The "Old Paths" for New Testament Christians?

"Ask for the old paths!"  Stop it already!!!  I realize I'm stepping on toes here, but I have thought about this for years.  Let me come right out of the gate and just say, the "old paths", whatever they are, whatever you may define them to be, whatever men in history  you may associate with it, they are not for us.  Why do men yell about the old paths so much? Men talk of the old paths, the same way men harp on the old time religion, and the ol' timers.  Some talk about how it used to be 100 years ago, as if they have some real inkling other then grand stories and romanticized nonsense.  Some focus the idea more on scriptural implications.  This ideology is so big in the Fundamentalist, hardcore, militant Independent Baptist ranks today. The glorious Old paths!  Old paths ministries, Old Paths Baptist church,  "We walk the old paths here!"  What does it all mean?

Jeremiah 6:16 says 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].  This is the only time it shows up in the Bible.  It's amazing how men will focus so much on what God focused so little on isn't it. "We should ask for the old paths... " is inevitably followed by what the preacher says he thinks the "old paths" are!  And it usually has the ring of all the things the preacher stands for.  And if it is a pastoral authority control freak preacher, you already have a monster on your hands.

I used to prescribe to this notion myself when i was a Fundamentalist successionist.  The old paths!  It was a neat idea.  Many preachers love that Jeremiah 6:16 is in the Bible.  It is a good springboard for rabbit trails and hobby horses.  People?  Why are we messing around in law and prophets so much?  Why are we wanting to allude to some mystical old paths, some mystical realm that only exist in the preachers minds.  Whether you preachers keep trying to get your young preacher boys to be like Hudson Taylor, George Whitfield, Sam Jones, or Lester Roloff, or you are using the prophets as good examples of public ministry, you guys need to understand what age you are in TODAY!  You are using his word too loosely.  You are no longer teaching our young men to be individuals with a book.  But you  are pushing them to follow traditions of men, claim the same callings of men, follow the same commissions of men and to practice preaching styles that are not fitted for NT men.

Call a Spade a Spade!

“We are an independent, fundamental, Bible believing Baptist church!”  You may have seen an advertisement like that for a church on a tract, a website, or the phone book.  All the lingo and talk is used: pre-millennial, missions-minded, sin-hating, King James Bible-preaching church.  It has all the persuasion and influence that all religions use.  It’s why we are so aggressive in getting people to come.  We believe we have it, hook, line, and sinker.  We follow the fundamentals of the faith, we preach the truth.  We are not as they, we do things right.  We have order, our statements of faith and the beloved fundamentals.  Which I guess that is all fine.  Other denominations can make erroneous claims, why not the IFB?

I just want you to understand, my mindset and my view is not about starting a revolution, making everyone see my point of view, or to get all the churches to change their format and so on.  I just want others to be aware of the fact that we are no different from the other vain religions who have a great many things wrong at their core.  

It’s just being honest.  Wake up! We are not some special class of Christian that God has called in these last days to stand in the gap and show everyone else their faults and traditions.  In fact, we have many similarities to the religious that we preach against.