Jeremiah 6:16, “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.”
The verse previously cited has been quoted many times during my years in the Lord’s Kingdom (Primitive Baptist Church). The precious verse has been used many times, and often, to encourage the Lord’s precious little children to hold on to the simple way of worship which is indicative of the Lord’s Church. One particular phrase I would like to focus in on in this effort is “Thus sayeth the Lord…” Many times, while sitting under the preaching in the Primitive Baptist Church I’ve heard these words, “If we don’t have a Thus saith the Lord, we should leave it alone and out of our worship services.” I agree with the statement. Yet often, those who would present me ideas ask, “But do we have a particular verse against this or that?” I remember in the days of Jacob when Joseph’s brothers sold him (Joseph) to a group of Ishmeelites (Genesis 37:28), dipped Joseph’s coat in goats’ blood, and brought the coat back to Jacob and said “This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.” When Jacob saw the coat, he knew it was Joseph’s coat, but a good question might have been, “Is this my son’s blood?” The answer to that question would have brought to light much concerning the event. The point? Rather than thinking “do we have a scripture against this or that”, we might do better to ask, “Is there a scripture that supports a particular practice or action?”
The Primitive Baptist Church sings without musical instruments. Why? Because there is no New Testament evidence which supports the use of musical instruments in the worship service. Is there a scripture which explicitly forbids it by saying “Thou shalt not?” Not to my knowledge, but we have more than enough scriptural evidence to support what we believe about the subject.
The Primitive Baptist Church does not have Sunday school classes as other groups. Why? There is no scriptural evidence to support such practices. Is there a verse which reads, “Thou shalt not have Sunday school classes?” Not to my knowledge, but there is no verse to my knowledge where the Church practiced such things.
The Primitive Baptist Church does not ordain women to be deacons. Why? Because we do not find a scripture in the Bible supporting this practice, but rather have more than enough information in 1 Timothy 3:8-13; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35; and Acts 6:3 to know that only men are to be deacons in the Church.
Brothers and sisters, often during times of battle a military leader will seek a place of good ground for his troops. According to 1 Timothy 6:12, the saints of God are in a spiritual warfare in this world. My hope is to always stand on good ground as I labor to contend (Jude vs 3) for the truth. The good ground is always “Thus saith the Lord.” So when anyone asks, “Do you have a verse against such and such”, simply ask “Do you have a verse for it?” By doing so, we will learn quickly if it’s of man or of God.