We Believe

The Longhorn BSM affirms the biblical teaching that Christ is head of the church.

Since Christ is the head of the church, then church leaders and members should all seek to know the mind of Christ. (Philippians 2:5) When we know His mind, i.e. His will, then we know what the members of the body should be doing.

We affirms a church’s responsibility to select biblically qualified leaders who are called by God to serve so the gospel can be spread to a lost and hurting world. Every person who is called to ministry can and should be encouraged to share Jesus.

Because Christ is the one head of the church, all authority has been committed unto Him. No traditions, customs, councils, confessions, or ecclesiastical formularies, however venerable and pretentious, guide Baptists, but simply and solely the will of Christ as revealed in the New Testament.

The local church, as an autonomous body, operates through democratic processes under the lordship of Christ. In such a congregation members are equally responsible.

[We] will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
– Ephesians 4:15-16 (NIV)

In [Christ] the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
– Ephesians 2:21-22 (NIV)

And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
– Ephesians 1:22-23 (NIV)

The Holy Bible was written by divinely inspired authors and is the record of God’s revelation of Himself to humankind. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter. It will remain the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.

Confessions of faith are guides to interpreting Scripture, having no authority over the individual’s conscience. Baptists profess a living faith. This faith is rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ; therefore, the sole authority for faith and practice among Baptists is Jesus Christ, whose will is revealed in Scripture.

We believes the Bible to be the divinely inspired written Word of God. It is true and trustworthy, all of it. It is the only written document that can have authority over the church or the conscience of believers. It is the book to which we go when we help someone understand how he or she can be saved. It is the product of authors who were carried along by the Holy Spirit to understand the mystery of what they had seen and handled. It is without error for it comes from the heart of God. “There should be both a sense of humility and confidence before God and people when we hold the precious Book in our hands.”

We interpret the Old Testament in light of the New Testament and the whole Bible in light of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as revealed in Scripture.

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
– Hebrews 1:1-2 (NIV)

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
– Matthew 5:17 (NIV)

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
– 2 Peter 1:20-21 (NIV)

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
– 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

The Longhorn BSM believes in Jesus’ virgin birth, His death on the cross, and His resurrection.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
– Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:

His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
– Matthew 1:18 (NIV)

The doctrine of the virgin birth of Christ teaches clearly and unforgettably that it is God, not man, who brings salvation to the world. The miraculous birth (incarnation) paves the way to the sacrificial death (atonement).

We do not earn salvation. God gives it through His one only Son. It is God who provides the sacrifice for sin. All man’s boasting is set aside. God did this from beginning to end.

And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
– 2 Corinthians 5:15 (NIV)

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
– 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
– Romans 5:8-9

Jesus’ redemptive work did not end on the cross. His resurrection delivered God’s ultimate victory over sin and death.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
– Matthew 28:5

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
– John 20:19-20

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
– 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

The Old Testament contains two passages that prophesy a coming time when all of God’s people will be priests (Exodus 19:5-6, Isaiah 61:5-6). The New Testament says those prophecies are fulfilled in the Christian church. 1 Peter 2:4-10 is the most explicit text, and Christians are called priests in five passages in the Revelation.1

Texas Baptists historically have honored individual freedom and accountability. We believe the following:

• Every Christian is equal under God (Galatians 3:28).

• Each believer has direct access to God through Christ (Hebrews 7:25-28).

• Each Christian can go to God directly for forgiveness of sins. No human mediator is needed for this forgiveness (Hebrews 4:15-16, 1 Timothy 2:5).

• Each believer is free and responsible for reading the Scriptures and can trust the Holy Spirit to provide guidance and interpretation (John 16:13, 2 Peter 1:20-21).

• Christians are accountable to God for living out the Scriptures but are not accountable to any confession of faith written by humans.
  Scripture is complete and needs no addendum.

The doctrine of the priesthood of each and all believers influences our convictions regarding believer’s baptism, local church autonomy, religious liberty, and separation of church and state.

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
– 1 Timothy 2:5

“Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.”

The Longhorn BSM believe the only path to eternal relationship with God is through His Son, Jesus Christ. This one path to right relationship with God begins with the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ refers to the literal shedding of the blood of Jesus as He died on a Roman cross some 2,000 years ago. That event happened. People witnessed it, talked about it, and wrote about it.

In Jesus, God offered His only Son as the one blood sacrifice for all of humankind’s sins through the ages. This sacrifice means that the price has been paid for our sins, that God will forgive us of our many failings and welcome us into a close and personal relationship with Him. Jesus conquered death and provided the way of forgiveness for sin through the power of His sacrifice and His resurrection from the dead.

Jesus offers this salvation to all who will choose to follow Him regardless of the severity of past sin in his or her life. To choose the way of salvation, a person must accept that Jesus Christ was and is the unique Son of God and must choose through faith to entrust his or her life to God. It is the way that leads from death to life, from helplessness to hopefulness, from joylessness to joy. A new life is created. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) This is not referring to a new physical life but to a new spiritual one.

This understanding of salvation did not arise out of the thoughts and reflections of learned or educated people. This understanding of salvation leaps forth from the pages of Scripture. All of our understanding of salvation is based on the divinely inspired Word of God.

[F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
– Romans 3:23 (NIV)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
– John 3:16-17 (NIV)

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

– Romans 6:23 (NIV)

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.
– 1 Peter 3:18 (NIV)

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
– John 1:12-13 (NIV)

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. … “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” – Romans 10:9-10, 13(NIV)

Also: Isaiah 59:2; Acts 3:19; 1 John 5:11-12; John 3:3; John 10:10; Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 10:9-10; Romans 10:13; 1 John 4:10

The Longhorn BSM has a passion for continuing to reach the lost and hurting in our world. The BGCT is developing specific plans by following biblical mandates and models. We are committed to encouraging, facilitating, and connecting churches so that they can fulfill God’s mission of reconciling the world to himself.

1. Identifying and developing transformational leaders. Churches need God-called and qualified leaders if they are to fulfill their purpose. These leaders need a passion for the lost and a burden for the hurting.

2. Operating and serving as truly multicultural organization. Texas is home to people of widely diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. In order to reach the lost and touch the hurting, the BSM committing to connecting to all students from around the world who attend the University.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
– Luke 19:10 (NIV)

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
– John 17:20-21 (NIV)

God…gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
– 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (NIV)

The BSM supports a clear and biblical view upholding the sanctity of human life not only for the unborn but also for women, families and all people at all life stages.

What follows is a brief overview of Scripture that express and support the BSM’s clear and biblical view upholding the sanctity of human life.

What the Bible says

It is from the Scriptures that we derive our charge to uphold the sanctity of life from conception.

All humans are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), and therefore have inherent dignity and inestimable worth. People are described in Scripture as the work of God’s hands (Eph. 2:10; Job 34:19; Isa. 29:23; 64:8), having been formed by him within the womb (Ps. 139:13-16; Job 31:15; Isa. 44:2, 24; 49:5; Jer. 1:5). Therefore, to perform an abortion on an unborn baby is to strive to undo a new and precious work of our Creator.

The Scriptures also teach us that within the womb, life is already to be recognized and valued. The biblical narrative accounts record the active personhood of Jacob and Esau, wrestling in their mother’s womb (Gen 25:22-23), as well as John the Baptist, leaping for joy in the womb at the approach of the unborn Jesus (Luke 1:41-44). To deny the personhood of the unborn, or to say that life begins “at first breath” is to ignore the truth of Scripture in this matter.

The Old Testament law provides guidelines for the hypothetical situation in which two men are fighting and a stray blow causes a pregnant woman to give birth prematurely (Ex 21:22-25). In this scenario, the life of the mother and child are considered worth protecting by placing a penalty upon the unwitting assailant if any harm has been done. If just by accident, harm to a mother and unborn baby merits just punishment, we must consider that the performing of an elective abortion would likewise be an unrighteous act in the eyes of God.

Given the worth of the unborn and the atrocity of abortion which has as its victims both the helpless child and the often vulnerable mother, mandates in the Scripture for the church to care for the single mothers (James 1:27; 1 Tim 5:16; ) and for the righteous to seek justice and speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves (Micah 6:8; Prov 31:8-9) compel us as believers to action. We should advocate for laws that protect the mother and child, and should consider the role of the church in providing support to mothers who are in vulnerable situations that have them contemplating abortion.

On the issues of marriage and sexuality, the BSM has spoken with a clear and decisive voice through the decades.

In short, the Longhorn BSM has affirmed that sexual relationships honor God only when they occur within marriage between one man and one woman.

The BMS works under the supervision of the Baptists General Convention of Texas. If you would like to see the statements of the BGCT on the issue of sexuality and marriage you can find the resolutions made on the issue on their website here.