Transcript BAPTIST DISTINCTIVES - Victory Bible Baptist Church

Biblical doctrines that mark us as distinct or different from
any other Christian sect.
Compiled from Pastor James Beller’s book “The Collegiate Baptist
History Workbook and Pastor Jim Alter’s book “Why Baptist”
 1. The Inerrant Inspiration of the Bible: Psalm 12:6-7, 119:40; Proverbs 30:5; Isaiah 40:8,
Matthew 5:18, 24:35; John 6:63; II Timothy 3:16; Revelation 22:18-20
 2. The Deity of Christ
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Incarnation: Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; John 1:14; Romans 8:3; 2 John 1:7
Virgin Birth: Luke 1:27, 30-35
Sinless Life: 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15 and 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5
Death: Acts 2:23; Mark 15:37, 43; Luke 9:22
Burial: Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:59-60; Luke 23:52-53; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Resurrection: Psalm 16:9-10; Matthew 16:21, 17:23, 28:6; Mark 16:6; Acts 3:14-15, 4:33, 13:30; Revelation 1:18
Substitutionary Atonement: Isaiah 53:5-6; Mark 10:45; Romans 4:25; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 3:18; Revelation 1:5
 4. The Trinity: 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 14:16; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19
 5. The Blood Atonement: Leviticus 17:11; Romans 3:25, 5:9; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8,
Colossians 1:14, 20; Hebrews 9:14, 22; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5
 7. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ: Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 25:31; Mark 13:26;
2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 1:7
 8. The reality of a literal Hell: Psalm 9:17; Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:43-48
 9. The reality of a literal Heaven: John 14:1-3; Revelation 21:1-4
Baptist Doctrine
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The Bible is our Sole
Authority
Autonomy of the Local
Church
Priesthood of the Believer
Two Ordinances: Baptism
and the Lord’s Supper
Individual Soul Liberty
Saved, Baptized, Church
Membership
Two Offices: Pastor and
Deacon
Separation of Church and
State
Inerrancy
Virgin birth
Substitutional Atonement,
Bodily resurrection
Authenticity of miracles or
the Second coming of Christ
Fundamentalist Doctrine
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Inerrancy
Virgin Birth
Substitutional Atonement
Bodily Resurrection
Authenticity of miracles or
the Second coming of
Christ
 The Bible is our only authority in all matters of faith and
practice because:
 The Bible is inspired by God (not just the ‘originals’ but your KJB)
 INSPIRATION – The infusion of ideas into the mind by the Holy Spirit
John 6:63b – “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
 The Bible bears the absolute authority of God Himself
 No human opinion or the decree of any church group or
council may usurp the authority of the Bible.
 No creeds or confessions of faith, which attempt to articulate
the theology of Scripture, can carry the authority of Scripture
itself.
 Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto
my path.”
 Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the
gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many
there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which
leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
One who applies the Bible
LITERALLY first and
FIGURATIVELY only when the
context demands it.
 John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy
word is truth.”
Whatever the Bible teaches is to be believed
Whatever the Bible commands is to be obeyed
Whatever the Bible commends is to be
accepted
Whatever the Bible condemns is to be avoided
 WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY
 If you can show it to me in the
Word of God – I’ll change
Triple Authority
Roman
Catholicism
• Word of the
Pope
• Historical
Traditions
• Their Version
of the
Scriptures
Dual Authority
Lutheran
Church of England
• Book of
Worship
• Book of
• Bible
Presbyterian
Common
Prayer
• Bible
Methodist
• Westminster • Book of
Confession
• Bible
Discipline
• Bible
 Traditional Christianity
 Roman Catholic
 Eastern Orthodox
 Many “main-line” Protestant churches
 Dual Authorities
 Tradition
 Word of God
When a conflict arises; tradition invariably over-rules
the Word of God.
Purgatory – Celibacy – Auricular Confession – Saint and Image Worship
Jesus spoke against the error of using tradition as an authority in Matthew
15:1-9
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Traditional Christianity
 Dual Authorities
 Tradition
 Word of God
 Charismatic Christianity
 Dual Authorities
 Experience
 Word of God
Experience over-rules the Word of God
“I know what the Bible says, but you weren’t
there…”
Jesus spoke against using the error of experience
in 2 Peter 1:16-21
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Traditional Christianity
 Dual Authorities
 Tradition
 Word of God
Charismatic Christianity
 Dual Authorities
 Experience
 Word of God
 Evangelical Christianity
 Dual Authorities
 Scholarship
 Word of God
In most study Bibles you will find repeated over and over
again the note, “this verse is not contained in the best
manuscripts,” or “This text may be genuine…”
It is amazing that any man would believe he is qualified to
sit in judgment upon God’s Word.
Traditional Christianity
 Dual Authorities
 Tradition
 Word of God
 Charismatic Christianity
 Dual Authorities
 Experience
 Word of God
 Evangelical Christianity
 Dual Authorities
 Scholarship
 Word of God
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 Bible-believing Baptists
 Our Only Authority
 Word of God
66 books penned over a period of 1,400 years by 40
different men without one error or contradiction.
Colossians 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might
have the preeminence.”
2 Corinthians 8:1-2 “Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace
of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy
and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.”
2 Corinthians 8:19a “And not that only, but who was also chosen of
the churches to travel with us with this grace,…”
2 Corinthians 8:23b “…they are the messengers of the churches, and
the glory of Christ.”
Matthew 16:18 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it.”
Matthew 23:34 “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets,
and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and
crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your
synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:”
Ephesians 3:21 “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ
Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”
Revelation 2:6 “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the
deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”
Revelation 2:15 “So hast thou also them that hold the
doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.”
Nico – to rule or conquer
Laitan – the people
• A local body
• An independent body accountable only to the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Head of the church
• All human authority for governing the local church
resides within the local church itself.
• No religious hierarchy outside the local church may
dictate a church’s beliefs or practices.
• A Baptist church may fellowship with other churches
around mutual interests, supporting missionaries,
and in loose associations, but a Baptist church cannot
be a “member” of any other body.
• Thomas Armitage put it this way:
The right of the Churches in the Apostolic Age to manage all
their internal affairs, arose primarily from the fact that each
congregation was perfect in itself for all the purposes of its
own Church life. Whatever fraternal sympathy and fellowship
it might crave, it was in itself the visible Church of Christ, and
complete for all the ends of a visible Church. Of course, this
Apostolic idea is at variance with all the popular notions of
Church life as it exists today; but it is no less Apostolic on that
account. Well does Dr. Carson remark, ‘As to a visible
Universal Church, it exists nowhere but in the ideas of
polemical (a controversial, disputive bigot) writers and the absurd
distinctions of scholastic divinity.’ An invisible Church is a
purely indefinite and mythical idea.
•
Armitage continues,
The local Church was the only Church known to the Apostles themselves, the only
body which they ever addressed, and which they knew collectively as the
‘Churches scattered abroad.’ The Church at Rome was made up of those who
lived there, who were ‘beloved of God, called to be saints’ – that at Corinth of
‘them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus’ – and the Church at Ephesus ‘of the
faithful in Christ Jesus,’ who lived there. Even those who attended worship with
those Churches, but were not numbered with the believers, had nothing to do
with their government. Only those who were born of God, and met in any one
place for all the purposes of a Church under obedience to Christ’s law, were the
Christian Church in that place. There may have been more than one Church in a
given city; but there is nothing in the New Testament to show, that one central
body in that city governed all its Churches, if there was more than one.
Thomas Armitage
A History Of The Baptists Traced By Their Vital Principles And Practices From The Time Of Our Lord And Savior Jesus
Christ To The Year 1886, vol. 1
• A PRIEST – one authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion,
especially as a mediatory agent between humans and God.
• Every believer today is a priest of God and may enter into His
presence in prayer directly through our Great High Priest, Jesus
Christ.
• As priests, we can study God’s Word, pray for others, and offer
spiritual worship to God.
• We all have equal access to God.
1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus;”
1 Peter 2:5 “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;
that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his
marvellous light:”
 Revelation 1:6 “And hath made us kings and priests
unto God and his Father; to him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
 Revelation 5:10 “And hast made us unto our God
kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
 The early church has no mention of PRIESTS,
CARDINALS, NOVENAS, NUNS, ABBOTS,
POPES or MONKS.
 WE MUST UNDERSTAND THE USE OF
THE WORD PRIEST IN THE BOOK OF
ACTS.
 It is used 27 times. 26 times it is negative. (The positive being
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Acts 6 where some priests are saved.)
Priests beat believers.
Priests imprisoned them.
Priests commanded them not to preach.
The high priest commanded others to smite Paul on the mouth.
Acts 23:2
The word is not found in any of the church epistles
 The Book of Acts is a Book of Transition
This is why you must be careful about pulling doctrine out of the book of Acts
 The New Testament did not start until after Jesus died on the
cross.
 Hebrews 9:16 “For where a testament is, there must also of
necessity be the death of the testator.”
 A Transition from the Old Testament structure to the New
Testament structure.
 From the Law and Jewish Gospels, to the church epistles
 From the Jew to the Gentile; a kingdom of heaven message to a
kingdom of God message - Matthew 10:5-6
 From Peter to Paul
 From Jerusalem to Antioch
 Each chapter can be labeled PREACHING or PERSECUTION
 Jesus Christ is our High Priest
1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;”
Hebrews 9:24 “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands,
which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us:”
1 Corinthians 6:19 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
Hebrews 4:14-16 “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed
into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling
of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without
sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 7:25 “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
 We are to offer 4 spiritual sacrifices
1) Praise
 Hebrews 13:15 “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to
God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
2) Gifts
 Hebrews 13:16 “But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with
such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
4) Substance
 Philippians 4:18 “But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received
of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a
sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.”
5) Ourselves
 Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this
world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may
prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
 What is the priesthood of the believer?
This principle demands that no priest, organized church
ritual, sacraments, ordinances, creeds, or anything else can
stand between the soul and God. There is a secret place of
the Most High where the Father speaks to His child and
child speaks to his Father, and this is the very seat and
center of religion. Nothing extraneous can intrude here.
The Baptists are therefore radically opposed to
priests, sacraments, and all formalisms, are antisacerdotalists and anti-sacramentarians of the
deepest dye, and are the natural enemies of
ecclesiasticism or churchianity.
Frederick Anderson, “Historic Baptist Principles” 1920
 This doctrine reveals a tremendous equality in the
family of God and in the house of God.
 All born-again men and women, boys and girls, are
spiritual priests before God.
 The Bible was given to individuals, and as a result
of this priceless gift, every individual is
accountable to enter into a relationship with
Christ regardless of the teaching he has or has not
received.
 You are as close to God as you want to be.
 An ordinance is something that was ordered by the
Lord to be commemorated in the local church.
 We, if we are faithful to the Scriptures, are to keep the
ordinances.
 1 Corinthians 11:2 “Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things,
and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.”
 Ordinances are pictures or object lessons that teach
doctrine.
 Ordinances are physical pictures of spiritual truths.
 Our administration of these ordinances teaches either
right doctrine or false doctrine.
 The scriptural order of the ordinances is first baptism,
then the Lord’s Supper.
 Nowhere in Scripture do we find this order reversed.
 The church at Corinth shows this divine order.
Acts 18:8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his
house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
1.
The Corinthians heard the Word of God and believed the Word of God.
2.
The Corinthians were baptized.
3.
The Apostle then instructs the church in the proper observance of the supper.
4.
In 1 Corinthians 11:2 the Apostle then commends the church for keeping the
ordinances.
This order applies not only to the church at Corinth but to all churches
everywhere as the epistle is addressed,
1 Corinthians 1:2 “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call
upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”
 BAPTISM (Acts 8:36-38)
 Baptism is a specific act to be administered by a specific body, to
persons professing specific qualifications, for the profession of
specific truths.
 When one of these properties is wanting, the transaction is “null and
void.”
 Unless the ordinances are observed as Christ commanded, they are not
kept, but perverted.
-J.R. Graves
 The Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
 Baptists generally refer to this ordinance as the Lord’s
Supper rather than communion.
1 Corinthians 10:16 “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the
communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not
the communion of the body of Christ?”
 Here the communion is our commemorating Christ’s shed
blood and broken body.
 Observing the Lord’s Supper is not my communing with
other believers around the Lord’s Table. The purpose of
this ordinance is singular.
1 Corinthians 11:26 “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this
cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.”
 Communion has come to mean fellowship, interaction with
one another.
 We don’t call it Communion
 Believers, baptized or not, church members or not, Baptist or
not, may have fellowship or communion in many ways, but not at
the Lord’s Table.
The Lord’s Table, the Lord’s Supper, the Breaking of Bread, is
intended to recall to the church that the ground of its
approach, its sole ground of approach to God, is the
sacrifice of the cross. It is a memorial, an object lesson…
The moment you come to the symbol of the Breaking of
Bread, you have to do, not with the showing forth of your
relation to another in the church, but the “showing forth,”
“the preaching,” of the Lord’s death. It would be wholly
outside of the grace of God and his Word to say that
communion with one another or the Lord is bound up in
the symbols. - I.M. Haldeman
The long time pastor of the First Baptist Church of New York in 1800’s
 The Lord’s Supper is a purifying component in
the life of a local congregation
 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 “But now I have written unto you not to
keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator,
or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an
extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not
ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from
among yourselves that wicked person.”
 The command to examine oneself before partaking is
another aspect in relation to the local church.
 1 Corinthians 11:28 “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that
bread, and drink of that cup.”
 Thomas Armitage wrote,
With many who reject the Romish teaching of the Supper, an accretion of ideas and
applications are associated with it, which amount to bald superstitions. We hear
devout and enlightened Protestants calling it ‘the food of the soul,’ a ‘banquet of
flesh and blood,’ an ‘eating of Christ’s flesh and blood,’ and the like nonsense.
Some even pervert such passages as this by applying them to the Supper; ‘If ye eat
not my flesh and drink not my blood ye have not eternal life,’ whereas Jesus
spoke these words a year and a half before the Supper was established; and if they
bear upon it at all, they imply that eternal life itself can be had by taking bread
and wine at the table.
Others, in some way, which nobody knows any thing about, find a real presence of
Christ at the Table, as they find him in no other religious observance, and so they
insist upon it that the saints have fellowship with him and with each other there,
such as they can have nowhere else, and in no other way. Hence, without
intending it, contempt (a confusing opinion) is brought upon the Bible teaching
that Christ himself and not bread is the food of the soul, that the atonement
brings salvation and not the act which commemorates it, in the use of bread and
wine. Christ is the only bond of vital union, and the only test of fellowship
amongst saints, and not a material ordinance.
 Armitage continues:
About a quarter of a century after Christ’s death, the Corinthian Church
had corrupted the Supper by the introduction of startling abuses. 1
Corinthians 11. They associated the love-feast therewith, and indulged in
gluttony and drunkeness. Christ corrected these abuses by a new
revelation through Paul, and gave a second definition of the design of
the Supper, in exposition of the first. ‘As often as ye eat this bread and
drink this cup, ye shew or proclaim the Lord’s death till he come.’ Paul
‘received of the Lord,’ that he intended the Supper as a memorial,
preaching institution, whereby the redeemed Church, known as the ‘Ye’
meeting in ‘one place,’ preached Christ’s death. The Primitive Churches,
then, threw no superstitious mystery about it, ascribed to it no
semisaving efficacy, accompanied it with no popish mortification,
selfhumiliations, super-solemnities, distempered enchantments, or
pious legerdemain. [Slight of hand; a deceptive performance which depends on
dexterity of hand; a trick performed with such art and adroitness, that the
manner or art eludes observation.] To them it was a ‘feast’ of artless
thanksgiving, kept with the ‘leaven of sincerity and truth,’ for the
preaching of a sacrificial Redeemer.
 Matthew 22:21 “…Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are
Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.”
 2 Corinthians 4:2 “But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty,
not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by
manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience
in the sight of God.”
 The liberty to worship God according to the
dictates of conscience, is the dearest of all human
rights. That it should ever have been denied is one of
the strongest proofs of human fallibility. - Jeremiah
Jeter
 Give me liberty to know, to utter and to argue freely
according to my conscience above all other liberties John Milton 1608-1674
 2 Corinthians
5:11 “Knowing
therefore the
terror of the
Lord, we
persuade men;
but we are made
manifest unto
God; and I trust
also are made
manifest in your
consciences.”
I can persuade
and plead
with
someone
 Romans 14:5
“…Let every
man be fully
persuaded
in his own
mind.”
Soul Liberty is the
freedom to
worship according
to one’s own
conscience.
You cannot
legislate the
first table of
the law
You cannot force
someone to
believe
something that
their conscience
will not allow
them to believe.
Romans 14:12 “So
then every one of
us shall give
account of himself
to God.”
You can
legislate or
enforce the
second table
laws
You can mandate
a person’s
behavior, but
you cannot
mandate their
heart or
conscience.
Every individual, whether a believer or an unbeliever, will one
day stand before God and give account for the decisions he
has made in this life. Because of this, we believe in the
liberty of the soul or conscience.
No one should be forced, against his will, to assent to any
belief or ritual.
This liberty does not exempt one from responsibility to the
Word of God or from accountability to God Himself.
Individual Soul Liberty is at its most basic level a belief in the
power of God to move in every man.
Soul Liberty is the freedom to worship according to one’s
own conscience.
Every man is a free moral agent before God and is accountable
to Him personally.
We must all stand before God individually – no one will do it
for us.
According to Baptist views, no man can become a church member
who does not voluntarily accept Christ as his Saviour, and who
does not willingly receive baptism in attestation of his submission
to his new Master. Moreover, having freely become a member, he
cannot retain his place in the church, unless his life is in harmony
with his profession. In short, faith and baptism are essential
prerequisites to church membership and a godly life is necessary
to the continuance of the connection.
If these principles are maintained, neither birth, nor baptism, nor
education, nor wealth, nor office, nor profession can secure a
place in a Baptist church; nor can one retain his place in it
without imbibing the spirit and imitating the example of the
Redeemer. It is obvious that a church organized on these
principles cannot be a persecuting body. For what purpose could
it persecute? Not to force members to join it; for none can be
admitted to its membership without qualifications which no
persecution can secure.
Not to keep members within it; for it can retain only such as
love its members, doctrine, ordinances and discipline and
force cannot produce these fruits. The conquests of such a
church must be made, not by the sword of the executioner,
but by “the sword of the Spirit.”
Other churches may employ carnal weapons and inflict pains
and penalties to promote their prosperity; but Baptist
churches, if they flourish, must succeed by moral suasion
and the grace of God. - Jeremiah Jeter
1 John 4:18
is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear:
because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
Soul liberty has been attacked on two fronts
1. The church-state marriage
2. The doctrine of the Nicolaitans
Revelation 2:6 & 15
Nicao – to conquer, overcome, rule
Laos – the common man
The Nicolaitans were a group of religious leaders establishing a
hierarchy in and over the churches.
Nicolaitan doctrine presents itself any time someone tries to “lord
over” or conquer the individual by taking the place of the Holy
Spirit in that persons life.
There are 3 primary NICOLAITAN attacks on Individual Soul
Liberty
1. The necessity of creeds and councils
Our rule of faith and practice is the New Testament.
No church has any power over any other church.
No minister has any authority in any church except that which has called
him to be its pastor.
The Scriptures are a revelation from God, given not to a Pope, or a
congregation of Cardinals, or an Archbishop, or a bench of Bishops, or a
General Assembly or a Synod, but to every individual man.
There are 3 primary NICOLAITAN attacks on Individual Soul
Liberty
1. The necessity of creeds and councils
2. The shattering of the average believer’s confidence in his or
her ability to study and understand the Bible for
themselves.
1. Believers are led to believe that they can read the Bible
devotionally but are incapable of understanding the
“deep things of God” without Dr. So-and-so’s help.
2. Higher education is not necessary to properly
understand and interpret the Word of God.
A crystal clear example of shattering the believers confidence to
study the Bible for themselves:
The proper choice of an English translation on which to base a sermon is the
subject of chapter 17 of this book, but whatever version is chosen, the
preacher will have to correct or clarify the translation during the
message. During a message he must be careful to limit these corrections
perhaps to only two or three for fear of shaking the confidence of his
listeners in the Bible they hold in their hands. After all, part of his goal is
to cultivate a hunger among his people to study the Bible privately. Too
many criticisms of that Bible will undermine their dependence on a given
translation and fuel a “what’s the use?” attitude on their side.
John MacArthur
What unmitigated arrogance! “Rediscovering Expository Preaching” 1992
We have the Word of God and Spirit of God, therefore we may study to
show ourselves approved unto God, we may rightly divide the Word of
Truth, and we may be unashamed!
There are 3 primary NICOLAITAN attacks on Individual Soul
Liberty
1. The necessity of creeds and councils
2. The shattering of the average believer’s confidence in his or
her ability to study and understand the Bible for
themselves.
3. The hyper-controlling pastor.
1.
2.
This pastor has little confidence in the ability of the Holy
Spirit to sanctify the believer.
This pastor believes, if he is honest with himself, that his
members are incapable of holy living, without his direction in
practically every area.
The hyper-controlling pastor
Of course the pastor, as overseer and shepherd of his flock, has the
responsibility to warn and instruct, preach and teach in all areas
where the Word of God speaks. A godly pastor will strive to
teach his beloved flock to see this wicked world through
“biblical glasses.” He will teach them to love what God loves and
hate what God hates. A godly pastor teaches his people to pray
and discern and judge. He will explain the biblical requirements
for leadership in the church he has been called to pastor. He will
with the counsel of the godly men of his church exercise church
discipline. The hyper-controlling pastor steps over the line of
his responsibility when he assumes the responsibility of the Holy
Spirit. Plainly stated, it is the pastor’s job to preach, teach and
administrate; it is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict and sanctify.
Matthew 16:13-18 “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea
Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I
the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some,
Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my
Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock
I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.”
 Acts 2:47 “Praising God, and having favour with all the
people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as
should be saved.”
 2 Corinthians 6:14 “Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with
darkness?”
 Ephesians 4:3 “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace.”
 1 Peter 2:5 “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual
house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”
Local church membership is restricted to individuals who give
a credible testimony of personal salvation in Christ and have
publicly identified themselves with Him in believer’s
baptism by immersion, following salvation.
When the members of a local church are believers; there is
Why is this important?
Protestant churches practice hereditary membership.
Children of members at their baptism become covenant
members of that church.
A regenerate or born-again church membership protects our
congregations from developing a form of godliness that
denies the power thereof.
Acts 11:30 Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of
Barnabas and Saul.
ELDER – Experienced counselor
1 Timothy 3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop,
he desireth a good work.
BISHOP – Overseer
1 Peter 5:1-4 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an
elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the
glory that shall be revealed:
2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof,
not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the
flock.
4
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of
glory that fadeth not away.
SHEPHERD – Protector and Provider
Acts 20:17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the
church.
Acts 20:27-29 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy
Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath
purchased with his own blood.
29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you,
not sparing the flock.
DEACON – “diaconas” – dirt servant
Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in
Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
1 Timothy 3:13 For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to
themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Acts 6:1-7 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied,
there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their
widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is
not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest
report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over
this business.
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the
word.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man
full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor,
and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their
hands on them.
7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples
multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests
were obedient to the faith.
God’s Biblical Formula for Church Growth
1. Spirit-filled pastors, studying, praying and
ministering the Word.
2. Spirit-filled deacons, serving the congregation by
helping the Appostles.
3. Spirit-filled church members, submitting to and
agreeing with God’s plan for the church.
The Deacon’s can be a Board of Directors but only as it
helps the Pastor.
Church members are supposed to do more than give
money and be entertained.
THERE ARE TWO ABUSES OF THE OFFICE OF DEACON
1. Authoritarian Deacon
2. Do-Nothing Deacon
Concerning the authoritarian deacon B.H. Carroll wrote,
“A board of deacons is not a board of ruling elders having official charge of all
church affairs. Baptists are not Presbyterians in church polity. It is not the
name, but the thing, that is objectionable. We do not dodge the offense of
having a ruling board by calling them deacons. The New Testament elders who
ruled were preachers. There is not even a remote hint in the New Testament that
the office was a ruling office.”
Deacons in the Bible were selfless servers, soul winners, powerful
communicators of God’s Word and martyrs.
Matthew 22:15-22 “…Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.”
I Timothy 2:1-2
 The belief that the state should have no dealing with the
church in enforcing policies or doctrines.
 The power of the church is to come from its eternal
head Jesus Christ.
 God established both the church and the civil
government, and He gave each its own distinct sphere
of operation.
 The government’s purposes – Romans 13:1-7
 The church’s purposes – Matthew 28:19-20 and the Pauline
Epistles
 Neither should control the other, nor should there be an
alliance between the two.
 Christians in a free society may properly influence
government toward righteousness, which is not the
same as a denomination or group of churches
controlling the government.
 A proper understanding of soul liberty is vital to any
explanation of separation of church and state.
Acts 5:28-29, “…We ought to obey God rather than men.”
 John Clarke labored for more than 12 years to finally secure the
famous Portsmouth Rhode Island Charter of 1663.
It granted such religious liberty that parliament questioned whether
the King, Charles II, even had the authority to grant such a
charter.
This began a NEW DAY in the WORLD.
At long last, an economy was established where a man could
worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience,
without fear of government coercion.
Finally, freedom was born in Rhode Island!
John Clarke also signed The Portsmouth Compact in 1638 but it was
tenuous or weak and without a sound basis.
 Thomas Jefferson was influenced by visiting the business
meetings of the Buck Mountain Baptist Church in
Albemarle County, Virginia, pastored by Andrew Tribble.
During a meal at Jefferson’s home, Pastor Tribble asked Mr.
Jefferson what he thought of his church’s government.
Jefferson stated that he considered it the only form of pure
democracy that existed in the world, and that he had
concluded that it would be the best plan of Government for
the American Colonies.
Patrick Henry defended imprisoned Baptist preachers in
Virginia.
 James Madison was influenced by the great Baptist preacher,
John Leland. Leland persuaded Madison that the only way
the Baptists of Virginia would support the new Constitution
was on the guarantee of a religious freedom amendment,
now famously known as the First Amendment.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;…
Soul Liberty was observed by a government for it’s people for
the first time in 1,757 years.
The day after President Jefferson wrote his famous letter to the
Baptists of Danbury, Connecticut, describing the wall of
separation between church and state, (they were
understandably concerned) Jefferson went to hear his friend
John Leland preach the Sunday service that was being held
in the treasury building.
Separation of church and state is a biblical, Baptist distinctive.
It is rooted in Scripture. When denied in history the
consequence is tyranny, bloodshed, spiritual darkness and
hatred for soul liberty.