Our Baptist Heritage
Individual Soul Liberty and Responsibility
Biblical Distinctives of Baptist
2 Corinthians 2:5
"Baptist's that do not remember what they were yesterday, do not know who they are today."
"They're efforts are futile if they do not know where they came from."
Not only is this true for a Baptist, a church but it is also true of a nation.
"They're efforts are futile if they do not know where they came from."
Not only is this true for a Baptist, a church but it is also true of a nation.
"Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders and they will tell thee." Deut. 32:7
"Enquire, I pray thee, of the former age." Job 8:8
"I have considered the days of old." Psalm 77:5
"This shall be written for the generation to come." Psalm 102:18
"Call to remembrance the former days." Hebrews 10:32 - "To put you always in remembrance of these things." - II Peter 1:12. KJV
"Enquire, I pray thee, of the former age." Job 8:8
"I have considered the days of old." Psalm 77:5
"This shall be written for the generation to come." Psalm 102:18
"Call to remembrance the former days." Hebrews 10:32 - "To put you always in remembrance of these things." - II Peter 1:12. KJV
Spurgeon and Baptist
We believe that the Baptists are the original Christians. We did not commence our existence at the reformation, we were reformers before Luther and Calvin were born; we never came from the Church of Rome, for we were never in it, but we have an unbroken line up to the apostles themselves. We have always existed from the days of Christ, and our principles, sometimes veiled and forgotten, like a river which may travel under ground for a little season, have always had honest and holy adherents. Persecuted alike by Romanists and Protestants of almost every sect, yet there has never existed a Government holding Baptist principles which persecuted others; nor, I believe, any body of Baptists ever held it to be right to put the consciences of others under the control of man. We have ever been ready to suffer, as our martyrologies will prove, but we are not ready to accept any help from the State, to prostitute the purity of the Bride of Christ to any alliance with Government, and we will never make the Church, although the Queen, the despot over the consciences of men. —Charles H. Spurgeon
We believe that the Baptists are the original Christians. We did not commence our existence at the reformation, we were reformers before Luther and Calvin were born; we never came from the Church of Rome, for we were never in it, but we have an unbroken line up to the apostles themselves. We have always existed from the days of Christ, and our principles, sometimes veiled and forgotten, like a river which may travel under ground for a little season, have always had honest and holy adherents. Persecuted alike by Romanists and Protestants of almost every sect, yet there has never existed a Government holding Baptist principles which persecuted others; nor, I believe, any body of Baptists ever held it to be right to put the consciences of others under the control of man. We have ever been ready to suffer, as our martyrologies will prove, but we are not ready to accept any help from the State, to prostitute the purity of the Bride of Christ to any alliance with Government, and we will never make the Church, although the Queen, the despot over the consciences of men. —Charles H. Spurgeon
Beliefs that set Baptists apart from others within Christianity. Our History sets us apart; We are not Protestants! Our Position on the Word of God. Our Position on the Ordinances of the Local Church. Our Belief in a Regenerated Church Membership Our Position on the Autonomy of the Local Church, we want to look at yet another Baptist distinctive:
Individual Soul Liberty and Responsibility.
I. The Doctrine and Its Implications.
A. Definition
1. Every individual has the liberty to choose what his conscience or soul dictates is right, and ...
2. Is responsible to God alone for his choice.
B. Individual Soul Responsibility:
1. Separates the individual from his family, friends, and government.
2. Rom. 14:4 "To his own Master he standeth or falleth.
3. 2Cor. 5:10 "So, then, every one of us must give account of himself to God."
C. It Means Freedom to Choose
1. Freedom to read the Bible; to interpret the Bible; freedom to approach God; to serve God.
2. Implications: Every person is responsible for himself.
a. We will disagree, we will denounce, we will persuade, but we will not persecute.
b. We will exhort, argue, lobby, but we will not coerce! c. We will witness, we will teach; we will not compel.
3. We would not baptize an unconscious infant-robbing it of its freedom to choose.
4. We would oppose any form of State Church.
5. We would oppose the intervention of a Priest or anyone else to represent us before God.
D. Our consciences must be free to answer to God.
II. Baptists and Religious Freedom.
A. Concept of Religious Freedom flows out of Soul Liberty.
B. This doctrine brought persecution to Baptists in the Middle Ages.
1. Persecuted by Rome from 313 A.D.
2. Reformation didn't help Baptists at all, because the reformers formed their own State Churches.
a. Lutherans: State Church of Germany
b. Episcopalians: State Church of England
c. Presbyterians: State Church of Scotland (1592)
C. Persecution in America 1. Baptists fled European persecution to come to America.
a. Congregationalists established a State Church in the state of Massachusetts.
1) Obadiah Holmes: Baptist (1651) Was whipped for holding a prayer meeting.
2) In Court he was told: "You have denied infants baptism ... you deserve to die."
3) He was beaten so "the blood ran down his body until it filled his shoes "; for two weeks, had to sleep
on his hands or elbows, and knees.
b. Maryland: Roman Catholic Colony.
c. Connecticut taxed Baptists and confiscated their lands to pay for Presbyterian Churches.
d. North and South Carolina, & Virginia: Church of England
2. Baptists scattered throughout the Colonies.
a. First Baptist Church, of Providence, established under Roger Williams, who had been banished from
Massachusetts.
b. Establishment of Rhode Island
1) John Clarke went to England to obtain a charter for a new colony.
2) It took 12 years.
3) Wrote charter for R.I. in (1663)
4) The words "religious liberty" were used for the first time in an official government constitution.
3. Virginia:Persecution of Baptists
a. John Ireland: Arrested with two other Baptist preachers; imprisoned in Culpepper, Va.
b. They attempted to blow him up with gunpowder; smother by burning sulfur under his cell; hired
a doctor to poison him, and built a wall to keep him from preaching through the bars of the cell.
c. John Waller, Lewis Craig, James Child: on June 4, 1768, were dragged before the Magistrate of
Spottsylvania County, Fredricksburg, and held for trial, accused of being 'disturbers of the peace.
1) Prosecutor: "These men are great disturbers of the peace; they cannot meet a man in the road but
they must ram a text of Scripture down his throat. 2) They were defended by Patrick Henry.
d. Laws against Baptists:
1) Only one preacher per county; and he could preach 1 time quarterly, in 1 place only.
2) Change in law: monthly but never at night.
3) Mission work and revivals were forbidden.
4. U.S. Constitution.
a. Patrick Henry suggested the idea of 4 state churches: Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Congregationalist,
and Baptist.
b. Thomas Jefferson attended a Baptist church as a young man and got ideas of democracy from it
c. Baptists had great influence through James Madison, graduate of Princeton, who prepared for the
Episcopal ministry.
1) He became a "friend of the Baptists", and in assisting in the writing of the Constitution
2) He was instrumental in the idea of Religious Freedom being included.
III. The Scriptures on Soul Liberty.
A. From Genesis - Revelation, God calls people to submit to Him. He gives them freedom to choose.
Once we make a choice, we bear personal responsibility for that choice.
1. He called Abraham...he could have refused.
2. Jonah preached to Nineveh: they could have refused.
3. When Israel demanded a king .... God warned them.
4. Jesus said, "Come unto me" (God calls, invites; appeals; but He allows us to choose.)
5. Luke 13:34 "How often would I .... but ye would not."
6. John 1:11-13 "He came unto His own and His own received Him not. But to as many...."
7. John 5:40 "Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life."
8. Acts 7:51 "Ye do always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did."
9. Rev. 3:20 Christ outside the door of the church; He knocks, but doesn't force Himself in.
B. This does not violate God's sovereignty.
1. God wants us to love Him-He commands it.
2. But, coerced love, or love without choice, is not love. Baptists have been around a long time. We
haven't always been as well accepted as we are now. Much of the problem has always been that we
believe in individual soul liberty and responsibility. We tend to go with what the Bible teaches rather
than go along with 'mainstream' Christianity.
You are responsible for your relationship with the Lord. Is it right?
The Biblical Distinctives of Baptists
Biblical Authority
The Bible is the final authority in all matters of belief and practice because the Bible is inspired by God and bears the absolute
authority of God Himself. Whatever the Bible affirms, Baptists accept as true. No human opinion or decree of any church group
can override the Bible. Even creedsand confessions of faith, which attempt to articulate the theology of Scripture, do not carry
Scripture's inherent authority.
"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."
1Thessalonians 2:13
Autonomy of the Local Church
The local church is an independent body accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ, the head of the church. All human authority for governing
the local church resides within the local church itself. Thus the church is autonomous, or self-governing. No religious hierarchy outside
the local church may dictate a church's beliefs or practices. Autonomy does not mean isolation. A Baptist church may fellowship with
other churches around mutual interests and in an associational tie, but a Baptist church cannot be a "member" of any other body.
"And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the
preeminence." Colossians 1:18
Priesthood of the Believers
Every born-again believer has direct access to the throne of God. Therefore, since every child of God shares in the priesthood of the believers, all have the same right as ordained ministers to communicate with God, interpret Scripture, and minister in Christ's name.
This is first and foremost a matter of responsibility and servanthood, not privilege and license.
"Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by JesusChrist." 1 Peter 2:5
Two Ordinances of the Church
We practice only believer's baptism by immersion, which is the only acceptable mode for baptism because it alone preserves the picture ofsaving truth. No other form pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (Romans 6:1-5). We believe that the Lord's Supper is asymbolic ordinance, picturing Christ's body broken for our sins and His blood shed for our redemption. It is not a saving ordinance, but helpsus remember His death, and inspires us while looking forward to His coming.It is to be observed by regenerate, obedient believers.
"For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed tookbread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me." 1 Corinthians 11:23-24
Individual Soul Liberty
Every individual Christian has the liberty to believe, right or wrong, as his/her own conscience dictates. While we seek to persuade
men to choose the right, a person must not be forced to into compliance, realizing that it is not always the larger group who holds the truthwhen, in fact, our heritageas Baptists has demonstrated the worth of every individual believer.
"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:12
Saved and Baptized Church Membership
Local church membership is restricted to individuals who give a believable testimony of personal faith in Christ and have publicly identified themselves with Him in believer's baptism. When the members of a local church are believers, a oneness in Christ exists, and the members can endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls."..."Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
Acts 2:41, Acts 2:47
Two Offices of the Church
The Bible mandates only two offices in the church--pastor and deacon. The three terms--"pastor," "elder," and "bishop," or "overseer"
all refer to the same office. The two offices of pastor and deacon exist within the local church, not as a hierarchy outside or over the
local church."This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work."..."For they that have used the office
of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus."
1Timothy 3:1-4, 1Timothy 3:5-8, 1Timothy 3:9-13
Separation of Church and State
God established both the church and the civil government, and He gave each its own distinct sphere of operation. The government's purposesare outlined in Romans 13:1-4 and the church's purposes in Matthew 28:19-20. Neither should control the other, nor should there be analliance between the two. Christians in a free society can properly influence government toward righteousness, which is not the same as adenomination or group of churches controlling the government.
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoevertherefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of
the same:" Romans 13:1-3
Soul Liberty Rom. 14:5-8 & Rom. 14:9-12 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, Why do you
judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'"So then, each of us will give an account ot himself to God." Words like "crusades" and "inquisition" make Christians blush with shame. They point out to us what some religious zealots have done to people throughout history. We who are Baptists, however, have tried to be consistent - from our very beginning - in standing firmly
for the rights of all individuals to seek and pursue their own faith, or for each to decide to be without faith if that is the choice. We have been the recipients of religious oppression ourselves - as when our Church doors were nailed shut by the Puritan Authorities in Boston in 1680. But we have never sought to use the power of the State to suppress others.
We, Baptists, take the scriptures and their symbols seriously. Both tell us that God has "...broken down the dividing wall of hostility... making peace by the blood of his cross" Eph. 3:14 & Col. 1:20 The cross for us has never been a weapon of coercion, (as it was in the crusades against the Muslims), nor an instrument of torture, (as in the heresy trials and inquisition.) The cross has always been the symbol that we are not only loved by God, but also sent out to love and respect others in God's name. This was the impetus that drove Roger Williams to
Rhode Island with the express purpose of founding a community in which every individual had the right to follow his or her own conscience wherever that might lead. This is why Baptist people have been involved as "friends of the court" in cases where the government has opposed the freedom of religious groups like the Mormons and others. This is the reason that whenever and wherever a person's right of individual conscience or choice is being violated, Baptists people ought to be there to uphold the freedom of the individual. Whenever there is an effort to use the power of the state to interfere with a person's right to worship (or to refuse to worship) Baptists will be there to defend the individual's right against the power of the State. There are some ideas with which we strongly disagree; there are some forms of
worship which we think are disgraceful; there are some religious beliefs that we hold to be an abomination. But history has shown that however incompatible our viewpoint is with another, we have always stood firm in our support of the other person's right to disagree,
without interference of law, power, or majority opinion. And we will continue to do so.
So, our emphasis on "soul liberty" implies the need for every individual to make his or her own decision on religious matters, symbolized in our expression of believer's baptism, which a believer chooses as a public symbol of personal commitment. Baptists have at the same time stood firm, suffered loss, and been punished for this emphasis on the rights of others to be what they choose to be, which includes the right to be different. Such a notion is especially true at Victory Bible Baptist Church, as Baptist History explains. We are proud of our past and the symbols that represent this heritage to us, to our children, and to our community. This gives even more purpose to our commitment as followers of Jesus Christ.
Defining Soul Liberty
Soul liberty is an unalienable right bestowed on us by our Creator God. Unalienable means that something cannot be taken away,
nor given away (as opposed to inalienable which means something can be given away voluntarily). God has given you a free-will
choice to either let him liberate your soul from this material world or to keep it in spiritual darkness. No government, man, or created being has the right or even the ability to prevent you from doing so. Your enemies may be able to kill you, maim you, or physically imprison you - but they can never touch your soul. As Jesus Christ said in, Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
To adequately understand soul liberty, we must first understand the meaning of the words soul and liberty. As Christians, we have one ultimate source of authority on Earth, the King James (1611) Bible, which can be used not only to find the meaning of life but can also be used to find the meaning of words. All other sources (dictionaries, commentaries, references, etc.) are secondary. The Bible uses the word soul 427 times and much can be gleaned about what it is from the context in which it is used:
Our souls are directly connected to the breath of life (this is the first usage of the word and appears to define its meaning). Genesis 2:7 Our souls define us. Genesis 12:13, Genesis 27:4, Exodus 12:15, Leviticus 5:1, 1 Samuel 20:4
Our souls can be lost. Matthew 16:26 & Mark 8:36-37. Our souls are separate from our physical minds. Matthew 22:37,Mark 12:30, Mark 12:33, Luke 10:27.
Our souls can be left in hell. Acts 2:27, Acts 2:31.
Our souls can fear, sorrow, and be troubled. Matthew 26:38, Mark 14:34, John 12:27.
Our souls are directly connected to the breath of life (this is the first usage of the word and appears to define its meaning). Genesis 2:7
Our souls define us. Genesis 12:13, Genesis 27:4, Exodus 12:15, Leviticus 5:1, 1 Samuel 20:4.
Our souls can be lost. Matthew 16:26, Mark 8:36-37.
Our souls are separate from our physical minds. Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Mark 12:33, Luke 10:27
Our souls can be left in hell. Acts 2:27, Acts 2:31.
Our souls can fear, sorrow, and be troubled. Matthew 26:38, Mark 14:34, John 12:27.
Our souls are directly connected to the breath of life (this is the first usage of the word and appears to define its meaning). Genesis 2:7
Our souls define us. Genesis 12:13, Genesis 27:4, Exodus 12:15, Leviticus 5:1, 1 Samuel 20:4.
Our souls can be lost. Matthew 16:26, Mark 8:36-37.
Our souls are separate from our physical minds. Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Mark 12:33, Luke 10:27.
Our souls can be left in hell. Acts 2:27, Acts 2:31.
Our souls can fear, sorrow, and be troubled. Matthew 26:38, Mark 14:34, John 12:27.
The 1828 Webster's Dictionary defines soul as follows:
SOUL, n.
1. The spiritual, rational and immortal substance in man, which distinguishes him from brutes; that part of man which enables him to think and reason, and which renders him a subject of moral government. The immortality of the soul is a fundamental article of the christian system. Such is the nature of the human soul that it must have a God, an object of supreme affection. As we can see from both the Bible and the dictionary; our souls are our immortal substance. They constitute not just our physical life, but our very being. They are a part of us that we cannot give away, sell off (not even to Satan), or destroy. When our physical bodies pass away, our souls will still exist (either in hell or in heaven). The Bible uses the word liberty 26 times and the first usage inLeviticus 25:10 defines it as the return of every man unto his family. This indicates that liberty frees us from bondage.
Liberty can free those in bondage or captivity. Leviticus 25:10, Isaiah 61:1, Jeremiah 34:8, Ezekiel 46:17.
- Liberty can be used against us. Jeremiah 34:17.
- Liberty can become a stumbling block. 1 Corinthians 8:9, 1 Corinthians 10:29.
Believers have Liberty. 1 Corinthians 8:9, 1 Corinthians 10:29, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 2:4, Galatians 5:13,
1 Peter 2:16.
4. Liberty seeks the precepts of God. Psalm 119:45
5. Liberty can be abused, violated: Jeremiah 34:16, Galatians 5:13, 1 Peter 2:16
There is a perfect law of liberty (God's law). James 1:25, James 2:12
The 1828 Webster's Dictionary defines liberty as follows:
LIB'ERTY, n. L. libertas, from liber, free.
1. Freedom from restraint, in a general sense, and applicable to the body, or to the will or mind. The body is at liberty, when not confined; the will or mind is at liberty, when not checked or controlled. A man enjoys liberty, when no physical force operates to restrain his actions or volitions.
6. Liberty, in metaphysics, as opposed to necessity, is the power of an agent to do or forbear any particular action, according to the determination or thought of the mind, by which either is preferred to the other.
Freedom of the will; exemption from compulsion or restraint in willing or volition.
Boththe Bible and the dictionary define liberty as freedom. For this study we are not concerned with natural, physical, political, or even religious liberty. We are concerned with soul liberty. The freedom of our thoughts, our immortal being, our soul. The Powers That Be (PTB), can place our bodies in bondage, but they cannot place our souls in bondage as we are the children of God,as seen in Romans 8:21: "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
Soul liberty is the very essence of your mental being. It is the freedom to believe, to think, and to be spirituallyfree. Soul liberty is what has fueled every great revival in history. Soul liberty is what keeps a man from sinking into despair when his place in life appears hopeless and futile. Soul Liberty is the greatest freedom that any man can hope to attain. The question you need to ask yourself is: Is my soul free? Do I have soul liberty?
If you can't answer the question directly, maybe the Bible can help us shed light on the answer:
Are you free in Jesus Christ or merely paying lip service? John 8:36 "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
Are you the Lord's freeman or Christ's servant? 1 Corinthians 7:22 "For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant."
Do you use your freedom to serve God or Satan? 1 Peter 2:16 "As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God."
Do you fear God or the Powers That Be (PTB)? Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
If you can't answer the question directly, maybe the Bible can help us shed light on the answer:
Are you free in Jesus Christ or merely paying lip service? John 8:36 "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
Are you the Lord's freeman or Christ's servant? 1 Corinthians 7:22 "For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant."
Do you use your freedom to serve God or Satan? 1 Peter 2:16 "As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God."
Do you fear God or the Powers That Be (PTB)? Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
Click Please read:
THE WALDENSES WERE
INDEPENDENT BAPTISTS
Our Baptist Liberties
7 Distinct Liberties
The "Word" is Freedom
Freedom-Responsibility
Religious Liberty
Soul Liberty
Priestly Liberty
Scriptural Liberty
Church Liberty
Freedom-Responsibility
Religious Liberty
Soul Liberty
Priestly Liberty
Scriptural Liberty
Church Liberty
Do You Know Who These Men Were? You Should.
These are links discussing famous Baptists preachers in American history. Read about our goodly heritage!
"Do you know who Dr. John Clarke, Obadiah Holmes, Shubal Stearns, John Gano, Isaac Backus, John Leland, & Isaac McCoy were? If not, I suggest you find out!"
- Dr. John Clarke--Founded the first Baptist church in America. Also, fought for Individual Soul Liberty with Roger Williams & Obadiah Holmes. Helped gain a charter from England establishing Rhode Island as the FIRST place in the world to have religious liberty. It became a haven for persecuted Bible-believing Christians and Jews.
- Obadiah Holmes--Beaten for his belief in Believer's Baptism by Protestants in America.
- Shubal Stearns--Started the Sandy Creek Baptist Church. The Sandy Creek Separate Baptist revival helped to plant thousands of churches across the Carolinas and Virginia.
- John Gano--First Chaplin of the United States Continental Army. George Washington's personal chaplain. Baptist preacher and hero of the American Revolution.
- Isaac Backus & John Leland--Fought for liberty in the United States. Leland met with James Madison arguing for our first amendment which granted religious liberty, freedom of speech, press, petition, & assembly. Shortly after this meeting, Madison presented the Bill of Rights in the Constitutional Congress. The rest is history!
- Isaac McCoy--Baptist Missionary to the Indians in the Mid-West. Lost much of his family for his calling.
Redwood Library and Athenæum
