Baptist Faith and Message Part 11
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A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous
Autonomous meaning self governing, and self accountable. In other words, every local church is responsible for its own self.
As Baptists, we are strongly for this and this is a distinguishing factor of the Baptist Church.
Presbyterians- governs by a presbytery.
Methodists- Have denominational heads that assign pastors to its churches.
Baptists self govern. Self affiliate. And are self accountable.
This is a good thing.
Example Westboro Baptist Church
Saddleback Church
SBC- we choose to align with them, but they have no authority over us.
Any questions on autonomy.
Local congregation of baptized believers,
This states in no uncertain terms that we believe baptism follows conversion and that the purpose for the church administering baptism is not merely to identify them with Christ, but to also identify them with the local body of Christ.
We believe baptism follows believing and should not preclude it.
It is a sign of something that has happened, not a sign of whats to come.
to be a member, I would require the person to be a baptized believer. That is what it means to be Baptist.
associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel;
Now some churches have a formal covenant that you sign when you become a member. We don’t have that posted.
It may be something to look into. Adopting a simple covenant and posting it not as on par with the authority of Scripture but at the very least reflecting Scripture teaching on what it means to be a church member.
but- When someone comes into membership of the church, they are pledging themselves to the church, and the church is pledging itself to them.
The individual fails in his or her commitment to the church when they neglect attending- when they refuse to submit to the authority of the church when corrected and disciplined.
The church fails the church when we don’t hold people accountable to their commitment to the church.
This is what it means to be a covenant member.
observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Two ordinances- Can you name them?
The Lord’s Supper
Baptism
The Lord’s Supper.
I believe these are two things that happen and should happen in the context of the local church.
I believe to exercise them apart from the context of the local church is to open your self up to danger.
Different types of practice-
Open- Most Dangerous
Strictly Closed to only members in good standing in the church- Some would say this is the Safest
Problem is the church is trying to be the 4th person of the trinity.
The church does the examining- rather than the person. which Scripture says to do.
But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
Open to Professing Believers yet warned- Our Practice.
We believe the cup and bread are memorials done in remembrance and that we participate in the Lord’s Supper in the presence of the Triune God.
Transubstantiation- Catholic View- the bread and the wine become the actual body and blood of Christ.
Consubstantiation- By consubstantiation means Jesus Christ is present in, with, and under the bread and the wine whenever the Lord’s Supper is celebrated.
“It could be that when the church celebrates the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Spirit raises up the church so the church ascends to fellowship with Christ, commune with Christ who is in heaven. Another possibility is that the Holy Spirit causes Christ to descend, to fellowship and commune with the church as it celebrates the Lord’s Supper.”
In either case, there is a spiritual presence of Jesus Christ. It goes beyond just mere memorial.
Memorial View- Merely a memorial nothing else.
I think this is where most modern day Baptists land. I spoke with a pastor this afternoon and he affirmed that he thought it was merely a remembrance.
But Baptist in History have said otherwise. The 1689 LBC says this-
“Worthy recipients who outwardly partake of the visible elements in this ordinance also by faith inwardly receive and feed on Christ crucified and all the benefits of His death. They do so really and truly, yet not physically and bodily but spiritually. The body and blood of Christ are not present bodily or physically in the ordinance but spiritually to the faith of believers, just as the elements themselves are present to their outward senses.”
In other words, the Lord’s Supper is a means of grace. By partaking of it, our faith is strengthened and encouraged.
This also affirms that CHRIST is spiritually present with the church as they partake of the Lord’s Supper.
In either case, the Lord’s Supper is one of the two ordinances of the church.
The second is-
Baptism- as we have already stated is to be completed after a credible profession of faith. This is hard to tell, honestly.
I know some churches have adopted a watch-care policy whereby they watch an individual for an unspecified matter of time to see whether or not there is a genuine commitment to follow Christ and to watch the life for observable fruit. I think that is worth looking into for sure.
I want to take baptism very seriously.
I’m not expecting people to be perfect, but there ought to be observable fruit in the person’s life as well.
I don’t want to baptize someone without have made sure their profession is credible.
Why?
Too many times, especially in children, they come to me and say, I want to be baptized. They associate salvation with baptism.
The reality of false converts and inflated membership roles.
There is a way to guard against this.
Discipleship.
Matthew 28:19-20
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Notice the order.
Make Disciples (not Converts) and then baptizing them, continue teaching them.
2. Discipline-
“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
“But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.
“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.
“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”
There is no way to completely avoid this problem.
Matthew 7 is going to happen.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
I want to be careful with baptism, not too careful to where I’m trying to play God and tell people who is or who is not a true child of God, but I do think there is wisdom in waiting at times.
Any questions on that?
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.
Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.