Baptist Acronym

The Baptist Church is one of the oldest Churches in the world. It became a full denomination in 1609 led by John Smythe. One reason that led to the commencement of this great denomination was centered on Baptism by immersion. Members of the Baptist Church are known as the people of the book (The Holy Bible). That is, a Baptist is a person who studies the word of God, understand the word and practice the word of God. In this article we will be looking at the meaning of the word BAPTIST.

The word is an acronym that has meaning that makes the Baptist Church unique. Below are the meaning of the name:

B - Biblical Authority
A - Autonomy of the local church
P - Priesthood of All Believers
T - Two Ordinances
I - Individual Soul Liberty
S - Separation between Church and State
T - Two offices (the office of Pastors and the office of the Deacons)

Biblical Authority

Baptist believe that, the Holy Bible was given to us by the Almighty God and as such, must be the sole authority that guides the activities, teachings, practices and life of the Church (2 Timothy 3:16). This view has been insisted and maintained by many Baptist Churches throughout the centuries. Stated differently, the Baptist considers the Bible as an authoritative document from God to guide our faith and practices. The Church uses the Bible to teach, rebuke, correct and train her members to become perfect before God. Based on this the Baptist Church believes in theocracy, that is only the word of God (God) rules the Church and not the believes of some men.

Autonomy of the local Church

This concept is one concept that has become a subject of controversy. Many explain autonomy as selfishness. This is not the true explanation of autonomy. What is this concept about? The word autonomous comes from two Greek words that mean “Self” and “Law”. Autonomy simply means self-governing or self-directing. Thus Autonomy of the local church is about the freedom that every local Church has to make their own decisions, self-governing or self-directing without influence or pressure from external forces. Issues such as selecting leaders, Deacons, sermons among other decisions, should be made by the congregation of the local Church and not imposed on them. Autonomy of the local Church is just like freewill given to human beings by God right from creation. Although the local Church is autonomous, we shouldn't forget the first principle of the Baptist Church which is the Biblical Authority - the Bible is the sole authority of the Church that guides her faith and practices. So every decision that the local Church makes, must be guided by the teachings, principles and rules of the Holy Bible. This principle does not mean sabotaging other Christian denominations or other Baptist Churches. Autonomy of the local church looks at the fact that, every local church is unique and the people who are in the local church understand the community or society the Church is located. Hence if they make their own decision it will be accepted and will be easy to implement as compared to decision from external forces.

Priesthood of the believer

The priesthood of every believer in our Lord and savior Jesus Christ is basic concept in the Baptists Church. The Baptist believe that all members are part of the Royal priesthood and Holy Nation set a part by the Almighty God to show forth His praise on Earth (1 Peter 2:9). In the Old Testament, being priest involved some tasks. They held a special place in the worship of God. The priests were responsible for certain aspects of worship, such as the sacrifice of animals and serving as a mediator between the people (Israel) and God. The High Priest, was the head and leader of all the priests, he was the only person who was allowed by God Almighty to enter the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem temple. The Holy of holies was a sacred place in the Temple separated from the rest of the temple and from the other priests and worshippers by a great curtain or veil. Meaning that during this era only the High Priest had direct access to God and no other person not even the other priest. Any person who tries and enter the Holy of holies will die. But when the Lord Jesus Christ came into the picture all these Changed. With the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, there was no longer the need to sacrifice animals for the forgiveness of sins. This is because the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins once and for all. Now the blood of Jesus Christ has covered our sin and shame and has cleansed us from all unrighteousness making us holy and giving us the right to become children of God giving as direct access to God. The tearing of the holy of holies curtain at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ allowing all to see what was in the Holy of Holies is one evidence that proof this point (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45) . Based on this, every Believer has the power to go before God directly to ask for forgiveness of sins. The priest also had a responsibility to lead a Holy life. Under this principle it is expected that every member of the Church will lead a Holy life that will bring glory and honor to the name of the Almighty God.

Two Ordinances

The Baptist Church believes and practices two main Ordinances. These ordinances are Baptism and the Lord's Supper. The Baptist Church believes in believer’s baptism. The accepted method must be by immersion. The Lord Supper also referred to as Holy Communion was instituted by the Lord and master Jesus Christ on the night he was betrayed (Matthew 26:20-30, Mark 14:17-26, Luke 22:14-30, John 13:21-30, 1 Corinthians 11:23). The Baptist partake in the Holy Communion to remember the body He (Jesus Christ) gave and blood He shared on the cross for our sin and to make us become children of God (John 1:12).

Individual Soul Liberty

Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. The Baptist believes salvation is a free gift from God and opened to all (Ephesians 2:1-10). However it is the individual who will have to make the effort to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. No one can do this for a person. This explains why only believer can be baptized. From the verse above the apostle was encouraging the children of God to make every effort to work out their salvation not only when he is around them but also in his absence. The second idea in this concept is the fact that once a person accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, no one has the power or authority to takeaway that salvation (John 10:5, 28).

Separation between Church and State

Another important reason for forming the denomination was based on this concept. The Baptist believes that the Church and the State must operate independently. That is the Church should not interfere with the affairs of the State and vice versa. In simple terms what this principle mean is that, the church should not select leader or leaders for the State and the State must not also appoint who become the next overseer and leaders for the Church. For example: in selecting the next president for a country it is the will of the people (citizens) that must be allowed and not the dictate of the Church. Same rule applies to the Church. That is when the Church is appointing a leader or leaders; it should be based on Bible principles and requirements and not based on the decision of the State. However, it must be noted that the Church work with the State as long as that activity or activities will not be against the Holy Bible. There are many questions that people ask under this concept. In this article we will try to answer some.

1. Can a Baptist vote in an election?. The answer is yes, the Baptist has the right to vote in a national election. The Baptist is a citizen of the country and as such has all the right and responsibility to participate in national activities if he or she so choose.


2. Can a Baptist be a leader or member of a political party? Yes he or she can, as long as he or she can speak the truth, will not be corrupt and will help to develop the nation when given the chance. It must be noted that, the Church as a body can't identify herself with any political party. That is a Baptist Church can't declare their support for a particular political party. Such declaration can have a negative effect on the peace and unity in the Church.


3. Can the Church support the State to carryout developmental project? Yes the Church can do that. The Church can build schools, hospitals or health facilities, and other infrastructure to support the people in the State.

Two offices

The Baptist recognizes two offices in the church; that is the office of the Pastor and the office of the Deacons. The office of the deacons can be trace to the days of the apostle. In Acts six (6), the apostles allowed the people to select seven people who were full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom so that they can take care of the social needs of the people such as waiting on tables and sharing of items. This was to help the apostle focus more on prayer and the ministry (Acts 6:4). The office of the deacons is further seen in the book of Philippians 1:1 and first Timothy three (3). In these letters from Apostle Paul, he gave instruction on the requirement for selecting deacons in the Church. The pastors are the spiritual leaders, administrators and the leaders of the church. Just like the Apostle in Acts 6:4, the Pastors have to focus on the ministry and prayer.

Conclusion

In conclusion the name BAPTIST define who the Baptists are and the set of believe that governs the faith and activities of the Church. God bless you. SHALOM!!!