Baptist Union (1888)

Whilst expressly disavowing and disallowing any powers to control belief, or to restrict enquiry, yet, in view of the uneasiness produced in the churches by recent discussion, and to show our agreement wit one another, and with other fellow Christians on the great truths of the Gospel, the Council deem it right to say that:

A. Baptized into the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, we have avowed repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ—the very elements of new life; as in the Supper we avow our union with one another, while partaking of the symbol of the body of our Lord, broken for us, and of the blood shed for the remission of sins. The Union, therefore, is an association of Churches and Ministers professing not only to believe the facts and doctrines of the Gospel, but to have undergone the spiritual change expressed or implied in them. This change is the fundamental principle of our church life.

B. The following facts and doctrines are commonly believed by the churches of the Union.

The Divine Inspiration and Authority of the Holy Scripture as the supreme and sufficient rule of our faith and practice; and the right and duty of individual judgment in the interpretation of it.

The fallen and sinful state of man.

The Deity, the Incarnation, the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His Sacrificial and Mediatorial work.

Justification by faith, a faith that works by love and produces holiness.

The work of the Holy Spirit in the conversion of sinners and in the sanctification of all who believe.

The Resurrection; the Judgment at the last day, according to the words of our Lord in Matthew 25:46.

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