The Bible Makes Us Baptists

Introduction

There are many different churches out there that teach a lot of different things. How are we to know which one we should be going to? In today’s day and age, denominational titles have gotten a bad wrap. Churches want freedom to believe whatever they want to believe. Well that is good for an individual, but as soon as you get two believers together there has to be some kind of agreement if they are going to worship together. Amos 3:3 “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Unity without truth is merely just a watering down of the doctrine in a church.

Denominations have taken names because those names mean something. They let you know what kind of a church this is. Think about it this way, if we stripped all the fast food restuarants of their signage and names, how would we know where we are going to eat? I could walk in looking for a Chick Fil-A and get a Burger King. This is a totally different experience and I will be disappointed if for no other reason than I wanted chicken and not beaf. So this is why we have Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal churches. There is something different about each one and the name tells you that.

Some have chosen to drop their names for a broader appeal. Most of the time, this is because they have watered down what they believe. There are a few times when a good solid church will choose to go by the name Bible or Christian church. They are responsible for their own decisions. The only reason I could personally think of for me to change the name is if Baptist begins to mean something else to the community around us.

So when we say we are baptists what does that mean? What is it that makes us different than a presbyterian church or a non-denominational church like life church? Over the next few weeks we will be unpacking that in more detail. For years, Baptists have summarized some of their core doctrines with the acronym BAPTISTS.

Biblical authority

Autonomy of the local church

Priesthood of the believers

Two ordinances

Individual soul liberty

Saved membership

Two offices

Separation of church and state

This evening we are going to begin with the doctrine of biblical authority. When we say baptists believe in biblical authority, we aren’t saying no other christians do, but taking the sum total of all the doctrines sets us apart. This first view is central to everything else that we believe. When it comes to what I believe, what determines my choice?

False Authorities

Culture

We just finished looking at progressive Christianity. The number one reason driving progressive christianity is culture. Culture today seeks to be tolerant of all life style; so Christianity must accept homosexuality and transgenderism. Culture says there is no one truth; so we must be accepting of various beliefs. All religions lead to an experience of God. Culture says that social programs and environmentalism are important; so the church needs to refocus on these things.

When the bible tells us in 1 John 5:19 “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” That the system of the world is under the influence and power of Satan. Another word for that world system is culture. The Spirit of the age is not neutral. While individual things might be neutral, the driving force behind culture is not.

Culture is also a shifting basis to form our beliefs on. Consider that in ancient Rome it was acceptable to leave female babies to die on the street or that in Germany, it was acceptable to kill the Jews or even now that culture tells us it is alright to love whoever we want to, but if you go to an Arab country they may throw a gay person off the top of a building. Building your life on culture is like the foolish man building his life on the sand.

Tradition

Tradition is not inherently evil especially if it comes from God. In 1 Corinthians 11:2 “Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.” The word ordinances means that which is handed down or tradition. But tradition is a secondary authority. You must evaluate where it comes from. Paul’s tradition was only authoritative because it came from God.

Jesus specifically criticized those who replaced God’s word with tradition. Let’s look at Mark 7:6-13. Key phrases tradition of the elders vs 5 Notice in vs 7 that they had replaced God’s commands with the commands of men. These were the traditions. In vs 9 Jesus says holding onto their traditions caused them to reject God’s commandments. He concludes in vs 13 that their traditions have made God’s word empty and of no effect.

In the church, we must be willing to ask whether our traditions are bible or are they just the opinions of men. We can sometimes hold onto something merely because we were told it once and so we won’t listen to what the bible actually says. We are unteachable. We disguise this type of thinking by calling it a conviction, but your convictions better have biblical basis and hold up to biblical challenge.

Science

A lot of work has been done to try and reconcile science with the bible. Even since the beginning of the fundamentalist movement good men have not been settled on the issue of Gen 1. But many skeptics laugh off the idea of creation because “science” supposedly disproves it. These views of science are often “theories” or works of faith just as much as scripture is. Even when there is a correct premise the conclusion that is drawn is often speculation. The issue at hand is what is our authority? Does Science determine truth or does scripture? This is not to say that our understanding of the bible is always correct, but what is ultimately our authority?

Paul warned in Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” While the word science is not in this verse, philosophy is a science. In fact the issues of disagreement with science today are really philosophical issues.

Myself

Most people follow this authority. Their own inclinations, thinking, desires are their authority in life. Paul goes on to challenge them to avoid will worship in Colossians 2:23 “Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.” That phrase refers to a self-made religion or worshipping according to our own will. Any of these other authorities are a rejection of God’s authority.

A Defense of Biblical Authority

Ultimately the issue of biblical authority is an issue of God’s sovereignty. Does God have a right to tell us what to believe and do with our lives? So to disbelieve the bible is to disbelieve God. This is based on the biblical teaching in 2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” That all or every scripture is given by inspiration or breathed out by God. So if all the writtings of scripture are inspired in such a way that they are the words of God, then we have a responsibility to obey, and believe them. Tonight I would like to give you four defenses of the authority of scripture in our lives.

The use of the phrase “Thus saith the Lord” indicates scriptures authority

That phrase is used over 417 times by the prophets in the OT. In the NT, we often see the phrase as it is written used in a similar fashion. Those words were used to introduce a declaration from God through the prophet. The prophet was viewed as an ambassador proclaiming a message for God. This is essentially what preaching is today. But the ambassador had delegated authority from the king; so God’s words have the delegated authority of the King from which they come.

1 Samuel 15:2–3 “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” The story goes on to tell us that Saul did not obey the words of this prophecy in that he spared the king and some of the live stock. Do you remember what happened to king Saul because of his disobedience to the words of God? His kingdom was stripped from him and Samuel came no more to king Saul.

To disobey scripture was to disobey God

The entire process of church discipline is to be structured around the word of God. Paul declares in 2 Thessalonians 3:14 “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.” that if a man did not obey the scriptures, he was to be marked and avoided in hopes that he would repent. The implication that Paul is making is that the words of the epistle or scripture have the authority to determine matters of discipline within the church.

In the OT, the believer was to tremble before the words of the Lord. Isaiah 66:2 “For all those things hath mine hand made, And all those things have been, saith the Lord: But to this man will I look, Even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, And trembleth at my word.” God is looking for men and women who will take his word seriously. They approach it with a sense of fear and respect.

We will be judged someday by the words of Jesus

John 12:48 “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

The words are authoritative because they are a record against us of our disobedience to what God has told us to do. Jesus came to reveal God’s will. Preaching was an essential part of his ministry. But those who hear have a choice to make when they hear the words: will the receive and obey or reject them. In the end, we will be judged based on how we responded to God’s word.

Imagine a Notification popping up on your phone saying that martial law was being instituted in the state of Oklahoma and you kept on driving around town. What do you think would be the natural outcome of that situation? Possibly you might get arrested and thrown in jail; or worst case scenario, they shoot on sight and you lose your life. A message was given, but you ignored it and now you suffer the consequences.

Scripture is given to teach, rebuke, correct and train

2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

These are four things that scripture does in our lives, but I want you to back up a question and ask yourself what type of person does these things in your life as well.

Doctrine is teaching. So who teaches you things? A teacher. A teacher is assuming a position in authority in your life. It is understood that they are going to tell you some things that you need to learn. Teachers also give out homework assignments and grade those assignments. If you are misbehaving they have the authority to punish you. So if scripture assumes the role of a teacher it also assumes the authority of a teacher.

Reproof and correction- Who is it that gets onto you when you do wrong? It might be your parents or a police officer. In either case, they are excercising authority in correcting you. They have delegated authority to tell you to stop doing something you shouldn’t be doing. Scripture in reproving us is taking up that same authority.

Training in righteousness- Think of those who train you to do a task. Maybe it is a coach for the basketball team or a mentor in your life. Those people have also been given authority to work with you to develop new skills. Scripture assumes this role as well.

Conclusion

As a Baptist, I believe that what I believe and what I do should be governed by the bible. So when it comes to decisions about who can join a church, or who to baptize or how we structure our services or decisions we make as a church, I want to know what the bible has to say. We say we are baptists, but tonight as you take a look at your life; can you really say that the bible is your authority? Or do you believe what sounds good to you? Or do you just do whatever makes sense to you? Do you ever consider what God’s word has to say?

While we may claim the name of Baptist, are we really?