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Volume 67 Number 12 Lubbock, Texas 79493 Copyright $12.00 Per Year December 1999 |
Blessed by God The Law By Moses Cremation The Necessity of Love Waiting for Better Times Cause and Effect Power of God The Saved or Elect and The Lost or Non-Elect Tour Through The Bible Frequently asked Questions Obituaries
In 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 3, the Apostle Paul says, Blessed be God, even the father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.
For many years now, I have read and studied about how that God has blessed us all with spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. How that He has made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. How that we have positioned in Him and how that every blessing that we have, denotes the fact that we are in a blessed condition, or position. But our text says, Blessed Be God This is not telling us that we have been placed in a blessed state, but rather that because of the blessed state or condition we have been placed in, God is worthy of Praise, Honour, and Glory. It very well could have read, Praise be to God, Glory be to God, Honour be to God.
Paul had just established in verse 2, Grace be to you and peace from God, our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. He is saying, this grace is to you, this peace is to you and both of these comes from God. Not only does grace and peace come from God: but that it comes from God that is supreme deity, one that has all power, one that just speaks and it comes to pass.
This God that has all this power is our Father. Not only is He our Father, but He is the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I remember reading about Mary standing at the sepulchre of Jesus, weeping, because she thought that someone had taken the body of her Lord. At this time, she did not know that Christ had risen from the grave; but as she was weeping, Christ appeared unto her and said, why weepest thou? She turned to Him and called Him, Master. Jesus said to her, “touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father, but, go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God and your God.”
This God is not only our God, He is also the God of Jesus Christ. He is not only the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, He is also our Father. So, not only does grace and peace come from God our Father, it also, came from and through Jesus.
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies. This God of ours, this God of Jesus Christ, this Father of ours and this Father of Jesus Christ is the Father of Mercies. This Father is full of pity and compassion. Our God and our Father looked down from heaven and saw he sinful state, of His precious family, and did not give us what we rightfully deserve. W e deserved to ‘be eternally separated from God, our Father, we deserved to be cast into the lake of fire and be tormented night and day forever and ever. But, God is the Father of mercies. Oh, how we ought to rejoice and be thankful for all the mercy He has shown toward His people.
In verse 10, the Apostle Paul says, Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver; in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us. Oh, what mercy. No wonder Paul says, that He is the Father of mercies. No other father in the world could have this kind of compassion, and pity upon their children. Not only is He the Father of mercies, but He is the God of all comfort.
Did you notice that Paul not only said that God is a God of comfort. This comfort carries the thought of solace or consolation as being relieved of your mercy or distress of mind. It is not inward consolation that is far reaching, it reaches so far that it touches the soul of man and gives him a peace that passeth all understanding. There is no mercy, there is no comfort, there is no peace, there is no solace or consolation that can reach the heart of man, except it comes from the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort!
No wonder the Apostle Paul says, Blessed be God. Oh!, how we ought to, rejoice in God. Oh!, how we ought to shout praises, glory and honour to the king of kings and Lord of Lords. Not only did God put away our sins by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, He put them away from us, as far as the east is from the west and remembered them against us no more. Blessed be God. AMEN.
By Elder M. W. Smith
The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ John 1:17.
The law knows no mercy. When the individual committed wickedness under the law and it was proven by two witnesses they were stoned to death.
The church is not under the law. That is the Law of Moses.
They are not to judge their members as they did under that law. For grace and truth came by Jesus Christ and we are under grace now.
The Bible says if you have judgment without mercy, you will be judged without mercy. There was a servant in debt, and the Lord forgave him. This same servant found his brother who owed less than he, and took him by the throat saying, “Pay that thou owest.”
But when it was made known to the Lord of that servant he was wrought and cast in prison to remain until his debt was paid.
The Bible says, “Touch not mine anointed.” It is a violation of the law of God to persecute His anointed. And we as a people will suffer as a people when we do that. Banner of Love, June 15, 1943
By Elder Berwyn Hand
I wonder how many of our people know that only the ungodly of the Bible ever burned the human body and they were always for revenge or a sacrifice to a false god. An abomination in the eyes of God!
Now for a few Scriptural examples for the disposal of our loved ones or a Godly burial.
First and foremost, Jesus, our precious Savior was buried in a new tomb. Matt. 27:60, and the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints, which sleep arose and came out of graves at Jesus’ resurrection. There was Abraham, who buried, Sarah, his wife, as did all the patriots, and many, many others throughout the old Scriptures.
Now, for others in the New Testament or the grace age examples, we find that Lazarus was buried, whom Jesus loved very much. John 11, in fact, “Jesus wept at the time for sorrow, and raised him from the grave and he lived.
What about Stephen, who preached one of the most powerful, doctrinal, and blessed discourse on record? Acts 8:2. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him; then there is Col. 2:2. If we bum, “cremate” our loved ones, we make a mockery of the sacred baptismal figure of the death, burial and resurrection; and the great example Jesus taught us in being baptized into the church. Matt 3:13 and Mark 1 and 10 and on and on.
This being the positive side of the issue. Now for the negative points to ponder, I Kings 13:1 ‘There came a man of God “and” cried against the altar in the word of the Lord” Men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee. Behold the altar rent 4 Kings. Heroboam, lay hold of the man of God and this hand was dried up. Does this sound like that ‘God approved of cremation?
Lev. 18:21, God’s laws forbid it. And thou shalt not let any of thy seed ‘pass through the fire to Moleck; Moleck being a false god.
Deut. 12:31. For every abomination to the Lord which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
2 Kings 23:31. King Josiah took bones out of the sepulchers and burned them at the altar and polluted it.
So, it is an abomination to burn our loved ones bodies. It will pollute the worship service of God, and it is against His laws, so why would we do such a thing? Now come, brethren, read your bible, for the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. And of the joints and marrow; and is a discerner of the thought and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12.
Yours in the light of the truth,
Elder Berwyn Hand, pastor
Carlsbad, Primitive Baptist Church
507 N. 10th St. Carlsbad, NM
By Brother Thomas McDonald
continued
There is only one way we can learn anything about love … God is Love,” so it’s only by, and through the Holy Ghost that we will ever experience true love. Without Him, we will only find lust, vanity, and physical desire and ultimately utter emptiness.
It is only the Holy Ghost who can take away our cold and stony heart, that is in your natural flesh, and give us a new heart, and create in us a new and living spirit, which is the only thing in us that is able to comprehend the love of God.
This love of God is as necessary to our spirit, as food, shelter and clothing is to our natural bodies, in order that we, the manifested children of God, might live the abundant life in Jesus Christ here in this present world We must have it to experience any lasting loving relationships in this world
Human love must be based upon the eternal unconditional, love of God! The truth is that Jesus Christ is the manifested love of God he is the love of God come invisible flesh Jesus Christ is the foundation on which all our relationships must rest. He’s the one that binds them all together. Without Him in our hearts there can never be any real sense of a loving relationship, in our marriages, families, as well as in our churches.
It’s imperative that a born again child of God, who has the love of God in his heart, in turn, exercise love openly as charity. If charity is not exercised in our lives, we will suffer a profound, and negative effect both naturally, as well as spiritually. It must be exercised in our marriage relationship. Ephesians 5:12 says, “Husbands love your wives,” [in what way?] “even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it,” Without the love of God, a husband can never truly love his wife.
And again, ‘Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” This is impossible without an inner heartfelt, heart experienced, love of God, which is imputed into the heart of the family. Each member of our family, includes our church families is to love one another with that very same unreserved love, which is grace, which enables us to love, honor, consider one another’s welfare above our own, and to stay at each other’s side through better or worse, riches, or poorer for the rest of our lives.
It takes Godly love for our children, to be able to obey their parents in all things; for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Col. 3:20. Look around you and you will see our children face enormous distractions in the world, vying for their attention from spiritual things. A parent needs the loving hand of God to guide them, and lead them to become strong, healthy and loving adults.
We can look and see the results of the lack of family love in the families of our nation and see the devastation that has resulted. Beloved, God has designed charity for the family, in order for it to fully function in love; a real family cannot exist without love.
God is the only source of love in the universe, and if you are one of His, He has already placed His love in you and He gives us a desire for it. He alone, teaches us to give love to each other. This is the only way we will ever know the answer to what love really is
Are you having a hard time feeling that love? The apostle James said, in James 4:2-3,1 that “ye have not, because ye ask not.” We need to go to God, and He will bring our feeble feelings into line with the fact of the love He has placed in us. Remember, it’s God alone, who by his rich and abounding grace, through the new birth, gives us the ability to love. Without His love abiding inside us, all of our attempts to exercise love will end up leading us into utter darkness.
The Greek word for love is the word, Agape, which is an active moving and biding love feast. This is the very essence of what, and who God is. And the Greek word for charity is this very same wore Agape.
Looking at I Corinthians 13:1-13, the apostle Paul shows us the love of God in action, as charity in our lives. As we continue to read this letter, we will notice that charity is love. God places his love in our hearts, and then we turn around and express that love as charity. We feel the active love of God, and we express that love as charity. And as charity is love, that is openly manifested toward others.
Paul goes on to say, that even if we are able to speak “with the voice of man and of angels,” and yet we have no charity in our hearts, we are no more than a “sounding” or clanking brass or a tinkling cymbal.” We are no more than chimes tinkling in the wind. We may have a soothing sound, but we are totally useless, giving no meaning, and possessing no understanding.
He goes on to say, that even if I had the gift of prophecy, and have the understanding of all mysteries and have been filled with great faith, yet have no charity in your hearts, that is all of little or no use to us, or anyone else. And even if we’re willing to give everything that we own to feed the poor, and give our bodies to be burned with fire, yet, exercise no charity in our hearts, we will never come to realize it’s real blessing.
“Charity suffereth long, and is kind” charity is patient, and tender, considerate, pleasant, compassionate, and generous. It forgives all wrongs done, keeping no records, not just “till seven times, but till “seventy times seven.” Matt. 18: 21-22. That’s four hundred and ninety times a day.
If we live our lives without love’s patience, we will be restless, irritable, violent, and resentful. We damage our inner makeup, and rob ourselves of true joy.
We then find that we lose our sense of well being, as well as our ability to be sympathetic toward others when they are in their distresses. We cause the good nature of the spirit within us to become dead and useless to us. Patience is said to be a womanly or motherly characteristic, it’s the Hallmark of true motherhood, as well as all parenthood.
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you~ that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” John 15: 16.
I am waiting for better times to arrive. There are a couple of events in my life that, when they occur, things will be much better.
My whole life has been premised on that assumption. At one time the major event was becoming 16 year old and getting a driver’s license. Later, it became "when I get to college" things will be better.
Now, it’s "when I pay off the mortgage", or "when I get that salary raise," I’ll start doing things differently.
I recently read a short article by a man named Robert J. Hastings. He talked about this "vision" we all have of traveling on a train across the continent. We look out the windows and watch the world pass by and see children playing, cattle grazing and rows of planted farm fields. Always uppermost in our minds is not the site along the way, but the final destination. So many wonderful dreams will come true once we arrive at a certain point. All our lives will suddenly fit together once we reach some elusive destination point.Too many times our lives become like that train ride. We have some dream destination, and we miss out on the ride:
"When I turn 18 . . ."
"When I get out of debt..."
"When this year is over..."
"When I find a new job..."
"When I get my children raised..."
"When I get a new car..."
What we need to realize, is that the true joy of life is the trip. We miss out on wonderful things because we overlook them day to day.
We all know we have a wonderful destination at life’s end. But we are on earth for a purpose during our life. We need to enjoy the moment; enjoy the ride through life.
Our final destination is the gift of eternal life. But we are not here on earth solely for that end. If son, why were we put here to start with?
As John the Baptist is quoted as saying in the third chapter of Matthew: "...the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
God has given us a job day-to-day. His kingdom of heaven "is at hand" day-to-day. We can enjoy that kingdom every day. We know there is peace and rest at the destination; but there also is comfort and enjoyment in the trip to that destination.
King David penned the 118th Psalm in which he stated at verse 24:
"This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."
Think about that. Are we getting caught up in the worries of tomorrow, or the regrets of yesterday?.
The Lord made today. Thank the Lord for today. Stop every day of the journey and thank the Lord for the blessings of today.
As Christ said in his Sermon on the mount"
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness..." Matt. 6:33. If we do that, tomorrow will take care of itself.
The Lord has provided to us his kingdom of heaven while we journey through this life. We need to stop and enjoy it, and take comfort and security in it.
We do not need to "wait" for better times; the Lord has provided us comfort and security for the day. There are always artificial deadlines. The Kingdom of heaven is at hand — today. You do not have to wait.
By Elder Charles Walker
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
If we deny the cause and effect, we may as well deny everything else that rules in our world of wonder. But to deny this it would cause us to deny the one with whom we have to do. These laws of cause and effect were placed in existence by one that is supreme in being. One scripture I used in the strangest statement that can be advanced on the laws of cause and effect.
To be familiar to any extent with the earth that we live on and to look at the starry heavens is to recognize that they didn’t come into being on their own. The so-called brainy people laugh at us when we say that we believe that this world was created by a Supreme Being.
It would take an idiot to believe that all this perfection came into being as results of an accident. This perfection declares that the one that brought this into existence if perfect and is all-powerful. It also declares the wisdom, ability, and faithfulness of the one that made all this.
One of the first things that creation tells us is that the one that made it is unlimited in power. It tells us that the one that made it, did it instantly, meaning that it took only a short time for it to be brought to its state of completeness. Otherwise the first part would have become old before the last part was made.
Men themselves speak of light years as they speak of the distance from one part of the universe to another part. A light year is 6,000,000,000,000 miles and some stars are many light years away from us. So, we see that the one that the one that made all this is eternal, as well as all-powerful. I say this because one light year is a long way for one to work.
So, I reckon that this one must be unlimited in His existence. I think the right word to use is that He is omnipresence in that extent of His being. The word extent means, “the space amount or degree to which a thing extends itself. Yes, I think the right word is omnipresence. I reckon that I’m getting mixed up in all this.
The next thing that the heavens and earth tells us that the one that made them is a force or person of great order. Why don’t we forget the word, “force” from our little tidbit on cause and effect? No force can think for itself, at least, I never have seen one that could. Neither can it see where it is going or where it has been. So, to say a lot of words let’s forget the word, force. It cannot see or think; it cannot get mad at one for leaving it out.
Now, if there is such a thing as blind force being responsible for all this, let us turn to the word that describes the one that let us read about him in the heavens and earth. Now, some fool says, what about fate, I thought this fate brought all this about? I thought we got rid of fate when we did away with the words, blind force. The one that created all this declares he is a God of great order in that all things give support to each other, so all are supported together. If the order of the universe was destroyed, chaos would be the immediate results.
We must conclude this about the one that made all this, he does not like for disorder to invade His universe and mess it all up. Greek mythology calls this one, Hercules, but I don’t think he is any more than one of these others that men speak of calling him by another name. You know, the more I get in to this, I think a lot of my neighbors think a lot like those old Greeks.
Where have we got to thus far in our little thinking about cause and effect? You say, you have not said nothing about your subject thus far. You are wrong about that. The one that created the universe is all powerful, all wise, unlimited in being, orderly and faithful. This is the one that we call the lord God, the Almighty One.
This is the One that we worship as our Maker. The scriptures say that He preexisted because, “by Him all things exist, He pre-dates all things, by Him all things consist” This in saying, that He is the first great cause and the spring of all that exist This means that nothing came in to existence by itself.
You say, what about God, when did He start? I don’t know, I haven’t got past eternal, yet. I really don’t think that I ever will. But to satisfy your minds, He calls Himself, “I am that I Am, or I exist because I exist. This probably tells us how long He has been around and how long He intends to stay.
Let us use this expression now, “All things were made by Him and without Him, not anything was made that was made.” This says that everything that is, is because He made it. Now, if this is not the laws of cause and effect at work, I don’t know what is. He that is the Son of God made everything and caused to appear as rational things. So, we have cause and effect before us in no uncertain terms.
Every effect has that which caused it and every cause produces an effect. We can truthfully say that sin is the effect of a cause, and that cause can be traced back to the first sin that shook the creation. The transgression of our parents in the Garden of Eden. So, we are not sinners because we sinned, but we sinned because we are sinners.
“Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death hath passed upon all men, for all have sinned.” This tells us how sin came to be in the world that we live in, and how it ripples out from Adam through all times and all people. Sin in the human family is family is like a rock tossed into a still body of water. It ripples out, one ringlet after another until the whole body of water is filled with ripples of waves. The cause of the ripple is the rock thrown in the still waters. So is sin in the world and in the human family. You say, that there was in your life that you did not care for the things of God or the Lord, Jesus Christ. Then you began to crave the things that you once did not care of. You asked, what has happened to me? It is a matter of taste. At one time you had a taste for sin and the world. Now you have a taste for the things of the Spirit of God.
You have been given a taste of the things of Christ and now you crave them. You have been given a spiritual appetite. The cause of this is that you have been born of God. The effects of this birth is that you now love the things of God. You may not know it yet, but you also will have a taste for heaven, which is also an effect of being born again. I suppose I need to close this little thing at the present or it will get too big for me. I prey that this will help you understand why things are as they are with you.
In His service and in His Cause,
Elder Charles Walker
Pastor of Ole Enon Primitive Baptist Church
Middleton, Tenn.
THANK YOU
Thank you, I enclose a check for which renew my subscription for another year to The Banner of Love; also use the balance as is needed.
God Bless You, Marvin S. Gassaway Monroe, OK
Note: We appreciate you, Brother Gassaway.
Psalms 62:11,
Power belongeth unto God: Nahum 1:3, God is great in power Rom 1 20 Eternal Power; Rev. 19:6 Omnipotent. This brief outline is designed primarily to show the stages of utility of the Power of God and not just the fact of such power. Also be careful to note who [only] the Power is deposited within.
1. Definition = Hebrews - Hayil, koah, Oz; Greek - Dynamic - explosive; Ezousiaauthority; In either case this is the ability to do so whatsoever pleases God. God never does as much as He can; conversely, God can do more than he does.
2. God’s sovereignty is retained continuously [control] without ever releasing one iota whatsoever
3 God’s creative power is always mediate and immediate
4 God’s sustaining power never diminishes. The reservoir is never depleted or lowered. .
5. God’s procedures concerning His power.
6. God Abdicates - Given or Grants All Power to His Son, Jesus Christ, as in Mall. 28:18; John 10:18; 17:1-2; 19:10-11; Acts 10:38, 1st. Cor. 1:24. This item is a major Key to this entire study.
Sovereignty remains or rests with the entire Godhead, however, Power is mow found~ deposited only, with the ‘entire Godhead; however,’ Power is now found deposited only in Jesus Christ, and from this point forward, we will find that Jesus is the dispenser of Power. Jesus Christ never violates, challenges or tampers with the Sovereignty of God, but always is willing to do only the “Will of His Father.” Next:
7. Jesus Christ abdicates power to the 12 Apostles, as in Matt. 10:1,8:16:19, 18:18: Mark 3:14-15; John 29:22-23; Acts 4:7-33. Next,
8. Jesus Christ Abdicates less power to the 70 Disciples, as in Luke 10:1, 9:17.
9. Jesus Christ - The preacher in his ministry in the Power [Dynamic] of the spirit as witnessed in the 33 Miracles [Power] Mall. 11:5-20, Luke 4:13-14; 5-17.
10. Now for the prelude to the New Exodus is Pentecost as noted in Exodus 8:19 as the Finger of God: Luke 11:20 Finger of God.
11. Pointing to the Day of Pentecost [2nd function of the holy Spirit Power granted by Jesus Christ as in Matt. 3:11, Luke 24:49; Acts I: 5-8.
12. On, the Day of Pentecost - The Holy Ghost baptized operatively the N. T., Visible, Organic, Organized, Militant Church on earth, with Power as in Mark 9:1; Acts 2:1-4.
13. The Chief Evidence of God’s. Power is the “Resurrection of Jesus Christ” as recorded in Acts 43:33; Rom. 1:4; ‘8-11; Eph. 1:19-21, Phil 3:10, 1st Peter 3:18.
14. God’s power is deposited within and dispensed by Jesus Christ through “The Holy Spirit” in the 1st Function. - New Birth, or Regeneration, as the testimonies of Divine Inspiration denotes in John 3:5, 5:2’5; 6:44,63; Eph. 2:1; Col 1:13; then continues in the 2nd function - The Comforter, declared in John 14:16, 18, ‘26~ 1 5:26, 16:7
15. The Gospel Minister is called by Jesus ‘Christ utilizing the Power of God in 1st Cor. 2:4-5, 9:18, 2 Cor. 12:9-10, Eph. 3:7, Phil. 4:13, Heb. 5:4.
16: Now we can contextually confirm that the Gospel is the Power of God in believers only, as proven by Rom. 1:16; 1st Cor. 1:18; 2:4-5, 4:19-20, Eph. 3:19-21 1st Thess 1:5; 2nd Tim. 1:7-8, 2nd Peter 1:3, Rev. 11:3.
17: Now at the End-Time, The Holy Spirit’s Power [the visible action of Jesus Christ, Raises all Humanity from the Graves, substantiated by Rom 8:11; 1st Cor. 15:24, 43-44; Heb. 6:5, Rev 20:6.
18. It is at this precise point that the carnal, natural, worldly, satanic power of the wicked and the end of the wicked, as we read in Job 21:7; Rom 8~38, I St Cor. 15:24-28; Eph. 1:21-2;2; Col. 1:13, 2nd Thess 2:9, 2nd Tim. 3:5, Heb. 2:8-14.
19. Finally, I am scripturally compelled to teach predestination is the power to raise the dead all the way from the launching, pad to the Third Heaven-Immortal Glory. Note: Covenant, Ordain or Decree places the rocket on the launching pad, but it takes God’s predestination power for lift off and the ignited fuel is only the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ sending it on its course for its eternal destination. Read Rom 3:25: 1st Cor. 6: 14.
20. God’s power deposited in Jesus Christ will change our vile bodies coming out of the grave on the way up - 1st Cor 15:43:44; Phil 3:21, and fashion ‘them like unto His own glorious body.
21. The preservation of all the elect Saints is by the power of’ God, made possible and secure in the person of Jesus Christ, as found in 1st Peter 1:5.
22. Hence by Jesus Christ the power of God has completed full circuit as David declared in Psalms 19:1-6.
23. So, the obvious conclusions are God abdicates, yields, gives, and grants Power to men, only through Jesus Christ, but never gives up Sovereignty, [control] and always retains such, never yielding one iota of such, and even finally returns all power unto Himself, also, but only in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
APPRECIATES OUR PRAYERS
I got a letter from Sister JoAnn Cayce. She appreciates our prayers.
She had seen a doctor concerning her heart. Thanks so much for praying for her, Our Dear Lord is so good. He makes her able to aid so many in need. He will see us through May He strengthen you all.
With Love, Sister Loretta Lilly, Akron, Ohio
Note: We pray for Sister JoAnn’s recovery. Opal Richards
A question that is sometimes asked is, Why did God create a part of mankind to be eternally saved and the other part to be lost and eternally punished? Well, the answer is, the Scriptures do not say that He did. The Primitive Baptists do not believe that He did; neither have I ever heard of a Primitive Baptist preacher that preached such.
The Bible declares that, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him.” Genesis 1:27. And lo, this only have I found, that God made man upright.” Ecclesiastes 7:29. That, the Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works.” Psalms 145:17.
The Lord does not compel or even tempt His creatures to sin; “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth be any man.” James 1:13. But Adam, the federal head of his race, sinned by transgressing God’s law, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered in to the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned; Romans 5:12.
That is to say, we all sinned in Adam the same as if we ourselves had been there and personally sinned as he did. For we were all in Adam when he sinned. “For in Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be ‘made alive.” I Corinthians 15:22.
Now, Adam was not deceived by Satan in the transgression, but he knowingly, willfully, blatantly and deliberately disobeyed the commandment of his creator; which had said, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it.” Genesis 2:1 6~1 7 Thusly he plunged all his posterity into a condition of sin and condemnation [damnation.]
“And Adam was nor deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. I Timothy 2:14; “And when the woman saw that the tree was good ‘for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto’ her husband with her, and he did eat, Genesis 3:6.
And God said to Adam, “Because thou hast harkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake, in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,” Genesis 3:17~2O..
So then, “God looked upon the earth, and, behold it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” Genesis 6 12 “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone in his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6. We are therefore inexcusable, “there is none righteous, no not one, there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together because unprofitable, there is none that doeth good no, not one.” Romans 3:10.
So salvation can only be of God’s sovereign, free, and unmerited grace; “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are Vast through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness that he might be just, and the justifier of him Which believeth in Jesus.” Roman’s 3:23-26. So then, “as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” Romans 521
The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord Romans 623, which HE has a perfect right to give to his own loved and chosen people, which He also has an equal right to leave others to go in their sins and justly perish and be punished forever because of their own inexcusable sins.
That is, they, which are the children of the flesh these are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed” Romans 9:8 “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God” God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and’ I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”. Romans 9:1 3-16.
For God has, “even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ, [by grace ye are saved]; for by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” See Ephesians 2:1-10. All whose names are not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, who are not atoned for by His blood, nor redeemed by His Spirit; or conformed to His image will be justly cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the second and everlasting death. While those are made to be like Christ, will, by His grace, and by the virtue of His perfect righteousness imputed to them, shall joyously enter into the heavenly and eternal city, where all the holy angels and glorified saints will dwell forever.
The elect or the saved, are those persons who God foreknew and chose from the family of Adam or adopted them, that is added to his family at His option, before the people, and God chose, elected, adopted a people out of Adam’s people. He exercised His will in doing this; It was a sovereign act of grace. He took these elect from the family of Adam, and simply left the others where they were and in the fallen condition in which they had plunged themselves, God left them alone. He did them no injury. So, the question is, why would He choose any of them wretched, unclean sinners? Not why would he choose some and not all God’s answer is, “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated, Romans 9:13. In other words, There are those who God loves with an everlasting love, and there are those that God does not love. He chose those whom He loved and left the others alone. But is that fair? Is it right that God I would elect come and leave the rest alone?
Shall we question God? “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then, it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that sheweth mercy.” Romans 9:14-16.
I would like to use a little parable here that I often use in my preaching that I feel will help to explain the subject more clearly. Jesus said in John 12:24, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” When a corn of wheat falls into the ground the life process in that grain sends out its little roots into the soil around it and selects or elects what it wants from it and leaves the rest of the soil alone and does it no harm.
The little corn of wheat sends up the shoot, the leaf and the ear. It raised the ground that it elected into its body then the cow comes along into the wheat and she selects or elects the wheat that she wants. She leaves the rest of the wheat alone and does it no harm. She raised the wheat that she elected up in to her body. Then man comes along and selects or elects out the cows those that he wants; he leaves the rest of the cows alone and does them no harm; he just leaves them alone where they are and takes those that he elected to take. He eats the cow and raises her up into his body. Notice that in each instance we see the higher order reaching down and raising the lower order, the ground or earth, up into its body. Men have no problems with this until they read that God did the same thing. He also reached down among men and chose those whom he wanted. He raised them up into His body and left the rest alone where they were.
May God Bless Us All, Elder Kenneth W. Clevenger Cameron, MO
Question: Why the name Primitive Baptist?
Primitive Baptist ancestors have been called by various names over the ages. The name Primitive Baptist became popular in the early 1800s when the term primitive conveyed the idea of originality rather than backwardness. Accordingly, Primitive Baptists claim to maintain the doctrines and practices of the original Baptists, who are claimed to be the New Testament church.
Primitive also conveys the idea of simplicity. This well describes the Primitive Baptists, whose church services consist of nothing more than preaching, praying, and singing.
Even though this name can convey a misimpression under modern connotation, it also has some benefits; one being that it provokes interest and questions, which is of course the reason that you are reading this FAQ.
Question: What is the difference between Primitive Baptists and other Baptists?
We include this question because it is likely the one question which is asked most frequently of Primitive Baptists. Unfortunately, the extreme diversity of modern Baptists makes the question almost impossible to answer without inaccurately representing at least some Baptists. Consequently, we assume that the reader has his or her own concept of what a Baptist is, and we leave it to the reader to make their own judgment as to how this question should be answered. The reader should examine the remainder of this FAQ to become acquainted with Primitive Baptist practices. The Articles of Faith and the Abstract to the Doctrine of Salvation will introduce the reader to Primitive Baptist views on doctrine. The Black Rock Address of 1832 will acquaint the reader with the circumstances which lead to the division between Primitive and other Baptists.
POSE QUESTION FOR READERS
Dear Brother Don: I have a question to pose for readers of Banner of Lord to Wit: “During your lifetime in this century, in this millennium, what is the most important event that happened to you?”
Keep up the writings for the Lord’s Cause.
In Hope and Love,
Elvin Dick
And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:7
Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days. Ecc. 11:1