The Baptist Faith and Message
Adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention
May 9, 1963

I.  The Scriptures

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a  perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its  author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. It reveals the principles  by which God judges us; and therefore is, and will remain to  the end of the world, the true center of Christian union,  and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds,  and religious opinions should be tried. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.  

Ex. 24:4; Deut. 4:1-2; 17:19; Josh. 8:34; Psalm 19:7-10; 119:11, 89, 105, 140; Isa. 34:16; 40:8; Jer. 15:16; 36; Matt.  5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15;  17:17; Acts 2:16 ff.; 17:11; Rom. 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; Heb. 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21

II.  God

There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. To Him we  owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal  God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,  with distinct personal attributes, but without division of  nature, essence, or being.

A. God the Father

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through  faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward  all men.

Gen. 1:1; 2:7; Ex. 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11 ff.; 20:1 ff.; Lev.  22:2; Deut. 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chron. 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isa.  43:3, 15; 64:8; Jer. 10:10; 17:13; Matt. 6:9 ff.; 7:11;

23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8;  Acts 1:7; Rom. 8:14-15; 1 Cor. 8:6; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 4:6; Col.  1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17; Heb. 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7 

B. God the Son

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation  as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself the demands and necessities of human nature and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His death on  the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from  sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and  appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them  before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now  exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One                                                                                                              

Mediator, partaking of the nature of God and of man, and in  whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and  man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world  and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in  all believers as the living and ever present Lord.

Gen. 18:1 ff.; Psalm 2:7 ff.; 110:1 ff.; Isa. 7:14; 53; Matt. 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16, 27; 17:5;  27; 28:1-6, 19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18, 29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50;14:7- 11; 16:15-16, 28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20, 28; Acts 1:9; 2:22- 24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5, 20; Rom. 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,  34; 10:4; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8, 24-28; 2 Cor. 5:19- 21; Gal. 4:4-5; Eph. 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Phil. 2:5-11; Col.  1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thess. 4:14-18; 1 Tim. 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus  2:13-14; Heb. 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15, 24-28; 12:2;  l3:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Rev. 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16

C. God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is  the assurance of God to bring the believer into the fullness  of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

Gen. 1:2; Judg. 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalm 51:11; 139:7 ff.; Isa. 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matt. 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32;  28:19; Mark 1:10, 12; Luke 1:35; 4:1, 18-19; 11:13; 12:12;  24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8;  2:1-4, 38; 4:3l; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17, 39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Rom. 8:9-11, 14-16, 26-27; 1 Cor. 2:10- 14; 3:16; 12:3-11; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thess. 5:19; 1 Tim. 3:16; 4:1; 2 Tim. 1:14; 3:16; Heb. 9:8,  14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Rev. 1:10; 22:17

III.  Man

Man was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by His Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race.

Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command  of God, and fell from his original innocence; whereby his  posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin, and as soon as they are capable of moral action  become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the  grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for  man; therefore every man possesses dignity and is worthy of  respect and Christian love.

Gen. 1:26-30; 2:5, 7, 18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalm 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isa. 6:5; Jer. 17:5; Matt. 16:26; Acts 17:26- 31; Rom. 1:19-32; 3:10-18, 23; 5:6, 12, 19; 6:6; 7:14-25;  8:14-18, 29; 1 Cor. 1:21-31; 15:19, 21-22; Eph. 2:1-22; Col.  1:21-22; 3:9-11

IV.  Salvation

Salvation involves the redemption or the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and  Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption  for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes  regeneration, sanctification, and glorification.

A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit  through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in  repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.

Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God.

Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of  the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.

Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent  and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.

B. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's  purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual perfection through the presence and power of the  Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.

C. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

Gen. 3:15; Ex. 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matt. 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22 to 28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14, 29;  3:3-21, 36; 5:24; 10:9, 28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21;  4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Rom. 1:16-18; 2:4;  3:23-25; 4:3 ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18, 29-39; 10:9-10,  13; 13:11-14; 1 Cor. 1:18, 30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Cor. 5:17- 20; Gal. 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11- 16; Phil. 2:12-13; Col. 1:9-22; 3:1 ff.; 1 Thess. 5:23-24; 2  Tim. 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Heb. 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1  to 12:8, 14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6 to  2:11; Rev. 3:20; 21:1 to 22:5.

V.  God=s Purpose of Grace

Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It  is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends  all the means in connection with the end. It is a glorious  display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise,  holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes  humility. 

All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never  fall away from the State of grace, but shall persevere to  the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, bring reproach on the cause of Christ,  and temporal judgments on themselves, yet they shall be kept  by the power of God through faith unto salvation.  

Gen. 12:1-3; Ex. 19:5-8; 1 Sam. 8:4-7, 19-22; Isa. 5:1-7;  Jer. 31:31 ff.; Matt. 16:18-19; 21:28-45; 24:22, 31; 25:34;  Luke 1:68-79; 2:29-32; 19:41-44; 24:44-48; John 1:12-14; 3:16; 5:24; 6:44-45, 65; 10:27-29; 15:16; 17:6, 12, 17-18;  Acts 20:32; Rom. 5:9-10; 8:28-39; 10:12-15; 11:5-7. 26-36; 1  Cor. 1:1-2; 15:24-28; Eph. 1:4-23; 2:1-10; 3:1-11; Col. 1:12-14; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; 2 Tim. 1:12; 2:10, 19; Heb. 11:39  to 12:2; 1 Peter 1:2-5, 13; 2:4-10; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:19; 3:2 

VI.  The Church

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the two ordinances of Christ, committed to His teachings, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.

This church is an autonomous body, operating through democratic processes under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In  such a congregation members are equally responsible. Its Scriptural officers are pastors and deacons.

The New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages.

Matt. 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; Rom. 1:7; 1  Cor. 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14; 12; Eph. 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11, 21; 5:22-32; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:18; 1 Tim.  3:1-15; 4:14; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Rev. 2-3; 21:2-3

VII.  Baptism and the Lord=s Supper

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water  in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It  is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a  crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death  to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to  walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony  to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a  church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of  church membership and to the Lord's Supper.

The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and  the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer  and anticipate His second coming.

Matt. 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26;  Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39;  16:30-33; Acts 20:7; Rom. 6:3-5; 1 Cor. 10:16, 21; 11:23-29;  Col. 2:12

VIII.  The Lord=s  Day

The first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and  should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private, and by refraining from  worldly amusements, and resting from secular employment,  work of necessity and mercy only being excepted.

Ex. 20:8-11; Matt. 12:1-12; 28:1 ff.; Mark 2:27-28; 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-3, 33-36; John 4:21-24; 20:1, 19-28; Acts 20:7;  1 Cor. 16:1-2; Col. 2:16; 3:16; Rev. 1:10

IX.  The Kingdom

The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who  willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom  is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful,  childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to  pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God's will  be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age. 

Gen. 1:1; Isa. 9:6-7; Jer. 23:5-6; Matt. 3:2; 4:8-10, 23;  12:25-28; 13:1-52; 25:31-46; 26:29; Mark 1:14-15; 9:1; Luke  4:43; 8:1; 9:2; 12:31-32; 17:20-21; 23:42; John 3:3; 18:36;  Acts 1:6-7; 17:22-31; Rom. 5:17; 8:19; 1 Cor. 15:24-28; Col.  1:13; Heb. 11:10, 16; 12:28; 1 Peter 2:4-10; 4:13; Rev. 1:6,  9; 5:10; 11:15; 21-22

X.  Last Things

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to  the earth; the dead will he raised; and Christ will judge  all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned  to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous  in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their  reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

Isa. 2:4; 11:9; Matt. 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27, 30, 36, 44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-48; Luke 12:40, 48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11;  17:31; Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 4:5; 15:24-28, 35-58; 2 Cor. 5:10;  Phil. 3:20-21; Col. 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thess. 4:14-18; 5:1 ff.; 2  Thess. 1:7 ff.; 2; 1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 4:1, 8; Titus 2:13;  Heb. 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7 ff.; 1 John 2:28; 3:2;  Jude 14; Rev. 1:18; 3:11; 20:1 to 22:13

XI.  Evangelism and Missions

It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to  make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man's spirit  by God's Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a

spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly  and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. It is  the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the  lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods  in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

Gen. 12:1-3; Ex. 19:5-6; Isa. 6:1-8; Matt. 9:37-38; 10:5-15; 13:18-30, 37-43; 16:19; 22:9-10; 24:14; 28:18-20; Luke  10:1-18; 24:46-53; John 14:11-12; 15:7-8, 16; 17:15; 20:21;  Acts 1:8; 2; 8:26-40; 10:42-48; 13:2-3; Rom. 10:13-15; Eph.  3:1-11; 1 Thess. 1:8; 2 Tim. 4:5; Heb. 2:1-3; 11:39 to 12:2; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Rev. 22:17

XII.  Education

The cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the causes of missions and general benevolence, and should receive along with these the liberal  support of the churches. An adequate system of Christian schools is necessary to a complete spiritual program for Christ's people.

In Christian education there should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility. Freedom in any orderly relationship of human life is always  limited and never absolute. The freedom of a teacher in a  Christian school, college, or seminary is limited by the

pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, by the authoritative nature of  the Scriptures, and by the distinct purpose for which the  school exists.

Deut. 4:1, 5, 9, 14; 6:1-10; 31:12-13; Neh. 8:1-8; Job 28:28; Psalm 19:7 ff.; 119:11; Prov. 3:13 ff.; 4:1-10; 8:1- 7, 11; 15:14; Eccl. 7:19; Matt. 5:2; 7:24 ff.; 28:19-20; Luke 2:40; 1 Cor. 1:18-31; Eph. 4:11-16; Phil. 4:8; Col. 2:3, 8-9; 1 Tim. 1:3-7; 2 Tim. 2:15; 3:14-17; Heb. 5:12 to  6:3; James 1:5; 3:17

XIII.  Stewardship

God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a  holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in  their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to  serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to  them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of  their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the  Redeemer's cause on earth.

Gen. 14:20; Lev. 27:30-32; Deut. 8:18; Mal. 3:8-12; Matt.  6:1-4, 19-21; 19:21; 23:23; 25:14-29; Luke 12:16-21,42; 16:1- 13; Acts 2:44-47; 5:1-11; 17:24-25; 20:35; Rom. 6:6-22; 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 4:1-2; 6:19-20; 12; 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8-9; 12:15; Phil. 4:10-19; 1 Peter 1:18-19

XIV.  Cooperation

 Christ's people should, as occasion requires, organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God.

Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches. They are voluntary and advisory bodies  designed to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our  people in the most effective manner. Members of New Testament churches should cooperate with one another in carrying forward the missionary, educational, and benevolent  ministries for the extension of Christ=s Kingdom. Christian  unity in the New Testament sense is spiritual harmony and  voluntary cooperation for common ends by various group of  Christ's people. Cooperation is desirable between the various Christian denominations, when the end to be attained  is itself justified, and when such cooperation involves no  violation of conscience or compromise of loyalty to Christ  and His Word as revealed in the New Testament. 

Ex. 17:12; 18:17 ff.; Judg. 7:21; Ezra 1:3-4; 2:68-69; 5:14-15; Neh. 4; 8:1-5; Matt. 10:5-15; 20:1-16; 22:1-10; 28:19-20; Mark 2:3; Luke 10:1 ff. Acts 1:13-14; 2:1 ff.; 4:31-37; 13:2-3; 15:1-35; 1 Cor. 1:10-17; 3:5-15; 12; 2 Cor.  8-9; Gal. 1:6-10; Eph. 4:1-16; Phil. 1:15-18

XV.  The Christian and the Social Order

Every Christian is under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in his own life and in human society.  Means and methods used for the improvement of society and  the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly  and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in  Christ Jesus. The Christian should oppose, in the spirit of  Christ, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice. He should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole  under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth,  and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will  in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit  of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His  truth.

Ex. 20:3-17; Lev. 6:2-5; Deut. 10:12; 27:17; Psalm 101:5;  Mic. 6:8; Zech. 8:16; Matt. 5:13-16, 43-48; 22:36-40; 25:35;  Mark 1:29-34; 2:3 ff.; 10:21; Luke 4:18-21; 10:27-37; 20:25;  John 15:12; 17:15; Rom. 12-14; 1 Cor. 5:9-10; 6:1-7; 7:20- 24; 10:23 to 11:1; Gal. 3:26-28; Eph. 6:5-9; Col. 3:12-17; 1  Thess. 3:12; Philemon; James 1:27; 2:8

XVI.  Peace and War

It is the duty of Christians to seek peace with all men on principles of righteousness.  In accordance with the spirit and teachings of Christ they should do all in their  power to put an end to war.

The true remedy for the war spirit is the gospel of our Lord. The supreme need of the world is the acceptance of His  teachings in all the affairs of men and nations, and the practical application of His law of love.

Isa. 2:4; Matt. 5:9, 38-48; 6:33; 26:52; Luke 22:36, 38; Rom. 12:18-19; 13:1-7; 14:19; Heb. 12:14; James 4:1-2

XVII.  Religious Liberty