Newspapers / Zion's landmarks. / May 1, 1877, edition 1 / Page 7
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
I b Zion’s Landmark. 95 IS P' NOT QIITE COLD? i ZEAL OF OTHER DENOMINATIONS. (}fteu coilvicteil aiul distressed souls desire to be remembered, at the tltroue of grace, liy people they liave confideiice in as chrlstians. Tliese Christians when requested to pray for such 1 eople do wt'feel srifficient of fheniKdocJi or worlhy to pray for oth- otliers; vet the desire of their heart is that God will remember them, and they do pray for mourning souls, and such tire very siear to Christians : for they look upon them as their own kin in soul travail. J-Cvery true mother can and does sympathize with woman in laboring pains. In a stronirer sense Christians do feel and jiray for souls in distress and pained to i)c delivered, and they have a dis- ^■erning spirit and can detect such often, even in their first troubles, and cati prophsy good for them, if not to them. But what pure minded enceinte wo man would lic gadding about and telling everybody of her condition as long as she can conceal it ? It is cHily under the pains of labor that they let it be known, although it cannot be hid. So what soul under conviction, with its own travail' and burden upon it, is anxious to pro claim abroad its ti’oubles? Rather like the stricken deer would it seek secret fountains of water brooks— deep in the forest. Such enter into their closets and pray to God who sees in secret. Brethren, what think you then of those [leople, professing to be con victed, who are so anxious to par ade themselves as to pile up on ■^"^tlie mourners’ henelies and become as conspicuous as possible ? Especial ly what think you of tho.se people who so forwardly and professionally go about and offer their services to pray for seekers of religion—who ad vertise themselves as experts in pmying for sinners; and who entreat I have no hesitation in stating that the zeal and fervor of other de nominations is such as to ensnare our brethren sometimes, esi)ecially if tliey have much to do with them.— Evil com mil ideations corrujit good manners. One kind of evidence to a true Christian (I mean an established one) is their preaching, writings and con versation. We have no need of go ing hack to their periodicals, hooks, liistory, &c. Cannot you see and hear from their own mouths that their .system and teachings are not warranted in the hiblc ? Compare what they teach with the bihle and with your own experience or the ap plication of the bible to you and this will .satisfy you that you and they are not in the same school. Alioiit 100 years ago Missionary Baptists originated. Andrew Fuller (who has not been dead 100 years,) was the great leader in perfect ing their plan, and he is their stand ard authority.—Andrew Fuller’s Works, vol. 1, p. 62. Their princi[)les are found In nat ural affections and natural conscien ces. The imprc.ssions which can he taught bj’ one man to another, *f the bible, and which are reconciled to natural reason, are what they teach. It is the most popular denomination with the world. It has enough of the likeness or a[)pearance of bihle truth in it to make it appear right to natural men and even to enquirers af ter truth, or to believmrs not well es- tablisll^d; wiuE_ iEiisJS enoi]||||, of sinners to come up to their benche.s and let them pray for them; and who tel! sinners that if they will comeand let them pray for them they will al most warrant their salvation; and furtlier tell them that if they do not come right then and there that it is almost certain they will never be saved ; and sometimes threaten that if they do not come they will pray for their damuation ? Do not such exaltthera.selves very highly? But such will answer, We must be riglit, because we have such abund ant fruit, ‘‘ Just look at the number of our converts. If it w'as not of the Ixird we would not multiply so much.” But my observation is that M’icked things multiply much more rapidly than good ones in this world. The proportio.i in that day, the prophet said, would be one to seven. One good man, and seven lewd wo men wishing to lake hold of him, and be called by his name to take away their reproach. They said they would live on their own fare though. What day is that? The gospel day. Was it not bold in those women to take hold of one man, &o? They wish to do all this in the name of the Lord to take away their repr&mh. Now what need is there of going back to ancient times and hunting up old dociiinents to prove they are not the true church ? Jf you catch a man doing wrong to-day does it not satisfy yon he is not what he ought to be? A"ou need only take up their hooks, piqiers, preaching, teaching, Ac., ot" to-day to p>rove that, I s])eok this as to their general .system. I doubt not hut there are good believing jieople a-nong them ; but as such become established in the doctrine of Christ they become dis satisfied with the Missionaries : but it so hard to leave them. Especially is this so, when the only asylum to such troubled ones is the Primitive or Old School Baptists who are so far behind the time-s, so unjiopular, so much s[)oken against, and so dif ferent from what a fnll-hlooded Mis sionary thinks a church ought to be. Well, I think the Primitive Bap tists are, at times, too slack and neg ligent oftheir duties. We get cold and seemingly indifferent, and should biush at our want of zeal in the truth. We should awake and put on the comely garments of praise and the beautiful garments of salvation, and be instant in serving the Lord, and let pot our good be evil spoken of. l^ecanse we liold that the Lord saves us we sliould not cease praising the Lord ; that is a greater reason why we should praise him. Because is contrary to his own wi.shes, but bless whatever suits his temper, aim.s and efforts ; or he looks at and estimates everything according to his own evil eye : but if one has a good ,«plrit he will interpret God’s works in creation, and his providences, to the glory of God, and will humbly accept chastenings, and wonder that he has no more sufferings, and will ascribe the evil to himself and not to his Nlaker. This is also manifested in men’s religious opinions; for men will w-or- ship something, and because a man worships you need not conclude he is right : for they wdll have some sort of religion. A Pharisee, ora man who boasts of what he can do, will interpret the bible as teaching that men can do good of themselves, &c. Lor in stance he would take Romans (8th chapter,) where Paul says, “Noth ing sliall 1)0 able to sejiarate ns,” Ac., we are dead to sin is the greatest rca- corrupt nature in it to make it pojxi- lar with men. I doubt not that there are believ ers among them. And ifone should attend them in their protracteil meet- in o-s, and his natural affections be stirred up, and his conscience arous ed, he w'ould take it for gospel zeal. For they have a sort of conviction of conscience, and I doubt not but that there are true conversions among them at times. All this gives them so much power over men. But now, let MS examine from the bible (not from human nature, nor our natural conoeptions of religion, nor an outward form merely,) and compare their system and teaching with that True Standard, and if w^e have the true light we shall know that their doctrines will not stand. 1st. The doctrines they hold are not the one doctrine of the hiblc.— The doctrine of the bible is not rec- reconcible with the free agency of a corrupt man. He cannot believe it with the same mind that loves sin.— Faith is the gift of God—and regen eration is the work of tlie Holy Spir it. They hold a conditional salva tion, part of works and part of what they call grace. They also have fel- low'ship wdth Arminiaii denomina tions, as Methodists, Ac. 2xd. The system they adopt of mourners’ benches, Sunday sc-hools. Theological schools, &c., is not en dorsed by the bihle. 3rd. Their love of money and sys- soii M'C should walk no longer in sin. Because we are redeemed by the Ivord is the greafost reason we should .serve him. I-^et it not be said that a true l>ellever would not beohilled in his zeal by coming among us, or be crippled iu good works or in show- in’' merev to men by uniting with the old-fashioned, predostinarian Bap- ists. Let it not be said that because we have no agents to beg money, that, therefore, we never minister of our worldly goods to the needy.— Those who arc right would be apt to do their duty without the necessity of agents. THE SPIRIT IS SHOWN. terns of heggiug for it are not of the A proud man does not wish to be humble. bible. 4th. The doctriae of the bible is not popular like- their doetriaes are. Men have either a good or a bad spirit. All men put .some kind of estirnatc on the works of God. A natural man regards the works of God in creation as merely for man’s use : he wishes to do as he pleases with them. A .spiritual man regards them as created for God’s glory, and he de sires to so use them. A corrupt man will find great fault of the weather if it does not suit him ; while a good man will rather condemn liimself and beafi'aid to reproach Ills Maker for sending such weather. A rehellious man will put an interpretation on the chasten- ings and judgments of God that re flects on tlie wisdom, gooilnc«.s, or justice of God, or he will murniur. While a good man will rather en quire and .search for lus vviekeduess that has called! fortii sudi judgments, or will consider in the day of adver sity. In a word, if a man is ^iossessed by a spirit that is wicked ho will pass a false, harsh, raiirmuriug, or wicked judgment on God’s creation and prov idence i and will coudemu whatever and say that the Christian can sepa rate himself from the love of God.— As if a Christian wanted to separate himself from God. It is God’s love to ns in Christ Jesus that keeps us from tliis separation, Doe.s a true wife ever want to separate herself from a good husband? If the spirit that is in a man wants to find objec tions to the truth he wdli find a pretext, even in the word of God.— If he wants to boast of works he will thrust them into the plainest pa.s.sage of scripture that proclaims .salvation by grace. But if the .sjiirit that is in us ho of God it will surely .see and find mer cy and hope, even in the reproofs and rebukes of the gospel, and will not faint at the chastenings of the Lord. In the exhortations which ha.se our present comforts in time on our obedience it will find comfort, for it sees that these exhortations are addreisstHl to tho.se whom God loves, and who are already alive. It is very remarkable to many that n^cn differ so mneh in their interpreta tions of the bible. All the Armini- an denominations, on the one hand, deny, in some form or other fatal to truth, the dcetriiie of divine predes tination, as ba,sed on the foreknowl edge of God : wfiiile the predestinari- an Baptists stand alone in contend ing that .salvation is all of the Lord, from the first to the la.st. Aydl, it is not .strange when 3’on remember what sort of a .spirit is in man. A worldly spirit rejects that doctrine, although it may accept many things taught in the Biblebut he that is of God, or has the spirit of God, and on ly he, believes that doctrine, aud he sees it a.s uiucli iu exhortations and promises as anywhere else in the bible. To pwevent difficulties in the church let each live correctly every day. Yfm. Woodard and P. D, Gold expect to. preach, th© Lord willing j RaWigtv ao-’i-lock p. M., on tVednesday be- f(>r3 first Sunefay in .ThBiC.— b^i'enrls will nlease arrange }>lacc preacfitng^. Tbnrsilay WiUow Springs Friday •_••••• Saturday and first Sunday in June... J'Jizalieth Smubi v-'n,igfit t ay ettev il le Tni-sday...- ■ Wilmington. They will need conveyauee.
May 1, 1877, edition 1
7
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75