Category: Baptist Faith & Message 2000
Article XV of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000: The Christian and the social order
Following is another in a series of columns on The Baptist Faith & Message 2000.
The Bible instructs Christians to value our neighbors, society, and nation. This means taking an active role in the laws, customs, and moral fabric of our society.
Article XV of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 reads:
“All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.”
Human beings cannot be made right with God through political processes, social programs, or religious affiliations. Only the transforming grace of Jesus Christ, the power of the gospel message, and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit are able to breathe new life into the spiritually dead and make them adopted children of God the Father.
Even so, the Bible instructs Christians to value our neighbors, society, and nation. As the apostle Paul writes, “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Rom. 12:18). This means taking an active role in the laws, customs, and moral fabric of our society.
As followers of Jesus, we begin by confessing that we are redeemed sinners who have not yet been fully conformed to the image of Christ. Put more plainly, we are far from perfect. Further, we live in a sinful and fallen world that groans beneath the weight of sin and waits eagerly for the return of Jesus to set things right (see Rom. 8:18-23).
Jesus prayed, not that we would be removed from this world, but that the Father would protect us from the evil one, sanctify us in truth, and send us into the world to be salt and light (John 17:15-19; cf. Matt. 5:13-16). While we lack the power to create new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells (2 Pet. 3:13), we are given the privilege of bearing testimony of the one who, one day, makes all things new (Rev. 21:5).
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Article XIV of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000: Cooperation
Following is another in a series of columns on The Baptist Faith & Message 2000.
Southern Baptists realize the limitations of their own local-church resources and understand that joining hands with other like-minded churches enables them to accomplish more together than they ever could alone.
Article XIV of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 reads:
“Christ’s people should, as occasion requires, organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches. They are voluntary and advisory bodies designed to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our people in the most effective manner. Members of New Testament churches should cooperate with one another in carrying forward the missionary, educational, and benevolent ministries for the extension of Christ’s Kingdom. Christian unity in the New Testament sense is spiritual harmony and voluntary cooperation for common ends by various groups of Christ’s people. Cooperation is desirable between the various Christian denominations, when the end to be attained is itself justified, and when such cooperation involves no violation of conscience or compromise of loyalty to Christ and His Word as revealed in the New Testament.”
Southern Baptists cling tenaciously to the doctrines of the priesthood of the believer and the autonomy of the local church. At the same time, they embrace the Baptist distinctive of voluntary cooperation. As Herschel Hobbs puts it, “Baptists are an independent but cooperating people.”
Members of local Southern Baptist churches work together for the sake of the gospel in their communities. They also realize the limitations of their resources and understand that joining hands with other like-minded churches enables them to accomplish more together than they ever could alone.
This idea of voluntary cooperation is rooted both in Scripture and Baptist tradition. Perhaps the earliest New Testament example is the Jerusalem council in A.D. 49, which was convened to address doctrinal purity (Acts 15; Gal. 2). Representatives of the churches in Antioch and Jerusalem met voluntarily to discuss the Judaizer controversy. They respected each other’s autonomy while reaching an agreement that preserved both unity in fellowship and the doctrinal conviction of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
Another example is the apostle Paul’s plea to the churches of Macedonia and Greece to gather funds for the relief of suffering Jewish Christians in Jerusalem (1 Cor. 16:1; 2 Cor. 8-9). This was a voluntary offering. And though the Macedonians themselves faced economic distress, they “begged us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints” (2 Cor. 8:4).
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Article XIII of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000: Stewardship
Following is another in a series of columns on The Baptist Faith & Message 2000.
The very idea of stewardship may be traced to the garden of Eden, where God commands Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28).
Article XIII of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 reads:
“God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause on earth.”
Stewardship is not ownership. Good stewards faithfully manage what belongs to someone else and readily understand they are accountable to the owner.
The Bible makes this clear. A steward is responsible for something that belongs to another (Gen. 43:19; 44:4; Matt. 20:8). Often, stewards are servants placed over other servants, as well as over their owners’ property (Luke 16:1).
Regarding spiritual matters, the apostle Paul refers to himself, Apollos, and Peter as “servants of Christ and managers of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor. 4:1-2). Pastors are overseers of “God’s household” (Tit. 1:7). And in a broader sense, all Christians are to be “good stewards of the varied grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:10).
The very idea of stewardship may be traced to the garden of Eden, where God commands Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28). Although the first humans rebel and plunge creation beneath the curse of sin, God continues to entrust mankind with stewardship of the earth. All of this is grounded in the truth that God owns everything and that human beings will give an account for our use and protection of all he has delegated to us.
Christians bear an even greater privilege in stewardship, for we are citizens of God’s kingdom and trustees of the gospel. We are “bought at a price.” Therefore, we belong to Christ, and everything we have – including our bodies – is at his disposal (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
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Article XII of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000: Education
Following is another in a series of columns on The Baptist Faith & Message 2000.
It’s good for us to study the arts and sciences, because in them we see the beauty, magnitude, divine wisdom, and glory of the creator.
Article XII of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 reads:
“Christianity is the faith of enlightenment and intelligence. In Jesus Christ abide all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All sound learning is, therefore, a part of our Christian heritage. The new birth opens all human faculties and creates a thirst for knowledge. Moreover, the cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the causes of missions and general benevolence, and should receive along with these the liberal support of the churches. An adequate system of Christian education is necessary to a complete spiritual program for Christ’s people.
“In Christian education there should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility. Freedom in any orderly relationship of human life is always limited and never absolute. The freedom of a teacher in a Christian school, college, or seminary is limited by the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, by the authoritative nature of the Scriptures, and by the distinct purpose for which the school exists.”
God’s word instructs us to pursue knowledge and wisdom. And since all truth is God’s truth, education must be grounded in what God has revealed to us. We are to embrace truth, teach it to our children, model it in our lives, proclaim it in our churches, and share it with the world.
God has revealed himself to us in at least four significant ways. First he has revealed himself in creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God,” writes the psalmist, “and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands,” (Ps. 19:1).
The apostle Paul adds that the unbelieving world stands condemned for rejecting God’s self-revelation in the physical realm: “For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20).
It is good for us to study the arts and sciences because in them we see the beauty, magnitude, divine wisdom, and glory of the creator. Christians, above all, should promote and pursue the revealed truths of God accessible through telescopes and under microscopes.
Second, God has revealed himself in conscience. Paul writes that unbelieving Gentiles “show that the work of the law is written on their hearts. Their consciences confirm this. Their competing thoughts either accuse or even excuse them on the day when God judges what people have kept secret” (Rom. 2:15-16).
In other words, moral absolutes are gifts of God, designed to point people to the divine lawgiver.
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Article XI of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000: Evangelism and missions
Following is another in a series of columns on The Baptist Faith & Message 2000.
“Those who have received the gospel are to share it. This obligation God placed upon redeemed men, not upon angels. If men do not tell the story, it will not be told.”
– Herschel Hobbs
Article XI of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 reads:
“It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.”
Evangelism and missions are the duties and privileges of every Christian in obedience to the command of Jesus to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20). They are grounded in the authority of Jesus, and they find their source in the heart of God, who loves all people and desires them to repent and believe the good news (John 3:16; 2 Pet. 3:9).
Simply stated, evangelism is sharing the gospel with the goal of leading others to repentance and faith in Jesus. The word evangelism comes from the Greek noun euaggelion (a good message) and the verb euaggelizo (to announce, declare, or preach this good news).
Notice that the Greek word for angel – aggelos – is tucked inside. An angel in Scripture is a messenger, sometimes heaven-sent and sometimes human. As Jessica Brodie writes, “Those who practice evangelism are indeed delivering a message: One of extraordinarily good news, life-giving and transformative, with eternal ramifications.”
In Matthew 28:1-7, the Lord sends an angel to roll away the stone from Jesus’ tomb – not so Jesus may get out, but so the first eyewitnesses of his resurrection may see the empty grave. The angel tells the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there .…’” (vv. 5-7).
These are the last recorded words of the angel on that day. He has fulfilled his mission. From that time forward, redeemed people bear the responsibility to proclaim the good news.
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