What is a Baptist?
Below is a glimpse of significant distinctions of most Baptists.
BIBLE CENTERED.
The BIBLE is the sole authority for all we believe and do.
AUTONOMOUS CHURCH.
Autonomous means "self-governing." The members of the local church own the church
building/property and govern the church. The local association of Southern Baptist
churches (Arundel Baptist Network), the state convention of churches (Baptist
Convention of Maryland/Delaware), and the national convention of churches (Southern
Baptist Convention) support the ministry of the local church, but have no authority
over the local churches.
PRIESTHOOD of the BELIEVER.
We believe that each person is free to come to God in prayer to confess sin and
self-commitment without the need of clergy or other religious professionals.
BELIEVERS BAPTISM.
We believe that a person should first become a believer in Jesus as Savior and
Lord, and then baptized to signify their commitment to Him. We do not
baptize infants or small children since they are not mature enough to trust in
Jesus for salvation from sin.
IMMERSION BAPTISM.
Immersion (complete submersion of a person in water) symbolizes that the
believer has died to his/her old way of life and has been raised to a new way of life
in Jesus Christ. We believe that all the baptisms in the Bible were by immersion. The
Greek word baptism literally means "to immerse, dip".
SECURITY of the BELIEVER.
We believe that once a person trusts in Jesus for salvation, that he or she will
not fall away from trusting in Jesus, nor loose his or her salvation.
