Acts 14: 27 & Hardshell Premises

"And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles." (Acts 14: 27)

Premise: "when a text says that God (or Christ, or the Spirit) does something, then it means he does it apart from means." 

Hardshells assert this premise and argue this way, in many instances, when defending their no means view of salvation.

 

Paul refers to "all that God had done." What was that work of God? Was it not converting Gentiles to faith in Christ? Did God convert them to the faith directly apart from preaching the gospel? No. The text says God worked "with" or "through" them. Therefore we should no longer hear Hardshells say that a belief in means is a denial that God does the saving.

Who regenerated you, my Hardshell brother? Why God, and God alone you say, and this means God apart from human means or instruments. Who converted you? Brought you to faith and repentance? God alone apart from means? Or, God through means? Surely the latter and any honest soul must agree.

"Come To That Happy Land"?

Over the years Kevin and I have referred to many old Christian hymns that were sung by the oldest Baptists in this country and that are still in Hardshell hymn books and yet they are no longer in accordance with their teachings. The following song I used to sing when I was with the Hardshells, called "There Is a Happy Land" and is a hymn by Andrew Young (1807–1889), a Scottish schoolmaster, and first published in 1838. It is sung to a tune arranged by Leonard P. Breedlove. It has been sung in many films. It is in the PB "Old School Hymnal." Notice the words "come to that happy land, come, come away." That kind of invitation is not given to sinners by today's Hardshell preachers. Notice too the words of warning given to those who refuse the gracious invitation - "why will ye doubting stand, why still delay." Hardshell preachers do not talk this way to sinners. Notice too the words "oh, then to glory run." And, of obtaining both "crown" and "kingdom" by victory. Do Hardshells teach this?

There is a happy land, far, far away,
Where saints in glory stand, bright, bright as day.
Oh, how they sweetly sing, worthy is our Savior king,
Loud let His praises ring, praise, praise for aye.

Come to that happy land, come, come away;
Why will ye doubting stand, why still delay?
Oh, we shall happy be, when from sin and sorrow free,
Lord, we shall live with Thee, blest, blest for aye.

Bright, in that happy land, beams every eye;
Kept by a Father’s hand, love cannot die.
Oh, then to glory run; be a crown and kingdom won;
And, bright, above the sun, we reign for aye.

There are not too many who sing this well (at least on youtube), though I have heard it sung better on the radio and in church services. Still, here are some samples if you care to listen.

Peggy Duncan Singers (here)

The Lewis Family (here)

By Gadaya (solo with instruments) (here)

Sacred Harp (here)

Drawing Near To God In Meditation

 

"But it is good for me to draw near to God"

(Psalm 73: 28)

Said Spurgeon (emphasis mine):

“How can a man draw near to God?” someone asks. Well, we must begin thus. Draw near to Him by thinking of Him. God is not fixed in any one place so that we need to go on a pilgrimage in order to reach Him. “God is a Spirit,” and the way to draw near to a spirit is, first of all, to think of Him in our own spirit. I shall begin to have hope of any man’s salvation when he begins seriously to think about God, and about his own relationship to God. Will you do so, dear hearer? Take time to think about your Creator, your Preserver, your Provider, your Guardian, your Friend, your Judge, your Savior. To help you to think of Him, read His Word, for Scripture will both give you the best subject for thought and assist you to understand and know more of God." ("THE DOUBLE DRAWING NEAR" - here)

"Take time to think about your Creator"! Is that not what the song "Take Time To Be Holy" is encouraging all to do? That song says "Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord," and "Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word," and "Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone."

How do we draw near to God? Is it not in our innermost thoughts? In our meditations upon him and his word? So the apostle writes: "let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." (Heb. 10: 22)

Again, the drawing near is in our "hearts," which includes the thoughts of it. Many passages speak of "the thoughts of the heart." (See Gen. 6: 5; Psa. 139: 23; Matt. 15: 19). There is also mention of "the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb. 4: 12) Many think "heart" has to do with emotion alone, but this is wrong. The Greek word "cardia" may be used of the physical organ or of man's innermost being, where are his most inner thoughts and feelings.

To draw near or to come to God is to enjoy God's presence within a man's soul, mind, and spirit. This is described in many passages of scripture, such as Rev. 3: 20, where the Lord Jesus Christ says:

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Rev. 3: 20)

How and when does this supping occur in the inner man? Is it not in times when we are thinking about the Lord? Then, let us think less of carnal things and more of the spiritual.

Spurgeon on Meditation

"Meditation On God"

 "the couch of the soul"

As a follow up to the previous article on "Meditation" I want to provide the reader with some things that the great Charles Spurgeon said (all highlighting mine) on this subject. Said Spurgeon:

"Now, if you equally knew how to count the great profit of meditation, you would deem it a positive gain to yourselves to spend some time therein, for meditation is most profitable to the spirit, it is an extremely healthful and excellent occupation. Far from being wasted time, it is a judicious employment of time." (MEDITATION ON GOD NO. 2690 - here)

That is certainly a raving recommendation to practice meditation! 

Spurgeon continued:

"Do not imagine that the meditative man is necessarily lazy, contrariwise, he lays the best foundation for useful works. He is not the best student who reads the most books, but he who meditates the most upon them...Meditation is thus a very excellent employment."

Again, what a good sale for the practice of both reading and meditating upon God's inspired word!

Spurgeon continued:

"First, I think meditation furnishes the mind somewhat with rest. It is the couch of the soul. The time that a man spends in necessary rest, he never reckons to be wasted, because he is refreshing and renovating himself for further exertion. Meditation, then, is the rest of the spirit."

The "couch of the soul"! Good analogy! That little meditative thought is delightful, is it not? It is the "rest of the spirit" indeed! This is not denying that "study," or deep thought, wearies the flesh, as Solomon says - "much study is a weariness to the flesh." (Eccl. 12: 12) Real lazy people do not generally spend time in deep contemplation about the sciences, or philosophy and theology, and they certainly do not spend their contemplative time for the purpose of recuperating and getting ready to go back to work. Spurgeon speaks of a meditative Christian who "knew how to spend a little time daily in the calm repose of contemplative retirement."

Spurgeon continued:

"At times, tis well to muse upon heaven, or if you are a man loving to revel in the prophetic future, turn over the mystic page, and study the sacred visions recorded in the Book of Daniel, or the Book of Revelation. As you do enter these hallowed intricacies, and do meditate upon these impressive symbols, you will rise up from your study mightily refreshed. You will find it like a couch to your mind."

Well, amen to that! All who have experienced such times of study and meditation can say amen.

Spurgeon continued:

"Again, meditation is the machine in which the raw material of knowledge is converted to the best uses. Let me compare it to a winepress. By reading, and research, and study, we gather the grapes, but it is by meditation that we press out the juice of those grapes, and obtain the wine. How is it that many men who read very much know very little?"

Here is a man who has spent time meditating upon meditation! He was blessed in the meditation! So am I. Are you? 

Spurgeon continued:

"I like, when I have read a book for about half an hour, to walk awhile and think it over. I shut up the volume, and say, “Now, Mr. Author, you have made your speech, let me think over what you have said."

This is a good insight into Spurgeon the man. I too have practiced the same habit many times when reading and contemplating the writings of scripture or of theologians and philosophers.

Spurgeon continued:

"Thus, you see that we need meditation to make use of what we have discovered. As it is the rest of the soul, so it is, at the same time, the means of making the best use of what the soul has acquired."

People need quiet time to deeply consider what they have read or studied. This idea is captured in the famous sculptor of the Thinker.

Spurgeon continued:

"Who are the men that can go into a controversy, and get the mastery? Why, the men who meditate when they are alone. Who are the men that can preach? Not those who gad about, and never commune with their own hearts alone, but those who think earnestly as well when no one is near them as when there is a crowd around them. Who are the authors to write your books, and keep up the constant supply of literature? They are meditative men."

Well said. Spurgeon shows that he is a man like David and other holy men and women in scripture who thought upon God and his word daily. True believers have always been "meditative" men and women.

Spurgeon continued:

"The best and most saintly of men have been men of meditation. Isaac went out into the fields at eventide to meditate. David says, “I will meditate in thy statutes.” Paul, who himself meditated continually on all that related to the Gospel, writing to Timothy concerning the important things needful in a good minister of Jesus Christ, says, “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.”"

What a thing to contemplate, ironically! The best and most saintly have been given to the practice of meditation? If that is so, then the least saintly are they who meditate very little? How do you weigh in that balance?

Spurgeon continued:

"To the Christian, meditation is most essential. I would almost question the being of a Christian, and I should positively deny his well being, who lived habitually without meditation. Meditation and prayer are twin sisters, and both of them appear to me equally necessary to Christian life. I think meditation must exist where there is prayer, and prayer is sure to exist where there is meditation."

Oh let us keep these things always in mind!

Spurgeon continued:

"So is it with many of you, after you have caught the sermon, you allow it to run away. How often do you through lack of meditation, miss the entire purpose for which the discourse was designed! Unless you meditate upon the truths we declare unto you, you will gather little sweetness, you will acquire little profit, and certainly, you will be in no wise established therein to your edification. Can you get the honey from the comb until you press it? You may be refreshed while you listen to the sermon, but it is the meditation afterwards which extracts the honey, and gets the best and most luscious savor therefrom."

Oh such good counsel!

Spurgeon continued:

"Let me tell you that there ought to be special times for meditation. I think every man should set apart a portion of each day for this gracious exercise. A Christian will ever be in a lean state if he has no time for sacred musings before his God. Those men who know most of God are such as meditate most upon Him. Those who realize most experientially the doctrines of grace are those who meditate and soar beyond the reach of all sublunary things."

Amen!

The Bible On Meditation

"I remember the days of old; 

I meditate on all thy works; 

I muse on the work of thy hands." (Psa. 143: 5)

Christian meditation, what can we say of it? Is it anything like meditation in other religions? Is it a duty? Is it enjoyable? Is it like "transcendental meditation"? Is it in any way "mystical"? 

Not all meditation is religious. Mathematical theorists are often in deep thought. So too are philosophers, physicists, physicians, many other thinkers and scientists. 

Christian meditation involves thinking upon the word of God. In doing this we are thinking upon God himself. We are thinking about his person and his works. It involves what we may call "the life of the mind." 

Religiously Mystical?

"Mystical," says Merriam Webster: "involving or having the nature of an individual's direct subjective communion with God or ultimate reality."

Some eastern religions practice a kind of meditation where thought is excluded, where one tries not to think about anything, tries to free the mind and spirit of conscious thought (somehow, where the spirit transcends time and thought). Such meditation the scriptures know nothing about. 

However, there is indeed something mystical or spiritual about meditating as the scriptures describe, for in times of meditation the soul, mind, and spirit enjoys communion with God. In some sense the soul in communion with God, in his thoughts, does "transcend," or become enraptured, and many Christian hymns speak of this heavenly experience. It is where the soul becomes "lost in wonder." It is a kind of "ecstasy." The word "ecstasy" comes from the Greek "ekstasis" which literally means "standing outside oneself." It is in this respect that it is similar in meaning to words like "amazement," "wonderment," "awestruck," etc. In all these mental states the soul does in some ways "transcend," or "stand outside of itself," though not in the same way as those who practice the eastern or Hindu "transcendental meditation." 

Mostly Cognitive

Notice the three words used together in the above Psalm: remember, meditate, muse. Those are cognitive words. Meditation involves thinking. Musing involves deep or studious thinking. 

It is cognitive, involving thought. The purpose of it is to increase knowledge and understanding and experience God's presence. 

Musement or Amusement?

It is a sad thing that the mass of people spend far more time in amusement rather than in musement. I am not condemning amusement or recreation. All need a degree of this. Families need it. But, it is most often inordinate or excessive. But we all need to muse and meditate also! There are so many things we need to think a lot about! Right? We need to be good thinkers. Let us then be found often musing rather than being amused. It is in this way that we are "making the most of the limited time we have." (Eph. 5: 16) It is in meditation and musing upon God and his word that we commune with God and delight in him.

Commune With & Delight In

"But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night." (Psa. 1: 2)

Notice how in this text "delight" is connected with "meditate." It is unrelated to the physical, being mental, emotional, spiritual, and psychological.

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." (Psa. 37: 4)

Obviously the "delight" that one has "in the LORD" is connected with delighting mentally in his word. It is what goes on "in heart" or "in soul." Rejoicing and being happy is mental, and though it effects the body, is not what the body experiences. Paul referred to this when he wrote "But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another." (Gal. 6: 4) "In himself" refers not to something physical in his body, but something in his soul, mind, or spirit. A professing Christian who is not spending time meditating upon God and his word is not delighting in the Lord.

In the new testament the Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy: "Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all." (I Tim. 4: 15) The words "meditate upon" are from the Greek "melatao," and it denotes a "meditative pondering." It means "to take care of, i.e. (by implication) revolve in the mind."

Notice these words from the Psalms:

"Stand in awe, and sin not: commune (speak) with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah." (Psa. 4: 4)

"I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search." (Psa. 77: 6)

Here the Hebrew word for "commune" denotes "to put forth, mediate, muse, commune, speak, complain, ponder." Notice again the connection between meditative communing and the inner man, or the "heart" and "spirit." It is in the heart and spirit, in the mind, that God is enjoyed. A professing Christian who does not commune with God, does not think upon God and his word, shows that he does not enjoy God so much. It seems that those who have truly enjoyed communion with God find it addictive.

Another Psalm to consider on this subject is this:

“I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet.” (Psa. 104: 34)

Here is the "life of the mind" that we should all covet! Sadly, most would rather think upon carnal things and they are the worse for it. So testified the Psalmist: "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts." (Psa. 10: 4) Sadly, with most today, God is only an occasional thought. People do not want to think upon God. The words of the Psalmist clearly imply that if we are righteous, and not wicked, then we will have God "in all our thoughts." We will think upon him constantly. How do we occupy our minds? The answer would reveal much about us, right? 

Enjoying School

Most people do not realize that our word "school" is from the Latin schola and means "intermission of work" and "leisure for learning"! The Latin is from the Greek word skhole and it denotes "spare time, leisure, rest, ease, idleness"! I used to tell that to students when I spent a couple years as a substitute teacher and they could not believe it. School is intermission from work? Students see school as work! School is leisure? Students see schooling as anything but leisure!    

Throughout history the only ones who enjoyed school or leisure were the rich. They did not have to work and therefore had the freedom to choose how they spent their time. Yes, they spent it in physical pleasures, but they also spent it in learning, in reading, in studying things. 

So many today are blessed with the financial means to have more leisure time than any previous time in history. So sad that few take their "spare time" to think upon God and his word. 

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Phil. 4: 8 kjv)

A Pet Peeve

"Each individual, it was believed, by the Holy Spirit, was free to follow their own "private interpretations" of the Bible, each having their own promise of "inspiration" and of the "direct speaking" of the Lord and Holy Spirit." (here)

I wrote this a few years ago. Can you spot my grammatical error in it? It is one that I am generally careful to avoid (though others are not). The error is in the pronoun "their" in both "their own private" and in "their own promise." Since the subject was "each" (singular), therefore the pronoun must be singular rather than plural and should read "each having his (or her) own promise." Or I could have made the pronouns to agree by saying "all (plural) have their (plural) own." 

Sometimes in reading old writings of mine I find these oversights and some I have corrected. But, it is a chore correcting old entries in the new blogger dashboard. Grrr.

My wife and I are grammarians. We have corrected each other's English grammar for years. Most of the time it is a slip up and we laugh at it. We also laugh at educated people on television using so much incorrect grammar! They think they are so smart and yet show their ignorance by such incorrect grammar. Still, it takes practice and care to write and speak correctly. But, I do get upset with myself when I find uncorrected grammatical errors in my writings. That is why the best writings come not from first drafts.

Thesis Review

"GALVANIZED BY THE GOSPEL: NINETEENTH-CENTURY BAPTIST MISSIONS AND THE ANTI-MISSION RESPONSE" is a "master's thesis" submitted by Anna B. Holdorf for Boise State University in 2012 (here). I read through this thesis and copied these few notes. Let me share them along with some observations thereupon. 

Holdorf wrote:

"While antimissionists tended to be premillennialists like their Puritan forebears, it was postmillennialism that particularly thrived in the early 1800s." (pg. 40)

Is that so? Today's "Primitive Baptists" (the "antimissionists") are supposedly 90% Amillennial. Was that true with the first generation of PBs (1830s-1860s)? According to Holdorf, the antis "tended to be premillennialists." If that is true (she does not prove her statement), then here is another marked difference between today's Hardshells and their founding fathers. I know that Elder and Historian Sylvester Hassell was a strong Premillennialist. From my reading of the founders of Hardshellism I think she is probably right.

Holdorf wrote:

"Anti-mission Baptists, who esteemed the Bible as the sole religious authority on earth, found it difficult to understand why it was necessary for teachers and theologians to instruct others how to interpret the Bible. After all, they pointed out, Jesus himself had “commenced his ministry…without education.”167 Daniel Parker boasted, as did many other anti-missionists, that he was uneducated. He wrote that he had “no knowledge of the English grammar, only as my bible has taught me.” Parker further noted that the doctrinal “errors” that marked the beliefs of pro-mission Baptists “nearly all originated amongst the wise and learned.”168 Catholicism, he claimed, first gave education “a seat in religion,” and he warned Baptists against assuming characteristics of the “Popish dominion” for themselves.169" (pg. 59)

This is true and the effects of such a philosophy are still evident today among "Primitive Baptists." 

Holdorf wrote:

"Anti-mission Baptists also attacked theological education in the form of Sunday schools as a way “to bend the youthful mind to answer the mission purposes” and “a plan to release parents from their obligations to govern their families on the Lord’s day, when they have no right to transfer that duty to another person” according to scriptural guidelines.170 While the Bible “enjoin[ed] upon parents to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,” the same scriptures “forb[ade] the idea of parents intrusting [sic] the religious education of their children to giddy, unregenerated young persons.”171 Those who sent their children to Sunday schools defied biblical standards for parenting, and were deceived by the incorrect doctrine of the missionaries. As Sunday schools were “the product of the mission principle” and “composed of auxiliary societies”—and, therefore, “without authority in the word of God”—faithful Baptists should reject them, Parker argued.172" (59-60)

Agreed. Observe the ridiculousness of the argument against Sunday schools! Parents cannot delegate authority for others to teach their children! Yet, they want them to sit with adults and be taught by the preacher! Consistency thou art a jewel.

Holdorf wrote:

"It is important to note that, at least at the commencement of the mission movement, promission Baptists still held to Calvinist doctrine despite anti-missionists’ arguments otherwise. To missionaries and their supporters, evangelism did not necessarily conflict with beliefs in predestination and God’s sovereignty." (pg. 67)

Many Hardshells have told the falsehood that the 1832 division was over Calvinism or the Doctrines of Grace. But, that is a falsehood as Haldorf shows. Many of the supporters of missions were five point Calvinists and even founders of the Southern Baptist Convention.

A Mind To Work

"So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work." (Neh. 4: 6 KJV)

If we are going to be "workaholics," let us be so in the work of God! So said Jesus:

"Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." (John 6: 27 NIV) 

Work, and work hard, to obtain that spiritual food which benefits the soul both now and forever! Work for food that does not spoil! Labor industriously for the food of the soul and spirit, of the heart and mind, rather than of the body. 

Today, as a result of God's judgment on sin, there is "not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD." (Amos 8: 11 KJV) 

Most people work and toil hard for food, and the reason for this is sin, as Genesis 3: 19 says. God said to Adam and Eve in their sentencing - "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground." 

Men work hard for their food, laboring to stay alive thereby. But, what of the food that does not spoil? We cannot be lazy or slothful in working for our "daily bread," or else we will starve and die. So too for the soul's bread, or "soul food." So the apostle exhorted:

"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord." (Rom. 12:11-12 KJV)

"That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." (Heb. 6: 12 KJV)

Paul was not afraid to work hard for his food!

"But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me...Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." (I Cor. 15: 10, 58 KJV)

We must work for that food that is comparable to the heavenly manna, or "angel's food." (Psa. 78: 25)

People often warn saying "you are what you eat." This is true and worth heeding. It is true as regards feeding the mind and soul as well as the body.

As regards eating spiritual food, or feasting upon God's word, let us all be "nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine." (I Tim. 4: 6)

You cannot be harmed by overeating spiritually! 

Which do you work harder for, earthly food or spiritual food?

Many are fat and well fed in their physical bodies but they are "skin and bones" in their hearts and minds! Many are feasting on the finest foods, for the body, but are suffering famine in their souls. How is it with you? Have you lost your spiritual appetite?