It is the predominant view of those who call themselves "Primitive Baptist," with some exceptions (as with such groups that are not five point Calvinists, as the Eastern District of Primitive Baptists), that not only is hearing and believing the Gospel, or in Jesus Christ, not necessary for eternal salvation, but so too are faith and repentance, or evangelical conversion. In other words, you can be an impenitent unbeliever and still be God's elect, regenerated, and born again. That is not what the authors of the 1689 London Confession or the Philadelphia Confession teaches, and yet these are the confessions that the first Hardshell Primitive Baptists accepted at the start of the 19th century. The belief that faith and repentance were not necessary for salvation was an extreme that gradually took over the denomination as the 19th century moved to a close. In the Potter--Throgmorton debate (1887) Elder Lemuel Potter said:
"We claim it the duty of all people to repent of doing wrong, of sin, and that it is right for them to believe the truth, and accept it, wherever they find it. But we do not think that the salvation of sinners is on condition of their hearing the Gospel. That is what makes the issue between us. We deny that repentance is a condition of salvation."
You can read my post (here) where I cite from that debate.
Friends, that is a most unbiblical and heretical teaching. Hardshells ought to be ashamed of teaching such a doctrine. It has no doubt helped to send many to Hell. I despise it, just as did Elder (Dr.) John M. Watson, author of the "Old Baptist Test" and who was a first generation leader of the Primitive or Old Baptists from the 1830s to the 1860s when he died. It is amazing that Elder Potter tried to claim him as in agreement with him in the above views for Watson's book says just the opposite.
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