PROTESTANT BIBLICAL AUTHORITY

Matthew 18:15-20: Jesus gives instructions for church discipline, ending with "where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." Baptists view this as proof that ultimate authority rests in the local congregation, not a hierarchy.

• Acts 6:1-6: The Jerusalem church chooses seven men to handle practical ministry, and the apostles pray and lay hands on them. Baptists use this to define the office of deacon and to show that the congregation chooses its own leaders.
• Philippians 1:1: Paul addresses the church "with the overseers and deacons." This text supports the Baptist view that the New Testament recognizes only two offices for the local church.
• Acts 14:23: "And when they had appointed elders for them in every church..." Baptists point to this to show that elders (pastors) are tied directly to local, independent congregations.