what is a primitive baptist?

WHAT
IS A
PRIMITIVE
BAPTIST?
--tr-
As
Observed
by
\
JAMES BIBLER
Samford University Library
WHAT IS A PRIMITIVE BAPTIST?
The t riumph ant church of J esus Christ includes everyone who h as felt the love of God in
his heart . This heart-felt love of God does not
depend upon r elig ious affiliation. The chur ch t riumphant includes all of God's sincere praying
peop le everywhere. God is their Hea venly F ather , He places loYe in t heir hear ts. H e h ears
t heir cry in t he nigh t and answers their daily
p rayer. HeaYen is certa in to be their home.
Then t here is t he loca.J, vis ible church of J esus
Ch rist. Search the New Testament, lea rn well the
ideals, the doctlin e and practice of t he N ew T estament church. T hen compare them with the
P rimitive Baptist church and see if this church
is not nearer the standard of Christ and the apostles than any other chu rch. We, the members of
the Primitive Ba ptist chu rch, believe our church
is the visible chur ch of J esus Christ.
Always a Ptimit ive B aptist is a true believer
in salvation by the grace of the sovereign God.
This glorious doctrine of salvation by grace embraces vastly more p eople t han any other doclline.
The doctrine of sover eign grace embraces all of
God's children everywhere regardless of t h eir
geographical location , t h eir pla ce in history or
their local religiou s affiliations.
H ospitality always charact erizes the Church
of Jesus Christ and is one necessary qualification
of any ordained elder. (Protestants from various
b ranches, some Roman Ca tholics, Negroes, Indians, Jews and Hindu s have expressed their a ppreciation of P rimitive Bap tist Hospitality.)
The local militant Church of J esus Christ has
been known by different names down through the
ages such as, the First Puritans, Novationists,
P aterniTies, Lollards, Menonites, Waldensees,
French Huguenots, Albigenses, Anab aptists and
other na m es. The following essential doctrines
and p ractices always identify t he True Church of
J esus Christ:
(1 ) Belief in God and t he a uthorit y of the
Holy Scriptures;
( 2) Believers' Baptism ("bring forth fruits
meet for repentance"), "Profession of your faith."
(3) The Priesthood of the Believer, "Every
Samford University Library
man a priest," t he "Royal Priesthood," t he spiritual offering of each praying person. "Each man
may worship God according to his own conscience." This is much better than worshiping
God according to the dictates of those without a
conscience.
(4) Separation of Chu rch and State ("Render
nnto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto God
that which is God's,") neither looking to Washington, D. C. for a "hand-out" nor to Rome for
instruction. This is always in contrast to the
worldly church which continually covets the taxpayer's money. The Wlholy Wlion of Church and
State is always the enemy of religious freedom
and has caused the persecution of millions. James
Madison warned against the first small encroachment. How truly he spoke, b ecause he was a personal witness to Baptist ministers imprisoned in
the Colony of Virginia for preaching the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
These often persecuted people were first called
Baptists in the 17th Century. Today they are
known as Primitive, or Old School Baptists, to
distinguish them from the various other churches
who call themselves Baptists. Perhaps they are
better known as "Hard Shells," a name given
them by their enemies. However, Mr. Sam Rayburn, who was a Primitive Baptist, and Speaker
of the House of Representatives, stated publicly
that he was a "Hard Shell Baptist." The true
P1imitive Baptists are not Protestants, as they
did not separate from Catholicism, but Catholicism separated from them.
The Church was perfect as it came from the
hands of Jesus; consequently, any change in perfection makes imperfection. Churches that have
departed from the original New Testament pattern have no legal claim on true church succession, regardless of what name they may be called.
Each individual church governs its internal affairs
subject to Christ alone, its King and Law Giver.
Sometimes the church is large in number, for
instance, in the New Testament we read of 3,000
being added to the church in one day. Other
times it is referred to as "little flock." The church
has always "contended for the faith once delivered
to the Saints," caring more to be right before God
than to be popular with men. For this they have
Samford University Library
endured much bitter opposition and persecution
from both catholic and Protestant who influenced
the State against the Baptists. The true Church
is always persecuted but never persecuting. It
has sometimes been driven to worship in dens and
caves of the earth, but never for one moment did
this church cease to exist.
Dr. John Clarke, with eleven others, constituted the first Primitive Baptist Church in
America at Newport, Rhode Island in 1638. Dr.
Clarke was a Baptist minister and a doctor from
London, being driven to America by persecution.
"Regarding the mode of worship, the Primitive
Baptists wish to be guided by the word of God.
We believe it is our duty to meet often together
and to communicate our thoughts together especially in the things which pertain to the advancement of the Redeemer's Kingdom. (Mal. 3:16;
I Cor. 10:31; Matt. 6:33; Heb. 10:25.) These
things we shall endeavor to do."
The order of worship of the Primitive Baptists
remains plain: simply singing, prayer and preaching. They engage in congregational singing v..>ith
no choirs and no musical instruments because
there is no New Testament authority for them.
The sincere prayer of every true Primitive Baptist is to do no more, and certainly no less, than
the New Testament authorizes.
The Primitive Baptists oppose Sunday Schools,
aids, societies and all other auxiliaries for this
reason: there is no New Testament authority.
Primitive Baptists believe in teaching their children Bible truths. "We believe it is an incumbent
duty on the heads of families to maintain the worship of God in their homes." (Eph. 6:4; Acts 20:
20; Jer. 10:25.) Children need to be taken to
church to hear the pure gospel as they were for
eighteen hundred years before Sunday Schools
were added to the churches. It is an historical
fact that the influence of the church and gospel
preaching, together with learning the sct-iptures
at home, has a much better influence upon the
children than has the modern Sunday School. I s
this not a challenge to every Christian father?
Let him and each member of the family read
aloud from the Bible. (How sad that some parents do not love their children enough to take
them to church.)
Samford University Library
The ch urch Is "In t h e worltl, but not of thP
world." It is a house of wor,.hip nne! not for mrrchandise or enter tainment and all s.'tle.!<, bn7A'Ult-s,
shows, plays, parties, etc are not authonzed by
t he word of God.
The P rimitive Baptist minister::; nrc cnllNI "Elders," a New T estament word. 1It is interestmg
to note: that the Strict Baptists of Englan<l
refer to their ministers only as "1\fr.") The title
"Reverend" belongs only to Gocl, never to man.
Their ministers do not attend theological ~chools,
for no school can prepare a man to preach. Paul
said t he Gospel he preach<•<! was not of mnn. neither was he taught it of man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Primitive Baptist ministers
do not preach for salaries (''The hireling flceth ."l
However , they rece-ive some finnncinl he-lp in the
way of free wi.ll offerings. The church usunlly
contributes through the deacon.
P rimitive Baptists do not bclie\'e baptism
saves anyone eternally; Jesus is the only Saviour.
"We consider t hat believers' baptism is to be performed by Immersion. ancl is n. go:-;pd, not a
church, ordinance. It should be administered only
to t hose who give a "satisfactory relntion of their
faith in Ch rist. as preparatory to entering into
the Church, and as n prerequisite to our Communion." (Acts 2: 41-42. ) Those bapti7.ccl then receive
the full fellowship of the Church. Baptism is actministered by an ordained Eifler. a.~ is th<' Lord'$
Supper, to those who hn.,·e been properly baptized. They receive the uniNtvenecl bread and thegra pe wine which are the emblrms of the broke-n
body and shed blood of thP Lord and S:n;our,
J esus Christ.
It is of primary importance to note that Primitive Bap tists always baptize tho;;e coming to thPm
from other religious orders ancl denominations.
In this, t hey keep company with the An.1bnpti;;ts,
m ean ing re-baptizers, first baptizing all who wen'
accepted for membersh ip, regardless of pre,·ious
membership in other orders. Xeith•'r d.-: Primitive Baptists allow the sprinkling of infants; "Infant Baptism" is not a doctrine of the X<w Testam ent. Baptize only those who c• m bringing
"fruits meet for repentance.'' hence, believers'
baptism by immersion prevails. Jesus never commanded anyone to be sprinkled.
The Primitive Baptis ts belie,·e in mis.«ionary
Samford University Library
l
work as directed by God, but arc opposed to modern systems and m issionary boards. Jesus said,
"Go (not send) into all the world and preach the
gospel." The power of the evangelist in the planting of churches is dynamic, urgent, and needs to
be practiced and encouraged. Evangelists were
active, not only in the planting of the New Testament Churches, but also in the Colonies of
Ametica. F or instance, once Elder John Leland
was approached with this question, "Why are you
digging that hole ?" Elder Leland replied, "I'm a
Baptist preacher and I am digging a Baptistry."
The citizen replied, "There are n o Baptists around
here." Then Elder Leland with vigorous faith
answered, "There will be when I get the hole
dug." King George, the third, had said, "Thou
shalt not preach," but these pioneer evangelists
knew their calling was of God.
Thirty-seven years ago I had the privilege of
being in the home of Elder Lee Hanks in Atlanta,
Georgia. During his evangelical work twenty-six
new churches were planted. He did this by visiting
in areas, winning little children and their parents,
where no Primitive Baptist Church ha d existed.
Jesus said, "Go into the highways and hedges and
lovingly compel them to come in."
Primitive Baptists believe Jesus is the living
Word. They believe the Bible is the written word,
the inspired word of God, and the only rule of
faith and practice. When the moral teaching of
the Bible is truly lived by the members of the
Church, the Church becomes God's blessing to the
entire community. Yet most of the teachings of
Jesus are addressed to His followers and the epistles are to direct the Church, and are not to the
world in general. (The first few verses of each
ep istle will verify this.)
There is much misunderstanding throughout
the religious world because of misapplication of
the Bible. For instance, the popular text, "Behold
I stand at the door and knock," is addressed to
the lukewarm church and not to the alien sinner.
(Rev. 3:20.) There are two phases of salvation
spoken of t hroughout the Bible. One is eternal
which is wholly by the grace of God. The other
pertains to time, our life on earth.
P rimitive Baptists believe in the Triune God,
i.e., that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are
three, yet one, and equal in power. They are
Samford University Library
effectual in the eternal salvation of all of those
chosen in Christ before the foundation of the
world.
The Primitive Baptist people differ from all
others in their belief regarding eternal salvation.
There can be no doubt that all people need salvation. The Bible refers to the dead in treaspasses
and sins; yet there are no degrees of death. None
are willing or able to save themselves from this
lost and ruined condition. Rather, in God's eternal
love, He chose, elected, and predestinated the
eternal salvation of multi-millions of persons. Only
God knows the number and yet their particular
names were recorded in Heaven before God
created the world. "According as H e hath chosen
us in Him before the foundation of the world."
(Eph. 1:4.)
Jesus came to earth, suffered and died for
those chosen ones, and redeemed them from the
a·wful cw·se of sin. The Holy Spirit calls, regenerates, and gives the New Birth, sometime during
their life on earth. The Holy Spirit is always
effectual, calling all of God's chosen people wherever they may be, regardless of whether they have
heard the Gospel or read the Bible.
There is no text in the Bible that says that
Christ came to offer salvation to anyone. It says,
"He shall save His people," and H e did just that.
Primitive Baptists believe what Jesus said, "Ye
must be born again," but that this spiritual birth
cannot be brought about by all the combined efforts of men. Life must precede all feeling and
action. Belief, faith, and good works are evidences
of the spiritual birth and not the cause of it.
Another stumbling block to many who do not
"rightly divide" the scriptures is the phrase "all
men" or "the whole world." These expressions in
the Bible should be taken mostly in a restricted
sense as indicated .by the subject under discussion
and seldom do they mean the whole human race.
Before the Revolutionary War three-fourths of
all denominations in America believed the doctrine of election and predestination. Primitive
Baptists do not believe God sends anyone to everlasting punishment except for sin; that is where
they go when left in the position in which they
have placed themselves. Predestination and election show God's eternal love and the salvation of
all the redeemed in Jesus Christ the Lord. One
Samford University Library
will have no trouble with this doctrine if he truly
believes in the Sovereignty of God, the King of
Kings, and the Lord of Lords. H e says, "I will
have mercy on whom I will have merey," and "0
man, who art thou that repliest against God?"
True Primitive Baptists believe there will be
a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and
the unjust, and that the joys of the saved and the
punishment of the wicked will be everlasting and
both will be everlastingly conscious of it. "And
these shall go away into everlasting punishment,
but the righteous into life etemal." (Matt. 25:46.)
J esus will come again to gather the bodies of
His "jewels" and change them to spiritual, immortal bodies which will be reunited with the soul
and spirit and taken to that home He has prepared. In that home there will be no misunderstandings and clisappointments, no tears, death,
sorrow, crying or pain. What a glorious future for
those who love Him! This is the Church Triumphant and all who love God are in this Church.
I am indebted to Hassell's history, the writings of Elder W. L . Johnson and forty-seven years
of Primitive Baptist influence in preparing this
manuscript. Likewise, the fellowship of the Strict
Baptists in England and the Primitive Baptists in
our own country, their ministry, and their longsuffering and prayer have given considerable help
for which I am grateful.
The following quotation of the English Baptists in 1644 A.D., taken from page 524 of Hassell's History, will help u s answer the question,
"What Is a Primitive Baptist?" :
"Thus we desire to give unto Christ that which
is His, and unto all lawful authority that which
is their due; and to owe nothing to any man but
love; to live quietly and peaceably, as it becometh saints, endeavoring in all things to keep a
good conscience, and to do unto every man (of
what judgment soever) as we would they should
do unto us; that, as our practice is, so it may
prove us to be a conscionable, quiet and harmless
people (no ways dangerous or troublesome to
human society), and to labor and work with our
hands that we may not be chargeable to any,
b ut to give to him that needeth, both friends and
enemies, accounting it more excellent to give than
to receive."
Samford University Library