"Complete Heresy?”

                                                                                                          Vol. XV, No. 8, September 2002

by John Yeats 

During one of the meetings last October, ... a motion was made by a pastor to ask his state convention to affirm the current [year 2000] edition of the Baptist Faith and Message. In an Oct. 30 Baptist Press release the pastor said the motivation for his motion was to dissolve a spirit of division and to reach out in a gesture of unity. His hope was that his state convention would not abandon its traditional theological roots and denominational links. Motions at Baptist meetings are always open for fair discussion. Consequently, the motion mentioned above stirred up a little discussion. During the discussion, a pastor made a statement that has been made too many times before. Makes one wonder if some folks are not taking their cues from the same "play book." This pastor spoke against the motion to affirm the Baptist Faith and Message because its article on Scripture, according to the debating pastor, is "complete heresy!" The pastor went on to state that, in his view, the Baptist Faith and Message teaches, "the Bible becomes the revelation of God, instead of the record."

Here is what the Baptist Faith and Message says:

I. The Scriptures

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

You are a Baptist. You be the judge. Just what part of this statement is worthy of the label "heresy?" The word "heresy" is an inflammatory term used to discredit good people who believe the Bible is the accurate, authoritative word of God. There are those who claim it elevates the Bible above the Lord Jesus. How ridiculous. Baptists have contended for centuries that the Bible is the source of all knowledge concerning sin, judgment, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptists built their theology on the integrity, accuracy, and authority of the Bible.

Our culture has changed. Our church culture has changed. If the original meanings of the linguistic constructs in the two previous editions of the Baptist Faith and Message remained static revisions would not be as necessary as they are now. A clear scriptural, solid word needs to be expressed to say to the world, "This is where the vast majority of Southern Baptists are." We don't agree about everything. Baptists never will. However, most Baptists believed the ideals in the Baptist Faith and Message long before it was articulated. Consequently, we welcome the clarifications delineated in the most recent edition of the Baptist Faith and Message.

To worship the Bible as a god, is to err. Such a practice is called Bibliolatry. There are some people who actually worship the Bible. But they are not the people who embrace the Baptist Faith and Message, despite the rhetoric of certain voices of discord in contemporary Baptist circles.

The sole authority of Scripture is a conviction embraced wholeheartedly by traditional Southern Baptists. Because our God inspired the Bible, its teachings and its message are completely binding on the human mind and behavior. Such a conviction is not culturally amenable. Our culture may try to rewrite the message relating to the beginning of life, human sexuality, or ecclesiology. But there are those who love the word of God and will not be moved from biblically-based convictions.

Most Baptists believe we've built our views of Scripture on Jesus' view of Scripture. We contend that when the Bible speaks, it is authoritative and binding. It is the infallible record of God's revelation to mankind. People may try to bend the Scripture to justify behavior or to give others an "out" for their foolishness, but to quote the apostle Peter, "But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." (1 Peter 1:25) Whether the Bible speaks about history, natural science, behavioral science or theology, it is always accurate, trustworthy and true.

Although the Baptist Faith and Message is not a binding creed, it is a statement of faith that gives Southern Baptists a "plumb line" to measure orthodoxy. It is a solid instrument to use as a standard of expectation for those who teach in the Southern Baptist seminaries supported by the Cooperative Program.

It is not "heresy" to believe what the Baptist Faith and Message says about Scripture. Most Baptists are convinced we have in God's written revelation the sole authority for life, the way of salvation, and everything God desires for us to know about His revelation in Jesus Christ His Son.

Furthermore, God blesses the Sunday School teacher and the preacher who proclaim the Bible as God's clear, accurate, truthful, and trustworthy word to mankind.

[John Yeats is editor of the Oklahoma Baptist Messenger. Reprinted from the Baptist Messenger, 15 Nov. 2001, p. 2.]