2002 Baptist Faith and Message

The major change in Article 11 of the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message is in the final sentence of the article: "It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--People have an intense interest in the future. Psychic hotlines have become big business as hurting people seek a glimpse of potential hope in their coming destiny.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--The 1963 and 2000 Baptist Faith and Message statements on the kingdom of God are identical. Upon a cursory glance, the Biblical passages which are listed along with the statement reveal much detail about the kingdom of God.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Because God is our Creator and Redeemer, he deserves and demands the first of all that we possess. This principle is given and reiterated throughout Scripture. We are to give the Lord the firstfruits of our increase. We should give him the first minutes of our day. We should seek first his reign and rule in our lives.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--The Baptist Faith and Message speaks of baptism and the Lord's Supper as ordinances. As we consider Article 7 on the Lord's Supper, we do well to begin by asking what is an ordinance? Why do Christians celebrate and perform these -- and only these -- two ceremonies?

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Like most believers who have been baptized following a profession of faith, I have a distinct recollection of my baptism. I was baptized in a small stream on a cattle ranch in Wyoming.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--The article on the church in the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message affirms that God has revealed the doctrine of the church in Scripture. It teaches that the church's form of government, its officers, its ordinances, its mission and its laws are those of the churches of the New Testament.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--In Alfred Hitchcock's famous movie, "The Man Who Knew Too Much," Doris Day croons, "When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, what would I be? Would I be pretty; would I be rich? Here's what she said to me. ..."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--This article of the Baptist Faith and Message is a noble condensation of a beautiful biblical and historically Baptist doctrine. "Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Often a doctrine related to God's overall redemptive plan in Christ receives relatively little attention. The doctrine of glorification seems to reflect this scenario.