Our Church
What is an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church?
Antioch Baptist Church of Rochester Indiana is an independent, fundamental Baptist church.
We are independent. This means that we are a self-governed church, not affiliated with any denominational hierarchy.
We are fundamental. This means that we believe that the Bible is the inherent, inspired Word of God and is our only source of doctrine.
Of course, we are also Baptist, which is a Christian denomination that believes the biblical form of baptism is by immersion, and should be the conscious decision of the believer as a public profession of his or her faith.
Pastor Jerry Pitman is our Pastor, and has been faithfully serving Antioch since 2002.
We are independent. This means that we are a self-governed church, not affiliated with any denominational hierarchy.
We are fundamental. This means that we believe that the Bible is the inherent, inspired Word of God and is our only source of doctrine.
Of course, we are also Baptist, which is a Christian denomination that believes the biblical form of baptism is by immersion, and should be the conscious decision of the believer as a public profession of his or her faith.
Pastor Jerry Pitman is our Pastor, and has been faithfully serving Antioch since 2002.
A History of Baptists
Origins...
Many historians disagree on where the Baptists denomination came from. Some say we grew out of Protestantism during the Reformation of the early 17th century. Some say we branched away from the Anabaptist groups. Others say we've been around since the first century. The truth is, they're all right! Because not all Baptists share the same history!
Some Baptist churches are Apostolic, meaning they claim to trace their roots to the Apostles of the first century. (This is not the same meaning of Apostolic as the Apostolic churches within the Pentecostal Holiness movement - completely different subject matter.) Some call themselves Apostolic because they follow the teachings and pattern of baptism used by John the Baptist, Jesus, and His disciples. Other Baptist churches were the product of the Christian Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries, claiming roots with the Calvinist (Reformers), the Armenians, the Puritans, and the Separatists. While others still trace their beginnings to the Anabaptist movement which also brought forth some (but not all) Brethren, Amish, Mennonites, and many other groups.
"Anabaptist" was a derogatory name given to them by the Protestants (mainly the Puritans), from a Greek word meaning "second baptism." The Protestants practiced infant baptism, as did their Roman Catholic predecessors (though "Catholics" did not perform infant baptisms during the early centuries of Christian history). Anabaptist practiced "believer's baptism," where a person must be able to make a conscious decision to receive Christ prior to baptism (as did the Christians during the first three centuries and is the only form of baptism described in the New Testament). Since infants are not able to make this conscious decision on their own, Anabaptist did not consider infant baptism to be a legitimate form of baptism. Therefore, any convert who was baptized as an infant must be baptized by immersion after receiving Christ as their Savior. So, while some Baptist groups spawned from the Protestants, others were severely persecuted by them. (This is true for many Brethren as well.)
Some Baptist churches are Apostolic, meaning they claim to trace their roots to the Apostles of the first century. (This is not the same meaning of Apostolic as the Apostolic churches within the Pentecostal Holiness movement - completely different subject matter.) Some call themselves Apostolic because they follow the teachings and pattern of baptism used by John the Baptist, Jesus, and His disciples. Other Baptist churches were the product of the Christian Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries, claiming roots with the Calvinist (Reformers), the Armenians, the Puritans, and the Separatists. While others still trace their beginnings to the Anabaptist movement which also brought forth some (but not all) Brethren, Amish, Mennonites, and many other groups.
"Anabaptist" was a derogatory name given to them by the Protestants (mainly the Puritans), from a Greek word meaning "second baptism." The Protestants practiced infant baptism, as did their Roman Catholic predecessors (though "Catholics" did not perform infant baptisms during the early centuries of Christian history). Anabaptist practiced "believer's baptism," where a person must be able to make a conscious decision to receive Christ prior to baptism (as did the Christians during the first three centuries and is the only form of baptism described in the New Testament). Since infants are not able to make this conscious decision on their own, Anabaptist did not consider infant baptism to be a legitimate form of baptism. Therefore, any convert who was baptized as an infant must be baptized by immersion after receiving Christ as their Savior. So, while some Baptist groups spawned from the Protestants, others were severely persecuted by them. (This is true for many Brethren as well.)
Beliefs...
Since different Baptists have different origins, it should be no surprise that different Baptists also share different beliefs.
Some Baptists are Reformed, or Calvinist. These Baptist groups are called so because they trace their roots to the Reformation period and the teachings of John Calvin. These groups emphasize God's unchanging sovereign decrees, and teach "By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated, or foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to the praise of His glorious grace; others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation, to the praise of His glorious justice." (limited atonement) as taught in The 1969 London Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 3:3. Due to the nature of this teaching, a person who has been foreordained to eternal life has eternal security of their salvation (unconditional preservation of the saints), because God's decrees are sovereign and unchangeable. However, this teaching completely denies the free will of man (God's irresistible grace). There are different degrees of this teaching, but all who adhere to it teach God's decrees are sovereign and unchangeable, and that man does not have the free will to choose to be saved.
On the other end of the spectrum are the Armenians (such as, but not limited to, the Free Will Baptists). These Baptists groups follow the teachings of Jacobus Arminius, who disagreed with Calvin's teachings of limited atonement, unconditional preservation of the saints, and irresistible grace. Instead, he taught that salvation was available to any and all who would willingly receive it (unlimited atonement), that man had the ability to resist God's grace and therefore could choose whether or not they wanted to receive Christ as Savior (resistible grace), and that salvation is conditional (conditional preservation), in that "True believers are capable by their own fault of falling into flagrant crimes and atrocious wickedness, to persevere and die in them, and therefore finally to fall away and to perish," as stated in The Opinions of the Remonstrants (1618), V:4.
However, most (but certainly not all) Independent Fundamental Baptists are neither Calvinist nor Armenian in their beliefs, but instead follow the teachings of the Anabaptist groups who were following the New Testament pattern of believer's baptism (Acts 8:36-39). We differ from the Calvinist because we believe that God's plan of salvation is meant for all people who wish to receive it. We reject the idea that God has decreed only certain people for eternal life and has condemned the rest for eternal condemnation, as this goes against 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord...is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." This does not neglect God's sovereignty, for if God sovereignly declaired for man to excercize free will, then it is not going against God's sovereignty for man to do so. We also differ from the Armenian opinion of conditional preservation, in that we believe that once a person has repented of their sin and received Christ as Savior, they are then "sealed with that holy Spirit of promise" as stated in Ephesians 1:13. We reject the Armenian teaching of conditional preservation, that a believer could lose their salvation through crimes and wickedness, as it goes against Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." This however is not a liscense to sin, as we do believe that a believer who falls into sin will "suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved," as stated in 1 Corinthians 3:15.
Some Baptists are Reformed, or Calvinist. These Baptist groups are called so because they trace their roots to the Reformation period and the teachings of John Calvin. These groups emphasize God's unchanging sovereign decrees, and teach "By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestinated, or foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to the praise of His glorious grace; others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation, to the praise of His glorious justice." (limited atonement) as taught in The 1969 London Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 3:3. Due to the nature of this teaching, a person who has been foreordained to eternal life has eternal security of their salvation (unconditional preservation of the saints), because God's decrees are sovereign and unchangeable. However, this teaching completely denies the free will of man (God's irresistible grace). There are different degrees of this teaching, but all who adhere to it teach God's decrees are sovereign and unchangeable, and that man does not have the free will to choose to be saved.
On the other end of the spectrum are the Armenians (such as, but not limited to, the Free Will Baptists). These Baptists groups follow the teachings of Jacobus Arminius, who disagreed with Calvin's teachings of limited atonement, unconditional preservation of the saints, and irresistible grace. Instead, he taught that salvation was available to any and all who would willingly receive it (unlimited atonement), that man had the ability to resist God's grace and therefore could choose whether or not they wanted to receive Christ as Savior (resistible grace), and that salvation is conditional (conditional preservation), in that "True believers are capable by their own fault of falling into flagrant crimes and atrocious wickedness, to persevere and die in them, and therefore finally to fall away and to perish," as stated in The Opinions of the Remonstrants (1618), V:4.
However, most (but certainly not all) Independent Fundamental Baptists are neither Calvinist nor Armenian in their beliefs, but instead follow the teachings of the Anabaptist groups who were following the New Testament pattern of believer's baptism (Acts 8:36-39). We differ from the Calvinist because we believe that God's plan of salvation is meant for all people who wish to receive it. We reject the idea that God has decreed only certain people for eternal life and has condemned the rest for eternal condemnation, as this goes against 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord...is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." This does not neglect God's sovereignty, for if God sovereignly declaired for man to excercize free will, then it is not going against God's sovereignty for man to do so. We also differ from the Armenian opinion of conditional preservation, in that we believe that once a person has repented of their sin and received Christ as Savior, they are then "sealed with that holy Spirit of promise" as stated in Ephesians 1:13. We reject the Armenian teaching of conditional preservation, that a believer could lose their salvation through crimes and wickedness, as it goes against Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." This however is not a liscense to sin, as we do believe that a believer who falls into sin will "suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved," as stated in 1 Corinthians 3:15.
Coming Soon!
A History of Our Church
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