Scriptures: Matthew 18:19-20, 1st Samuel 16:6-7, 1st Peter 2:5&9, Ezekiel 36:26, Matthew 15:8-9, Matthew 23:26
Structure:
- Introduction
- Liberty of conscience
- Biblical authority
- Congregational government
- Conclusion
Introduction:
Good morning everyone.
When you go to the ice-cream shop you have to make a decision. Right there in front of you are a range of different flavours: vanilla, boysenberry, hokey pokey, chocolate, rum and raisin, coffee and more.
Each of the different flavours has essentially the same base. Probably milk, cream, water and sugar, churned in a particular way. You may have a preference for mint choc chip but that doesn’t mean you can’t associate with someone who eats black forest ice-cream.
I’m quite partial to chocolate ice-cream, if I’m having it in a cone. Robyn occasionally has a rum and raisin, which I don’t enjoy. But even though we prefer different flavours, we don’t fall out over it. At the end of the day, it’s all still ice-cream.
The Christian church is a bit like ice-cream. There are a variety of flavours or denominations from Catholic, to Anglican, to Church of Christ, to Presbyterian to New Life, to Baptist and so on.
Even though this is a Baptist church many of us here (if not most of us) have probably worshipped in other Christian traditions as well. And that’s okay. Each of the denominations has essentially the same base. We all believe Jesus is the Son of God and that Jesus rose from the dead. We just have a different emphasis and different organizational structures which gives us our own unique flavour.
This morning our message focuses on what it means to be Baptist. What are those beliefs and practices which give the Baptist movement its own distinct flavour?
Well, there are four things basically: liberty of conscience, Biblical authority, congregational government and believers’ baptism. Some other denominations might have one or two of these in their kite of beliefs but not all four of them together.
Before we get into what each of these terms mean, I want to be clear, these are not the most important beliefs in Christian faith. So you don’t have to agree with every aspect of Baptist belief in order to worship here. You may have a different view and that’s fine.
The essential thing is Jesus. All I’m doing this morning is describing to you the four main ingredients which, when combined, make the Baptist flavour. First, let’s consider liberty of conscience.
Liberty of conscience:
Some of you may have heard of John Bunyan. John Bunyan was the author of the book, Pilgrim’s Progress. John Bunyan was also a Baptist preacher during the 17th Century. There’s a quote of his that I quite like. Bunyan wrote…
In prayer it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.
The heart in this context refers to a person’s inner conviction, their desire or their motivation. Sometimes we have a yearning or a thirst for God in our heart but we just can’t seem to find the words to do our thoughts and feelings justice. That’s better than saying empty words to God when our heart simply isn’t in it.
The heart, the core motivation, the inside of a person is an important theme running through the Bible. When God instructed the prophet Samuel to anoint a new king for Israel, Samuel saw Jesse’s eldest son, Eliab, and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here”. But God said to Samuel…
Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. [1st Samuel 16:7]
Later in Israel’s history, the prophets emphasized the importance of the heart in worshipping God. For example, in Ezekiel 36:26, the Lord says to His people through the prophet…
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
A heart of stone is a hard heart, a dead heart. A heart that is insensitive to the things of God. A heart of flesh is a heart (or an inner disposition) that is tender and sensitive to the things of God. A willing and obedient heart that is alive and beats for the Lord, that’s a heart of flesh.
Jesus was also interested in the heart. He had some strong words of criticism for the Pharisees who were big on appearances but whose hearts were like stone when it came to perceiving God’s purpose in and through Jesus.
This is what the Lord had to say about the Pharisees and the importance of the heart, in Matthew 15:8-9…
These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.
Jesus went on to talk about the importance of washing the inside of the cup. In other words, if you get the inside right (if you get your heart right) then the outside will be clean too. Our life and worship needs to come from the inside out. [Matthew 23:26]
We are talking about liberty of conscience. Your conscience is part of your inner self, part of your heart. The Baptist movement of churches started with people who felt very strongly that the religious leaders of their day honoured God with their lips but had hearts that were far from the Lord.
To understand liberty of conscience you have to know a little bit of English Church history. Prior to the 1530’s there was one church in England and that was the Roman Catholic church. No other church was permitted. There was only one flavour.
Then came king Henry VIII who broke with Rome to establish a Protestant church, the Church of England, which in NZ we know today as the Anglican church.
At that time the church and the State were basically one. So the Church of England made the law and the law said you had to belong to the Church of England, whether you actually believed in Jesus or not. Resistance could result in prison, torture or even death.
But people did resist and those who set up their own church, separate from the Church of England, were called Separatists. Baptists evolved out of the Separatists. At first, life was so dangerous for Baptists they had to escape to the Netherlands which permitted religious tolerance. But they returned to England a few years later.
And this is where John Bunyan comes in. After being discharged from the army and becoming a Christian, Bunyan joined a Baptist church at Bedford, in England, and became a preacher. It was against the law of the land to do this and so John Bunyan was imprisoned for eleven years (1661-1672) for following his conscience, such was the strength of his conviction that he was doing God’s will.
Liberty of conscience is the idea that Christ alone has the right to command the individual’s conscience. No one, not even the State or your parents, can force you to believe something.
Being a Christian is a matter of the heart. You can’t make someone love God through legislation or fear of punishment. That goes against the gospel of Christ. People need to come to faith in Jesus voluntarily. True worship is from the inside out.
Liberty of conscience does not give us a license to do whatever we want. The main issue at stake here is the Lordship of Jesus. As I said before, Christ alone has the right to command the individual’s conscience.
If the State forces people to go to church, then it is usurping the place of Jesus. Jesus is Lord, not the government. The State, at its best, is God’s servant.
One implication of liberty of conscience is that Baptists believe the church and state should remain separate. It’s okay for Christians to be in politics. And it’s okay for the church to speak truth to people in power. But it’s not okay for the church to dictate what society should think or believe.
Most people these days would agree with the idea of liberty of conscience, but 500 years ago it was a radical thought.
Another implication of liberty of conscience is religious tolerance. Baptists don’t give people of other faiths a hard time. To the contrary, we uphold the freedom for people to practice their own religion, without compromising what we ourselves believe. We do not need to be afraid of other religions because we believe Jesus is Lord. Our job is to remain in Christ and be a positive witness to the world around us.
We see the principle of liberty of conscience reflected in our church’s values. Being real and authentic and integrating our faith, from the inside out, is important to us here. What’s more, we give people freedom to be involved. We don’t put pressure on people. We let people become involved in church life at a pace that suits them.
We also try to avoid loading people up with so many church activities that they don’t have time to engage with the outside world. Many of you are already doing good things for God and His kingdom, through your everyday work. My hope and prayer is that you would find nourishment and refreshment for your faith and your soul during our times of gathered worship.
Biblical authority:
Now, as I said earlier, liberty of conscience is not a license to do whatever we want. Our conscience is not God. In fact, our conscience can be misled or it can become callous or insensitive, as if seared with a hot iron. Jesus is Lord. As Christians, Jesus is the one who informs and guides and molds our conscience and behavior, by his Word and his Spirit.
Our early Baptist forebears soon realized they needed a measuring stick for their conscience, a higher authority. They needed some way of checking their conscience was on the right track and so the Bible became that measure.
Study and discussion of the Scriptures was central to early Baptist worship. The Bible was the means for seeking the mind of Christ. John Tucker, the Principal of Carey Baptist College in Auckland, writes…
The oldest description of Baptist worship that we have dates back to 1609. It records that the worship service began at 8am with a prayer and a Bible reading. This was followed by four or five different church members taking turns to prophesy or preach out of that text. Each sermon ran for about 45 to 60 minutes, with opportunity for interaction and discussion among the congregation. At midday the members shared a meal together and took a collection for the poor. Then, from 2pm to 6pm, the morning pattern of worship was repeated.
Imagine that, ten hours of church every Sunday. We don’t spend as much time in gathered worship these days (which I’m sure you are thankful for) but Scripture is still central to our worship. One of our church values is sharing Biblical truth. We open the Scriptures through the Sunday sermon, through small group Bible studies and through our own personal devotional time. We do this because we believe God still has more light to shed on His Word.
I have come to think of the Bible as a woman. The Bible is wise and beautiful, full of truth and grace. She can be complicated and hard to understand sometimes but I love her and, for reasons I can’t really explain, I find myself drawn to her gentle power.
As a woman, the Bible is pregnant with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit is the midwife. We can’t really receive the Word of God without the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit delivers God’s Word to our hearts and minds and that Word speaks to our conscience.
Given the importance Baptists place on Scripture, it is not surprising that some of the world’s most well-known preachers have been Baptists. People like Charles Spurgeon, Martin Luther King Jnr. and Billy Graham.
Liberty of conscience, Biblical authority and congregational government.
Congregational government:
We find three models of church government in the New Testament:
Episcopacy – which involves one person governing, e.g. the bishop.
Presbyterianism – which involves an inner group of elders governing, and
Congregationalism – which is where all the members of the church govern.
Early Baptists went for congregationalism; the belief that final authority over the local church rests not with a bishop or a national council, or the senior pastor or a group of elders, but with the risen Christ who promises to be present and make his will known, whenever that church gathers together to seek his will. As Jesus said in Matthew 18:19-20…
Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them.
This does not mean that if two Christians agree together they would like a Porsche that God will give it to them. The emphasis here is on Jesus’ presence when his followers gather to seek the will of God. When Christ is present, speaking to our conscience, we find ourselves praying a prayer that God is happy to answer positively.
Hand in hand with the principle of congregational government is the idea of the priesthood of all believers. In 1 Peter 2, verse 5 we read…
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
And then in verse 9 Peter says…
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God…
Baptists believe that all regenerate Christian believers are priests, which means God could speak through any Spirit filled believer. Therefore, it follows that all church members have a part to play in seeking the mind of Christ and hearing the will of God.
Early Baptist churches were normally comprised of about 50 people, a relatively small number. And so with a congregation that size, who were willing to meet for 10 hours at a stretch, it was possible for everyone to have their say and agreement to be reached.
Church sizes are generally bigger these days, so the more routine day to day management and governance of the church is handled by the Deacons Board and the staff. And larger decisions, like approving the church budget and hiring the minister, are decided by the congregation at a church meeting.
One implication of congregational government is the autonomy of the local church. Because it is the congregation who seeks the mind of Christ and not the Arch Bishop, or some other authority, each congregation can discern the direction they believe Jesus is leading in their context.
Autonomy does not imply complete independence though. Baptist churches also believe in associating with other Baptist churches. And so Tawa Baptist is part of the Baptist Union of New Zealand and part of the Wellington Baptist Regional Association.
One of the things that is needed for congregational government to work well is commitment from the members. Church members need to have a strong commitment to loving Jesus and loving one another.
Baptists are not persecuted in New Zealand today, but they were persecuted in 17th Century England. As we’ve heard with John Bunyan’s story, it was illegal for Baptists to meet. They risked prison, torture and even death. This meant you needed to be able to trust your fellow church members. You needed to have each other’s back. You needed to know you weren’t going to be betrayed to the authorities by the person sitting in the pew next to you.
That was the kind of next level covenant commitment that early Baptists expected from one another. That’s where the idea of Baptist church membership comes from.
It would be fair to say that the level of commitment required by your average church member is not as high today. No one is really at risk of being thrown in prison for coming to this worship service. In fact, anyone can attend services here without threat of violence.
The reality is each of us brings a different level of commitment to this faith community. Some of you are highly committed, others are moderately committed and still others aren’t sure if you’ll be back next week. I don’t want to criticize that. We are a diverse congregation. We may be in different places in our journey of faith and in our situation in life. That’s okay. God is able to meet each of us where we are at.
Again we see our church values reflected in the principles of congregational government and the commitment this requires. In particular, we place value on showing genuine care for one another and in making decisions faithfully.
Conclusion:
I said at the beginning of this message that there are four beliefs which give Baptist churches their own distinct flavour: liberty of conscience, Biblical authority, congregational government and believers’ baptism.
I’ve talked about the first three but I’m not planning to talk about Believers’ baptism this morning because I’ve talked about this on a number of occasions in the past and we are likely to hear about it again next time we have a baptismal service. Plus, I don’t want to keep you until 6pm.
So let me finish by saying two things…
Firstly, we live at a different time in history to the early Baptists. Our context is not the same as theirs. The walls between denominations are not as high or as strong as they once were. Movement between churches has become more fluid. The wider Christian church these days is more like a braided river, interlaced and interwoven.
Secondly, these four Baptist distinctives are not the most important things. The most essential thing is Christ. It is in and through Jesus that we find our identity, our connection and our unity. So, whatever happens, whatever differences you may feel with others, hold to Christ.
May grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Some of the material for this message was gleaned from the following sources:
https://www.baptist.org.nz/general/Being-a-Baptist/
Baptist distinctives
Questions for discussion or reflection:
What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
- Do you like ice-cream? What is your favourite flavour? Which different denominations of Christian faith have you been involved with? What were some of the good things about each of these experiences for you?
- Liberty of conscience is founded on the belief that ‘Christ alone has the right to command the individual’s conscience’. Why is this important? To what extent does Christ command your conscience?
- In what ways has the idea of liberty of conscience shaped (or influenced) our world today? (E.g. religious tolerance…)
- Why do we give so much attention to opening the Scriptures?
- What are some of the implications of congregational government?
- How is our situation today different from that of 17th Century England? Which of the four Baptist distinctives do you think is most relevant (or most helpful) for our context?
Tawa Baptist 