Working out Salvation with Fear and Trembling

Individual Soul Liberty

One of the outstanding principles and doctrines of Baptists through the centuries has been what we call individual soul liberty. By this phrase is meant the right so far as any human intervention is concerned, of every soul to approach God and interpret God for himself. It does not mean that the soul is sovereign above all other souls. If an individual makes a mistake in the exercise of his soul’s sovereignty in his approach to or interpretation of God, then he must settle with God on that score; but no other human, or combination of humans, anywhere on the face of the earth can coerce him to approach any other way or to interpret God in any other fashion than he chooses for himself. Romans 14:5­–12 is the key passage which instructs us on our individual liberty to interpret the Word of God. Also, Joshua 24:15 teaches that we have the responsibility, right, and privilege to choose to follow God or not. Acts 17:11 teaches us about the example of the Bereans who constantly on their own searched the Scriptures to determine what was correct doctrine. 

Does believing in individual soul liberty mean that we can be opposed to the historic cardinal doctrines of the faith if we so choose to read it that way?  

Baptists have always been creedal people. We have been people that have come together around a common doctrinal commitment. These doctrinal statements have stood the test of time, like the First and Second London Baptist Confession, the Philadelphia Baptist Confession, and the New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith. These doctrinal statements were the central point of convergence for these churches. Their people served in churches that were committed to these teachings. Creeds are a very important part of the church of Jesus Christ. It helps to develop a systematic understanding of doctrinal teachings which we can rally around. Even our church, has a doctrinal statement which in itself is like a creed. 

We can have the freedom to interpret the Word for ourselves and yet still hold to a central confession of faith. The key here is, if one chooses based on their soul liberty to reject that confession, they have the freedom to do so and can choose to fellowship with a church that better reflects their doctrinal stands.

Two Ordinances (Believer’s Baptism by Immersion and the Lord’s Supper)

There are two ordinances (commands) in the Bible for the church today. The first is baptism; the second is the Lord’s Supper.

Baptism is a command that comes directly from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as revealed in Matthew 28:19-20. Clearly we know this is an ordinance or command of the local church because it was revealed to us to be by Jesus Himself.

Acts 2:41 shows us that baptism was to identify ourselves as followers of Christ and add us to the membership of the local church. The context of this passage is on the day of Pentecost following Peter’s sermon regarding the person and work of Jesus Christ and our responsibility to that knowledge. After he had preached this message there were a number (3000) people who responded in repentance to that message and were baptized in response. By basis of their baptism they were “added” which implies being added to the church. Most are agreed then that baptism is what places us into the “church.” There are disagreements over how that happens. Those who believe that baptism is for believer’s only say that you have to profess faith and your baptism places you in the universal church and then by result places you in membership in the local church. Those who baptize infants believe it places them in a covenant community and somehow those who cannot “respond” to the Word are now part of the Church. The problem with this is that the text says those who “received” the Word were baptized, not infants who cannot receive the Word at all.

Acts 8:12 also confirms that one must respond to the Gospel first. This is similar to the previous verse where it was those who believed in the teaching of the Word of God concerning Christ who were baptized. There is no mention of those who cannot respond in faith to God being baptized here.

Even in the problematic passages like Acts 16:31-34 baptism does not apply to infants. While it does say that the whole household was baptized it does not mean that infants were baptized. It clearly says his whole household was saved If one must consciously repent of their sins and turn to Christ to be saved, then these are obviously not infants here that were saved and baptized. These were individuals in his household that could understand and accept the Gospel and therefore be baptized.

Therefore, baptism is clearly only for those who have repented of their sins and turned to Christ. It is designed to place them in the body of Christ and be recognized as members of a local church. Now we need to understand in what mode baptism should be performed

Lots of churches practice baptism by sprinkling or pouring water. Why do we fully immerse people in Baptist churches? It is for two reasons. First, and this is totally un-debated by those who do not practice immersion is that the Greek word “baptidzo” which we translate as “baptize” means to immerse. Those who practice sprinkling or pouring recognize this but do not follow it anyway.

Second, baptism represents the death and resurrection of Jesus. Romans 6:4 reveals to us that baptism is a picture of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. If one is not actually immersed under the water the picture is missing. Sprinkling or pouring can never reflect being dead (under ground) and coming back to life (coming up from under the ground). Only baptism by immersion can reflect that picture.

Baptism is pure and simply an act of immersing someone into water. It is a picture of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It shows that we wish to be associated with Him and what happened to Him. It is only for believers; for those that profess faith in Jesus Christ and have repented of their sins and turned to follow Him. Its purpose is to demonstrate that we associate with Christ and what He did and His church. It places us into the body of Christ and makes us a member of a local church. It is a visible expression of our association with Christ and His church. It cannot be true baptism by sprinkling or pouring and it cannot be performed on infants.

The Lord’s Table, Supper, Communion, or the Eucharist makes up the second ordinance or command of the local church.

There are two main passages that teach the church about the Lord’s Supper.

Matthew 26:26–30 gives us the original institution of the Lord’s Supper by Jesus Himself. 1 Corinthians 11:23–34 gives us a re-iteration of that official institution as well as some added information regarding the purpose and attitude of the Lord’s Supper.

There are a number of things we can learn from these passages regarding the Lord’s Supper. First, again this is a commandment, instituted by Christ Himself, and reaffirmed by the apostle Paul. The church of Jesus Christ is required to participate in the Lord’s Supper.

Second, we read in the 1 Corinthians passage that we partake in remembrance of Him. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial. It is designed to focus our attention once again on what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us. There is nothing mystical about the Lord’s Supper. It does not impart grace. It is simply a fresh reminder for us of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Third, not only is it a reminder of His work of salvation in the past, it is a promise of hope that He will return again. We proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore, the Lord’s Supper is both a time of memorial, reflection, with a somber tone, it is also a time of celebration over the truth of Christ’s saving work on the cross and His promise to come again. We are to reflect on our own lives in relation to what Christ has done for us and rejoice in that He has provided us salvation.

Fourth, since it is an ordinance of the local church, we do not believe that the Lord’s Table should be performed outside of the regular meeting of God’s people in the local church.

Finally, the Lord’s Supper is taken by those who are baptized believers who are members of a local church of like faith and practice who are walking in the Lord. Since an un-baptized believer is an idea foreign to the New Testament, we require all those who participate in the Lord’s Supper to be a baptized member of a church that is like ours in doctrine and practice.

Priesthood of all Believers

Essentially it argues that the ministry of the local church belongs to the church as a whole. The conception of the priesthood of believers was formulated in the Reformation era, but it’s foundations are in the New Testament. While the idea is implicit elsewhere, one of the few places where it is explicated is 1 Peter 2:5, 9. It reads “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Peter’s intent is to declare that as God’s people, the church has a priestly ministry similar to that of Israel. The idea of the priesthood of believers, therefore, might be more clearly expressed as the mutual ministry of all believers.

Every man is a priest, and thus there is no special priestly class which has a monopoly on the means of grace. Nothing in the New Testament encourages the idea that a special clerical class was to be created which would be responsible for worship and witness, while the great majority of members would be spectators.

First of all, the limited idea that the church exists and serves only when people are gathered for some formalized church service needs to be dispelled. The church exists even when its members are dispersed in their homes and at their jobs and its ministry is carried on through all of the roles and relationships of individual Christians. Not everyone bears his witness or carries out his Christian vocation in exactly the same way, but everyone is called to serve Christ in all of his life. As John Calvin put the matter “God has appointed to all their particular duties in different spheres of life. And… he has styled such spheres of life vocations or callings. Every individual’s line of life, therefore is… a post assigned him by the Lord.” Looked at in this light, it is plain that members serve God in a wide range of ways; and all of these are part of the church’s ministry to the world in the name of God.

With the thought very clearly established in our minds that the ministry belongs to the entire congregation, we may proceed to discuss the need for leadership within the churches. It is important to guard against clericalism’s opposite extreme, which sees no need of leaders with professional training. We must remember that, although all members of the church are ministers, not all of them are pastors. The distinction is one of role or function. There are diverse kinds of ministry, and among them is a ministry of leadership in the church whereby the entire fellowships is trained for its responsibilities. According to Paul, Christ’s gifts to his church were “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Eph 4:12). Gifts of leadership are needed to help the whole church develop spiritual maturity so it is prepared to fulfill the calling it has received from God.

It should be self-evident that churches need leaders in order to be faithful to their calling. This necessity is implied in Paul’s enjoinder that things be done “in a fitting and orderly way” (1 Cor 14:40), and it is involved in the concept of the church as analogous to the human body. Declaring that Christians have diverse gifts, Paul compares them to different parts of the body. It would not be good, he says, if the body were all eyes or ears; but each gift within the church supplements the other gifts, as varied parts contribute to the total functioning of human life. His point is obvious; namely, that all who make up the church contribute to the fulfillment of its task, each one according to the gifts that God has granted him.

Therefore, while there are differences in roles within the body of Christ, each person is a priest before God serving in mutual ministry to the church.