Adapted from the Queensland Baptists guideline for belief and practice.
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He is absolutely holy, infinitely good, great, all
powerful, all present, all knowing. God is eternal. He eternally exists in three persons: The
Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. This “Holy Trinity” is a union of these three co-equal
Persons in one god-head. The one triune God created the heavens and the earth and all that
exists in them. He continues to care for and govern His creation, working out His sovereign
purposes for all that He has made.
The Fatherhood of the First Person of the Trinity is eternal. He has always had a Son and the
relationship of Father to Son is from eternity and not only due to the Second Person of the
Trinity becoming incarnate. Their Fatherhood and Sonship are the source from which we
derive our approximations to fatherhood and sonship in our human relationships. Our being
made in the image of God enables humanity to partially reflect God’s eternal Fatherhood. God
the Father is spirit and has never been incarnate but nonetheless has always been immanent
in the actions of both God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
The eternal Son, co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is the member of the Trinity who
became incarnate. He took on humanity without losing any of His deity in the integrated
personality of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is thus still fully God and now forever also fully man.
This incarnation was achieved through the virgin birth. Jesus lived a sinless human life in
perfect obedience to the Father in a role of humility taken on with His incarnation. He offered
Himself as a perfect sacrifice for sin and a substitution in our place at His death on the cross.
By the Holy Spirit’s power, God the Father raised Him bodily from the dead, completing the
conquest of Satan, sin and death. The Father raised this Jesus to His right hand of power and
there made Him Lord of all. Christ there intercedes on our behalf and the Father and He sent
the Holy Spirit to be Christ’s formal representative on earth. This crucified, risen and glorified
Christ is the Saviour of the world who, at the climax of the ages, will return to earth to judge
the living and the dead. At that time Christ will continue the process of our salvation with the
deliverance of our bodies from the presence of sin and the transformation of all of the created
order with the eventual introduction of the new heavens and new earth wherein “all things will
be made new.”
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and with the Son. He is introduced in the Old
Testament as the “Spirit of God”, but in the New Testament is designated “The Holy Spirit of
God.” He was the communication between the Father and His incarnated Son such that the
God-man was called “the Christ” which means “anointed one.” By the leadership and
empowerment of the Holy Spirit, Christ did the works of His Father from above. After Christ
returned to Heaven He and the Father sent the Holy Spirit at the day of Pentecost to the
believing disciples so that they might do the works of their heavenly Lord and be the body of
Christ. The church was born by the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. At his or her
conversion to Christ every true believer is baptised into this body of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is present in the world to make humankind aware of their sin and need for
Jesus Christ, and to bring them to salvation. The Holy Spirit is received at conversion to Christ
and permanently lives in these believers providing them with power for living, understanding
of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives believers spiritual gifts at their
conversion, to be used in service for God. Christians should seek to live daily under Christ’s
control through the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
The 66 books of the Protestant Bible are the written Word of God to humankind. The Bible is
inspired in the sense that God breathed it out as His Word, thus making it truth from the being
of God and alive with His life. The Bible is our supreme and absolute authority on all matters
of faith and practice and everything that the Bible affirms. It was written by human authors,
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and is both the Word of God and the Word of Man. Whilst
Jesus Christ alone is the authority in all matters of Christian belief and lifestyle, His will in such
matters is always revealed in, or will be consistent with His written Word, the Bible.
People are made in the image of God and are the supreme focus of His creative work. The
value of human life is guaranteed from this divine likeness and parentage and this is true for
all humanity, not just Christians. Although every human being still displays evidence of their
divine creation, they also display marked fallenness from their originally created potential, due
to what the Bible calls sin. Sin is the deep-seated rebellion of the human heart against God.
Sin taints even the good that we are and do. Sin cuts us off eternally from God and works as
a dynamic festering of evil within our relationships, our attitudes and even our physical bodies.
From the moment the human race fell, every individual has been hopelessly lost and destined
for an eternity in hell.
Salvation is a free gift springing out of God’s love, mercy and grace. It is ours only in the
provision of the Lord Jesus Christ and His perfect life, His atoning death, His powerful
resurrection, His glorious ascension, His ongoing Priesthood, and His certain return. Salvation
is at the one time something to be possessed, by coming to Christian conversion, and also
something to be furthered through the Christian life. Salvation is to be prosecuted and worked
out in our Christian lives and finally completed at the return of Christ. Salvation is totally
provided for by the work of Christ without any contribution from us. It is effected by the work
of the Holy Spirit; and it is contingent on personal faith which is not to be viewed as a work.
Salvation has its antecedents in the sovereign election of God but begins in our experience
with our repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It continues in
sanctification through the ongoing practice of spiritual disciplines, and culminates in the
redemption of our bodies and the glorification of our entire persons. Salvation is both
something that we receive and something we seek to work out in our lives. It is the beginning
now of the eternal life with God which will be ours throughout eternity.
People, once created are heading for an eternity in either heaven or hell. Hell is a place of
permanent separation from God. The place of eternal security with God is "heaven". Eternal
life begins the moment a person comes to saving faith in Christ but continues forever in
Heaven. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence. All people, both believers and
unbelievers, will be raised bodily at a resurrection of the dead, finally judged by the Lord Jesus
Christ and thereafter dwell in heaven or hell. Following this judgment, the whole creation will
be so transformed that righteousness and completeness will characterize believers and the
new heavens and new earth forever.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the only two ceremonies given by Jesus Christ through
Scripture to be observed by the church for all ages.
Baptism is the immersion (where possible) of believers upon their repentance and profession of faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism pictures the connecting of the believer with Christ’s death,
burial, and resurrection. The Lord's Supper is a memorial of thanksgiving for the sacrifice of
the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is to be regularly practised until He comes. It portrays our continued
reliance on Christ’s work. It dramatises the basis, in Christ’s atonement, of our continued membership in
the body of Christ as cleansed Christians. It keeps us aware of our fellowship with the saints of all ages and
with the other members of the body of Christ and keeps us looking forward to our future glorification
in Jesus Christ.
The universal church consists of all persons, in heaven now or still on earth, who confess
Christ as their Lord and Saviour. The local gathering of believers is the local expression of the
same universal church. This local gathering is charged to meet regularly for worship,
fellowship, teaching of the Scriptures and seeking to save the lost. Christ alone is the head
of His church, both universal and local. The church is known as the Body of Christ. No other
person, group, or religious organization can profess to be the head of His church.
The Bible teaches that Christians should surrender every aspect of their lives to be a “spiritual
service” or “offered ministry” to God. In this sense, every Christian is to minister as a servant
of Christ. Serving Jesus Christ in the natural sphere of every day life is as important to Christ
and His witness as is service undertaken with the church. Each Christian is given one or more
spiritual gifts. These gifts give balance to the Body of Christ and enable Christ’s work to
continue. The empowerment for true service comes from intimacy with Jesus Christ through
prayer, obedience to His Word, dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit, and appropriate
placement in ministry. There are some Christians who are called by God to full time pastoral
and other leadership roles. These particular Christians receive this challenge from the Holy
Spirit, and this call to a full time service for Christ is confirmed by the church. However it is
the responsibility of every Christian to share the Good News concerning Jesus Christ with
those God leads across their path, by both life and word.
Christians everywhere confess that Jesus is Lord. The life and practices of Queensland
Baptist churches affirms the sole and exclusive Lordship of Christ. No other authority should
be permitted to usurp Christ’s position as Lord of all.
The Bible, as the true record of God’s revelation, is the supreme written authority for our faith
and practice.
Baptist churches consist only of believers, those born anew by the Holy Spirit, who have freely
responded to serve God together.
Being a believer’s church, Queensland Baptists affirm that baptism is for believers only and
that full immersion (where possible) is the appropriate mode for baptism.
The presence of the one Holy Spirit in the life of every believer draws believers together into
a community of faith. The Spirit is the source of spiritual gifts which bring vitality to worship
and mission.
While Baptists affirm that every believer has direct access to God through Jesus Christ, this truth must not be misconstrued as promoting individualism or independence from the church. The Christian life is to be lived within the fellowship of the local congregation, which represents the body of Christ under His ultimate authority. Within each autonomous local church, Christ has appointed pastors and elders to provide spiritual leadership, teaching, and pastoral care. Accordingly, submission to their oversight—so far as it accords with Scripture—is an expression of obedience to Christ Himself. To reject such God-ordained leadership is to disregard the order and unity Christ has established for His church. Congregational government, rightly understood, operates not in opposition to pastoral authority but in harmony with it, as the congregation and its leaders together seek the mind of Christ through His Word and Spirit.
Each local church has the freedom and responsibility to conduct its own ministry.
Baptists hold firmly to the principle of congregational government, meaning that the final authority in matters of church life rests with the gathered body of believers. However, this does not mean that the congregation rules independently of its leaders. God has appointed pastors and elders to shepherd, teach, and guide His people, and the congregation—having prayerfully chosen them—should willingly submit to their leadership as long as it remains faithful to Scripture. Congregational authority is therefore not a licence for disorder or individual preference, but a safeguard ensuring that both leaders and members alike remain accountable to the Word of God.
Baptists accept that no one can coerce a person to believe; no one can force a church to
accept a creed. Central to the Baptist identity is a strong commitment for total religious
freedom.