On Clarifying Bible Beliefs

By Dr. Bruce Prescott

Sometimes clarifications add more fog than light on the subjects they purport to clarify.  Such is the case with the clarifications offered by Garth Pybas in the December 20, 2001 issue of the Oklahoma Baptist Messenger.  (This story was also run by Baptist Press on January 8, 2002)  Pybas, 86, is the last living member of the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message committee.

Quotations by Pybas reveal that he refuses to believe that the 2000 BFM makes the Bible an object of worship by elevating it above Jesus.  He asks, “Are they insinuating that the 10 million Southern Baptists that existed (before 1963) worshiped the Bible instead of Christ?”

To answer the question bluntly, bro. Pybas, the answer is “No.”  Mainstream Baptists have never insinuated that any BFM before the year 2000 demoted Jesus and made the Bible an object or worship.

The evidence that Jesus is being demoted and the Bible made into an idol is in the changes to both the first and the last sentences of the article on the scriptures.

1925 BFM

The Scriptures

We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter; that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us; and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.

 

1963 BFM

The Scriptures

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God’s revelation of Himself to man.  It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction.  It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.  It reveals the principles by which God judges us; and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.  The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.

2000 BFM

The Scriptures

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.  All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

In 1925 the Bible is simply described as “a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction.”  There was no discussion of “God’s revelation” in that version of the BFM.

In 1963 a clause discussing “God’s revelation” was added.  In that version, the Bible is defined as “the record of God’s revelation of Himself to man.”  The words, “the record of” made it clear that the Bible is not to be regarded as the supreme revelation of God.  God’s supreme revelation is by incarnation — in the person of Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1-3).  The Bible is “the record of” the good news that God loved us enough to reveal Himself personally.

In 2000 the words “the record of” were removed from the first sentence of the article on scriptures.  Now the Bible alone is identified as “God’s revelation.”

The last sentence of the 2000 article on scripture makes it clear that the Bible has been elevated at Jesus expense.  Jesus is no longer regarded as God’s revelation, he has been demoted to merely “the focus of divine revelation.”

From beginning to end the 2000 article on scriptures makes it clear that the Bible, not Jesus, is being regarded as God’s supreme revelation.  What is being obscured is the good news that God loved us enough to reveal Himself to us personally in Jesus Christ.

Also in 1963, a “criterion” statement was added that made it clear that Christ is Lord over the process by which every believer interprets scripture.  That statement was also deleted.

In 2000 Jesus is no longer “the criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted.” The Lordship of Christ over the process by which believers interpret the Bible for themselves has been replaced by a process in which Baptists adhere to the interpretations provided for them by the 2000 BFM.  

In the final analysis, what the 2000 BFM replaces is the personal Spirit of Christ that God sends to every believer “to guide you into all the truth.” Jn. 16:13

 

 

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