With a Subtitle: Affirming core SBC theology while examining several secondary doctrines in the BF&M.

A brief Excerpt: A longtime Southern Baptist offers a Biblical Christian perspective on the Baptist Faith and Message, affirming its core theology while examining several secondary doctrinal issues.

The Author is: Jeff Hilles

I have been attending a Southern Baptist Church for the last 30 years. Prior to that, I attended a Presbyterian PCA, and prior to that an Independent Christian church. To be clear, I love my current (and past) church and see it as a light in our dark world. Further, in my view, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) holds the strongest view of a Biblical Christian faith tradition and practice of any significant denomination. Finally, from a Scriptural standpoint, the Bible is clear that born-again believers should not be lone-ranger Christians, rejecting the local assembly, regardless of the reality that we are nothing more than sinners gathering together in fellowship.

However, after holding many leadership roles in our church over the years, I do not support all the tenets of the Baptist Faith and Message.

The full text of the current Baptist Faith and Message, or BF&M.

Comparing the Southern Baptist BF&M to a Biblical Christian Worldview

Sections #1–#6 are largely the basics or the core of what a Biblical Christian should believe. Beyond these core beliefs, however, are areas within the BF&M that, respectfully, are either contradictory or excessively exclusionary and legalistic in nature. 

#7 Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

I believe in immersion as the perfect picture of what God does to the heart of man. However, it does not rise to the level of accepting a document that rejects denominational sprinkling as theologically unsound by implying one is not a satisfactory Christian if sprinkled rather than immersed. Further, when membership hinges not on salvation or moral standards of behavior but on the performance of an ordinance, as inspirational or illustrative as it may be, for some, it is a bridge too far. As is often the case, when a law is handed down, it gets abused, such as in the case of some in the church who wrongly suggest that one cannot be saved if they choose to reject or postpone baptism.

#8 The Lord’s Day

I am uncomfortable aligning myself with a document that excludes other weekdays as appropriate days for “worship and spiritual devotion.” Baptist churches offer services on Saturdays as well, when their ranks grow beyond the threshold of the sanctuary. Further, as believers, “regular observance” should be a matter of daily, if not hourly, worship of the Lord. A large part of the deterioration of our Christian infrastructure has come from church attenders who have become complacent with limiting their thoughts of God to Sunday morning services.

#10 Last Things

There used to be no question among the vast majority of Christians that Hell was a place of Eternal Conscious Torment (ECT). However, that view is by no means universal today. Some respected theologians (John Stott, Edward Fudge, Clark Pinnock among them) have proposed that Scriptures support annihilationism (conditional immortality) as the terms “death,” “perish,” and “destroy” are being reexamined. This is not to suggest they are correct in their views, as the predominant conservative view firmly remains on the side of ECT. However, it does suggest that what happens after death for unrepentant sinners may be moving toward a secondary, rather than primary, part of systematic Biblical Christian theology.

#12 Education

I would certainly agree that teachers must be held to account, as they have both authority and influence over students in their care. However, as with the legalism of the Pharisees (Matthew 23:23), the specifics on what theological viewpoints preclude a teacher from expressing his views are the “devil in the details.”

James 3:1 - Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

SBC seminary professors promote, for example, immersion baptism, and would likely be terminated for offering a favorable view of sprinkling. Would they be shunned for speaking in tongues, a belief in contemporary tangible miracles, demon possession, Saturday worship, infant baptism, and other less conventional SBC traditional views?

#14 Cooperation

This view of “cooperation” is directed not to the greater Biblical Christian community but is a statement regarding the fellowship between Southern Baptist churches, which are governed independently yet intended to be bound to “organize” through “associations and conventions” with their own group. On the surface, this approach seems appropriate and reasonable. In practice, however, SBC pastors are typically trained by SBC seminaries, preach SBC doctrine, and meet for fellowship with other SBC pastors. SBC churches promote both core Christian beliefs and secondary Baptist beliefs and traditions.

Like other Biblical Christian denominations (Assemblies of God, Presbyterian PCA, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Evangelical Free Church of America, and others), their core theology is solid and Heaven-bound even though their secondary doctrines differ significantly. “Cooperation,” as stated in the BF&M, is not referring to interdenominational fellowship and support but interdenominational SBC church and staff connections.

#15 The Christian and the Social Order

First, I fully agree with the principle that “Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography.” However, the application of this principle can be (and is) used by extreme legalists (ex. Westborough Baptist) to subvert the primary gospel message of loving our neighbor (Luke 10:27).

Second, I agree with, “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.” But for many Baptists reading this carefully, it smacks of Christian Nationalism, which secular opponents term Christofascism. As with so many broad statements, the intent is valid, but the application varies by individual, some to an extreme.

Third, the view that “to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause” opens the door to Biblical Christians merging with Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and even Hindus and Buddhists in promoting social agendas such as right-to-life, transgender surgery for youth, marriage, and moral character in general. Of course, there are times when this is reasonable in practice, but it is important to be reminded that if other false religions are not salvific (saving), they do not serve the same God we do. Further this focus on unity between very differing faith traditions is in stark conflict with the underlying lack of unity implied in #14, Cooperation, directly above.

#16 Peace and War

There is no question that peace and love should be the desire of Christians. This, on both an individual basis and nation-to-nation. However, for many there are times when it is not the “duty of Christians to seek peace” in the near term but to view war as a necessary precursor to peace in the long term. Many believe that we are at that crossroads today.

#17 Religious Liberty

The statement that “no denomination should be favored by the state” flies in the face of the quote in #15 that “all Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society.” The “will of Christ” is not only to see all come to Him but also to have the “social order” of all mankind reflect an image of His Word. That goal cannot be accomplished with “religious liberty” for false teachings such as what we are seeing in places where Sharia law, late-term abortions, child mutilation, and other heretical laws are being established.

Conclusion

The point of walking down this list of the Southern Baptist’s, Baptist Faith and Message was NOT to demean their (our) attempt at providing moral clarity in a darkening world. Understanding that it likely has been viewed in that context, the real reason has been to demonstrate that there should be a firm distinction between CORE theology and Non-Core goals and stated objectives of a denomination. To be clear, I am a Southern Baptist and in agreement with most, if not all, of the eighteen points expressed in the BF&M.

However, just as the Pharisees and the Catholics who followed added to God’s Word, it is in the nature of mankind to put meat on the bones of what God has made clear as principles. Often, when these guidelines are inspected through the lens of our sin-cursed world, they become unobtainable goals as we deal with the “lesser of evils” in our earthly reality. By being so rigid in our views, we can find ourselves, at times, in isolation with our saved brothers and sisters from other denominations and, at other times, immersed in fellowship with those who totally oppose our Biblical Christian worldview.

What is of paramount importance is to decide what it takes to get to Heaven. On the other side of the grace, we will all discover each denomination (and each individual within) has errors in their theology as we sit at the feet of Jesus and hear the truth of what He really meant in the numerous secondary, non-essential (to salvation) points of His Word. Today we should be bound together, unified by our status as born-again believers, rather than divided by denominational doctrinal statements on secondary issues.