Primitive Baptists

Mitsy, I posted a reply on the other thread about Closed or Close Communion. Closed being none can participate except the local congregation and Close being none can participate outside of our Primitive Baptist fellowship.

Bro. James

BTW, I believe there are about 10 of us PBs on this board who regularly post.

 

Hello, Mitsy. I am one of the PB's Bro. James Reed mentioned post here regularly, sometimes in irregular ways.
Anyway, I read with interest some of your questions and hesitations about foot washing and about 'rebaptism'. Notice the quotations. As Bro. Reed mentioned somewhere in this board, Primitive Baptists maintain that the Bible says 'One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism', and since the split in the 1830's that led to the
Black Rock Address ( CLICK THIS LINK if you want to read it)we have not considered baptisms of other Baptist orders in the 'One Baptism' of scripture (Bro. Reed, correct me in this if needed).

Anyway, about foot washing. Many or most PB churches consider this to be a 'culminating' and essential part of their church's observance of the Lord's Table. Other PB's, however, do not do foot washing. This is not a test of fellowship for PB's (the last time I looked, at least). I hope that helps with your 'inner turmoils' about this.

As for being 'rebaptized'. If you submit yourself to baptism and join the PB church you go to, as far as the Primitive Baptist is concerned that will be your first and only baptism which is scripturally valid.

My wife and I joined the Primitive Baptist church I now am Elder of back in January 1999, after months of attending it and listening and observing.

We both came from a Baptist church in the Philippines which was part of the Bible Baptist Fellowship. My wife came ahead of me to the US by three years, and in those three years she attended a Black Bible Baptist church in Washington DC. They were wonderful, loving, caring people who, in their own way, had the love of Christ and the love for Christ in their hearts and shared it among themselves.

But, because of the distance to the church, and since at that time we did not have a vehicle, and the members had to alternate schedules on who is to pick us up (from Maryland, about twenty-five miles away from the church) and take us home, my wife and I felt it was imposing too much on their kindness and figured it was time to look for a new church much nearer to where we lived.

Now, we had standards. We were looking for a church that sang solemn, traditional Christian psalms and hymns, read and preached from the King James Version, were eccelessiastically separate from erring churches, preached and practiced holy living, and had a hellfire and brimstone kind of preacher whom we can follow as he follows Christ.

Didn't find one for a while. So we went to a Calvinistic Independent Baptist church four miles from where we lived, and that's where we first learned the Doctrines of Grace from the Calvinist viewpoint.

Then, I questioned the church's open communion and that's when we stopped going to church until we found the Primitive Baptist church about 12 miles from where we were (by this time, we had a vehicle).

We went there for some months, observing, listening, learning. The people were the WYSIWYG
type of people, friendly, warm, caring, loving, concerned. The preaching was not Bible-waving, pulpit thumping, roaring, hellfire and brimstone, but, instructive, edifying, chastising when needed, and the preacher definitely one we can follow as he follows Christ.

We studied what we now believed compared to what we believed then to be true, knew in our hearts that this was the doctrine of the Apostles as taught to them by the Savior, and as the Savior heard from the Father, and agreed with the teaching, the Spirit agreeing with our spirits, and decided to follow the Lord into the waters of One Baptism.

That was quite a long introduction, wot ?

Hope to talk to you again.

God bless.

 

Lovely to know there are about 10 on this board of the P.Bs. who regularly post. Here, in the U.K., they are known as Strict & Particular Baptists. We love them. They care. They do what they say they will do! The bible sermons are most reverential and Christ is honoured and glorified. I feel I have been washed in the Word when I listen to them.
I'm chronically ill and disabled, and we have their audio tapes at home, such a blessing.
With love in Christ, from Rose

 

I have never met or been to a church of the Strict/Particular persuasion, in that name mind you. I would really like to visit one some day to see what, if any, differences there are among us after being separated, geographically, for some 300 years.

If the people are as you describe, then I would say that is something that we already have in common with the English church family. Kind, loving people who actually practice what they preach and expect the same out of their brothers and sisters in the church.

Chastising is something that, it seems, many people find hard to do to one another these days, but I'll tell you that among our people, when done in such love and kindness, chastisement through the scriptures can actually be uplifting.

BTW, Sister Rose, welcome to the board!

God Bless. Bro. James

 

Thank you, brother James, for your reply.
I think that the "church" generally are not practising what they preach, except the Strict & particular Baptists. Many in the churches we know say that they pray for us, but there is no practical outworking of that love of Christ. The chronically sick are neglected.
We read in James that faith without works is dead.
We know we are not saved by "good works" but the good works should result from our love of Christ.
The Lord Jesus said "even a cup of cold water given in His name is done unto Him"
I hope that the churches in the USA have this practical outworking of their faith in Christ to the sick and disabled.
With Christian love from Rose