December 2, 2002
TOGETHER:
Baptists: Confessional, not creedal
___Several moments stand out for me from the recent Baptist General Convention of Texas meeting in Waco. One came after a messenger moved that the BGCT adopt the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message as its guiding document. He concluded by saying, "I hope that if this motion is not approved, there will still be room in this convention for people like me." BGCT President Bob Campbell immediately responded, "Friend, there will always be room in this convention for you."
CHARLES WADE
Executive Director
BGCT Executive Board
___Texas Baptists are a confessional people, happy to give testimony to what we believe. People may ask us, "What do you believe?" A typical response might be, "We believe the Bible." They may ask, "What do you believe are the most important truths in the Bible?" We might reply: "All the truths are important. Those issues that make Baptists distinctive among Christians, as well as the truths we hold in common with other Christians, are described pretty well in the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message."
___But if we handed questioners a copy of the Baptist Faith & Message, we would point out that the Bible is our sole authority in matters of faith and practice. As I said to the new members in our church: "If you find anything in this statement that you feel is not true to the Bible, bring it to my attention, and we will discuss it. If you have an insight into the Scripture that all the church needs to consider, we will bring it forward for the church prayerfully to study, and we will adjust our statement of faith to be in harmony with Scripture."
___That is the purpose of Baptist confessions of faith: To give witness to others as to what we generally believe and to teach our members the faith that Baptists have been given. But we never use it as the "last word." Only the Bible is that. We must never use any confession to require doctrinal conformity. We have used the Baptist Faith & Message as an effective guideline to raise caution flags if someone was teaching in contradiction to Baptist faith and principles. But if anyone should need to be removed as a teacher in a Sunday School class or in a seminary for teaching in a "non-Baptist" fashion, their failure to do so would be evaluated ultimately by Scripture, not by conformity to the specific words of any confession of faith.
___This is what we mean when we say, "Baptists are a confessional people but not a creedal people." It is hard for those who have not read Christian history to understand how creeds have been used to coerce the conscience of others. The distinctive achievement of Baptists has been to maintain a strong biblical doctrinal position without resorting to the coercion of creeds. We have loved both doctrinal integrity and Christian liberty.
___We gladly submit to Scripture, for we have in Scripture the written word of God. But we have never been willing to submit to the confessions or creeds that others have written and would impose on the rest of us. This means the BGCT can work with Baptists who confess either or both of the most recent confessions of faith. But we retain our liberty under Christ, submitting to the Holy Scripture as our sole authority for faith and practice.
___We are loved.
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook
