What Kind of Church Are We?

For purposes of identification, SOLID ROCK BAPTIST CHURCH shall be known as a Fundamental, Independent, Bible-believing, Baptist Church. We are Fundamental because we hold to the literal interpretation of the Scriptures; we are Independent because we are self-governing and self-supporting, and are not subject to any outside authority, governmental or ecclesiastical; we are Bible-believing because we accept only the Authorized King James Version of the Scriptures as the word of God for the English-speaking peoples; we are Baptist because we hold to the historic positions and distinctive doctrines that distinguish us from both Protestantism & Catholicism. 

A. From a POSITIVE standpoint we identify ourselves by what we ARE.

1. “We are Fundamental because we hold to the literal interpretation of the Scriptures.”

What does is it mean to be Fundamental?

Fundamentalism is a movement that began in the 1880’s in America. It was the reaction of American Christianity against the religious liberalism & modernism that was creeping into the churches in that day.  There were those in colleges and seminaries that were producing ministers that would fill church pulpits who did not believe the fundamental doctrines of the Bible. (In the northern U.S. the GARBC churches were at the forefront of the movement; in the southern U.S. the conservative churches. Those who opposed them were religious liberal churches, schools and ministers.)

The ‘Fundamentals’ are a set of books that addressed the cardinal doctrines of the Bible and the issues of the day that would erode the people’s faith in the Bible, such as creation vs. evolution.

The number one attribute of  Fundamentalism is one who interprets the Bible literally. That is, “where the plain sense makes sense we seek no other sense.”

Further, the Fundamental Doctrines of the Bible that make one a “fundamentalist” are these:

2. “We are Independent because we are self-governing and self-supporting, and are not subject to any outside authority, governmental or ecclesiastical.”

 What does it mean to be Independent?

It means that each local church is independent. There are no convention headquarters or denominational hierarchy that dictates to the local church. Each local church is:

Historical Note: J.Frank Norris led the Independent Baptist movement in the early 20^th century. He pastored the largest Southern Baptist Convention church (1^st Baptist, Ft. Worth, TX) and the largest Northern Baptist Convention church (Temple Baptist, Detroit, MI) in America. He published magazine called “The Fundamentalist.” Exposed Baylor University for teaching evolution in the 1920's. He stood for the English Bible (KJV). He founded Bible Baptist Fellowship and College. Every Independent Baptist Church can trace its existence, directly or indirectly, to Norris.

3. “We are Bible-believing because we accept only the Authorized King James Version of the Scriptures as the word of God for the English-speaking peoples.”

What does it mean to be Bible-believing?

We believe that the King James Version of the scriptures are the inspired & preserved, infallible, inerrant words of the living God. We believe that there are no mistakes or mistranslations in it. We reject all modern English versions that have been translated from anything other than the Textus Receptus type manuscripts.

TEST – Is your preacher really a ‘Bible-believer’?: A preacher stands in the pulpit holding a book and says, “I believe the Bible is the infallible, inerrant, inspired word of God!” The congregation says, “Amen.” After services someone asks the preacher if the book in his hand is inerrant, infallible and inspired. He says, “Yes, of course.” Then he is asked, “Does the book you preach from have mistakes, errors, or mistranslations in it?” The preacher says, “Yes, of course. No translation is perfect.” So, the preacher said the Bible was inerrant, etc. but the book he preaches from has mistakes. If the Bible has no mistakes but the book he preaches from does have mistakes, what does he mean by the word “Bible”? He is not talking about the translation or version he uses, but the original manuscripts. If that is so, then he DOES NOT have a Bible – only a ‘book’ that ‘contains’ the word of God, but not THE BOOK that IS the word of God. Unlike many churches, at Solid Rock Baptist we really believe that the Book we preach and teach from IS the inspired, inerrant, infallible word of God.

4. “We are Baptist because we hold to the historic positions and distinctive doctrines that distinguish us from both Protestantism & Catholicism.”

What does it mean to be Baptist?

A Baptist is one who holds to the tenets of the Baptist faith, which is the closest one can get to the New Testament in my estimation. A Baptist is distinguished by what is called the "Baptist Distintives." There are six of them. In a “nutshell” this is what makes a Baptist a ‘Baptist’  –

1. Autonomy (Independence) of the Local Church. The local church is independent and self‑governing. No outside body can dictate its actions, beliefs, etc. A true Baptist church has no denominational headquarters or convention that governs it. The members are the local church are the only governing body.

2. Priesthood of the Believer. The individual Christian has direct access to God. He does not need a preacher, priest, or rabbi (and nowadays we must add 'mullah' I suppose also for the Muslim community) to intercede for him to God. Our high priest and intercessor and mediator is the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Eternal Security of the Believer. Once a person has accepted Christ as Savior and trusted Him for salvation, he is safe eternally. He will never perish. "Once saved, always saved." Once born again, always born again. Once redeemed, always redeeemed. Etc.

4. Absolute Separation of Church & State. Just like our Founding Fathers set up America. No state church to rule over the laity. The church cannot dictate through legislation the religious beliefs and practices of the citizens. This is why the Pilgrim Fathers left England.

5. Regenerated Church Membership. The membership should only consist of people who are saved. A lost person cannot "join" the church, be an "honorary member," etc. The local church is supposed to be made up of born again Christians. In other words, the danger is that people could mistake being a member of a church with being saved and count on church membership to get them to heaven.

6. Immersion of Believers Only. That is, a person must be a believer in Christ to be a proper candidate for baptism. No infant baptism allowed. And only saved people (believers who have accepted Christ as Savior) are eligible for baptism. Submitting to baptism is a matter of obedience to Christ’s command and a testimony to the fact that one has accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour and is committed to living for Him.

Historical Note: One definition of a Baptist would be anti‑Catholic. Every one of the Baptist distinctives are tenets that the Catholic church is opposed to and in the Dark Ages would burn you at the stake for.

B. From a NEGATIVE standpoint we identify ourselves by what we ARE NOT.

3. NON-CALVINIST

4. NON-CONFORMIST