Do Baptists Believe They Are The Only True Religion?

[YESLORDIWILL]

I have to agree with Albion, we all tend to think that we have the most accurate understanding of doctrine, no matter which denomination we come from. (Even within denominations, from church to church we can feel superior in our understanding) Because we Baptists do more door knocking, our true colors tend to shine a bit more brightly. I am a quite active member in my "Very Strict fundamental Baptist Church"...and I, too, have been questioned vigorously about my salvation by a "Baptist door knocker"... I was a bit offended, but I am sure that he was just concerned about me and wanted to see me in heaven.

 

[Hammster]

Had a Baptist pastor stop by the apartment today. I guess he was making the rounds. He started questioning me on how I was saved, and made a big deal about me becoming Lutheran. He then asked if I wanted to listen to their radio station and I politely declined and then he proceeded to tell me that we will all stand in front of God on judgement day. He left when I mentioned that I do not read from the King James Bible (He had a look of disgust at that point).

To me it sounded like he was trying to get me to leave the Lutheran church without actually coming right out and saying it.

So are Baptists like Catholics in that they feel they are the one true religion and all must become Baptist to be saved?

One of the reasons that I truly love being a Lutheran is that I have yet to hear any Lutheran claim that Lutheranism is the one true religion and anyone else will not be saved.

*Note I am not trying to get anyone to leave the Baptist faith or denounce the Baptist faith. I Am just curious if this is a regular thing?

No.

 

[MoreCoffee]

Had a Baptist pastor stop by the apartment today. I guess he was making the rounds. He started questioning me on how I was saved, and made a big deal about me becoming Lutheran. He then asked if I wanted to listen to their radio station and I politely declined and then he proceeded to tell me that we will all stand in front of God on judgement day. He left when I mentioned that I do not read from the King James Bible (He had a look of disgust at that point).

To me it sounded like he was trying to get me to leave the Lutheran church without actually coming right out and saying it.

So are Baptists like Catholics in that they feel they are the one true religion and all must become Baptist to be saved?

One of the reasons that I truly love being a Lutheran is that I have yet to hear any Lutheran claim that Lutheranism is the one true religion and anyone else will not be saved.

*Note I am not trying to get anyone to leave the Baptist faith or denounce the Baptist faith. I Am just curious if this is a regular thing?

I can't speak for Baptists so I won't but Catholics do not believe nor teach that one must join the Catholic Church to be saved.

 

[FreeinChrist]

Baptists believe they have correct, Biblical belief but not that they are the one true religion

 

[OldRegularBaptist]

Please consider the following.... Isaiah 62:2 the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.

The above scripture is a prophecy of Isaiah. Now ask yourself this question, when did Jesus speak of this new name for his people?

Consider the following.... Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist
11Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

If you have any understanding of the above scripture you will notice he put "The Baptist" in his sentence for a very special reason. This is obviously the only name that was spoken by the Lord which is a prophecy of Isaiah.

Conclude: When a sinner gets right with God they 100% become a Baptist on the inside, a new name is given..it doesn't matter what it says above the door of a church house.

 

[twin1954]

Salvation isn't in a denomination. Do I as a Baptist think that Lutherans are in error? Sure I do. But I do not limit salvation to being a Baptist I limit salvation to knowing and believing on Christ as He is revealed in the Scriptures.

There are many though, as evidenced by another poster, who think that being a Baptist who only reads the KJV is salvation.

Historically it is true that Baptists held to the idea that Baptists were the only true church. There are some today that still hold that opinion.

 

[mikedsjr]

Boidae, I'm an oddball. I have huge huge respect for Lutherans, so much I lean towards the belief Lutherans have on Baptism. Plus Most of the Christian shows I learn from today are Lutheran: Chris Rosebrough, Issue etc., and Table Talk Radio.

There is no doubt many Baptist would question Lutherans all because of the Baptism issue. Anytime I bring it up, which is hardly to a Baptist, I guess concerns for my soul written on their face. So I don't try to rub them the wrong way. I don't know a Baptist Church that doesn't look to baptize their new converts quickly, so ignorance doesn't kill them.

 

[Grafted In]

I've been in a number of Baptist churches and have discussed Biblical matters with many from various other Baptist churches and one thing that does seem to stick out is that they are usually very well grounded in Scripture. However, I also notice a very wide array of strong beliefs that are not necessarily common to all Baptists. As I see it this is one of the most diverse denomination that exists. There are perhaps many dozens of individual Baptist churches in my area and one I have attended was by invitation from a coworker. Later he told me that his church was the only real Baptist church because they made their own communal wine....that there was only one certain way of making wine that was "handed down" so to speak. A bit odd, for sure. When I asked him about the bread they used he said "we just use crackers". I know this man quite well and I am certain if his position in Christ...he's born again, but this is just one example of how even within denominational bounderies there are deep devision. I've also been in many Lutheran churches but the differences don't seem to be as wide.
I'm not a Catholic but the Catholic churches seem to be more consistent with one another and I think the reason for that is that they get their marching orders (figure of speech, Catholics. Figure of speech) from one central voice whereas most protestant denominations enjoy more room to decide matters at home.
But all have their own oddities and, in my opinion, they are merely things of the flesh.
This is how it with always be until that day.

 

[Quest38]

Wow! With all the misturned words and ill speech over a question I'm just happy I'm Pentecostal. (lol) OP, I truly feel for you as I myself have often asked a question only to have it misinterpreted as vile. Good on you for making yourself clear, more than once. Good on the latter posters for actually giving information requested.
May the good Lord bless you and keep you all.

 

[7101]

I am a Baptist Pastor. With that said I should mention that first and foremost, I am a Christian. I choose Baptist because it is closest to that which I believe. We are not protestants which are those who rebelled against the Catholic Church such as Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists...
This is why the man seemed to be giving you the third degree. As Baptists (as other Christians also believe) we believe in going to the people and bringing the word. We use Jesus instructions to authenticate that. We also know that there are many who say they are Christians but when you start speaking with them, you realize they are not. This is particularly true of many of the mega churches.
You are a Christian if you are no longer separated from God. If you repented of that separation and asked for God to save you. It has to be a serious move on your part and not a bunch of words you repeat as some over zealous person tries to get one under his belt.

I was saved through a Presbyterian Church. Today, that is cause for alarm because so many of them have gone the way of the world. Pro homo, Women Pastors, Pro abortion...
When I was saved, they sent me to the Baptist Church to be baptized as they knew it was to be by immersion, not sprinkling. Now that is something that is arguable but not damning. If someone is truly saved and gets sprinkled and believes they are doing God's will, I have no problem with that as Baptism does not save anyone.

However there are things that should separate Christians from people who are not Christians. Example: If you worship Mary as the Catholics do, as co redemptive with Christ, you are not saved because it is by faith alone in Christ's work that you are saved.

Now here is why that Pastor was not sure about you. The Lutheran Church, although it broke away from Catholicism,it kept some of it's ways. Infant baptism for one. No matter how they cut it they are saying you are bringing your child into the family of God and it's some kind of bond and yes , they will have to be confirmed later on but this is what saves them while they are waiting.If you add to the gift of God by saying Mary, or Baptism can save you, you missed the truth and the truth is not in you. Here is another: Lutherans believe in Consubstantiation. In other words, there is some mystical power in the Lord's supper (they, like the Catholics call it communion) and it has a mysterious action when taken. No, It is a memorial service to remember what Christ did for us and although it should be serious and somber, there will be no added apparitions or added theatrics to the service.

There are others who claim Christ by saying, "I am born again" and upon asking them how they became born again they reply that they attend a Born again Church. This is also a non believer's conception of truth.

It seems to me that most denominations have things which are not true. Someone posted that some Baptist Church made their own wine. WHA???? Some will tell you that drinking is a sin when it is only drunkenness that is a sin. One guy said the word Baptist was used so that means everyone needs to be a Baptist. There must be a book of stupid ideas out there.

Let me close by saying this. If you are upset that this guy pressed you about your salvation, I would say that you might not be saved. I know as a Christian, I always enjoy someone making sure that I am saved if they approach me to give me the word. It means they are doing what Jesus told them and they are my brother or sister. No need to be offended.

Finally, are you spreading the Gospel, going to Church when the doors are open and have fellowship with Christians?

 

[svdbygrace]

Joe, I have nothing against Baptists. It's just not my cup of tea. I was curious as to what Baptists believe about their denomination and was in no way trying to make anyone look bad.

Hold on. I'm not defending Baptist against Lutheran but....... you base your salvation on what's your cup of tea? You would go with your emotional feelings (which are deceitful I might add)? Why not study scripture and find out what God's word says and base your salvation on The Holy Spirit's cup of tea and not your on?

Everyone is looking for something that pleases them. The focus should be on God and not on self.

 

[beaverpond]

Having attended Baptist Churches for many years as well as currently attending an independent fundamental non-denominational conservative gospel church (yup, a mouth full) and our Pastor is a member of the Independent Baptist Ministers Organization or something like that. I know that we have always viewed anybody who has accepted into their lives, been baptized by immersion, believes that Christ died for their sins on the cross, rose again, shed his blood for our sins, and was born of a virgin. Then we do not try to convert anybody. If somebody wants to leave our church for another, while not always happy about it, we would rather see them going to church somewhere where they are being fed spiritually then not going at all and just dropping out of the church. We have also spent time with other Pastors in the area finding out the differences between our faiths so this way we know who we may want to associate ourselves with in the future. We have learned that there is not a whole lot of difference between the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and ours, sure there are some differences but way more similarities than differences. The same thing could be said for the local Alliance Churches. We even have a Lutheran Church in the area and some of their kids are involved in our Youth Programs and some of ours are involved in theirs. We would rather see all our kids in a safe environment than an unsafe one and in most cases, the local church with an open door policy is the place to be for parents and kids alike. We have kids from the Alliance Churches, Catholic Church, Methodist Church, Lutheran Church, our own, the Presbyterian Church, and others. What they all like is that when we are teaching the kids the Bible, we are teaching them the Gospel Message and the stories of the Bible. We are not telling them why their faith is wrong or why they should not be going to their church nor do any of these other churches do this to our kids. We also do not do this to the parents when they are visiting with us for the different activities going on in the church. The only difference is the JW as we do not have any Mormons in our area. We seem to have a JW Kingdom Hall in everyone of the communities around us including our own town. We have one of their kids, but we are not afraid to tell them the truth and they know how we feel and they are constantly battling us on it and yet they have not stopped this child from participating in any of the programs.

So bottom line...does the Baptist Faith convert people to their faith or their church? After reading all the comments and being in several Baptist Churches and seeing how they all operate. I can honestly say I think it is not necessarily the Faith, but that of the local church. I know of some who are very aggressive at trying to get people to attend their church and others who work more by word of mouth and community outreach through their different programs than going door to door. Our church will go door to door about once every five years and invite people, not convert them, just invite them. Share with them the message of the Gospel for those willing to listen. That is it, nothing more. We know from experience that if it is shoved down their throats that you lose more than you gain. You catch more bees with sugar and water than you do with vinegar.

 

[truth76]

I cannot speak for baptists but:

Those who are serious about religion should think that the one they’ve chosen is acceptable to God and Jesus. Otherwise, why would they be involved in it?

Jesus Christ didn’t agree with the view that there are many religions, many roads, all leading to salvation. Rather, he said: “Narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.” (Matthew 7:14) I am a Jehovah’s Witnesses and I believe that I've found that road. Otherwise, I would look for another religion.

 

[jared1236]

From what I have heard Baptists believe that baptism is "necessary" for salvation which I believe is false. Then they claim that the only baptism acceptable is the one by Immersion. That belief is false too. Furthermore they reject Infant baptism and that's what further complicate things. Now the reason why he made your being a Lutheran a big deal is because pretty much every christian denomination (including lutherans) approve and practice infant baptism except for Baptists who believe it to be unbiblical which is false conclusion. Hence he would have wanted you to be Baptised once again .

 

[Trumpkin]

Well, I must admit, as a newbie, reading this I'm scarred to post anything! The grilling that Boidae has had for asking a legitimate question is a bit of a shock to the system.
I'm from a baptist church in the UK. I'm not sure if the baptist movement in the UK is the same as the baptist church in the States. We certainly wouldn't say that we're the only true religion.
In the city that I live in we have a great network of christian churches that work together to promote the gospel. We're respectful of each others differences and identities and personally I've learnt so much from other congregations.
Of course there are differences, sometimes major differences but if we're not careful we become rather Pharisaical and self righteous in our attitudes to each other and that, unfortunately, is what the world sees of the church.

 

[jared1236]

I cannot speak for baptists but:

Those who are serious about religion should think that the one they’ve chosen is acceptable to God and Jesus. Otherwise, why would they be involved in it?

Jesus Christ didn’t agree with the view that there are many religions, many roads, all leading to salvation. Rather, he said: “Narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.” (Matthew 7:14) I am a Jehovah’s Witnesses and I believe that I've found that road. Otherwise, I would look for another religion.

Just to comment on beaverpond reply. You would never have a practicing JW's child attending another church even in an outreach capacity.

So you believe Jesus is not YHWH?

 

[Tony Conrad]

Well, I must admit, as a newbie, reading this I'm scarred to post anything! The grilling that Boidae has had for asking a legitimate question is a bit of a shock to the system.
I'm from a baptist church in the UK. I'm not sure if the baptist movement in the UK is the same as the baptist church in the States. We certainly wouldn't say that we're the only true religion.
In the city that I live in we have a great network of christian churches that work together to promote the gospel. We're respectful of each others differences and identities and personally I've learnt so much from other congregations.
Of course there are differences, sometimes major differences but if we're not careful we become rather Pharisaical and self righteous in our attitudes to each other and that, unfortunately, is what the world sees of the church.

I am from the UK as well and can agree that we can learn from others. We work together with them in different projects together. Christ only has one body and the head wants to nurture all parts. I think denominations are breaking down over here. Although there is a false church and a true church it doesn't separate by denomination only people.

 

[jesse100]

It is a bit shocking for born again believers when someone begins questioning their salvation because of their church affiliation and what Bible version they read. Around here the "independent, fundamentalist" Baptists can't just be happy you are saved, they move on to your Bible version and then either turn their noses up (very obviously) or start telling you you are blind and deceived and insinuating you are not right with God. I'm sure there are those of that persuasion who are more humble but it doesn't take too much of that to turn people off and, quite frankly, be embarrassing to others of the faith.

 

[UK_Smithy]

Get back to the Bible, guys. If you're English-speaking, read one in up-to-date English, as the King James version is in old English, and there are some passages which have lost their meaning in modern English. If a doctrine is not plainly stated in the Bible, or is not supported by it or its context, it's been added by your denomination leaders who are sin-stained humans. It's as plain and simple as that. Read it intelligently, without taking statements or verses out of context.

Denominations are merely groups of people who, for one reason or another, have started their own groups which have grown. If a denomination emphasises one part of scripture more than the rest, it may not be interpreting scripture in a balanced way.

If a denomination claims to be Christian it must, by nature, be Christ-centred, not Mary-centred, or Paul-centred, but Jesus-centred. If a denomination says you must eat this or that, and not another type of food, it goes against the account of Peter's experience on the roof of a house where God told him all foods are permissible.

Baptism, in the New Testament, was done by immersion every time, so shouldn't we take that as our example for our churches today? Yes. Is immersion essential to salvation? No, the Bible doesn't say that.

 

[truth76]

So you believe Jesus is not YHWH?

Yes Jesus is not Yahweh of the old testament. I dont want to go off topic on this thread so if you would rather continue this conversation, you can pm me