What do we believe as Baptists? Often, we can go to church, read our Bibles, and not really think about why we believe what we believe--if we even know what we believe. So, for those who want to know what Baptists believe, and why, there is a booklet called The Baptist Faith and Message.
Today we'll start by looking at the first article of this booklet, which is about the Scriptures.
What do we believe about the Scriptures?
From The Baptist Faith and Message:
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.
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Baptists believe that the Bible is the word of God written down. A key to understanding why we believe what we believe about the Bible, we need to focus on the fact that the Bible is the word of God.
As the word of God, the Bible was written by men who were inspired by God through the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:19-21, “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”) This does not mean that God dictated the words to men, but it does mean that God brought ideas to the biblical writers, and then guided the process of recording those accounts. Therefore, God was involved with every word included in the Bible. Sometimes he spoke these words directly to men (Ex. 24:4 “And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD…”). Writers like the apostles were empowered by the Holy Spirit to recall the life and teachings of Jesus (John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”).
The entire Bible is an account of the invisible God showing his character to mankind. The Old Testament explains God’s character by tracing God’s work in creation and in saving the nation of
Unlike any other “religious book,” the Bible is God showing himself to man instead of man writing about who God is. It is a gift to us from God, a gift of his grace. Psalms 19:7-10, “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”
Ultimately, the result of the word of God is the salvation of man. The Old Testament was sufficient to save the Jews before Christ came. Similarly, Christ is the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation for His People, and is sufficient to save all people (2 Tim. 3:14-15, “But as for you continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”). The Bible is necessary for knowing the gospel (Rom. 10:14, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”), and for maintaining a relationship with the Lord (Matt. 4:4, “…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”).
The most distinct belief from other Christians that Baptists have about the Bible is that Baptists believe that the Bible is inerrant. “Inerrant” means that the Bible is completely without error. We hold this belief because the words of God are true, without even the slightest error. Others may hold a variety of ideas about the Bible, including:
- the Bible contains God’s words, but is not God’s word.
- the miraculous accounts aren’t true, including stories like the flood and resurrection
- the Bible isn’t true word-for-word, but its morals are true
- the Bible is inaccurate about issues of math and science, but true about everything else
- the Bible’s morals were true to Biblical culture, but not for everybody
Because the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself, and is totally true, it is a standard by which we will be judged at the end of time. On that day, we will be judged according to our faith in Christ (Acts 2:21, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”). Until that time, we should judge everything we encounter by the Bible, to see if it is Truthful. This includes books, movies, and even textbooks. Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
All Scripture culminates and revolves around God Incarnate, Jesus Christ (Matt. 5: 17-18, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”).
Finally, Baptists believe that the Bible is all Christians need to know to be saved and to maintain a relationship with the Lord. Others think they need to read spiritual books or “missing books of the Bible” to know about God. Some others believe that God speaks today through other religious books, or through modern prophets. Baptists, however, hold that nothing can have the authority of the Bible, and that the bible is sufficient for all knowledge of God and Jesus Christ (Deut. 4:1-2, "And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.”).
As we learn why Baptists believe what, we have set up a discussion forum. This forum is a safe place where you can sign up with your parents' permission. The website is secure, so only those who are registered will be able to participate, including in reading the forums. In the future, we'll add things to discuss, but for now we will limit it to our beliefs. You can access the forum and register here.
Discussion Questions:
1) Is the Bible totally 100% without error? What about evolution?
2) Wouldn’t the Apocrypha—the books in the Catholic Bible—help us understand more about God?
3) How can the Bible be called the “word of God” if God did not dictate it to man?
4) How is the Bible useful?
5) What about other religions? Don’t they contain truth?
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