DISTINCTIVES

    Christ Himself began to build His church during His earthly ministry setting in His church first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly pastors and teachers, of which comprised the first visible local assembly that He described as "My Church." This first local church had no denominational tag but was the role model for future local churches by certain Biblical distinctives that would characterize local churches till Christ returns to receive them unto Himself.

    These distinctive characteristics were defined in the New Testament and are the identifying marks for true churches in and for the ages until Christ returns.

    During every period of the "Dark Ages" there were in existence many Christians and many separate and independent Churches, many of them dating back to the times of the Apostles a fact clearly demonstrated by credible history.

    These Christians were the perpetual objects of bitter and relentless persection. History shows that during the period of the "Dark Ages," a period of about twelce centuries, beginning with A.D. 426 there were about fifty million of these Christians who died martyrs deaths. Very many thousands of others, both preceding and succeeding the "Dark Ages," died under the same hard hand of persectuion. These Christians, during these dark days of many centuries, were called by many different names, all given to them by their enemies. These names were sometimes given because of some prominent or heroic leader, and sometimes from other causes, one name in particular seemed to identify these local bodies of believers. This was a name held in disdain by their enemies, that being the name Baptist, due to their rejection of the man made doctrine of Infant baptism and the demand for all those who came to them to be baptized by Immersion upon their experience of the New Birth. In early centuries they were caled Ana Baptists (re-baptizers) but the fact remains that these groups held strongly to the Immersion of born-again believers only.

    The name Baptist was applied to many of these Christians who bore other nicknames, such as the Donatists, Paulicians, Albiginses, and Ancient Waldenses and others. Gradually all these other names were dropped and they were simply called "Baptists". The identifying distinctives held to by New Testament churches of the Lord Jesus Christ being primarily described by the following:

1. A Spiritual Church
    Christ its founder, its only head and law giver.


2. Its Ordinances
    Only two, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. They are typical and memorial, not saving.


3. Its Officers
    Only two, bishops or pastors and deacons, they are servants of the church.


4. Its Government
    a Democratic Christocracy.


5. Its Law and Doctrines
    The New Testament and that only.


6. Its Members
    Believers only, they are saved by grace, not works, through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.


7. Its Requirements
    Believers on entering the church to be baptized, that by immersion, then obedience and loyalty to all New Testament Laws.


8. Various Churches
    Separate and independent in their execution of laws and discipline and in their responsibilites to God, but cooperative in work.


9. Complete Separation of Church and State
10. Absolute Religious Liberty for All