The defining characteristic of American culture as we stand in the twenty-first century is chaos. In society at large, there exist practically no agreement on the basic rules of moral, artistic, or civil conduct. We are witnessing a recurrence of the tragic situation described in Judges 21:25, “In those days there was no king in Israel: 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 cannot 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 ultimate 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.
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 acknowledgement 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, Baptist have sought to encourage sound doctrine through the foundational documents they published and embraced.
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.
