THE BAPTIST FAITH AND MESSAGE, Article Nine

This is Part 9 of a continuing series of articles examining the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. This statement of faith was adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting on June 14, 2000 “to set forth certain teachings which we believe.”

The Church

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ, which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.*


The church administration manual is the New Testament. We are not interested in what man’s religious opinions and church traditions tell us about the nature of the church—but what does the New Testament say?

The church belongs to Jesus. He lovingly bought it with His blood. Christ has the right to direct His church to accomplish His will. It is His body, His bride, and His building. It is described as His field and His flock. Christ is the head of the church—not the pastor, not the deacons, not a pope, priest or presbytery.

This means that the church is autonomous as concerning any earthly power. We are not wed to any secular government, being citizens of the kingdom of heaven. We are not controlled by any ecclesiastical hierarchy, being led of the Spirit of God. That Spirit calls us into the body and bestows grace gifts to equip the church for Kingdom service. A local church functioning as God intends, has a membership that prays and seeks to submit to the Word of God, coming together to carry out her mission.

Although the New Testament occasionally speaks of the church as a universal, spiritual body of all believers, most references are to local assemblies. The local church is where the action is! That local assembly is to be composed of a regenerate membership, committed openly to Christ through baptism, and linked together in the bonds of love to accomplish the Great Commission. The ordinances of the church are baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. As there are two ordinances, there are two offices in the church—the pastors and deacons—these are the elders of the church who provide leadership to the assembly. The Bible acknowledges the indispensable gifts and ministries carried out by women in the church, but in the different roles God has established for the sexes, men are chosen to be the God-ordained elders of the church.

In a day when many disdain the church, and scorn what they call “organized religion,” it is important to note that the heritage of the church of yesterday and the hope of the church of tomorrow speaks of the health of the church of today. The church—Christ’s church—is still alive and well! I’m glad to be a member and servant of the church—the local church; specifically, Pole Creek Baptist Church!


* Matthew 16:15-19; 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42,47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 13:1-3; 14:23,27; 15:1-30; 16:5; 20:28; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14; 12; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11,21; 5:22-32; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14; Hebrews 11:39-40; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation 2-3; 21:2-3.
(Baptist Faith and Message, 2000)