Biblical Authority
Pastor Don Carpenter
Baptist Basics / 2 Timothy 3:16; John 17:17; Acts 17:11; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20–21
Picture this scenario if you will. You wake up at three in the morning with a splitting headache. You must get relief right now. You stumble out of bead and struggle to get to the medicine cabinet. Every pulse of your heart brings an audible wave of pain radiating from the base of your skull, through your temples and settling behind your eye sockets. You must get relief and must get it now! You do not dare turn on the light for fear of more pain. Once you open the cabinet, you see shadows of perhaps a dozen different bottles and containers. It is a medicine cabinet… it has medicine… surely any bottle would be better than no medicine at all right? Wait a minute… It may be wise to know the difference between pain reliever, laxative, or a Beta Blocker for your heart. Yes it is all medicine, but you need the right one for you and for your symptoms. Even more important than taking the time to read and understand the label is that the label and the product match. If I have a bottle that says Aspirin, it would be dangerous if someone switched the aspirin with an antidepressant. Labels mean something.
In the next seven weeks we are going to take a dive into the meaning of the sign in front of our building: Evangelical Baptist Church. There are folks who shy away from labels and embrace the thought that “Christian” is a clear enough label. All though our series I want you to think of the story I just told… all medicine has its purpose, but not all medicine is appropriate for me. When I link up with a church and its doctrine, I want to know what is in it. So I need two things, I need to understand the meaning of the label, and I need to make sure that the product being offered is consistent with the label it wears. Today we launch a simple study through what is commonly known as the Baptist Acrostic.
B -iblical Authority
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A Label Means Something
1Chris•tian \?kris-ch?n, ?krish-\ noun
1 a: one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ
Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). In Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Merriam-Webster, Inc.
• JW’s and Mormons self identify as Christians
• Catholics self identify as Christians
• While the label Christian is descriptive, it is all inclusive and fits some sects that Bible Believers would not embrace at all. We need a more specific label.
What is an Evangelical?
• The Bible is the highest authority for what I believe.
• It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.
• Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin.
• Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.
Who Is an Evangelical?
“Our community brings together Reformed, Holiness, Anabaptist, Pentecostal, Charismatic and other traditions.” – National Association of Evangelicals.
Who Is a Baptist?
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) (Baptist)
bap•tist \?bap-tist, especially Southern ?bab- also ?b?b-dist\ noun13th century1: one that baptizes2 capitalized: a member or adherent of an evangelical … denomination marked by congregational polity and baptism by immersion of believers only—Baptist adjective
B -iblical Authority
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Whatever the Bible affirms, Baptists accept as truth and that truth affects our practices. No human opinion or decree of any church group can override the Bible. It is not enough to insinuate that it weighs heavily in our decision making processes. The Bible dictates our decisions because it is the final authority.
McDaris, Zeb. Authentic Baptist . MFM. Kindle Edition.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 KJV
For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
The Bible Is Inspired – “God Breathed”
2 Timothy 3:16 KJV
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2 Peter 1:20–21 KJV
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
The Bible Is Without Error
Matthew 5:17–18 KJV
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
John 10:35 (KJV)
If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
John 17:17 KJV
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Psalm 12:6–7 KJV
The words of the LORD are pure words: As silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
The Bible Is Powerful
Hebrews 4:12 KJV
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Romans 10:17 KJV
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
1 Peter 1:23 KJV
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
The Bible Is Superior
Matthew 15:3 KJV
But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
Colossians 2:8 KJV
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Consider Bill, who was just a young man at the time. He had tried preaching, but didn’t always feel the power of God or see any results. One of his contemporaries, Charles Templeton, got into academia and started to believe scripture as flawed and outdated. Bill wondered about all of this. A friend of his, Henrietta Mears, invited him to speak at a Christian retreat center called Forest Home. The night before, he went off alone into the nearby woods, put his Bible on a stump, and had an honest talk with God. He prayed, “O God! There are many things in this book I do not understand. There are many problems with it for which I have no solution. There are many seeming contradictions. There are some areas in it that do not seem to correlate with modern science. I can’t answer some of the philosophical and psychological questions Chuck and others are raising.”
And then he fell to his knees and the Holy Spirit moved in him as he said, “Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word—by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word!”
He later wrote that, as he stood up, his eyes stung with tears, but he felt the power and presence of God in a way he hadn’t in months. “A major bridge had been crossed,” he said. The next day he preached with a new vitality. Mears noted, he “preached with authority” that she hadn’t seen before. And some 400 people made a commitment to Christ that day. A few weeks later he would preach the historic Los Angeles Crusade. It was planned to go three weeks, but ended up going eight. And the career of an upstart evangelist took off. The world found Billy Graham, as Billy found the Word of God.
[Summarized from https://billygraham.org/story/the-tree-stump-prayer-where-billy-graham-overcame-doubt/]
Labels matter. I am a Baptist! The first thing that should come to mind then when hearing that label is, oh… He believes the Bible is the Final Authority of Faith and practice… Guilty! That is who I am. When you have a theological migraine and reach for medicine in the cabinet, reach for the Baptist pills, you will know that they embrace Biblical Authority, the right medicine for you.
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 6:55 PM February 4, 2022.