The UNDENIABLE truth of salvation by GRACE!

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:3-7 More on this text

Chosen by God in Christ unto Salvation
The Doctrine of Election is Good News!

Eternal Salvation and Time Salvation

Old Line Primitive Baptists unequivocally believe in the eternal salvation of God's elect in Heaven and in the timely salvation of God's elect in this life. To help you better understand these aspects of salvation please read the next article. Temporal Salvation - A Bogus or Biblical Concept? By Michael L. Gowens

Love and Discipleship

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 John 4:10-11 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: James 2:8 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 1 John 5:3 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35

Simplicity of Worship, the ancient rule

"Simply singing is not agreeable to children (Jews), but singing with lifeless instruments and dancing and clapping is. On this account the use of this kind of instruments and of others agreeable to children is removed from the songs of the churches, and there is left remaining simply singing" "The use of music was not received in the Christian Churches, as it was among the Jew, in their infant state, but only the use of plain song"
Justin Martyr, 139 A.D.
The Introduction Of The Organ Among The Baptist.
This instrument, which from time immemorial has been associated with cathedral pomp and prelatical power, and has always been the peculiar favorite of great national churches, at length found its way into Baptist sanctuaries, and the first one ever employed by the denomination in this country, and probably in any other, might have been standing in the singing gallery of the Old Baptist meeting house in Pawtucket, about forty years ago, where I then officiated as pastor (1840) … Staunch old Baptists in former times would as soon tolerated the Pope of Rome in their pulpits as an organ in their galleries, and yet the instrument has gradually found its way among them…. How far this modern organ fever will extend among our people, and whether it will on the whole work a RE- formation or DE- formation in their singing service, time will more fully develop.” (David Benedict, Baptist historian, Fifty Years Among Baptist, page 204-207).

Only the Primitive Baptists

Calvinists of the Reformed tradition are one of two things, neither of which are Primitive Baptist. They are either Synergists who have high minded notions about their actual misapplications of the scriptures thereby deceiving themselves into irrationally claiming to be Monergist, or they are Absoluters who have fallening into the trap of redefining the Arminian requirements put upon man's part as being decreed and caused by God, thereby trying to force Arminianism into a Sovereign Grace mold, which also leads to all kinds of irrational misapplications of the scriptures. Simply put, having notions about doctrines such as Election and Predestination and Limited Atonement do not quailfy one as a thorough going Monergist unless one really and trully gives up any and all notions of man having any responsibility or capability with respect to eternal salvation. In my experience, only the Primitive Baptists, as a people, get this correct and rationally and consistently rightly divide the word of truth in this regard. That is why I am a Primitive Baptist and will defend them with every ounce of my being. When a Primitive Baptist says Salvation by Grace, he really means it!
Elder Bill Allen, May 30, 2015

The Sufficiency of Preaching

1 Cor 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

The scriptures (see 1 Cor 1:18-31) make it very clear that preaching is God's chosen method for bringing salvation to the believer in the belief of the gospel. This particular timely salvation is not said to be given in any other way. It is more than just the conveyance of information. If the conveyance of information was all that were required, and the natural understanding of the mind applied, then the wisdom and philosophy of the carnal world would be adequate to the task, but God has rejected these for the purpose of bringing this salvation to believers. Instead, God has chosen something that seems foolish to the world because it is contrary to the natural mind, and that being preaching. True preaching is not an oration, a lecture, or a dissertation of natural wisdom. It is a spiritual activity. It is spiritual on the part of the preacher because he must be given spiritual liberty by the Spirit to be able to do it and it is spiritual on the part of the believer because the believer's mind must be opened, they must be given hearing, by the Spirit. These work together as a combined spiritual exercise involving both the preacher and the listener and the Spirit of God. There is not a replacement or substitute for it. Not only that, it is the only authorized mode given for the delivery of the gospel in the church (aside from the vocal singing which does have a teaching function) and as such must be seen as adequate for the task. Now, I ask, are we authorized to add any additional mode, method, or form of teaching of the gospel in the church? The scriptures are plain that preaching (which involves the preacher, the believer, and the Spirit) is the only form of teaching given to the church with the express result being the salvation of the believer. I am very much convinced that establishing or institutionalizing additional forms of teaching, such as Sunday Schools, bible studies, group counselling, etc. in the Church is just as much unauthorized by scripture as is adding instrumental music to the acappella singing in the Church. Outside of the Church, such teaching should be conducted privately in the homes beginning with instruction by the parents to the children (Eph 6:4, 2Tim 3:15), as learned disciples to novices in the faith and those in error (Acts 18:26), as brethren one to another of the things of the Lord (Mal 3:16), and finally the gospel ministry teaching and preaching publicly, privately, from house to house and other places or outlets as the Lord opens doors of opportunity (Acts 20:20, 8:29-35, 13:49). I believe, more strongly than ever, that we need to do all things in the Church God's way as given in, and authorized by, the scriptures. Elder Bill Allen, September 21, 2012 (revised December 31, 2015)

Steadfastly Against Arminianism

"We deny the charge as unjust made by the Arminians against the wise and good Ruler of the universe. God did elect His people before the foundation of the world, long before any of them had a being, and those not elected were left out, and God is not unjust. It is blasphemy to charge a God of purity and justice with being unjust. It is a wonder that He allows His depraved creatures to live who utter such vile epithets in denouncing Him while they pretend to worship Him."
Elder John R. Daily

Committed to the Fellowship of the Primitive Baptists

"Avoid them." Where men cause divisions in their own country where they live, let us not import them to carry out their designs with us. "Receive him not into your house nor bid him God speed." I am sure this is a safe rule. Where men sow discord at home we may expect them to do so abroad. If we expect to have the love and confidence of Primitive Baptist let us stand up for their principles, and while others are deserting them, let us stand more firmly for them. Where men desert them, or seek to associate with them that do, they will not receive the cordial support of Primitive Baptists. I know our people are few, and generally of the lowest walks of life, but I prize their fellowship their confidence and esteem. I want to be understood by them. I love the doctrine of sovereign grace. I love our primitive methods. I have no fellowship for a progressive spirit, nor for them that urge it upon our people. I want to be plain and outspoken, and devote my remaining energies to the maintenance of Primitive Baptists. from Church Divisions by J.H. Oliphant

O ye that love the truth!

Is it a small matter to you for Christ to be dishonored, and his truth condemned? Do ye not regard what violence is offered to the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice? If yea, why are ye so silent as if there were none to answer? God complains, "None pleads for truth", Isa. 59:4. It might grieve us to consider that others take more pains for error than we do for truth. Can we say we love the Lord and his truth as we should and not lay it to heart? In these cold days, the love of many, too many, waxes cold to God and man. Many profess love to Christ yet few love him as will appear ere long. For the knowledge and practice of the truth shall be slighted and hated. There shall be found but a very few that will own it. The more dark or doubtful anything appears, the more narrowly search the Scriptures and consider them. The benefits will answer the pains. Set aside partiality, prejudice, and the opinions of men. Neither receive nor refuse without sufficient trial. Pray to God to reveal his truth to thee. --Samuel Richardson in Divine Consolations, Part Three. 1649

Concerning the Commission

From: A LOVING APPEAL TO THE PRIMITIVE BAPTIST by Elder John R. Daily We agree with Eld. J. W. Richardson in the following quotation from his pen: "The chief reason of the adoption of the view that the commission was given to the church was to make the members of our churches believe that if they cannot go in person, it is their duty to contribute of their means to those who can and will go, the introduction of which view led to the organization of the foreign Missionary Boards among the churches in 1792, which caused the great division in the United States in 1832." Eld. Richardson is correct in this. Now to insist upon the right to teach a doctrine in the Old Baptist church that has been a bone of contention between them and the Missionary Baptists is to insist upon the right to drive the wedge they drove.

IF I WERE GOING TO PREACH HERESY

        The above may seem like a strange thing, but strange as it is other people in whom the Baptists have had confidence have left the "old paths" and have followed after "strange gods." I was thinking if I should do as others have done I would,
        First. Proclaim far and near that I am an "Old Baptist," and would get much hurt if any should even think I was departing. I would ransack all the writings of Baptists from away back and find something I could misconstrue to make it sound like what I was saying. If that would not be enough I would tell the people I had prayed to the Lord and would declare he had revealed it to me.
        Second. I would profess fellowship for everything the Baptists preached. I would give everybody my hand on everything they preached and say aloud, "Amen," when other preachers preached.
        Third. I would say, "Let us have no war, and at the same time preach my new doctrine. I would insist that war among our people would be ruin to us, and say that we were already in a state of anarchy in many places. I would cry, "Peace, peace," and all the time drag in trouble, trouble.
        Fourth. I would say this is all preacher jealousy. I would, in my feigned humility, declare I wished no one harm, but that for some reason the old preachers were all trying to kill me.
        I have other reasons to suggest to myself or any others who feel that it is their duty to leave the principles of truth without leaving the church in one jump. But I do not want to leave at present and so will not dream any more just now.
        The suggestions above are self-contradictory, of course, but the faith revealed to the saints and the doctrines of men are contradictory. When any prefer to leave let them leave by direct line. They will find ears to listen to their tale of woe. If any are "blinded" by the perversions of truth may God deliver them from the snares. If any hunger for truth may God bring them to us and may the old gospel sound sweeter and sweeter to them.
        The Lord bless our faithful, toiling, sacrificing people to go on in the service as of old and keep us all from errors of every kind.
Elder George A Bretz, in The Primitive Monitor--May 1906

Parting Words

        The parting words of the Apostle Paul to the elders at Ephesus, Acts 20:28-30, may they be heard all the more in our own perilous day.
        "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them."