Some Reasons I am a Baptist

What I Believe in general.

Note: Not all Baptists believe all of these things.

I. The Authority of the Bible.
If your manual is defective, you are probably not going to know how to properly assemble and operate the equipment. Likewise, if your Bible could possibly contain errors, you would never know which part is true and which is not, and you would not be able to properly order your life. The true Word of God is found in English in the King James Bible. All of the others take out parts of what God said.

II. God is Supreme. The God of the Bible. In the form of a Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. No other "god" has any power. Man is not a god, nor is he the final authority.

III. The church is to be an independent body. Not ruled by some man or group of men.

IV. Jesus Blood is sufficient to pay for sin. Nothing else is needed.

V. Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man. Not the Pope, Mary, or some "Saint"

VI. Salvation is by Grace through Faith. It is the work of God in you, not you working to try to please God.

VII. Salvation is an eternal gift of God. You can't change what God does forever.

VIII. Man is a creation of God. Made on the sixth day of Creation. Man disobeyed God, and became a sinful being. Man cannot pay for his sin by himself. Man must be saved, for all men are sinners. Man must come to God in the manner that God has prescribed.

IX. Baptism is not part of salvation. Baptism is an act of a saved person identifying with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism does not "wash away" sin, but is an identifying step--to show the world that you are now a Christian.

X. A Christian should try to live a life that is pure. God does not want Christians to live in a way that would bring shame to His name. Most human children try to live in such a way as to make their family name honored in the community, not to drag it through the mud. Likewise, a Christian should try to live in a way that would honor God's name, not make people think that there is no difference between a Christian and the rest of the world.

These are just some basic beliefs that I as well as most of the Baptists I know hold to (this list is not necessarily a complete list of beliefs, but is a pretty good basic list). Though some other denominations hold to parts of this, very few hold to all of these ten simple things. You can find all of these principles in the Bible, and that's why they work. God has prescribed these principles for His children.