Baptist beliefs are not completely consistent from one church to another, as Baptists do not have a central governing authority. However, Baptists do hold some common beliefs among almost all Baptist churches.
Baptists practice believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper (communion) as the
ordinances instituted in Scripture (Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).[5] Most Baptists call them "ordinances" (meaning "obedience to a command that Christ has given us")[6][7] instead of "sacraments" (activities God uses to impart salvation or a means of grace to the participant).[8][5] Therefore, historic Baptist theology considers that no saving grace is conveyed by either ordinance and that original sin is not washed away in baptism.[citation needed] Baptists have traditionally believed that they are symbols.[citation needed]
Almost all Baptists hold their services and worship on Sunday. However, there is a group known as the Seventh Day Baptists whose origins are derived from Anabaptism and the pre-Reformation. Seventh Day Baptists gather and worship on the seventh day of the week on Saturday. A large portion of Seventh Day Baptists adopted the teachings of the Sabbath, which led to the formation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.[10]
Baptists are also viewed as the descendants of the Puritans who were shaped by the Anabaptists, thus the Baptist religion were considered an outcome of the Reformation.[10] In the early 17th century, those individuals who called themselves Baptists broke apart from the Church of England.[10] Some notable Puritan separatists included John Smyth and Thomas Helwys who were acknowledged as key founders of the Baptist denomination.[10]
Furthermore, some Baptists (notably Landmarkists or "Baptist Bride" adherents) hold to a belief in perpetuity, which embraces the notion that the Baptist belief and practice existed since the time of Christ until today as the Church of Christ founded in Jerusalem was Baptist. Those who believe in perpetuity view the Baptist belief as not being a critical aspect of the Protestant Reformation.[10]
^Brackney, William H. (1999). Historical Dictionary of the Baptists. Scarecrow Press. pp. 160–161.
^Benedict, David (1848). A General History of the Baptist Denomination in America and Other Parts of the World. Lewis Colby. p. 325. It is, however, well known by the community at home and abroad, that from a very early period they have been divided into two parties, which have been denominated General and Particular, which differ from each other mainly in their doctrinal sentiments; the Generals being Arminians, and the other, Calvinists.
^Cummins, David L. This Day in Baptist History 2. Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2000.
^ abEngle, Paul E.; Armstrong, John H. (30 August 2009). Understanding Four Views on Baptism. Zondervan. p. 60. ISBN9780310866985. John Calvin and most other Protestant leaders rejected the Roman Catholic sacramental system but retained its vocabulary, applying the term "sacrament" only to ordinances instituted by God himself (cf. Westminster Confession of Faith 27; Belgic Confession 33). ... Unlike Baptists and Anabaptists, who tend to speak of baptism only as an "ordinance," Calvinists have characteristically spoken of baptism not only as an ordinance but also as a sacrament or a mystery, a rite through which God applies grace.
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