Independent Baptist
Christian protestant denomination From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Independent Baptist churches (also called Independent Fundamental Baptists or IFB) are Christian congregations that generally hold to fundamentalist or conservative views of Evangelical Christianity and Baptist beliefs.
The term “independent” refers to the doctrinal position of church autonomy and a refusal to join any affiliated Baptist denominations or non-Baptist association, though they usually maintain some sort of fellowship with like-minded churches.
History
Summarize
Perspective
The modern Independent Baptist movement began in the early 20th century among local Baptist congregations whose members were concerned about the advancement of modernism or theological liberalism into national Baptist denominations in the United States.[1][2]
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In response to the concerns, some local Baptist churches separated from their former denominations and re-established their congregations as independent churches. In other cases, the more conservative members of existing churches withdrew from their local congregations and established new independent Baptist churches.[3]
The World Baptist Fellowship (originally the Premillennial Missionary Baptist Fellowship) is a fundamentalist Independent Baptist organization founded by J. Frank Norris (1877-1952) in Fort Worth, Texas in 1933. Other organizations founded were the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches in 1932 (became independent in 1934), the Baptist Bible Fellowship International in 1950, the Southwide Baptist Fellowship in 1956, the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship International in 1967, the Independent Baptist Fellowship International in 1984, and the Independent Baptist Fellowship of North America in 1990. Various independent Baptist Bible colleges were also founded.[4][5][6][7]
Beliefs
Summarize
Perspective
Denominational beliefs are strictly Baptist. As Christian fundamentalists, they believe in the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, and great emphasis is also placed on a literal-historical interpretation of scripture. Other beliefs include separation of church and state, young earth creationism, cessationism, and dispensationalism.[8][9][10]
As historical fundamentalists, Independent Baptists are opposed to theological liberalism, ecumenism, Catholicism, the Charismatic movement, the ordination of women pastors, homosexuality, and evolution. They also usually oppose Neo-Evangelicalism because they believe it errs by failing to practice separation sufficiently, rejecting its perceived ecumenical attitudes in some modern evangelical circles.[11][12]
King James Onlyism
Many Independent Baptist churches adhere to only using the King James Version of the Bible, a position known as “King James Onlyism”.[13][14]
This position was advocated by notable Independent Baptist pastors such as Jack Hyles and Lester Roloff, who maintained that the King James Bible has perfectly preserved the Word of God.[15][16][17] Similarly, Jack Chick, who was best known for his comic tracts, also advocated a King James Only position.[18] A more extreme form of King James Onlyism was developed by Peter Ruckman, who argued that the KJV constitutes "new revelation" or “advanced revelation” and superior to the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts.[19] However, some Independent Baptists like John R. Rice, Curtis Hutson, Lee Roberson, R. L. Hymers Jr., and others took a more moderate position in arguing that although the King James Bible is preferable to most modern translations because of its manuscript tradition, it is not inspired and should not be considered perfect.[20][21]
Independent Baptists who tolerate newer versions accept that there are disagreements on textual issues but feel that the most important issue is what the KJV translators themselves fought for, that the common man should have the Bible in his common language.[21][22][23][24][25]
Soteriology
Soteriologically, Independent Baptists overwhelmingly believe in salvation by grace through faith alone and eternal security, but they may differ slightly from each other on other positions. Some align with Free Grace theology, such as Jack Hyles,[26] Curtis Hutson,[27] Ernest Pickering,[28] Shelton Smith,[29] and Peter Ruckman.[30] Others, including R. L. Hymers Jr.[31] and David Cloud,[32] believe true repentance is abandoning sins and that salvation changes how a person lives, however, they reject requiring a lost sinner to make Jesus Christ “Lord” of their entire life. There are also some Independent Baptists who espouse Lordship salvation and a few may even embrace moderate Calvinistic views.[33]
Independent Baptists often emphasize the distinction between law and gospel, a concept famously illustrated in Lester Roloff's sermon, "Dr. Law and Dr. Grace." In this sermon, Roloff described the law as revealing humanity's sins and exposing their inability to attain righteousness through their own works. This understanding, he explained, serves to guide individuals toward grace, where they can find forgiveness and redemption.[34]
Most Independent Baptists strongly believe that the literal shedding of blood on the cross was a central part of Christ’s atoning work, rejecting the view that the Biblical references to blood are intended as metaphors for death and instead emphasize the literal and physical aspect. Many also teach that after his resurrection, Jesus presented his blood on the heavenly mercy seat, often considering the literal blood of Christ as the object of faith for salvation in the New Testament.[35][36][37][38] Independent Baptists such as Hymers Jr. have emphasized that due to the unity of the person of Christ in his two natures, the blood of Jesus can also be called the blood of God.[39]
Some Independent Baptists adhere to the Sinner’s prayer, which is a prayer of confession to God by an unbeliever who has the desire to be saved, and they see reciting such a prayer as the moment defining one’s salvation. However, others have criticized the sinner’s prayer as leading to inauthentic conversions and calling it “quick prayerism”.[40][41]
Doctrine of separation
Independent Baptists usually believe that members of a church should be separate from worldliness or “the world” and not have association with those who are “of the world” (unbelievers),[42] however, different Independent Baptists vary in what to them constitutes separation in specific areas.[43]
Additionally, there is a distinction between first and second degree separation. Independent Baptists want to live in a way that is distinct from the typical lifestyle of the world (first degree). Some would claim that not only should one separate from the world, but also from those christians who will not separate themselves from the world (second degree), and believe that christians who are tied up with the things of “the world” are themselves guilty of apostasy for their failure to adequately separate.[44][45][46][47]
Some Independent Baptists believe in so-called "third degree separation", which is the belief that one needs to separate from fellow Independent Baptists who do not practice secondary separation.[48]
Ecclesiology
Many Independent Baptists adhere to "Baptist successionism" (or Baptist perpetuity), the belief that Baptists trace their origins through a lineage of Christians dating back to the Apostles with medieval groups cited as pre-Reformation representatives of Baptist principles.[36]
Some proponents of Baptist successionism take this further by embracing Landmarkism or “Baptist bride theology”, the view that only Baptist churches constitute the body or bride of Christ and that only Baptists will be raptured and partake in the marriage supper of the Lamb. They also claim that the Baptist Church began with John the Baptist or Jesus himself. However, this perspective is not universally accepted within the Independent Baptist movement and has been criticized for denying the universal body of Christ comprising all true believers.[49][50][51]
Independent Baptists reject the ordination of women pastors and deacons in a local New Testament church according to the Apostle Paul’s writings in 1 Timothy 2, Titus, and 1 Corinthians 14.[52]
Many Independent Baptists believe that according to 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6-7 a pastor cannot be divorced, however, some reject this interpretation. Peter Ruckman argued that being “blameless” has nothing to do with divorce because he believed that a pastor can be remarried to one wife and that the Apostle Paul is mainly addressing polygamy in those passages.[53]
Baptist churches that adhere to fundamentalism often call themselves “Independent Baptist Church", "Bible Baptist Church", or "Fundamental Baptist Church" to demonstrate their membership in the movement.[54][55]
Worship music
Most Independent Baptist churches exclusively use traditional worship during their services, however, there are some that have a mixture of traditional and contemporary worship styles.
Many Independent Baptists such as Jack Hyles, Jack Chick, Paul Chappell, David Cloud, Ernest Pickering, and Spencer Smith have criticized and rejected the use of contemporary Christian music.[56][57][58]
They argue that styles such as rock and pop music are overly emotional, entertainment-focused, and man-centered, making them unsuitable for church worship in their view. According to them, biblical principles should guide Christians to use hymns rather than CCM, which he felt lacked the reverence and theological depth appropriate for worship.[59]
Views on Alcohol
Independent Baptists hold that the Bible forbids partaking of alcohol (wine) altogether and argue that some alleged alcoholic drinks in the Bible are only medicinal uses of alcohol. They also argue that wine in the Bible can also refer to non-alcoholic beverages such as unfermented grape juice, and for this reason the context must determine which meaning is required. In passages where beverages are viewed negatively, Independent Baptists understand them to mean fermented wine, and where they are viewed positively, they understand them to mean unfermented wine.[60]
Other issues
Most Independent Baptists believe in the pre-tribulation rapture,[61] however, a few hold to a mid-tribulation or post-tribulation rapture.[62][63] Independent Baptists may also have differences on issues such as Calvinism, patriotism,[64][65] certain conspiracy theories, dispensational salvation,[66][67][68] Gap creationism,[69] giants in the Bible, and the eternal generation of the Son,[36][70] among others.
Sexual abuse
In 2018, an investigation by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram identified 412 abuse allegations in 187 independent fundamental Baptist (IFB) churches and institutions across the United States and Canada, with some cases reaching as far back as the 1970s.[71][72]
In November 2023, Investigation Discovery released Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals, a 4 part documentary, highlighting sexual abuse and cover up within the Independent Baptist movement.[73]
Independent Baptist authors have responded to sexual abuse scandals in various ways. Shelton Smith (who is the current editor of the Sword of the Lord) has argued that while Independent Baptists need to take allegations seriously, he has still expressed scepticism on the cases of cover up happening in large scale within the Independent Baptist movement.[74] Some Independent Baptists such as David Cloud have instead reacted to these allegations by arguing that they are only common in certain segments of the Independent Baptist movement. David Cloud in response stated that other Independent Baptists already attempted to deal with these cases in the 1980s and 1990s.[75]
Notable individuals associated with Independent Baptists
- Ben M. Bogard (1868 – 1951)
- J. Frank Norris (1877 – 1952)
- Mordecai Ham (1877 – 1961)
- John R. Rice (1895 – 1980)
- Robert T. Ketcham (1889 – 1978)
- George Beauchamp Vick (1901–1975)
- David Otis Fuller (1903 – 1988)
- Lee Roberson (1909 – 2007)
- Lester Roloff (1914 – 1982)
- Oliver B. Greene (1915 – 1976)
- George W. Dollar (1917–2006)
- John Birch (1918 – 1945)
- Peter Ruckman (1921 – 2016)
- Robert Sumner (1922 – 2016)
- Maze Jackson (1923–1996)
- Jack Chick (1924 – 2016)
- Jack Hyles (1926 – 2001)
- John A. Stormer (1928 – 2018)
- Ernest Pickering (1928 – 2000)
- Rolland D. McCune (1934 – 2019)
- Curtis Hutson (1934 – 1995)
- Gérard Dagon (1936 – 2011)
- R. L. Hymers Jr. (born 1941)
- Shelton Smith (born 1942)
- Clarence Sexton (1948 – 2023)
- David W. Cloud (born 1949)
- Kent Hovind (born 1953)
- Paul Chappell (born 1962)
- Gary Click (born 1965)
See also
References
Bibliography
External links
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