We are a Reformed Baptist Church, but what is a Reformed Baptist Church? What do we mean by this term? In the midst of so many denominations, it is necessary to define our convictions clearly.
I. THE WRITINGS
II. THE PREACHING
III. THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE
IV. EVANGELISM
V. WORSHIP
We are Baptists in the sense that we believe in the truths which, on occasion, have been called “Baptist distinctives”, that is, we baptize persons who confess Christ as their Savior, who have discernment and maturity to make that decision, and who consciously assume the responsibility of serving God in the midst of their generation by making public profession of faith and are consequently baptized by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The idea that the babies of believers are in the New Covenant requires the additional premise that all of them will persevere and be saved, something that is not at all true. We understand that, in the nation of Israel, children belonged to the covenant only due to the fact of being born in that nation, but as for the Church, it is only the new birth operated by the Holy Spirit that makes them members of the covenant and not physical birth in a Christian family. To say otherwise is contrary to the whole teaching of Scripture. We do not see baptism by sprinkling in any of the examples shown in Scripture, nor in the passage of the people of Israel through the Red Sea, nor in the events that took place in the public baptism of those who repented of their sins. Baptism by immersion symbolizes death and entry into the tomb, and rising from the water symbolizes the resurrection of the body. These symbols should not be overlooked. On the other hand, after analyzing the Paedobaptist and Roman Catholic sequence, we see that although nowhere in the Bible are we taught that children should be confirmed at a certain age, they have to impose this on young people because of their initial mistake of baptizing infants. We understand that all this teaching is contrary to the doctrine of baptism, and so we declare it to be.
We are a “Reformed Church” because we support and are convinced of the veracity of the great doctrines regarding the salvation of man that came to light again in the sixteenth century Reformation For these two reasons, we define ourselves as a “Reformed Baptist”. church. But let’s go a little further in answer to what are our beliefs.
I. THE WRITINGS
First, a Reformed Baptist Church is a local church that recognizes the supreme authority of the Scriptures. This is something that seems obvious, but it is not so in light of the terrible path taken by so-called Christian churches, when they introduce into their worship and daily practice worldly fashions and fads of thought, moving away from the principles and commandments set forth in the Scriptures. It is the Scriptures which teach us in matters of faith, that is, the things we believe, and in matters of practice, that is, the things we do in our daily lives. Our only authority is the Word of God. If anything, whether of faith or practice, is contrary to the Bible, then, no matter who teaches it, no matter what good arguments are made in its favor, we cannot approve or accept it.
We recognize that regarding the functioning of a local church there will be questions for which there are no specific biblical commandments, but there will always be a principle that must be applied, and in that sense, we will act accordingly, without fear of men. We believe in the authority of the Holy Scriptures, and we desire our life as a church to be modeled after what God has revealed in them. We ask God to open our understanding so that we may comprehend His Word, and we are willing to be always ready to change any of our practices if they fall outside the bounds of Scripture. The attitude that says, “Regardless of what the Bible teaches, we have always done it this way” is reprehensible to us. We appeal to “the law and to the testimony”, and look directly to the source. What do the Scriptures say?
II. THE PREACHING
Second, Reformed Baptists believe in the preeminence of preaching the Word of God. We believe that the preaching of God’s Word should be predominant in our worship services. We believe that nothing can or should take the place of preaching the Word. Our conviction is that the church of Christ has suffered because the preaching of God’s Word has been removed from its central place. We believe that seminaries and Bible colleges should be institutions that prepare and encourage future preachers, but under the direction and as one more ministry of the local church, subject to its discipline and government, entirely dependent upon it, since Scripture does not recognize parachurch organizations. Only the church has been established by God to fulfill a specific purpose in His redemptive plan: to be the pillar and ground of the truth.
We believe that God’s people everywhere should be heartened and encouraged to pray that the Lord would equip men with the gift of preaching and biblical leadership, so that He would give pastors to His church, pastors who will feed the flock with knowledge and intelligence, based on the fear of God and for the honor of His Name. And when we say “pastors” we are referring to men. They are the only ones who can lead God’s people, since the Holy Scriptures, from beginning to end, teach and proclaim that it is only men who can preach and shepherd the flock, exercising biblical government. We do not accept “women shepherds” in ministry. This is contrary to biblical teaching and is a response to social trends. The terms used by Scripture to define such an office are “pastors, bishops, supervisors, elders”. All these words refer to the same type of office within the church, and they are masculine terms in the original Greek. Likewise, there are principles of authority established in the Holy Scriptures that confirm this fact again and again. God has determined who should lead His church, and we are not going to contradict what God Himself has established. May God be true and every man a liar! (Romans 3:4).
For this reason, the apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 11:3, “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God”. Women have not been given the position of head, and therefore they cannot exercise government in the spheres of action determined by Scripture. This is contrary to today’s fashion, but the Bible does not submit to the ups and downs of fads in our way of thinking and demands of believers their observance and obedience.
III. THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE
Third, as Reformed Baptists, we fearlessly declare our belief in those doctrines that are known as “The Doctrines of Grace”. By this we mean the doctrines of man’s total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, effectual calling, and the final perseverance of the saints. We rejoice in these great truths which uphold the sovereignty of God in the salvation of man, and which so gloriously affirm the central reality that salvation is by grace alone, without man being able to contribute anything at all to that work of redemption. In this sense, we proclaim that it is only by faith, which is given as a gift of God to His people, that the sinner is led to believe in Christ and to enter the Kingdom of Heaven on the basis of the all sufficient and perfect sacrifice of Christ, who paid for His people the demands established by the law, thus satisfying divine justice, and rescuing His people from certain condemnation.
These doctrines of grace are defined in the Second London Confession of Faith of 1689 and in many other historical Baptist confessions. In 1861, when Charles Spurgeon opened the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, England, he celebrated the occasion by having renowned guests preach sermons about these doctrines. Yet, it is not that we believe these doctrines because Spurgeon or any other Reformed pastor preached them, nor do we believe them because they are defined in historical Baptist confessions, but we believe them because they are clearly presented and defined in the Holy Scriptures.
We live in an age in which these fundamental truths taught to us in the Holy Scriptures are ignored, and even blatantly denied and perverted by many who go by the name of “evangelical Christians”. We are saddened to see that the work of many of our ancestors who struggled in faith against the deception and error of the wicked, risking their lives, and transmitting the truth of the gospel to succeeding generations, is in our days undermined by the ignorance of those who approach Scripture with a spirit of superiority over what God Himself has said, taking away HIS GLORY, and denying the power of His Word, which brought into existence that which did not exist, and which brings to life, by His sovereign power and will, sinners who were once dead in their trespasses and sins. It is the will of God that prevails, not that of man.
These doctrines are the teachings that God declares in His Word, and we understand that when God speaks, man must be silent. We know they are unpopular truths, but they are truths, and we accept them with joy and will defend them as long as God continues to give us life. We also declare that we not only believe them, but also hold that they must be clearly preached and taught from the pulpit, that God’s people may be taught in all truth, both for this life and for the future. We believe that in our day it is necessary to preach the doctrines of Grace more tenaciously and that God’s people desperately need to be instructed in them, to avoid an end such as that which came upon the people of Israel, whose contempt for God’s Word was such that God had to punish them severely because of the lack of piety in lives infected with worldliness and idolatry. So the Word of the Lord was fulfilled, “My people perished because they lacked knowledge”.
IV. EVANGELISM
We affirm that, as Reformed Baptists, we believe in the need and responsibility to evangelize. We have no more sympathy for Hyper-Calvinism than for Arminianism. We do not believe that there is an incongruence between God’s sovereignty in the salvation of His elect and His command to preach the Gospel to every creature. We do not know whom God saves and will save, that is a prerogative of His eternal and secret decrees. But He has established a method to save sinners, and it is none other than His Word preached by those whom He has called and appointed for this grace, giving them salvation. For this reason we say with the apostle Paul, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). Now, it is true that we do not believe in much of what is practiced under the name of “evangelism” in the 21st century. We consider that much of what today is called “evangelism” consists of little more than marketing strategies to win customers or followers to this or that religious entity.
We are perplexed to see the superficial actions being carried out under that name; we are horrified by the pressures, tricks, and calculated plans to produce “decisions” based solely on fleeting emotions. We cannot agree with such behavior not taught in the Scriptures and that departs from the main foundations of faith and from the method established by God for calling sinners. We insist on the importance of this truth by saying that sinners are not saved by any other method than that which God has established, and it is this: the preaching of His Word, faithfully and completely proclaimed, that is, presenting the whole counsel of God.
The fact that we believe in our duty to evangelize does not mean that we will cooperate with every project that bears that name. We believe that in the act of evangelism we must be governed by the Word of God and submit, not to the whims of fashion or the philosophy of every age or culture, but to the clear teaching of God’s Word. In this sense, we are clearly taught that “it pleased God to save believers by the folly of preaching”. We understand no other way of evangelizing than the faithful and complete exposition of the Word of God, for the glory of His name and for the good of His people. This is the method of evangelism that Scripture teaches us, and we have no intention of contradicting what God, in His revealed Word, has told us.
V. WORSHIP
A Reformed Baptist church is a local church with a serious focus on worship. The God we praise is a God of majesty, glory, honor and holiness. The God of the Bible is the One before whom the angels of heaven cover their faces and constantly cry out “Holy, Holy, Holy”; worshiping Him day and night. He is worthy of all glory and honor. We believe that when we gather to praise this great and glorious God and Savior, we should do so with reverence and holy respect. This will lead us to worship Him with a REVERENT FEAR. Someone may say, “But there must also be joy”. We certainly agree, but it must be a joy that is in the Lord. We do not want a joy that is the product of “sensationalism”, but one that proceeds from the knowledge of God, a joy that is moderated and controlled by reverence. We believe that there is an enormous difference between a “dead” worship service and a worship service in which God is worshiped in spirit and truth, with spiritual sacrifices, worship based on the clear teachings of Scripture.
Since we understand that this is the way God is to be worshiped, we consider that anything that detracts from such worship should not be accepted. Frivolity (or informality), making the time of worship an exaltation of one’s personal feelings, the fact that the place of worship becomes a circus, the use of instruments and forms of praise imposed by the current fashion, the use of disorder, irreverence, as well as abusing the sacred name of God is out of place and incongruent with the worship of a God who is thrice Holy.
The fact that God commands worship on His holy day, instituted for this purpose in the creation of the world and ratified in the fourth commandment, should lead us to be very attentive to the importance that God gives to public worship on His day, sanctified and blessed by Himself. So that when we meet together with our brothers and sisters in Christ on the Lord’s Day, we must remember that we are in a place of reverence in order to worship the eternal God. We must show what we are doing through both the form and substance of our worship, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your rational worship” (Romans 12:1).
We also believe that music in the church should be governed by the great central fact of whom we worship. Much of the music that invades today’s churches imitates the world. There is little difference between the music heard in church and that presented on television or in worldly performances. The words sung are apparently “religious”, but the spirit that proliferates is that of the world; the attraction is to the flesh. Those who attend church do not go to worship God but to satisfy themselves with what they like to do according to their feelings and the desire of their hearts, not according to the clear teaching that God has left in His revealed will.
Instead of presenting sacrifices of praise, church goers enjoy an opportunity for fun and entertainment. This is not a worship service according to the Scriptures. This has no place in the holy day of worship to God. What is sacred is not to be profaned and used as entertainment. If people want to have fun, let them go to worldly places of entertainment, but they should not pretend to be worshiping the triune God when in reality they are blaspheming His holy name. They should not pretend to worship before the presence of God when really entertainment is what reigns and selfishness and personal satisfaction are pursued.
When we gather to worship God, we want to leave the world out. Our aim is not appealing to the flesh but to the spiritual senses; we do not want the sophistication of the world but the simplicity of Christ. We want to feel in worship the fear of God in our hearts! We want to honor God and be taught in all truth to live in this world soberly, justly, and in a godly manner.
This is our church. We hope that those who come to visit us or who are seeking to join a church will respect our doctrine, respect the worship that takes place here, and bring a teachable spirit that trembles before the Word of God.
We pray without ceasing that God will raise up many churches throughout the world that desire to uphold the same doctrines and fight to do so. May God be pleased to visit His people again with showers of blessing so that He may be glorified in and through His Church!
