Communion with Christ in Singing the Psalms

I had no thought of writing an entry to my blog now the early morning after the Lord's Day. Yet I was having a private psalm-singing service before reading the Scriptures and praying. I was struck as I sang aloud from Psalm 39 that I was in actual communion with Christ as I sang these words: "Yes, I was dumb; I opened not my mouth, Because this work was done at Thy command." This is verse 9 of Psalm 39. With clarity, I sang with Christ regarding his sufferings and his trial before Pilate. In John 19:10, it reads: "Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?" Of course, this verse fulfills Isaiah's prophecy in chapter 53 that speaks of the Servant of the Lord become like a lamb dumb to the slaughter.

Jesus did say after his resurrection that the Psalms speak of him. They do. Psalm-singing offers the Christian a marvelous opportunity to praise our God and the Christ in manifold ways. Throughout the Psalms, we can praise Christ for his incarnation (Psalm 8), his suffering on the cross (Psalm 22), his resurrection (Psalm 16), his prophetic office (Psalm 78), his High Priesthood (Psalm 110), and his kingship (Psalm 2). What can a man whoever so godly compose better than the Holy Spirit?

Not only do African American Baptists need to incorporate psalm-singing in the public worship, but also in private and family worship. We can truly magnify the Christ by singing the inspired songs that spoke about him.

Baptists and Prelacy

Every since the early to mid 1990s I've scoffed at African American Baptist pastors assuming the title of "bishop" with real jurisdictional powers. The case in point is the Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship, with a college of bishops including its only presiding bishop, Paul S. Morton, Sr. I remember being in my former church in Lansing, Michigan and some of the members talking about how "Baptists don't have bishops." Do they? Yes, and no.

Confessionaly, and most importantly, biblically, every Baptist church has at least one bishop. Note what the New Hampshire Declaration (confessed on paper by African American Baptists in general) states about church officers: the "only Scriptural officers are bishops, or pastors and deacons." Let's get one thing straight: there is an "or" in that statement, which indicates that the terms are interchangeable. Bishops are pastors, and pastors and bishops. We can also include the biblical term of elder in this equation. All refer to the same office. We come to this conclusion by reading 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The 1689 London Confession states that the officers of a church are "bishops (otherwise called elders) and deacons." It confesses the same as the New Hampshire. So yes, there are bishops in Baptist churches. In my church, we had three; but now only two.

There is the "no" answer. No, Baptists do not believe in bishops in the sense of prelacy. This is a little big word because most Christians aren't familiar with it. However, I received an email from Mt. Ararat Baptist Church announcing an upcoming conference hosted by an association this church is a member of. As I read this advertisement, I noticed that the association has a "presiding prelate." By definition, a prelate is a high-ranking church official. It assumes an episcopal government since only higher-ranking officials can bestow such on another. Can this occur in a Baptist church? No. Why not? Each Baptist church is independent. There can be no prelacy in independent and autonomous churches.

What we have here is what Jesus condemned: men going after the higher seats at gatherings. It sounds good to have the title of "bishop," or even "apostle." All of this type of posturing is unbiblical, and un-Baptist. For a reformation to occur within African American Baptist ranks we must pray that God will raise up men who seek the true office of a bishop in the spirit of 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, and 1 Peter 5. Until then, we will continue to see men and women calling themselves into prelactic offices to the detriment of Christ's church.

Have a Blessed Lord's Day

We as Baptists, especially National Baptists, have weakened the holiness and sanctity of the Lord's Day-Sabbath. Dispensationalist teaching, antinomianism, and minimalism have all anchored themselves in African American Baptist churches. Dispensationalism teaches against the New Covenant relevance of the 4th commandment, antinomianism teaches we are no longer under Law as a template of our sanctification, and minimalism teaches that keeping the Sabbath holy is inconsequential to salvation; therefore, it is only an option (a lesser one at that).

Oh, how our forebears differ. African American Baptists in days past kept this day holy. They wrote about it, they preached about it, and the sang about it. Also the confessed it. Check out the Articles of Faith, article XV; it is a clear declaration of faith regarding what a Baptist should believe about this day.

Often times, when this subject is broached Christians get hung up on "do's and don't's." Christians should always remember that this is the Day that Christ emerged from the grave by the power of the Spirit to complete the work of redemption. Easter celebrations are foreign to the Scriptures, but the Lord's Day is not.

Have a blessed Lord's Day.