Article 1, Part 1. Faith in the one true and living God

Faith is so misrepresented by the world that it undermines faith and drives people to both extremes of skepticism and dogmatism. Is there a way to find certainty with the modesty fitting fallible human beings? I like to try. We must first better understand the role of faith and reason to save both. Reason—the justification of our beliefs—requires reflection on a knowledge that we already have. Our first article of faith plants our fundamental belief in a personal, living God who gave us a revelation to guide our reason on every topic. For this essay on part 1 of article 1, I want to notice two fundamentally different starting points for reason—one based on human nature and the other based on God’s word—then argue that we have to repent of the first to gain certainty in our belief.  A separate part 2 essay will address the Trinity.

Article 1: We believe in the one true and living God, the Father, the Word, the Holy Ghost.

Our faith is rooted in the one true and living God. There are fundamentally two types of people: people who know this one God, and those who don’t. By knowing him I mean having a vital relationship with him. This happens by being taught of God in new birth (Jn 6:45; Heb 8:10). Faith is given in the new birth and is the starting point for belief. Barely having faith is like a newborn that knows his mother but doesn’t have any maturity in that knowledge. That newborn cries at the first sign of hunger showing very little knowledge about her and faith in her. Some children of God grow very quickly in faith and knowledge after their new birth and are like David who said to the Lord “Thou hast made me to hope when I was upon my mother’s breast” (Ps 22:9). On the other extreme, Psalms 14 and 53 both begin by saying “The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no God’”. This means that no matter how much evidence and sound reason is presented to some people, they have already determined not to believe it. Belief in God does require faith which comes from God and is not innate to our cursed human nature. However, the gift of faith does not mean we’ll necessarily gain any level of confidence or certainty which comes from loving God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. People who are struggling with doubt are good people and we should try to lift them up and not question if they really even know God.

Since our faith in God is based on a personal relationship, the way we argue in favor of believing in God should be consistent with the way we argue for believing in a person—not a mere concept or idea. First comes personal (vital) knowledge, then we must listen to what he says and evaluate his faithfulness. But what do we choose to evaluate his character according to? Well, it has to be according to his own word—his own law—otherwise he isn’t really God.

The next point is that God is not just another being in the world; he is the absolute being who alone created everything else and therefore has perfect knowledge and power over everything without exception. He is self-existent, and his name is I AM (Ex 3:14). Just like his being doesn’t depend on anything outside of himself, neither does the truth of his words depend on any authority outside of himself. Everything exists the way he made it, and everything means what he says it means. Some would call on us to set aside God’s word and argue from neutral assumptions acceptable to all men. But to make an argument with someone, there has to be an agreed understanding of what truth is, otherwise what are we judging the proposition by? Therefore, the moment we set aside God’s revelation, we grant some concept of truth that is independent of God’s word and that’s not an acceptable starting point. Without the Bible, which is the verbal revelation of God, anything we may say about him would be ignorant conjecture and not suitable to convince anyone’s faith.

How ought we to speak up when someone is blaspheming? They offend God’s children and should be contradicted with sound doctrine (Tit 1:9-11). The rational justification of belief in God is two steps. First, apply the whole counsel of God in application to our situations in life. Second, show that denying divine revelation leads to foolishness by critically examining all the assumptions that are required to make arguments, do science, plan for the future, judge moral behavior, or whatever question comes up (1 Co 1:19-20). I don’t think there are any shortcuts to finding certainty. You really have to submit to the whole thing as a child (Mt 18:3) and then see the blessings and assurance that come with belief (2 Pe 1:5-11). God gets angry when people tempt him or demand a miraculous sign. So those that want to keep their own sovereignty (what’s in it for me?) and demand some kind of proof before submitting are denying God’s sovereignty from the outset and are never going to believe unless they get knocked to the ground in a “road to Damascus” type of moment. Just like we like our privacy and the option to choose to whom we reveal certain things, God does the same thing and doesn’t have to give anyone a sign.

In Sum, because we humans were created by God, proper reasoning is to align our beliefs with his word given to us (faith) instead of trying to prove God’s word by principles we have come up with in our own heart (foolishness). In loving God with all our mind, is not good enough to just say: I have my faith and that’s enough. We need to rationally justify both the Bible and our belief in God, but you can’t do it piecemeal, i.e. belief in God is justified by believing the content of scripture and the content of scripture is justified by revealing the secrets of our heartfelt relationship with God. Finally, it’s important to remember that anyone who pretends to ground reason in a better starting point is actually relying on very arbitrary assumptions that can be revealed by critical examination.

 Truth matters. After so many Christians have set aside doctrine and adopted slogans such as “doctrine divides”, I can’t imagine a more divided country than what we have now. Not only is knowing the truth still very high on everyone’s priority list, but we’re starving for coherent and cogent answers to fundamental questions. This essay is the first in a series to go through each article of faith that the Primitive Baptist church of my membership stands for. The intention is to better understand them and to show that they are true in love for the glory of God. This first essay is focused on what they are and why we have them. I will start by mentioning the origin and purpose of the church, then describe how the articles of faith aid our worship, unite us, and comfort the brokenhearted.

Before diving into the beliefs, let’s consider the church.

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Dan 2:44

The Primitive Baptists trace the origin of our church to Jesus Christ himself, who is God Almighty in flesh. Nominally, we began being called Primitive Baptists in the nineteenth century; but the church has a succession of baptism and ordination back to Christ during which time the names used for us have changed. Likewise, the articles of faith have adapted over time although the substance of the faith hasn’t changed. The articles of faith, like the name, help to identify the church in reference to the changing world we live in. Over time we have clarified and articulated beliefs differently as our experience has developed in responding to various innovations and confusions. The articles of faith are not meant to supplement the Bible as God’s word or to have any such authority to settle disputes. They are, however, a guide to help us understand Bible doctrines. As a guide, it keeps us connected with the tradition of the church over time, which is extremely valuable—see Proverbs 22:28 and Jeremiah 6:16. The articles of faith are an ancient landmark, set by our fathers, that show the good way to walk with our Lord.

Seeking the truth is obeying the Lord.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. Jn 4:23

Since Jesus also said “If you love me, keep my commandments”, I could say seeking the truth is loving the Lord. When teaching Timothy how to behave in the church, the Apostle Paul referred to her as the pillar and ground of the truth. Keeping in mind that Jesus Christ said he is the truth (Jn 14:6), we are a place where people in the world can come and learn about Christ, and we should be as clear and accurate as possible. This also means that we need to check ourselves when we care too much about being right in doctrinal disputes. That is pride and not at all what doctrinal discussion should be about. It is about us all coming to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God…growing up into Christ (Eph 4: 13-15).

The articles of faith aid unity and peace.

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Eph 4:1-6

Jesus established his kingdom on earth, the church, to be a light and salt in a dark and bitter world. To fulfill that role, we must be on the same page and growing together in the knowledge of the Son of God. This unity requires a separation from those who teach another doctrine or preach another gospel. Gal 1:8 commands us plainly that we are to let them be accursed who preach another gospel. Since good brethren can disagree about fine points and still be working productively together in the kingdom, there must be some limit or line within which we can tolerate, but beyond which we cannot. The articles of faith are the line. They have been developed as a recognition of the things that must be believed to have fellowship with the church. During every split there is almost always a faction that pleas for toleration and when cut off from fellowship calls those that separated “schismatics” or “divisive”. However, there is clearly a mandate for separating from false doctrine to be the ground of truth, and it’s the only way for peace in that scenario. Since the church is the body of Christ, cutting off a member of the body is not something that is done lightly or without angst, but as Paul explains in 1 Co 5:6-8, failing to separate will spoil the whole church. Therefore, the ones that teach a new doctrine (or push a new practice) are truly the divisive ones.

This doctrine gives rest to the weary soul, comfort to the broken hearted, and freedom to the captives.

 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. Is 40:1-2

When the sinner who is burdened by the weight of his guilt sees these truths come together in their mind to form a coherent picture, they rest in joy and freedom as they no longer constantly wonder if they’ve done enough to be justified in the eyes of God. In the early 19^th century, there was a sweeping movement in the American Baptist churches to raise funds and send out missionaries all over the continent and across the world. In 1828-1832 Old School Baptist Churches formally withdrew from those making merchandise of the church by articulating clearly our belief that the warfare of the eternal salvation of every child of God is accomplished (it is finished) with the victorious death of our Redeemer, Christ. This faith allows the believer to rest from the laborious (yea impossible) task of finishing Christ’s work of redemption. Others, teaching what mostly resembles the doctrine of sovereign grace, by twisting and stretching the meaning of “Perseverence of the saints” have offended God’s little children causing them to doubt they or a loved one belong to the Lord because their perseverance does not measure up to the standard of a faithful servant of Christ. Most sound churches changed the word in their articles from perseverance to preservation emphasizing the biblical precept that we are passive in keeping our eternal inheritance. There simply is no comfort in a doctrine that leads us to question one’s home in heaven based on their hearing the gospel or the quality of their confession and obedience.

In conclusion, the purpose of our articles of faith is to keep peaceful fellowship in obedience to Christ.

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth; But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1 Jn 1:5-7

Lord willing, I will go into the specifics of each article in the coming days and weeks.