Church Identity and Perpetuity Part 3

 It's critical we define how we mean the word “church” before we go any further. In our day and age we use it mostly in ways that are foreign to the meaning of scripture. I’m going to here give the full definition of the noun church found in our current Merriam-Webster dictionary (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/church) so you can compare and contrast that with a biblical definition given by Sylvester Hassell. My purpose is to be very intentional about what we may think is meant by church to divorce ourselves from the definitions not considered in the New Testament for the purpose of this study. Like all English words, church has taken its own path in evolving in a living language. The biblical definition, as given by Hassell is the definition of the Greek word used in the New Testament. The Greek language is dead and therefore we have confidence that we understand the full extent of it’s meaning. For future articles, we’ll dive into more details about the biblical meaning to clarify and enhance our understanding of the institution Christ established.

Webster: 

church noun

1: a building for public religious services and especially Christian worship

2 often Church : a body or organization of religious believers: such as

a: the institution of the Christian religion : the Christian religion seen as an organization

b: the clergy or officialdom of a religious body

The word church … is put for the Persons that are ordained for the Ministry of the Gospel, that is to say, the Clergy—J. Ayliffe

c: denomination

the Presbyterian church

d: the whole body of Christians

… the One Church is the whole body gathered together from all ages …—J. H. Newman

e: congregation

… they had appointed elders for them in every church …—Acts 14:23 (Revised Standard Version)

3: a public divine worship

goes to church every Sunday

4: the clerical profession

considered the church as a possible career

Hassell, History of the Church of God, 1886, pg. 291:

The Greek word rendered “church” in the New Testament is “ekklesia”, which is derived from the verb ek-kaleo, to call out, and denotes an assembly called out, a select body separated from the mass of the people. In ancient Greece the ekklesia in each State was the assembly of free-born, native, self-governing citizens, the highest legal body in the land, from which there was no appeal; slaves and foreigners were excluded from the ekklesia. In the Septuagint ekklesia is the usual rendering of the Hebrew word kahal, “the congregation” of Israel or of the Lord, from which were excluded the uncircumcised, the unclean and the “mixed multitude”. Ekklesia occurs in the New Testament 115 times; twice referring to the Hebrew “congregation of the Lord,” three times referring to the Greek assembly, and 110 times referring to the Christian church. In 92 of these last cases the reference is to a special, local, visible society of Christians; in the remaining 18 cases the reference is the entire body of the elect in Heaven and on earth, or what is sometimes called the invisible church (as in Ephesians v. 25, 29; iii. 10, 21; Colossians i. 18, 24; Hebrews xii. 23). The word is never used in the New Testament to designate a universal (or Catholic) visible church, a national church (as the Church of Judea or England), or a denominational church (as the church was not divided into different denominations in the Apostolic Age, and as there was not then any great organization, like the Presbyterian Church of the Methodist Church, including in itself a large number of local congregations). A visible church is always in Scripture a local body; and every local church, acting by a majority of its members (in 2 Cor ii. 6, “ton pleionon” is, literally, not “many”, but “the more” the majority), is invested by Christ with the exclusive and final power of receiving, disciplining, excluding and restoring its members, electing its officers, and transacting all other necessary business (Rom. Xiv. 1; Matt. Xviii. 15-18; 1 Cor v. 4, 5, 7, 11-13; Rom xvi. 17; 2 Thess. Iii. 6; Acts i. 15-26; vi 1-6; 1 Cor. Xvi. 3; xiv. 23).

Church Identity and Perpetuity Part 2

Part 1 here

Why am I making a point about not being a protestant? If it’s not clear to you, then I want you to understand how radical and distinctive the Primitive Baptists doctrine of the church is from all the major Christian groups. I love the Primitive Baptists, not just as people individually (there are many other individuals and families I also love), but as an institution and fellowship of a distinct character and separate from the world. I have faith based on the promises of God that he has preserved his church through the ages and that we have that inheritance in this time and place and I want it to stay and grow here as we move to the next generation.

We are taught in scripture, including Daniel 2:44 and Mathew 16:18, that Christ established a kingdom on earth, Jesus called it his church, and it will remain true and faithful as a witness of the Truth in every generation. If this function were carried out by the Roman empire-church, then protestants had no right to split it up and were schismatics. By establishing new churches on principles lost for centuries, they couldn’t be the church started by Christ because that shall never be prevailed against. Being identified with Christ is the only reason I’m concerned with church identity.

I’m not saying that the true church has always looked exactly like us, that we can name them by existing historical records, nor that there are no true churches at any other place with another name and language with heritage back to the apostles. My ignorance of them doesn’t mean that they don’t or didn’t exist. But I am saying that no church that is substantially different from us is the true church. Primitive Baptists don’t decide who is or isn’t the church, that’s the work of the Lord—the only head of this church. What we do is try to acknowledge the leadership of God in every matter, and when it comes to worship and spiritual matters, withdraw and reject those things which are incompatible with the truth. This is the only way for true fellowship and unity. Christian fellowship and unity in the church is based on Christ alone and God is not the author of confusion. Identifying other denominations as part of the Church and then maintaining a distinct identity from them is inconsistent. If they are the church then there should be no divisions in it, if they aren’t keeping themselves separate from the world, then they are of the world and we should come out from among them. 2 Cor 6:16-18.

When I get questions about why we don’t invite members of other Christian denominations to our communion table, or why we “re” baptize folks who want to convert, I’ve never been satisfied in my ability to answer them. It’s a major sticking point for many people so I thought it worthwhile to study it for better understanding and the best way I know how to master a subject is to explain it to others as cogently as I can. I want us to get a firm handle on the doctrine of the church and that includes disabusing ourselves of much of the error that comes from the Protestant view of the church that undermines church perpetuity. I don’t see myself as having all the answers here, so as I try to lay my beliefs out, I invite correction in brotherly charity to put my ideas to the test.

Church Identity and Perpetuity -Part 1

 There are about 700 organizations in America today, claiming to be churches. Every one of these false churches can be traced to some man as their founder. Every one of these, each and all, have their own man-made creeds or faiths, and they are as conflicting as light and darkness. They can't all be true. But our school textbook writers throw all these conflicting creeds into one pile, and label the whole conglomerated mess: "The Christian Church!" Baptists have been permitting their children to be taught this monstrous falsehood without entering a protest. No wonder confusion, infidelity, atheism and wickedness are stalking rampant everywhere, defying every code of decency. The ONE and ONLY true Church is the Bride of Christ. She walks with him, trusts in him, leans on his arm, and has never strayed off into some spiritual "red light" district and needed reforming.

-Monroe Jones in The Bride and Seven Other Women 1948

I have never viewed myself as Protestant although I constantly get lumped into that pile. I’m a Primitive Baptist and have a heritage of baptism in churches that go back to Christ and the apostles without ever coming out of the Roman Catholic Church.  I have come to find out that that is called “pseudohistory” and that “no reputable church historians have ever affirmed the belief that Baptists can trace their lineage through medieval and ancient sects ultimately to the New Testament”. Should I just submit to the scholarly opinions accepted by even Baptist scholars that all Baptists are protestants?

The realistic truth is, my Baptism doesn’t have some kind of pedigree like a registered Border Collie that certifies and proves the validity of each baptism back to Christ. No one does. If you think a Roman Catholic or an Eastern Orthodox has such a pedigree (doubtful), then I would argue that is only a nominal or mechanical succession. I’m not really interested in a succession of the same name, or a perpetuity based on human tradition, but rather interested in perpetuity of the same faith and discipline from Christ.

Before I can jump into history, it’s vital I review my starting point. The first axiom is that the 66 books of the Bible are the infallible word of God and therefore the only authoritative source of light on the subject. But didn’t the Bible come from the church? No. The Bible contains revelation from God to the church, through God’s servants. The church never decided what God’s words were, they recognized them and submitted to him by obeying those words and rejecting anything spurious pretending to be God’s words. I know what they are by tradition, yes. Tradition means to hand down over time. So, in some sense, I am relying on the church while putting that tradition to the test. That’s the only starting point I have at my disposal. First, my church must be judged on the authority we profess to follow. If we pass that, then the protestants are out because we profess the same authority. If we fail the test of the scriptures we hold to, then our tradition does nothing to validate the Bible we profess as the authentic words of God, and I’m left to search for the tradition that kept the oracles as delivered from Christ. I don’t see any consistency in the belief that you can know what the scriptures are and deny the tradition that kept them through the generations. The perpetuity of the church and perpetuity of the scriptures go hand in hand.

From the Bible, I want to go through and carefully review what it teaches about the identity of the church. Then and only then can I judge the history, because we have to subject each historian’s conclusion to the light of the Bible, not the other way around.

Article 6. Justification

 We are often confronted with the question: If you die today, where will you spend eternity? Or prompted to get right with the Lord before you die.  That appeals to our need to be in the favor of God to avoid ultimate destruction.  Our 6^th article says: “We believe that sinners are justified in the sight of God only by the imputed righteousness of Christ.” What does that mean? It explains why you won’t hear Primitive Baptists generate anxiety in those pondering judgment. First, I want to notice how our righteousness is illustrated in the Bible, then explain how sinners are made righteous by the sacrifice of Christ.

John saw the worship in heaven and says in Rev 19:6-8 “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” So our righteousness is likened unto fine linen that beautify the wearer and we, the bride, were given them. All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, but God has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels (Is 61:10, 64:6). So when we stand before God’s judgment, the righteousness of the Son of God is what he sees on us, and we belong in his presence.

Justification is in respect to law. Just like God governs material with material laws, he governs persons by a moral law. A moral law states what we ought to do and what happens if we don’t. God doesn’t govern men by an absolute decree of every decision they would make, but he does govern us by enforcing consequences for bad behavior. The law of sin and death is very clear that the consequence of sin is death. Psalm 89:14 says, “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne”, and Heb 2:2 says “Every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward”. So every sin must be answered for, and every person must receive justice from the hand of God. So how does God justify sinners?

The answer is the Word of God becoming our priest, mediator, and surety in an eternal covenant (Heb 7:20-28). We were placed in Christ by election, before the foundation of the world, so that we legally belonged to God by adoption for the pleasure of Jesus Christ (Eph 1:3-6). In faithfulness to this covenant, God was made flesh in the person of Jesus Christ to do the will of God which was to lawfully redeem us from our sins (Heb 10:7-18). The Apostle Peter says Jesus, who did no sin, committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree (1 Pe 2:22-24). This is the just suffering for the unjust (1 Pe 3:18). Peter refers to Is 53 which prophetically declares that Christ justified many because God laid our iniquity on him. Notice how Peter upholds the righteousness of God. That is not possible, unless our sins were really and lawfully transferred from us to Christ. We do not believe that Christ died symbolically or just to make a statement; he died to uphold the full consequence of our sin. As a result of Christ’s suffering, God’s holy law was fully satisfied (Is 53:11) and he, by himself, purged our sins (Heb 1:3).

Now that we understand that Christ’s death removed our sin and justified us, Paul asks (Rom 8:31-34) “If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”  These sweet words always assure us, that no matter what my conscience, other men, or devils say; God has already declared our Justification and Christ is ever at the right hand of God interceding for us in righteousness. That’s how we’ll enter into glory when we die and on that fine morning when our bodies are glorified.

Definition of Justification

Justification is the act of declaring righteous. To justify yourself is to say (and believe) "I'm good or I'm right". For someone else to justify you is for them to say "you're good".

You can go to heaven if and only if God sees you as righteous by his law. God sees and knows everything exactly as it is, so that is to say, you're not getting into getting heaven unless you're perfect. No one else is either, that's how God ensures that there's no hurt or pain or offense in Heaven.

The Bible teaches that God justifies the ungodly. So that means he has made us, who are sinners, perfectly right in every way. He has done that through the sinless blood of Jesus in his role as our priest and mediator. When he rose from the grave, this act was complete never to be overturned or doubted. Rom 4:25, Heb 10:18.

Justification by Faith is the act of the born-again sinner when he turns to the Lord and believes in him. This is the sinner understanding what Jesus did and that God is satisfied with the sacrifice of Jesus. Having put his own trust in Jesus, he can say "I'm good. I've been made righteous in the eyes of God because I belong to Jesus." He then rests from worrying about his eternal life. Rom 5:1. JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH IS NOT THE SINNER LOOKING AT HIS OWN FAITH OR PROFESSION AND DRAWING THE CONCLUSION BASED ON THAT EVIDENCE THAT HE BELONGS TO JESUS. That would be justification by works and is meant for other people to know that you're born again; it doesn't work real well for oneself. Justification by Faith is not based on evidence that the sinner sees in himself that he's elect. Maybe this goes into it, but I believe what's really going on in Justification by Faith is the personal testimony of the Holy Spirit testifying directly to the heart that he is a child of God and not imputing his sin to him. Rom 8:16, Rom 4:8. The Holy Spirit is present as soon as the sinner is born again, but under the sound of the gospel there is a blessing that God gives in not imputing one's sins to them. This experience does not make the Justification in the eyes of God, but in the eyes of the sinner. This hope is not based on evidence the sinner sees in himself but in the love shed abroad in his heart by God. Rom 5:5. I believe this may happen several times over and I often need it again since from time to time I may forget I was purged from my old sins. David sought for this when he was convicted of his sins well after he was made to hope on his mother's breast.

Finally, Justification by Works is the act of other people looking at you and saying "he's good. Or he's been made righteous by the blood of Jesus and the quickening of the Spirit." This is by works because Jesus said by their fruits ye shall know them. We can't look into your heart, or feel the Spirit directly testifying to us of your new life. I read an influential Primitive Baptist preacher say that Justification by Works is proving to others that your belief is genuine. But that's not what justification means. It's proving that you're righteous, not that you believe. Yes, if you make a profession of Jesus, your works either agree with that profession or cast doubt on it, but that's not what Justification by Works really is. What fruit proves that you're good? The fruit of the Spirit proves that the Spirit has born you again: Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. So yes, belief requires faith which provides justification, but when we're talking about justification by works there is no need to privilege faith over any of the fruit of the Spirit. Just because you cannot see someone's faith, doesn't mean you can't know they're born of God if you can see other fruit of the Spirit.

The Kingdom of God is Better Than Your Political Party

I hate both of your political parties. I have a better kingdom to tell you about, but first I want you to hate the kingdoms of this world as much as I do. I don't think you're really ready to hear about the Kingdom of Christ if you're still looking for a political party to save you.

I'm not impressed with the biblical quotations and allusions to the gospel that a politician makes in his speech. Don't you know the pharisees knew how to make a great speech and to quote scripture? Don't you think Satan himself does too? Jesus said "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." I say with John: "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth." I'm not impressed by a politician's speech, until he starts walking his talk. Speaking is what they do. It's what they're good at. It's designed to make you love them, and to make you believe that all the things wrong are someone else's fault; and oh I can see it's working. I won't love them or praise them until they start holding rich and powerful perverts accountable for employing Jeffrey Epstein; until they start standing up against genocide in Gaza; until they stop oppressing the poor with debt and inflation; until they stop getting us involved in continuous wars; until they start criminalizing abortion at all stages and holding all responsible parties accountable for it. Now as much as ever is Isaiah's prophecy relevant:

 "Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

“Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them."

 

These political parties are just kingdoms of this world. They are motivated by their lusts for power and fame and will say what they need to get it. We are called to a better Kingdom, one that is not of this world. This is where I hold my most valued citizenship and where I want to spend my energy growing. One of the beautiful things about the Primitive Baptists is that we make a clear distinction between the Church and the World. Almost every other denomination mixes the two together and it absolutely spoils the Church. Thankfully (but sadly) by withdrawing from worldly movements originating from the Church, the Primitive Baptists have kept the Kingdom that Christ established and preserves in the earth.

A key doctrine that keeps this distinction is the difference between the triumphant kingdom and the militant kingdom. This is ultimately the same Kingdom, but it's a distinction in when the Kingdom will be manifest as such (now in time or later in eternity). The triumphant kingdom is everyone that Jesus loves and saved, all of whom will enjoy His glory in loving communion for eternity. The extent of this kingdom isn't yet evident by human observation, but will be at the end. This kingdom is filled with a people that no man can number, that are redeemed out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation (Rev 5:9). The triumphant kingdom includes all the seed promised in Abraham which are more than the stars of the sky and the sand of the sea. (It's clearly a large number but not universal in that God sovereignly did not love some and left them to their own reprobate nature to reap what they sow for eternity). The militant kingdom is a remnant of the faithful. Those that repent of their sinful mindsets and lifestyles. This is a small number of people. "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence." "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." These last quotations deal with the militant kingdom and refer to the Primitive Baptists. It's important to note that we do not believe that heaven will be limited to those in the militant kingdom of God, but other denominations, try as they might to expand the borders of their church to include the whole world cannot, and end up with a much too small view of heaven because they only see people with their shared religious values as being included in the triumphant kingdom.

Another way we know these domains are distinct is in the way the Kingdom is entered. In Colossians 1, we read of being translated (passive) into the Kingdom of his dear Son. In Luke 16 Jesus says that since John the Kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth (active) into. Clearly these are distinct domains if one is entered into passively and the other is entered into actively. In John 3, Jesus said except a man be born (passive) again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. He compares that Spiritual birth to the way wind blows--thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is EVERY ONE that is born of the Spirit. This Spiritual birth cannot be what is done by faith in the gospel because it is like the wind and not carried or directed through the agency of man. The entry to the triumphant kingdom is a circumcision of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God (Rom 2:29). This circumcision is made without hands (Col 2:11).

If you've been born again, and circumcised in your heart, you hate the world too and are probably already tired of it. 1 John 2:16-17 "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."  Don't you want to come home to the Kingdom now and enjoy the earnest of your inheritance? I wish every one of God's born again would come home and leave the world behind them. Entering this domain, the visible or militant Kingdom, the Church; requires taking up a cross, crucifying the flesh, following the Lord through the watery grave, and living for Christ (all active). What we gain by joining ourselves to the body of Christ, the Primitive Baptist Church, is worth way more than everything we lose.

Total Depravity. Article 5

Total Depravity describes the condition of every man by nature as subject to the wrath of God and utterly destitute of any virtue or ability to recover himself into God’s favor. Understanding this doctrine as taught in the Bible will force every child of God to abandon every other refuge and run to Christ as the only hope of their salvation. It is hard medicine for us at first, but it makes the glory of the mercy of God shine so bright that we are so much happier to glory in the Lord than we ever were in our delusions of self-sufficiency.

We believe in man’s impotency to recover himself from the fallen state he is in by nature, by his own free will and ability.

First let’s distinguish between the natural man and the spiritual man by considering 1 Cor 2:14-15 and Rom 8:5-9. These two passages clearly make a distinction between someone that has the Spirit of God and those without (in the flesh, carnal, natural). Jesus says that a man cannot see the kingdom of God except he is born again, or born of the Spirit, John 3:3-8. This doctrine addresses the man by nature only, and not the man after he is born of the Spirit. If you love the Lord and want to abide in him, this doesn’t describe your current state but proves that it required the life-giving power of God to change you from your natural state, Eph 1:19. If a mind is enmity against God, cannot be subject to his law, and finds spiritual things foolish; he won’t comply with even the easiest conditions because he has no desire for it.

Secondly, our natural condition is described as death. Eph 2:1-3 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. I first want to notice that he’s addressing saints—good people—and saying that we all by nature are no better than the worst of criminals. This death is obviously not a natural death but a spiritual death. Since it’s obvious that one who is naturally dead has no ability to respond to commands or invitations to be raised to natural life, the conclusion of the teaching here is that there is no ability in man who is destitute of the Spirit to respond to commands or invitations to be born again. It has to be the quickening power of the voice of Christ that raised Lazarus from the dead that raised us from our spiritual death into spiritual life.

Ezekiel 16:1-14 tells a graphic story depicting us (the adopted children of God) as a helpless baby cast out immediately upon birth by our natural parents. It’s so easy to see our helplessness in this picture. The Bible also goes at length to describe every part of us as corrupt. It describes our eyes, heart, hands, fingers, lips, tongue, feet, thoughts, paths, mouth, throat, and inward part as very wickedness (Rom 3:18, Jer 17:9, Is 59:3-8, Ps 5:9). Even our righteousness is as filthy rags, Is 64:6. That’s the very best we have to offer and it’s offensive in the sight of God.

The doctrine of total depravity is taught in the Bible to remove any basis of boasting in ourselves and to magnify the glory of the love of the Lord, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). If you have experienced the depravity of your nature, then you are like the Publican in Luke 18:13,14 that would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. So you likewise have the promise of the Blessed saviour who said: I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.