And That's All I Ever Wanted

2 Thessalonians 2
16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ.... hath given us....good hope through grace,

That....is all I ever wanted.

2 Thessalonians 2
17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

And that is not much to ask in return.

Oh, And One Other Thing....

Matthew 6
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

As to a Christian's responsibility for praying, Jesus does not ask for much. His directions are simple and straightforward. But, for me, something is missing? It strikes me as odd that the Lord's prayer does not include a mention of family. For me, before an Amen, it seems exactly appropriate to ask a blessing for a family member in need.  And then, Amen.

Matthew 10
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
36 And a man's foes [shall be] they of his own household.
37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

There are many important relationships in a Christian's life, the relationship between a Christian and his God, between a Christian and his family, between a Christian and his church and between a Christian and his community.  All these relationships are important and holy.  But we can't forget, the relationship between the Christian and his God is foremost.

What It Means To Be A Baptist 5 - Puritans

Even when I was very young, the meaning of being a Baptist was important to me. As fate would have it, it was an important issue for my family. The next few posts contain some basic information on Baptists and some personal thoughts. These are my notes and thoughts; some things I do not want to forget.

Galations 5
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

I believe, that it is never a waste of time for an American, who is a Christian, to study the Puritans. And, because of historical ties to Baptists, it is never a waste of time for Baptists to become familiar with the Puritan tradition.

Puritans do not have straightforward easily understandable, systematic beliefs the way various denominations do.  That being said, here are some characteristics of Puritans:

Origin
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1559, as an activist movement within the Church of England.

Reformed Theology
There were substantial works of theology written by Puritans, such as the Medulla Theologiae of William Ames, but there is no theology that is distinctive of Puritans. "Puritan theology" makes sense only as certain parts of Reformed theology, i.e. the legacy in theological terms of Calvinism, as it was expounded by Puritan preachers (often known as lecturers), and applied in the lives of Puritans.

Civil Governance
In the relation of churches to civil power, Puritans believed that secular governors are accountable to God to protect and reward virtue, including "true religion", and to punish wrongdoers. They opposed the supremacy of the monarch in the church (Erastianism), and argued that the only head of the Church in heaven or earth is Christ.

Bible
The idea of personal Biblical interpretation, while central to Puritan beliefs, was shared with Protestants in general. Puritans sought both individual and corporate conformity to the teaching of the Bible, with moral purity pursued both down to the smallest detail as well as ecclesiastical purity to the highest level. They believed that man existed for the glory of God; that his first concern in life was to do God's will and so to receive future happiness.

Church Ritual
Like some of Reformed churches on the European continent, Puritan reforms were typified by a minimum of ritual and decoration and by an unambiguous emphasis on preaching. Calvinists generally believed that the worship in the church ought to be strictly regulated by what is commanded in the Bible (the regulative principle of worship), and condemned as idolatry many current practices, regardless of antiquity or widespread adoption among Christians, against opponents who defended tradition. Simplicity in worship led to the exclusion of vestments, images, candles, etc.

Demonolony And Evidence Of Salvation
Puritans were believers in the demonic forces as were almost all Christians of the 17th Century. For full membership, the Puritan church insisted not only that its congregants lead godly lives and exhibit a clear understanding of the main tenets of their Christian faith, but they also must demonstrate that they had experienced true evidence of the workings of God's grace in their souls. Only those who gave a convincing account of such a conversion could be admitted to full church membership.

Millennialism
Puritan millennialism was grounded in the readings of the New Testament, especially the books of Matthew (24:29-31), Mark (13:24-27), and Luke (21:25-28). These passages foreshadowed Christ's return, or his Second Coming, to earth and his subsequent one-thousand-year (hence millennial) reign of peace. Millennialists in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries split into two camps: premillennialists such as Cotton Mather, who believed that Christ's return would precede the age of peace, prosperity, and triumph of the church, and postmillennialists such as Daniel Whitby, Jonathan Edwards, Joseph Bellamy, and Samuel Hopkins, who held that Christ's Second Coming directly followed the expansion of civil and religious American values on earth ("civil millennialism") and hailed Judgment Day and Satan's return.

Salvation And Polity
Puritan culture emphasized the need for self-examination and the strict accounting for one's feelings as well as one's deeds. This was the center of evangelical experience, which women in turn placed at the heart of their work to sustain family life. The words of the Bible, as they interpreted them, were the origin of many Puritan cultural ideals, especially regarding the roles of men and women in the community.

Work Ethic - And Grace
To Puritans, the Bible stipulates that grace is received for altruism, an ascetic work ethic, and disregard for class differences.

Reading through this list of Puritan characteristics, I can see some obvious, interesting similarities with Baptists of all stripes.

Ephesians 5
3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

SOURCE: wikipedia.com and enotes.com-puritanism

What It Means To Be A Baptist 4 - View From Outside

Even when I was very young, the meaning of being a Baptist was important to me. As fate would have it, it was an important issue for my family. The next few posts contain some basic information on Baptists and some personal thoughts. These are my notes and thoughts; some things I do not want to forget.

Hebrews 4
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

For amusement or perspective or edification, here are some descriptive comments describing Baptists, from some writers who write about denominations:

Handbook of Denominations, p. 49, Mead: A third-generation Reformation development that appeared in England about 1610, this devout group wanted to take Protestantism "to its logical conclusion." Convinced that Puritanism needed still further reform, Baptists began to teach that only self-professed believers were eligible for membership in the church and thus that the church is properly made up of only regenerated people. Intensely biblical, Baptists have been evangelistic, helping found the modern missionary movement, and have held high standards for membership, often requiring notable conversion experience and usually emphasizing purity in personal life and habits.

Great Churches of America, Kenneth J. Holland: Among the Baptist's many refreshing qualities is their love for the Bible, to them the only authoritative, inspired source of religious truth and knowledge. To that source they look in all matters relating to doctrine, to policy, to ordinances, to worship, and to Christian living. They hold that the Bible is for all, and that the right of private and individual interpretation is an inalienable right. They have no doctrinal formulas to supplement the Bible. In keeping with their "Bible only" stand, they reject the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and all others. For them the Bible is final. They seek its real message by careful, wise, sympathetic, and patient toil under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Baptists adhere to the Biblical method of baptism--immersion. Men, they claim, have no authority to change the manner in which this ordinance was celebrated. To do so is to disobey the Lord and to forsake the truths which are symbolized. [Baptists are reluctant to] accept into full fellowship those who have not been immersed grows out of the fact that the very genius of their people is found in their emphasis upon the regenerate church membership. Baptism, they feel, should be only for those who are able and willing to make a personal confession of faith; this infants are excluded.

George Bancroft, American Historian: Freedom of conscience, unlimited freedom of mind, was from the first the trophy of the Baptists.

John Lock: The Baptists were the first propounders of absolute liberty, just and true liberty, equal and impartial liberty.

Those are some pretty interesting insights, from men who are evidently not Baptists. It is possible that you can come to know yourself better if you know what others think of you. It is also possible that you may be better able to contend for the faith if you know what others think of you.

Jude
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

What It Means To Be A Baptist 3 - Some Puritan History

Even when I was very young, the meaning of being a Baptist was important to me. As fate would have it, it was a important issue for my family. The next few posts contain some basic information on Baptists and some personal thoughts. These are my notes and thoughts; some things I do not want to forget. 

That being said, this post may only be of interest to those of us who have Virginia Baptist roots. 

Isaiah 55
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

It seems to me to be of little doubt that Baptist history and Baptist tradition include strong strains of Puritanism and Calvinism.  I've written quite a bit about Baptists and Calvinism - too much maybe - but not about Puritans.  Following is some information on early Baptists in Virginia and in America.

From A General History Of The Baptist Denomination In America, By David Benedict, 1913: Virginia is famous for being the oldest State in the Union, for always containing the largest number of inhabitants, for producing many distinguished statesmen; and it [has also] been distinguished for containing within its bounds a larger number of the Baptist denomination, than any of the other States [as of 1813]. We cannot, however, learn that any of the original settlers of Virginia were Baptists, nor do we find any of this denomination in the country, until more than a century after its settlement.

From Baptist History From Fred G. Zaspel:  Baptists in America, although having certain theological similarities to Continental Anabaptism, have no historical connection with them. Their descent from Colonial Puritanism is obvious and also explains the dominance of Calvinistic theology.

About David Benedict, 1779-1874, A Great Baptist Historian and Preacher:  David was born in Norwalk, Connecticut in1779. He was converted to Christ at the age of 20. His relationship with Christ spurred an interest in learning and especially Baptist History. During his ministry he began to compile extensive material relating to the history of Baptists through the centuries. After he retired from his pastorate he spent the rest of his life writing and publishing the material he had compiled. It is especially interesting that the 95 years of Benedict's life has been so little spoken of, while he wrote so much about the lives of other Baptists. But is that not the mark of godliness? His was a life of humility and exalting the work of the Saviour in others' lives.

About Fred G. Zaspel: Pastor Zaspel was for many years pastor of Word of Life Baptist Church here in Pottsville and adjunct professor of New Testament at Penn State University (Schuylkill Campus).He has studied at Bob Jones University (Greenville, SC), Denver Baptist Theological Seminary (Denver, CO), Valley Baptist Theological Seminary (Minneapolis, MN), Biblical Theological Seminary (Hatfield, PA), and the Pennsylvania State University. He holds a B.A. in Bible, with a minor in Greek (1980); an M.A. in Pastoral Studies (1981), an M.A. (with honors) in New Testament (1993), a Th.M. (with highest honors) in New Testament (1994), and a Ph.D. in Theology (2010).

I find the connection between Puritans and Baptists intriguing. I think, if I had a mind for it, I'd like to write a book about Baptists and their Puritan roots, maybe just to occupy some spare time.