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by Meghan McSwain What does it mean to be Baptist? Most of us could explain what it means to be Christian fairly easily, but what does it mean to say you are Baptist? To sum it up in one word: freedom. The Baptist faith was founded on four basic freedoms. I was unable to articulate these until I took a course in Baptist heritage, but as I have thought about Baptist life as I have experienced it, they were all identifiable. As I summarize these below, note that with each freedom comes a responsibility that we, as Christians, should remember. First is Bible freedom. This freedom means that the Bible is central to what we, as Baptist, believe and practice. Our guidelines for living are based on the Scriptures found in the Bible. In addition, as a Christian, I have the freedom to read and study the Bible on my own. It also means that I have the responsibility to read and study the Bible on my own. We must be careful not to take anyone’s word on what is biblical. We must test what we are told with the Bible itself. This does not mean that we cannot learn invaluable truths from church leaders, but we should not rely on others to tell us what the Bible says and therefore what we should believe. Closely related is soul freedom. Soul freedom is what we think of as the priesthood of the believer. This means that I have the right to exercise my believe in God on my own. No one stands between me and God, and no one tells me what I am to believe or not believe. You may hear someone say that Baptists are noncreedal. This is a similar concept. Although we may recite a creed, like the Apostles’ Creed, at some point or I may read the Baptist Faith and Message, which reviews the basic beliefs of Baptists, these do not dictate what I as a Baptist must believe. The responsibility is that I must, as I study Scripture, determine what I do believe about God and his call in my life. No one will tell me except God. The third freedom is church freedom. Church freedom is what we often talk about as the autonomy of the local church. That means that there is no governing body which dictates what each local church believes and how she does business. This does not mean it is the responsibility of the ministers either. It is our responsibility. We are the church, everyone of us, and we are responsible for what happens in this body of believers. Certainly, we have hired ministers, who we put faith in, to help lead us in the work of the church, but we do not answer to the ministers, they answer to us. Within the Southern Baptist framework, we do have associations, state conventions and even a national convention. These organizations provide a great opportunity for us to pool our resources and have the opportunity to work in a larger group to accomplish God’s call. These organizations do not have the power to dictate how the church does business or what we believe. The last freedom is religious freedom. This freedom means that the state or country cannot dictate what church I am going to attend or what our church believes. Throughout history the church and state were closely related and political figures had the power to dictate religious beliefs. This is a foundational principle of the Baptist faith and this country. This means that the government cannot tell me what religion I am to be, but it also means that I cannot expect that the government to force people of other faiths to believe as I do. As a Christian, I believe that the only way of salvation is to accept Jesus Christ and I have a responsibility to share my faith with others, but I can never expect the government to dictate this faith. God gave us a free will so that we would choose to accept and follow him. That free will is granted to all people. Religious freedom does not mean that I do not have a responsibility to vote for people who I feel will represent the beliefs that I have as a Christian. It means I must take a stand for what I believe are biblical principles, but cannot dictate them to other people. As a Baptist I am proud of these freedoms, but must also acknowledge the responsibilities which come with these freedoms. Many people throughout history have fought and died for us to have these freedoms. May we never take them for granted. Reference: The Baptist Identity by. Walter B. Shurden. |
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