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I was sitting at a table in a
hotel in Tiberias waiting for our evening meal, … with a Roman Catholic
priest and two other Baptist pastors from England. The Roman priest was
tremendously sincere about his faith … and he asked us what Baptists
believed. He wanted to genuinely find out what we believed. I can remember
very clearly how these two older men in the ministry turned to me to
answer the question (!)
… What does a Baptist
believe? I trust our studies through the Baptist Confession of Faith
have helped you understand that we do have a very clear identity. Spurgeon
told his congregation, “This ancient document is the most excellent epitome
of the things most surely believed among us. It is not issued as an
authoritative rule or code of faith, whereby you may be fettered, but as a
means of edification in righteousness. It is an excellent, though not
inspired, expression of the teaching of those Holy Scriptures by which all
confessions are to be measured. We hold to the humbling truths of God’s
sovereign grace in the salvation of lost sinners. Salvation is through
Christ alone and by faith alone.”
In the early centuries of the Church all
types of heresies and errors raised their ugly heads, for example, there
were many views concerning the Person of Christ. Some of these robbed Christ
of His deity (e.g. adoptionism), while others robbed Him of His humanity
(e.g. both Gnosticism and 3rd century Docetism believed all
matter was evil). There were also differences about which writings should be
included in the canon of Scripture, differences about church government and
many other things. As a consequence, councils of the Church met to define
the faith; their conclusions have been written down for us in documents such
as the Apostolic Creed, Nicene Creed.
Such tried and tested creeds help us to guard
against the prevailing tide of man-made doctrines of the type that pervaded
in the days of the Judges when (21:25),
every man did that which was
right in his own eyes.
However, it is not fashionable nowadays to be
too ‘rigid’ and to ‘tie oneself down’ … and many Christians don’t like to be
told what to believe … even when it is pure Biblical truth. When you mention
the creeds or doctrines of the church someone inevitably says, “Why do we
need any doctrine at all? Why don’t we just love Jesus?” … Well …
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Who is this Jesus you say you love? … Is He
just a nice person that went round doing nice things and helping people
who were badly off? Was He basically some kind of ‘social crusader’? |
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You say, “I believe what the Bible says” …
but you can ‘make’ the Bible say anything you like! |
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You say, “I believe in the whole matter of
salvation” … but what do you actually believe about it? Is God
sitting up in Heaven pleading pathetically for someone to give Him a
chance and believe in Him that He might be able to improve their life and
save them? |
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There was a British monk called Pelagius
who lived c.354-c.420/40. He caused one of the greatest stirs in the early
Church. He denied predestination, original sin and the doctrines of grace.
He maintained that humans are not tainted by the sin of Adam and Eve to
the degree the Church taught, - he believed babies are born pure and
without sin. He furthered argued that humans have a free will to choose to
live sinless lives. These, however, are similar views of many “Christians”
today; do you know what happened to Pelagius in 418AD? … He was
excommunicated by the Church … and declared a heretic at the Council of
Ephesus in 432AD. |
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Pelagianism is a heresy; its weaker brother
semi-Pelagianism (Arminianism) is a heresy, - it teaches basically the
same errors Pelagius taught. … We need to believe truths that are in
accordance with the
whole counsel of God
and what the Bible teaches! |
Sadly, many people believe sincerely,
- like Nicodemus when he met Jesus; but many people, - like Nicodemus, -
believe sincerely wrongly!
We are living in days of confusion and
double-meaning; words can be taken and reshaped to mean basically anything.
We need to be sure about our terms, otherwise we are in danger of having a
basis of doctrine that is homemade and shallow. (It is only what “I” think
and what “I” feel).
How do we sort the problem out regarding what
a Christian should believe? Is it a personal thing and ought it to be left
to the individual? … Would you like me to come and wire your house? I do
know that the brown wire goes into the live, the blue goes into the neutral
and the green and yellow goes into the earth … based on that knowledge,
would you like me to come and wire your house? No, of course you wouldn’t …
and yet many people unfamiliar are willing to put together doctrines that
are lacking in substance and that have no solid basis in Scripture and are
leading many people astray towards the great abyss into Hell, - that is how
serious it is!
Indeed, what is more important than having
a sound basis of faith upon which your life and witness for Christ is
established!
In all of his letters Paul concluded with a
list of practical duties that were based upon the doctrines he had discussed
(e.g. Rom. 1-11 were doctrinal, chs. 12-16 were generally practical; Eph.
1-3 were doctrinal, chs. 4-6 were generally practical). In the Christian
life, doctrine and practice/duty are two inseparable ‘twins’, - what we
believe determines how we behave. … And it is not enough for us to
understand the great doctrines of the Word of God, - we must translate
our learning into living and demonstrate by how we live that
we trust what the Bible teaches.
The Epistle to the Romans is often considered
to be Paul’s Systematic Theology. In the first two verses of chapter
twelve he writes, 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. 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.
Underlying this statement is the fact that God is the Foundation and Giver
of our faith, - therefore, what we believe develops from what we believe
about God. In these two verses Paul described Christian
dedication and devotion in three steps. …
I. You Give God Your
Body
ye present your bodies a living sacrifice
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Before we trusted Christ we were
the vessels of wrath fitted
to destruction (Rom.
9:22). We used our bodies to violate
God’s law. |
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But when He saved us through grace we were
‘bought’ (redeemed) by Him, - He ‘owns’ us and now we want to use our body
to His glory. The Christian’s body is God’s temple (I Cor. 6:19,20)
because the Spirit of God dwells within (Rom. 8:9). |
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Consider the concept of the Tabernacle and
the Temple throughout the Old Testament … We wouldn’t want to defile God’s
temple, so therefore we have a responsibility to keep it clean and worthy
of Him. Rom. 6:13 instructs us to
yield yourselves unto God, …
and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. |
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Remember the young boy who walked up the
mountain with his old father, and he asked the question,
Behold the fire and the wood:
but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? (Gen. 22:7). |
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On the top of the mountain he prepared the
altar of sacrifice along with his father … and the moment came when his
dad had to tell him he was to be the sacrifice. |
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This young boy could easily have escaped
from his father … but what did Isaac do? He willingly put himself on the
altar and he willingly would have died in obedience to God’s will. |
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Yes, we know that God provided a ram … but
when Isaac climbed off that altar Isaac was a
living sacrifice
to the glory of God. He had been prepared to give God his body! |
II. You Give God Your
Mind
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The world wants to control your mind;
sadly, the world has devastated many areas of Christian belief.
Many professing Christians are totally opposed to committing themselves to
the great foundations of truth upon which the Lord has brought great
blessing to the Church. |
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What has happened to churches in these days
when confessions of faith and creeds founded upon the Bible have been
discarded? Answer … we have returned to the days when
every man did that which was
right in his own eyes … and we put
together doctrines to justify what we are doing and believing!
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Homosexuality is not a sin, it is not
even an illness … it is normal and acceptable! |
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Gambling and the Lottery is acceptable by
some churches as a means to keep God’s work going, when the giving to
the offering plate is falling away. |
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Marriage is no longer the issue,
commitment is the keyword! |
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… And we are happy to stand alongside those
whose doctrines are in complete contempt of Biblical doctrine and
teaching. |
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Yes, the world wants to capture the mind of
the believer … and all too often the Christian is so willing to
accommodate the spirit of the age, (“we need to keep up … this is what the
world believes, we should set out our creeds in a way that might be
attractive to them to win them”). |
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But the Bible says the world is at enmity with God (James 4:4). The world
can neither understand nor appreciate the great truths that we hold dear.
The Bible says also that we must be separate from the world. … Never
will the truths of God’s Word be attractive to the world! |
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When Christ comes into your life He changes
your mind, - you are sitting in this meeting tonight because God has
changed your mind! You wouldn’t be here otherwise … what would attract
you?! Things you used to do, you don’t do any longer because God changes
your mind! |
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God transforms your mind by using His Word
(Ps. 119:11 Thy word
have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.) |
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As you spend time reading His Word, and
studying it and making it a part of you God will continue His process of
transforming you. |
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… the material you take in will affect what
you believe. You read the Dandy and the Beano and it will
hinder your growth in maturity. … You read some of the material that
passes for “Christian” nowadays and it will do very little to cause you to
grow in Biblical maturity. |
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That is why it is important to hold to a
basis of doctrine that God has used and blessed in the ministries of
mighty men, - it has been tried and tested. Its fundamentals are the great
doctrines of the Bible taught since the inception of the Church:
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Justification by faith alone. |
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Salvation by God’s grace alone. |
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Redemption through Christ alone. |
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The Bible alone is the infallible and inerrant Word of God. |
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All glory to God alone! |
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… and the Bible tells us to (Jude 3)
earnestly contend for the
faith which was once delivered unto the saints. |
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When you become a Christian, you don’t
argue with God … you give God your mind … |
III. You Give God
Your Will
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Your mind controls your body, your will
controls your mind. When God saves you, you are no longer in bondage to
the fallen will, - the Holy Spirit is within you and His purpose is for
you to yield your will to God … and therein lies success in the Christian
life. |
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When the Master of our will is God, - as
the Psalmist says, Ps.
23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He
restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his
name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff
they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of
mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I
will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. |
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We have the example of the Saviour in this,
Lk. 22:42 not my will,
but thine, be done. |
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Lord, I don’t always understand the
doctrines You teach in Your Word … but even if I can’t understand them …
You say them, and therefore I believe them! (If we could understand
everything the Bible says we would be as God Himself!) |
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You see, when your body, your mind, and
your will are given to God you are a changed person. You no longer
live by the rules of the world; you no longer think like them. |
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They teach you that in order to have, you take; but that which Jesus gives
you is a gift … and even to understand it is because the Holy Spirit opens
your heart, your mind and your eyes to these things, - that is why such a
Confession of Faith as ours ought to be so precious. |
Conclusion
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These great doctrines have been expressed
by men faithful to the Word of God. I hope I haven’t wasted your time
studying through the Baptist Confession of Faith. I hope you will
take it as your standard. I hope you can point to it and say, “This is
what I believe”. |
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We need to be clear it is not perfect, - it
is not the Bible! It doesn’t cover all angles of our faith … but for over
three hundred years it has been used and those who have stood by it have
known God’s blessing. |
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Since it is merely a work of man it is not
perfect, whole, or complete. It doesn’t address every matter relating to
our faith … but it is a standard Baptist churches ought to have, - it
would guard against abuse of the pulpit by preaching unBiblical doctrines.
It would ensure continuity when future Ministers are called … so that the
truth of God is not made to become disjointed or contradictory. |
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I’m grateful to God for the burden He gave
these men; I’m grateful to God that He has stirred me to believe the same
doctrines Spurgeon believed in, and Carey … and all the people whom I look
up to. |
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Our Confession helps us to be
faithful to the doctrines of Scripture. They are clear enough to keep us
on an unwavering course. |
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It joins us up with a church worldwide … it
brings true unity in Christ and it transcends denominational barriers
because at its very centre is the Sovereign Grace of God towards a
helpless, hopeless lost world. |
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Let’s conclude our study with the words of
Moses, - the first occasion the word ‘doctrine’ is mentioned in Scripture,
Deut. 31:30 And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this
song, until they were ended. 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will
speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2 My doctrine shall drop
as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the
tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3 Because I will publish
the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 4 He is the
Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth
and without iniquity, just and right is he. … 9 For the LORD'S portion is
his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. 10 He found him in a
desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he
instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. …
All glory
unto our God! |
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