Soul Competency and Other Baptist Beliefs Although soul competency might not betheBaptist distinctive, it is certainly foundational to other Baptist beliefs. “The Baptist distinctive” is thetotal of several precious beliefs and practices based solidly on the Bible. However, soul competency does relate to the other beliefs of Baptistsand indeed is foundational. For example, in regard to the authority of the Bible, Baptists insist that although Bible scholars, teachers, and pastors can provide helpful insights, the individual is competent and responsible to read, interpret, and apply the Scriptures for herself or himself under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Baptists believe that the Bible teaches that salvation from sin and death to forgiveness and eternal life comes only by a faith response to God’s grace gift of his Son. Baptists further insist that persons are competent to respond to God’s grace by faith and that such faith must be a free choice. Therefore, persons ought to be free from attempts by government or church officials to coerce faith or to hinder faith. Religious freedom, therefore, is closely related to soul competency. The devotion to the Bible’s teaching about soul competency is one of the reasons that Baptists have led in the struggle for religious freedom. For example, Thomas Helwys, a Baptist pastor in England in the early 1600s, objected to the efforts of King James to exercise authority over the religious beliefs and practices of his subjects. Helwys wrote a book advocating religious freedom and sent a copy to the king. In it he declared, “The king is a mortal man and not God and therefore has no power over the immortal souls of his subjects, to make laws and ordinances for them and to set spiritual lords over them.” Helwys acknowledged the king’s authority over temporal matters, but not spiritual. Even so, his words were considered seditious and the king cast the pastor into a horrible prison where he died. But the Baptist contention for religious freedom did not die. Baptists and others continued the struggle for religious liberty, not just for themselves but for all persons. They were willing to sacrifice in order that the exercise of soul competency would not be hindered by religious or governmental authorities. After centuries of sacrificial struggle, religious freedom finally became a reality in the United States of America. The priesthood of all believers is another doctrine closely related to soul competency. The Bible teaches that when persons exercise their soul competency to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior they become ary of the achings on mpetency rth these truths in ncy: od-given competency iswill. ign over all creation, has om. a gift from God and on. re free to make ot puppets. e or coerce compliance faith nor love can be ncy and freedom come ccountability. Choices . eedom, a person should embers of the faith resent and past. ponsible for choices. t be by the individual of which the individual eligious organizations sons to belong to any onfess any specific o any form of worship. erty of conscience and od’s will for his creation.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODc4ODgx