One of the faults of the Hardshells is how they feel no burden or duty to preach the gospel to the lost. In listening to the sermons of their ministers one will not hear them address the lost and certainly will not hear any loving appeals to them about the state of their souls nor any instruction on how they are sinners and need to be saved. As a young minister with them, I began to feel sick about this, in a similar way to how Elder John Leland (1754-1841) felt at a time in his ministry. Especially when I pastored two small Hardshell churches in eastern North Carolina did I begin to devise ways of earnestly entreating those outside of the church about the state of their souls.
During those early years I once heard Elder Samuel Bryant preach a sermon in which, towards the end of his sermon, asked the audience - "have you trusted him today?" I had never heard any preacher speak this way to an audience, an audience that no doubt included lost souls. When I heard those words of Bryant, I knew I could do the same and I began, like Leland, to think deeply upon the subject of how the lost ought to be addressed. I knew that the new testament preachers addressed sinners in a different way than did my fellow Hardshell ministers.
Note: For more information on this subject, see chapters 42-48 in my book "The Hardshell Baptist Cult," those sections titled "Addresses to the Lost," at hardshellism.blogspot.com.
In this posting we will cite some of the ministers of the past who are accepted by Hardshells as being in their ancestry.
Elder Leland wrote:
"It has always been a question with me of great importance, to know how to address a congregation of sinners, as such, in gospel style. And this winter it attacked my mind with great force. Neither Gill, Hopkins, Fuller nor Wesley, could remove my difficulties. My fears were, that I did not preach right, which was the cause why I was so barren in myself and useless to others. This burden lay heavy upon me a long time. At length, at an evenings meeting at a school house in Cheshire, my heart waxed a little warm with holy zeal, and I gave my spirit vent to the youth and school children, regardless of all authors and systems, which had a good effect. Four of the school children and a young man besides, came forward for baptism in a few weeks, who dated the beginning of their religious impressions at that meeting. This little success, obtained at that trying time, gave me both relief and courage."
"The Gillite mode of addressing sinners, seemed a little different from the New Testament mode. The Hopkinsian method appeared as if it took all the wisdom of God to devise a way for an honorable pretence to damn men. Dr. Fuller only cast snother bundle of straw on the fire. So that the great query which has agitated my mind for more than thirty years, 'How is a congregation of sinners to be addressed?' at the time I am speaking of, fell with such distress upon my mind, that I could hardly contain myself. But in the midst of my difficulties, I had a meeting at a school house; in the time of service my soul got into the trade winds, and without consulting Gill, Hopkins, Fuller, or Wesley, without comparing our translation with the Septuagint, Chaldee, or the King of Spain's Bible, I addressed the scholars and young people in a way I never can without God helps me. The spirit of the Lord fell upon them. Very soon after this, five of them came forward and confessed Christ." (Continuation of MS. 1807)
Notice that the subject of how to address sinners was troublesome to Elder Leland, a "trying time." It would be profitable is today's Hardshells would likewise become interested in this subject and come to the same conclusions as did Leland. Certainly Hardshell ministers know about "barren" and unsuccessful preaching, for they have been dwindling for years, seeing little fruit from their Hyper-Calvinistic style of preaching and address. Leland ultimately found "success," however, and this gave him "both relief and courage." I too found "success" once I came to much the same conclusions as did Leland and I began to address lost sinners in a most direct manner, and exhorted and invited them to come to the Lord Jesus Christ and to trust in him for the salvation of their souls. My preaching took on a greater sense of urgency as I realized the words of Paul who said - "knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." (II Cor. 5: 11) Today I realize that it is my duty to "warn the wicked," as did Ezekiel (Eze. 3: 18, 19; 33: 8, 9) and as the first Baptist (Matt. 3: 7; Luke 3: 7). Today these words of Paul also greatly influence my preaching, teaching, and personal one on one witnessing.
"Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily." (Col. 1: 28, 29)
Leland could not accept the Arminian style of Wesley, but neither could he accept the Hyper-Calvinist style of Hopkins and Gill. He could not accept the moderate Calvinistic style of Andrew Fuller either. Perhaps had he lived in the time of Charles Spurgeon, he would have found a perfect example, outside of the scriptures, for how Calvinistic Baptists should preach to the lost.
What was the "Gillite mode"? Certainly it was not "direct" address, but indirect. Sinners were to be told, most often in the third person, that they were lost and needed salvation, and that this salvation could only be had in Christ. The theory behind this practice avowed that it was the Holy Spirit who would make the indirect address into a direct address, that he would do all the appealing to the conscience, that he would "offer" Christ to the sinner. This theory did not deny that the gospel and its truth was a means in this work of the Spirit, but that only affirmed that the Holy Spirit is the only agent who could effect the preaching to the salvation of souls.
One can understand the opposition of Leland to this "Gillite mode" of "addressing sinners," which is nigh the same as today's Hardshells. No doubt he saw and felt that a lack of direct address to the lost revealed a lack of direct concern for them. He also no doubt saw that this method was not blessed of the Lord to many conversions. He also no doubt saw how this "Gillite" method was not in accordance with scripture commands and examples.
Leland had objections to the method of Wesley and the Arminians, and no doubt, were he alive today, would object strongly to the high pressure tactics, methods, and "altar calls" of many of today's evangelicals.
What was Fuller's method of addressing the lost? It was to use the most fervent appeals to the lost, to give "invitations" to them, and to openly call them to salvation, and was based upon the scriptural model. See my series on "Addresses to the Lost" for more in depth discussion of the scriptural method. What difficulty Leland had with this method is not known, and one can only speculate, based upon a study of his biography and writings. But, one thing is clear; Leland's preaching was in accord with Fuller's method. Perhaps he wanted to distance himself from Fuller, seeing many Baptists of his affiliation were strongly opposing Fuller's view on the atonement being general.
Leland says that he "addressed the scholars and young people in a way I never can without God helps me," and says that, as a result, "the spirit of the Lord fell upon them. Very soon after this, five of them came forward and confessed Christ." What was Leland's new "way" to address sinners? Since he rejected the "Gillite" method, he must have made a direct and empathetic appeal. He already testified that his soul was on fire to win souls for Christ, burdened for the lost. No doubt this fervent emotion revealed itself in the "way" he addressed his audience of sinners. What does Leland mean by saying that sinners "came forward"? Was it not "come forward" to him? And for what purpose? Was it not in order that these burdened sinners might thereby "confess Christ" and ask for the prayer of the minister and church for salvation? Was this not the primitive practice among all the American Baptist churches? A mountain of evidence shows this to be so.
Leland says that he searched the scriptures for answers to his troubling questions about how to address lost sinners. The result of this diligent search led him to his own "way," which as I have said, was much more like Fuller's method, yea, even like Arminians. Certainly like Spurgeon's.
Leland wrote:
"In August, 1799, my soul was again visited with the same peace and holy longings after God and the salvation of men as at former times. My preaching then, through grace, was not coasting around the shallow shores of doubt and uncertainty, but launching out into the deep for a draught. Attention and solemnity followed."
"Before the work made a visible appearance, and for three months afterwards, there was not a day but what I had the spirit of prayer, and a travail for souls; and often felt as if I should sink under the weight of my burden if souls were not delivered. Sometimes, individuals would lay in my heart; at other times, the longings desire would be more general. After three months I felt that spirit of prayer abate, but the spirit of preaching continued for three months afterwards, until the ingathering was over, and then the peculiar impression which I had, subsided." (Elder John Leland "Some Events In The Life of..." Part V)
(From The Writings of the Late Elder John Leland, Miss L. F. Greene, editor, 1845; rept. 1986, pp. 196-199. - jrd)
This is where good evangelistic preaching must originate. It must originate in the heart, out of genuine love and concern for the salvation of one's neighbors. It must also involve belief that God uses means in saving sinners, that God will use his disciple's preaching and praying as means. Certainly Leland had a desire to save and convert sinners. Also, Leland was not desiring a mere "time salvation" or optional "conversion," but to being eternally saved and converted. He must have believed in means to pray and preach for the salvation of others. Hardshells lack the belief and zeal of Leland and have no right to claim him as one of them.
Now that we have seen what was the method of Elder Leland, let us notice the original practice of the "Separate Baptists," how they addressed sinners in preaching and witnessing. G.W. Paschal quotes from the History of the Grassy Creek Church, p. 68, and says:
"When the preacher had finished his sermon he would come down from the pulpit and while he and the brethren were singing an appropriate hymn he would go around among them shaking hands. After the singing of the hymn he would extend an invitation to such persons as felt themselves to be poor, guilty sinners and were anxiously inquiring the way of salvation to come forward and kneel near the stand or if they preferred to do so they would kneel at their seats proffering to unite with them in prayer for their conversion."
http://www.21tnt.com/archive_for_articles/revival_cover_up.htm
Hardshells often claim a "line of church succession" through the Separate Baptists, but the Separate Baptists believed in means and their manner of appealing to sinners demonstrates it. Their manner and practice of addressing sinners is unlike Hardshell manner and practice.
John Gill in commentary upon Matthew 11:28-30 wrote:
"Ver. 28. Come unto me,.... Christ having signified, that the knowledge of God, and the mysteries of grace, are only to be come at through him; and that he has all things relating to the peace, comfort, happiness, and salvation of men in his hands, kindly invites and encourages souls to come unto him for the same...but it is to be understood of believing in Christ, the going of the soul to him, in the exercise of grace on him, of desire after him, love to him, faith and hope in him: believing in Christ, and coming to him, are terms synonymous, Joh 6:35. Those who come to Christ aright, come as sinners, to a full, suitable, able, and willing Saviour; venture their souls upon him, and trust in him for righteousness, life, and salvation, which they are encouraged to do, by this kind invitation; which shows his willingness to save, and his readiness to give relief to distressed minds.
Hardshells will not accept as true these words of the old Baptist theologian.
Elder John Watson, a leader in the Hardshell movement, wrote critically of some beliefs and practices of the newly formed denomination in his book "The Old Baptist Test" (1866), and he said:
"A gospel without exhortation; without a call on the sinner to repent and believe; a gospel which does not in word address itself to all; is not the gospel which Christ ordained subordinately for the bringing in of his "other sheep." (Pages 84-86)
"Let us take a practical example. We have it on record in the 13th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. When Paul and Barnabas preached at Antioch of Pisidia, had any of our ultra brethren been there and heard their zealous appeal to all those present, they would have called them Arminians." (Page 86)
"While we combat this ministerial deviation of ours on the part of some, which affects to find Arminianism where there is none, let us carefully guard against those tenets which do really involve it...But as long as we call on men to repent every where, believing that God only can give repentance, and that he will give it to as many as are ordained unto eternal life, even if He does not to as many as we may address, we may escape all Arminianism, and more especially if our practical course in preaching does not involve any unscriptural methods." (pg. 89)
Watson affirmed that it was his "ultra brethren" who called it "Arminianism" to give "zealous appeal to all" and to "call on men to repent every where." These "ultra brethren" are the ones who took over the Hardshell movement and is what exists today among those who call themselves "Primitive Baptists."
An example of Watson's kind of appeal made to the lost can be seen in these words:
"But alas! you may be altogether an unbeliever, but hardly so, for if that be your character, you would, I fear, have laid aside this book before reaching the conclusion. But you may providentially have opened it just here. What shall I say to you? I must in meekness and in love instruct you, if peradventure, the Lord may give you repentance to an acknowledgment of the truth, as it is in Him. I know no other way but to declare unto you, Jesus Christ our Lord. He is exalted to give repentance, and this you must have or perish. He is the great object of faith, and he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
"Do none of the things of Christ move your heart? Have you no relish for His name? No concern about His salvation? If not I must leave you under the law; I am unwilling, knowing the terrors of the law, to leave you there. II Cor. 5:11...Then call upon HIm while He is near, submit to His gracious plan of saving sinners. We regard it as a privilege, and know and feel it to be a duty to tell you these things, though it be in word only, praying that they may reach your heart in the power and assurance of the holy spirit." (pages 53,54)
This type of evangelistic appeal is unheard of among today's Hardshells and yet they wonder why they have been in a continual decline!
Elder R. W. Fain, in his introduction to Watson's book, wrote:
"Upon this principle, the Gospel is preached to all, repentance and an interest in a Saviour's blood is offered to all. The charitable invitation "whosoever will" goes out to all inviting them to "take the water of life freely."
Today's Hardshells are not "primitive," but are "ultra brethren," in their manner of preaching to the lost.
Elder John Clark (1804-1882), editor of "Zion's Advocate," a leading Hardshell periodical, wrote:
"The question is settled, that preaching, which is the Gospel of Christ, is what is in harmony God’s revealed will, and in strict accordance with the word of his grace. Upon the question of how this work is to be performed, we have the examples of Christ and his apostles for our guide."
"The apostles were men of like passions with us. They had the same class of persons to preach to that we have. “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God,” was in the ministry of John the Baptist." In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying,"Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” After the baptism of Jesus and the forty days’ conflict with the Devil, and after John was committed to prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe the Gospel." The apostles preached after this example, and according to the command of Christ, repentance and remission of sins among all nations."
"But some object and say, Why preach repentance to dead sinners? They can neither hear, see nor understand. That is true; that they hear not, see not, understand not, so far as the preacher is concerned or is able to effect them; but why did the prophet call upon the dry bones to hear the word of the Lord? He answered, “And I prophesied as I was commanded.” That was authority then for all who feared God, and it is still the authority for all such. This objection, however, will lie against all the exhortations and admonitions to the saints as it does against addresses to the ungodly, for the Christian has no more power than the unbeliever."
"The theory that we must preach to men according to the power they possess to obey is sublimated Arminianism, and yet; the advocates of it are very fraid of being called Arminians. Christians know, however, by the word of his grace, and by the revelation of that word in their hearts, when it comes in power and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, that Christ’s word is true which says, “Without me you can do nothing.” The Spirit takes the word of Christ and shows it to his people, and thus it is verified in the experience."
"To preach to men upon the ground that they have power to do what is commanded, or to refuse to preach to them because they have not the power, shows that the confidence is in the flesh and not in God; that they depend upon the will of the flesh and not upon the power God, and that is the very essence, double refined, of Arminianism."
"The minister of Christ does not preach to any class of men upon the consideration of their ability or inability." ("What To Preach and How To Preach" in Zion's Advocate--August 1875)
"When many of our people ran wild, a few years ago, in support of a great many institutions, which we considered as innovations in the house of God, our churches and ministers that remained seemed to have pressed very far to the other extreme, and so many have settled down upon the plan of not doing anything whatever to promote the cause of Christ and display the glory of God. Hence, when a minister exhorts to the performance of works of faith and labors of love, and is himself diligent in business, fervent in spirit serving the Lord, and insists upon the prompt compliance with all that Christ has commanded by those that love him, those hyper straight-laced brethren become alarmed, lest he should run into Arminianism." ("Correction In Churches" in Zion's Advocate--November 1869)
http://primitivebaptist.info/mambo//content/view/1112/36/
Those who objected to gospel invitations to the lost were called "ultra brethren" by Elder Watson and Elder Clark calls them "hyper straight-laced brethren," which apply to the general body of neo-Hardshells.
Here are examples of the exhortations and invitations given by Elder Watson's ministerial associate, Elder Grigg Thompson, another recognized leader of the Hardshell denomination.
"Dying sinner, is there nothing in Jesus that charms thy heart? Is he a root out of dry ground to thee? Can you see nothing in him to love or desire? Is your heart too hard to be moved when you hear of the cross, and what he suffered on it for poor, condemned, and helpless sinners? I know your sad condition. I have been where you are today, and I know nothing but power Divine can melt and soften the hard and stony heart; but from my heart to hearts I can humbly cry, God be merciful to sinners! O, may the Spirit move and melt the heart of stone! This is all I can do." (Christ, And Him Crucified, in "The Primitive Preacher," pages 59, 60)
"Dying sinner, you, too, will be resurrected. The sea, the grave, the rocks, and the mountains, can not hide you from Him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the face of him you have slighted, for they that pierced him shall see him. You that live and die in sin shall hear his voice, and shall be resurrected unto damnation. O, my soul! what a word to sound in the ears of an ungodly sinner, who is living without hope, and without God in the world! The day is coming when all that know not God, and obey not the gospel, shall be forever destroyed from the glory of his power, and sink down where the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. This, dear sinner, is the certain doom of all who die in their sins. None can deliver you but Jesus, and the gospel presents him as a full and complete Savior, able to save. O, that the Spirit may enlighten your minds, and that you may be led to feel your need of Christ, and with a broken heart and a contrite spirit come to him, for he will never cast any such away. O, if you are burdened, weary, and heavy-laden with sin, Jesus says, “Come unto me, and I will give you rest? But if you are hard, unfeeling, and in love with sin, and delight in the road that leads to death, I have not a promise for you. I have not an encouraging word, but must take my seat, grieved in heart on your account, and leave you in the hands and to the tender mercies of a just God, who will deal rightly with all his creatures." (THE RESURRECTION, 99, 100)
"To you, my unconverted friend, I want to say a word before I sit down. O that you could realize how miserable the state of all unrenewed souls are! They can lay no claim to Christ; not one of the precious promises of the gospel belong to them, and are therefore under an impossibility of salvation while in their sinful, unregenerated state. O, sinner, if this is the state of thy soul today, and shall be forever, better had it been for thee never to have been God's natural workmanship as a man, except thou be his workmanship as a new creature in Christ. So speaks Christ of Judas, the son of perdition, "It had been good for that man if he had not been born;” Matt., xxvi, 24. Lost beings are without light or comfort; they wander in darkness, and stumble into the pit. They shall indeed see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God, but they themselves shall be shut out; Luke xiii, 28. O, it is better to have no being at all, than to have a being that only capacitates us for misery, and to desire death while death flies from us; Rev., iv, 6. O, sinner, this is thy state; think of it, lay it to thine heart; better thou hadst died from the womb, better the knees had prevented thee, and the breasts which thou hast sucked, than that thou shouldst live and die a stranger to the new birth. You today may regard this truth as a hard saying; you may hate it, and try to cast it from your mind, but he before whom you will have to stand in the great day of judgment, has spoken the truth with his own infallible lips, “Except ye be born again, you can not see the kingdom of God.” Dear, dying sinner, don't be deceived; all who point out some other way for you to become a new creature in Christ Jesus are but lying spirits, and to follow their counsel will be eternal ruin. I love you, therefore I tell you the truth; I do not wish to daub you up with untempered mortar, or to beget within you a false, delusive hope. There is no salvation for you unless you be a new creature in Christ; your soul must be regenerated by the Spirit of God; you must be born of God, or be lost forever. O, may God be merciful to you; may he, who by his grace, changed and made a new man out of a persecuting Saul' change you, and make you meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. May God prepare all our hearts to receive the truth in the love of it." (CHAPTER 4—A NEW CREATURE IN CHRIST, pages 180, 181)
"Dear sinner, how do you feel? Is your heart so hard that love can not move it? Are your eyes so blind that you can not see the slippery place upon which you stand, with fiery billows beneath you? Can you hear the groans, see the sweat-like drops of blood, and hear the prayer of the sinner's Friend, and feel no love for him in your heart? Can you sit and witness the tears and prayers of these dear saints, and feel no tender emotions? If this be the case, what can I say, what can I do, to melt your hearts, and fill them with love for the blessed Savior, and cause you to seek an interest in his atoning blood? Nothing! I realize it in my inmost heart. My arm is too short and feeble to reach you, and deliver you from the bondage of sin and death. All the powers of men or angels can not save you. None but Jesus can save you, for there is salvation in none other. 0, may the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead enter your hearts, that they may be melted down in love, and drawn to Christ, for there is salvation in none other for lost, helpless sinners." (Chapter five, LIVING FAITH, page 212)
"Dear friends, I fear that many of you are today in the dark prison of just condemnation, and know it not, feel no concern, but love the chains that bind you down. Your heart is not broken; you feel no pain on account of sin, but drink it down as water. My heart feels for you; Christians feel for you; but our arms are too short to reach you, and my voice is too feeble to move your hearts to feel, or open your eyes to see. But O, dear, dying sinner, may the great Preacher, whose word is spirit and life, speak to thee, and arouse thy guilty fears, and may cords of love divine draw thee to the dear Savior; for there is salvation in no other. “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins." (Chapter six, FORGIVENESS OF SINS, pages 284, 285)
"Careless, thoughtless sinner, to you I wish to speak a few words; and what shall I say? You have sat quietly and listened to my imperfect description of what the blessed Savior suffered for poor sinners; you have heard of his tender compassion for his murderers, when he prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do;" you have witnessed this day in his children the same loving, sympathizing spirit; you have heard their groans and prayers. Is all this to you as the chattering of a bird, or as music in the ears of the dumb adder? O how sad is thy condition! and how hard must be thy heart, when the dying groans, and the dying prayer of the Savior of sinners will not melt thee to tears! Can you sit unmoved, while you witness tears flowing from many eyes in this house? O that you could realize your true condition, and see the slippery place upon which you stand, and the fiery billows beneath you! Are your eyes so blinded by sin that you can not see, and your heart so hard that you can not feel? This, to me, and to these saints who are weeping and praying for you, is a sad thought. O that God may this day give you to see your condition, and feel the need of a Savior! Our arms are too short to reach you, we know; we feel it; and our words are too feeble to arouse your fears, or change the hard and stony heart.
Our tears and prayers can never wash your sin and guilt away; none but Jesus can save from sin, cleanse the guilty sinner, and save him from sinking down into the pit of endless woe! and all I can do is to close this feeble address with the humble prayer, God be merciful to sinners." (Chapter seven, ABIDING AND WALKING WITH CHRIST, pages 321, 322)
"Dear sinner, your joys and pleasures are all delusive, and will soon be gone forever. The awful hour when you must quit this world, and enter the eternal world, is rapidly approaching you; it is not far off. Are you careless and thoughtless about that solemn hour? I tremble for you, and from my heart of hearts I pray God be merciful to the sinner. Jesus on the cross prayed for his cruel enemies; Stephen, the first martyr, with his dying breath prayed for his murderers. And with a heart full of love for you, and a strong desire for your eternal well-being, we can humbly pray, God be merciful to the sinner. But we close with the words of the Savior, when he prayed in the gloomy garden "Thy will be done." (Chapter 16, THE TRIUMPH OF THE CHURCH, pages 523, 524)
This kind of address to sinners at the close of sermons is absent from today's Hardshell ministers. They do not pray for sinners to be saved nor tell them how they can be saved, but Thompson was not like unto them.
Elder T. P. Dudley, a Hardshell founding father, wrote about his father, Elder Ambrose Dudley, in his autobiography. He wrote:
"At the conclusion of the discourse, (delivered by brother Trott) my father arose and made a few remarks, when he said, “Sinner, suppose you were called to the judgment bar of God to-morrow, how would you feel?” I found myself just about to speak out and say, I am perfectly willing, if he sinks me to hell; I feel that I deserve it; and if he saves me, free and sovereign grace alone shall have the praise. To this day, although it has been well nigh thirty-one years, I have never found another resting place." (Signs of the Times--October 1851)
The above was written by Elder T. P. Dudley, the son of Ambrose, and one who became a leader of the Hardshells. Elder Ambrose Dudley was one of the oldest Regular Baptist preachers in the state of Kentucky and the pastor of Bryan's Station church.
I find enough in the above testimony to show me that old Elder Ambrose was no Hardshell. Notice the kind of appeal that Ambrose made to sinners. Where will you spend eternity? Today's Hardshells do not address sinners with such a question.
Hardshells need to return to the practice of their old Baptist forefathers and start preaching the gospel directly to the lost.
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