A New Baptist Catechism
Based on the Baptist Faith and Message[1]
Instructions: A catechism is a simple summary of what we
believe using questions and answers.
They have been used throughout church history for instructing
Christians. This catechism is based on
the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. It is recommended that both the answer and
the corresponding Scripture be learned and memorized. May God bless you as you use this to grow in
your knowledge and love of Jesus. May
God also bless you as you help others to do the same. For an easy to print version please click HERE.
1.
The Scriptures – What is the Bible?
a.
The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to man.
It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction.
b.
Psalm 19:7-8
2.
The Scriptures – Who wrote the Bible?
a.
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired
and so has God for its author.
b.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
3.
The Scriptures – What is the main focus of the
Bible?
a.
The Bible has salvation for its end. All Scripture, then, is a testimony to
Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
b.
John 5:39
4.
God – How many gods are there?
a.
There is one and only one living and true God.
b.
Deuteronomy 6:4
5.
God – What is God like?
a.
God is infinite in holiness and all other
perfections. God is all powerful and all
knowing.
b.
Psalm 33:20-21
6.
God – How many persons of God are there?
a.
The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without
division of nature, essence, or being.
b.
Mark 1:9-11
7.
God the Father – What does God the Father do?
a.
God as Father created the world and reigns with
providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of human
history according to the purposes of His grace.
b.
Deuteronomy 32:6
8.
God the Father – Who can call God “Father” ?
a.
God is Father in truth to those who become
children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
b.
Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 4:6
9.
God the Son – What has God the Son done?
a.
Jesus Christ honored the divine law by His
personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made
provision for the redemption of men from sin.
He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His
disciples.
b.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
10.
God the Son – What does God the Son do?
a.
Jesus ascended into heaven and is now exalted at
the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in
whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man.
b.
Hebrews 7:24-26
11.
God the Holy Spirit – What role does the Holy
Spirit play regarding the Bible?
a.
The Holy Spirit inspired holy men of old to
write the Scriptures. Through
illumination He enables men to understand truth.
b.
2 Peter 1:21
12.
God the Holy Spirit – What role does the Holy
Spirit play regarding salvation?
a.
The Holy Spirit exalts Christ, convicts men of
sin, righteousness, and of judgment, and He calls men to the Savior, effecting
regeneration.
b.
John 16:7-14
13.
Man – How was mankind created?
a.
Man is the special creation of God, made in His
own image. He created them male and
female as the crowning work of His creation.
The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation.
b.
Genesis 1:26-27
14.
Man – What is mankind’s greatest problem?
a.
Man by his free choice sinned against God and
brought sin and death into the human race.
As soon as they are capable of moral action, every person becomes a
transgressor and is under God’s condemnation.
b.
Romans 5:12
15.
Salvation – What is regeneration?
a.
Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of
God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy
Spirit to which sinners respond in repentance and faith.
b.
Titus 3:5-6
16.
Salvation – What is man’s right response to
God’s grace in Jesus Christ?
a.
Man’s right response to Jesus are the
inseparable gracious experiences of repentance and faith. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin
toward God. Faith is the acceptance of
Jesus Christ and commitment to Him as Lord and Savior.
b.
Romans 10:9-10
17.
Salvation – What is justification?
a.
Justification is God’s gracious and full
acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and
believe in Christ.
b.
Romans 3:23-25
18.
Salvation – What is sanctification?
a.
Sanctification is the experience, beginning in
regeneration, by which the believer is enabled to progress toward moral and
spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling
in him.
b.
Romans 8:12-13
19.
Salvation – What is glorification?
a.
Glorification is the culmination of salvation
and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
b.
2 Thess. 1:10-12
20.
God’s Purpose of Grace – What is God’s electing
grace?
a.
Election is the gracious purpose of God,
according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies
sinners. It is the glorious display of
God’s sovereign goodness.
b.
Ephesians 1:4-6
21.
God’s Purpose of Grace – Can a true believer
lose his salvation?
a.
No. All
true believers endure to the end. Those
whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall
away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.
b.
John 10:27-29
22.
The Church – What is a church, according to the
New Testament?
a.
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ
is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by
covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel.
b.
1 John 2:19-20
23.
The Church – What is the church, according to
the New Testament?
a.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as
the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all ages, believers
from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.
b.
Ephesians 1:22-23
24.
The Church – What are church members, pastors,
and deacons?
a.
In a church congregation, each member is
responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord.
The church’s scriptural officers are pastors and deacons and are limited
to those persons qualified by Scripture.
b.
1 Timothy 3:2-3, 8-9
25.
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper – What is
Christian baptism?
a.
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer
in water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience, symbolizing the
believer’s faith in Jesus.
b.
Matthew 28:19
26.
The Lord’s Supper – What is the Lord’s Supper?
a.
The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience
whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of
the vine, remember Jesus’ death and look forward to His second coming.
b.
1 Corinthians 11:24-26
27.
The Lord’s Day – Why do Christians worship on
Sundays?
a.
The first day of the week is the Lord’s
Day. It commemorates the resurrection of
Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship, both public and
private.
b.
1 Corinthians 16:1-2
28.
The Kingdom – What is the Kingdom of God?
a.
The Kingdom of God is His reign, and
particularly is the realm of salvation into which He calls men by trustful,
childlike commitment to Jesus. It will
be fully realized when Jesus returns.
b.
1 Corinthians 15:24-26
29.
The Last Things – What does the Bible reveal
will be the end of the world?
a.
According to God’s promise, Jesus Christ will
return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised;
and Christ will judge all men. The
unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting
punishment. Those made righteous in
Jesus will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
b.
Hebrews 9:27-28
30.
Evangelism and Missions – Who is called to
evangelize the world?
a.
It is the duty and privilege of every follower
of Christ and of every Christian church to endeavor to make disciples of all
nations.
b.
Matthew 28:18-20
31.
Evangelism and Missions – How are Christians to
evangelize the world?
a.
It is the duty of every child of God to seek
constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness of the gospel
undergirded by a Christian lifestyle.
b.
1 Peter 3:15
32.
Education – Why should Christians pursue
learning as a lifestyle?
a.
Christianity is the faith of enlightenment and
intelligence. In Jesus Christ abide all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Thus, an adequate system of Christian education is necessary to a
complete spiritual program for Christ’s people.
b.
Ephesians 4:12-13
33.
Stewardship – Why should Christians regularly
give their time and money to the church?
a.
All that we have and are we owe to God. Christians are under obligation to serve God
with their time and material possessions, and should give cheerfully, regularly
and proportionately.
b.
Malachi 3:10
34.
Cooperation – How should churches cooperate
together?
a.
Members of New Testament churches should cooperate
with one another in carrying forward the missionary and educational ministries
for the extension of Christ’s kingdom when such cooperation involves no
violation of conscience or loyalty to Christ.
b.
Ephesians 4:3-6
35.
The Christian and the Social Order – What social
causes should Christians oppose?
a.
In the spirit of Christ, Christians should
oppose abortion, racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all
forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography.
b.
Colossians 3:5
36.
The Christian and the Social Order – What social
causes should Christians promote?
a.
Christians should work to provide for the
orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should content for the sanctity of all
human life from conception to natural death.
b.
James 1:27
37.
Peace and War – How should Christians relate to
the world’s wars?
a.
It is the duty of Christians to seek peace with
all men on principles of righteousness.
In accordance with the spirit and teachings of Christ they should do all
in their power to put an end to war, acknowledging that some war is justified
and that the true remedy for the war spirit is the gospel of our Lord.
b.
Romans 12:18-19
38.
Religious Liberty – What is the right
relationship between church and state?
a.
Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and
full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. In providing for such freedom no church should
be favored by the state more than others.
b.
Roman 13:3-4
39.
Religious Liberty – How should Christians relate
to the government?
a.
Civil government being ordained of God, it is
the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience thereto in all things not
contrary to the revealed will of God.
b.
Romans 13:1-2
40.
The Family – What is Christian marriage?
a.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman
in covenant commitment for a lifetime.
It is the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards.
b.
Genesis 2:24-25
41.
The Family – How should Christian spouses treat
one another?
a.
A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved
the church, providing for her, protecting her and leading his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the
servant leadership of her husband. They
should each acknowledge the other’s equal worth before God.
b.
Ephesians 5:25, 22
42.
The Family – What are the responsibilities of
Christian parents to their children?
a.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a
blessing and heritage from the Lord.
Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to
lead them through consistent lifestyle and example and loving discipline to
make choices based on biblical truth.
b.
Ephesians 6:4
43.
The Family – What is the responsibility of
Christian children to their parents?
a.
Children are to honor and obey their parents.
b.
Ephesians 6:1
[1] http://www.sbc.net/bfm2000/bfm2000.asp
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