Firm Foundation

• In our day, the constitution of the stones, the words of the confession of faith, are being tested for integrity and soundness.
• So, our new series, Firm Foundation, will consider the distinctives of our beliefs as a church family and as a denomination.

The History of the Southern Baptist Convention

• Martin Luther kicked off the Protestant Reformation on October 31, 1517 led to the decentralization of the church and the rise of denominationalism as individuals studied Scripture on the own. The Anabaptist (meaning re-baptize) movement had its roots in the Reformation and Puritanism.
• Roger Williams established the first Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island in 1638.
• Philadelphia Baptists (1707) formed Regular Baptists (adherence to the Regular Principle of church government)
• Separate Baptists (1740’s) came about during the First Great Awakening)
• General and Free Will Baptists came about later in the 18th century.
• Triennial Convention formed by American Baptists in 1814 under the official name “General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions”
8 Established in 1845 in Augusta, GA through an organizational split from the Triennial Convention over the appointment of missionaries who were slave owners. This was the founding of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Southern Baptists are a confessional people. What does that mean?

• From the time it was organized in 1845 until 1925, the Southern Baptist Convention did not have an agreed upon confession.
• In the early part of the 20th century, a bias against supernaturalism began to creep into both the secular culture and the church. As SBC theologian E. Y. Mullins said in the 1925 report of the Committee on Statement of Baptist Faith and Message, “The present occasion for a reaffirmation of Christian fundamentals is the prevalence of naturalism in the modern teaching and preaching of religion. Christianity is supernatural in its origin and history. We repudiate every theory of religion which denies the supernatural elements in our faith.”
• The first version of the BF&M (1925) was adapted from the New Hampshire Confession of Faith
• A confessional denomination is a religious group that adheres to a specific set of theological beliefs and teachings outlined in a formal confession of faith. The confession of faith typically includes a comprehensive statement of doctrines, principles, and practices that define the denomination’s core beliefs and serve as a guide for its members.

Why is it important to have a confession of faith?

• Because the Bible is a big book and individuals come up with a lot of different beliefs using a lot of different interpretive methods. But there is a right way to approach Scripture and there are different tiers of essential beliefs: primary, secondary, and so on.

What has being a confessional people produced? Southern Baptist Distinctives

• Baptistic practices >> religious liberty, contextualized (rather than isolationist) Christianity, baptism of believers by immersion (rather than baptism of babies by sprinkling), emphasis on the preaching of the Bible, congregational governance (rather than governance by a synod, session, or presbytery)
• Evangelical theology >> Scriptural authority, salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone, focus on a personal relationship with God, emphasis on grace, a high view of Jesus, the necessity of holiness and biblical morality
• Emphasis on missions and evangelism >> the Great Commission was seen as a crucial part of the church’s mission
• Congregational autonomy >> each church is a distinct entity, responsible for governance, membership, calling of pastors, finances, meetings, etc.
• Cooperation >> while each congregation is distinct and autonomous, Southern Baptists have recognized that working together we can make a greater impact

The Baptist Faith and Message in a Nutshell

• Arranged and ordered purposefully
• Three Editions: 1925, 1963, and 2000 >> “New challenges to faith appear in every age. A pervasive anti-supernaturalism in the culture was answered by Southern Baptists in 1925, when the Baptist Faith and Message was first adopted by this Convention. In 1963, Southern Baptists responded to assaults upon the authority and truthfulness of the Bible by adopting revisions to the Baptist Faith and Message. The Convention added an article on “The Family” in 1998, thus answering cultural confusion with the clear teachings of Scripture. Now, faced with a culture hostile to the very notion of truth, this generation of Baptists must claim anew the eternal truths of the Christian faith.”
• 18 Articles >> read the Baptist Faith and Message
1. The Scriptures
2. God
3. Man
4. Salvation
5. God’s Purpose of Grace
6. The Church
7. Baptism & the Lord’s Supper
8. The Lord’s Day
9. The Kingdom of God
10. Last Things
11. Evangelism & Missions
12. Education
13. Stewardship
14. Cooperation
15. The Christian & the Social Order
16. Peace & War
17. Religious Liberty
18. The Family

• Each article is followed by supporting Scripture references. From 12 (Peace and War, Article 16) to 83 (God the Son, Article 2.b)

Conclusion

• Is the Baptist Faith and Message the worldview of Agape Baptist Church? No.

// A confession of faith is a formal statement of core religious beliefs or doctrines that guide a specific church or denomination. Confessions are both broad and limited. Limited to biblical orthodoxy. Broad to allow for cooperation among like-minded believers who may believe different things about secondary issues.
// A worldview is a framework of beliefs and perspectives that encompass all of life. So, worldviews are doctrine applied. While derived from the same source (Scripture), a worldview is an operational philosophy that wants to get as specific as possible so that a person know what to do in every situation.