Salvation Through Jesus

• Believing in salvation through Jesus Christ is a key Baptist belief. In order to be a Baptist, you must confess your sin to God and accept Jesus' sacrifice for those sins. Baptists don't require church attendance or participation in communion as part of salvation. They attribute salvation solely to the belief in Jesus. Baptists believe everyone who calls on Jesus' name will be saved. Everyone else who does not believe in Jesus nor accepts his sacrifice will face damnation. To be Baptist you have to agree with this basic tenet of the faith. It's a foundational belief on which everything else is built.
  
  

Immersion Baptism

• To be Baptist you must hold to the belief of immersion baptism. After a person has made confession of their need for God and accepted Christ, he then must be immersed fully in water. This is to symbolize the death of his old person and the new birth he has found in Jesus. Baptist Christians take their example for this practice from the scriptures. In Matthew 3, Jesus went to the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist. The Bible says that Jesus went fully into the water during his baptism. Baptists believe that baptism can only be taken after salvation and the individual has to understand what is occurring. Catholics do not share in the immersion baptism practice, they simply sprinkle or drip a few drops of water on those they baptize. Also, Catholics don't require the individual to understand what is happening to them and priests often baptize infants.
  
  

Eternal Security

• The belief in eternal security is a key factor in the difference between Baptists and other denominations. Baptist believe that not only is Jesus able to save the lost, but he's able to keep them saved. Some other denominations believe that the salvation can be lost if the believer fails to follow God and his ordinances. Others believe that continual confession of sins is necessary to maintaining salvation. "Once saved, always saved," is a popular saying in the Baptist religion. It's a simplistic but accurate way to describe what it means to be Baptist.