Authority of Scripture

-- By Les Dennis

Baptists have traditionally believed in the authority of Scripture. Because the Bible is God's Word, it is without error in the original manuscripts. God inspired the writing of Scripture so that the end result is the inerrant Word of God.

We believe the Bible is authoritative because God backs up what He says with His authority as Creator. His commands are not optional.

The Word of God is so important to Baptist churches that the preaching of God's Word is the main event of the service. The pulpit is in the centre of the platform to say in a symbolic way, "We believe that preaching the Word of God is important." God uses the preaching of His word to train the congregation in the principles of Christian living, as well as to reach unbelievers with the gospel.

Believing in the authority of Scripture starts with believing that Scripture is the inerrant Word of God. Recently, an area minister of a mainline denomination stated that the virgin birth of Christ was just a story that was not to be taken literally. If we believe in the authority of Scripture, we must start by actually believing that God means what He says. When God says that Jesus was virgin born, He means exactly that. When God says that Jesus is the Messiah, He means it. When He says that Jesus died to pay for our sins, He means it. At Bay Road Baptist Church we take the authority of the Bible seriously.

Because the authority of Scripture is a defining characteristic of evangelical churches, it is not something exclusively held by Baptists, but it the first of the Baptist distinctives because, without it, we would have nothing on which to stand. It is in Scripture that we learn of the other doctrines that make up all of our Baptists distinctives.