That is exactly the same
thing believed by the Hardshell Primitive Baptist, C. C. Morris, at the time of
"regeneration." What difference does it make that it takes the "born again"
Hardshell man a little longer to exercise "faith" than it takes your
"regenerated" man? The only difference is whether or not there is an "interval"
before faith is exercised.
BOTH have been "regenerated" without the
Holy Spirit's creating faith in Christ in the dead sinner by the instrumentality
of the Gospel/Word. BOTH ARE IGNORANT OF THE SON OF GOD AT THE MOMENT OF
REGENERATION. -- Bob L.
Ross
___________________________________________
HARDSHELL
DOCTRINE IS PELAGIANISM / ARMINIANISM IN A 19TH CENTURY PACKAGE
The
"Command Implies Ability"
Theory Strips God's Word of
Power
The original ground on which Anti-Missionism arose
was the rejection of "Missions methodology." Even Daniel Parker denied
that he was "opposed to the spread of the gospel among the heathen" or the
translation of the Scriptures and their distribution. Parker simply viewed
"the mission system" as the "evil," as "God never required it," and it was "an
unscriptural plan." He said "there could be a better plan;" and he
proposed the idea that "it should be conducted under the direction of moral
government, and not at the expense of religion," referring to translating the
Bible and "educating the heathen" in its teachings.
Parker
relied upon the "patternism" approach, saying, "The mission system has neither
precept nor example to justify its principle and practice," and therefore was
"error" [A Public Address to the Baptist Society, pages 5-15].
Parker's "Two Seedism" and Gilbert Beebe's "Spirit Alone"
(or "Direct Voice") regeneration theory were to come later. If either of
these theories even existed in 1820 when Parker wrote against mission
methodology, they were kept in abeyance, for none of the literature of that time
raises them as related issues. They are certainly not delineated in any of
the pre-1800 Confessions of Faith, nor are they to be found in writings of
Baptist authors.
Pelagianism: What Is
It?
What was to develop in the Anti-Mission movement,
after the 1827 Kehukee Declaration and the 1832 Black Rock Address, was the
subtle use of an old philosophy known as "PELAGIANISM." [For a study of
Pelagianism, see B. B. Warfield's Two Studies in the History of Doctrine and
Augustine's Anti-Pelagian Writings in the fifth volume of the Nicene and
Post-Nicene Fathers series, Eerdmans' edition].
Pelagianism
held that God bestowed on man the "capacity for his will and work" and that
man's capacity, or ability, "come from God alone." This "capacity" was
"implanted in us by God," according to Pelagius, a fifth century British monk
after whom this school of thought is named. While Hardshellism is
certainly not Pelagian on the matter of man's nature in relation to the effect
of the Fall of Man, it has adorned the old Pelagian concept of "command implies
ability" in a new garb, format, for "package." What Pelagianism says of
man in his natural state, Hardshellism merely shifts to man in a supposed
"regenerated" state, before faith.
CAMPBELLISM, the "twin"
of the Hardshells, in essence also holds to Pelagianism and is more in line with
pure Pelagianism on the natural state of man, as Campbellism denies inherited
depravity. But Campbellism holds, in common with Hardshellism, the basic,
practical theory of Pelagianism that "command implies
ability."
In Pelagianism and Campbellism, man naturally has
the capacity and ability from the Creator to do whatever is commanded, the fall
of Adam notwithstanding. In Hardshellism, man is similarly endowed by God,
but not naturally; according to Hardshellism, this ability is imparted in what
they regard as "regeneration."
The practical application made by
Hardshells of various commands, such as repentance and faith, is consistent with
the Pelagian theory that the command implies the ability to fulfill the
command.
Logically, then, according to Hardshellism, the "dead
alien sinner" is so disabled that he must have "life" implanted in him so as to
capacitate the sinner with the ability to obey the commands. This is their
rationale for denying that the Gospel is to be addressed to "dead alien
sinners."
S. T. Tolley, The Christian Baptist
(June '85, page 5):
"For it is through the grace and mercy of God that
one is CAPACITATED to either hear or believe the message of the gospel,
and be saved by and through its influence."
Also,
Tolley says:
"Accountability necessarily implies
capability". (TCB, 2/85/ p. 4)
This is
classic Pelagian philosophy which permeates all forms of "Free Willism" -
Pelagian, Romanist, Arminian, Campbellite, or whatever the "camp," even the
"Reformed" brethren who teach "pre-faith
regeneration."
E. D. McCutcheon:
"He equips him (the sinner) with ABILITY to repent . . . He
gives us the ABILITY to do so . . . "(This We Believe, page
42).
Eddie Garrett, The Hardshell Baptist (March '92,
page 4):
"When he Lord gives us life we then have
the ABILITY to believe the gospel, even though we may
not."
So, according to the Hardshells, "regeneration"
is an act by the Holy Spirit which "capacitates" a man with the "ability" to
repent and believe. The Spirit does this WITHOUT the Gospel, and not
conjunctively with the Gospel as a "means," according to
Hardshellism.
R. V. Sarrels, Systematic Theology (page
429):
"The gospel is never the power of God to the
unbeliever, or the unregenerate." (This apparently is your own view on
Romans 1:16).
Thus, Hardshellism separates God's
efficient power (the Holy Spirit) from the Word, or Gospel, in the call of the
unregenerate ("dead") to Christ. This is why they repudiate
missions and evangelism and are comparatively "dead" to such efforts.
This accounts for the constant Hardshell emphasis upon
the position that "life" must be imparted to the "dead alien sinner" before the
sinner can do anything in response to commands to repent and believe. They
"fish" for "live fish," they often say -- meaning that the "fish" are
"regenerated" before they can take the "bait." They make a big play on the
figure of "death," emphasizing the spiritual inability of the sinner by
comparing him to a physical corpse. [For a refutation of this concept of
the "dead" state of the sinner, see Augustus H. Strong's Systematic
Theology, chapter II, section II].
Hardshellism defends
its theory on the grounds of carnal "logic" (see Sarrels' Systematic
Theology, page 328). And on the grounds of purely physical logic,
without a consideration for Divine Revelation, who can deny their "logic"
that the "dead" must be made alive BEFORE they can give any evidence of
life? Who denies that you won't get a "dead fish" to bite the
bait?
But -- if we incorporate Divine Revelation, as given in the
Scriptures, are we shut up to the Hardshell version of Pelagianism? We
trow not, for there are numerous instances of commands which do not imply
ability. Also, command often is simply indicative of responsibility and
divine purpose, and does not necessarily imply ability.
The
case of Ezekiel's "dry bones" in chapter 37 does not imply the ability of
the bones to hear and respond to the preaching Ezekiel. Rather, the design
of this scene is to focus on God's power resting upon or accompanying His
Word.
The case of Lazarus' being commanded to "Come
forth" from the dead did not imply ability in Lazarus (John 11). This case
demonstrates that God's Word, accompanied by His efficient power, can raise the
dead thru His command.
The case of the man with
the withered hand being told to "stretch forth thine hand" did not imply
ability on his part (Matt. 12:13). This again shows that God's power rests
upon His Word and has creative results.
The case of the
Law as defining man's moral responsibility does not imply man's moral and
spiritual ability to comply. Though man is fallen and is under the
influence of his depravity, he is nonetheless responsible to be
righteous.
The exhortation for
believers to "be perfect" as the Father in Heaven is perfect (Matt. 5:48)
is a statement of our "standard," not a statement of
ability.
Illustrations such as this could be
multiplied. They are contradictory to the Hardshell "logic" which is
applied to Gospel-related commands. Based on numerous Scriptures which
assert the "connection" between the Holy Spirit and the Word, the Gospel, and
the Truth, the Power of God is upon His Revelation and it brings to pass His
purpose (Isa. 55:11). God's commands become God's enablings under His own
efficient power.
The error of Hardshellism and Campbellism
is SEPARATING the Holy Spirit from the Word of God. They "strip"
the power of God from His Word, as if it is only a "dead letter," and is not
used by the Holy Spirit. The written Word and the preached Word are
powerless, according to Hardshellism, because the sinner is "dead." They
do not see any connection between the Word and the efficient power of the Holy
Spirit being in, with, and through that Word. Until the sinner is made to
"live," they do not see the Word as being of any effect, as they fail to see
that the Holy Spirit works conjunctively with that Word.
Is the Word
Spoken by Christ More Powerful Than
Other Inspired
Revelation?
According to various Hardshell sources, the
new birth (regeneration) is performed by the direct Word of Christ, spoken to
the "dead alien sinner;" there is power in that Word, but there is no such
power in, with, through, or by the Written Word or preached Word, according to
this view.
The position of the Baptists who
wrote the London Confession of 1644 [articles 14, 15] and the London
Confession of 1689 [articles 10, 14] is rejected by the Hardshells, as both
of those Confessions conjoin the Gospel, or Word, and the Spirit, creating the
immediate, simultaneous repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ by the
sinner.
R. V. Sarrels wrote the only book by a
Primitive Baptist which is represented as a "systematic theology." He does
not quote a SINGLE Baptist Confession of Faith to represent the historic Baptist
position. Rather, he repudiates the doctrine, which is set forth in the
Westminster (Presbyterian), London (Baptist), and Philadelphia (Baptist)
Confessions of Faith (pages 303-359). He didn't quote a single Baptist
confession because Sarrels was not a historic Baptist; he was part of the modern
"Primitive Baptist" CULT which at HEART is opposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ
being preached to the unregenerate. This malice against preaching to the
unregenerate is the "axle" on which the wobbly wheel of the "Old School" turns
in its BACKWARD path.
According to Hardshellism, the
historic Baptist position would make regeneration "conditional" on the
sinner, despite the fact that this position asserts that the SPIRIT ALONE
is the "efficient cause" of both repentance and faith. Irrespective of
the Hardshell allegation, this was the position of 17th century Baptists,
William Kiffin, Benjamin Keach, Elias Keach, John Bunyan, John Myles, John Gill,
and the Baptists of the Philadelphia Association, the first association in
America.
Gilbert Beebe (1800-1881), editor of the
Signs of the Times magazine, the foremost Anti-mission periodical following the
1832 split, was perhaps the first one-at least, one of the first-to propagate
this new theory of "direct speaking" regeneration. He
says:
"The word of the Lord, which is Spirit, and which is
life, which liveth and abideth forever, is that by which regeneration is
affected; not MERELY by the Scriptures in their LETTER, not reading or preaching
them, but the words which Jesus himself SPEAKS to the individual persons who are
made to hear and live." [Compilation of Editorial Articles, Vol. IV, pages
21, 22].
This theory gives precedence of power to the
spoken words of Christ, which He supposedly speaks directly to the
individual. Notice that the "speaking," according to Beebe, PRECEDES
the "hearing" and the "life." This would mean that Christ speaks to
the "dead alien sinner" BEFORE the sinner is "alive." Therefore, the Word
of Christ is addressed to the "dead," yet the Hardshells object to the Baptist
position that the Gospel, or Word, is to be preached to the "dead," and is
accompanied by the Holy Spirit in pursuance of God's sovereign purpose in
effectual calling.
This can only mean that Hardshellism
believes the written Word, or Gospel, is "merely" the "letter" (per
Beebe's terms quoted above), and the written or preached Word of God is void
of the accompanying power of the Holy Spirit!
This means
that the INSPIRED Word of God does not have the power of the Holy Spirit in,
upon, or with that Word to the same extent as the Word spoken by Christ has
power!
Claud H. Cayce, editor of The Primitive Baptist in
the first part of the 20th century, would represent the view of the
"conditionalist" faction of Primitives, or "Old Schoolers," when he
says:
"Sinners receive eternal life, are regenerated, just
one way. The Lord SPEAKS to them as He did to Saul of Tarsus when
he was on his journey from Jerusalem to Damascus, and when He SPEAKS to the dead
sinner he IMPARTS LIFE. He regenerates the sinner. 'The words that I
speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life,' says the Redeemer."
[Selected Editorials From The Primitive Baptist, Vol. I, page
194].
According to the Scriptures, Jesus preached
the Gospel (Luke 4:16-21). Is the Gospel a part of the "WORDS" spoken
by Christ which are "SPIRIT" and "LIFE"? Is this not the SAME Gospel
that was preached by Peter, Paul, and the Apostles -- the "Words" of Christ
which are "SPIRIT" and "LIFE"? Is not this SAME Gospel recorded in
the Scriptures by the INSPIRATION of the Holy Spirit? Is not this Gospel
"the WORD that goeth forth out of My mouth" (Isa. 55:11)? Is this Word
void of spirit and life in its SPIRIT-INSPIRED WRITTEN FORM?
Evidently, the Hardshell doctrine is that the Gospel is "spirit and life" when
Jesus personally speaks the Word, but the Gospel is void of "spirit and
life" in its SPIRIT-INSPIRED WRITTEN FORM! If Jesus speaks this Gospel
DIRECTLY to the dead alien sinner, it is "spirit and life;" but when Peter and
Paul spoke the SAME Gospel in the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit
which was "sent down from Heaven" (1 Thess. 1:5; 1 Cor. 2:4; 1 Peter 1:12), this
SPIRIT-INSPIRED WORD which proceeded out of the mouth of the Lord (Matt 4:4)
does not have "spirit and life," according to the Hardshell theory.
Thus, according to Hardshellism, the only time this Gospel has "spirit and life"
is when Jesus Himself speaks it directly to the dead alien sinner! When
preached by Peter and Paul it was only to "comfort" those who had already been
regenerated -- that is, if Hardshellism is true.
If Jesus
speaks directly to dead alien sinners like He did to Saul of Tarsus, we who hold
to the Gospel as a "means," according to the Baptist Confessions of Faith,
marvel that the Hardshells who hear the Lord's words do not know their
experience as Paul knew his. I have read numerous "experiences" in
various Hardshell literature, and I have yet to read one that relates the
details such as Paul recalls of his experience in Acts (chapters 22 and
26) and in the epistles he wrote.
For example, a current
Hardshell elder (preacher) to whom Jesus "spoke" has a testimonial recorded in
Elder Wiley Sammon's book, Identity of the True Baptist Church, Vol. I, page
xvi. Elder T. L. Webb, Jr. says:
"About all I know
about an experience of grace is the fact I have loved the Lord since I can
remember and have always been fearful of my God -- afraid not to do what was
right. I had a great burden to unite with the Church from my earliest
remembrance."
This is a rather strange statement from one
to whom Jesus spoke, as He spoke to Saul. Saul certainly knew
more of his experience of grace than this dear brother says he knows of his
experience. Please do not misunderstand: I am not questioning the
brother's faith in Christ; I am simply showing the incongruity of his knowledge
of his experience when compared to the knowledge that Paul had of his
experience. Paul could TELL WHAT JESUS SAID TO HIM and even knew
the time and place it was said. Evidently, Elder Webb has no knowledge of
what was spoken to him, nor does he know when and where it was spoken to
him.
In the same book (by Sammons), there is a testimonial
by Elder Guy Hunt, a Primitive Baptist minister and once Governor of the State
of Alabama.
Elder Hunt says:
"Like many
others, I cannot tell the time I first realized I had a love for the Lord.
My first notice was a dear love for the church. I do not know when I first
began to note a fear that I was called to preach" (page xv).
If Elder Hunt was regenerated by the Lord's speaking directly to him, as
Saul of Tarsus was spoken to, isn't it rather strange that Elder Hunt "cannot
tell," whereas Paul clearly and often told of what the Lord said, when He said
it, and where he was when he heard the Lord speak?
Examples
such as this could be multiplied, and those of my readers who are Primitive
Baptists know that I speak the truth. Hardshells are very "short" of any
knowledge of what the Lord spoke to them, where He spoke it, and when He spoke
it.
We believe the fact is, this is merely a
distortion of the experience of Paul, misused by Hardshells in their
effort to convince themselves and others that the Holy Spirit of God does not
bless the Gospel to the dead alien sinner in producing the new
birth.
We who have been born again under the Gospel
preaching do not have the same identical experiences, but we do know something
about how it was that we became Christians. We hardly had the type of
experience that Paul had, nor that the thief on the cross had, nor that Simon
Peter had - and I have yet to meet a Christian who claims such an
experience. We don't believe the Lord speaks directly to the sinner, but
we do believe that the SAME GOSPEL comes to us in the SAME POWER OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT that the Gospel came to Paul. Whether it is spoken by
Jesus, by Peter, by Paul, or read in the Bible, it is the SAME WORD OF GOD that
is blessed by the SPIRIT OF GOD and it produces the NEW
BIRTH.
This is the Old Baptist doctrine of our
Confessions. This is the true Primitive Baptist Gospel. It is
not a theory such as that concocted by those who are given to oppose Gospel
preaching to dead alien sinners. It is not an excuse for avoiding
the responsibility and privilege of obeying the Lord in bearing the Gospel
message to the world as a means of reaching the elect of God whom He will call
to Christ.
Despite the Hardshells, God will get the message
out, and He will use it as a means of calling His people. Many Hardshells
themselves have to admit that their first "feelings" toward God came under the
teaching or preaching of the "means Baptists." Gilbert Beebe, whom we
suspect to be the "father" of the "direct voice" theory on regeneration,
in an article entitled Personal Reminiscence (Vol. I, pages 135-138), reveals
that he had been a "religionist from his birth," that he had "been taught to say
prayers," that he "had made some progress in the Westminster [Presbyterian]
Catechism," and he engaged daily in "forms of worship." He had
therefore been under the teaching of the Bible from birth.
Mr. Beebe's own account reveals that he had been
thoroughly acquainted with those teachings of Christianity which are generally
described by the term "means." Consequently, although Beebe later came to
reject such "means" as either essential to, or related to, the Spirit's work of
regeneration, he nevertheless is on record as having had a very generous supply
of "means" in his life before his professed regeneration at the age of
seven.
In fact, from the perspective of those of us
who maintain that "means" are used of the Lord in bringing men to Christ, we
might venture the opinion that Beebe is a good example of how children who are
taught the Word of God early in life may be subjects of the Lord's regenerating
work early in life! Although we find Beebe's theoretical position
on the new birth to be faulty, we see no reason to think he was not born again,
and for that he cannot only thank the Lord for His mercy, but he can thank the
Lord for using the human agents who cared for and presented to him the Word of
God which does not return void (Isa. 55:11).
I have
also noticed in many Hardshell publications that many of the people tell of
their having been "Missionary" Baptists prior to becoming Primitive
Baptists. They made their initial profession of faith under
Gospel-preaching ministries. Later on, thru "logic," they converted to
Hardshellism.
Even many of their preachers first
professed a call to the ministry among the Missionary Baptists. So the
matter of "experience" serves to substantiate our position: GOD USES
MEANS! -- Bob L. Ross
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