independent Baptist is of recent origin and came into being as a result of many modern day Baptist churches compromising the Word of God and teaching and practicing false doctrines and Liberialism.
A. In order to distinguish between the doctrinally unsound Baptist churches and those that believed the Bible many Baptist churches changed their name.
1.The word "Independent" a)means that the church is not a member of any (1)council, (2)convention (3)nor is a part of any hierarchy outside the local congregation.
(4) An Independent Baptist Church would not be apart of a national organization that would exercise authority over the local church.
(5) the church patterns itself after the New Testament example and stands alone under the authority of the Bible.
(a) The New Testament teaches that Christ is the head of the church,(Ephesians 5:23)
(b) The local pastor is the shepherd (Hebrews 13:17, Acts 20:28, Ephesians 4:11) or leader of the congregation.
(c)The Independent Baptist church has a congregational form of government (i)each member having the right of the vote and
(ii) all the affairs of the churches are conducted by the local congregation following the guidelines of the New Testament.
(6) Independent Fundamental Baptist churches have fellowship one with the other and often cooperate in such things as evangelism.
(7) They only fellowship or cooperate in joint meetings with churches of like belief.
(8) They will not participate, on a church basis, in any outside function with churches which do not also strictly base their faith and practice on the New Testament.
(9)They will not participate in joint meetings, or evangelistic endeavors, with Protestants, Catholics, or other doctrinally unsound church groups who do not hold to the fundamental teachings of the New Testament (10)Separation (Second Degree)
(a) Fundamental Independent Baptist church will remain separate from these churches as well as other Baptists groups who participate with the unscriptural churches. Ephesians 5:11, which says, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."
(b)The Independent Baptist believes that to join with churches who teach and practice false doctrine is condone and even show approval of Biblical error and that all doctrinal error is sin. b)The officers of the local church are pastors and deacons. (1 Timothy 3:1-16) (1)The pastor of the church is called by majority vote of the congregation.
(2) Men meeting the Biblical qualification of deacons (1 Timothy 3:8-13) are appointed from the local congregation and approved by the majority vote.
(3) Many Baptist churches have Trustees, but their position was established in order to have legal "signatories" to sign legal documents of the church.
(4) Neither Deacons or Trustees are a governing body nor a "board," but titles of special appointed servants who service and are subject the will of the pastor and congregation.
2.The word "Fundamental" means that the Baptist church uses the New Testament strictly as its authority for faith (doctrine) and practice. a)In recent years the news media has called doctrinally unsound church such as the Charismatics and Pentecostals "fundamentalists." b)Even some TV evangelists have referred to themselves as being "fundamentalist." But they should not be confused with Fundamental Baptists. c)True Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches uphold the purest teachings of the early church as revealed in the New Testament.
III.WHAT BAPTISTS ARE NOT A.Baptist are not Protestants!
1. The name Protestant was given to those churches which came out of Roman Catholicism during the Reformation which began in the 1500’s.
2. It originally applied through the 1700’s to Lutherans, and Anglicans. Later Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Methodist were added to the lists of Protestants denominations.
3. Historically, Baptists were never a part of the Roman Catholic Church or the Protestant Reformation and therefore can not be correctly called "protestors" or Protestants.
4. There is not one recorded incident of a Baptist church beginning founded out of Roman Catholicism.
5. Protestants for centuries saw the Baptists as their "enemies" and murdered them by the thousands in the name of Protestantism..
6. There have always existed, from the time of Christ, New Testament churches which were not a part of the Roman Church.
7. The Roman Church can only trace its history back to 313 AD when the Roman Emperor Constantine made Christianity a legal religion
8. Although, many Protestants returned in part to a belief in the Bible as their authority for their faith and practice, not one of them EVER completely left all the doctrinal errors and false teachings of the apostate Roman Catholic church.
9.Protestants have never accepted the principle of separation of church and state. a)In Europe, Protestant churches are "state" churches and supported to some degree by government imposed taxes.
(1)In Germany, the state church is Lutheran and (2)in England, the Anglican church, (3)France, the Roman Catholic Church, etc. b)The idea that the bread and wine (grape juice) in the Lord’s Supper actually becoming the physical body of Christ when taken is a Roman Catholic teaching that Protestants only modified slightly.
(1) Still today, many Protestants see the Lord’s Supper as a sacrament, having to some degree saving properties or imparting some spiritual benefit.
(2)True New Testament Christians have always rejected this doctrine. c)Protestants still practice infant baptism which absolutely is not taught in the Word of God. d)Many Protestant denominations still hold to the writings of their church fathers as a source of church doctrine and have never accepted the Bible as their sole source of teachings for their faith and practice. e)They all hold on to a system of hierarchy in church government and do not accept the autonomy the local church.
(1) Autonomy means each local church governs itself free from outside authority and control.
All decisions are made by the church or its elected representatives