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ENCOURAGEMENT TO ETERNAL FOCUS IN UNITY AND FELLOWSHIP OF THE GOSPEL

The Right Hand Of Fellowship

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Concluding Remarks

From a study of Scripture it is safe to say small changes in the meaning of the symbolism of baptism by the administrator or the receiving individual (possibly a disciple) are not authorized by the Holy Spirit and not recognized as in the assembly of immersed disciples at Ephesus. If Paul was here today and he was consistent with his actions at Ephesus – he would recommend proper baptism unto 1) unbelievers after salvation on profession of faith in Christ 2) believers without proper immersion 3) believers with improper symbolism of their immersion “…into the name of Jesus…” after assuring proper faith in Jesus Christ. The name of the group of denominational affiliation would have nothing to do with it except revealing what an individual may have practiced and believed.

Further note fellowship of believers and their respective churches should be based upon what is important for Holy Spirit recognition - a true gospel and a true symbol of that gospel. The administrating individual or assembly could be in error on many other issues of Jesus teachings or even practice differing methodology in kingdom work.

Often God’s people find themselves polarized over inconsequential truths that have no great bearing over the gospel. A great example of proper unity is seen in the union of the Regular and Separate Baptist of Virginia in 1783 who had worked together to fight for religious liberty of the people that consummated in the First Amendment. The obstacle to that union was the Philadelphia Confession of Faith. The Separatist Baptist “were fearful of formal creeds and adopted no official confession of faith. Creeds stood for the authoritarianism, formalism, and deadness that they had escaped in New England. They were willing to confess their faith verbally to everyone in a language understood by all.[i]”  The union of Baptist of Virginia was finally accomplished with the following statement.

“To prevent the confession of faith from usurping a tyrannical power over the conscience of any, we do not mean, that every person is bound to the strict observance of everything therein contained; yet that it holds forth the essential truths of the gospel, and that the doctrine of salvation by Christ and free unmerited grace alone, ought to be believed by every Christian and maintained by every minister of the gospel. Upon these terms we are united; and desire hereafter that the names Regular and Separate, be buried in oblivion; and that, from hence forth, we shall be known by the name of the United Baptist Churches of Virginia.[ii]”

Many modern polarizing[iii] issues even among believers come to mind such as spiritual gifts; various styles of worship; open, close, closed, or frequency of communion of the Lord’s Supper; the time, organization, and makeup a New Testament Church in ecclesiology (study of the church) differences; level of organizational structures designed to assist those the Holy Spirit desires sent for mission work; failure to discipline immorality; or even a lost individual baptizing converts who is later saved (authority is not in the individual but in the Holy Spirit).  From Scripture many errors often are addressed in churches of the New Testament and still have properly baptized believers in authority of the Holy Spirit. For example, Jesus addressed errors in the early churches as seen in the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2-3. Even with errors the churches having an uncorrupted gospel and baptism being immersion in symbol of that gospel the Holy Spirit would recognize these churches responsible in authority for kingdom work.

The test of fellowship even as demonstrated by the Scriptures is a pure gospel- in personal belief and witness, in public preachments and teaching, in the God ordered gospel picture of baptism, and in remembrance of the Lord’s Supper in congregations. All accounts of Scripture whereby believers separated in non-fellowship for other than discipline of immoral practices or worldly choices were over corruption of the pure gospel message. Galatians by theme addresses adding works of righteousness specifically circumcision and keeping the law to the gospel. Paul said that is no gospel at all.  The Apostle John in 1 John stands against the heresy of Jesus not having a flesh body. That teaching corrupted the gospel severely in denial of Jesus substitutional bodily suffering in payment for sin in the place of man’s sinful flesh.   

Baptist not by name but by faith and practice have preached a true gospel and defended against its corruption since the time of Christ. These assemblies of believers who publicly baptized by immersion as the symbol of their faith have been called by many names over the centuries. Millions because of this choice suffered and even died for a pure gospel and pure symbol of that gospel in baptism so that the world would always know the power of God to salvation to everyone that believed.

As a follower of Christ we always have a choice in our free will. Our choice should be to follow the teachings of God’s Word. We must try the spirits. This involves thinking this issue through as Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.” NAS. There are those who will tell us not to think and just accept an idea or opinion because it is popular. How many will leave their Baptist heritage[iv] for a popular Christian view? A reading of the short letter of Jude should constantly haunt us as it reveals the tragic end of those who would corrupt the faith delivered to the saints. Are we[v] the same Baptist as those Baptist of the past who died that we could still hear today a pure gospel unto salvation?

[i] Lumpkin, William L., Baptist Foundations in the South, Tracing through the Separates the Influence of the Great Awakening, 1962, Broadman Press, Nashville, TN, pp 63.

[ii] Ibid. pp. 140

[iii] It is the opinion of this author many of these polarizing issues are pseudo-dichotomies of truth. By this is meant believers chose to bifurcate over two opposing views where both are true in the proper perspective. Much disagreement in interpretation and application of Scripture is a matter of perspective. Division comes when parties decide a choice must be made between the two opposing views. Bystanders are encouraged to pick one or the other to choose fellowship. The following table gives an outline of polarizing issues where from the proper prospective both choices are true.

Issue                          Man’s Earth Perspective         God’s Perspective

Salvation:                             Works                                 Faith alone

Grace:                             Free choice                            Sovereign choice

Gospel Authority:            Congregational                           Holy Spirit

Church perpetuity:          Particular Assembly               General Assembly

Church design:                      Local                                     Universal

Creation time:                       Ages                                        Six Days

For example God knows who are His by the deposit of the Holy Spirit by faith alone. Man only knows one is saved as James said by works as evidence of the Holy Spirit within him. Both are true from the different perspectives. 

The doctrines of grace or Calvinism are the same. From God’s perspective, He as Sovereign calls, knowing who will accept unto justification and who will harden in unbelief using all choices unto His own glory and purpose of redemption. This foreknowledge of man’s choices in the act of redemption makes the heavenly work His choice. From man’s limited perspective each must choose to believe or not. Both are true from different perspective.

The same applies to other examples above. The polarized stand taken by believers is true, yet so is the other option from the right perspective.

[iv] White, W.R. Dr., Baptist Distinctives, 1946

“A doctrineless people will soon become a directionless people. They have no anchorage and no sense of direction. They are without guidance .... A doctrineless people is a spineless people. They have no great convictions to put strength into their characters. They have no principles for which to fight. They do not know what the controversy means. They have no criteria or canons for evaluation. They do not sense the dangers or the issues involved. Therefore, they are supine and soft and easily succumb” (pp. 67-8).

Of this quote Alan Day, pastor of Edmond, OK, First Baptist Church commented as reprinted from the Oklahoma Baptist Messenger, 11 October 2001.

“We have been told recently that we now live in a "postdenominational age," and that people are not interested in the brand on the marquee. They are attracted to churches which "meet their needs," not to denominational labels; so the name "Baptist" on the sign or letterhead is unimportant.

But what we must not forget in these discussions is the issue of truth. In fact, can we say with conviction that Baptist churches have stood historically for truths that were either neglected or opposed by those of other persuasions? Our fathers believed that. Our seminaries used to teach that (I believe they still do); and our Sunday School Board used to inculcate that truth consistently.

What is at stake is not the name, "Baptist." I will not now get into the debate over whether it is ethical and proper for a truly Baptist church to remove the name "Baptist" from its signs and printed materials. What needs to be said is more basic than that Baptist churches need to teach Bible doctrine, and they need to emphasize in particular those doctrines that have distinguished us as a people.

Along with this doctrinal teaching, we need to remind 21st century Baptists that they are part of an incredible heritage of which they can be especially proud. But they will never have the benefit of that knowledge or the joy of that wholesome pride if churches do not teach these distinctives.

Baptists are part of what theologian Bernard Ramm called "the Evangelical heritage." We are evangelicals – but with a difference. Let us celebrate both the common doctrinal convictions which Baptists share with other evangelicals, and let us also "remember not to forget" those beliefs which distinguish us as a unique people.”

[v] French, T.C. Jr., Another Generation, 2001, The 2001 Louisiana Baptist Convention Presidential Message. Introduction of message notes:

“Judges 2:6-10, Hosea 4:6

George Barna, president of Barna Research Group, reported that a study exploring the religious beliefs of the 12 largest denominations in America highlights the downward theological drift that has taken place in Christian churches in recent years. The study found that an alarmingly high number of church members have beliefs that fall far short of orthodox Christianity. Only 41 percent of all adults surveyed believed in the total accuracy of the Bible. Only 40 percent believed Christ was sinless, and only 27 percent believed Satan to be real.

Of the Baptists surveyed 57 percent said they believed that works are necessary in order to be saved, 45 percent believed Jesus was not sinless, 44 percent did not believe that the Bible is totally accurate, and 66 percent did not believe Satan to be a real being. The Barna study did not break down the Baptist category into specific groups, so the results may not be typical of Southern Baptists as a whole. Barna said, "The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical illiteracy."

Though these statistics are shocking, they represent only the surface of a deeper crisis of faith and practice within the Christian faith and our Southern Baptist Zion. What has gone wrong that would cause any Baptist to believe that salvation is of works or that Satan does not exist or that Jesus was not sinless or that the Bible is not totally accurate? Who or what caused this crisis of biblical illiteracy among Baptists?

God answered this question when He spoke through the prophets Hosea and Isaiah to another generation: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6a NKJV); "Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge" (Isa. 5:13a NKJV). Our Scripture reference (Judges 2:6-10) records the transition from a godly to an ungodly generation of Hebrews that was ignorant of God's Word and of His mighty works. They were uneducated in God's Word and in their historical relationship with God. The consequences that resulted were tragic.

Recently a young pastor said, "I just preach Christ. I don't preach doctrine." How can anyone preach Christ without preaching doctrine? Have we raised up a new generation that knows nothing about the vital and fundamental doctrines of the Gospel? How can believers obey the Great Commission of our Lord if they do not know the content of the teaching (doctrine) of Jesus Christ?

How can our Baptist faith survive if we have reared a generation of Baptists who do not know the great biblical doctrines as our Baptist forefathers in the faith knew them? How will our Baptist churches be able to carry out the Great Commission if they do not know the doctrinal basis for missions and the mandate given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ?

According to the recent Barna report, it is apparent that many Baptists are without instruction in orthodox Christian doctrine, and if this trend is not checked, like the Hebrews of old, they will be destroyed for "lack of knowledge." The failure of uninstructed believers to know and practice the vital biblical doctrines of orthodox Christianity leaves them impotent and without direction. Like helpless babies they will continue to be "tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive" (Eph. 4:14 NKJV).

What are the events that have transpired among Southern Baptists that have brought us to where we are today? Notice the parallel events that have occurred in the history of Southern Baptists that mirror the early days of the Hebrew national history.

 "7So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He had done for Israel. . . 10 When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel" (Judges 2:7, 10 NKJV).

We cannot ignore the parallel between the events of that day and our day, for it is written, "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Cor. 10:11 NKJV). "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope" (Rom. 15:4 NKJV).

The nation of Israel was consolidated under the leadership of Moses who then passed this godly heritage to Joshua and his generation. After the godly elders who outlived Joshua died, the nation made a transition to a generation that forgot God's Word and His mighty works.

The Southern Baptist Convention was founded in 1845 by Baptists who believed that the Bible was truth without any mixture of error. Of that founding generation were such notables as James Petigru Boyce, P. H. Mell, W. B. Johnson, J. L. Dagg, Basil Manly, and John A. Broadus. This heritage was passed to the generation of B. H. Carroll, A. T. Robertson, Lottie Moon, J. M. Frost, J. B. Gambrell, Annie Armstrong, and E. Y. Mullins. They in turn passed it to the generation of L. R. Scarborough, J. B. Tidwell, W. R. White, Georgia Barnett, R. G. Lee, George W. Truett, and M. E. Dodd.

They trusted in the Christ of the Bible and believed that He was the only hope of mankind. They believed that Adam and Eve were real people. Noah and the Flood was a historical fact. Abraham truly heard God tell him to sacrifice Isaac, for "He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead" (Heb. 11:19a NASV). Moses encountered the burning bush that was not consumed. He parted the Red Sea with the rod of God and wrote the Pentateuch. The Ten Commandments were written on stone tablets by the finger of God. The iron axe head did float and Isaiah alone wrote the book of Isaiah. Jesus was born of a virgin and angels proclaimed His birth to shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem. He healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, made the lame to walk, and raised the dead. Christ died, Christ was buried, and Christ arose never to die again and His blood cleanses the sinner from all sin. He ascended to the right hand of the Father to make intercession for us and is coming again for His bride-the Church. Salvation is by grace through faith and all that call upon His name will be saved, become the children of God, and possess eternal life.

With the passing of this third generation, Southern Baptists, in 1945, had grown from a small beginning in Augusta, Georgia, to a membership of more than six million with 26,134 churches. God had truly blessed those who believed His Word, proclaimed His Word, lived His Word, and were committed to carry the Gospel to every nation.

THEN THERE AROSE ANOTHER GENERATION

It came subtly like tares among the wheat, a stealth generation that flew below the radar, unseen and undetected. Like a fifth column, it was clandestine and subversive, an advocate of neo-orthodoxy and, like cancer, attacked the body from within. The hiss of the serpent of old could be heard as doubt was cast upon the Holy Scriptures by this new generation of "faux" theologians with the sneering question, "Hath God said?"

This new generation began to revise history and arrogantly declared that they were the true Southern Baptists. They cast doubt on the intellect of anyone who disagreed with them. They protected their heretical beliefs under the cloak of "unity amid diversity." They attacked the office of pastor and his authority as the overseer of the church under the guise of soul competency, shared ministry and the pseudo theological term "priesthood of the believer." (See my comments on the use of the term "pseudo theological" on page 8) They have attempted to establish a false dichotomy between Jesus and the Bible and they favor the priority of personal experience over the objective truth of God's Holy Word.

Instead of publicly declaring what they believe about the nature of Scripture, they resort to calling those who believe in the inerrancy of the Scriptures derogatory names such as Fundamentalist with a capital "F." Last summer the Texas Baptist Standard carried an article titled "Will the Real Fundamentalist Stand Up?" The article covered a June meeting of a dissident group of Baptists. A speaker accused some members of the group of being "Fundamentalists of the Left." This translates as "anyone who disagrees with me is a Fundamentalist." What is next? Fundamentalists of the middle! Is this their meaning of "unity amid diversity?"

Jude warned the early Christians "to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). He warned them about men who had crept in unnoticed and who would turn the grace of our God into that which had no regard for accepted rules or standards. In like manner Peter wrote in his second epistle, "1But there were false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies. . . 19promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption" (2 Pet 2:1,19 NKJV). Paul continues the warning to Timothy. "For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Tim. 4:3, 4 NKJV).

That prophesied time has come for Southern Baptists with the "vertical invasion" of another generation that does not know the Bible as our forefathers knew it. They tout a "progressive Christianity," dressed up in the philosophy of humanism with Christian sounding terms. They use the sacred language of Zion but they have a different dictionary. They declare, "We believe the Bible is the Word of God," but a careful analysis of their theology reveals that their concept of biblical authority is different from that of the vast majority of Baptists. Their unorthodox views undermine the foundation of biblical authority. Once our Baptist theology has been seduced by this pattern of thought, it will have lost touch with the historical roots that have sustained and nurtured it.

We stand today upon the verge of a new Unitarian defection brought about by the widely divergent views between Bible believing Baptists and a neo-orthodox generation. It threatens to break up churches and conventions, has already robbed some conventions of their institutions, and has siphoned millions of dollars away from the Cooperative Program. A. H. Strong said that Baptists recovered from the Unitarian defection "only by vigorously asserting the authority of Christ and the inspiration of the Scriptures." We who believe in the infallible Word of God must not do less. What actions can we take to preserve our heritage and fidelity to God's Word?

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