June 12, 2000
TOGETHER:
Doctrines of Baptist identity not included in proposal
___"You ... are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5).
___"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).
___Brothers and sisters in Christ, we face a grievous and difficult matter. Our Baptist forebears had to pay with their lives for exercising their spiritual freedom in Christ whenchurchly powers sought to deny individual Christians that liberty. Balthasar Hubmaier, Thomas Helwys, Roger Williams and John Leland were among the 16th, 17th and 18th century Anabaptists and Baptists who dared to tell religious authorities they could not coerce faith nor control the conscience. They recognized religious liberty is given by God, who created humankind with freedom of choice. It was not a privilege to be bestowed or denied by governments or religious powers.
CHARLES WADE
Executive Director, BGCT Executive Board
___The idea that each soul is competent before God to make faith decisions is grounded not only in creation but also in redemption. When Jesus died for us and rose again from the dead, he became the high priest of our salvation. He brought the sacrifice to the altar, laying down his own life for the sins of the world. In the resurrection, Jesus won the victory over sin and death and makes each of us priests who may come confidently before God, with no mediator except Christ himself.
___This doctrine of the priesthood of the believer is a precious truth. It was bought at a great price--Jesus' own sacrifice. It was recovered during the Reformation from ecclesiastical powers who had substituted a priesthood based on religious hierarchy for the priesthood given by Christ to all his followers. Baptists have struggled with religious and governmental authorities to make the priesthood of believers a reality in the daily life of local churches. Now we Baptists must protect ourselves from ourselves.
___The proposed revision of the Baptist Faith & Message of 1963 deletes four very important paragraphs of the preamble that specifically identify Jesus Christ as the sole authority for faith and practice whose "will is revealed in the holy Scriptures." Those paragraphs guarantee man-made confessions of faith will not be "regarded as complete, infallible statements of faith, nor as official creeds carrying mandatory authority." But what is most shocking is the omission of the sentence, "Baptists emphasize the soul's competency before God, freedom in religion and the priesthood of the believer."
___Members of the committee have said these principles are covered in two sentences in Article VI on the church: "Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation, each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord." Although these two sentences are good, they do not clearly say what the 1963 and 1925 preambles say regarding soul competency, freedom in religion and the priesthood of the believer.
___I hope the committee will offer to include these four paragraphs from the 1963 preamble in their recommendation on Wednesday morning of the convention meeting.
___If they decline to do so, I pray that convention messengers will vote to include them in the 2000 document. If Southern Baptists choose to not include these doctrines which are basic to Baptist identity, then what have we become?
___My dear fellow Baptists, these are issues worthy of your prayer and study. God be with us as we discuss these biblical truths.
___Even when we disagree,
___We are loved.
__
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