The Ohio Independent Baptist, February 1999

Tb.~<> - •<> t :B:aa.pti.::::»t The Newsletter of the Ohio Association of Regular Baptist Churches Vol. 72 No. 1 The hat is the glue that binds our Associati on together? What 1s at the core of ou r Fellows hip? The happy answer is qui te s imple and stra ig ht forwa rd-Bible doc trine. As an Associati on o f 191 c hurche across Ohio we are not bound to– gether by Je5se r things such as trad1uon, personality, wo rship style, history, v1s1on staten1cnt, or loyalty to human leaders. Nor arc we bou nd together by methodology , for me thod. can and do change. In rea lity we practice a wide vari ety of me thods in ou r churches. It is theology not methodology th at binds us togethe r. There is va lue in these " lesser things" but not ultimate value. The re I\ variety and c hange in our c hurches v. llh regard to these " lesse r Lhings' ' 1 The Scriptures are the inerrant Word of God. 2 God 1s a triune being existing 1n three d1st1nct yet equal persons. 3 Jesus Christ 1s perfect humanity and und1m1n1shed deity, the only Savior. 4 The Holy Spirit 1s a d1v1ne Person, an equal partner 1n the Trini ty. 5 Satan 1s a fall en angel, th e prince of this fallen world. 6 God created the raw materials of this universe out o f nothing and fashioned them from chaos to cosmos in s ix literal days. 7 Man, the apex o f God's c reation , fell into sin, incurring spiritual and physical death 8 Christ was m11 aculously conceived by the Holy Spi rit tn Mary's v1rg1n wornb. 9. Salvation comes by faith alone in the c ruc1f1ed burted. and risen Christ oftheOARBC but not in our attac hmen L to the foundati o na l teachings o f Sc ripture. We tolerate diffe re nces o f o pini on a nd prac t ice in these " les ·er things" but no t in our grasp o f the doctrine that is at the core of our uni o n . Why is thi s a "happy" answe r? Because it rem inds us that there is so rne lh ing so lid and un changi ng und er o ur fee t. That truth s ti ll ex is ts and we can s tand firmly on it. That some things do not c han ge and tability i s po. s ibl e even whe n muc h is in flux around us. That our unit y is based on God 's pron1i es not o n man 's persona l– ity! Yes, on the divine not the human . Let 's remind ourse lves aga in as to these Bibl e truths th a t bind us together. These arc non-nego tiabl e and cve r– re lcvant. We hold these truth s to be hinding o n us all. 10 . Salvation is by grace alone, the undeserved kindness of God toward believing sinners. 11 . Sinne rs are declared to be righteous at the moment of salvati on through fai th . 12 . Believers are sancti fi ed both at the point of salvation and as a process beyond it. 13. Separat ion from the world, at both the personal and churchly level, are biblica l posi ti ons. 14. All truly born-again people a re eternally kep t by God. 15. The local church is an o rganized body o f immersed believers 1n one locale 16 Baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordinances not sacraments ; their value 1s test1mon1al and memorial , not saving. February 1999 • You can get a special rate on a flight to the GARBC conference page 2 • A Y2K "heads up" page 2 • Take a field trip to the AWANA & GARBC off ices, visit Shephe rds page 2 • West Point cadet finds Christ at Scioto Hills Camp page 5 • Want you r Bible rebound? page 5 • Brown Street Baptist , Akron, to host spring WMF meeting page 8 17. There is a real and abiding difference between the righteous and the wi cked . 18. Civil government is of divine appoint– ment but shou ld not con trol religious I ife. 19. Jesus 1s coming again to "rapture'' his saints, to ·~rouble" the wicked. and to set up His 1000 year reign 1n Jerusalem ·r111~ conden~cc.J \ cr~1on \tatc-.. the ..hc.,rt'' o f our OAR I3C ·rhe,c truth~ nHl\ e u.... deep! ) ,v1 th1 n Around thc-..c t1 uth, \\ t' rally and for1nul n1e out clfo11 -.. 1n 'iCr v1c.:c l ~h C\C \\.C hcl 1C\'l' , \\ l' ll.',H.' h , \\ l ' u e I c n d. ,v c Io\ L' ' I 1"- 1 n l! c, t l h ... ot her he lp~ hut thc,c ,tr<.: ,, h,ll \\1..' ,li t' rr.,ll y ,di ,tbout .,nd h,,ppil\ "l1 1