Baptist Faith and Message

The Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) is the statement of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). It summarizes key Southern Baptist thought in the areas of the Bible and its authority, the nature of God as expressed by the Trinity, the spiritual condition of man, God's plan of grace and salvation, the purpose of the local church, ordinances, evangelism, Christian education, interaction with society, religious liberty, and the family.

Although the Southern Baptist Convention was organized in 1845, no formal confession of faith was adopted until internationally known Baptist theologian Edgar Y. "E.Y." Mullins led the denomination to adopt the Baptist Faith and Message in 1925. Described as "the New Hampshire Confession of Faith [of 1833], revised at certain points, and with some additional articles growing out of present needs," it was intended as "a reaffirmation of Christian fundamentals," which was deemed necessary because of "the prevalence of naturalism in the modern teaching and preaching of religion."

The BF&M was revised in 1963, amended in 1998, and again revised in 2000. In 1963, it was updated under the chairmanship of pastor-theologian Herschel H. Hobbs, and in 2000 under the chairmanship of pastor-author Adrian Rogers. The major revisions of 2000 incorporated sociological as well as theological changes.

The BF&M includes 18 topics which are position statements of the SBC. Each article or position is followed by Scripture which they use to support their position.

There was both praise and criticism for the significant changes to the BF&M in the 2000 revision.

Some of the changes that were particularly well received (affirmations) by some Baptist theologians include the following:

Baptists say their only creed is the Bible. Historically, Baptists have tenaciously defended the privilege of every believer, with the illumination of the Holy Spirit, to interpret Scripture according to his or her own conscience. This deeply engrained anti-creedal sentiment is said to be responsible for many negative reactions to the newly revised document.

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