The Divine Library (1)

“Search from the book of the LORD, and read" 

(Isa. 34: 16 nkjv)

Many people are famous in part for having immense libraries. Thomas Jefferson was such. He donated his library to Congress which became "the library of Congress," the largest library in the world. Many great preachers have had large libraries. Of course, in this day and time we have electronic books, which means we all have a large library at our fingertips. The great library of ancient Alexandria in Egypt was also a famous library, and it is a shame that it was destroyed by fire. So many ancient scrolls and documents were lost in that fire that would have been of great benefit to succeeding generations. 

In this treatise we will speak of God's library and how it far exceeds in quality and quantity all other libraries combined. Solomon said "of the making of many books there is no end" (Eccl. 12: 12). This may also be true of the divine library. The apostle John also wrote:

"And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen." (John 21: 25 nkjv)

Of course, what John means is that all that Jesus did and said is not written in books for men to read now. However, that does not mean that all that Jesus said and did is not written in the books of heaven in the library of God. John also wrote:

"And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." (John 20: 30-31 nkjv)

What we have in book form of what Jesus said and did is sufficient for us now and for salvation. But, that does not exclude the idea that all that Christ did and said are not recorded in heaven's books. I hope when I get to heaven that I can read all about the life of Christ, about what he taught and did while on earth during his incarnation and which have not been written in any books we have now on earth. Think about that for a few minutes. We know very little about the life of Jesus, especially from the time when he was taken to the Temple to be circumcised at eight days old until the time when he began to preach at about age thirty. We have one instance when he was about twelve years old where he journeyed to Jerusalem with his mother and father and spent time discussing scripture with the older Rabbis. 

In this short series we will see that God has more books in his library than even the library of Congress by a large amount, because, as we will see, each person he has created has a book that records all there is to know about him or her, that is, each person's whole life is a book written. When I get to heaven I will be glad to meet and get to know the myriads of redeemed men and women and the myriads of angels. Each of them has a story, a biography. Further, a person is the totality of his life's experiences. 

I think of the many questions that I might want to ask the great men and women of God mentioned in the scriptures. The same is true with many who are well known in the history of the church. Reading their biographies as part of getting to know them would be a delight, especially since I expect to be able to speed read, and to retain in memory all that I read. Of course, there may be things that we would rather that no one knew of our past life on earth, of the horrible things we did, of our past sins. I don't know how all that will work out. I do not believe however that all our former lives will be forgotten. So, if every redeemed man and every angel has a book that records everything about him, that alone represents a huge library; And, of course, we cannot exclude lost souls, fallen men and angels.

God is the greatest author, no other author is comparable to him. The Bible mentions several books that God has in his library. It is these that we want to mention and make some comments about. But, let me first mention the fact that God's library has sections, just as our modern libraries. I think of the many law libraries I have seen when doing business with many attorneys through the years in the real estate business. Each office has shelves galore of legal books, books which give the statutes and laws of state, local, and federal governments, books on legal and criminal procedure, etc. Lord God has a large section of his library that contains his legal books, his statutes, judgments, laws, commandments, decrees, etc.

There are other books in God's library that are unique to him, and books that he has authored and shared with his creatures. Just as life has been compared to a play with acts, life being a stage as Shakespeare said, so too is life like a book with chapters.

The Story of Our Lives

"Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!" (Job 19: 23-24 kjv)

Job got what he requested for we have the inspired Book of Job. But, God also has recorded every other thing in the life of Job. Job's life is a single book in God's library, just as every other man's life. Every thought, action, emotion, event, etc., is in a book. Every man's life is a book, with chapters and divisions, and is a story. I am in the closing chapter of my life on earth as an old man. So Moses wrote in his only Psalm, saying:

"For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: We spend our years as a tale that is told." (Psa. 90: 9 kjv)

The main idea of this verse is to say that our lives are soon lived and are fleeting, as James said "what is your life?" He said "it is a vapor or mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." (James 4: 14) Still, our lives are like a story or tale that is told. Job said: "Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high." (Job 16: 19 nkjv) The Psalmist also said to Lord God: "You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?" (Psa. 56: 8 nkjv) He also wrote:

"My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!" (Psa. 139: 15 -17 nkjv)

It is a question as to what portions of the book of our lives were written before we were born and which portions are continuously being written. Predestinarians would have no problem believing that all the chapters of our biographies were written in eternity, before we were ever born. Others would resist believing such, thinking that it leaves no room for people being the authors of their own storied lives. Perhaps it is a case where both views mesh, some things in our lives being written in advance and other things being written as they occur in our lives. One thing for sure is that these books of our lives will be opened in the day of judgment and used to either condemn or justify us. So wrote the apostle John:

"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books." (Rev. 20: 11-12 nkjv)

It has been said by some "my life is an open book." By this they mean that they have nothing to hide, having no skeletons in the proverbial closet. Well, that certainly will be true when all stand before the great white throne. Every man's life will be an open book for all to read and what is recorded therein will be used to prove the guilt of those judged.

The books of the law of God also will be opened, showing the statutes that were disobeyed and of the punishment that each violation is to receive. 

In the next chapters we will look at other books that God has in his immense library.

Two Seed Baptist Ideology (XLVII)

Since we have been looking at what Elder Potter said about many Two Seeders denying a physical resurrection of the body, we will return to look at what Elder John M. Watson in "The Old Baptist Test" wrote on that point. Following that we will have a couple chapters where we give some more citations from Potter on certain Two Seed tenets.

Watson, in Section VI of his book "The Old Baptist Test" titled "The Resurrection" wrote:

"There has been much figurative language used with respect to the resurrection, which some have seized upon and tried thereby to reduce the whole to a figure, but instead of the truth of a real resurrection..." (pg. 228)

It is a funny thing that Two Seeders were too literal in Bible interpretation in some ways and yet too non-literal (or figurative) in other ways. They interpreted texts that speak of people being the children of the Devil in a most literal manner but scriptures dealing with a physical resurrection in a most figurative way, thereby denying a literal bodily resurrection. The only way to deny the resurrection of the bodies of the just and unjust is to deny that the texts that speak of it are literal. We have already seen in the preceding chapters where Elder Sylvester Hassell saw the ill effects of overly spiritualizing many literal texts in the Bible, a thing that still characterizes many of today's "Primitive Baptists." 

Watson wrote further:

"But after all the revealed light we have on the subject of the resurrection of our bodies, and the examples given of it, the Parkerite will not admit it, but entertains a notion about it subversive of the whole matter. His conception is predicated of the erroneous propositions that only the elect fell in Adam, that all human souls are eternal, and were infused into Adam at the time of the formation of his body, and that the multiplication of the woman's conception was to engender bodies for the abode of a seed from Satan. Human bodies, therefore, are held in low estimation by them, and, when they die, go to the dust from whence they were formed, the soul to God, with a mystic, imaginary body of its own, and the seed of the devil back to him, and the body in which it dwelt, like that of the Saint, to the dust, never to rise again. Thus the bodies, both of the just and unjust, are never to rise again, but the soul returns to God to be again confounded with him, and can have no distinctive existence or being of its own, while the seed of the devil returns to Him to be one with Him again-so, in the winding up of the whole affair, there will be one God and one evil spirit. This is a fair induction from their erroneous premises-a palpable reductio ad absurdum." (pg. 228)

In the above citation Watson gives several Two Seed propositions, one of which says that the Two Seeders believe "that all human souls are eternal." But, that is a correct proposition. Surely Watson does not deny the immortality of the soul. Perhaps he means "that all human souls are eternal AND were infused into Adam at the time of the formation of his body." That would have been clearer had he not put a comma after "eternal" and before "and." In this case Watson would deny that all souls were in Adam when he was created and would be taking what is called the "creationist" view of the origin of the soul, which says that each soul is created by God in the womb after the female egg is fertilized by the male seed. The other view is called Traducianism, which posits that both body and soul are derived from parents through natural procreation, with souls passed down from Adam. I think, however, that the Two Seed view is a modification of the Traducian view, for it does not simply say that the souls of all are derived from the first soul in Adam or Eve but that the souls were actually present in them. Many Creationists would not deny that all souls were represented in Adam, but not that each soul preexisted in Adam.

Watson also says that the Two Seed view has a low estimation of the human body. Recall that in the first chapters of this treatise we saw how Two Seedism borrowed much from Gnosticism, and a chief idea in it is to say that the material or physical world is evil and that salvation was to be delivered from it. They therefore would naturally see the idea of living forever in human bodies as a bad thing.

Next, Watson gives a list of the several items in the "Parkerite creed." Watson wrote:

"We will now take a general retrospect of what we have written, and compare tenets with our opponents. Let us, then, make out a synopsis of the Parkerite creed:

1. They believe there is an uncreated, self-existent and eternal God, infinite in Wisdom, Power and Holiness.

2. They believe there is an uncreated self-existent, eternal Evil Spirit, or Devil, intelligent, wicked, cunning and antagonistic to God.

3. They say that the soul of Christ is uncreated and eternal.

4. They fancy that the souls of the Children of God, or the Elect, are uncreated and eternal, and were always in actual union with God.

5. They contend that all the souls of the Children of God were infused into Adam, and pass, by a procreation of human bodies, into the persons of the elect.

6. They assert that the reprobates have no souls, and that their bodies are a multiplication of the woman's conception for the reception of a connate Satanic seed, uncreated and eternal, instead of souls, with which Satan was eternally united.

7. They affirm that, at death, the soul returns to God, and the seed of Satan to him.

8. They deny the resurrection of the bodies of the just and unjust." (pg. 229)

Tenet number one, of course, is true. We have thus far looked at the above errors and of others not in the list. However, it is strange that Watson left out several other false tenets, although he does mention them in other places. He does not mention the errors of Two Seeders concerning "regeneration" or "rebirth," the "no change" view of it, nor their denial of God's use of the means of his word in that work. It is also strange that in a list of their beliefs he lists one item that is true but seven that are false. Perhaps he is just willing to grant them some degree of orthodoxy by mentioning that one item. However, as we have seen, they really do not believe item number one, for they believe the Devil is uncreated and self existent, and that he created or procreated his children. They may believe that God is as stated in item number one, but they do not believe he is the only one who fits that description.

Watson makes this observation on Two Seedism:

"Their doctrine is serpentine, and it has serpentine ways and outlets, and is hard to hold even when caught." (pg. 231)

I think that this was not only true with the Two Seeders in Watson's day, but it is also true in later days, in the twentieth and twenty first centuries among those who call themselves "Primitive Baptists," with the exception of those who are of a different strain, such as the Eastern Association of Primitive Baptists. They are slippery in a deceitful way, and this is true with cults. By this I mean that they can be shifty, sneaky, deceptive, crafty, etc. When they are confronted with biblical texts that refute their erroneous premises, they can show some cunning craftiness in the ways they can twist a text to make it say what it does not say upon first glance. When I was with the Hardshells I often saw this slippery activity. They not only show this slippery serpentine activity in how they twist scripture but also in the ways they alienate preachers who do not toe the line from the affections of the Hardshell community.

Watson wrote:

"We were then willing to bear with the sparse amount of Parkerism, which then showed itself, while its advocates were careful to keep back its most objectionable tenets; but since then, it has been preached even to the extent of a full denial of the resurrection of our natural bodies, with its other unscriptural and hurtful doctrines; in consequence of which five of our churches have passed resolutions that it shall not be preached in their pulpits, and some of its advocates have been, from time to time, kindly entreated to forbear preaching such things. Moreover, an association lately constituted, which came out from among the Parkerites, or non-resurrectionists, has been received into our correspondence. Notwithstanding all this, we again entreat the advocates of Parkerism to desist from preaching their tenets; yea, we say if one or two of its leading advocates would desist, our associated union might be preserved, and oh! how fearful is the responsibility which now rests on them." (pg. 233-234) 

As we saw in previous chapters, for several decades of the 19th century the "Primitive" or "Old School" Baptists who opposed Two Seed heresies were far too willing to bear with Parkerism. In the previous chapter we saw how Dr. Throgmorton stated this very thing in his debate with Elder Potter. Some did begin to declare non-fellowship with Two Seeders in the 1840s and onward, but most did not. It was not until the 19th century neared its end that there began to be a widespread declaration against Two Seedism. Further, as we have shown, remnants of Two Seedism still remain among the "Primitive Baptists" of the Hardshell variety. How any of them could have tolerated the presence of those who denied a bodily resurrection for even a short time is amazing. It is also bewildering how they could declare non-fellowship against those who believed in supporting mission organizations, seminaries, Sunday Schools, etc. but not do so against Two Seed heresies. 

Watson wrote:

"Most of the evils, which have convulsed and shook the world, at different times, emanated, from perversions of Divine Truth. Have I perverted any text of Holy Scripture, and in that way opened a fountain tributary to the great time stream of error? Let me search it out and repent of it, and seal it up forever with a hearty recantation."

I wish that those who call themselves "Primitive Baptists," with but few exceptions, had this attitude. I have labored hard for the past thirty five years, and especially the past twenty years in writing against Hardshellism in my various blogs, to get them to do some honest investigation of their beliefs, to come here and discuss their heterodox views on Bible doctrine. I am thankful that we have helped many to come out of Hardshellism (with its remnants of Two Seedism) and others from going into it, but I wish there had been more. If Lemuel Potter, C.H. Cayce, John R. Daily, etc., were here today, I believe they would come here and debate their heresies. But, where are the debaters today?

Watson wrote:

"Who of us are thus feeding and sustaining the Man of Sin, aiding in building Babylon, or sinning in propagating Protestant heresies, or Old Baptist ultraisms. We can readily see the absurdities of Romanism, the errors of many Protestant sects, and avoid them, but we do not recognize, as heresies, those hurtful ultraisms which are eating, as doth a canker, upon our very vitals as a denomination--a denomination which very justly boasts of its antiquity, and of having never acknowledged any other rule of faith and practice but that of the Bible. But some of our brethren are interpreting many of its blessed truths in such a way as to lead off their hearers from the Old Baptist platform of principles. Some of them have pursued that perverse thing, Parkerism, with such obstinacy of opinion, and such perversions of the Scriptures, that we have been compelled to withdraw reluctantly from them. I will now show, most conclusively, that Parkerite ultraisms have changed some of the Old Order of Baptists into a new sect." (pg. 235-236) 

Watson believes that a person sins when he propagates heresies. I agree. I also believe that those who bid heretics God speed sin in doing so. So, it is a serious thing to believe and teach heresy. He speaks of what he calls "Old Baptist ultraisms." Many of those heretical ultraisms involved Two Seed tenets, and certainly included a denial of means in eternal salvation, a denial that a person must believe and repent to be eternally saved, affirming that nothing that a person does in life determines whether he goes to heaven or hell. He says those heresies and ultraisms were eating, like a cancer or gangrene, "our very vitals as a denomination." That cancer has indeed spread far so that very little of their denomination is yet living. He says that Parkerite Two Seed tenets have made the Hardshells "into a new sect." It is therefore highly ironic, and grossly inappropriate, for them to claim that they are "Primitive," meaning "original" Baptists.

Of course, Watson was not correct to say that the "Primitive Baptist" denomination that was created as a result of the anti-mission movement of the late 1820's and 1830s had an ancient ancestry so as to be able to "justly boast of its antiquity." Of course, Elder Watson and his segment of "Primitive Baptists" could make a better claim on that score than those "Primitive Baptists" who 1) began to deny that God used the means of gospel preaching to save his elect, and 2) began to deny that evangelical faith and repentance were essentials for eternal salvation, and 3) taught a no change view of regeneration, 4) and taught other Two Seed ideas.

Watson wrote:

"Parkerites are frequently heard to say, "that nothing will ever go to heaven but what came from there!" and, to prove the assertion, quote this text: "He that descended is the same also that ascended." Eph 4:10. They mean, that as the same person ascended who had descended, and as that person was Christ, his glorified human body was not taken up into heaven; thereby hinting darkly at the non-resurrection of our bodies-a heretical tenet which has been embraced by many of them!" (pg. 243) 

In previous chapters I have called attention to this motto of the Two Seeders that says "nothing will go to heaven but what came from there." This proposition is not given in scripture but is a man-made one, and it is taken to scripture and the scriptures made to conform to it by twisting scripture. This is true with many man-made propositions that cults and heresies invent. Today's "Primitive Baptists" have several of these as I have shown in previous chapters. Recall another Two Seed proposition that says that nothing a person does in his life determines whether he goes to heaven or hell. Believing that proposition is inspired, they make scripture to agree with it by perverting scripture. Another one says that if a salvation text has a condition to it then it is a mere time salvation, but if there is no condition then it is eternal. Accepting this proposition as inspired they make the scriptures to conform to it. 

God Comforts Believers (10)

In the conclusion of this series I feel I must speak of those texts which identify people who cannot be comforted because they refuse to be comforted. The text above has the Psalmist saying that in his trouble and weariness of soul, mind, and spirit he "refused to be comforted." I think nearly all of us can identify with this state, of times when we were so depressed, sad, and gloomy that no one could cheer us up, no matter how hard they tried. We see this in those times when a person loses a loved one in death, especially when that death was a horrible one. So we read:

“A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.” (Matt. 2: 18 nkjv)

The slaughter of the infants in the time of Moses' birth and in the time of the birth of Jesus was a time of deep depression and one where there was no alleviation from it. The fact is, people in such deep grief need time to grieve, to pity themselves, for it can often be therapeutic itself. Dr. Barnes in his famous commentary wrote the following on Psalm 77:2:

"My soul refused to be comforted - I resisted all the suggestions that came to my own mind, that might have comforted me. My heart was so melancholy and downcast; my spirits were so crushed; my mind was so dark; I had become so morbid, that I loved to cherish these thoughts. I chose to dwell on them. They had obtained possession of me, and I could not let them go. There was nothing that my own mind could suggest, there was nothing that occurred to me, that would relieve the difficulty or restore peace to my soul. These sad and gloomy thoughts filled all my soul, and left no room for thoughts of consolation and peace. A truly pious man may, therefore, get into a state of mind - a sad, dispirited, melancholy, morbid state - in which nothing that can be said to him, nothing that will occur to himself, will give him comfort and peace."

Not only do we see this kind of grief when someone loses the love of his or her lives by death, but also in divorce, when the person you loved so dearly says to you that he or she loves you no more and loves someone else.

In preaching on the text above in the Psalms and the words "My soul refused to be comforted," the great preacher Charles Spurgeon said (See here):

"WHEN you meet with a person in great distress, you feel at once a desire to comfort him; that is to say, if you have an ordinarily tender heart. You cannot bear to see another in trouble without trying to minister to that heart diseased. But supposing that the person refuses to be comforted, then you are foiled. What can you do?...if a man in trouble refuses to be comforted, how are you to cheer and solace him?"

Spurgeon also said:

"I have known men to say to a person in deep distress things which have really aggravated him, and his malady, too. “As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart.”

We see this truth in the case of Job's friends who came to "comfort" him in his troubles and yet who made his grief and woe even greater by their words, so that he called them "miserable comforters." (Job 16: 2) Therefore, to be a good comforter we should imitate the way God comforts his people, as we have before observed from II Cor. 1:4. We should also ask God to give us the words to speak to those who need comfort and encouragement. Isaiah said: "The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary." (Isa. 50: 4 kjv)

One of the ways that we can comfort or help people who refuse to be comforted is to help ease their burden by doing things for them when troubles occur in their lives, such as preparing food for them, doing chores for them, running errands for them, etc. This is one way that we "Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Gal. 6: 2 nkjv) However, there are some things that we simply must bear alone and that is why Paul says in verse five "For each one shall bear his own load." Sometimes in our efforts to comfort the afflicted we simply need to "weep with those who weep." (Rom. 12: 15) Even the Lord Jesus did this very thing when he was at the grave of his friend Lazarus, the text saying "Jesus wept." (John 11: 35; the shortest verse in the Bible) Oftentimes this helps the sufferer more than words.

Paul said: "And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it." (I Cor. 12: 26 nkjv) So Paul said to the Philippian believers: "you have done well that you shared in my distress." (4: 14 nkjv) What they shared was their financial support, but was not limited to that.

Spurgeon in the above cited sermon spoke of "religious melancholy." I have seen this manifested among the Hardshell Baptists. They manifest this spirit when they sing "Am I His Or Am I Not?" Having little assurance of salvation they go around gloomy and even bitter. This is also true in other cults. To comfort such people it is needed to help them find assurance. This can only be done by trying to get them to see the errors in their thinking and beliefs. Often this melancholy results from practicing some sin or thing that is displeasing to the Lord. There is a lot of literature available on this subject.

This is where nouthetic counseling (derived from the Greek noutheteo, "to admonish") can be very helpful. It is biblical counseling that relies strictly on scripture to address personal issues. It focuses on loving confrontation, deep concern, and bringing about change to align a person’s life with biblical requirements.

Of course, in trying to help those who refuse to be comforted, we must pray fervently for them, for God is able to comfort them when we cannot.

Baptists Can't Defend Faith Alone?

My "Church of Christ" friend Pat Donahue, with whom I have had a few debates, said "salvation does not come at the point of faith or by faith only" in a recent e-mail giving one of his bible lessons. Then, in order to prove this he said (highlighting mine):

"A very important one that first comes to mind is Rom 10:13-15 which starts by saying “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” and therefore teaches a sinner isn’t saved until he calls upon the name of the Lord. Every Baptist I have ever talked to agreed this is the proper understanding of verse 13.

Yet calling on the name of the Lord comes after one believes according to verse 14 – “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?” ("have believed" is past tense in the Greek). Every Baptist debater I’ve ever gotten to comment on verse 14 has admitted one can’t honestly call on the name of the Lord until he believes on the Lord first. That only makes sense.

So since salvation comes when one "calls on the name of the Lord" and since "calling on the name of the Lord" comes after belief, then salvation must come after belief. My opponent's proposition that salvation comes at the point of faith/by faith only is clearly disproven! It is disproven by the Bible, and by my opponents’ own admissions. I have never understood how Baptist type apologists can make such admissions and still hold on to their position, but they always do."

So, how would you, my Baptist friends, respond to this line of argument from the Campbellites? In my debates with Pat I have stated to him that he does not understand what we mean when we say that sinners are saved by faith alone. We do not mean that the faith that saves is alone, that there is nothing that goes along with it. The same argument has been made about the necessity of repentance for salvation, Donahue saying that "faith alone" means faith without repentance. But, faith is an instance of repentance, for repentance means to turn or to change one's mind, and who can doubt that when an unbeliever believes he has turned and changed his mind? So, faith is not alone. Wherever there is true saving faith there is repentance.

The same thing may be said in regard to obedience. It could be argued that "faith alone" means saved apart from obedience and yet the scriptures say that "Christ is the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him." (Heb. 5: 9) However, saving faith is an act of obedience, for all are commanded to believe in Christ. (I John 3: 23-24) Wherever there is true saving faith there is obedience.

The same thing may be said in regard to confession, whether it be confessing of sin or confessing of Christ as Lord and Savior. When a person believes the Gospel, his faith confesses that both God and the Gospel are true. It is impossible to find a person who savingly believes but who does not make this confession, first in his heart and mind and then to others. The Greek word for "confess" means to be in agreement, and when a person believes he at that very instant agrees with the Gospel message. Wherever there is saving faith there is confession. So, faith is not alone, though this faith alone saves. To believe from the heart is synonymous with confessing from the heart.

The same thing may be said in regard to calling upon the Lord out of faith. The instant an unbelieving sinner believes in and turns to the Lord he calls upon the Lord to save him. There is no such thing as a true believer who has not done so. Some might respond, however, by citing these words:

"Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue." (John 12: 42)

In response to this we may say first that it may be that those who "believed in him" did not believe in him with the heart, as Paul said "if you believe in your heart" (Rom. 10: 9), but believed only with a mental assent, with a head knowledge alone, what we call a "nominal faith," the kind of faith that the wayside hearer possessed, who "believed for awhile" but fell away when facing persecution for his faith. His faith did not proceed from a "good and honest heart." (Luke 8: 13) This "leaves only" believer had no fruit, was not genuine or sincere in his faith, and only "seemed to have" true faith. (Luke 8: 18)

Further, it may be that the ones in the above text did confess Christ in their hearts in private and later did so publicly, though they did not at the first. They may have done so as a result of hearing Christ say to them: 

“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 10: 32-33 nkjv)

Donahue also fails to understand that salvation is progressive and continuous, having a past, present, and future aspect. A true believer has been saved, is being saved, and will be saved. There are things Christians do to be saved initially, and things they do to be saved daily, such as enduring to the end. Enduring to the end is not a condition for initial salvation, but is a condition for continuing to be saved and preserved, and to be saved in the end. Also, there may be a logical order where there is no chronological order.

When the Phillippian jailer "fell down trembling before Paul and Silas" and said to them: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul and Silas said to him: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16: 29-31) 

If water baptism were necessary for salvation, then Paul and Silas did wrong in saying "believe and you will be saved." If believing is a dollar and baptism is fifty cents, would not Paul have said that salvation cost a dollar fifty? But, to the jailer he said one dollar. 

If believing did not involve repentance and confession, they would have added those things in their instruction to the jailer. But, they obviously saw faith as including those things, and included obedience and calling on the Lord.

The same thing may be said in regard to loving God and Christ. True faith does not exist without love. In fact Paul says that "faith works by love." (Gal. 5: 6)

The same thing may be said in regard to placing trust in God. True faith does not exist without trust.

God Comforts Believers (9)

In this chapter we will give our ninth way in which God comforts his children, which is by his "giving inner strength to endure the mental suffering." We have already intimated at this way in the preceding chapter when we focused on how God comforts by giving inner peace in ways inexplicable and by mentioning the words from Paul's prayer for the Christians that they might be "strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man." (Eph. 3: 16 nkjv)

Comfort by Giving Inner Strength

The above text also speaks of this inner strength and comfort and is a favorite verse of Christians, and one that they often memorize when they first become believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. When in great trials they say "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." This strengthening is in the "inner man," that is, in the heart, soul, mind, and spirit, though in healing the body, or outer man, he also gives strength. Without this strength the soul would soon perish and be overcome by trial and grief. In giving strength God gives increased faith, and by this strengthened faith the Lord's people have -- 

"subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens," and even made it possible for "women (to have) received their dead raised to life again," and to endure being "tortured, without accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection, and to endure "trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment," and to endure being "stoned, sawn in two, tempted, slain with the sword," and to endure homelessness and "being destitute, afflicted, tormented," while "they wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth." (Heb. 11: 33-38 nkjv)

Solomon said: "If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small." (Prov. 24: 10 nkjv) So, to prevent fainting in that day the Christian needs inner strength and greater faith. As a prescription for this Paul wrote: "For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." (Heb. 12: 3 kjv) If Christ is your strength, then your strength is not small. Christians are to look to the Lord for comfort and strength because he has promised to give it, as the prophet Isaiah said:

"He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." (Isa. 40: 29-31 nkjv)

Said Nehemiah to the returning exiles "the joy of the LORD is your strength." (Neh. 8: 10) So, it is a good prevention to "rejoice in the Lord always." (Phil. 4: 4) One way to do this is to daily count your blessings as the song says:

1 When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

2 Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, ev'ry doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by. 

3 When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings, money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

4 So, amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey's end.

On two occasions the apostle Paul exhorted Christians to "be not weary in well doing." (Gal. 6: 9; II Thess. 3: 13) He gives as the reason for being encouraged and strengthened when wearied and that is in the fact that they shall "reap" in due time. The same apostle in exhorting the Christians told them to "comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men." (I Thess. 5: 14 kjv) In doing this they are imitating their heavenly Father for he "comforts the feebleminded" and "supports the weak" among his people. Job, in the midst of his great sufferings, was comforted by the assurance that Lord God would "put his strength in me." (Job 23: 6) This inner strength moved Job to say: "though he slay me yet will I trust him." (Job 13: 15)

The Christian ought never to lose hope, for his hope is in the Lord. This is because "The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit." (Psa. 34: 18 nkjv)

God is the mental "refuge" for his people. So said the Psalmist: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble, therefore we will not fear." (Psa. 46: 1-2) 

So, dear Christian, remember these words:

"Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work." (II Thess. 2: 16)

God Comforts Believers (8)

In this chapter we will look at my 8th way that God comforts his people, which is by giving inner peace, or calming the mind, when it is agitated like troubled waters, and in ways inexplicable.

Comfort by Giving Inner Peace of Mind

"Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." (II Cor. 13: 11 kjv)

In these words of exhortation the apostle Paul shows that being comforted by God is something that is often conditioned upon the choices of believers. Being comforted by God is not a case where Christians are merely passive, but are active in experiencing divine comfort or strengthening. The words "be of good comfort" might better be translated as "be comforted," or "take comfort in this." In this text Paul does not tell the brethren how to be comforted, but surely the "how" is already known by them for Paul has already shown them how. It is by taking heed to the word and counsel of the Lord. So wrote Solomon in the Proverbs, telling us what Wisdom says of those who reject her:

"Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you." (1: 25-27 nkjv)

God's word offers comfort to all but it is not a blank check. Yes, God often comforts us without our active participation, but not always. This is because God is full of compassion and tender mercy. He is "full of compassion" (Psa. 78: 38; etc.). The Psalmist also said: "But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth" (Psa. 86: 15 nkjv); And, God himself comforts his people by saying:

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you." (Isa. 49: 15 nkjv)

Jeremiah also says:

"Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies." (Lam. 3: 32 nkjv)

In the same way as God says to us "be of good comfort" he also says "cheer up" or to "take heart." The Lord Jesus said to his followers: "Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14: 27 nkjv). This shows that to some degree our receiving divine comfort is conditioned upon us heeding these words of the Lord Jesus.

One good way to be comforted is to remember what is called the "serenity prayer" which says: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference." I have many times in my life uttered this wise maxim, both to myself and to others. Sometimes peace of mind and comfort comes from being resigned to the will of God, saying "not my will but yours be done" as did the Son of God when he was in the midst of his sufferings. This involves believers always saying "If the Lord wills" (James 4: 15), and "It is the Lord: let him do what seems to him good" (I Sam. 3: 18). So the disciples, when attempting to persuade Paul from going to Jerusalem (who refused their exhortation and prophetic warning), said "the will of the Lord be done." (Acts 21: 14) This state of mind arises from a belief that God knows best, and only has the believer's good at heart, even in times when it does not seem to be so. So the Lord says to his people:

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jer. 29: 11 nkjv)

In the text at the top of this chapter you see the words of Isaiah 26: 3. I have also often cited these words when talking to my soul. We see this in the Psalms where the Psalmist would say things to himself, to his soul. We should say to our souls "he will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed (or fixed) on you," This "perfect peace" will comfort and console the believer. As long as you fix your mind on things of the world you will lack divine comfort. This is why Paul exhorted the believers to -- "seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3: 1-2 nkjv). The Lord's people are often stressed out and full of anxiety, stress, and care because they are not fixing their minds on things above and on the promises of God's word. Here is a prayer of the apostle Paul towards this end:

"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man..." (Eph. 3: 14-16 nkjv)

As we saw, the word "comfort" involves being strengthened within our hearts and minds. So, to be strengthened with might through the Spirit in the inner man is to be comforted and encouraged in the deepest recesses of the soul and spirit. Recall also these words of exhortation to the first Christians:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4: 6-7 nkjv)

Having this peace in the heart and mind will alleviate anxious care, will "guard" a believer's heart and mind through Christ Jesus.

Casting Your Cares Upon The Lord

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (I Peter 5: 6-7 nkjv)

"Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved." (Psa. 55: 22 nkjv)

So, what does it mean to cast your cares and burdens upon the Lord? How do believers do this? Obviously it is a choice, as the texts above show. It involves a kind of "letting go" of the thing that is worrying us. It is a kind of "laying down" your anxieties. There is a Christian song titled "Leave It There" that captures this idea, one of the main lines saying "take your burden to the Lord and leave it there." Another song says "Lay your burdens at the feet of Jesus" which you can hear sung by Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver (here). It is like taking a load from off your back and ceasing to carry it. It involves a decision to transfer the responsibility of a situation from oneself to God. The word "cast" means to "throw." Isaiah says that the Messiah would be "fastened" by Yahweh "as a nail in a sure place" (Isa. 22: 23), and as such every child of God can hang his or her cares on that nail. I wrote on this verse (here).

I like the words in that famous hymn "Is Not This the Land of Beulah?" that says: "Tell me not of heavy crosses, Nor of burdens hard to bear, For I've found this great salvation Makes each burden light appear." I also like the words of the song "Tell It To Jesus" which has lines that say "Are you weary, are you heavyhearted? Tell it to Jesus, Tell it to Jesus; Are you grieving over joys departed? Tell it to Jesus alone." Just telling Jesus your cares is often in itself a relief. There is a hymn titled "The Great Physician Now Is Here" that speaks of the "sympathizing Jesus." The first stanza says "The great Physician now is near, the sympathizing Jesus; He speaks the drooping heart to cheer, oh! hear the voice of Jesus." Christ not only sympathizes with us, and has empathy for us, but he actually heals the brokenhearted. Why? Because he himself experienced human grief and suffering and because he takes our burdens and cares and bears them on our behalf. Isaiah said of the Messiah -- "Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows." (53: 4) Therefore he is "touched with the feeling of our infirmities" (Heb. 4: 15).

"Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us,

and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,

Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work."

(II Thess. 2: 16)

Elder Bass on Romans 8: 28

The sermon preached this past Sunday by Elder Jeremiah Bass of Cincinnati Primitive Baptist Church was on Romans 8: 28 and I give a hearty amen to it. Years ago (June, 2021) I wrote a post titled "Best Sermon Yet From A PB" where I commended a sermon by Elder Bass contending for the doctrine of the sure and certain perseverance of the saints. His recent sermon on Romans 8: 28 is on par with the other one. I have several posts where I have commended sermons and biblical interpretations of this able theologian. Just put "Bass" in the search box and you can find them. In the recent sermon he shows that by "all things" in the words "all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose" does not mean "some things," but includes evils, calamities, etc. 

The "Primitive Baptists" in their beginning in the early 1830s almost universally taught that "all things" was without exception and often used this text to comfort believers who were in afflictions, sufferings, or experiencing evils of all kinds. I have numerous posts that demonstrate this fact. Both Elder Fralick and I have also written much on this text and examined its implications. Fralick wrote a series on the text and can be read (here, here, here, here, here, here). I have written several also and they can be read in my series titled "Hardshells and Predestination" and my series titled "Divine Justice Issues." (See this one in particular: here)

In one of them I wrote (See here):

The Romans 8: 28 Battleground

All the first, and most of the second generation of Hardshells, had no problem with interpreting "all things" in Romans 8: 28 to include the evils in the lives of the people of God. They included their temptations, and both their failures and successes.

Do "all things" work together for evil to those who do not love God?  Who can deny that this is so? Of course, the working together "for good" has ultimacy in view, what is the end, final destiny, or final fulfillment of all things. Paul is not affirming that all things work together for the mere temporal good of God's chosen and foreknown. "For (unto) good" is not fulfilled or completely realized in this life, but in the life to come, when the elect are glorified and dwell in their eternal state. 

All things will finally work to the detriment (evil) of those who do not love God when they are confined in the eternal prison of Gehenna and Lake of Fire. All their works will be judged as evil, even those that are externally good. This is evident because "whatever is not of faith is sin." (Rom. 14: 23) This is why the great king said - "the plowing of the wicked is sin." (Prov. 21: 4)

Do the sins of the saints produce eternal good? That is the chief question in debate. But, have we not shown that the sins of the wicked produce eternal evil? Have we not shown that all that occurs can only occur if God wills it, permissively or otherwise? Do not both sides agree that the existence of evil is owing to God's willing it? Do not both sides agree that God chose to permit the existence of sin and evil for good reasons? For a good end? To bring some greater good out it by overruling it?

How comforting is it to believe that only a few things work together for the eternal good of the elect? How is it comforting to believe that sin exists without any good purpose? That it's existence is meaningless? That sin is an unforeseen accident?

Further, let it be remembered that God's permitting an event, or suffering its existence, does not necessitate that one believe that God permits evil because evil is the end, that this is what he ultimately takes pleasure in. Sin is a distasteful means. For instance, men choose to suffer the evil of pain, in physical exercise, not because they enjoy the pain, as an end in itself, but because it is a means to a greater good, the good of health.

In another post on Romans 8: 28 (See here) I wrote:

This verse has been a subject of intense debate among the "Primitive Baptists" since their division over the extent of predestination at the beginning of the 20th century. All the first Pbs, like most other Baptists, interpreted "all things" to be "all things," while those rejecting "the absolute predestination of all things" began to contend that "all things" really meant "all things mentioned in the context," or only "some things." But, even with today's Conditionalist faction of Hardshells (who reject the idea that "all things" really means all things) there are those who still secretly hold to the old view.

I told a Hardshell friend of mine, who was inquiring about this verse and the two views, that the following verse from Proverbs was saying essentially the same thing. It reads:

"There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief." (Prov. 12: 21)

Do you see how these verses are saying the same thing essentially? Nothing bad will happen to the just and righteous? If nothing bad happens to them, then it must be so because it all works together for good. 

I have also shown how Romans 8: 28 proves that a born again believer cannot fail to persevere and to be finally saved (can't lose salvation). I have also made the same argument in debate on eternal security. The argument I make goes like this: "if a man is called to salvation out of love for the Lord and then loses his salvation, how did all things work together for his good?" One on my opponents said in reply: "this is true as long as you love God, but if you stop loving God, all things will not work together for your good." But, if you could lose your love for God and undo your calling, then all things did not work together for your good and God has spoken a falsehood. 

In spite of the fact that I believe this was one of the best sermons from Elder Bass, that does not mean that I did not find myself in disagreement with a couple things. He referred to the case of Job to show how God used evil and calamities to bring forth good and that is correct. He even defended Job and said that Job never cursed God nor charged God foolishly as the biblical record says. In my writings on Job (see the link on this blog) I have defended Job against those theologians who want to find fault with Job, accusing him of sin (as did his miserable counselors whom God chastised for giving wrong advice to Job), and saying that his sufferings were because he sinned. Brother Bass mentioned one of the arguments those theologians use to prove their case by saying that Job repented, and arguing that this means that he had sinned and was the reason why he was suffering the evils the Devil brought upon him by the permission of God. In this post (here) I showed how the repentance of Job was not a repentance from sin, no more than when scripture says that God repented. In that post I wrote the following;

“Wherefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6 KJV)

Do these words of Job indicate that Job was in error and guilty of sin? And, such sin as to warrant his superlative sufferings? Those commentators and interpreters who are intent on indicting the righteousness, faith, and patience of Job, insist that they do indicate such. It is argued that his "abhorrence" and his "repentance" are proofs of his theological errors and his unrighteous character. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth.

If the above words indicate Job's theological and moral errors, then the testimony of God himself must be set aside, who both, at the beginning and at the end, testify to Job's righteous character and conduct and of his theological correctness.

Wrote one interpreter:

"Verse six is actually very difficult to translate into English. The Hebrew can be translated in two distinct ways, and there is no clue from the text itself how the author intended it to be understood. It can be understood as a confession of one’s sin and one’s inferiority to God: “I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (the traditional translation). But the Hebrew verb translated “I despise myself” can also be translated “I hate” or “I reject” (cf. Jer. 31:37; 33:26). And the Hebrew verb, nikhamti, can just as well be translated “rue” or “regret” as it can be translated “repent” (cf. Gen. 6:7; I Sam. 15:11; Jer. 4:28; 18:3). Therefore, the passage can be as legitimately translated “I reject and regret dust and ashes” as it can be translated “I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes”.

I cited others who said:

"The verb "reject" normally requires an object. Ancient manuscripts smudged easily, so accidental erasure is one possibility. A daydreaming copyist is another. At 34:33 and 36:5, "reject" is used without an object but the usage in those verses is pretty clearly not applicable here, though the coincidence of three abnormal usages in a row like that does give pause.

Also, the Hebrew for "am sorry for / am comforted concerning" is a standard verb-preposition compound. The King James reading is still possible, but Job would have to put a definite break between the verb and the preposition to get his non-standard meaning across, and he would end up sounding awkward and a little pompous: "I reject [something] and I repent --pause-- upon the dust and ashes."

"I despise" must have an object, and the nearest one is "dust and ashes." The preposition "al (upon), following upon the verb nhm, "I repent" or "I am comforted," introduces the object of the repentance or the subject of the comfort. "Dust and ashes," then, does double duty as the accusative of both "I despise" ('em' as) and "I repent" (nhmty)." (pg. 376, "In turns of tempest: a reading of Job, with a translation," By Edwin Marshall Good)

There are more citations which help to prove that the repenting that Job did denoted his change of mind about his situation and from his choice to sit in dust and ashes.

I also one to make a comment upon brother Bass's mentioning of I Cor. 2: 14 which says that "the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit" (paraphrase). He seemed to suggest the typical Hardshell view that says the text means -- "the unregenerate man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God nor can he know them." If that is what the text means, then it does lead to the belief that the gospel or things of the Spirit cannot be a means in regeneration. 

I have written on this text much also. Use the search engine to find those articles. What it means is this: no one can receive spiritual teachings apart from the Spirit's revealing them to that person. No one can be saved apart from the revelation of God, apart from the word or Spirit of God. General revelation in nature nor scientific searching will bring one to find God. The "natural man" is the man who is without or rejects revelation, the man who is under the influence of carnal wisdom. The knowledge that brings salvation is not discoverable by human wisdom. This fits the context of first Corinthians 1: 1 through 2: 14. This shows that the heathen who have not God's word and revelation cannot be saved. The text is saying that a man cannot be saved who tries to be saved by his own understanding, by his own reasonings apart from the revelation of God. As long as a lost sinner is listening to his sensual or carnal nature he will never be saved. 

The verse is not saying that the "natural man" lacks the physical ability or faculties to understand and believe the things of the Spirit, but that he lacks the moral or spiritual ability. I have also written much on this point too, citing from other and greater theologians than I, such as Jonathan Edwards. Even Elder J.H. Oliphant of Hardshell fame agreed with this.

What Paul is saying is that the unregenerate man, so long as he is leaning upon his worldly wisdom, and not God's revelation, cannot receive, embrace, or welcome that revelation. This agrees with the commentary of John Gill who said:

"...but an unregenerate man, that has no knowledge at all of such things; not an unregenerate man only, who is openly and notoriously profane, abandoned to sensual lusts and pleasures; though such a man being sensual, and not having the Spirit, must be a natural man; but rather the wise philosopher, the Scribe, the disputer of this world; the rationalist, the man of the highest attainments in nature, in whom reason is wrought up to its highest pitch; the man of the greatest natural parts and abilities, yet without the Spirit and grace of God, mentioned 1 Corinthians 1:20 and who all along, both in that chapter and in this, quite down to this passage, is had in view..."

Is not eternal life a thing of the Spirit? Yes. That being the case, is the text saying "the unregenerate or spiritually dead man cannot receive eternal life"? If so, then no one can be saved. Don't you see? Do not the spiritually dead receive eternal life when they hear and obey the voice of the Son of God?

Elder George Y. Stipp

Elder George Y. Stipp

1826 - 1886

I recently read what Elder Stipp wrote against the heresy of "Two Seedism" (1879; see the treatise here). In doing so I noticed several things that he said that I found quite interesting as it relates to today's "Primitive Baptist" views about salvation, such as their belief that a belief in Christ or the Gospel is not essential for being eternally saved. I have shown over the years how this was not the general view of most "Primitive" or "Old School" Baptists of the 19th century, however, even among many of the Two Seeders. Before I give those citations let me give this information about Stipp. The "Primitive Baptist Library" of Illinois, the state wherein Stipp lived and labored, says this about Stipp (See here)

"In the latter half of the nineteenth century, Elders Lemuel Potter, George Y. Stipp, T. S. Dalton, John R. Daily, and others, were often called upon to defend the cause of truth in this way, in the midwest."

In the book "Biographical History of Primitive or Old School Baptist Ministers" originally published by Elder R.H. Pittman says this about Stipp:

"Elder Stipp was a strong debater, and his willingness to defend the principles of salvation and all Bible truths paved the way for several religious discussions, in all of which he maintained much Biblical knowledge and ability."

The "Primitive Baptist Library" lists several debates by Stipp. 

Now, let me give the citations, all without comment. Following those citations I will ask my Hardshell brethren to state whether they agree with it.

Stipp wrote (emphasis mine):

"And who will venture to affirm that any in a state of unbelief and rebellion against God, are passed from death unto life eternal? If so, why did Christ say, "he that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not, is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the only begotten Son of God." John 3: 18. And why did he say again, "he that believeth shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." John 5: 24. There is an antithesis here, which is this: he that heareth not my word, and believeth not on him that sent me, hath not everlasting life, and shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him, until he shall hear the voice of the Son of God, which they that hear shall live, and believe on him that sent me. See John 3: 36 and 5: 25. If any one can have eternal life in a state of unbelief, why did Jesus say, "this is the Father's will which sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him may have everlasting life." John 6: 40. If any one can have eternal life, and are children of God without condemnation, or the wrath of God abiding upon him while in unbelief and before regeneration, why did Paul say, "there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit." Rom. 8: 1. And to what class of persons does Christ refer in saying, "the hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." John 5: 25. And "if any can" have eternal life, be children of God in unbelief, and without regeneration, can hear and follow Christ as soon as they have a conscious and individuated existence, why is it said, "as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." Acts 13: 48. Why not say as many as were children of God, or had eternal life, believed."

Stipp wrote further:

"How admirably expressive is all this of the experience of every saint, awakened and quickened to a sense of their rebellious and sinful state. Then they feel too wicked and unworthy to call God their Father. Such a claim of relationship and such intimacy can not exist without hope in Christ, which is incompatible with their deep and abiding sense of the justness of their banishment and condemnation; and to call God their Father at such a time seems to them presumptuous blasphemy. And while they view themselves the objects of the just condemnation and wrath of God, they feel like they may placate the just indignation, wrath and vengeance, which has well nigh doomed and consigned them to the blackness of darkness forever, and render themselves the beloved objects of the favor of God, and bring themselves within his merciful recognition, as his obedient children, by placing themselves within a rigid and determined restraint from sin; to accomplish which, one and all apprentice themselves mentally, as servants to learn to work under the law as long as God shall require of them to be recognized as his obedient children. Thus they seek for themselves a voluntary bondage under the elements, or first principles of the world..." 

Stipp wrote further:

"They are thus suffered of God to exhaust all confidence in themselves, and in the "works of righteousness which they have done." But when "the time appointed of the Father, the fullness of the time" of apprenticeship and bondage "is come," God "sends" forth his Son, who, though made of a woman and made under the law, "and in the likeness of sinful flesh," (Gal. 4: 4, and Rom. 8: 3) is then presented to them as "the fairest among ten thousand and altogether lovely," to redeem them from the yoke of bondage, the burden of guilt, riveted upon them by the inexorable demands and curse of the law, "that" they "might receive the adoption of sons;" and because ye are sons, God "hath sent forth this Spirit of his Son"..." 

Stipp wrote further:

"And so the advocates of the doctrine of two natural seeds must say to be consistent. For in support of just such position they quote their well worn text, "because ye are Sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, ABBA, FATHER," Gal. 4: 6, without perceiving as is clearly shown by the context, that those into whose hearts this Spirit is sent forth are all mourners in Zion seeking comfort and almost in despair of ever being released from the sinking burden of guilt impetuously rushing them down to the fearful precincts of interminable woe. And that all such are previously quickened from death in trespasses and sins into life eternal, and have already been made to hear the voice of the Son of God in tacit though impressive accents whispering ("Saul, Saul! Why persecutest thou me?"). At such time is first manifest the exercise, or impulse of eternal life; for there can be no intermediate step or state between life and death."

Stipp wrote further:

"Hence, if any in a scriptural sense can be denominated a child of God before being born again, and born of God because a child of God, it must be while embodied in and connected with the mother; for a child as such can have no existence until begotten. Neither before it is born can it have a visible, personal and distinct existence from the mother. And the term child presupposes both a father and mother."

Questions

1. Does Stipp say that unbelievers in Jesus can be saved or have eternal life?

2. Does Stipp think a person is a child of God while seeking justification by his works?

3. Does Stipp's view of Galatians 4: 4 contradict today's Hardshell views on it?

4. Does Stipp's view of conviction of sin agree with today's Hardshells who say it is an evidence of a prior regeneration?

5. Does Stipp's statement that being a child of God presupposes both a father and mother?

He clearly sees it as a Two Seed belief to say that unbelievers in Christ may be children of God.