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People of the BOOK What Southern Baptists Believe and DoPEOPLE OF THE BOOK | 1 2 | PEOPLE OF THE BOOK What Southern Baptists Believe and Do This resource was written by Sammy Joo, senior consultant for Asian Ministries with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. Copyright © 2019 by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. Permission is granted to use brief quotations in printed or online reviews. Permission requests should be submitted in writing by mail or email to: Baptist State Convention of North Carolina | Attn: Communications Team | 205 Convention Drive | Cary, NC 27511 | [email protected] Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. By God’s grace, Southern Baptists are the largest protestant denomination in the United States. This book is divided into three parts: what By and large, Southern Baptists are not limited we believe, who we are and what we do. to the southern part of the U.S. but extend all • What we believe around the world. Although there are many 1. Faith in God other evangelical denominations who glorify 2. Faith in God’s Word God together, I believe Southern Baptists are • Who we are the most biblically conservative and missionally 1. Sinner and saved effective denomination. ”Biblically conservative” 2. Secured and servant is a term that explains how Southern Baptists 3. Church believe in the inerrancy of Scripture and hold to the teaching of Scripture. Missional effectiveness • What we do comes through the Cooperative Program where 1. Evangelism and discipleship churches work together to support cross-cultural 2. Cooperation for the Great Commission engagement and make disciples of all nations. one denomination over others for Southern The purpose of this book is to explore what Baptists seek to fulfill the Great Commission introduction Southern Baptists believe and do. In my work through partnering with other denominations among Asian churches in North Carolina, I have for the kingdom of God. In this great positive seen growth in the number of Southern Baptists movement, it is also necessary to affirm what among Asians. Some of them even joined we believe and do as Southern Baptists not for from different denominations. However, this the sake of a denomination label, but for a clear extension must not be limited to Asian groups understanding of our identity to consolidate the alone. Many people from different countries and unity within Southern Baptists and beyond for ethnic groups are not familiar with the beliefs of the Great Commission. This book is written for Southern Baptists. In these countries, Southern those who want to understand what Southern Baptists are not the major protestant group, Baptists believe and do. It is ultimately for and thus these ethnic groups lack a thorough those who want to grow in their faith in God and understanding of Southern Baptist roots and service for His kingdom. theology. How to use this book: When pastors or leaders from different 1. Pray first. denominations become Southern Baptists, they 2. Read scriptural references at least three times. often move without a clear understanding of the denomination. As a result, it is important 3. Fill in the blanks and answer additional for them to go through denominational training questions, such as: in order to willingly join the denomination. • What does this mean? (Who is God? Who is However, this is not limited to different ethnic the world? Who is the church?) groups. Younger generations also do not • What should I do in response to this truth? value denominational differences as much as 4. Watch short daily videos (https://vimeo.com/ preceding generations, resulting in less emphasis showcase/5683115) on People of the Book. on denominational education. Although Scripture 5. Memorize a verse per day from pages 25-36. itself is the focal point of our education, 6. Meet with your group once a week to go denominational understanding is important to through questions/answers. know how Southern Baptists interpret and apply 7. Facilitate group discussion by asking: biblical truth for its fullest impact. • What stood out the most to you? Why? • What are you going to do in response to The purpose of this book is not to elevate your learning? • What is your prayer request based on your learning? 8. Finish with prayer. Sammy Joo *Answers to fill-in-the-blanks on page 25 Senior Consultant, Asian Ministries, Baptist State Convention of North Carolina 2 | PEOPLE OF THE BOOK Christian faith starts with faith in who God is and what He has done. In this section, we will first explore the fundamental truths about who God is. Second, faith in God leads to faith in His Word. We will also investigate what we believe about God’s Word and why we believe it, including the historicity of the Bible as the written copy of God’s Word. 1. Faith in God The Baptist Faith and Message is a statement of generally held convictions by Southern Baptists. It describes God as follows: “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. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.”1 Though this is a good summary of who God is, it is important to look at how Scripture describes who God is. 1. There is only ______________ God. (Deuteronomy 6:4) 2. God is _______________ persons in ______________: Father, ____________ and ________________ ________________. (1 John 5:7) (Matthew 28:19) WHAT WE BELIEVE 3. Write at least five attributes of God: God is _______________, _______________, ______________, _______________ and ______________. 4. Holy Trinity A. God the Father 1. He is the _________________. (Genesis 1:1) 2. He is the __________________. (Exodus 20:2) 3. All creation proclaims His __________________. (Psalm 19:1) 4. He is the ___________________ one. (Isaiah 43:3) 5. He is our __________________. (Isaiah 64:8) 6. Led by the Holy Spirit, we call Him ________________ _______________. (Romans 8:14-15) 7. All things are _____________ Him and _______________ Him. (1 Corinthians 8:6) 8. ______________ sends the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. (Galatians 4:6) 9. One God and _________________ of all. (Ephesians 4:6) 10. He rewards those who _________________ Him. (Hebrews 11:6) PEOPLE OF THE BOOK | 3 11. The _______________ of the ages, immortal, invisible, the ____________ God. (1 Timothy 1:17) 12. We need to submit to the ____________________. (Hebrews 12:9) “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 knowing, 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.”2 B. God the Son 1. ________ is God’s delighted Son. (Matthew 3:17) 2. No one can know God the Father except the _______________ and those to whom He ______________ ______ ______________ Him. (Matthew 11:27) 3. He is the __________. (Matthew 16:16) 4. We need to make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the ________, ________ and __________ __________. (Matthew 28:19-20) 5. _______________ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. (Luke 24:46) 6. Jesus is the ______________, is with ______________ and is _______________. (John 1:1-3) 7. Jesus is the ______________ of God who takes away the _____________ of the world. (John 1:29) 8. Jesus is the ______________ and the ______________. (John 11:25) 9. Jesus has come into the world as _______________. (John 12:46) 10. If you know _______________, you know God the _________________. (John 14:7) 11. Jesus is the ____________ ________ ____________. (Romans 1:3) 12. Jesus is the one ______________ between God and men. (1 Timothy 2:5-6) 13. God proved His love for us through sending His ________ to ________ for us sinners. (Romans 5:8) 14. Christ is the end of the ________ for righteousness to everyone who _________. (Romans 10:4) 15. Jesus is God-given ___________ for us, our _____________, ____________ and ____________. (1 Corinthians 1:30) 16. The fullness of God’s nature dwells in ______________. (Colossians 2:9) 17. Jesus is our high ______________. (Hebrews 4:15) 18. Jesus is the founder and perfecter of our _______________. (Hebrews 12:2) 19. Jesus is perfect and has no ___________. (1 Peter 2:22) Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah and God Himself. He became human but did not sin. He lived a perfect life on the earth by perfect obedience to God the Father. He died on the cross for our sins, 4 | PEOPLE OF THE BOOK and He was risen from the dead in three days. He ascended into heaven, and He will return to the earth to judge the living and the dead.