In Stone?

  


Are We Allowed to Disagree with
the Baptist Faith and Message

Dennis Newkirk

I was taught in my Baptist college and seminary that Southern Baptists are not creedal and are absolutely against becoming such. Recently, I’ve heard a question of whether or not HHBC would really be Baptist if we removed baptism from the prerequisites of our church membership. And it is true that the Baptist Faith and Message does refer to the church as a body of “baptized believers.” That then begs the issue of how much adherence to the Baptist Faith and Message is required. Are our doctrines and traditions written in stone? In turn, that issue then brings us to the point I’m trying to make, “Is the Baptist Faith and Message a Confession or a Creed?”

When I searched the internet by simply typing in the words, “What is the difference between a confession and a creed,” an interesting article came up for the Texas Baptist Standard, June 26, 2000 edition. Here is an excerpt from that publication.

"A confession and a creed can be worded exactly the same way. The thing that determines whether it's a confession or a creed is how it's used," said Charles Deweese, director of the Southern Baptist Historical Society.

A confession is a document to which there is a voluntary response," he added. "A creed is a statement of belief which is in a sense forced on a body--there is an attempt to achieve a level of uniformity or conformity."

Alan Lefever, director of the Texas Baptist Historical Collection, agreed there is a definite difference between a confession of faith and a creed and that the difference is in the application.

The article goes on to say…

A confession is something you use to find common ground," he said. A creed is something you use to force agreement or uniformity. That's the difference in a nutshell."

"Deweese, who wrote his doctoral dissertation on church covenants, said he has made an extensive study of various Baptist confessions of faith from the 16th century to the present.

One of the lessons I have learned is that these confessions vary widely in their content from generation to generation," he explained. "That raises a flag of caution about taking any specific set of doctrine and hammering it down as though it has some canonical status. They are literally man-made words that reflect the views of the person or persons who wrote it.

Jerry Rankin, President of the International Mission Board made the following statement in an article published in 2002.

"Since the New Hampshire Baptist Confession of 1833, Baptists have drafted documents of belief that distinguish them from other Christians. The Baptist Faith and Message, like other confessions of faith, imposes no theological creed on individuals and churches. No creed is being imposed on Southern Baptist missionaries."

Perhaps the most definitive statement on the subject comes the preamble of the Baptist Faith and Message, written in 1925, and used in every revision since then.
With the 1963 committee, we have been guided in our work by the 1925 "statement of the historic Baptist conception of the nature and function of confessions of faith in our religious and denominational life . . . ." It is, therefore, quoted in full as a part of this report to the Convention:

"(1) That they constitute a consensus of opinion of some Baptist body, large or small, for the general instruction and guidance of our own people and others concerning those articles of the Christian faith which are most surely held among us. They are not intended to add anything to the simple conditions of salvation revealed in the New Testament, viz., repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
(2) That we do not regard them as complete statements of our faith, having any quality of finality or infallibility. As in the past so in the future, Baptists should hold themselves free to revise their statements of faith as may seem to them wise and expedient at any time.
(3) That any group of Baptists, large or small, have the inherent right to draw up for themselves and publish to the world a confession of their faith whenever they may think it advisable to do so.
(4) That the sole authority for faith and practice among Baptists is the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Confessions are only guides in interpretation, having no authority over the conscience.
(5) That they are statements of religious convictions, drawn from the Scriptures, and are not to be used to hamper freedom of thought or investigation in other realms of life."

That has been the historic expectation of our church through the years. Let me quote from our Bylaws.

"The Bible teaches that local churches should seek voluntary fellowship with other doctrinally sound churches. This association is to provide help and encouragement while working together as the Lord directs. This is a voluntary association that in no way involves the surrender of the individual church’s freedom or dependence upon God. (emphasis added)"

Let me come back to the question, "Is it written in stone?" I pray that it is not because nothing but Scripture itself should be our authority for our faith. I believe covenants are good and very instructive. I am helped by the BF&M. It is a useful guide. Unfortunately, there are those who seem to be using it in a way it was not intended according to its own testimony. It must not be written in stone. In fact, the problem is that when man-made rules and doctrine become set in stone, in time, they will face what stone always faces, erosion. No pain is involved when rocks erode. However, lots of pain is involved when man-made rules, lists, dogma, and doctrine erodes. People get hurt. Some get worse that hurt. Let's hold to this tradition, "The Bible is our only creed."