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1. Equal
access to God through Jesus Christ.
Baptists recognize only one mediator between them and God the Father, and that is God the Son, Jesus Christ.
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus...(1 Timothy 2:5 NIV)
The Epistle to the Hebrews calls Jesus the supreme "high priest," who offered himself as a perfect sacrifice.
Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need-- one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinner, exalted above the heavens. Unlike for their like other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after sins, and then for the sins of the people. He scarified for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. (Hebrew 7:23-28 NIV)
Protestants believe that through Christ they have been given direct access to God, just like a priest; thus the doctrine is called the priesthood of all believers. God is equally accessible to all the faithful, and every Christian has equal potential to minister for God.
2. The Bible to be our only source for truth for how we are to live as His followers.
All Scripture God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV)
3. That Satan will try to prevent us from sharing the good News.
Satan is very real and seeks to confuse and destroy disciples. Peter describes Satan as lion prowling about seeking to destroy his prey.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)
4. The importance of living our daily lives as Christ directs.
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders,,,(1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 NIV)
5. I believe Jesus experienced everything we experience yet was sinless on earth.
Listen to the author of Hebrews as he describe Jesus as without sin.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:14-15 NIV)
6. God is all-knowing and all-powerful and that he will not let us fail.
The psalmist said LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you age familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. (Psalm 139:1-4 NIV)
Jesus Himself said, 'With man this is impossible, but with god all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26 NIV)
7. Salvation is received by grace alone.
Peter addressed church at Jerusalem saying this: We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.." (Acts 15:11 NIV)
Paul continued to teach this same fact:
...it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:5NIV)
8. Believers have a personal responsibility to share Christ with others.
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors as though God were making his appeal through us...(Corinthians 5:18-20 NIV)
Paul tells them and now us that we are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. So Paul and the early disciples understood that it was their responsibility to introduce pre-Christians to the Good News of God's love because they had been taught by Jesus Himself.
9. The church is a congregation of baptized believers who united because the feel called to do so by God.
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Subthemes...To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-- their Lord and our : (Corinthians1:1-2 NIV)
They observe the ordinances of Christ and are governed by His laws. They exercise the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word.
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. (Ephesians 4:7 NIV)
Rev. David C. Good
Baptists recognize only one mediator between them and God the Father, and that is God the Son, Jesus Christ.
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus...(1 Timothy 2:5 NIV)
The Epistle to the Hebrews calls Jesus the supreme "high priest," who offered himself as a perfect sacrifice.
Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need-- one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinner, exalted above the heavens. Unlike for their like other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after sins, and then for the sins of the people. He scarified for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. (Hebrew 7:23-28 NIV)
Protestants believe that through Christ they have been given direct access to God, just like a priest; thus the doctrine is called the priesthood of all believers. God is equally accessible to all the faithful, and every Christian has equal potential to minister for God.
2. The Bible to be our only source for truth for how we are to live as His followers.
All Scripture God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV)
3. That Satan will try to prevent us from sharing the good News.
Satan is very real and seeks to confuse and destroy disciples. Peter describes Satan as lion prowling about seeking to destroy his prey.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)
4. The importance of living our daily lives as Christ directs.
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders,,,(1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 NIV)
5. I believe Jesus experienced everything we experience yet was sinless on earth.
Listen to the author of Hebrews as he describe Jesus as without sin.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:14-15 NIV)
6. God is all-knowing and all-powerful and that he will not let us fail.
The psalmist said LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you age familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. (Psalm 139:1-4 NIV)
Jesus Himself said, 'With man this is impossible, but with god all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26 NIV)
7. Salvation is received by grace alone.
Peter addressed church at Jerusalem saying this: We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.." (Acts 15:11 NIV)
Paul continued to teach this same fact:
...it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:5NIV)
8. Believers have a personal responsibility to share Christ with others.
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors as though God were making his appeal through us...(Corinthians 5:18-20 NIV)
Paul tells them and now us that we are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. So Paul and the early disciples understood that it was their responsibility to introduce pre-Christians to the Good News of God's love because they had been taught by Jesus Himself.
9. The church is a congregation of baptized believers who united because the feel called to do so by God.
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Subthemes...To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-- their Lord and our : (Corinthians1:1-2 NIV)
They observe the ordinances of Christ and are governed by His laws. They exercise the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word.
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. (Ephesians 4:7 NIV)
Rev. David C. Good