General presentation

The Sovereign Grace Baptist Assembly of Bocșa, Romania was organized on June 21st, 2009 by Grace Bible Baptist Church of Denham Springs, Louisiana, USA, through her missionary, Curtis Pugh.

What is the meaning of our name? The name „Sovereign Grace” indicates that we believe that the salvation of man is entirely the work of God. He is the absolute sovereign over His creation and is actively involved in its every detail. God is also sovereign over the salvation of man. The sinful man is spiritually dead, and a rebel against God, therefore, he cannot save himself, neither can he respond to the call of the Gospel until the Spirit of God intervenes and gives him spiritual life. Because our salvation is the work of God, from the beginning until the end, it cannot be lost, therefore, it is certain that all those for whom Christ died, paying the debt for their sin, will come to rejoice eternally in the presence of God.

We are Baptists, because the Baptists are the original Christians. Throughout history, our congregations were known under different names (such as Novatians, Donatists, Waldenses, etc.). Generally, they were known as Anabaptists. They had a continual existence from the days of the New Testament to this day.

The name „Baptist” means „baptizer”, showing how important this biblical ordinance is to us. We insist that it must be kept as it was given to us by Jesus Christ and as practiced by the apostles; otherwise, the act is null and void. The scriptural mode for baptism is the total immersion in water. The candidate must be a person that confesses personal faith in Jesus Christ and in His sacrifice. The ordinance of baptism does not procure salvation to anyone; it is the public profession of the candidate that he was saved from sin, that he identifies publicly with Christ, with His sacrifice, with all His teachings and it is also a pledge that he submits himself to the church in which he enters upon baptism to be discipled in all the teachings of Christ. The biblical administrator of baptism is an authorized representative of an authentic congregation. Baptism is an ordinance of the congregation and only authentic congregations can administer valid baptism.

We are Historic (Landmark) Baptists, meaning that we maintain the principles, the doctrines, the practices and the identity affirmed by our Baptist predecessors, which are largely abandoned by modern Baptists. We affirm that we are not Protestants, but that our forefathers come from congregations that had a separate existence from the apostate and persecutory forms of Christianity. These assemblies that maintained themselves separate from the State and from the apostate Christianity existed continually, from the time of our Lord Jesus Christ, until today, exactly as He promised. God, who is the Sovereign of history, saw that the Congregation founded by Christ would not be obliterated a single second from the face of the earth. We do not take any part in the ecumenical movement, which we consider to be part of the great apostasy, and we keep ourselves separate from the Baptist churches that ceased to maintain their historic principles and identity and became part of the ecumenical movement, contributing, thusly, to a confuse testimony before the world.

We believe that Lord Jesus founded a real, local, visible assembly. He promised His continual presence in her midst and victory against Satan and the powers of evil. The Great Commission, recorded in Matthew, 28:18-20, is given by Christ to His Assembly and it represents the pattern of extending the Kingdom of God on earth, and also the pattern of the Assembly’s perpetuity. The steps of the Great Commission imply that the assemblies multiply and perpetuate through a succession of assemblies of the same kind. An assembly that began in other ways than through this repetitive cycle is an unbiblical one, even though there may be genuinely saved people among her membership.

We are Independent Baptists, which means that we are not part of any supra-church organizations (such as church associations, unions, alliances, etc.), which we consider to be unbiblical. Every assembly is equal, and no one has authority over another. Our assemblies function as simple democracies under the Headship of Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. All members are equal. We don’t have ruling committees or boards within the congregation. The ministers of the assembly are not a clergy or a separate class of members. The members identify together the will of God in the general assemblies, by a common vote.

We call ourselves „assembly”, not „church”, because the correct translation of the original New Testament term „ekklesia” is „assembly” or „congregation”. The Congregation founded by Jesus Christ is an organized assembly of baptized believers, who meet regularly with the purpose of carrying out the Great Commission (Matthew, 28:18-20). The New Testament Congregation is always local and visible.

We believe it is a special privilege of every saved person, but also a sacred duty to be part of an authentic church, which is the authorized place to be discipled, to grow spiritually, to worship God, to serve the fellow men according to each one’s spiritual gifts and calling. In love, we exhort you to seek diligently to be part of such a congregation! This is the only way a saved person can fulfil the great purpose for which he was left on earth and can be truly happy and satisfied!

For more details about the characteristics of the historic Baptist congregations, please read the following material: A Short Description of Historic Baptists by Raul Enyedi.

If you are interested in receiving our materials or learning more about us and our sister churches, you are welcome to contact us.