A Baptist Believes the Gospel

Most importantly, a Baptist is a Christian, one who has believed the gospel. Gospel simply means “good news.” It’s impossible, though, for any one of us to believe the good news without understanding why it’s so good. And to understand how good it is, we must first understand how bad the the bad news is! The bad news is that every person alive today is a sinner; we have each broken God’s laws and deserve to spend an eternity separated from God in a real place that Jesus called hell. The good news, however, is that Jesus Christ came to this earth to die on the cross; the Bible says that he did this for sinners (2 Corinthians 5:21). He suffered and died on that cross to pay the penalty for your sins, to suffer in your place. When he rose again from the dead the third day, he did that to give us life! If you have never believed the gospel, Jesus is calling upon you to repent from your sin (agree with what God says about your sin and be willing to forsake it) and trust Him to forgive you and give you eternal life in heaven.

To learn more about the gospel, click the graphic below:

Have questions about the gospel? Be sure to contact us.

Baptists Also Believe:

• That the Bible is our only authority.

• That official church membership should be reserved for those who have been saved (i.e. believed the gospel) and Scripturally baptized.

• That churches should be autonomous. This means that a Baptist church does not answer to a Bishop or to a denominational board of directors. A Baptist church is directly accountable to Jesus Christ and then to its membership as a whole.

• That every believer is a priest before God. In other words, believers do not need anyone to go to God on our behalf. Because Jesus has made for us a new and living way, we can approach God with boldness based upon the work of Jesus Christ alone.

• That churches should practice two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s supper, but that these are not required for salvation. Baptism is a public declaration that one has believed the gospel and is a picture of that reality. The Lord’s supper is a time of memorial, examination, and celebration as the church commemorates the death of the Lord. Partaking in the Lord’s supper or being baptized, however, does nothing to contribute to an individual’s salvation.

• That believers possess individual soul liberty; in other words, each believer is alone answerable to God for his actions.

• That the church should remain separate from the state. In other words, we do not believe it is the rightful prerogative of the government to instruct the church regarding its doctrine or practice.

• That the church should be organized by two elected offices, pastor and deacon. Deacons are elected to serve the body, while pastors are elected to oversee and shepherd.

Lakewood Baptist Church is a daughter church of Calvary Baptist Church.