In a search for the true church, we have shown that the gospel church came in with John. There was an overlapping period in his day marking the going out of the law and the coming in of the gospel church.
The law was not fully completed until Christ died on the cross. And the church was not fully extended into all the world until after the apostles had completed their commission of preaching the gospel in all of the world.
But our contention is that those devout Jews who had heeded John’s preaching, and were ready there on the banks of the River Jordan as Christ the bridegroom approached, had everything they needed.
There, the marriage ceremony was performed. The Bride and the Bridegroom were joined. As John baptized Jesus, the Holy Ghost descended in the bodily form of a dove and we have this expression being proclaimed by divine inspiration: "This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased! The charge that if the church existed at this time it was without the Spirit does not reckon with this scripture.
In the fifth chapter of Galatians, we read that faith is a fruit of the Spirit. As early as Abel’s day, we find faith. Certainly if the fruit were there, also there was the fruit-bearing tree, the Spirit.
So to say there was no Spirit before the day of Pentecost is to say there were none of the fruits of the spirit -- no love, no joy, no peace, no long- suffering, no gentleness, no goodness or meekness and no temperance. None of these fruits of the spirit would exist.
If the Holy Spirit did not bear its fruit before Christ’s resurrection, then none of these fruits was borne, even in Christ’s personal ministry. I hate to even think of this kind of a situation. It is completely foreign to all of the principles of Christianity.
Now, this is the dilemma that a person finds himself in who says they did not have the Holy Spirit in the days of John the Baptist.
Also Christ, during His personal ministry, set the apostles IN the Church. How could He have set them in something that didn’t exist? This I cannot understand.
Also, the objection has been raised that the gospel ministers could not preach Christ’s death burial and resurrection until after it had happened. This argument is very weak.
The old prophets had been preaching this thing for many hundreds of years, and they spoke with just as much authority on the matter as does a gospel minister today. The blood of Christ will flow backward, uphill, toward, and embrace all the old early day patriots and cleanse them just as effectively as it will reach those immediately after his death.
To say that the church did not exit before Pentecost, because the blood was not actually shed, and they did not have the Holy Spirit, is to say that all those who lived and died before Pentecost will not receive the benefits of His death, burial and resurrection.
The gospel church in John’s day and in the early days of the disciples was alone for the Jews, that is true. As the disciples first went out, they were instructed not to go to the Gentiles and the Samaritans, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And then at Pentecost they received the power to preach the gospel in all the world. The gulf between the Jew and Gentile, the middle wall or partition was taken down, and beginning there the Gentiles had the gospel and the church extended to them.
The Apostles, at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, were given the power from on high, and they completed this commission themselves. Romans 10:18.
So long as the apostles were under the commission, no man could take their lives. They went through the wilderness and the jungles with immunity to the poison of the reptiles, etc. No harm came to them. But after they completed the mission, they no longer had this power. Most of them died violent deaths at the hands of wicked men. This, God would not have suffered to happen so long as they were under the commission.
Gospel men are not under that commission today. They are not commanded today to go into all of the world. God calls and qualifies a man to preach, and the Holy Ghost sets a place for him to work. Acts 20:28 shows that God works on both ends of the line. The Holy Ghost impresses the preacher to preach, and he also impresses the people. This is the "from faith to faith" we read about.
Every man has a field to work in, and if he studies and prays and follows the impressions given him by the Holy Spirit he will find that field. No man today is under the apostolic commission.
Let me give you two witnesses to prove this. While the apostles were under the commission, the Holy Ghost was interpreter for them. This broke the language harrier, and they could speak in their own tongues, and the people could hear them in their own native tongues. Any man today who is under the apostolic commission could do likewise. So then any man today who wants to prove his commission, just let him give such a performance. Let him preach in his own tongue of English, and let him have a congregation of other nationalities -- say French, German and Spanish. If these other people can hear him in their native tongues, as they did the apostles. then he has made a good beginning, but otherwise we know he has not been given the work placed upon the apostles.
Also it was said of the apostles that no deadly thing would harm them. This is not true today. We are all subject to death, unlike the apostles during the time they were fulfilling the commission. That this was not true later proves they finished their work.
The gospel church was pointed out by the prophets of old. They told when, where, how, why and by whom it should have its beginning. They also predicted that it would never be destroyed, but would stand forever.
If divine authority means any thing to us, and certainly it does, then we know this church is now in existence. And if we want to be a part of the true church, we must find it.
About this we are not left to guess. We find it described in pinpoint detail.
If you remember, earlier, I quoted from the second chapter of Acts, referring to the church, "they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in breaking of bread and in prayers.’’
I think we may logically include that when we find the true church, we will find a group that is doing this very thing. Don’t you think so?
Let’s examine first, the apostles' doctrine and see what it was, and then see who is holding to that doctrine today! That is a sure way to find it.
The Apostle Paul preached the doctrine of special choice, predestination, effectual calling, justification and glorification as recorded in the 8th chapter of Romans. This, no one can deny.
Let’s look at Paul’s doctrine and see what he is teaching us.
Paul says that all things work together for good to them who are called, according to the purpose of God. And He says that those "whom God foreknew, He predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son." And then He adds, in a direct link, "Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
This is Paul’s doctrine. How does it look? We hear a lot of criticism about the doctrine of predestination, but this criticism is based on a false premise. Men have twisted this wonderful doctrine and come up with something ugly. The criticism is based on the ugly picture, rather than the predestination that the eminent apostle tells us about.
Read this over and over again and you get only one thing from it. God predestinated some people to be conformed to the image of Jesus. Now, try as hard as I can, I just cannot see any thing bad or ugly or undesirable about God desiring and determining to make people in the image of Jesus. Can you see anything bad or wrong about that? That is the sum and substance of predestination? But how wonderful it is!
Remember, Paul said all things work together for good to them who love the Lord. ... To those He predestinated to be conformed to the image of Jesus ... and then he tells us what these things are: choice, calling, justification and glorification.
He asked the question, "How shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?"
Here are the all things that work together for our good: everything that God freely gives us in Christ. Everything that is necessary to lift one whom God loved, from the depths of depravity to the heights of heaven ‘and immortal glory and to be made to look like Jesus, all tied together in one unbreakable link, all supported by the divine attributes of God. They are all working together, and that for our good. God has purposed that it be this way, and He is faithful to keep His promise.
It seems to me that Paul had an idea there would be critics, because he changes from his positive declarations and begins to ask questions, and those questions are today just as unanswered as they were the day he uttered them.
Paul asked: "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"
There has been quite a lot said about these things in the years since Paul delivered this historical sermon, but none has come along who could successfully be against a person if God were for him. There are many places in the Bible that record instances of where Satanic powers tried to be against a person that God was for, but all their opposition proved to be fruitless. The greatest consolation a person could have in this world would be to know that God was for him.
In our daily lives, in politics (and we sometimes get politics into church matters), that is an oft asked question "Who are you for?" or "Who is for you?’ But the best of all would be to have Jesus for you. Paul thought so any way. He asked that question, "if God be for us, who can be against us?"
That’s only one of Paul’s unanswered questions. Here is another. "He that spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
Jesus was delivered to the crucifiers "by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." God suffered him to be cruelly tormented and tortured, and executed like a criminal, that his hatred of sin might be avenged, and that his justice might be satisfied, and then raised him up for our glorification. This Paul reminded the brethren, and then asked another question: "How shall He not with Jesus freely give us all these things?" This question, too, is unanswered.
If God would give His only begotten Son Jesus as a propitiation for sin, allow Him who knew no sin to become as a criminal, and die a shameful death, and then by His mighty power raise Him up from the dead, carry him back to heaven, holy ‘and pure, who can say that He will not also do this for us?
He then asks this question: "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect ... who is he that condemneth?" And to make the question even harder to answer He said: "It is God that justifieth; it is Christ that died, yea that is risen who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us."
Dying, being resurrected, and going back to heaven did not complete the work of Jesus in behalf of those He loved. No. But He is now in heaven at the right hand of God, making intercessions for us! What a wonderful thought.
So, do you suppose anyone can lay anything to the charge of the ones He loved? Do you suppose some one can condemn them? God is the judge on the celestial throne, and Jesus is there at his side always pleading our cause. Do you suppose God will hear Jesus? I am of the opinion that He will. I remember upon one occasion He said: "Ask, and I will give to you."
Paul already has his point clinched, but for good measure, he gives us another question: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Not tribulations, nor distress; not persecution, or famine, nakedness or sword! No none of these, because through Christ who loved us, we are conquerors over all of these!"
Well, then, what can separate us from the love of Christ? You can go to unmountable heights, or to unfathomable depths, but still God’s love is with you. There is not a principle nor power, nothing with enough life, nor the cold jaws of death, no, not even angels can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
There is no creature able to do it.
This is the doctrine of one of the apostles: and all the others agree with him. These are some of the principles which the church continued in. And when we find the church today, we will find it contending for these same principles.
Where do you find the doctrine of election and predestination preached today? Where do you find the doctrines of effectual calling, and final preservation of all of God’s people preached?
You will find these wonderful doctrines at one place, the true Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, known as the Primitive Baptists.
Read the eighth chapter of Romans, all of it, run the references and get what the other apostles said about these same things? Read and study them carefully. See what you think about it.
I think if you will forget what you have been taught, preconceived ideas, and read this and study it with an open mind, you will be affected like the Gentiles were who had the gospel preached to them as recorded in Acts 13:48: "They were glad, and glorified the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed."
Why am I a Primitive Baptist? Because I, like others, believe what Paul and the other Apostles preached.
If the Primitive Baptists can prove they have the same doctrine as the Apostles preached, then their doctrine is good enough to hold to, don’t you think so?
Let’s examine Primitive Baptist doctrine some more, and see just how much it misses the mark of being Apostolic!
Some of the Primitive Baptist principles, which we call fundamental are these, that God made man; he made him a good man, and gave him a law to keep; promising him blessings if he kept the law, and punishment-- death -- if he violated that law.
Primitive Baptists further believe, and teach, that the first man violated God’s law, and death followed -- not only for the first man, but that death was passed upon all men as a result of his transgression.
Then, Primitive Baptists firmly believe that only Christ has the power to remove the guilt of sin, to bring man from under that death, and cleanse him from his sin. We believe that all the obedience required to remove the guilt of sin was performed by Christ, that he alone can satisfy the demands of the law, insofar as cleansing man from the guilt of original sin.
Primitive Baptists believe that all who shall ever live in heaven immortal with God and the holy angels will enjoy this endless bliss, wholly on the merits of what Christ has or will do for them, and not on the merits of what they can or will do on their own behalf.
But it all boils down to this, the Bible amply proves the Primitive Baptist position.
Now, keeping the above principles or tenets in mind, lets go to the Word of God, written or inspired word, the Bible and see how far, or near, we are to the pattern.
In the first chapter of Genesis, in the story of the creation, we read about the origin of man, etc., and also of his fall.
The Apostle Paul in Romans 5:12 has this to say: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
Could you ask for more confirmation of the Primitive Baptist doctrine than is given here? It just states our position in so many words, and needs no elaboration whatever! How could anything be any simpler?
Now, let’s read in the same chapter, verses 19 and 20: "By the obedience of ONE shall many be made righteous. ... Where sin abounded, GRACE did much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might GRACE reign through righteousness unto eternal life by JESUS CHRIST."
This Scripture rules out man’s obedience as a means of obtaining righteousness unto eternal life. It says by the obedience of ONE -- not of many, but of one -- and that one is Jesus Christ. The Primitive Baptists are right in harmony with the Apostles on this point too.
Hebrews 10:14: "For by ONE offering HE (Christ) hath perfected forever them that are sanctified."
Not sanctified and perfected by many individual offerings, and not continual offering, over and over to keep oneself perfect, but it was done by ONE offering, and what Christ did in that one offering, which He made to God, the work was done forever.
Christ has only been offered one time and that was to God. He was never offered to the sinner.
In Heb. 9:12 we read, "By HIS OWN blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."
We don’t obtain our redemption, but Christ obtained it for us with His own precious blood.
Romans 8:2: "The law of the spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
We were under the law of sin and death. All, through the first man, passed under sin and death. But Christ, by His one offering of His precious blood, took the guilt of that sin upon himself, for all those the Father gave Him, and placed them under the law of Christ.
When Christ removed the guilt of sins of his people from them, and took that guilt upon Himself, they are no more under sin and death. They are free from it.
Primitive Baptists say man is not required to perform works of righteousness to obtain this cleansing, or removing of the guilt of sin. Do they have Scripture for this position?
In Titus 3:5 we read, "NOT by works of righteousness which WE HAVE done, but according to HIS MERCY He saved us, by the WASHING of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which HE shed on us ABUNDANTLY through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that being justified by HIS GRACE (not our obedience) we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
These are only a few Scriptures. I don’t want to be tedious; if so, I could give an endless chain of Scriptures that tie in with these to prove our point.
But it all boils down to this, the Bible amply proves the Primitive Baptist contention that all the glory and all the praise for the removal of the guilt of sin belongs to Christ. Man has no credit, and is due none.
Christ met all the demands of the law. Everything that was required to lift man from his poverty and weakness in the depth of depravity, to the glorious heights of heaven and immortal glory, were met by Christ. He lacked nothing. His atonement was complete in every respect.
These glorious truths are held by the Primitive Baptists. That is one of the great things I like about them. That is one of the reasons I am proud to be known as a Primitive Baptist.
What about man’s good works? There is no place in the work of eternal redemption for man’s good works. But, in its right place, man’s good works are very, very important.
Eph. 2:10: "... created in Christ Jesus UNTO good works." The good works are definitely important, but let’s keep them in the proper place and not try to get them in front of being created in Christ Jesus.
The most oft asked question today in religious circles is, "What must I do to be saved?" or "How is a person saved?" and these are not new questions. They have been asked all down through the ages, and there have been many answers. In fact, that question was asked the Saviour during his personal ministry.
You can ask all the different groups of people that claim to be the church and more than likely, no two of them will outline the same procedure.
But what we are particularly interested in here is this, how does the Primitive Baptist position harmonize with the Bible answer? If we give the same answer that is found in the inspired book, then we are on safe ground, but if our position is not substantiated by the Bible, then we need to reexamine our position and find the truth.
The Primitive Baptist answer to the question is that it is impossible for man to do anything to save himself, from his lost position, to become a beneficiary of the blood of Christ.
Insofar as I know, the Primitive Baptists are the only people wearing the name of "church" that will say salvation is completely unconditional on the part of the individual.
Some say salvation is by grace, and that Jesus paid the price, but the sinner must accept Him. Some say Christ obtained eternal redemption, but that we must obtain it from him. And others say that ones obtaining eternal salvation depend on him keeping the letter of the law.
But what we are most interested in is what the truth of the thing is.
First, let’s see how close we are to the teachings of the Bible in our contention that it is impossible for man to save himself. In the 19th chapter of Matthew, we find one asking Jesus this question: "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have life eternal?"
Jesus said to him, "If thou will enter into life, keep the commandments." Then he outlined the Ten Commandments to him. But the man replied that he had done this since youth. Then Jesus said to him: "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and follow me." But when the man heard this, he turned away sorrowful, for he had great riches.
He proved by his actions that he was not as concerned in doing good as he would have people believe. In fact, he proved that he had just lied to the Saviour. He said he loved his neighbor as himself, yet he turned away when Jesus asked him to sell his great possessions and give to the poor.
If you notice this chapter carefully, Jesus never did tell him how he could "obtain eternal life." He told him how to "enter into life" and how to be "perfect" -- something entirely different than obtaining eternal life.
But these questions led to another question: "Who then can be saved?" And when Jesus answered them, what was the answer? It was: "With men, it is impossible."
Jesus, here, was talking like the Primitive Baptists talk today.
Let's get back to the Old Testament, and get a witness or two. It was said of Job that he was "perfect and upright, and a man that feared God and eschewed evil ."
Yet Job had this to say about making himself clean, in Job 9:30 "If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean, yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me."
Isaiah said in Isaiah 64:6 that our righteousnesses "are as filthy rags" and described man's inability to better his condition.
We showed earlier that all are under sin brought on them by the first man Adam in his transgression. If man inherits sin, and he does, then he begins life in debt. God demands perfection. There will certainly be no sin in heaven. So if a person lived perfect all his life and never committed a single sin, obeyed all the laws and all the gospel commands, he still could not merit eternal life, because he would still be just a part of a sinful progeny.
So, may we logically conclude that if people ever reach heaven and immortal glory, something must be done for them that they cannot do for themselves?
But thanks be to His holy name, we are not left without this "something" having been provided.
One of the Old Testament writers, Isaiah, said in Isaiah 40:2, "Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins."
What is this double, that she has received? It means that Christ has not only cleansed man of his sin, and death, but he has done more than that. That within itself would be a great thing, and something that man could never do for himself. But Jesus also placed his spirit within them, and made them new creatures. To restore one to the sinless state, at the creation, was not and is not enough; he must be made spiritual.
The third chapter of Titus says we are saved by "the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Lord." Here, Paul is saying the same thing, in his words, that Isaiah said -- not only a washing or cleansing from sin, but a renewing, or receiving spiritual life.
Primitive Baptists say this life is given unconditional of any act to be performed by the sinner. He does not even have to lift an eyelash, or to even incline his ear. Can we prove it? If not, then we had better quit saying it!
I have already shown that this is true; all the Apostles plainly taught that salvation is a free gift from God. Now, let us approach it from another angle: Jesus Christ and all the apostles and inspired writers not only taught that salvation is free and unconditional, but the very terms they used in describing the "salvation process" are words that will not accept conditions.
In the second chapter of Ephesians, we read where Paul described salvation as a "creation." Certainly no one would contend that a thing must perform any condition or act in any way in order to he created. The object is completely passive and under complete action of the subject in the case of creation. Would any student or instructor of grammar say otherwise? I am sure not.
In Col. 1:13 the act of salvation -- of being taken out of darkness into light, of redemption through the blood of Christ, and the forgiveness of sins -- is called a translation.
Once again, we see the ruling out of any conditions to be performed by the object. We are all acquainted with the process of translation. We know how a paper is translated from one language to another. That which is being translated is completely passive, and certainly no translator would expect any action on the part of the object.
Back in the 17th century, when our Bible was translated into the English language, did those learned scholars make any requirements or accept any action from the manuscript? The answer is so apparently no, that the question looks foolish.
Salvation in some of its aspects is referred to as an "adoption." Once again, we meet the some thought: is there ever any condition placed on the child in an adoption case? You may ask the most learned and experienced legal mind on the subject of adoption, and he will tell you that all the action and all the conditions are performed by the courts and the adopters, and none is asked or expected of the subject of adoption.
There are many other terms used in describing salvation a birth, a resurrection, a quickening, and others. None of these words accepts conditions.
So, in the light of all this I draw this conclusion: all the inspired writers taught that salvation -- or the cleansing from the guilt of sin, and the receiving of spiritual life, or being prepared to live in heaven, a place free from sin, a place that is spiritual -- comes as a free gift from God. They taught that salvation is a free gift of God's unmerited grace and favor.
And I feel certain and positive that I have not misunderstood them because, as stated above, they used terms that cannot be misunderstood. If they intended to teach that eternal salvation was conditional on the part of the sinner, please tell me why every term used describing it makes the object completely passive? The burden of proof for the conditionalist lies with him to explain away these terms. As of this date, it has never been done, to my knowledge.
So, again we come to another conclusion. When Primitive Baptists take the position that man receives eternal salvation unconditional of any action to be made by him, we simply agree with Jesus Christ and all the inspired writers.
When we say that it is impossible for man to save himself, we are only echoing what Jesus said: "With man, this is impossible."
And, further, Primitive Baptists agree with Jesus when He said right with this, "With God all things are possible."
Just as long as I can go to the Bible and find Primitive Baptist principles freely and abundantly taught in its pages, I am going to steadfastly contend with those wonderful principles.
I am happy to be numbered with an organization and a group of people that have the inspired word of God to substantiate their contention. How about you?
We have been discussing salvation and how it applies to man, This is a word, that unless we handle it carefully, we are apt to meet ourselves coming back.
One gospel minister, in admonishing another minister, advised him this way, "Study ... rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Tim: 2:15)
If we are to get to the truth that is conveyed in the Bible, we must rightly divide it, and apply it as it should be.
In Matthew 19:26, in answer to the question, "Who then can he saved? Jesus' reply was, "With men this is impossible."
Yet in another place, Paul tells people how to save themselves. So, unless we rightly divide and apply these truths, we make the Bible a contradiction and that encourages infidelity.
The Primitive Baptist doctrine harmonizes the Scriptures. The word save and the word salvation always refer to deliverance in some form and the Primitive Baptists delve into theology and come up with the real harmony in the Scriptures.
We use words to convey ideas, and no words are used in the Bible just to take up space. Each one carries its own load. Some times we have words and entire phrases that are used to limit or to extend other words.
All of this brings us to the conclusion that if we want to get the true meaning of words, we must notice carefully the context in which they are used and notice the other things that are used with them to limit their meaning.
We know the fundamental meaning of the word save or salvation in theology is the redemption of man from the bondage of sin and the liability to eternal death.
We also know and have previously shown conclusively that Jesus Christ is the one who supplies this salvation. It is the blood of Christ that redeems from the guilt of sin, whose punishment is eternal death -- 1st Peter 1:18-19: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye ‘were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold ... but with the precious blood of Christ."
Yet in the face of this, we read in many places that man can save himself.
So we must search the Scriptures and find the harmony or else we get ourselves into an inescapable dilemma.
To take the position that every time salvation appears it means to remove one from the guilt of sin and from its punishment of eternal death, or to say that every time death or damnation are used means that eternal death decreed by divine justice as punishment by God's holy laws -- to take such a position will make the Bible a complete contradiction and will put the sponsor of such a theory in an untenable position.
Let’s look at the cold facts about such a theory and see where it puts us. Bear in mind that we are exploring the consequences of the theory that salvation always means to escape eternal punishment, or to prepare one for eternal bliss, and that damnation or to be lost or in death always means "eternal punishment for sin."
Those who hold to this idea say that salvation is a reward for good works. They may differ on the extent of the good works, but the fundamental principle is the same -- that salvation is a just reward for works and that if these good works are not performed there is condemnation.
We are told by these people that Noah and his party of eight enjoyed salvation in the ark because they obeyed the command of God. They were righteous and as a reward were saved as payment for their good works; prepared to live with God in glory. Those who refused to heed the admonition died in the flood, eternally damned, lost, and forever banished from the presence of God according to the theory. If this be true, then in heaven we will have all manner of living things, beasts, fowls etc. since they all were saved in the ark with Noah and his group.
Also, if this theory be true, then all of the little children and infants who died in the flood will end up in hell, along with the adults. Pretty sad picture, is it not?
I don’t charge anyone with believing this, but if they will be consistent in their theory, they must embrace this consequence. I think you can see that this is true.
Let’s examine this some more.
In one place God promised that He would save an entire city if he could find ten righteous people therein. Also we hear a minister being charged that by taking heed to himself he could both save himself and others.
This puts salvation on a low level. If the theory in question be true, then one man can obtain salvation for another, and that puts them inconsistent again because each man must answer for his own sins.
Once again if salvation always means the same thing and is a reward for works then we have God acting very strangely again.
We read in Titus 3:3-5 about those who "were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that, the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us."
And then in the face of this, we read in 1 Peter 4:18 about the righteous being scarcely saved.
Where does such a theory put God, in the light of these two scriptures? It puts Him in the position of abundantly saving the desperately wicked without the performing of any good works on the one hand, and on the other hand those who are living righteously in obedience to God being scarcely saved. I don’t know about you, but I am not worshiping such an unfair god -- but this is the kind of god we have if the consequence of the theory in question be true.
Let's look even further.
I don't want to get into the ridiculous, and if this seems such, it is only because the major premise is ridiculous. In 1 Timothy 2:15 we find that the woman "shall be saved in childbearing." If this theory be true that salvation always means the redemption from the guilt of sin, then all the mothers are all right; they are saved without hearing or obeying the gospel -- a salvation unavailable to males or motherless women.
This brings us to the thought that if we are to get the harmony of the scriptures and stay clear of the ridiculous, we must rightly apply the word of God. When we see the word salvation, we must study the words used with it and come up with the lesson conveyed.
This may seem like too much negative thinking, but in order to appreciate the beauties of the truth, I wanted to present the inconsistencies we encounter when we get off on the theories of men.
In Romans 8:2, the Apostle Paul said: "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
We have already shown where all the human race is under the law of sin and death. God demands perfection, and none can meet the demand. So death is pronounced upon all; all are under the law of sin and death in their natural state.
These is the type of people redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. This is the condition Paul was in before the law of the Spirit of life made him free from the law of sin and death.
The law of the spirit of life placed our sins on Christ; it puts the guilt of our sins upon Him, and of course when it does that, then we are freed from the law of sin and death.
It is sin that condemns, and when the law of the spirit of life in Christ charges our sins to Jesus, then they are not charged to us and we are free from the old law.
In Romans 6:18 we read, "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."
An in Eph. 2:10, we read, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
Now, we have a new premise to work on. The alien sinner is saved unconditionally by the free grace of God. But this saved person, this person who was once lost, but now has the blood of Christ applied to his heart, is now under law to Christ, and God has ordained that he walk in righteous paths, and obey the laws and the commandments.
All the commandments of the gospel are given to the children of God -- those who have had their hearts prepared by the Holy Spirit to receive commands, those who are not under the sentence of death but are under the law of the spirit of life.
Now, we can go back to Noah and the ark, and get the true lesson. Peter tells us about the salvation that Noah received and says (1 Peter 3:21) "The like figure whereunto baptism doth also now save us." It was a now salvation with Noah and the salvation we get from obeying the gospel salvation and being baptized is a now salvation."
Noah and his family would have lost their natural lives in the deluge of water had they not boarded the ark. This is a figure of the way people lose the joy, peace and happiness of a Christian life today when they turn a cold ear to the preached gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To baptize one does not literally put away his sins. No, it takes the blood of Christ to do this, but one does get the answer of a good conscience. There is no feeling any better than that good conscience one has as he emerges from the act of gospel baptism. He feels he has done what the Lord told him to do, and he is happy.
Now, let's look at the abundant and the scarce salvation and see if we can get the harmony. When Christ saves us, that is an abundant salvation. It is every thing a poor sinner needs to cleanse him of his sins and take him home to glory.
Every child of God is under law to Christ, and is commanded to follow in His steps and His commandments all his life, and if he is to save himself from the torments of a guilty conscience and from the many stripes God has pronounced on those who know and do not, he must always walk in obedience. And if he is always righteous, he has only scarcely saved himself, and the unrighteous miss this salvation.
If a child of God obeys all the commandments all the time, he has only done what he should do, and still has nothing of which to boast.
Primitive Baptists read the scriptures with the desire of getting the harmony taught therein, and they enjoy much comfort that others do not get. When salvation refers to what God does for man, without action on his part, and by the meritorious work of Christ, Primitive Baptists know and realize that it refers to salvation in its highest order, preparing one to live with God in glory after death.
When salvation is mentioned in connection with the acts of men, or man is to perform some action to bring about or secure a better situation for himself, they know it is to the child of God, one freed from the guilt of sin, and refers to a timely deliverance, or something that is for man's benefit while he lives here in the world.
God has promised His people many wonderful blessings as rewards for obedience; and we do not have to die in order to get them, but we realize them from day to day as we travel along.
May we always rely on His promises and serve Him all the days of our life; not trying to work our way into heaven, but in humble appreciation for what He has already done for us.
One reason I am happy to be numbered with Primitive Baptists is because they harmonize the Scriptures.
I cannot see any beauty in holding to an idea, or a way of life or religion, that requires you to ignore certain scriptures, or to throw one scripture in conflict with another in order to keep that idea on its feet. The Primitive Baptist "theology" is the only one I know of that can always harmonize the Bible, and has a useful place for every scripture.
Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 12:2-4 he knew a man who was "caught up to the third heaven ... into paradise."
So many people read this scripture and more or less accept it, and never give one thought to its real implication or its teaching.
We know that "the third heaven" is paradise. Paul tells us that in so many words. From what Paul tells us, we get the thought that this man was enabled to see directly into heaven and immortal glory, the very paradise of God, and saw visions and revelations.
Later in the chapter we are led to believe that it was Paul himself who was carried into the third heaven, because he tells us it is not lawful for him to reveal the things he saw and that lest he glory too much, he was given a thorn in the flesh to buffet him.
But I am not satisfied to just take what Paul said, and not explore further the meanings behind his statements. I know that when Paul used the term "third heaven," he recognized the existence of the first and the second heaven.
This leads us to this question, "What are the first and second heavens?" Are we going to forget about them, or are we going to examine these things and thus, by harmonizing the scriptures, come to the realization of the truth?
We Primitive Baptists think we know what these three heavens are, and in our church you often hear them preached on. Where else do you hear this explained?
We read about the "first resurrection" and the "second death," which leads us to ask another question or two: "What about the first death?" and "What about the second resurrection?"
All of these are pretty well connected with heaven, and hell. Unless we know the meaning of these expressions, we cannot be expected to know very much about the truth of the Bible.
Let's see if we can study this a little and get a clear and beautiful picture of the whole matter.
When the first man violated God’s law, he died. That was the first death. And as we have previously shown all mankind died with him in this first death.
Jesus says "I am the resurrection." and when Christ arose from the grave following his crucifixion, death and burial, that was the first resurrection. And all those who have part in the first resurrection, then the second death hath no power over them.
When Christ shed his blood on the cross and then was resurrected, all those for whom that blood was shed had part in that resurrection. If Christ died for you, then he was also raised for you.
In John 5:25 we read "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." The "dead" of this text are those who were in the first death, and those who live are those who have part in the first resurrection.
To be resurrected is to be elevated, to be lifted up to a higher place or higher order or standing. And this resurrection puts people into a new life. This is the first heaven in which he is placed. We sometimes refer to it as the spiritual kingdom. In Acts 20:28, Paul called it the church, telling the ministry "to feed the Church of God, which He has purchased with His own blood."
This is the heaven every child of God enters when he is born of God - this is the place of light a person is translated out of darkness into.
This heaven knows no denominational bounds, no race, no creed or color. This is the body spoken of in 1 Cor. 12:13 "For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body." This is Holy Spirit baptism.
You get this phase of the church, the first heaven, by the precious blood of Christ being shed for you, and it being sprinkled upon your heart; by His free grace, which is unmerited on your part.
Every person who lives on earth, from the first man until the last one to ever be born of woman, who has had or will have his heart tendered by the grace of God, becomes a member of this body, enters into this heaven. He might not have ever been taught about Jesus Christ, and he might not know anything about the apostles' doctrine. In fact, he may be worshiping a golden calf or a frozen pumpkin, but if he is one of the beneficiaries of the blood of Christ, he is a member of the Kingdom of God, in what we term the spiritual phase for the lack of a better word. This is the first heaven.
In first John 3:9 we read "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin." That inner spirit of man, one born of God, is just as pure and holy as God Himself, and does not sin.
Also, in Romans 8:2, we read, "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." He is no more under the law of sin and death. The second death has no power over him or her. But that person is now under the law of the spirit of life.
We now come to a discussion of the "second heaven." This is the "new plateau of life." The second heaven is what we refer to as the church here in the world, the visible kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every child of God is under commandment to obey the law of Christ and to keep His word. It is conditional on our part whether or not we enter this heaven.
In Luke 16:16 we read, "The law and the prophets were until John; since that time the Kingdom of God is preached and every man presseth into it." The only way a person can get into this kingdom is by pressing into it.
In Matt. 19:17, Jesus told a man "if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." The life we get by keeping the commandments is in the Church, and we begin to live it as soon as we enter.
We read in Rev. 12:3, "And there appeared another wonder in heaven" -- that old serpent called the Devil and Satan. Of course this is a figurative language, but we all know, if we know anything about the truth of God, that Satan has never been in heaven and immortal glory or paradise, the third heaven, for no sin of any kind is allowed there. So the "heaven" mentioned here is surely something else. God’s justice and holiness guards the portals of glory against anything evil, and certainly the things mentioned as happening in this chapter could not ever take place in that celestial home above.
But it is different in the church here on earth -- the second heaven. The guard and the protection of this heaven is placed with men, and men sometimes make mistakes. We read in Rev. 2:5 of a church that made a mistake. And God told that church "repent or I will remove the candlestick."
Local bodies sometimes go wrong to the extent they lose their identities -- in other words, God removes the candlestick or takes their light away from them.
Sometimes God’s people are deceived and Satan appears to them in the form of "a wonder" or an angel of light. But they can repent and cast Satan out of the church, or cast him out of heaven.
Satan is ever lurking to get in, and if you are not careful he will even go right into church with you and (Rev. 12:4) his tail will cast you to the earth.
Satan is wroth with the Lord's people and he is making war against them. He will do, and is doing, everything he can to destroy the Church, and he knows the best way to do that is from within. So, if permitted he will go in and take the topmost seat. It is a perpetual job to keep him and his angels cast out.
We hear much said about the strait and narrow way and also about the broad way. Both of these paths are open to the child of God. One of them leads to the church and a life of Christian devotion, and the other leads to a misspent life. If you take the broad way, Satan will cast you to the earth and you will miss the joys and happiness of a life in Christ and in his service.
This road to life is hard to find because Satan will camouflage the entrance; he will try to hide the true beauties of this way. But he will erect huge signs, bearing false literature to the so-called beauties in the broad way. He makes it as difficult as he can for you to find the way of life, and then once you do find it, he tries every conceivable way to lead you astray or to cast you to the earth.
Poor old Moses, who even with his stammering tongue, gave us a type of this strait and narrow way leading to life. He was raised in the palace of a king, and he enjoyed all the niceties that the grandson of a king would want. Satan offered him many pleasures of the broad way, but what did he say? Paul in Hebrews 11 :24-25 puts him on record as follows: "By faith, Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer afflictions with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season."
This is a type of the difference in the two ways, if I understand the real meaning. Moses could have continued living in pleasure as the king’s grandson, in the broad way, but he chose to go with the faithful children of God in the narrow way, even though there were afflictions to be suffered.
I have been wandering around with this. Are you still with me?
The first heaven includes all those who have part in the death, burial and the resurrection of Christ -- all who are the beneficiaries of His blood. Everyone who receives the quickening of His spirit into divine life is in that heaven.
The second heaven is the local church, the place of rest for the faithful Christians who do the commandments and who worship "in spirit and in truth." Only a very few of God’s people ever enter into this strait and narrow way. But those who do enter live an abundant life.
Now, let’s go back to that third heaven, the paradise of God, that Paul mentioned. Who is it that will enter this heaven? How do they get there? How many will there be of them?
We hear a lot said about the "judgment day" and this is supposed to be at the final consummation of time, when people will enter into life eternal, according to the way they pass the judgment.
Well, Primitive Baptists believe in a final judgment day, but we will take it like it is taught in the Bible, rather than the way so many people erroneously describe it.
We have a pretty good description of the "judgment day" in the 20th chapter of Revelations. Let me give you this in my words and then you turn and read it and see if this is not what it teaches.
There is to be a judging take place, and John who was allowed to see this in a special vision saw it this way: The dead small and great were delivered up. And before the judgment throne there was the Lamb's Book of Life and also the books (in the plural).
In the Lamb’s Book of Life are written the names of all those the Father gave the Son. All of them will be kept by the blood of the Lamb (Col. 3 :3, John 17:12) and •none of them is lost. But those who are not found written in the book of life will be judged out of the books according to their works.
Any person who is judged according to his own works, will certainly he condemned, and it so states in Rev. 20:15 that all who were judged according to their own works were cast into the lake of fire.
Also we learn here what the second death is. Rev. 20:14 says, "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."
God promised Abraham (Gen. 28:14) "and in thee and in thy seed shall all of the families of the earth be blessed." Also it is said (Deut. 32:9) "For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance."
John in his holy vision (Rev. 7:9) saw the people in this third heaven singing praise unto the Lamb for redemption "a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues."
In this heaven, which is the heaven of all heavens, all the redeemed hosts of God will live in a place of holy perfection singing endless praise to God. The Bible teaches us that by far the larger portion of mankind will be there.
We are not universalists. We do not understand the Bible to teach that all will be saved, as there are some that will be judged according to their works and will be swallowed up by the second death, and cast into the bottomless pit with death and hell.
This brings us to a vital point of the Primitive Baptist doctrine of a limited atonement. God chose a definite, specific number of the sons and daughters of the earth, and predestinated to conform them to the image of Jesus, and to enable them to stand before him holy and without blame. He gave them to the Son who shed his blood for them, and provided everything necessary to lift them from the depths of depravity to the heights of heaven and immortal glory. Those that He did save from death, He placed under a spiritual law, and set up the church here in the world and commanded us to walk in gospel paths.
We are told by some that Jesus loved all humanity, but I know the whole world of John 3:16 does not mean all humanity because we read in Romans 9:13 of part of humanity that God hated. "As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."
Those who walk in the strait and narrow way enjoy that gospel life and do not fall into the snares and the pitfalls of Satan. Primitive Baptists do not believe, nor does the Bible teach, that predestination affects those that are not included in God's love. Predestination does not make them any worse, and it dues not add to their condemnation.
Only one thing will send a person to hell, and that is sin. For those whose names are written in the book of life, Jesus paid the price for their sins. Others are judged out of the books according to their own works. It is their own works that condemn them, or that bring them under condemnation.
This is an endless subject, and we do not have words to describe its beauty. I have tried to be brief, and in so doing I hope I have not jumbled it up so badly that you cannot get the ideas I have tried to portray.