{"id":4476,"date":"2019-02-28T08:36:35","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T14:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nafwb.org\/?p=4476"},"modified":"2019-02-28T08:36:35","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T14:36:35","slug":"lets-keep-it-simple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/lets-keep-it-simple\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s Keep It Simple"},"content":{"rendered":"

By J. Matthew Pinson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Free Will Baptists have always\u00a0believed in freedom, simplicity\u00a0and order in worship, in\u00a0worshipping God in Spirit and\u00a0in Truth. Thus we have been\u00a0opposed to the employment of set\u00a0forms and liturgies, as well as to undue\u00a0emotionalism, in worship.<\/p>\n

While some Free Will Baptists\u00a0have expressed themselves in worship\u00a0in a more emotional way, and\u00a0some in a less emotional way\u2014and\u00a0while we have given each other that\u00a0freedom\u2014we have always agreed in\u00a0our belief in the freedom, simplicity\u00a0and order of Christian worship.<\/p>\n

This belief arises from our concern\u00a0to be as close to the New Testament\u00a0as we can. While some denominations\u00a0believe it is proper to\u00a0add to the New Testament picture\u00a0of Christian worship, Free Will Baptists\u00a0see no need and believe they\u00a0are on safer ground to imitate the\u00a0New Covenant worship exemplified\u00a0in the ministry of Christ and His\u00a0Apostles.<\/p>\n

In this, we agreed with the Anabaptists,\u00a0who in the 16th century\u00a0sought to rid themselves of the accretions\u00a0of extra-biblical tradition\u00a0over the centuries. Since they acknowledged\u00a0that the Bible was the\u00a0only rule of the faith and practice of\u00a0the church, they thought that it was\u00a0best, therefore, to attempt to stay as\u00a0close as they could to what they saw\u00a0in the New Testament about worship.\u00a0Our forefathers agreed.<\/p>\n

Free Will Baptists have looked to the ministry of Christ, with\u00a0His unencumbered and unceremonious\u00a0mode of teaching and worship,\u00a0which strikes the reader of the Gospels\u00a0with a singular simplicity and\u00a0spontaneity. We have also looked to\u00a0the ministry of the Apostles and their early New Testament churches characterized by a pure\u00a0and simple freedom and congregational\u00a0participation in worship balanced by a sense of sincerity\u00a0and order and a lack of confusion\u00a0(see, e.g., 1 Corinthians 14:26-33).<\/p>\n

Free Will Baptists believe it incumbent\u00a0upon them to try to emulate\u00a0this mode of worship. Thus we\u00a0have shied away from liturgical\u00a0forms that would make worship a rote practice,\u00a0hinder the free moving of the Spirit\u00a0of God, and obstruct the clear communication\u00a0of the Word.<\/p>\n

We find no need to improve upon\u00a0the scriptural example, and thus\u00a0have avoided adding our own renovations\u00a0or refinements to it, as had\u00a0been done by the Roman Catholic\u00a0Church as well as some Protestant\u00a0churches. As one of our English forefathers,\u00a0Thomas Grantham, said,<\/p>\n

It cannot be supposed that the Apostles (or however\u00a0Christ Himself) would leave the churches without\u00a0necessary instruction, how to perform this great\u00a0duty; which they press with Greatest vehemency.\u00a0. . . Yet we find no such forms or liturgies instituted\u00a0by them, nor to be instituted by others in\u00a0pursuance of any trust reposed in any of their successors by them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

By the same token, we have\u00a0avoided too much emotion. While\u00a0Free Will Baptists have placed great\u00a0value on the role of emotion in Christian\u00a0worship, we have sought not to\u00a0give it such a place that it could lead\u00a0to confusion and hinder the worship\u00a0of God, but have sought to worship\u00a0“decently and in order,” as the\u00a0Apostle Paul instructed.<\/p>\n

The emphasis of the Apostle was\u00a0always on rationality and intelligibility\u00a0in worship-in allowing the unfettered\u00a0Word to work, by the power\u00a0of the Spirit, in the minds and hearts\u00a0of worshippers. Paul saw that freedom\u00a0and simplicity need not be accompanied\u00a0by a feelings-based worship\u00a0which would guide our raw instincts\u00a0with pure emotion, but rather\u00a0is most truly characterized by the\u00a0Word-directed mind and heart responding\u00a0in worship to God the Creator,\u00a0Redeemer and Preserver.<\/p>\n

Free Will Baptists also see that,\u00a0even after the death of the Apostles\u00a0and the writing of the New Testament,\u00a0the earliest Christians worshiped\u00a0in the same spirit seen\u00a0in the New Testament. And while this\u00a0is not authoritative for them, they\u00a0believe it further confirms the picture\u00a0they see in the New Testament.<\/p>\n

We do not always emulate as we\u00a0should the pattern of worship we see\u00a0in the New Testament. Yet we believe\u00a0that if we seek to emulate this\u00a0pattern which the Holy Spirit has\u00a0seen fit to put before us, we will truly\u00a0be able to worship God in Spirit and\u00a0in Truth, thereby learning more of the\u00a0grace of God in Christ, being led by\u00a0the Holy Spirit, and most of all giving\u00a0glory to God almighty.<\/p>\n

About the Writer: Dr. J. Matthew Pinson is the president of Welch College in Gallatin, Tennessee. Article adapted from Contact <\/em>magazine, January 1995.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By J. Matthew Pinson Free Will Baptists have always\u00a0believed in freedom, simplicity\u00a0and order in worship, in\u00a0worshipping God in Spirit and\u00a0in Truth. Thus we have been\u00a0opposed to the employment of set\u00a0forms and liturgies, as well as to undue\u00a0emotionalism, in worship. While some Free Will Baptists\u00a0have expressed themselves in worship\u00a0in a more emotional way, and\u00a0some in a less emotional way\u2014and\u00a0while we have given each other that\u00a0freedom\u2014we have always agreed in\u00a0our belief in the freedom, simplicity\u00a0and order of Christian worship. This belief arises from our concern\u00a0to be as close to the New Testament\u00a0as we can. While some denominations\u00a0believe it is proper to\u00a0add to the New Testament picture\u00a0of Christian worship, Free Will Baptists\u00a0see no need and believe they\u00a0are on safer ground to imitate the\u00a0New Covenant worship exemplified\u00a0in the ministry of Christ and His\u00a0Apostles. In this, we agreed with the Anabaptists,\u00a0who in the 16th century\u00a0sought to rid themselves of the accretions\u00a0of extra-biblical tradition\u00a0over the centuries. Since they acknowledged\u00a0that the Bible was the\u00a0only rule of the faith and practice of\u00a0the church, they thought that it was\u00a0best, therefore, to attempt to stay as\u00a0close as they could to what they saw\u00a0in the New Testament about worship.\u00a0Our forefathers agreed. Free Will Baptists have looked to the ministry of Christ, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4476"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4477,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4476\/revisions\/4477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}