Why I Am a Primitive Baptist
By Elder Michael L. Gowens
Today
after more than three decades of trying to
preach the gospel, I want everyone to know that I deem it a privilege to be
identified with the Primitive Baptists.
Sadly, I haven’t always been able to say
that. Like a teenager with an “identity crisis”, there was once a time that my
attitude toward the people with whom I had been identified from childhood was
dangerously negative and critical.
Driven largely by personal ambition and an excessive concern with what
people thought of me, I flirted with the notion of greener pastures. The
departure of a few close friends in the ministry in the late 80’s and early
90’s, however, was a “wake-up call” to me. I discovered three important facts:
(1) That every group has its share of negatives; (2) That the positives of the
Primitive Baptists far exceed the negatives; (3) That the positives of the
Primitive Baptists, on an aggregate level, cannot be found among any other
group.
Allow me to enumerate some of the
positives. The following characteristics
are (in my estimation) the non-negotiables—the key
emphases that distinguish, when taken as a whole, the Old Baptists from other
schools of thought. These are the reasons I am a Primitive Baptist today.
First, I share the Primitive Baptist’s strong
commitment to Biblical simplicity. Unlike most professing Christians, the Old
Baptists believe that simplicity is preferable to complexity. We want to minimize distractions—whether in
terms of physical decoration and adornment, or in terms of
liturgical formality and extracurricular programs—from the central theme
of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I prefer the simple worship-structure of
congregational singing, public prayer, and Biblical preaching observed by the
typical Old Baptist church. I don’t want to have to sort through a complex maze
of religious activity in order to find one morsel of bread for my hungry
soul. I like the solid theology and rich
experience expressed in the old hymns and sung acapella by an entire
congregation in four-part-harmony better than the low-cal, feel-good, musical
performances, bands, and praise-choruses that are becoming increasingly more
commonplace in many Christian circles today. I had rather hear a Spirit-filled,
extemporaneous sermon that explains the Bible, proclaims the good news with
enthusiasm and passion, stirs my mind on the most sublime and noble themes, and
confronts and challenges me to greater godliness, even though the preacher
tends to end his sentences with a preposition or leave a participle dangling,
instead of a refined and polished twenty-minute, four-point, pre-packaged
lesson that is mechanical and Spiritless.
I get that kind of simplicity among the Old Baptists, and I readily
confess that it suits my case.
Second, I am a Primitive Baptist because I
agree with the way they interpret Scripture. No one makes sense of the whole Bible like
the Primitive Baptists. No other group interprets Scripture with greater
consistency than these people who understand the discipline of “rightly
dividing the word of truth.” The habit
of distinguishing between sonship and
discipleship—between unconditional and gospel salvation—between relationship
and fellowship—between union with Christ and communion with Him—between
regeneration and conversion—between eternity and time—between judicial and
parental judgment—between the objective fact and the subjective
experience—between reality and the perception of that reality—is the hallmark
that separates Primitive Baptists from virtually every other school of Biblical
interpretation. The doctrine embraced by sound Primitive Baptists makes room
for both the “shalls” of
Third, I believe that the Old Baptist’s interest
in cultivating true, apostolic, New Testament churches is legitimate.
Many in the current Christian climate of ecumenism reject the idea of church
identity. But throughout history, there have always been those who sought to
pursue a pure church, free from institutionalism. Historians term people with
these convictions “the Free Church Movement”, a category that includes such
relatively obscure groups as the Donatists, Novatians, Waldenses, Lollards, and more. Each of these groups maintained an
identity exclusive of Catholicism. Each practiced believer’s baptism and valued
Holy Scripture as the sole rule of faith and life. Though each had its flaws
and blemishes, they shared one important thing in common—a commitment to apostolic purity in the face of ecclesiastical
authoritarianism. They are often dismissed as heretics because only the
works of those who wrote against them have survived. But each of these groups
sought to tailor church worship, polity, faith and life to the Biblical and
apostolic pattern, and to keep the church free of magisterial
entanglements. They believed that God
would continue to bless His true church and they sought to be identified as
such a church by conforming themselves to the Biblical pattern. The Primitive Baptists share this commitment
to purity—in doctrine, practice, and
the ethical conduct of their members—with a view to pleasing the Lord. In a day
when many (if not most) denominations are “measuring themselves” by each other,
competing with each other for popularity, and governing church life by popular fads
and preferences, the Old Baptist concern to please God, to have authentic and
true churches, and to be thoroughly Biblical is refreshing to me. That’s an important reason that I am a
Primitive Baptist today.
Further reasons could be cited, but I trust
these will suffice. Perhaps I could find one or two of these features among
another group of people, but I’ve never yet found anyone besides the Old
Baptists where all three of these critical components are present. I know the
Old Baptists are not perfect; but then, neither am I. The faults of those of us known as Primitive
Baptists notwithstanding, I am more committed today than ever before to be
nothing more than a simple, old-time, Bible-believing, salvation-by-grace-preaching,
Primitive Baptist, even if others think I’m weird or ignorant or out-of-touch
with the modern world. I concur with Primitive Baptist convictions regarding
believer’s baptism, close communion, age-integrated worship, and the need to
maintain church discipline. I am satisfied with the arguments against musical
instruments in the worship service, Sunday Schools, mission boards, secret
societies, and parachurch auxiliaries. I agree with
their views of congregational church government and the role of women in the
church I am convinced that the Old Baptists are correct regarding the utility
(or purpose) of the gospel and the conviction that God does not employ human
means or instrumentality in regeneration. I now know that this is where I fit.
No longer do I struggle with an identity crisis. These are my people. They sing
my song; they understand my story; they speak my language. I cannot speak for
anyone else, but these are the reasons I am a Primitive Baptist.
The Old Baptists have been good to me since I united with them 37 years ago this month. I pray that Lord would prevent me from ever doing anything to harm them. I want to spend my days serving the Lord among them and seeking to promote their spiritual welfare.