I thought I would submit today an article I wrote originally to be used as an informational tract for those visiting our church.
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Are you confused about all of the different churches in your community? Do you wonder what the difference is between each of the denominations?
You are not alone! Jesus warned that there would come a time when there would be so many different religions claiming to be the true faith of Jesus Christ that, if it were possible they would deceive even the very elect of God. (Mattew 24:24)
Many today feel that the church should be a place where no real distinction is made, only that we all love Jesus. But is this really of God?
The position of independent Baptist Churches like this one is simple and three-fold.
Independent Baptist Churches believe in the preservation of the soul.
Our contention is that the Bible teaches very clearly that when a person is genuinely saved, they cannot lose that salvation. Our conviction is based upon the person of Jesus Christ. If He is all that the Bible claims Him to be, then how could He possibly preside over a salvation that is as fickle as is mankind? The Bible says we are saved, not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy. (Titus 3:5) His mercy brought Jesus to the cross for us while we were yet sinners. (Romans 5:8) That same mercy will not fail to keep us saved after we have trusted Christ.
Independent Baptist Churches believe in the preservation of the Bible.
How could Almighty God have gone through the effort to give us a perfect Bible, only to allow sinful men to pervert it and twist it? It is not consistent with the power of God that He would allow the Bible to be so corrupted by men as to necessitate the work of scholars to improve upon its accuracy. God has promised repeatedly in the Bible to preserve His word without error. (Ps 12:7) Baptist Churches like this one believe that God has kept His promise and that He has done it through the King James Version of the Bible.
Independent Baptist Churches believe in the preservation of the church.
Jesus said He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18) That church, as far as the Bible declares, is always a local congregation of believers.
Historically, there are those churches that strayed from the faith once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:3) Those churches had to be protested against and reformed. Today they take the form of the Catholic Church and all of her children, the Protestant denominations.
Independent Baptist Churches follow a different line than those. We follow a line of churches that refused to unite with the catholic system from its very beginning and that have tenaciously striven to keep the faith committed by Jesus to His apostles.
When you attend an independent Baptist Church, you are participating in a form of worship
• That leans only on the Word of God for its authority,
• That believes strictly that we are saved and by the grace of God and not of our good works, and
• That claims a heritage of unwavering allegiance to the doctrines once committed to the saints.
Marvin McKenzie
In the fields
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Are you confused about all of the different churches in your community? Do you wonder what the difference is between each of the denominations?
You are not alone! Jesus warned that there would come a time when there would be so many different religions claiming to be the true faith of Jesus Christ that, if it were possible they would deceive even the very elect of God. (Mattew 24:24)
Many today feel that the church should be a place where no real distinction is made, only that we all love Jesus. But is this really of God?
The position of independent Baptist Churches like this one is simple and three-fold.
Independent Baptist Churches believe in the preservation of the soul.
Our contention is that the Bible teaches very clearly that when a person is genuinely saved, they cannot lose that salvation. Our conviction is based upon the person of Jesus Christ. If He is all that the Bible claims Him to be, then how could He possibly preside over a salvation that is as fickle as is mankind? The Bible says we are saved, not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy. (Titus 3:5) His mercy brought Jesus to the cross for us while we were yet sinners. (Romans 5:8) That same mercy will not fail to keep us saved after we have trusted Christ.
Independent Baptist Churches believe in the preservation of the Bible.
How could Almighty God have gone through the effort to give us a perfect Bible, only to allow sinful men to pervert it and twist it? It is not consistent with the power of God that He would allow the Bible to be so corrupted by men as to necessitate the work of scholars to improve upon its accuracy. God has promised repeatedly in the Bible to preserve His word without error. (Ps 12:7) Baptist Churches like this one believe that God has kept His promise and that He has done it through the King James Version of the Bible.
Independent Baptist Churches believe in the preservation of the church.
Jesus said He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18) That church, as far as the Bible declares, is always a local congregation of believers.
Historically, there are those churches that strayed from the faith once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:3) Those churches had to be protested against and reformed. Today they take the form of the Catholic Church and all of her children, the Protestant denominations.
Independent Baptist Churches follow a different line than those. We follow a line of churches that refused to unite with the catholic system from its very beginning and that have tenaciously striven to keep the faith committed by Jesus to His apostles.
When you attend an independent Baptist Church, you are participating in a form of worship
• That leans only on the Word of God for its authority,
• That believes strictly that we are saved and by the grace of God and not of our good works, and
• That claims a heritage of unwavering allegiance to the doctrines once committed to the saints.
Marvin McKenzie
In the fields
