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.

Gratitude Transforms the Mind

 What an enjoyable discussion about gifts with my four-year-old! What a difference gratitude makes when it comes to gifts. From seeing our possessions as products of chance or luck, which are objects to be used for our pleasure; gratitude transforms our attitude into seeing our possessions as tokens of the love that someone has for us. What a transformation!

 Gratitude is founded on the principle of Grace. Please indulge me as I try to emphasize how the biblical narrative subverts whole modern secular narratives and ought to transform our attitude. I’m specifically focusing on the popular conceptions of economics and eternal salvation.

Our modern secular narrative is founded on the principle of evolution which sees the order of life as from impersonal static forces called natural laws. Within which gratitude is relegated to human-to-human interactions, but what we receive from “nature” is ours to exploit according to our own pleasure. The right-wing version of this narrative emphasizes individual work and the resulting privilege of disposing with our property as the individual sees fit.  The left-wing version emphasizes the grace of inheriting nature but perverts it by making the State into God’s earthly representative—making us accountable to the collective will in the way we use our property.  In contrast, the biblical narrative casts all our private property as fundamentally gifts from Jehovah, the Creator. He created our life and all the abundance of the earth to sustain it. We must work our property in order to sustain and enhance our life, but the Bible puts the pre-eminence on the gracious gift and the work follows as obedience and calls for gratitude for the opportunity to do the work. As a result, we are accountable to Him for the use of our wealth.

We also need to purge of ourselves of humanism in the doctrine of salvation. The cross of Christ is the central focus of the Bible and the gift of eternal salvation from death and suffering as the greatest gift and triumph of Grace. The attitude that is so dominant in nominally Christian society is that humans make the final decision over our destiny. I contend that the biblical doctrine of predestination powerfully opposes this idea without sacrificing an iota of human will and responsibility, through this same model of Grace. In accordance with humanism, we are surrounded with the assumptions that man has some kind of sovereignty to accept or reject that gift of the cross. The missionary mandate (that man carries the gift of the cross to fellow man through their preaching of the gospel or giving of copies of the Bible) is still a version of this error. I call it an error because all these models bring man into agency in eternal salvation. No matter how mild or small man’s agency is, once man does his part, God’s gift of life is required on the terms of that contract. This is the model of debt and is incompatible with the model of Grace (Rom 4:4-5). The role of faith cannot be a condition of salvation without destroying Grace. The biblical model of Grace teaches that our faith is a free gift of God that comes with eternal glory. Our responsibility (obedience and worship) always comes after our eternal salvation is secured by God on the principle of adoption which was pre-determined by the sovereign will of God before we existed (Eph 1:3-5). Just like the biblical model of economics doesn’t have to choose between a left-right dichotomy of Humanism, neither does the biblical model choose between the humanistic dichotomy of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Man’s responsibility is not destroyed by subverting the model of debt, it is amplified by Grace via the principle of gratitude.

Coherence of meaning

 Faith is NOT about believing what you don't really know. (It doesn't stand opposite reason). It is about believing the words of the One whom you do really know and who really does know everything. Therefore faith is the proper foundation of everything we do really know.

This truth contradicts the dominant narrative of our day, but it is much needed. I'm trying to grasp it better. Our society is passed a breaking point, probably, because we have been stretched to opposite poles of thinking that prioritizes either feelingless facts or factless feelings (false dichotomy). No one believes either extreme fully, but within the narrative, there is no resting place--only tension. I'm not ashamed to say that the only way I know to avoid breaking along with society is to base your beliefs and values on the Bible. It's not easy or quick, but it does harmonize and coalesce the whole of our diverse experiences into a coherent meaning. Colossians 1:17.

There is a lot more I want to learn about this.

Could Civil Disobedience be Called For?

 I prayed about getting a COVID vaccination.

I know that I have been bought with a price and I owe my body a living sacrifice to God.

I know that my Master knows every detail about me even the hairs of my head are numbered.

I know that my Master doesn't confuse me or my bodily needs with anyone else.

I know that there is only one God and only one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

I know that the US government is not that mediator.

If by seeking knowledge with my God-given faculties, I do not arrive at the same conclusion that our government has prescribed for everyone universally, which am I to obey?

I know that we have been given all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of Christ-- which is found in the Scripture.

I don't find anywhere that God delegated authority for my body to any other entity so he must hold me personally responsible for that!

So is it faithful of me to neglect my conviction and peace gained through prayer and wise counsel, because someone is asserting authority over what I have to inject into my body? If I yield to this tyrant, will he be satisfied and allow me to continue exercising my God-given responsibility? Having received this token of submission, will he not be the bolder next time? Will the Bible or the Constitution restrain him? If we just wink and shrug now, won't that make it more difficult to assert the God-given decision-making responsibility we have over our health?

I say that we aren't in a mere political disagreement about the statutory authority of OSHA. We are up against spiritual wickedness in high places. Think about the world and life view espoused by those pushing vaccines. Zero population growth; abortion, infanticide and euthanasia on demand; zero economic growth; state salvation from all of our problems. G.W.F. Hegel said it best: “The State is God walking on earth”.  Today the religion of Statism holds the head of state as the ultimate highest authority over what individuals must sacrifice for the collective good.

It may be time to stand regardless of what the state governors or Supreme Court do.  I decided that freedom was worth dying for when I joined the military.  If I lose my job, wouldn’t that be a small price?  What price is the freedom of our posterity worth to you?

The Economic Difference Of Libertarians

 Whether we vote Republicans or Democrats we get economic chaos.  Why?  Republicans talk in favor of the free market, but what’s the disconnect?  It’s all about ownership.

 Economics is the process of problem-solving.  It’s making choices of how to use limited resources so that the best outcome is realized.  Ownership entails power and responsibility to maximize the benefit of property.  When Republicans and Democrats look at GDP, Unemployment Rate, etc. they politicize the virtue of their economic policies.  For a politician to achieve a political benefit, they must make choices regarding the use of resources, which assumes ownership of the property.  If GDP is a reflection on the political machine in power, and since GDP is the total production within the political jurisdiction, they have implicitly assumed ownership of all property.  They play God.  Even cutting taxes is making a choice to “let” you use your money.

 Both parties theoretically use different approaches to help the economy, both involve state officials telling people what to make and do with their property.  In Socialist nations, the totalitarian state just takes over the property directly.  This usually fails quickly.  For us they’re subtler, nonetheless, both parties are guilty of taking ownership of people’s property.  Here they do it with spending.  In our economy, the spenders of money voluntarily induce the property owners to make and do what they want.  But for the state, getting the money is not voluntary.  Because taxes are so unpopular, they will borrow on the faith that they will tax in the future.  But that prevents some people from getting the opportunity to borrow because the interest rate goes up.  To correct this, the central planners in the Federal Reserve, with “supreme wisdom” decide what the interest rate ought to be and create new money.  This is the subtlest because our money loses value, but the public is unaware of it for a long time. It’s only apparent they have gotten poorer when they can buy fewer goods and services than otherwise. However, if technology and harder work improve goods and services, who knows how much richer they otherwise would be?  Anyway, spending money on credit doesn’t seem like they’re taking control of your property, but make no mistake, they’ve bought what they wanted from your property and then left you with money which is losing value.

 The difference for Libertarians in the economy is Ownership.  The use of your property is determined by you.  What you decide to sell will be judged by the market—how much they give for it.  If you serve your neighbor well, your power and responsibility will grow.  If you don’t, your power and responsibility will decline.  What you decide to keep or give will be judged by only God.  The state has no authority to maximize indicators of the “General Welfare” because property can have only one legitimate owner.  The fuzzy concept of “General Welfare” is secondary to the fundamental issue of Justice. But as a secondary issue, freedom has the best track record for promoting prosperity and reducing poverty.  And there’s no politician to thank for that success. 

Preservation of Scripture is God's Work

As surely as the inspiration of scripture is God's work, so is the preservation of the same.  We know God will preserve his scripture, every sacred word, because he promised he would in Psalms 12:6-7.

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.  Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.

When God promises something, you can bet that it is he that is finally responsible for it.  And since here we have a promise, inspired by God, that his words would be available to us in purity for every generation of time, our confidence is a confidence in God and not in man.  So there can be no question as to whether the full testimony of God to man is with us in human language, it is only a question of if we have that witness in the language we understand.  And the answer is yes.  God has commanded us to desire the sincere milk of the word, and to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.  It is an evident providence that God has blessed his church in our country with the ability to obey those commands as the pillar and ground of the truth, (1 Tim 3:15) and to be throughly furnished to all good works (2 Tim 3:16).

Seeking Fulfillment

I waited for my daughter to reach for me this evening.  After finishing supper, my job was to bathe my daughter.  Instead of merely grabbing here, I called her, reached for her, and waited for her to reach for me.  This episode just helped me understand the pleasure God enjoys when we seek Him.

Although I would have carried her to her bath whether she wanted to or not, I decided to wait until she decided she wanted to be with me, because I would not have had that pleasure if she didn't reach for me.  I know this is a good allegory to our relationship with God, because Jesus taught us that God is our Father and that He loves us.

Jesus said: "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."  John 4:23 We are sought of God. "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" Psalm 8:4

"One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple...When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek." Psalm 27. Worship is a communion with our God, and one we must seek after.  What great pleasure there is in simply beholding the beauty of the LORD.

We have a relationship with God--children by adoption, and as a people, His bride.  Love is God's motivation.  All relationships require some communication, and some quality time together.  Worship then is that togetherness, that enjoying of the relationship.