Another Delivered From Hardshellism

"Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; 

we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. 

On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly 

we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God."

(II Cor. 4: 2)

The following testimonial has been sent to me by a sister with whom I have been trying to help in her departure from the cult of Hardshellism. I have spoken to her for hours on the telephone and have sent text messages and e-mails back and forth with her. We are hoping she and her husband find another sovereign grace Baptist church soon. Brother Mann and I have made some suggestions to her along that line. Keep her and her family in your prayers. She has "renounced" the heresies of the Hardshells and for this we rejoice and are glad.

 

She wishes to remain anonymous for now until she has been formally dismissed from the Hardshell cult. Here is the posting she sent to me for publication.

Here is my story: 

 

A few years ago I began attending a primitive Baptist church and became a member shortly thereafter. I have loved the Lord for as long as I can remember. I was baptized at 12 years of age in the church that I attended as a child; however, I was told by the Pastor that I must be re-baptized in order to be accepted as a member of the primitive Baptist Church. In a culture that is so radically progressive and modern, I longed for an old-fashioned simple church where I could feel like I could go back to a time in America where God, church and family were supreme. The church had so many things I liked….the people were warm and friendly, old hymns were sung in a style that stirred my inward zeal for God’s grace and mercy, church discipline was actually practiced, the KJV of the Bible was endorsed, there was fellowship that was so deep, and there was a historical element that appealed to me. All of those things are good things, and I still want to be in a local church like that, BUT not at the expense of doctrine. But at the time, I idolized those things above the Word of God, and so, I agreed to be rebaptized. 

Over the course of the next several months, when I would hear things in conversations or in the pulpit that did not match up with the Word of God, to my shame, I suppressed it. I noticed that I began to actually grow cold in my spiritual walk. Sin seemed a little less serious, I no longer had compassion for the lost, I was no longer zealous for good works, and I became a lazy Christian. But then, after a while, I no longer could ignore the blatant contradictions I was hearing from the pulpit, and it began to provoke me to study. The two major problems I was seeing was the denial of the necessity of an individual’s faith for eternal salvation and the watering down of Jesus’s warnings about sin and eternal hell. “Conditional Time Salvation” was a convenient way to minimize Jesus’s stern warnings and soften the blow of His hard sayings. No wonder my conscience toward sin was becoming dull. No wonder I lost motivation to share the gospel with others. After studying the Bible, I had to make a decision. Was I going to listen to my Shepherd and hear His voice, or not? I could no longer dismiss the extreme errors being taught and decided to leave, not knowing where I would go.

I would encourage anyone out there who is thinking about leaving the PB church because of doctrinal issues to seek Truth above all else. Yes, you will have to humble yourself and admit you were wrong and you may have to leave family and friends. But it is worth it. The Lord is our portion and He rewards those who diligently seek Him and gives grace to the humble. I had to repent of many things: the fear of man, idolizing historical documents, idolizing “endless genealogies”, twisting scripture, apathy toward the lost, minimizing the power of the everlasting Gospel, cheapening grace, and teaching damnable heresy to others.

After all this happened, I began to wonder why I had to go through all of this. I believe that it was a fiery trial. I believe the Lord was testing my faith and now, I am closer to the Lord than ever before. And I also believe it was to humble me.

I do not blame anyone but myself. There is no excuse whatsoever for what I did. When we get away from the Holy Word of God or start twisting scripture, we WILL BE DECEIVED. Stay in the Word and do not compromise with ANYONE no matter who it is. I don’t care if it’s Spurgeon or Gill or Pink. If there is a major doctrinal teaching out there that is not taught in Holy Scripture, stand firm in the Truth.

There are great promises given to those who ask, seek and knock. There are great rewards for those who forsake all to follow Jesus. Do not be discouraged, do not fear. He will provide, and He will lead you where to go.

I pray regularly for all those out there who are seeking Truth that they will find it.

I also had to repent of pride. I was more proud to be an "Old Baptist" than to be content with being just a disciple of Jesus. Primitive Baptist became my identity instead of just simply a member of Christ.

We hope she will feel free to write more in the future as she and her husband have much to relate to us as respects their journey from heresy to truth.