Baptists are not Protestant, and there is a reason why I'm not a Protestant. The founders of Protestantism: Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Knox, wanted to reform the Catholic Church. They decided to "protest" the Catholic Church for being unscriptural in regards toward transubstantiation, the concealment of God's Word, indulgences, and the persecution of anyone who believed doctrines other than those taught at Mass. However, Martin Luther said that he never left the Catholic Church. If you read his famous 95 theses, he clearly believes a lot of the same false doctrine that the Mother Of Harlots did to begin with. The Reformers did not want to break away from the Catholic Church, they wanted to add certain changes to the way things were governed. This is one reason why I'm a Baptist, because I never came out of the Catholic Church. I am not seeking to "reform" or "change" Mystery Babylon. Now this was a brief history lesson to why I'm not a Protestant. Now I am going to tell you biblically why I belong to a Baptist Church.
1)Christ is the Head of the Church
"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let wives be subject unto their own husbands in every thing." -Ephesians 5:23-24
Mainstream Protestantism is denominational; meaning that a president or committee is the head of several churches within the same statement of faith. A few well-known denominations are: the Southern Baptist Convention, United Methodist Church, and or course the Catholic Church. The Pope is a perfect example of what a denomination truly is. He is the head over thousands of Churches throughout the world, and whatever he says goes.
This is unscriptural. Since Protestantism is nothing but "catholic-light", they have engulfed themselves in something that is completely satanic in nature. Just as God came down and scattered the men who were building the Tower of Babel, a one world system, God has also done so with his Church.
There is not a church that we all belong to on earth. There are "churches". Throughout the New Testament you will see the word, "churches". Protestants use Ephesians 5:23-24 to boast of their denominationalism because the verses say "the church", meaning "one church". What they fail to recognize is that it also says "the husband" and "the wife". Does that mean that there is only one husband on this entire earth? No. Does that mean that there is only one family on this entire earth? No. God is generalizing this verse to obviously mean that Christ is the head of every church, just as every husband is to be the head of his wife.
By making a man, such as a Pope or President, a mainstream leader of a collective group of churches, each and every one of those churches' is subject to that man's orders, not to the Scriptures. A Church is to pull all of its doctrine from the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost, the King James Bible. Not from a board or committee. I am a part of an Independent Church, meaning that there is no hierarchy of governors connected to the Church. We are independently run by Pastors, Deacons, and a God-fearing congregation whose sole authority comes from the Word of God.
2)The Word of God is the Final Authority
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." -2 Timothy 3:16-17
All a Church needs for doctrine, administration, and preaching can be found in the Holy Word of God, the basis of Baptist theology. Unlike the Charismatics who stand on personal experience, and the Protestants who lean on human reasoning, we stand on the doctrines of Scripture ALONE. This is why I am 'fundamental'. This defines me as someone who believes the Bible LITERALLY'. I as a Baptist, do not believe in an allegorical interpretation of Scripture unless the passage clearly defines itself as allegorical, symbolic, or prophetic. One of the main reasons why so much false doctrine exists today is because people read the Bible and make it say what they want it to say. This is why God says we are to rightly divide the Word of Truth. You need to be capable of separating the allegorical, prophetic, and symbolic from the literal.
A good example is the 10 commandments. All but one commandment is symbolic, and that is the fourth commandment dealing with the Sabbath. All of the other commandments are literal. God simply says "thou shalt not kill", "thou shalt not commit adultery", "thou shalt not steal". There is nothing figurative about any of the other nine commandments. There are literal and figurative passages in the Bible that need to be read in context to get the true meaning.
If you read Revelation Chapter 4, and you think that the rapture is mentioned there, you're not making the Bible your final authority because Revelation 4 doesn't address the rapture. But if you read clear verses that talk about the rapture like: Matthew 24:29, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, Revelation 1:7, and Revelation 6:12-17. The Pre-Trib Rapture is a perfect example of Pastors not relying on the Word of God as their final authority.
Being a fundamentalist means that you are willing to lay down tradition, preconceived ideas, and personal beliefs for the sake of the authenticity of doctrine. You don't compromise.
3) Baptism is for Believers
"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." -Acts 8:36-37
Baptism is not a requirement for salvation. All one must do to be saved is believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and then they are saved eternally. Baptism comes after someone has already gotten saved. The eunuch had to believe first, which is salvation, in order to be baptized, which is an ordinance. If Baptism were a requirement for salvation, I guess the thief on the cross didn't go to heaven. I guess Abraham and the Patriarchs didn't go to heaven. Baptism is a symbol for salvation. It is an ordinance like the Lord's Super. Romans 6:4-5 clearly teaches this doctrine. It says that we are planted in the "likeness of his death", and we are risen in the "likeness of his resurrection". Baptism represents the death to the body and life to the Spirit in the Christian life. It is a public display of one's conversion. This public display is to be done by Pastors and Deacons, usually in the local Church.
Having the name "Baptist" is an honour. That was what the Protestants mockingly called people who re-baptized adults due to the unscriptural baby sprinkling or the Catholic and Protestant Churches. Just as the disciples were named "Christians" by their persecutors, we were named "Baptist" by ours as well.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:11
"Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born among women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
Instead of naming our Church after some dead man burning in hell, we have named our Church after a living man in heaven who preached righteousness and prepared the way for Jesus Christ. That is what Baptist Churches want to do. We want to go soul-winning, get people baptized, and raise up a generation of Pastors who will preach just as the greatest man to ever live did. Notwithstanding, if we are the most humblest of people, who obey and follow the shepherd's voice, we will undoubtedly be greater than the first Baptist.
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