Category: Articles Page 3 of 12

It is commonly accepted and taught in Christianity today that one must choose to believe in Jesus Christ to be saved to heaven. As the confirmation of this belief to secure eternal life, they are called upon to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” and invite Jesus into their heart and accept Christ as their Personal Savior. Therefore, let us consider this question together. Is praying the “Sinner’s Prayer” for salvation a biblical command? The scriptural answer is both “yes” and no”. Yes, born-again sinners are called upon to pray unto God and confess Jesus as our Savior. No, this prayer does not result in gaining eternal life. The praying of this prayer does not initiate the new birth or change one from dead in sins to life in Christ. No, the praying of the Sinner’s Prayer is rather the “evidence” of eternal salvation (John 5:24), not the “cause” of eternal salvation. This prayer does not cause the new birth in the sinner’s heart, but this prayer does give peace and assurance to the soul of the already born-again child of God who is burdened and convicted over their sin. There is a salvation and deliverance for the child of God in praying the Sinner’s Prayer, but that salvation occurs in their heart and in their life here, not in gaining eternal life. Belief, confession, and prayer are always the “evidence” and “effect” of the new birth and eternal life, never the “cause” of gaining eternal life in heaven. We will consider the proper treatment of the Sinner’s Prayer according to the word of God.

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As Primitive, Original Baptists we strive to uphold the teachings of the original church as we see presented in the New Testament scriptures. One of the distinctive doctrines that we find in the scriptures that Primitive Baptists uphold is the doctrine of “unconditional election”. When some people first hear of the doctrine of election, I have seen it cause a good deal of anxiety and confusion when this doctrine is not properly understood. One of the first rebuttals I will usually hear against election is that “God could not have chosen a people to salvation before the world began because John 3:16 says that God loves the whole world and offers salvation to any that will believe in Jesus Christ.” It is true that John 3:16 does say that God loves the world. However, we will consider the rightly dividing of that verse in context to see that Jesus is not teaching Nicodemus that God loves everyone without exception, but that God loves the world without distinction, particularly that God has a people outside the natural Jewish nation among the Gentiles. I believe we will see that John 3:16 is not an invitation to eternal life to anyone that is willing to believe, but that verse is an assurance text to all that do believe that they already have eternal life through Jesus Christ. We want to have a thorough discussion together of how to properly reconcile the doctrine of unconditional election with the verse in John 3:16. We hope you can read this article with an open mind, considering the scriptures referenced, and study these things out for yourself to see if these things are so. “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.” (2 Tim. 2:7)

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When we consider eternal salvation, as Primitive Baptists we simply take Jesus at his word on the cross when he declared “It Is Finished”! We must then ask, what did Jesus actually finish on the cross? Did Christ just do his part of salvation and now he is waiting and dependent upon the sinner to believe to actually be fully saved? No, the Bible teaches that Jesus completed all the requirements for eternal salvation on the cross. Let us consider together the many verses that present the “past tense” nature of our eternal salvation – that Jesus has “finished” our eternal salvation and we rest in Jesus’ finished work of salvation today.

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As we approach the Christmas season, we will see many portrayals of the nativity scene depicting the birth of Jesus Christ. It is easy to view this typical nativity scene with a great deal of sentimentality of a cute, little baby in a manger, and we might miss the gravity of what truly occurred. That little babe wrapped in swaddling clothes in an obscure manger in Bethlehem was not just any other cute baby. That little newborn child was God manifest in the flesh! The baby that would grow up to be Jesus of Nazareth was “very God of very God”! It is almost inconceivable to think that the eternal, omnipresent, sovereign God who rules over this entire universe condescended to this earth and took the form of a newborn babe that had to be nursed, carried, and changed like any other infant. Truly, great is the mystery of godliness that God was manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16).

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As we move towards the conclusion of yet another year and reflect upon the last twelve months, most likely we can say along with the hymnwriter, “mixtures of joy and sorrow I daily do pass through.” As we reflect and take inventory of the last year, I hope we can see the happy, joyful moments that we have been blessed to enjoy by God’s grace. We need to count our many blessings, name them one by one, and it should not surprise us what the Lord has done, but sometimes we need to be reminded of just how much we have been blessed by individually counting (maybe even writing down) our blessings one by one. I hope we can thank the Lord for his blessings, care, provision, and grace in our lives, not just in the last twelve months, but throughout our entire lifetime.

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As we begin a new year, it can be overwhelming to consider all the commands in scripture that we are to obey. Therefore, here are a few simple commands that we can focus on as we begin a new year.

Here are 7 simple commands to focus on as a goal each day in the new year:

1. Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind 
2. Love your neighbor as yourself
3. Fear God
4. Keep God’s commandments 
5. Do justly 
6. Love mercy
7. Walk humbly with thy God

These commands come from 3 verses that describe all-encompassing themes that if we focus on then we will serve God in an acceptable way.

• The greatest & second commandment (Matt. 22:36-40)
• The whole duty of man (Eccl. 12:13)
• What does the Lord require of thee (Micah 6:8)

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“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thess. 5:18)

It seems each year as we arrive in late November approaching the Thanksgiving holiday, I am convicted of how much I have taken for granted and not given appropriate thanksgiving for God’s blessings in my life. Rather than an annual, once-a-year remembrance of God’s blessings and thanksgiving, the Lord commands his people to give thanks “always” (Eph. 3:20). Furthermore, God’s will for us is to give thanks “in every thing.” (1 Thess. 5:18) We certainly do not give thanks “for” everything in our lives. We don’t thank God “for” sin, temptations, sickness, death, the devil, and the evil of this world. However, in spite of any circumstance we encounter in this life, we can still give thanks to God “in” the midst of any trial.

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One of the most important parables that Jesus delivered for us in his ministry is the Parable of the Sower (or the Parable of the Soils). Jesus delivered this parable in 3 of the 4 gospel accounts in Matt. 13:1-20, Mark 4:1-20, and Luke 8:4-15. Here we find the teaching of Jesus of multiple responses to the word by children of God. Some in the way side are deceived by Satan before they understand the word. Some in the stony ground shoot up very quickly, but don’t have strong roots or good moisture and fade away in tribulation. Some in the thorny ground bring forth fruit but then get distracted and consumed with the world and are choked out by thorns. Then, we find varying degrees of fruit in the good ground, some bringing forth 30, 60, or 100-fold. God is glorified when we “bear much fruit” (John 15:8). There are many obstacles that can diminish our abundant fruitfulness in the kingdom: Satan, tribulations, thorns, riches, lust, cares, and pleasures. Therefore, we must be vigilant to beat back these obstacles to bring forth abundant fruit to glorify Jesus Christ. We will find that the word of God is the remedy for all these obstacles restricting our fruit-bearing. We need to understand and keep the word of God to beat back Satan, discouragement, and thorns in our life to bring forth abundant fruit to glorify our Lord.

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“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Prov. 4:23)

The mantra of the world tells you to “follow your heart”. That can be very dangerous advice for the Christian to follow their heart if they are not aligned with God’s word. The heart of the natural man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). Therefore, in the church, we are prone to make the bold, universal statement “DO NOT follow your heart”. While we certainly need to caution against “blindly” following your heart, I would say that is not entirely scripturally correct. We see that for the born-again child of God, the Lord has given you a new heart. This new heart from God is not deceitful and wicked but is pure and made in the image of God within us. We must certainly discern the thoughts and burdens of our hearts in prayer and by consulting God’s word to ensure that God is guiding our hearts and that Satan is not deceiving our hearts. God does guide his children by the burdens of our heart. Therefore, we don’t need to blindly follow our hearts, but instead, we need to discern our hearts and God’s will through prayer, faithful counsel, studying God’s word, and godly wisdom.  

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