|
WANTED! TRUE INDEPENDENT NEW TESTAMENT
BAPTISTS
By Bert Craft
http://www.baptistpillar.com/
Many years ago, Jesus said of the church in Sardis, "Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead" (Rev. 3:1).
Jesus looked at this assembly and saw something that man could not see. In man's eyes, this church had a good
reputation, yet under the divine scrutiny of Christ, we see that their reputation was without reality. The Word of
God proclaims that the last days will be characterized by those who have "a form of godliness, but deny the power
thereof" (2 Tim. 2:5); those who "profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him" (Tit. 1:16). Our world
today is filled with many professors, but only a few possessors. So it is true among those who call themselves
"Independent Baptists". There are many who possess the name, but there are only a few who possess the nature of a
true, scriptural Independent Baptist.
As we consider the topic, "Wanted: True Independent New Testament Baptists", let us be mindful that the opinion we
have of ourselves, or the reputation we have in the minds of others, does not determine what we are. In fact, I
know many who are wearing the name "Independent Baptists" who ought to be honest with themselves and others and
take the name off their signs and letterhead. They do not believe and practice what "Independent Baptists" have
stood for and practiced throughout history. Though there have been some irregularities amongst Baptists,
scripturally true, Independent Baptists believe that...
I. The Bible--Authorized Version (KJV 1611)--Is
Preserved, Sole Authority
Since Christ started His church in the first century, Baptists have never questioned the authenticity or authority
of the Word of God. The Baptists have never changed the Scriptures to conform to their beliefs.
Rather, they have submitted to the Scriptures and have organized and governed their churches under the authority of
the Word of God.
The first Baptist--John the Baptist-- came into the country around Jordan preaching the preserved Word of God. "As
it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet..." John believed that God had preserved the inspired
words of Isaiah the prophet given nearly 700 years earlier. Therefore, John preached with authority, power, and
confidence. Jesus, during His ministry, often quoted Moses who had penned divine revelation about 1500 years before
Christ.Obviously, Christ understood divine sovereignty in the preservation of the Word of God. If John the Baptist
and Jesus Christ did not question the veracity and authenticity of God's Word, why can we not believe God in our
day that He has sovereignly preserved His Word for us? The preserved Word of God in English is the King James Bible
(1611). The King James Version was translated from the Textus Receptus manuscripts. All of the other manuscripts
have been altered and perverted so that the translations which do not align with the Textus Receptus are in
actuality perversions of the Word of God.
| 
