Love the Southern Baptist Convention

With all her faults [JC Ryle] loves the Church of England still, he loves the souls of men much more, and most of all the gospel of their salvation. ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

I have always loved JC Ryle’s passion to love and transform his church from the inside out. For the many disagreements Ryle had with the established doctrine of his church it would have been easy for him to run into the dissenter and/or Baptist camps, but because he stayed he did much good to the souls that were entrusted to him.

As a Southern Baptist I have attempted to model JC Ryle’s commitment to his church. It is far easier in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) because we do not have an underlying cancer in our doctrine like the infant baptism or church/state melding of the Church of England, but the SBC is far from perfect. Unlike Ryle and his church’s doctrinal statement, there is nothing for me in the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (BF&M2K) that I have to explain away or hope that the authors meant something different than what they wrote. It is thoroughly biblical, and if we only allowed our creed to comprise the SBC, we’d have a perfect SBC. Where we go wrong is by allowing human beings to join our membership (obvious sarcasm intended). If there are heresies, moral failings, scandals, coverups, shameful biographies, and deviations from God’s Word in the SBC (and there are!) they were not birthed in the BF&M2K, but stand in stark contrast to what we profess to believe and preach.

What the SBC does so well is provide a framework which unites likeminded believers worldwide, and defers to conscience to hold true to what we say we believe. If there is a slide towards complacency and worldliness (and there is!) a church can return to godliness by believing what is written in the BF&M2K as it points the church back to Scripture, right theology, and saving faith. Our president does not define us nor drive our practices. He should be setting an example to follow, stating with a good conscience, “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ”, but the churches of the SBC vest no special authority in him and can choose individually to glean from his preaching, teaching, and leading, or not.

By far the most important part of the SBC is that nowhere do we profess that a convention can go to Heaven, nor that just by being a member of an SBC church grants you favor with God. No-one should be deceived into thinking that by their affiliation with the SBC they have a special standing in God’s eyes. Be not deceived: Conventions, Sees, Synods, Presbyteries, Seminaries, Parishes, Chapels, nor Fellowships will have any inheritance in the kingdom of Heaven. Christ came not to save institutions, but to seek and save the lost. It is the duty of any assembly to point their people to the saving work of the Living Christ. So many have failed, some because of a flawed dogma, and others because of a lack of doctrine, but I am sure that membership bodies like the SBC will be judged not on the faithfulness to their creeds, but to their faithfulness to the Word of God.

So for these reasons and more I remain a Southern Baptist. Not all Southern Baptist Churches are faithfully pointing to Christ, but that is their sin, because they have professed to believe the BF&M2K, and it repeatedly gives all glory to God. There is no SBC Inquisition – nor should there be – to ensure that all churches are faithful, because our head is Christ and our helper is the Holy Spirit. Are there wolves and tares in our midst? Absolutely, because there are human beings in our midst. Show me a perfect church and I will show you a creed with no members.

On a tangent, I must say that the name of the Southern Baptist Convention is a hindrance to world evangelization. I cannot imagine calling a church “Southern” in North Sudan or North Korea; it even has bad connotations in New England. There has been talk in recent years of changing the name and – while I enjoy the tradition of the SBC – I wonder if a name change should be something we are willing to reconsider. As an unashamed graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) I understand the sentimentality, but is world evangelization worth holding to our regional and founding title? Regardless, a faithful adherent to the BF&M2K will point towards Christ and away from institutions as the only hope of salvation. SBTS (and other SBC schools/seminaries) and the SBC exist as tools in the Redeemer’s hand: they must decrease, and he must increase.

May it be said when we are examined by faithful preachers yet to come,

With all her faults they loved the SBC, loved the souls of men much more, and most of all the gospel of their salvation.

Exploring Baptism During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Most baptisms don’t receive a lot of thought: a pool, a minister, a new convert. If we’re fortunate we’ll get a message and a testimony, maybe a meal afterwards. But what have we really done? Have we accomplished anything for eternity in most of our baptisms? Painfully, many baptisms are not baptisms at all: someone just got wet.

In keeping with God using all things for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose, the current restrictions have provided us with an opportunity to think about and work through things that have become mere tradition.

The history of baptism is not so clear cut as many of us might think. As the gospel found its way into desert places water could become a scarcity, in other places local traditions sought to drown out the symbolism of the event, and sometimes circumstances don’t allow for a full immersion.

When Philip met and explained Christ to an Ethiopian court official, they were in a place devoid of water. After some traveling they came to a place with enough water, and the Ethiopian immediately requested baptism.

[Engraving Credit: William Carey University]

When William Carey and the Serampore mission saw their first converts, they held a baptism at the river Hooghly, the natives in attendance deduced that this new religion worshiped the river just like many other religions in the North of India.

The Swiss Brethren in Zurich wrestled with the idea of baptism for months before any of them were baptized (or as the Catholic and Presbyterians in the area decreed – anabaptized/rebaptized). Because of the close church-state relationship in the area, biblical baptism had been completely lost. There were none who had been baptized previously to administer baptism to those seeking it, so after his confession of faith before the group, George Blaurock was baptized by his friend Conrad Grable. After which, Blaurock baptized Grable and the rest in attendance. Because they did it secretly, they chose the method of effusion (of pouring) rather than of immersion.

[Photo Credit: Steve Sanchez]

The Didache, an early church manual, recognizes that baptism will not always be a simple matter. It records, “Baptize thus: …in living water; but if you have not living water, baptize in cold water; and if you can not in cold, in warm. But if you have not either, pour out water thrice upon the head in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit.”

My friend Steve Sanchez, pastor of Community Church of the Hills in Johnson City, Texas, had the privilege of leading a man to Christ in the Veteran’s Administration Hospital just days before he died in 2016. There would be no way to immerse this man, so Steve baptized him by effusion in his hospital bed. The testimony is powerful, and the mode of the baptism is following in obedience to the commands of Christ and beautifully displays the hope of resurrection in his life.

[Photo Credit: SBC IMB – Siberian Baptist Church]

In very cold places, where it seems prohibitive to immerse new converts, it is common to see baptisms on Resurrection Sunday or earlier where the ice has had to be cut to make a baptismal pool.

During the Civil War the preaching of chaplain Willie Ragland led to the conversion of a soldier named Goodwin. Goodwin sought baptism, but everyone knew the Union army was close. Finally they were given permission to traverse to the Rapidan river unarmed. As they began to sing, "There is a Fountain Filled With Blood", the Union soldiers rushed to the opposite river bank and joined their voice in chorus with the Confederates and witnessed the proclamation of the gospel in Goodwin's life. The danger to lives for observing baptism was huge, but obedience to their God - and declaring his saving power - was more important to the members of the 13th Virginia.

Painting Credit: Resurrection Morn - Hong Min Zou

So this leads to you, dear reader, how are you going to fulfill the command to baptize new believers? Of course you’re not keeping someone out of Heaven if they die before being baptized because you waited for COVID-19 to subside or see a vaccine, because baptism is only an outward proclamation (not a sign, and never a seal) of the inward work Christ has done.

But now you’ve been introduced to some ways the church in the past has baptized its new converts and the struggles they have faced. My brother Scott was recently baptized by our pastor in Ohio, only him and the pastor were present, but the protestari (forward testifying) of the gospel was made via video, and I posit that the intention of the ordinance is fulfilled in this baptism, as the church and world witness it. Take a look:

[Video Credit: First Baptist Church, New Lebanon Ohio]

Regardless, dear reader, now is the perfect time to proclaim the gospel through the symbolism of baptism, buried in death with Christ, raised to walk in newness of life, and invite all who hear it to repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ.

In the present crisis, you have the opportunity to show the varied and sundry ways that baptism may be administered, that it is not a rite, but a testimony to the saving work of God through Jesus Christ.

I look forward to seeing and hearing how you can make much of Christ in these times of trouble!

New Versus Obsolete: Thoughts on the Covenants

Introduction

Historically, the doctrine of the covenants has sent many Baptists to their death (drowning, burning, beating) and it has sent many Presbyterians to Hell. It is not something to be taken lightly, and we must admit that there is a vast difference between the belief that there is one Covenant (Covenantalism) and at least two major Covenants (Dispensationalism). This article will seek to define and repudiate the heresy of Covenantalism, drawing all readers to a firm belief in the New Covenant of Grace.

Definition

According to the Covenantal document, the Westminster Confession of Faith (hereafter WCF), the singular Covenant is expressed in two dispensations, "This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law, and in the time of the Gospel (WCF Chapter VII, Para V)..." The covenant was administered through sacrifices, circumcision, and the like under the law, but under the gospel, they are administered through the preaching of the Word, and in Baptism and the Lord's Supper (WCF Chapter VII, Para VI).

The result of the law and the gospel, according to this anathema religion, is "full remission of sins, and eternal salvation (WCF Chapter VII Para V)..." They conclude by saying, "There are not therefore two covenants of grace, differing in substance, but one and the same, under various dispensations (WCF Chapter VII Para VI)."

The simplest definition of Covenantalism is that the covenant is between God and men, under works it was circumcision, and under grace it is baptism.

The Dispensational document, the Bible, utterly refutes this Papist heresy by clearly differentiating between two Covenants, a covenant of works, and a covenant of grace. The primary places to find these are John 10, Hebrews 7-8, 2 Corinthians 3, Jeremiah 31, and Ezekiel 36; discussion of the covenants is not at all limited to these chapters, but is best expressed in them. Portions of each chapter will be quoted in this article, and I encourage you to read each in its context and entirety.

The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews puts it this way,

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
__when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
__and with the house of Judah,
not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
__on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
__and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
__after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
__and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
__and they shall be my people. - Hebrews 8:8-10

Note that there are two primary things happening, that two covenants are clearly expressed, and that the First is unable to save, and the Second makes a perfect salvation between God and his people. This is a direct quote of Jeremiah 31:31-34, but I quoted it from Hebrews in order to point out that the author here calls the first Covenant faulty (Hebrews 8:7) and obsolete (Hebrews 8:13), and the new covenant better (Hebrews 8:6).

The Old Covenant was conditional between men and God, but the New Covenant is conditional between the Father and the Son, for Christ says "I give [my sheep] eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand (John 10:28-29)."

Dispensationalism, defined most simply, is that the Old Covenant was a covenant between God and man, which man always fails, and the New Covenant is a covenant between the Father and the Son, which the Son fulfills perfectly.

The Sign and Seal of the Covenants

Covenantalism and Dispensationalism take another radical departure when the sign and seal of the covenants is discussed. The WCF states, "Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ...to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in the newness of life (WCF Chapter XXVIII Para I)."

The Bible refutes this by saying "when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)..." and "the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30)." and "circumcision is not outward and physical...circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit (Romans 2:28-29)." and "And I will give you a new heart, and a new Spirit I will put within you (Ezekiel 36:26)."

The sign and seal of the Old Covenant was circumcision, the seal of the New Covenant is the Holy Spirit and the sign is a new heart. The Covenantal view of an outward and physical sign is modern day Judaising, placing people under bondage and works by requiring adherance to the (misrepresented) law in order to be saved. Furthermore, the unforgiveable sin is Blasphemy of the Spirit, of attributing the works of the Holy Spirit to unclean spirits. Covenantalism seems to commit this sin unashamedly, by claiming that men seal themselves into salvation with a mere ritual.

The Application

Covenantalism is called, "The ministry of death" in 2 Corinthians 3. The Apostle Paul expands stating, "the very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me (Romans 7:10)." The Covenant between God and men is perfectly upheld by God, who cannot break a Covenant. If men do good, they will be blessed, but a single sin results in their cursing. This Covenant is therefore weak and useless, for the law made nothing perfect (Hebrews 7:18-19). It is obsolete, and its only use is to show men their need for a better hope (Hebrews 7:19): the guarantor of a better Covenant (Hebrews 7:22).

Jesus Christ has made us sufficient to be ministers of a New Covenant, the ministry of the Spirit, not the ministry of condemnation, but the ministry of righteousness (2 Cor 3:6-9). Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled the law (Matthew 5:17, Hebrews 4:15), suffering completely for our sin, that he might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). For the Old Covenant brings curses to cursed humanity, but Christ brings blessing to an unconditional covenant for men, because he fulfilled all of the conditions.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith." But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. - Galatians 3:10-14

Invitation

Dear reader, if you are bewitched into the soul damning doctrine of Covenantalism, then I implore you to come out of her, to flee from the terror of Sinai to the glory of Zion and the city of the living God, to look not to your own works or covenant making, but to the perfect obedience of Christ who saved a people from every nation, tribe, and tongue because of the Covenant he made with his Father, which is partaken of by faith, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and expressed in the power of reborn life.

If you stay, then heed this terrifying warning and be sure that your end is eternal damnation, "How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29)?" There is no salvation in the Obsolete Covenant, in fact it has passed away, so seek the Son while he may be found, place your faith in his faithfulness, not your own, and receive his blessings as he received your curse.

Dispensationalists, stand against this resurging Presbyterian heresy, your forefathers did and tasted death for it, their light momentary affliction preparing for them an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Cor 4:17). Obadiah Holmes, Baptist minister in 1651, received 30 lashes and nearly died at the hands of Covenantalists, yet his words to his persecutors are left to encourage us, "You have struck me as with roses. Although the Lord hath made it easy to me, yet I pray God it may not be laid to your charge." Do not consider Covenantalists your brothers, or be surprised when they show no fruit of the Spirit, for they have embraced a law that has cursed them and a veil lies over their hearts that only Christ can raise.

Above all, look to the perfection of the New Covenant which has made the Old Covenant obsolete and shown its weakness and uselessness. Look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.