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The defining characteristic of American culture as we stand at the threshold of the twenty first century is chaos. In society at large, there exists practically no agreement on the basic rules of moral, aesthetic, or civic conduct. We are witnessing a recurrence of the tragic situation described in Judges 21:25, 'Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.' The only standard upon which people seem to be able to agree is that every individual has the right to determine his own rules, and develop his own concepts of good and evil.
This phenomenon is a disaster for our society, for any society, and yet, the secular culture can not be blamed for the moral collapse of our nation. Man is a fallen creature, incapable of raising himself above the depravity of his nature. Moral leadership must come from God's people, that is from the Church. The Church is the agency which has forsaken its responsibility to be salt and light in a world of corruption and darkness.
The modern Church has lost its ability to lead precisely because she has adopted the world's assumption that each individual has the right to determine his own understanding of the faith once delivered to the saints, construct his own vision of a Church fellowship, develop his own definition of living a Christian life. The interpretation of Scripture is left to one's own personal preference. The criterion for theological truth is personal experience. The right of private judgment in matters religious reigns supreme.
A building which is slowly slipping from its foundation will inevitably fall. The Church has slipped from her foundation - the Bible. Our Church covenant, constitution, and abstract of faith and doctrine (which can be read by clicking on the links at the top of this page) are presented as an effort to shore up the foundations, to 'strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die.'
Baptists have never held any man made document above the authority of Holy Scripture. For Baptists, the Bible has always been the sole basis and the sole standard for Christian doctrine. It is because of the Baptists' confidence and acknowledgment of the absolute authority of the Bible, that we have developed explicit doctrinal statements. Our forefathers in the faith had no desire to conceal our beliefs (or lack thereof) behind the ambiguous statements that have become popular in our day - statements like We have no creed but the Bible.
Instead of vaguely rambling about matters of eternal weight, Baptists have sought to encourage sound doctrine through the foundational documents they published and embraced. Such is our covenant, constitution, and abstract of faith and doctrine. Their purpose is to acknowledge, teach, and preserve the divine truth revealed in God's Word.
Our Confession is the Abstract of Faith and Doctrine of 1859, the Southern Baptists' earliest confessional statement. It sets forth the things most surely believed by our Church regarding the nature of God, the authority of the Scriptures, the Person of Christ and the way of salvation.
Our Church Covenant is patterned after the covenants of Baptist Churches of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It sets forth the sacred obligations assumed by Church members toward one another.
Our Constitution is a statement of the Church's purpose and of the means God has appointed whereby its purpose may be accomplished.
Each of these documents take the Bible as their premise, a regenerate heart as their witness, and God's glory as their end. Together, they form the basis for our worship, fellowship, and duty.
A true revival of our Churches and a real reformation of our culture will not be built upon the shifting sands of moral relativism. They must be built upon the Rock. I urge you, brethren, not only to read these documents, but to study them, to understand them, to know them and apply them. Take them with you wherever the Lord may lead you, that you may always be able to give an answer for the hope that lies within you.
Rev. Greg Mills
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