Tag: Articles of Faith

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We Believe in Ministerial Authority

Today on Words of Grace, we come to our final message in our series on the standard Statement of Faith or Abstract of Principles of historic Baptists in the United States and also Primitive Baptists of today, a document which we commonly refer to as the Articles of Faith.

The subject matter of today’s Article has to do with what we will call ministerial authority. While this might seem like a strange point of view to include in a document as important as the articles of faith, it’s actually very fitting to include it!

Article 12. We believe that no minister has a right to administration of the ordinances, only such as are regularly baptized, called, and come under the imposition of hands by a presbytery.

Radio broadcast for June 18, 2023. Continue reading “We Believe in Ministerial Authority”

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We Believe in the Resurrection

Continuing our series on the standard Articles of Faith of historic Baptist churches in the United States as well as Primitive Baptist churches of today, we arrive at the doctrine of eschatology, the end of time. In this program, we consider the historic viewpoints of pre-millennialism, post-millennialism, and a-millennialism, as well a more modern and extremely problematic paradigm called Dispensationalism.

From Flint River’s statement of faith (1808):
10 – We believe in the resurrection of the dead and in a general judgment.
11 – We believe that the punishment of the wicked and the joys of the righteous will be eternal.

Radio broadcast for June 11, 2023. Continue reading “We Believe in the Resurrection”

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We Believe in the Ordinances

As you know, we’re presently undertaking a survey of the basic tenants of the historic Baptist faith, as represented in the Articles of Faith of historic Baptist and contemporary Primitive Baptist Churches. Our subject matter for today shifts the focus from what we might call doctrinal or theological concepts to ecclesiological concepts, as we review the specifics of the ordinances.

From Flint River’s Statement of faith:

Article 9 – We believe that baptism, the Lord’s supper, and washing of the saints’ feet are ordinances of Jesus Christ, and that true believers are the only subjects of these ordinances, and the true mode of baptism is immersion.
Article 13 – We believe that none but regularly baptized members have a right to commune at the Lord’s Table.

Radio broadcast for June 4, 2023

Continue reading “We Believe in the Ordinances”

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We Believe in Preservation

As you know, we are presently considering the standard statement of faith, what we call the Articles of Faith, of historic Baptist churches in America but also Primitive Baptist churches of today. In this series, we’re using our own statement of faith, a variation which dates to and before 1808. And we’re also comparing it a slightly more modern statement, the one held by my old home church Ebenezer, dating to 1868.

Our doctrine up for consideration today is that of the preservation of the saints. Sometimes, this is called the perseverance of the saints. This comes from Statement 8 in our Articles of Faith here at Flint River. That article reads:

– We believe that the saints shall be preserved in grace and never fall finally away.

Radio broadcast for May 28, 2023. Continue reading “We Believe in Preservation”

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We Believe in Regeneration

In today’s episode of Words of Grace, we continue our series on the Articles of Faith with an examination of our beliefs regarding the subject of the new birth; also called regeneration, quickening, translation, a spiritual resurrection, and an act of creation as well. If you’re a long time listener, you know how much we enjoy speaking on this topic. Why? You and I are walking miracles! We were dead in sin, but now are raised to life in Christ. We are born again. We are acts of Divine Creation as new creatures in Christ. It’s an awesome and amazing subject that personally applies to each and every person who is born again.

Radio broadcast for May 21, 2023 Continue reading “We Believe in Regeneration”

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We Believe Christ is our Righteousness

As you know, over the past few weeks we have been conducting a survey or study of the Articles of Faith held by Primitive Baptists churches of today and most every Baptist church in American in its early days up until around the early 1900s.

Today we come to the answer of the single most important question that can be asked. How can a man, being fallen and sinful, be right with a Holy and unchanging God, who is angry and offended at sin, who will judge all sin in His wrath? How can man be right with God?

Radio broadcast for May 14, 2023 Continue reading “We Believe Christ is our Righteousness”

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We Believe in Original Sin and Total Depravity

Today on Words of Grace, we come to message four in our recent series on the standard Statement of Faith held by Primitive Baptist Churches.

Our focus today has to do with the concepts of original sin and total depravity. We’ll be considering articles 4 and 5 from Flint River’s statement of faith which reads:

4 – We believe in the doctrine of original sin.
5 – We believe in man’s impotency to recover himself from the fallen state he is in by nature by his own free will and ability.

Join us for this Biblical study of such an important theological concept!

Radio broadcast for May 7, 2023. Continue reading “We Believe in Original Sin and Total Depravity”

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We Believe in Election

If you’ve been with us in recent weeks on Words of Grace, you’ll recall that we are undertaking a survey of the Articles of Faith as we call it, the standard statement of faith of modern Primitive Baptist churches but also Baptist churches of history in the United States. If you’re ever curious what that P in PB means, the adjective “primitive” was added to designate Baptists who held to the older ways of Baptists, the older doctrines and practices of Baptists, prior to modern times. Because of that sometimes we’re referred to as “old school” Baptists, and even the pejorative “hardshell” is used, to denote unwillingness to change.

Today’s focus has to do with the great doctrine of Election. Admittedly, this concept is one that is considered controversial by a great many Christians at present. People get so angry at this teaching that they sometimes resort to hurling insults at proponents of it. That’s sad, it really is. What’s even more sad is that something so commonly referred to in scripture would be so controversial among those who name the name of Christ! Join us for this study on such a fundamental subject to the gospel: Election.

Radio broadcast for April 30, 2023 Continue reading “We Believe in Election”

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We Believe in the Scriptures

Today we continue our recent series on the Articles of Faith, a general founding document which serves as a basic expression of truths we consider nonnegotiable to be in fellowship with our churches.  As historic Baptists, we believe that the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, the scriptures, and as such constitute our only rule of faith and practice. In this broadcast, we expand on exactly what that means and how it applies to the church today. Listen to learn more!

Radio broadcast for April 23, 2023. Continue reading “We Believe in the Scriptures”

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We Believe in the Godhead

In this episode of Words of Grace, we begin a focus of study on the Articles of Faith, as endorsed by historic Baptist churches throughout the United States and “Primitive” Baptist churches today. Few variations of these statements of faith exist, showing great unity on specific, core, nonnegotiable concepts among our forefathers. For our source material, we’re looking to the Articles of Faith of two Alabama churches dating to the 19th century, Flint River (1808) and Ebenezer (1868). While identical in doctrine, these statements vary in wording, giving an interesting and helpful comparison.

Our article for today says, “We believe in only one true and living God, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost.”

As we explore in today’s broadcast, we hold the Godhead as a nonnegotiable doctrine. There is only one God, the true and living God, and this God exists as a Tri-unity of Father, Son/Word, and Holy Ghost. Listen to learn more!

Radio broadcast for April 16, 2023. Continue reading “We Believe in the Godhead”