Final version of the report
presented and approved at SBC, June 9, 1998
Report of the
Baptist Faith and Message
Study Committee
to theSouthern Baptist Convention
June 9, 1998
During the 1997 Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas a motion was made as follows: "That the President of the Southern Baptist Convention appoint a committee to review the Baptist Faith and Message of May 9, 1963, for the primary purpose of adding an Article on The Family, and to bring the amendment to the next convention for approval." In response, Convention President Thomas D. Elliff appointed The Baptist Faith And Message Study Committee, which presents the following report.IntroductionThe committee was keenly aware that this task is a sacred trust. The Baptist Faith and Message has not been amended since 1963 when the inimitable Dr. Herschel H. Hobbs led the effort to develop a statement of faith for Southern Baptists. It has stood the test of time as a clear declaration of Southern Baptist faith. The assignment to produce a concise, clear statement that expresses the generally held beliefs of Southern Baptists concerning family was a daunting one. Therefore, the committee approached its responsibility with prayer, reverence, and diligence. The statement on family is thoroughly biblical. Every line is deeply rooted in the clear teaching of Scripture. Its language is theological and thus in keeping with the language of the original document. The committee sought to use words and phrases that would carry the same timelessness as the Hobbs statement. The proposed article is stated in the positive. The intent is to declare what is believed rather than to describe what is disbelieved. Again, the original statement of faith follows this pattern. The committee felt a commentary on the Article would be helpful. This commentary expands and provides a strong foundation for the proposed Article. While the family statement stands firmly on its own, the commentary enhances understanding. The commentary will be a useful tool for those who seek to comprehend Southern Baptist beliefs regarding family.
Proposal
God has ordained the family as the
foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one
another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It
is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church, and to
provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship,
the channel for sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for
procreation of the human race.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s
image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to
love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide
for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the
servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of
Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the
God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the
household and nurturing the next generation.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.
Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are
to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent
lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children
are to honor and obey their parents.
Gen. 1:26-28; 2:18-25; 3:1-20; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Josh. 24:15; 1 Sam. 1:26-28;
Ps.51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Prov. 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1;
17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Eccl. 4:9-12; 9:9; Mal. 2:14-16;
Matt. 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33;
6:1-4; Col. 3:18-21; 1 Tim. 5:8,14; 2 Tim. 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Heb. 13:4; 1 Pet. 3:1-7.
Commentary
The family was defined by God as the foundational institution of human society. From the
beginning, God has used the family as the primary classroom and as the foremost object
lesson for teaching His people about Himself and for challenging them to the holy
lifestyle He demands. Before there were civil governments or assemblies of worship, God
established the home by creating the man and the woman and bringing them together in the
Garden of Eden to engage in spiritual ministry through companionship, dominion,
procreation, and worship. Marriage
God's purpose for marriage was introduced in creation (Gen. 2:24) and then reaffirmed in
the Gospels (Matt. 19:5) and the Pauline epistles (Eph. 5:31). This biblical principle for
marriage transcends time and culture. Marriage, according to Scripture, is a covenant
commitment to the exclusive, permanent, monogamous union of one man and one woman, and
thus it cannot be defined as a flexible contract between consenting human beings. Rather,
the strong and enduring bond of marriage, pledged in the presence of God Himself, is
enriched by the couple's unconditional love for and acceptance of one another. Believers
must resist any claims of legitimacy for sexual relationships that biblically have been
declared illicit or perverse lest they fall prey to an accommodation to the spirit of the
age. Deviation from God's plan for marriage mars the image of God (Gen. 1:27) and distorts
the oneness God intended in the sexual union between one woman and one man. The perversion
of homosexuality defies even childbirth, since it negates natural conception (Rom.
1:18-32).In marriage, two people physically become one flesh (Gen. 2:24); two families are
socially grafted together; and the husband and wife portray spiritually the relationship
between Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:23-27). The union is designed to provide a lifetime
of spiritual and emotional support (Deut. 24:5), to offer a channel for the mutual
satisfaction of sexual desires, and to present the best setting for conceiving and
nurturing the next generation. The complementary relationship between husband and wife is
presented as part of the pre-Fall perfect setting (Gen. 2:8-25) and then carefully defined
within the canon of Scripture for succeeding generations (Eph. 5:21-33; Col. 3:18; 1 Pet.
3:1-7). Marriage, according to God's plan, is a lifelong commitment. The breaking of its
bonds brings hurt to all those involved, and thus every effort ought to be made for
marital reconciliation and restoration (Mal. 2:16). Jesus clearly did not advocate divorce
but called attention to His design for marriage presented "in the beginning" at
creation (Gen. 2:24), while noting that the "hardness" of the human heart could
on occasion circumvent that plan (Matt. 5:31-32; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Luke 16:18; Rom.
7:1-3; 1 Cor. 7:1-16).The Fall introduced distortions into the relationships between men
and women just as it brought chaos and tragedy throughout the world. The husband's loving,
humble headship has often been replaced with domination or passivity. The wife's voluntary
and willing submission has often been exchanged for usurpation or servility. Redemption in
Christ would call for husbands to forsake harsh or selfish leadership and to extend loving
care to their wives (1 Pet. 3:7) and for wives to forsake resistance to the authority of
their respective husbands and to practice willing, joyful submission to that leadership (1
Pet. 3:1-2). Husbands
God commands husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25). This
love is protective, nurturing, serving, and edifying. It is not replaced with, but
accompanied by, headship. This headship calls the husband to a loving leadership in which
he cares responsibly for his wife's spiritual, emotional, and physical needs. As defined
in Scripture, the husband's headship was established by God before the Fall and was not
the result of sin (Gen. 2:15-17; see also Num. 1:2-3, 17-19). It is a responsibility to be
assumed with humility and a servant's heart rather than a right to be demanded with pride
and oppressive tyranny. The wife is to respond to her husband's loving headship with honor
and respect (Eph. 5:21-22, 33; 1 Pet. 3:1-4).Servanthood does not nullify leadership but
rather defines and refines its outworking. The balance between servanthood and leadership
is beautifully portrayed in Jesus Himself (Luke 22:26; Heb. 13:17), who models servant
leadership for the husband and selfless submission for the wife (Eph. 5:23-27; Phil.
2:5-8). Not only did Jesus model the Creator's plan for different roles, but He also
affirmed the equality in Christ of the husband and the wife (Gal. 3:28; 1 Pet. 3:7). As
the wife submits herself to her husband's leadership, the husband humbles himself to meet
his wife's needs for love and nurture (Eph. 5:25-29; 1 Pet. 3:7). Wives
Wives, on the other hand, were created to be "helpers" to their husbands (Gen.
2:18). A wife's submission to her husband does not decrease her worth but rather enhances
her value to her husband and to the Lord (1 Pet. 3:4). This humble and voluntary yielding
of a wife to her husband's leadership becomes a resource for evangelism (1 Pet. 3:1-2), an
opportunity for glorifying God (1 Pet. 3:4-6), a channel for spiritual growth as
ultimately the wife trusts herself to the Lord, and a means for bringing honor to His Word
(Titus 2:3-5).The term "helper," which is also used by God to identify Himself
(Ex. 18:4; Deut. 33:7), describes the woman God created to become a partner with the man
in the overwhelming task of exercising dominion over the world and extending the
generations (Gen. 1:28; 2:18). There is no hint of inferiority in the term, which
describes function, rather than worth. As the man's "helper," the woman
complements him through her own unique function in the economy of God; as one
"comparable to him," she, too, is created "in the image of God" (Gen.
2:18). Both bear God's image fully, but each expresses that image in God-ordained ways
through manhood or womanhood. Thus, distinctions in masculine and feminine roles are
ordained by God as part of the created order (Gen. 1:27). Their differing roles in
relating to one another provide a picture of the nature of God and the way He relates to
His people. As the realities of headship and submission are enacted within loving, equal,
and complementary male-female roles, the image of God is properly reflected.Parents and
Children
The family is the natural setting for molding and nurturing a child in the ways of the
Lord (Prov. 22:6). Parents are admonished to take seriously their responsibility for the
spiritual formation of their children by introducing them to God (salvation) and teaching
them His Word (discipleship). Fathers and mothers are responsible (1) to model biblical
manhood and womanhood through incarnational living, in which their children are able to
observe the sanctification process in the lifestyle of their parents (Deut. 6:4-9, 20-25;
Josh. 4:6-7); (2) to teach their children moral values from the Scripture; and (3) to lead
them to love and serve the Lord through consistent discipline (Ps. 78:4-8). The boundaries
of a young child are established by his parents (Prov. 3:12; 13:24; 22:6; 23:13-14; 29:15,
17; Eph. 6:4). However, the ultimate goal of parents is to move the child to personal
accountability to God (Ps. 119:9-11).Childless couples, as well as single men and women,
have the opportunity to pass on a godly legacy through involvement with the children
within their extended family circles, in their churches, and in their respective
communities. Conclusion
Doctrine and practice, whether in the home or the church, are not to be determined
according to modern cultural, sociological, and ecclesiastical trends or according to
personal emotional whims; rather, Scripture is to be the final authority in all matters of
faith and conduct (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Heb. 4:12; 2 Pet. 1:20-21). God chose to reveal Himself
to His people through family language: He used the metaphor of the home to describe the
heavenly dwelling where believers will join Him for eternity. He selected the analogy of
family relationships (husband/wife and parent/child) to illustrate how believers are to
relate to Him: God is the Father; Jesus is the Son; the Church is the Bride of Christ;
believers are His children. The most basic and consistent spiritual teaching, character
development, and discipleship training should occur within the family circle (Deut.
6:4-9). A Christ-centered family has the potential to give a "word about God" to
a world indifferent to spiritual truths. Those within the family circle have a unique
opportunity to study the Bible and to learn theology through object lessons built into the
very structure of the family. Godly families help build the church just as churches ought
to help build godly families. Scripture makes frequent connections between the life of the
family and the life of the church (1 Tim. 3:5; 5:1-2). Leadership patterns in the family
are consistently reflected in the church as well (1 Tim. 2:9-14; 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9).We
heartily affirm and commit ourselves to upholding the concept of the family as God's
original and primary means of producing a godly offspring and thus passing on godly values
from generation to generation (Deut. 6:4-9; Ps. 78:5-7). RecommendationThe committee
expresses appreciation to Dr. Thomas D. Elliff for the privilege of serving Southern
Baptists in this very significant capacity. It is pleased to commend its report to
messengers of this 1998 Southern Baptist Convention and recommend the adoption of Article
XVIII on The Family for inclusion in the Baptist Faith and Message.
Respectfully submitted,
Anthony L. Jordan, Chairman
William Elliff
Richard Land
Mary Mohler
Dorothy Patterson
Damon Shook
John Sullivan
Anthony Jordan
Executive Director-Treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma
Bill Elliff
Pastor of the First Baptist Church, Little Rock, Arkansas
Richard Land
President of The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist
Convention
Mary Mohler
Homemaker and Director of the Seminary Wives Institute of The Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary
Dorothy Patterson
Homemaker and adjunct faculty member of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Damon Shook
Pastor of Champion Forest Baptist Church, Houston, Texas
John Sullivan
Executive Director-Treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention
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