Doctrinal Statement
His Grace For All
A Study Publication of His Grace For All
hisgraceforall.com
Doctrinal Statement - HGFA
Doctrinal Statement - HGFA
Introduction:
Welcome to an overview of the Statement of Faith of His Grace For All. HGFA fully supports the Baptist Faith & Message of 1963 & 2000.
On the following pages, we have endeavored to demonstrate that we hold to the historic Baptist Distinctives that have always set Baptists apart from all other denominations and movements. We believe that our beliefs can be traced all the way back to the beginning of the church at Pentecost. While the name "Baptist" was a later name attributed to those of like faith as ours, we believe that we are part of the true church of Christ. While we believe we are a part of the true church, we do not believe that we are the ONLY true church. Anyone who names the name of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is a member of the true church, whether they carry the name Baptist or not.
There are many types of Baptists, many varying doctrinal positions within the Baptist universe. However, to be a Baptist, there are certain distinctives that mark a true Baptist. We have detailed those distinctives within the pages of this study.
As you read these pages, you will see that we go back to the early church and look at a couple of the original confessions of faith. We then move into a short chronology of the history of the church up to and including the printing of the first Bible. We take a quick glance at the time of the Reformation and we detail a few more Baptist confessions of faith up to & including the Baptist Faith & Message 2000.
We have also included a detailed section on our Expanded statement which explains our positions on a few key doctrines in more detail than that found in the BF&M 2000.
Finally, we have included a section on Affirmations and Denials as it relates to the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of Soteriology/Salvation.
As you turn the pages of this study, it is our desire that you move slowly through the pages and verses, reading the individual statements, searching and studying the verses to see if what we believe is accurate to the Scripture. It is our desire that you draw closer to Him as you use this as a Bible study tool and the Holy Spirit teaches you as you yield to His direction.
May the Lord bless you through the study of His Word.
In His Service,
Pastor Tim Smith
2023
Doctrinal Statement - HGFA
Doctrinal Statement - HGFA
Have you ever asked yourself .... "What is a Baptist?"
Well, the term "Baptist" means different things to different people. To those of different denominations, people might think that we believe that a person has to be baptized to go to Heaven. To others, a "Baptist" might mean "Calvinism". Some may think we came from John the Baptist. Still to others, the term might mean "Southern Baptist", or "First Baptist" or "General Baptist" or "Regular Baptist", etc., etc.
The term "Baptist" was actually given to us as a derogatory name. We were known as those who re-baptized or those who would only baptize believers. Our ancestors went by many names. One such name was ana-baptist. A name given to them because of the positions they held theologically. These beliefs were anathema to the Catholic Church and the Protestant Reformers such as Calvin and Luther. We hold the name in honor and are proud to be called Baptist.
Baptists can be traced, by name, all the way back to the 1600s but we ultimately identify ourselves with the earliest believers when the church was established on the day of Pentecost. There have always been those churches which held to the fundamentals of the faith and Jesus has never been without a faithful witness on the earth. Baptists consider themselves part of the Free Church and not as Protestants or reformers. Baptist churches were never part of the Catholic Church and were the central targets of persecution, torture and martyrdom from the Catholic Church and the protestant Calvinists.
To correctly understand who we are as "Baptists", let's take just a moment to identify the Distinctives of Baptists. This will hopefully clear up the confusion as to what makes a Baptist a Baptist. Then, we will look at a few confessions through history and consider the Doctrinal Statement of Highlands Baptist Church as well.
Doctrinal Statement - HGFA
