A question arose about the group calling itself “The Bible Study Fellowship.” The best way to determine information about any religious group is to see if they have a Website and then discover what their beliefs are. Their Website says that “A. Wetherell Johnson led that first Bible study…and the organization that grew from it.” She and three other women have been in charge of the organization since its inception in the ‘50s. It was designed first as a Women’s Study Group, but now anyone can participate.
Although the name seems innocuous enough, that alone cannot determine how accurate a “fellowship” might be. What are now referred to as Jehovah’s Witnesses were originally called International Bible Students. No one is accusing the people under consideration here of being a cult; the point is that the use of a good name does not insure that the Scriptures are handled accurately. The following information is taken from the BSF “Statement of Faith” from their website. (Since they reserved all rights to this material, we are only offering brief quotes.) In bold print before the fourteen statements is found this affirmation:
The entire leadership of Bible Study Fellowship, including the Board of Directors is committed without reservation to this Statement of Faith.
We agree wholeheartedly with their first tenet—that pays honor to the Word of God as inspired. They have worded it well; of particular interest is the fact that they claim it to be “the final authority of faith and life.” What this acknowledgment implies is that Christians can and should be united—since we are all appealing to the same authority. In fact, Paul wrote in Philippians 3:16 that all Christians should “walk by the same rule.” The Greek word translated “rule” is kanon, referring to a God-appointed standard by which we ought to walk. Theoretically, this claim does away with an “I’ll do my thing and you do yours” mentality.
The second statement expressed is also held in common by most who call themselves Christians—that God is a triune Being—consisting of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as indicated by verses such as Matthew 28:19-20 and 2 Corinthians 13:14. Scriptures are here supplied by this writer; the BSF Statement of Faith did not, strangely, include any.
Those who believe in the Virgin Birth of Christ are always to be commended. However, point three is not stated accurately when it refers to the Deity of Jesus. They call Him the eternal Son of God. That Jesus is eternal is beyond dispute (Micah 5:2), but the relationship of Father and Son is not eternal. Jesus gave up equality with the Father in order to become the Son (Phil. 2:5-8). In the Old Testament era, He is called the Angel of the Lord and the Commander of the Lord’s Army. He does not have the relationship of the Son until He leaves Heaven to be born of Mary.
He then became the Son of God and the Son of Man, but the BSF statement claims that He will forever maintain these two distinct natures. Many would take issue with that statement, citing 1 Corinthians 15:24—28, which they believe says that, after He delivers up the kingdom to the Father, the Godhead will return to Their original form, “that God might be all in all.” Whether that interpretation is correct or not is not the point. The fact is that many, if not most, believe that to be the case. Saying that Jesus would forever have two natures was unnecessary, so long as all believe that He possessed both on earth.
Numbers 5 and 6 state primarily what is taught in John 5:28-29—that one day all who are in the graves shall hear His voice: Those who have done good will be resurrected to life, and those who have done evil will be resurrected to condemnation. That time of judgment is clearly taught in various New Testament passages (2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:11-15; 21:1-8).
Salvation
One of the important things to consider about any group is, “What do they teach about salvation?” Two sections deal with this all-important issue. Once a person believes that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God and that Jesus was the Son of God (Divine) and the Son of Man (human), then he needs to understand that he has sinned, which causes him to be lost (Rom. 6: 23). Jesus, however, died for our sins. Since the BSF rightly states in point #8 that sin separates us from God (another part of this point is wrong and will be discussed later), the obvious question would be to ask: “How, then, can I be saved from my sins?”
Numbers 4 and 9 answer this question in different ways. The first of these begins well by saying that Jesus died for us on the cross. He was able to atone for our sins (Heb. 10:12). He could do so because He had none of His own. Only the innocent can take the place of the guilty. The next question would be to ask, “How can I avail myself of that sacrifice?” or “How does His death come to apply to me and take away my sins?”
The answer from BSF is that His sacrifice is “sufficient for all who repent and believe.” Those familiar with the Great Commission (mentioned in point 14) or who have read the book of Acts when those who had crucified Christ desired this same knowledge are going to wonder, “What happened to baptism?” In Matthew 28, the disciples were commanded to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Mark 16:16, Jesus said: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved…..”
Now, on the Day of Pentecost, after Peter had labored diligently to prove that Jesus had been raised from the dead and was both Lord and Christ, the Jews asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:36-37). They now understood the enormity of the sin they had committed in crucifying Him and wanted to know how to appropriate the salvation that was available to them. Peter answered, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
Now notice: These three passages provide crucial information that answer the question, “How can I be saved from my sins?” Neither Matthew nor Mark record the word repent. Neither Matthew nor Peter use the word faith or believe. But all three passages contain the verb baptize! And that’s the one thing that BSF omitted! Look at the chart below
Matthew Mark Acts
make disciples, believe and repent and
baptizing them be baptized be baptized
None of these passages teach that faith is not essential; it is implied. None of them teach that repentance is unnecessary. But they all include baptism!
A person must question the motives of anyone who would overlook an essential part of the process of being saved. Someone might respond by saying, “But you left out Acts 16:31, which says that all a person needs is faith.” The first problem with this response is that it throws the first point on the trash heap. Is the Bible authoritative? Then it cannot contradict itself. The point of bringing up Acts 16:31 is to try to prove that the baptism taught in the other passages is not really necessary (when, in fact, they show that it is).
The second thing to note is that Acts 16:31 is violently wrenched from its context and misapplied. Paul did not teach faith only there. Furthermore, it was not the end of his speech, but the beginning. THEN Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him, and, guess what? He and his family were baptized—even though it was after midnight!. This passage actually establishes the importance of baptism—most denominations would wait months, weeks, or at least until daylight because they do not think baptism has anything to do with salvation. The Scriptures, however, include it as part of the process.
In #9, the BSF states that to get into fellowship with God (since sin has separated us from Him, and therefore, this is talking about salvation again) one can only do so “by a personal belief that Christ bore our sins… and by a definite receiving of Christ, through the Person of the Holy Spirit, into one’s inner being.” Who wants to explain these words? This time they do not mention faith, repentance, or baptism. Do they refer to a subjective, personal experience? “We just feel Jesus or the Holy Spirit clear down to our bones, and that proves we are saved.” If they do not mean this kind of “experience,” then they should have used clearer words to communicate the concept. Is this “definite receiving of Christ” (and, remember, all the leadership of BSF is committed to whatever this is) better than, inferior to, or in conjunction with faith, repentance, and baptism?
The problem is that they began with the objective Word of God in the very first point but are now off into subjective feelings. Furthermore, this “definite receiving of Christ” is “to receive eternal life and be sealed unto the Day of Redemption.” So, which is it? Is His atonement “efficient for all who repent and believe,” or must everyone have that “definite receiving of Christ”? And why did neither Jesus nor Peter teach that “definite receiving”? The BSF is in error on salvation.
Sin and The Holy Spirit
Returning to #8, BSF is right in saying that sin separates us from God (Isa. 59:1-2), but they err in their view of man leading up to that affirmation. They take the usual Calvinistic view that man was originally created in God’s image but imply that all people since then no longer come into the world in the God’s image. In whose image, then, are we created? Will they affirm that we were born with a sinful nature? If so, are we created in Satan’s image?
They do not say that, explicitly. They do say that we are responsible for all the sins we commit, but they also say that we “fell into sin through the first Adam.” They could have been more explicit, but their wording implies that we sin because Adam did. Equally confusing is number 11, which claims that the Holy Spirit “is responsible for the quickening from death into life….” Do these words mean that the Holy Spirit makes a person who is dead spiritually come to life in order to “receive Jesus”? Is this referring to a miraculous operation on the human heart? If it is, then why do we need the Scriptures? If the Holy Spirit revitalizes the sinner (quickens him) directly (in place of through the Word), then the Word is unnecessary.
Number 11 also implies that the Spirit continues to operate (directly, instead of through the Word He revealed) on the person he made alive—“for the continuing work of sanctification of the believer.” So, is the Spirit responsible for the degree of holiness in the believer? Is it His fault if we fail? If we are sanctified through the Word (John 17:17), then the responsibility for holiness is ours. If the Holy Spirit operates directly upon us, and we fail, then the fault is obviously God’s.
The writers of the BSF Statement of Faith emphasized the Holy Spirit in four of their fourteen points. Besides numbers 9 and 11, number ten states that the Spirit indwells all who “receive Jesus.” This one is correct, but what do they mean by it? Number 14 provides yet another interesting take on the Holy Spirit. Although its main thrust is to encourage Christians to be evangelistic in reaching out to others, they write that Christians are to “study the Bible personally through the power of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit until….” Where do the Scriptures teach this doctrine—studying through the power of the indwelling Spirit—and what does it mean?
What many mean by this doctrine is that the Spirit provides illumination of His Word or that the correct interpretation of a passage will be given him, which is patently absurd. If the Holy Spirit were providing “inspired” interpretations, there would be no disagreements among believers. In fact, if the Holy Spirit were guiding the study, He might point out to the people in the study group certain truths, such as:
1. Baptism is for (in order to obtain) forgiveness of sins, just as the Spirit revealed in Acts 2:38.
2. The Holy Spirit operates on the hearts of individuals (both lost and saved) through the Word He inspired, not directly.
3. Jesus is not returning to earth to set up a kingdom (point #7). The church is the kingdom (Matt. 16:18-19). The manner of Jesus’ return is described in Acts 1:9-11, and the purpose of His return is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, and it does not include setting up a kingdom. The premillennial view died out for 1,500 years, but the error was revived in the mid-nineteenth century. But Jesus’ kingdom is still not of this world (John 18:36).
4. People are not born in sin today, although we are born into a sinful world. We are free moral agents, just as Adam and Eve were, and we choose to sin, just as they did. If we enter the world with a sinful nature, as per Calvinism, then we could hardly be expected to do anything but sin. Once again, this doctrine removes responsibility from our actions and places it on God Who allowed us to be born this way.
5. Once a person becomes a Christian, he can be lost. In point 9 the BSF statement affirms that the Holy Spirit personally enters someone in order for them to receive eternal life and to seal them for “the Day of Redemption.” If they already have eternal life and are, furthermore, sealed, then how could they be lost? Yet Judas Iscariot was lost, and Paul told the Galatians that justifying themselves by the Law meant they had fallen from grace. The Holy Spirit does not prohibit Christians from turning back to sin (2 Peter 2:20-22). Believers can lose their salvation.
Final Comments
Statement number 13 is one of three that are absolutely true—the Christian is to live in the world but be “separate from it.” Jesus spoke and prayed concerning this principle (John 15:18-20; 17:14-17). The twelfth one contains some truth. It correctly says that “the church is the body of Christ” and is a spiritual organism. The New Testament so teaches (Eph. 1:22-23). Do they, then, repudiate the concept of denominations, invented by men, without Biblical authority? It is amazing that people can define what the church is from the Scriptures but then never question the existence of denominations which are not in the Bible.
This same section (#12) uses the phrase, born again believers. Anyone who has been born again is a Christian, a believer. To use both terms is redundant and not Scriptural. BSF claims that believers are “identified with Christ in baptism,” whatever that means. An inspired apostle wrote that “baptism doth also now save us” (1 Peter 3:21). Christians also remember the Lord’s death “in the Lord’s Supper,” which is true (1 Cor. 11:22-29), but they did not give a frequency. How difficult would it have been to add the phrase, each week?
An earlier sentence mentioned studying the Bible through the power of the Spirit “until each one is matured into the preordained purpose of God for him.” No, despite the success of The Purpose Driven Life, author Rick Warren did not invent this tenet of Calvinism. At the risk of crushing someone’s ego, God did not write a script for every person’s life before he was born. Where is the Scripture that teaches individual foreordination? God ordained certain things—especially concerning Jesus and His church, the kingdom of Heaven. Have Calvinists ever wondered who wrote the script for evildoers?
The purpose for all of us is to honor and praise God with our words and with our actions; we are to worship and serve Him. He will use us if we submit to His will. Only His Word can reveal those things to us.