Baptist Beliefs: Jesus is Lord

What would you tell people if they asked what Baptists believe? This is the first of a series looking at what Baptists believe. And it starts in the perfect place!

The foundation of all Baptist beliefs is the short statement: “Jesus is Lord.” Baptists didn’t come up with this. This was the first creed of the early Christians. All true Christians today, whatever their denomination, must confess that Jesus is Lord.

This is important as there are so many things that we don’t understand. It has been joked that if you get five Baptists in a room, you will get six opinions. It is fine for us to disagree on certain issues.

The one thing that must stand firm is the Lordship of Jesus. While we may not understand certain things in the Bible, Jesus as Lord is extremely clear.

This includes a number of things, beginning with who Jesus is. Jesus is not just a human teacher or prophet. Jesus is God made human. Only the God-man, fully God and fully human, could reconcile us to God. A human sacrifice on the cross could never pay the price for our salvation.

The other part is the Lordship. Jesus as Lord is not just about his identity but our relationship to him. The early Baptists lived through a time when they were expected to submit to the religious beliefs of whichever king or queen was on the throne at the time. This is a reminder that only Jessus is Lord.

Today there are many authorities that seek our allegiance. We still need this reminder that Jesus is Lord.