Letting your opposition define you

Rush Limbaugh has been blasting the Republican Party since the 2008 election for not sticking to their values and letting the Democrats define them.

While no one can accuse Baptists of not sticking to their values, there are some misconceptions going around that people are saying about us.

1. Baptist believe baptism completes salvation - This is completely false. Baptists believe baptism is the first act of discipleship, and pictures the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins according to the scripture. Whether you have, or have not been baptized has no bearing on your salvation.

2. Baptists are Calvinistic - While there are some (a few of which are well-known) Baptist who subscribe to Calvinistic doctrine (TULIP), the fact is that five-point calvinism is not in our doctrinal statements, and actually runs contrary to many of our teachings. Baptists do believe in predestination, but predestination is by the foreknowledge of God, so it is nothing to be afraid of, neither does it come close to calvinism.

3. Baptists believe they are the only ones going to heaven - Nope. Except for a very small minority, Baptists by and large believe a person is going to heaven once they are saved (have repented of their sin and trusted Jesus as Savior.)

What are some misconceptions you have heard about Baptists?