Expert: Rev. Robert Woods - 10/23/2003

Question
Dear Reverend Woods,

I now know that Baptists don't consider Catholics to be Christians.  Two questions I have for any Baptist are:  How many churches did Jesus Christ want to found?  To whom did Jesus Christ give the authority to establish a separate church?  Do Baptists believe that all statues are prohibited?  Do they object to statues in parks and museums?  Do they object to a necklace with a cross on it?  Do Baptists believe the Japanese are worshipping one another when they bow before one another?  I realize these questions must sound ridiculous, but I'm trying to make a point.  Why do Baptists believe that baptism must be by immersion?  Do they not accept that the apostles baptized infants?  Do they not accept that the Holy Spirit can work on anyone?  Why do Baptists believe that one is saved the moment one is baptized?  Isn't this what Satan wants?  Doesn't this doctrine absolve the individual of responsibility and completely abolish the need and importance of good works?  Do Baptists give little emphasis to the Book of James, a book which Martin Luther considered throwing out of the Bible?  Finally, if doing things the way Jesus did is so important (Jesus was baptized by immmersion) why do Baptist ministers wear suits instead of vestments?  Jesus Christ surely didn't wear a suit.  Is it because vestments are too Catholic and the Baptist church prefers to be as anti-Catholic as possible?  Is a church filled with such hatred towards the church Jesus Christ founded truly a good example of a Christian church?  Is the Baptist church not guilty of throwing the baby out with the bathwater?

Thank you.  

Answer
Blessings and thank you for asking more questions.  Let's break down your questions.

1.  How many churches did Jesus Christ want to found?  Easy, just one.  But, there still is only one body of Christ, the whole church meaning all those who are born again.  The early church of Jesus was found all over the known world.  It was not until several centuries after Jesus left the world that the church began to divide itself.  Its first division was over power.  Who got to control the church, the bishop of Rome (Catholic) or the bishop of Constantinople (Orthodox).  
2.   To whom did Jesus Christ give the authority to establish a separate church?   Again, there is only 1 church even though we meet in different buildings and worship differently. Jesus told the apostle Peter that he would be the foundation of the new church, but church histroy shows that it was not Peter who headed the new church but James.
3.  Do Baptists believe that all statues are prohibited? No, just those that are worshiped.
4. Do they object to statues in parks and museums? No.  Just those that are worshiped.
5. Do they object to a necklace with a cross on it? No, only crosses with Jesus still on them.
6.  Do Baptists believe the Japanese are worshipping one another when they bow before one another? No they are bowing in recognition and respect not worship.
7.  Why do Baptists believe that baptism must be by immersion?  First, the word Baptism (Baptizo in Greek) means to immerse or dunk under. Every instance in the New Testament of Baptism in the Bible allows for immersion. Immersion is also supported in the original Greek Texts by the prepositions out (ek), in (en), and into (eis) used each time in the Baptism descriptions.  The Greek language has a word for sprinkle (rontizo) which is NEVER used in the descriptions of Baptism in the New Testament.
8.  Do they not accept that the apostles baptized infants?  The Apostles did not baptize infants.  The Bible does not support such a statement.
9. Do they not accept that the Holy Spirit can work on anyone?  The Holy Spirit does work on everyone.  In fact, the Bible says that the Holy Spirit draws all men toward God.
10. Why do Baptists believe that one is saved the moment one is baptized? They don't.  They believe one is saved when one is born again.  Baptism is the symbol of dying of the sinful self and rising again (out of the water) into a lifestyle of Christ.  
11.  Isn't this what Satan wants? I am sure he does, but it isn't Baptists that bring forth this theory.  
12.  Doesn't this doctrine absolve the individual of responsibility and completely abolish the need and importance of good works? The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 2:8-9   "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast."  All the good works in the world won't get you to heaven, only being born again will.
13. Do Baptists give little emphasis to the Book of James, a book which Martin Luther considered throwing out of the Bible? I don't have a problem with James at all.  James says that good works should be a part of every christian life.  But works itself will not save you.  
14.  Finally, if doing things the way Jesus did is so important (Jesus was baptized by immmersion) why do Baptist ministers wear suits instead of vestments? Jesus nor the apostles wore vestments. In fact Jesus warned against this, "Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."
Actually, Baptists really don't wear vestments because we believe in the "priesthood of the believer."  (see the end of the questions for a understanding of the priesthood of the believer)
15. Is a church filled with such hatred towards the church Jesus Christ founded truly a good example of a Christian church? Actually, I don't have any hatred toward anyone.  Look at the opposite end of the coin.  The Catholic Church did not believe that anyone outside the Catholic church was going to heaven until Vatican Counsel 2.  Then, only reluctantly, did the Catholic Church admit that others would be in heaven as well.
16. Is the Baptist church not guilty of throwing the baby out with the bathwater? I would say no.  We cherish the rich history that the whole church had.  It was a shame that sin and corruption entered the Catholic Church.  This sin caused the Reformation to begin with.  Remember, Luther did not want to start a new church.  He only wanted to bring to light the sin, corruption, and the misguidedness of the Catholic Church.  Rather than dealing with the issues, the pope threw him out of the church.  It was the Catholic Church that caused this division in the first place.  
Personally, over 70% of my church are former Catholics.  They read the bible for themselves.  They have seen miracles, healings, signs, and wonders within our church (when was the last time a healing took place in your church????).  We have have what the early church had: apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, elders, and deacons.  Church is not a place where you come say a few prayers and listen to a preacher.  Church is a place where Jesus is real.  The Holy Spirit is full of power and people's lives are changed.


I hope this answers your questions.


The concept of the priesthood of all believers is a foundational principle of Baptist faith and practice. This conviction informs Baptist ideals regarding salvation, soul competency. and Christian responsibility. For Baptists, the priesthood of all believers involves two powerful truths. First, the doctrine means that all persons have direct access to God through faith in Jesus Christ without the need for any other human mediator. Second, it means that all Christians are called to be priests, ministering to one another and sharing the love of God in the world.

The Biblical Foundation

The priesthood of all believers clearly exists in the teachings of Holy Scripture. The covenant which God made with Israel at Sinai involved a promise that the people of God would be "a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation" (Ex. 19:6). While there was a specific priestly class in Israel, the whole nation also possessed a priestly calling. Through the life and witness of Abraham's descendants. all nations of the world would be blessed (Gen. 28:13?14; Heb. 11:8?12). The children of Israel were not simply chosen by God as an elect nation; they were a reflection of God's love and care for the whole world.

The New Testament writers extended this promise to God's new' Israel, the church of Jesus Christ. The early Christians declared that Christ Himself was the great High Priest and Mediator between God and all human beings. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Christ had secured salvation for all who would believe. The writer of Hebrews insisted, ''For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens" (Heb. 7:26, RSV). Salvation and new life were offered to all who came to Christ by grace through faith (Eph. 2: 5?10).

Those who follow Christ, therefore, have become part of a new people. the church. They are, in the words of Scripture. 'a chosen race, a royal priesthood. a holy nation, God's own people'' (I Pet. 2:9, RSV). As disciples of Christ and members of His body, all Christians are priests who sacrifice themselves in God's service. Just as the old priesthood in Israel offered sacrifices in behalf of the people. so the new priesthood (Christians) present themselves as living sacrifices, carrying out the work of God in sincere worship and loving service (Rom. 12:1?2).

As priests, Christians may ''come boldly unto the throne of grace . . . Itol obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16). Thus, as Christians pray and worship, witness and serve, they carry out their priestly calling. The church itself is a community of priests who demonstrate the life and spirit of Christ (I Pet. 2:5).

The Reformation and the Priesthood

From a historical perspective, the priesthood of all believers did not originate with the people called Baptists. Indeed, Baptists are but one of many Christian groups which emphasize the concept. The priesthood of all believers was a hallmark of the Protestant Reformation which swept across Europe during the sixteenth century. It was a powerful reaction to the doctrines of medieval Catholicism which drew a sharp distinction between clergy and laity in the church. This distinction had not existed in the earliest Christian communities.

In Catholic teaching, the priesthood was limited to a particular group of people, the clergy. By virtue of ordination, the clergy received apostolic authority to govern the church and administer God's grace through the sacraments. The grace of God was thus mediated to sinful men and women through those who possessed the priestly office. The clergy, therefore, stood between God and humanity. They dominated the church and controlled the means for experiencing God's grace. While many were sincere in their pastoral efforts, others used their clerical office to secure economic, churchly, or political power.

The great Protestant reformer, Martin Luther (1483?1546). challenged Catholic teaching on the priesthood of the clergy in favor of a universal priesthood of all Christian believers. Luther did not seek to abolish the office of minister; neither did he deny that the clergy had a necessary function in the church. They were called to care for souls and proclaim the Word of God. At the same time, he insisted that salvation was not dependent on the authority of the clergy. All sinners could cast them

selves before Christ without the mediation of any priest or minister. By faith alone, all who believed could receive God's forgiveness and reconciliation.

Luther wrote that "we are also priests forever which is far more excellent than being kings, for as priests we are worthy to appear before God to pray for others and to teach one another divine things .... Thus Christ has made it possible for us provided we believe in him. to be not only his brethren, co?heirs, and fellow?kings, but also his fellow priests. ~

Luther distinguished between the calling of all Christians and the office of the minister. All Christians received the same priestly calling which they might express through different vocations, some as clergy, others as laity. No vocation was more Christian than any other. The Christian cobbler, tailor, or homemaker held a calling equal to that of any ordained person.

Among the early Protestants of the 1 500's, perhaps the Anabaptists most fully carried out the biblical intent of the priesthood of all believers. This biblically?based Reformation principle, so influential on Baptists, means that all Christians belong to the priesthood. They are priests in their freedom to come directly to God through no other mediator than lesus Christ. They are also priests to one another, called of God to fulfill priestly ministry amid the brokenness of the world.

Baptists and the Priesthood

The Reformation view of the priesthood of all believers has permeated Baptist doctrine and practice since the founding of the earliest Baptist congregation at Amsterdam in 1609. Although presented in various words and ways, the spirit of this doctrine has expressed itself in numerous Baptist beliefs and actions.

Christ. the High Priest.—First, Baptists have insisted that Christ Himself is the great High Priest through whom alone all believers have direct access to God and can intercede for others in prayer. John Smyth, the founder of that first Baptist church, wrote in his "Short Confession of Faith" (1609) that Christ is the "only King. Priest, and Prophet of the church, (to whom), all power both in heaven and earth is given:'2
Most Baptist confessions of faith contain statements on the high priestly office of Christ. For Baptists, the priesthood of all believers is built upon the mediation of Jesus Christ alone.

Salvation by Faith.—Second, the priesthood of all believers has been a major factor in the Baptist understanding of salvation by faith. In rejecting infant baptism and choosing the baptism of adult believers, early Baptists asserted the freedom and responsibility of all persons to decide for themselves in matters of faith.

Seventeenth?century General (Arminian) Baptists stressed the role of free will and human participation in the salvation process. Their contemporaries, the Particular (Calvinistic) Baptists, placed greater emphasis on the activity of a sovereign God in redeeming those sinners elected to salvation before the foundation of the world. For these Calvinists, free will was effective only after grace was given by God. Both groups agreed that neither state nor church, clergy nor magistrate, could compel persons to believe.

Soul Competency.—Since the 1600's, Baptists have closely related the priesthood of all believers to soul competency, a concept carefully interwoven with the Baptist stress on religious freedom. The Second London Confession of 1677, one of the most important of all Baptist confessions, especially since it was adopted by the Philadelphia Baptist Association in 1742, contained a lengthy article entitled ''Of Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience:' Soul competency means that Baptists are willing to trust the competency of the individual soul in matters of religion. Each individual is competent to relate directly to God for salvation. Each individual is competent to interpret Scripture according to the dictates of conscience and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Each individual is free to live out Christian faith without coercion or interference from the state.

The twin doctrines of soul competency and the priesthood of believers convinced Baptists that all church members could be trusted. Each local congregation of believers could, under God, carry out the gospel in accordance with Scripture and the dictates of conscience.

Soul competency also involves soul responsibility. If individuals can be trusted in matters of religion, they must also accept responsibility for their decisions before God and the church. The affirmation that all believers are priests does not mean that all are free to believe anything they choose or live any way they wish. Radical freedom demands radical responsibility. Those who claim direct ac cess to God must also live with the possibility of wrong choices and actions which are not consistent with the divine will. Priestly believers must also be humble believers.

The doctrines of the priesthood of believers and soul competency mean that Baptists are also a dissenting people. Individually and collectively, they often "go it alone" according to the dictates of conscience. Because of their commitment to radical freedom, they are often uncomfortable with establishments—governmental or churchly—which may require conformity or impose coercion.

Priests to One Another.—Fourth, the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers has meant that all God's people are priests, ministering to one another in Christ's name. While early Baptists set aside (ordained) specific persons for specific ministerial functions in the church, they also understood that all believers were called to Christian ministry Conversion to Christ, not ordination, made all persons ministers. The earliest Baptist witness came from "tailors, leather sellers, soap boilers, brewers, weavers, and tinkers:' As one scholar has observed, ''it was vastly to the credit of these primitive Baptists that they rediscovered how to bring the gifts of laymen and unschooled members into play for spiritual ends. ~

Early Baptists dramatized the priesthood of believers through two important symbols, baptism and the laying on of hands. Baptism was the great equalizer. It was that common evangelical event given to all who believed. Baptism united all persons to Christ and His church. Every individual who was united to Christ was baptized into the priesthood. Many Baptist groups further symbolized the priestly calling of all believers by administering the laying on of hands to the newly baptized. Citing Hebrews 6:1?2, they viewed the act as a symbol of the Holy Spirit in the life of the new Christian and a public demonstration that all Christians are called to minister for Christ. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, most General Baptist congregations and some Particular Baptist churches observed the practice.

During the nineteenth century, Baptist churches on the American frontier were often led by ''farmer?preachers," laypersons who worked in the community during the week and on Sunday exercised pastoral gifts within the local congregations. Although not commonly practiced, any member of a Baptist church could preach, preside at services, and administer baptism or the Lord's Supper with the consent of the congregation. The Baptist ideal has always reflected a strong role for laypeople.

Church services conveyed the common priestly calling of all believers. "Prayer meetings'' allowed all Christians to intercede in behalf of others. "Testimony meetings' offered occasions in which every person might declare the word and works of God for all to hear. The ''right hand of fellowship" was extended to all persons who sought membership in the church. The "washing of the feet," practiced among many Baptist groups. symbolized servant hood and Christian love. The Baptist theology of the laity is firmly grounded in the priesthood of all believers.

Priests Together.—Fifth, Baptists have not viewed the priesthood of all believers as merely an individual matter. To be a priest of Christ is to belong to that community of priests, the church. The nurturing community of the church is often a valuable corrective to the dangers of religious extremism and excessive individualism. To be a priest involves ministry in behalf of others. Thus Baptists are "priests to each other:' As people of God they share a common calling to "bear one another's burdens arid so fulfil the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2).

In common spiritual experience, common priestly calling, and Christian responsibility, nineteenth?century Baptists cultivated something of a ''people's church," which stressed the call to ministry as given to all Christians. Final authority for church government came from Christ through the congregation. Nineteenth?century "church manuals" indicate that Baptists placed the government of the church in the hands of the people, in accordance with the will of God. All members of a Baptist church stood equal before God and one another.

This is not to suggest that early Baptists refused to distinguish between clergy and laity. At their best, Baptists sought to maintain a healthy tension between the universal priesthood of all believers and the "peculiar" calling of ordained ministers.

The doctrine of the priesthood of believers also involves a healthy tension between freedom and responsibility. R is not an occasion for arrogance but a call to humility. Like the salvation which accompanies it, the priesthood of believers is "not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any . . . should boast" (Eph. 2:8?9).