Voices: Texas Baptists are biblically faithful, Part 2

Our approach to reading and studying the Bible needs to be one of reverence and humility.

Our reading and study of the Bible cannot be merely technical or mechanical. It is a spiritual exercise where we open our minds and hearts to God’s voice (Hebrews 4:12). We must ask the Holy Spirit to give us spiritual understanding (John 16:13-15; 1 Corinthians 2:14).

Jesus rebuked Bible scholars for knowing the letter of the law but ignoring the Spirit of God (Matthew 22:29). The apostle Paul stated the letter of the law kills, but the Spirit of the new covenant gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6).

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day believed the Scriptures, knew the Scriptures, and argued about the Scriptures, but they missed the Word made flesh. We should avoid treating the Bible with a legalistic or philosophical approach void of the work of the Holy Spirit.

Humility

Coming to the Bible with humility means we recognize God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). God, in his providence, has revealed himself through the Scriptures and through his Son. Yet, there are still things we do not fully understand on this side of eternity.

Humility in biblical understanding implies acknowledging sometimes we might get it wrong. The Bible is perfect, but our interpretation of it is not always perfect. The Jewish Bible scholars of Jesus’ day often got it wrong. Their problem was not a low view of the Scriptures but a high view of their interpretation.

Martin Luther, the star magisterial Reformer, was wrong in his anti-Judaism. And so were many of the German Protestants who pushed Luther’s ideas in horrible ways in the 20th century.

Southern Baptists were wrong on slavery, even when they sought to justify it with the Scriptures. Many Baptist churches in Texas were on the wrong side of segregation during the Civil Rights Movement. The Scriptures are not wrong on this. Baptists’ interpretations of the Bible were wrong.

Primary, secondary, tertiary doctrines

There are some doctrines on which the Bible is abundantly clear. We often refer to these as primary doctrines. They are the orthodox theological beliefs that connect us with other true Christians.

Primary doctrines include the doctrine of the Trinity, the deity and lordship of Christ, the redemptive work of Christ on the cross, and his resurrection and his return in the flesh, for example.

Secondary doctrines consist of those distinctives we hold dear as Baptists. They include the priesthood of all believers, the autonomy of the church, believer’s baptism, and religious liberty, among others. These distinctives together connect us with the Baptist tradition and heritage.

We might disagree with other Christians about some of these secondary doctrines, but we would not necessarily question their salvation because of a different view.

Tertiary doctrines are those on which each local church may differ while still cooperating with other churches.

These may include the way in which communion is observed, the place and frequency of baptism, who administers the ordinances, the role of deacons and the process of selecting them, the view of the nature of grace and free will for salvation, the particular view of eschatology, and the ordination and the call and function of their ministers.

Churches may disagree with one another in regard to these. However, disagreement on these does not equal lack of biblical faithfulness.

There is freedom in tertiary matters while still cooperating together for the sake of the gospel. Being biblically faithful does not mean we must agree on every tertiary matter.

What ‘biblically faithful’ means

Being biblically faithful means each Baptist, each local church, and each group of churches that chooses to cooperate together has a confession of faith based on their best understanding of Scripture.

Humility in our approach to the Bible means, while there are highly important matters on which the Bible is abundantly clear, there are some other doctrines that leave room for different interpretations.

This does not mean all interpretations are valid. It simply means, while we apply our best diligence to the study of Scriptures, we cannot establish dogma on these less clear matters.

Being biblically faithful means we believe in the sacredness of the Scriptures, we allow them to lead us to Christ, and we rely on the Holy Spirit to give us understanding.

This weekend, we celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States. Our forefathers fought for freedom from the British crown. Our Baptist forerunners sought religious liberty as the new republic was established. We are thankful for the freedom we enjoy today that allows us to voluntarily read, study, interpret, teach, and proclaim the Bible’s message.

I thank God for the biblical faithfulness of Texas Baptists. We stand on solid ground. I thank God for the freedom we have in Christ. As we celebrate this country’s birthday, let us be thankful. And let us continue to work for freedom and religious liberty for all.

Julio Guarneri is the executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. This opinion article is adapted from his July 1 weekly update.