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ARE WE BAPTIST OR JUST
BAPTISTIC?
by:
Pastor Charles L. Dear, Min. D.
It all began for me more than 20 years ago, visiting a pastor who had just begun his ministry in a nearby church;
"Well, I don't think we have to wear the big "B" on our backs to be Baptist in doctrine and practice." What a shame
to claim Baptist convictions but be unwilling to bear the name! The truth is that the church had a long history of
interdenominationalism. It was a worldly congregation at its best and badly compromised at its worst. They jumped
on every bandwagon that came down the road from Billy Graham crusades to Greg Laury and Jack Van Impe. If it was
sensational, they were in it; and when it fizzled, they would simply move on to the next wave of excitement. The
pastor could never use the term "Baptist" in that church without fear of losing his position. The people wouldn't
tolerate it, and he lacked the courage to fight for it.
Today it is not only the appeasement of worldly congregations but also pastors who seize the role of agents of
change in historically sound Baptist churches, and many of them are following the lead of John MacArthur and the
movement to reform Baptist doctrine and distinctives.
In a recent issue (Vol. 10, No. 1) of The Master's Current, the official publication of Master's College, claim is
laid to the heritage of Charles Spurgeon and the Los Angeles Baptist Theological Seminary right on the front page:
In our era of rapid change with few things being so sacred that they avoid having an update, The Master's College
and Seminary have followed the example of Spurgeon and stood with the prophets and Apostles who penned the
Scriptures. In seventy-seven years of teaching young people, this school still chooses to embrace the original
doctrines of the early church. We are delighted to announce that there has been no shift in doctrine at The
Master's College and Seminary (TMCS) since its founding in 1927 as the Los Angeles Baptist Theological
Seminary(LABTS).
While we agree with most points of the TMCS doctrinal statement - as far as it goes- it is remarkable how such a
claim can be substantiated, especially when we consider the matter of church polity. After all, MacArthur has
conducted Shepherd's Conferences for years with the objective of training pastors how to convert their churches,
particularly Baptist churches, from congregational polity to Elder Rule. He has done so without apology; because
his conviction, though missing from his parallel with the LABTS Doctrinal Statement, is that Elder Rule is the
correct interpretation of New Testament Church practice. How does he juggle these apparent difficulties? Read
on:
While TMCS is no longer denominationally Baptist, it remains "Baptistic" in its theological position to the extent
that the Baptist denomination continues to be faithful to biblical principles.
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