I wanted to blog yesterday, but I was preoccupied. Was I singing Christmas carols? No. Eating the Christmas goose? No. Visiting family and friends? No. Last evening, I decided to finish compulating student grades since I have 4:30 p.m. deadline today. I cooked three meals for my wife, and graded. That's what I did yesterday in the true spirit of a non-Sabbath day.
Back to the issue of why Baptists even observe Christmas. To make a long story short, it has much to do with the interaction of American religious culture during the mid-19th century that began to include elements of Lutheranism. Remember, Luther never shunned the Roman Catholic Christian Calendar; therefore, Lutheran churches retained the feast days. During the 19th century, more and more German immigrants came to America and immigrants from Scandanavia all brought Christmas traditions such as Santa Claus, Christmas trees and decorations, etc.
My issue with Baptists observing Christmas is that it is inconsistent with their doctrine of Sola Scriptura and the regulative principle of worship. Christmass is a human invention; it is "will-worship." There is no warrant in Scripture for it. Jesus never commanded to celebrate his birt annually on Dec 25.
Please, don't get me wrong. The Church should proclaim the totality of the person and work of Christ, but not in disaccord with the biblical emphasis. Only two gospels narrate the birth of Christ, but all narrate his passion, death, and crucifixion. We, as African American Baptists, need to tell the whole story all of the time. If we preach through the gospels, we will give more than due emphasis on the whole of Christ's life and work on behalf of his people.
There is no biblical warrant for a Christian year. Let's hold truly to our doctrine of Sola Scriptura and the regulative principle of worship.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Baptist Bah Humbug
Would you believe that at one time in this country Baptists rejected the celebration of Christmas? This was the case during the Colonial period of American history into the 19th century. This was startling news for me when I read it because I grew up celebrating Christmas as a Baptist and attending worship service every Christmas Day.
Since Baptists emerged from the Puritan wing of the English Reformation, Baptists saw no biblical warrant for the celebration of holy days in NT. The only holy day Baptists observed was the Christian Sabbath, or the Lord's Day, which is the first day of the week.
What I observe now is that Christmas Day has more importance than all 52 Lord's Days put together. Just notice: Christmas Day is when no one works other than police officers, fire fighters, etc. What about the Lord's Day? Restaurants are in full swing, retail stores, grocery stores, etc. Business owners refuse to keep a Sabbath unless it's Thanksgiving or Christmas. What about Christians and their view of the Lord's Day? Very few Christians keep the Sabbath holy. Some argue that the fourth commandment has no bearing on New Covenant piety while others argue that all days are alike. Except Christmas.
Things are reversed from what Baptists used to practice. Baptists have historically held to a high view of the Lord's Day Sabbath, and rejected celebration of holy days. In the 1689 London Confession, Chapter 22 teaches that since the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ the first day of week is the Sabbath. There is no mention the observance of any other day, but the Lord's Day. No Christian Calendar. No holy days.
This was the fundamental position of the Westminster divines when they crafted the Directory for the Public Worship of God. Regarding holy days, they wrote: "There is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord's day, which is the Christian Sabbath." They go on to state, "Festival days, vulgarly called Holy-Days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued." Some argue that Reformed Puritans reacted to the retaining of the Church Calendar in the English Church, and this colored their rejection of holy days including Christmas. This is a response according to the word of God, not merely a gut reaction.
This was the prevailing practice among Baptists until the mid to late 19th century when observance of Christmas crept in the churches, which is about the same time that Americans began to observe Christmas in larger numbers. Baptist observance was more cultural than according to biblical conviction. This is unfortunate since Baptists have a strong tradition in Sola Scriptura and applying it rightly to worship matters.
If there is no biblical warrant to observe Christmas, why is this a general practice in our Baptist churches? Besides the point made in the previous paragraph, there is more to be said on this matter.
Since Baptists emerged from the Puritan wing of the English Reformation, Baptists saw no biblical warrant for the celebration of holy days in NT. The only holy day Baptists observed was the Christian Sabbath, or the Lord's Day, which is the first day of the week.
What I observe now is that Christmas Day has more importance than all 52 Lord's Days put together. Just notice: Christmas Day is when no one works other than police officers, fire fighters, etc. What about the Lord's Day? Restaurants are in full swing, retail stores, grocery stores, etc. Business owners refuse to keep a Sabbath unless it's Thanksgiving or Christmas. What about Christians and their view of the Lord's Day? Very few Christians keep the Sabbath holy. Some argue that the fourth commandment has no bearing on New Covenant piety while others argue that all days are alike. Except Christmas.
Things are reversed from what Baptists used to practice. Baptists have historically held to a high view of the Lord's Day Sabbath, and rejected celebration of holy days. In the 1689 London Confession, Chapter 22 teaches that since the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ the first day of week is the Sabbath. There is no mention the observance of any other day, but the Lord's Day. No Christian Calendar. No holy days.
This was the fundamental position of the Westminster divines when they crafted the Directory for the Public Worship of God. Regarding holy days, they wrote: "There is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord's day, which is the Christian Sabbath." They go on to state, "Festival days, vulgarly called Holy-Days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued." Some argue that Reformed Puritans reacted to the retaining of the Church Calendar in the English Church, and this colored their rejection of holy days including Christmas. This is a response according to the word of God, not merely a gut reaction.
This was the prevailing practice among Baptists until the mid to late 19th century when observance of Christmas crept in the churches, which is about the same time that Americans began to observe Christmas in larger numbers. Baptist observance was more cultural than according to biblical conviction. This is unfortunate since Baptists have a strong tradition in Sola Scriptura and applying it rightly to worship matters.
If there is no biblical warrant to observe Christmas, why is this a general practice in our Baptist churches? Besides the point made in the previous paragraph, there is more to be said on this matter.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Baptists and Holy Days
For the vast majority of the Christian world and non-Christian world, people are gearing up for the big day on 25 December. This is, of course, Christmas Day; it is the birth of Christ. This day and this season was my absolute favorite time of the year. I dreamt of toys, feasting, conviviality, etc. I believed in Santa Clause, and I believed that 25 December was the actual birthday of Jesus Christ. Maybe you know where I'm going with this. Before I get into the real reason for this entry, allow me to share my story.
As a child, I was a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church. Officially, I was a Roman Catholic until I was six. Then I became a Baptist. My mother was still Catholic, and I went to Catholic school. At school, we would light the Advent wreath every day beginning after the first Sunday of December. We sang, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" every day. It was very pious. I was a Christmas traditionalist.
While we did this in Catholic school, our Baptist church did other things. There was no Advent wreath, and our church never observed Advent, per se. We did put on a big Christmas play the Friday before Christmas. One year, I was the lead shepherd with a speaking part. My brother played Joseph during the same production. It was fun, fun, fun.
I loved helping put up the family Christmas tree, and making sure the wreath hung outside on the door. Of course, by Christmas Eve I was ready to burst. As a young child, I went to bed early anticipating Santa's arrival. One year I really believed I heard his sleigh park on our roof. On Christmas morning, I would wake up while it was still dark---maybe six o'clock. I would run to the tree and find all of the toys I wanted---racing car set, electric football set, etc. After this, it would be feasting with the family.
If the 25th of December was my absolute favorite day, the 26th was probably the most non-descript day of the year. I had my toys, and I would go to my friends' houses to play with their new toys. It just wasn't the same. Santa was back at the North Pole, and I wouldn't see him again until next year. Nevertheless, the Advent season would last until January 6, which is the feast of the Epiphany. That's when the tree would come down. I insisted that the decorations had to remain through January 6; I was a traditionalist.
As the years wore on, I became more sober-minded regarding Christmas. No more toys; I no longer believed in the myth of Santa Clause. I still looked forward to Christmas, but it was more nostalgic. I listened to the music, I looked forward to being out of school, and seeing family members. I tried to focus on the coming of Jesus Christ. Attending church became important for me, and that became part of my new tradition.
Something began to change. My father said that Jesus wasn't born on Dec 25, and that Christmas was invented by the Roman Catholic Church. I looked in the Scriptures, and there is nothing in Matthew 1, or Luke 2 stating that this was Christmas. There is no month and day given to mark the birth of Jesus. I read some of the history of Christmas, and I found that my father, a pastor, was right. I was still confused because he continued to celebrate Christmas and have church. This was a contradiction. Why if we are Baptists, a people who believe that we need biblical warrant to support worship practices, celebrate Christmas?
This turned me against Christmas because I saw so many inconsistencies. The confession my old churches held to stated that the Holy Scriptures are the "supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried." Let's apply this to Christmas and the celebration of other Holy Days like Easter. Do we read in the Scriptures were the Church is to celebrate the birth of Christ as its own regular, annual day? The answer is no. In fact, the Scriptures teach against such. Paul commanded the Colossians and the Laodiceans, "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ" (Col 2:16-17). This is a clear statement that under the New Covenant the Church is free from celebrating yearly feasts, or even a Church calendar. All of the biblical feasts of the OT: passover, pentecost, firstfruits, New Moon Sabbaths, Seventh Day Sabbaths were shadows, or types that Christ through his person and work fulfilled. To celebrate those would be tantamount to rejecting Christ's perfect work. What about New Covenant feats? What about them? Where are they? They are missing. Why? Because Christ has come and fulfilled all of the types.
Paul, again, makes it clear that there are no NT holy days: "Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain" (Gal 4:10-11). The days, months, etc. Paul refers to here in this verse are the OT feasts and times. The occasion of this letter was that Judaizers were teaching these Christians (Gentiles) that they had to be Jewish in order to be Christians. Paul here teaches that certain aspects of Judaism had been abrogated such as the observance of festivals and feasts. The Church looks to Christ as the one who fulfilled all of this, and it looks to him alone.
I'll quit here for today. I hope you understand this argument. There is more to follow.
As a child, I was a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church. Officially, I was a Roman Catholic until I was six. Then I became a Baptist. My mother was still Catholic, and I went to Catholic school. At school, we would light the Advent wreath every day beginning after the first Sunday of December. We sang, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" every day. It was very pious. I was a Christmas traditionalist.
While we did this in Catholic school, our Baptist church did other things. There was no Advent wreath, and our church never observed Advent, per se. We did put on a big Christmas play the Friday before Christmas. One year, I was the lead shepherd with a speaking part. My brother played Joseph during the same production. It was fun, fun, fun.
I loved helping put up the family Christmas tree, and making sure the wreath hung outside on the door. Of course, by Christmas Eve I was ready to burst. As a young child, I went to bed early anticipating Santa's arrival. One year I really believed I heard his sleigh park on our roof. On Christmas morning, I would wake up while it was still dark---maybe six o'clock. I would run to the tree and find all of the toys I wanted---racing car set, electric football set, etc. After this, it would be feasting with the family.
If the 25th of December was my absolute favorite day, the 26th was probably the most non-descript day of the year. I had my toys, and I would go to my friends' houses to play with their new toys. It just wasn't the same. Santa was back at the North Pole, and I wouldn't see him again until next year. Nevertheless, the Advent season would last until January 6, which is the feast of the Epiphany. That's when the tree would come down. I insisted that the decorations had to remain through January 6; I was a traditionalist.
As the years wore on, I became more sober-minded regarding Christmas. No more toys; I no longer believed in the myth of Santa Clause. I still looked forward to Christmas, but it was more nostalgic. I listened to the music, I looked forward to being out of school, and seeing family members. I tried to focus on the coming of Jesus Christ. Attending church became important for me, and that became part of my new tradition.
Something began to change. My father said that Jesus wasn't born on Dec 25, and that Christmas was invented by the Roman Catholic Church. I looked in the Scriptures, and there is nothing in Matthew 1, or Luke 2 stating that this was Christmas. There is no month and day given to mark the birth of Jesus. I read some of the history of Christmas, and I found that my father, a pastor, was right. I was still confused because he continued to celebrate Christmas and have church. This was a contradiction. Why if we are Baptists, a people who believe that we need biblical warrant to support worship practices, celebrate Christmas?
This turned me against Christmas because I saw so many inconsistencies. The confession my old churches held to stated that the Holy Scriptures are the "supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried." Let's apply this to Christmas and the celebration of other Holy Days like Easter. Do we read in the Scriptures were the Church is to celebrate the birth of Christ as its own regular, annual day? The answer is no. In fact, the Scriptures teach against such. Paul commanded the Colossians and the Laodiceans, "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ" (Col 2:16-17). This is a clear statement that under the New Covenant the Church is free from celebrating yearly feasts, or even a Church calendar. All of the biblical feasts of the OT: passover, pentecost, firstfruits, New Moon Sabbaths, Seventh Day Sabbaths were shadows, or types that Christ through his person and work fulfilled. To celebrate those would be tantamount to rejecting Christ's perfect work. What about New Covenant feats? What about them? Where are they? They are missing. Why? Because Christ has come and fulfilled all of the types.
Paul, again, makes it clear that there are no NT holy days: "Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain" (Gal 4:10-11). The days, months, etc. Paul refers to here in this verse are the OT feasts and times. The occasion of this letter was that Judaizers were teaching these Christians (Gentiles) that they had to be Jewish in order to be Christians. Paul here teaches that certain aspects of Judaism had been abrogated such as the observance of festivals and feasts. The Church looks to Christ as the one who fulfilled all of this, and it looks to him alone.
I'll quit here for today. I hope you understand this argument. There is more to follow.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Preach the Word
I have no idea how many pastoral anniversary services I have witnessed, but it has been quite a many. Most of the sermons have been from Paul's letter to Timothy, and his command to preach the word (2 Timothy 4:2). Rightly so, pastors have applied this command by Paul to the evangelist Timothy to the work of the local church pastor.
We who have been reared in traditional African American Baptist churches know that premium placed on preaching. Yet the premium has been placed on a certain style of preaching rather than the substance of preaching. As a kid and young man, I loved to hear a certain style of preaching---witty turns of phrases, humorous, and a good tune and a whoop. As a got older, I noticed that many pastors who used that style failed to preach a sermon with a sound argument and exegesis. What does it mean to preach the word?
I believe that in order for African American pastors to obey this command efficiently and effectively means that they need to preach expository sermons. The expository sermon takes its points from the biblical text. Every word is examined; every phrases is analyzed and contextualized. Applications are drawn straight from the text. In brief, every word of God is proclaimed. This is the type of preaching that glorifies God and edifies the saints.
For African American pastors to make the shift to preaching expository sermons will entail a culture shift. By this, I mean that pastors will preach longer sermons with more detail applied to explaining the text. It demands the attention of the listener, but the rewards are inexorable. The saints will actually learn the word of God with clear and pointed applications.
I have heard pastors who have three points to their sermons, and they deem themselves expository preachers. I have noticed that their points are actually applications, and not necessarily points of the passage of Scripture. Just yesterday I heard a sermon on-demand, and the sermon was called "An Open Letter to Mr. Obama." First, there is nothing in the Bible about Barack Obama; therefore, the sermon title had nothing to do with a biblical passage. The passage was from 1 Samuel 16, which narrates the initial anointing of David. The first point of the sermon was that the "anointing is more important than the appointing." The only thing remotely related about this point to the passage is that Samuel anointed David. In this passage David's anointing as the next king of Israel had everything to do with his appointment to the same.
A sample expository outline of this passage would be:
1. The Lord Summons Samuel to Anoint a New King (1 Sam 16:1-3)
2. The Lord Corrects Samuel's Assessment of the Anointed (4-7)
3. The Lord Chooses his Anointed (8-13)
Possible applications:
1. It is the Lord who directs the paths of his people
2. Often we mistake what the Lord will do, or we mistake the kind of people he chooses to do certain tasks. The Lord is compassionate upon whoever he chooses
3. The Lord is sovereign in his grace; he chooses whom he chooses, especially in the realm of salvation.
4. David's anointing anticaptes the coming of the Anointed One, Jesus Christ.
This is the type of preaching needed in African American Baptist churches. I pray for African American Baptist pastors to avail themselves to preaching expository sermons to glory of God, the edification of the saints, and the salvation of sinners.
We who have been reared in traditional African American Baptist churches know that premium placed on preaching. Yet the premium has been placed on a certain style of preaching rather than the substance of preaching. As a kid and young man, I loved to hear a certain style of preaching---witty turns of phrases, humorous, and a good tune and a whoop. As a got older, I noticed that many pastors who used that style failed to preach a sermon with a sound argument and exegesis. What does it mean to preach the word?
I believe that in order for African American pastors to obey this command efficiently and effectively means that they need to preach expository sermons. The expository sermon takes its points from the biblical text. Every word is examined; every phrases is analyzed and contextualized. Applications are drawn straight from the text. In brief, every word of God is proclaimed. This is the type of preaching that glorifies God and edifies the saints.
For African American pastors to make the shift to preaching expository sermons will entail a culture shift. By this, I mean that pastors will preach longer sermons with more detail applied to explaining the text. It demands the attention of the listener, but the rewards are inexorable. The saints will actually learn the word of God with clear and pointed applications.
I have heard pastors who have three points to their sermons, and they deem themselves expository preachers. I have noticed that their points are actually applications, and not necessarily points of the passage of Scripture. Just yesterday I heard a sermon on-demand, and the sermon was called "An Open Letter to Mr. Obama." First, there is nothing in the Bible about Barack Obama; therefore, the sermon title had nothing to do with a biblical passage. The passage was from 1 Samuel 16, which narrates the initial anointing of David. The first point of the sermon was that the "anointing is more important than the appointing." The only thing remotely related about this point to the passage is that Samuel anointed David. In this passage David's anointing as the next king of Israel had everything to do with his appointment to the same.
A sample expository outline of this passage would be:
1. The Lord Summons Samuel to Anoint a New King (1 Sam 16:1-3)
2. The Lord Corrects Samuel's Assessment of the Anointed (4-7)
3. The Lord Chooses his Anointed (8-13)
Possible applications:
1. It is the Lord who directs the paths of his people
2. Often we mistake what the Lord will do, or we mistake the kind of people he chooses to do certain tasks. The Lord is compassionate upon whoever he chooses
3. The Lord is sovereign in his grace; he chooses whom he chooses, especially in the realm of salvation.
4. David's anointing anticaptes the coming of the Anointed One, Jesus Christ.
This is the type of preaching needed in African American Baptist churches. I pray for African American Baptist pastors to avail themselves to preaching expository sermons to glory of God, the edification of the saints, and the salvation of sinners.
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