What We Believe

<BODY BACKGROUND="hbcokc_i000000.jpg" TEXT=#000000 LINK=#0000FF VLINK=#FF0000 BGCOLOR=#F0F0F0 > <BASE TARGET="_top"> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s2> <TABLE WIDTH="105%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" BGCOLOR=#FBEC2F > <TR> <TD WIDTH=100% VALIGN=TOP > <DIV ALIGN=center class=s1 style='text-align: center;'> <FONT style='font-size:8pt;'><B>The original charter of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary contains an <A class=s1 HREF="http://www.founders.org/abstract.html">Abstract of Principles</A> which is the confession of faith that we subscribe to and support, and for this reason we call ourselves a historic-conservative Southern Baptist church. </B></FONT></DIV> </TD></TR></TABLE></B></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s5 style='text-align: center;'> <TABLE WIDTH="75%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="2" > <TR> <TD WIDTH=100% VALIGN=TOP > <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;'>  </DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;'>  </DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;'> <FONT style='color:#800000;font-family:"Verdana";font-size:16pt;'><B>WHAT WE BELIEVE AT  </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;'> <FONT style='color:#800000;font-family:"Verdana";font-size:16pt;'><B>HEARTLAND BAPTIST CHURCH </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;'> <FONT style='color:#800000;font-family:"Verdana";font-size:16pt;'><B> </B><B>AND WHY WE BELIEVE IT </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV ALIGN=center class=s7 style='text-align: center;'> <FONT style='color:#800000;font-size:14pt;'><B></B></FONT></DIV> </TD></TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH=100% VALIGN=TOP > <DIV class=s7>  </DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>Let's suppose one of my daughters is out riding her bicycle that we gave her for Christmas a couple of years ago.  Looking out the window, I see some neighborhood bully come up alongside her, push her off her bicycle, and start riding down the street on her bicycle.  At this point, would any parent casually shrug the shoulders and say, “Oh, well.  That's nice.  I guess he needs it more than my daughter”?  Hardly. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>Instead, I would jump out of my chair, track that boy down, and in some appropriate manner, let him know that what he did was wrong, that he stole our bicycle, and that I am there to reclaim what is rightfully ours.  Surely such action would be expected and warranted.  No one could accuse me of trying to take something that was not mine from the beginning.  They would have no case against me. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>However, such is the case in what is described as the largest “protestant” denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention.  In recent decades there has been a ground swell of support trying to reclaim that which has been taken from us.  Some may accuse us of trying to overthrow the convention or to introduce heretical teachings that were never part of our doctrinal heritage, but nothing could be farther from the historical truth. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>Southern Baptists unanimously had at their origins a doctrinal conviction that is no longer the majority opinion.  The historical evidence is irrefutable.  How I wish every Southern Baptist student in every one of our six seminaries would be required to read Southern Baptist Seminary church history professor, Dr. Tom Nettles’ book, </FONT><FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'><I>BY HIS GRACE AND FOR HIS GLORY</I></FONT><FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>.  The subject of which is called by various names, such as the doctrines of grace, or the doctrine of God’s sovereignty in salvation, or Calvinism.  Whatever one calls it, it is the teaching of Scripture and the doctrinal foundation of Southern Baptist life.   </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>More and more Southern Baptists are seeing the truth that has been denied them for years.  That which made Southern Baptists a vibrant, warm-hearted, evangelistic, mission-minded, doctrinally-sound denomination at the beginning is what is needed today.  We are not trying to introduce some new teaching; we are simply trying to reclaim our doctrinal heritage.  We want our bicycle back.  We should not be accused of trying to take something back which was rightfully ours in the first place.  We love our convention, and we want the best for it, and we believe that our original beliefs are needed in this day of moral and doctrinal confusion.   This is why we are committed to returning to our roots as Southern Baptists, and why we identify ourselves as a historic-conservative Southern Baptist church.  For us to leave the convention is to shrug our shoulder and walk away from our responsibility.   </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>The late great Southern Baptist evangelist, Vance Havner, said it best:  “We Southern Baptists may be many, but we ain’t much.  We are three thousand miles wide, and a half inch deep.”  It is time for the many Southern Baptists to be much, and to have doctrinal roots that go deep into the riches of God’s nourishing Word.  If truth was truth back at the beginning of the Southern Baptist Convention, then it is still truth today.  Truth does not change.  Truth changes us, but we should never attempt to change truth to meet our personal likes or dislikes. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>Over the last hundred years, Southern Baptists have slowly but assuredly turned their backs on what formed the basis of their early history.  Many Southern Baptists are totally unaware of their glorious history.  We pray that will change in years to come.  If we can become so worked-up about history revisionism in public school textbooks, then surely we should be concerned about church history revisionism that denies, ignores, disputes and even rewrites the clear doctrinal beginnings of our convention. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>When two hundred plus messengers met to form the Southern Baptist Convention in 1845, Calvinistic theology formed the basis for its mission program.  All Southern Baptists held to the doctrines of grace.  It would have been unthinkable then to do otherwise.  All of our first convention presidents were committed Calvinists.  All missionaries, evangelists, leading theologians, and preachers were of the same persuasion.  All local associations believed in these truths.  In fact, so much so, that to teach otherwise was serious grounds for some sort of disciplinary action against any straying church in its association.  As Dr. Tom Nettles in his excellent book cited above says, “The men responsible for the birthing of the Southern Baptist Convention rocked it in the cradle of evangelical, experiential Calvinism.”   </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>The first seminary in Southern Baptist life rested on a strong, undeniable Calvinistic foundation.  The seminary’s four faculty members, Boyce, Broadus, Manly, Jr., and Williams, as well as its most vocal supporter, Basil Manly, Sr., shared a common and aggressive commitment to the doctrines of grace.  Why is it today that this is totally new information among most Southern Baptists?  We have forgotten our past -- that same sin that the Israelites were guilty of all throughout the Old Testament days. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>We refer you to <A class=s7 HREF="http://www.founders.org/abstract.html">www.founders.org/abstract.html</A> for the original charter of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  There you will find the Abstract of Principles that all professors must hold to.  This is the first confession of faith among Southern Baptists, several decades before the institution of the Baptist Faith and Message.  </FONT><FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'><B>This is the confession of faith that we at Heartland Baptist Church subscribe to and support, and the reason we call ourselves a historic-conservative Southern Baptist church. </B></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>Current president of Southern Baptist Seminary, Dr. Albert Mohler, gave a stirring convocation address on August 31, 1993 at Southern Seminary, in which he called the seminary back to its doctrinal heritage.  Rather than repeat much of what he says there, we encourage everyone to read his address at <A class=s7 HREF="http://www.founders.org/stand.html">www.founders.org/stand.html</A> for a well-documented presentation that seeks to remind Southern Baptists who we are and where we came from. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>One notable Baptist could say that by as late as 1905 virtually all Southern Baptists held to the doctrines of grace.  At the centennial celebration of our nation, G.D.B. Pepper wrote </FONT><FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'><I>A BAPTIST AFFIRMATION OF FAITH </I></FONT><FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>in which he says, “So have Baptists borne, and deserved to bear, the name of Calvinists, as holding in this capital doctrine with Calvin rather than with those who either co-ordinate the divine and the human, or condition God’s acting on man’s faith, and not man’s faith on God’s acting.  Were Baptists to cease, thus far, to be Calvinists, they would cease to be Baptists.  Indeed, they are more Calvinistic than was Calvin himself; for this doctrine, common to him and them, he taught explicitly in its proper place, but denied implicitly in his doctrine of the church; asserted in words, but denied in ordinances; maintained at his system’s centre, but abandoned at its circumference.  But Baptists maintain it at their system’s centre and circumference, and at every point intermediate.” </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>More students graduate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, than from any other of our seminaries.  In fact, it is the largest theological seminary in the world. B.H. Carroll, founder of the seminary and pastor of First Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, for twenty-nine years, made it known to everyone that Southwestern Seminary was founded on the “rocks of predestination” and that it would always adhere to traditional Baptist Calvinism.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>The early Baptist statesman associated with Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, John Broadus, from which the first part of the trademark name Broadman comes, wrote in the state newspaper for Kentucky Baptists:  “The people who sneer at Calvinism might as well sneer at Mont Blanc.  We are not in the least bound to defend all of Calvin’s opinions or actions, but I do not see how any one who really understands the Greek of the Apostle Paul or the Latin of Calvin or Turretin can fail to see that these latter but did interpret and formulate substantially what the former teaches.”   </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>Even though the present Baptist Faith and Message is a lightweight compared to the early American Baptist confessions of faith, such as the Philadelphia Confession of Faith, it still has strong remnants of our doctrinal heritage.  One example is Article V: God’s Purpose of Grace, which states, “Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners.  It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end.  It is the glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable.  It excludes boasting and promotes humility.”  This is traditional Baptist Calvinism, and yet most Southern Baptists would be surprised to know that our current highly touted confession of faith says as much. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>The granddaddy of all Baptist confessions of faith is the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, which can be read in its entirety at <A class=s7 HREF="http://www.founders.org/library/bcf/confession.html">www.founders.org/library/bcf/confession.html</A>.  While we agree with the vast majority of the 1689 Confession of Faith, there are two points which we would need to clarify: one regards equating the Pope of Rome as the “the antichrist”, “the man of sin”, and “the son of perdition”, and the other equating the Old Testament Sabbath day with the Lord’s Day.  While we strongly disagree with Rome and its theology, calling the Pope those names do a great injustice to the correct interpretation of those texts.  Also, Sunday is not the Christian Sabbath.  Jesus is our every day sabbath rest from the load of sin and the burden of works-righteousness, as is taught in such places as Matthew 11:29-30 and Colossians 2:16-17. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>The fact that we may disagree at some points with the 1689 Confession of Faith only demonstrate the fact that we are the People of the Book, and not the people of creeds, confessions of faith, and doctrinal statements.  We preach and teach the inerrant, infallible, sufficient Word of God; we do not recite creeds or confessions of faith in our worship services.  This is not to deny the importance of confessions of faith, but it simply accentuates the all-importance and all-authoritative Holy Scriptures.  Concerning the London Confession of Faith, the words of Charles Spurgeon, the most well-known Baptist preacher who ever lived, offer tremendous guidance and help:  “This little volume is not issued as an authoritative rule, or code of faith, whereby you are to be fettered, but as an assistance to you in controversy, a confirmation in faith, and a means of edification in righteousness.  Here the younger members of our church will have a body of divinity in small compass, and by means of the Scriptural proofs, will be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in them.  Be not ashamed of your faith; remember it is the ancient gospel of martyrs, confessors, reformers, and saints.  Above all, it is the truth of God, against which the gates of Hell cannot prevail.  Let your lives adorn your faith, let your example adorn your creed.  Above all live in Christ Jesus, and walk in Him, giving credence to no teaching but that which is manifestly approved of Him, and owned by the Holy Spirit.  Cleave fast to the Word of God which is here mapped out for you.” </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>The Philadelphia Confession of Faith was printed by Benjamin Franklin in 1743. It was essentially the 1689 London Confession of Faith that was brought to America. It became the definitive doctrinal statement of Baptists throughout the colonial and early United States periods.  It became known as “The Baptist Confession”, which was adopted by Baptist associations in Virginia, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee.  It is an unashamedly Calvinistic confession of faith. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'> </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> <FONT style='font-family:"Times New Roman";font-size:12pt;'>We welcome any inquiries into any specific doctrinal stand we take at Heartland Baptist Church of Oklahoma City.  May God use us to reclaim our doctrinal heritage for His own glory and for His own purposes. </FONT></DIV> <DIV class=s7> </DIV> </TD></TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH=100% VALIGN=TOP > <DIV class=s10> <I><A class=s10 HREF="mailto:humphreys6@peoplepc.com">Pastor Chris Humphreys</A> </I></DIV> <DIV class=s10> <I><A class=s10 HREF="mailto:VlmTulip@wmconnect.com">Pastor Vance Martin</A> </I></DIV> <DIV class=s10> <I>Heartland Baptist Church of Oklahoma City </I></DIV> <DIV class=s10> <I>P.O. Box 16424 </I></DIV> <DIV class=s10> <I>Oklahoma City, OK  73113 </I></DIV> <DIV class=s10> <I>(405) 969-2226 </I></DIV> <DIV class=s7> </DIV> </TD></TR></TABLE></DIV>  </DIV>