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What Makes a Baptist Church an Independent Baptist Church?
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There are many today who do not really understand the position and work of Independent Baptists. Some believe that all Baptist churches are the same and believe and practice the same thing. Others have the mistaken idea that an Independent Baptist church is a fairly recent new invention of man when in reality Independent Baptist churches have existed since the days of Christ and the apostles.
By Dean Robinson
The Practice and Methods Of An Independent Baptist Church
The Scriptures make it clear that the main, fundamental purpose of a church is to preach the precious gospel of Christ to everyone (Mark 16:15) and everywhere (Acts 1:8).
True independent Baptists accept the fact that since the only organization established and sanctioned in the New Testament is the local church, that it must be the organization that God intended to carry out His work. We do not believe that any other organization or institution except the church is necessary to carry out the plan of God in giving the gospel to the entire world. The church is God's way -- anything else is of man.
For over 1900 years the Lord's true churches have strived to follow and fulfill the biblical plan and pattern for world evangelism as given by the Founder and Head of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ. Some, however, believe that the plan of Jesus Christ to reach the world through His church is not enough and even deficient. Therefore they have invented their own man-made mission board system to do the work that Christ gave to His church. What many fail to realize is that there are no other institutions more capable of carrying out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) than the Lord's churches.
The Pattern of Acts 13
Since the Bible is to be our only rule of faith and practice, then it must be the source from which we derive our plan for doing the Lord's work. It was the practice of churches of the New Testament to send out missionaries by and through the local church because they recognized the fact and believed that Christ gave the authority and responsibility for reaching the world only to the church.
The church at Antioch in Acts 13 set the New Testament example and proved that God's churches are able and qualified for fulfilling the command of our Lord. In this passage we find the only agency God ever commissioned in sending out the missionary -- the New Testament church. If the church is the only one with the responsibility to send out the missionary, then why have some Baptist churches given the sending of missionaries over to agencies outside the church?
There is not one mention or suggestion that can be found in the Bible where New Testament mission work is to be carried out by any other organization besides or in addition to the local church. Mission boards take the God-given responsibilities from the church and place them in man-made organizations.
In Acts 13 we not only find divine instructions but also the divine pattern. The New Testament model of God-called and church-sent missionaries provides an excellent example of missions to be practiced and followed by all churches. According to this passage, the Lord's church is the only agency approved and authorized by God to do mission work. Paul and Barnabas were sent by the church, as directed by the Holy Spirit, without the aid or support of a mission board, convention, association, fellowship, or any other man-made organization. These two men were sent by the church under their authority and approval and sent by the Spirit under His instruction and direction.
If other groups and agencies are established to carry on the work of the Lord, then God is robbed of His glory because the Scripture says: "Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." (Eph.3:21)
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