ISBN 978-1-934741-05-4 The basic material in this leaflet originally appeared in a series of articles in theBaptist Standard in 2005. Wanting to share information about Baptist distinctives, Noble Hurley, shortly before his death in 2004, established the Jane and Noble Hurley Baptist Identity Fund to provide for publishing the series. He asked William M. Pinson, Jr. and Doris A. Tinker to prepare the articles. The financial assistance of The Prichard Family Foundation and Vester T. Hughes, Jr. enabled this series of nineteen leaflets to be produced based on the articles. Skyler G. Tinker designed and formatted the leaflets for publication. Each leaflet is for both individual and group study. The topics in this series: (1) Baptists: Who? Where? What? Why? (2) What Makes a Baptist a Baptist? (3) The Lordship of Christ; (4) The Bible as Authority for Faith and Practice; (5) Soul Competency; (6) Salvation Only by Grace Through Faith; (7) The Priesthood of All Believers; (8) Believer’s Baptism; (9) A Regenerate Church Membership; (10) Congregational Church Governance; (11) Church Autonomy; (12) Baptist Church Life: Organization, Worship, Officers, Ordinances; (13) Voluntary Cooperation; (14) Evangelism; (15) Missions; (16) Ministry; (17) Christian Education; (18) The Application of the Gospel; (19) Religious Freedom. © Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. believer priests (1 Peter 2: 4-5, 9). Believer priests are to exercise their soul competency by direct relationship with God; in prayer and worship, for example, they need no human mediator. They are also to exercise their soul competency by seeking and following God’s will in regard to matters such as their role in church governance, ministry, and actions to right the wrongs in society. Believer’s baptism, another major Baptist emphasis, assumes soul competency. Baptism is only for those who have freely responded by faith to God’s grace gift of salvation. Baptism should never be forced on a person. Such an action would violate that person’s God-given freedom of choice. Conclusion One of the reasons why both secular and religious despots have persecuted Baptists heavily through the centuries is that these persons despise freedom. Fearing freedom, they attempt to force everyone into their religious mold. In the face of such efforts, most Baptists have exercised their soul competency and responded positively to the apostle Paul’s admonition: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). Baptists will also do well to always emphasize that freedom carries responsibility. We are free in Christ to serve others in love: “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). For further information, see cbhh.dbu.edu ISBN 978-1-934741-03-0
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