Most Baptists rejoice in the historic agreement reached by Roman Catholics, Lutherans and Methodists regarding how human beings are made right with God through the life-giving death of Jesus Christ (see story at www.thealabamabaptist.org).
The joint statement declares, “Together we confess: By grace alone, in faith in Christ’s saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works.”
While the statement does not say everything there is to be said about salvation, it does affirm the core belief that salvation is by God’s grace. That is exactly what Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.”
The joint statement goes further. It contends that those who have had their hearts renewed by the grace of God also are equipped and called to do good works.
That position reflects the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:50, “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” In John 15:14, Jesus declared, “You are my friends if you do what I command.”
The teaching of the early church is reflected in the words of James 2:26, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
Good works never save. That is clear. But good works are always characteristic of the saved.
The Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) of the Southern Baptist Convention makes this point in Article IV titled Salvation. It says, “Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. …”
Describing sanctification, the BF&M says, “[It] is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. …”
Southern Baptists believe in the relationship between salvation and good works. But that relationship is a vexing problem for us as illustrated by our membership figures. Those figures raise the question of the relationship between what we believe about salvation and what we practice in evangelism.
Figures released in April 2009 indicate a total Southern Baptist membership of 16,228,438. Of that number, the average worship attendance is roughly 6.1 million, or 38 percent of total membership. Sunday School enrollment is a little higher — 7.8 million, or 48 percent of total members.
Where are the rest of the 16 million members?
About one-third are considered nonresident. In 2007, slightly more than 5 million of the 16 million members were nonresident. That is almost as many as those who regularly attend church.
That leaves a little more than 11 million who are resident members, but some of those are inactive. No reliable figures exist to determine the number falling into this category, but based on average attendance, it seems a goodly number of the 11 million are inactive.
To be sure, doing good works is more than participating in corporate worship, but there is no denying that the Bible teaches that Christians “should not forsake the assembling of themselves together.”
If one does not even participate in worship, then can one be expected to do the good works for which he or she is equipped and called by God’s Holy Spirit at salvation?
The issue of salvation and good works is further called into question by a variety of polling data. Studies by Gallup, Barna, Harris and Pew have all reached the same conclusion. There is little difference between the moral and ethical conduct of Christians and non-Christians.
David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group, said, “The research shows that people’s moral profile is more likely to resemble that of their peer group than it is to take shape around the tenets of a person’s faith. This research paints a compelling picture that moral values are shifting very quickly and significantly within the Christian community as well as outside of it.”
If actions of Christians are not guided by the teachings of the Bible, if values are determined by the practices of peers more than by one’s Christian faith, then again the question must be asked about the relationship between what we believe about salvation and what we practice in evangelism.
The issue is vital, for it is the difference between heaven and hell. There is no more important issue in life than one’s relationship to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Is it possible that the urgency of that question causes some Baptists to occasionally shorten the demands of Jesus for salvation?
Personal experience verifies that some Baptists have succumbed to the temptation to equate a personal relationship with God to saying the right words or believing the right things. When this happens, there is a disconnect between what we believe about salvation and what we practice in evangelism.
The Great Commission teaches a different approach. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said, “Go and make disciples.” Disciples are people who have been born again by God’s grace, who have peace with God because of His forgiveness based on the righteousness of Jesus, who are being sanctified every day by the power of the Holy Spirit. Baptists usually call this “growing in grace.”
Alongside the command to baptize is Jesus’ command to teach them “to obey everything I have commanded you.” Both are equally important. Unfortunately Baptists often place more importance on the command to baptize than on the command to teach. We work hard to make sure one who makes a decision follows it up in baptism. Few make an equal effort to make sure that one is enlisted in a regular program of Bible study and training.
Perhaps it is time to look again at our evangelism strategies. Does our practice indicate we seek decisions or disciples? Asked another way, does our practice match what we believe?
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