'"" xdiL tdferf lfeaf Iss y Turharough, (Edgecombe County, JV C.J Saturday, December 12, 1835. Vol. XL to, ."50. viiclu'U'ti jfoti las! paper) li nil, ii?-r biviiiriMi, lorb'ul us pursuing ihc regular history , i, n-i ii'.nHtiIio churches in regular succession a they rose into f ". .('e uif ler the uii iisliy ' iho apostles. We, therefore, must f '' ct i le v apostolic churches to prove that the first churches were ! !i'suhnn:!tfS, composed of bipiicd believers. The second V'-'!) ve n:uue vv.is tlie ciiurcii at Philippi. Paul in his travels f.'-'ii'' p.ised through Phrvgia and the region of Galatia, came ! -hIo Troa wlnre he had a vision to come over to Macedonia P.. jem. lie set sail and came t Philippi, whore he was in 'triiv several days. On the Sabbath he wont to the river side, prayer was wont to he made. Lv!ia, a seller of purple, u U "vll to the payer and thin: spoken ol lv Paul, Act-., xvi. 15: ! i l vvlu li !,e 11 'P1'' ,1MU' m'r household, ' ice. Alter i his tin i ' .rsjM, Sirs wh it mu! I ihi to her sivid? Ami they (Paul and V -.'Hil, I'cdieve on th Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall he sav 1 hiul I thy house vere 32: "And tliv spike unto him the word '.'e Ionl '.: And he took them Ihe srine hour of the night and C Jin'il their stripes and was baptised. In and al! his strait way." T we ee that Lvdia and boue, and jailer and house, were I'oVk and formed the first member of the chinch at Philippi. l ' r ".usl's epislle to ihe Philippic proves there was a church at tnui!.tei nntl ihe opening of Lydia's heart, the Jailer' enquiry ''at he should do l he saved, their prei.ching the word uf the j u,! ami belief in the Lord .Jesus lor salvation, and being baptised r ill ihis proves hevond pni i ad id inn, that the church al Phil 'ni was a lVij)ii-t ehuieh, and that of believers. Loth the Acts of the Titles and the epistles prove. Some have made their quibbles, .1 in"- liu-e must have been spj ink led as ihey vvue baplisid in the r-' We answer, was there not a river hard by the city, where f "ul went to pav, & where Lydia attended to the things .spoken by pi'ii5 And was it not as nigh lo bapiise there, as to pray and preach litre? Sti c foolish quibbles are md worth answering. Thus there 1 1 i lljp'is! church at Philippi, and such an one too as those that compose the Kehukee Association. 'IV ihuil chinch we came i the chuich at the city of Ephesus. That thci e was a chuich in this city, both P..u!s epistles and John's Jeveblions- piove; and thai i vva a liaptist chuich, is clear aUo. While Apollo was at Coi mill Acts, ix. 1 Paul having passed tlrotii the upper coast, came to Kphisiis. Tin re he found twelve c! John's disciples, thee were Papists cd' John's make; he gave tl'pm the Holy Ghost by laying his hands on them, ant! they spake ,ih toniiies arid prophecied. Wise 18: '-And many that believ ed came, and confessed, anil skewed their deed' hum! their feuoks, Veie CO. "So mightily giew the word ol God, and picvuil Cii.'' You, dear brclhern, cannot belj) seeing here, that John's jwelve Ripiis werft the first maleriaU of thi.s chuich; and I L a t the fharacJt'fol those that wcie ailded lo them by Paul's two years preaching al Kpheus, wen such men that confessed and shewid tltir deed?, believed, burnt their books, &c. which was the very Character of ihe twelve Hapl'fts ofJohn' make, such as enfessed iu;r;.w li.niitd in Jordan. And Mich success Paul had here in preaching, that it drew- fiom the historian Luke these expressions; Somi"hllv rpw the word of God, and prevailed." We cite you a further proof of this fact, Paul's epistle to this church, ar.d several items found in the Acts. So then, this was a Hapti-t chuich .f men thai confessed their sins, shewed their p.i-t bad deeds, belie wd, &c. piMJcii are the churches of the Ktbukee As-ociation. ' The fourth chuich we shall name is that at the city of Condlr. . Piul's tvvo cpiMles prove that tlicie was a church al tins pUe. cts xviii. 4: k-And he (Paul: teasoned in the -ynagegue every; Sr.l.'fiath .o.u.i wi.wt At w i and the Gncks" vusc : A.d ! Crispu, the chief rulnr of the synagogue, believed on She Lord with il his house: and many of the Coi inthians hearing, believed and wore baptised." Now this is si) plain that it m eds no comment, thjt the char ch at Corinth was a church ol baptised believers, and that they became in by PaulN preaching in ihi ciy, and that they helipved and then were baulked on a profession of I heir laitl) in the herd JeMisihi, is as clear as noon day. T prove which, read first rpiMk-s "I Paul to the Corinthians, i. 13: "Or were ye baptised io the narr.e of Paid" vere 15: "Le-t any should s.iy, baptised in n ,- ....... r. . i. . A I lufiiitil ikn household o! ... til y H ll.tinVi iU. . -. ..w Sin.l.n.... l'.l .1 I,.. ..lU,... .nliJ'wilnur ,.,,, ll in. Iwllll thf j""juu.. n mi yiUl.UilOl I'lllll -mi.-irn iuij jj.iw.--. ... - pistils, that the chuich at Coiiuth was a "Baptist church of baptised; . . . . . . i i WHevtis. Of those four being JJaptist enureses tnere can oe no dcubt. and that they were just such as now compost the Kthukec Association. Our limits forbid our further particularisii.g individual cli'irthes: and as iheiv is satislacioi v c-videiice that theje lour weie ; bjptist chuiches id baptised believer--, so il necessarily lollowsj in i iv rest ol the churches must be; as we can nanny ininu inai mej 'ptlts baptised more than one way, and that was with John's bap-j 'i-ra; which was ihe same baptism that they had been baptised ith J,s well as their divine master, and in the same way, with much Wjter. Now, dear brethren, we have told you that the Act of the Apos 'kswas the first history of the Chiistian church and of the Christian Vision for 31 ear. So then during this 31 years there are self eVltit piocfs in this history, that the gospel was preached and had Vead throughout Judea. Samaria, Gallilee, and by far the greater tl:irt r.t 1 . . . .i i . r I II l.a iwluiwlc nf lh iEean sea Cyprus, Crete, Salamis, &c good part of the sea o! Africa, at Home in Italv, Antioch in Syria, Ephesus, Jop PThessaluuipa, Herea, Iconium, Derbe, Corinth, at another Anti 0til which was in Pysidia, at Saian and Lydia, &c. &c. Disciples "'e mentioned al Damascus, Lystria, Troas, Athens, Tyre, and Cesa JJ' while the church al Jerusalem remained 1 he principal seat ol p'Mianity, where thousands are said to believe. And this fust V-tory furnishes us with facts to prove that there was a Baptist cilj'th at Jerusalem, and a church at Home; for Paul says their laiih ?aSsIoken of throughout the world a chuich at Antioch, at Cor ,,1'!h;t (Alalia, at Hphesus, at Philippi, at Colosse, at Thessaloni JJ'i'U:,eieiiie church in Oncherej, the church in the house of ?"c,,''j and Anuilla. at Sardis. M Philadelnhia.' at Smvrna, al Per- "Us, 'I'l churches J' wn,th tt.e h'utory of the Acts of the Apostles, and the Keveia ,"nMd John Ihe divine, prove existed at those places; and there are Jodreds of items and coincidences scattered in this first history ol 'J ('hris!i:in ciiurch, to prove that all these were churches of bapli- "-lievei s sueii as now compose the Kehuk-e Association. W('U '1 ,njy hti aslit'd w,,ul tiad of l,lese vere? We an- i ,JU' sa' 4" Lord, one faith, one baptism." And the !lI, !J!e again mentions the bplism of water, and the baptism o( the Holy (ihost. Water baptism was the commission of John Ho-j v oiiom ojptism was the commission ol Christ ; tnis la?t ceased with the apostolic ministry. Then during the ministry of John water' baptim was the one baptism; for the first lime Christ administered ' Holy Ghost baptism was on the apostles after his death thti gave! he them power lo administer it by layiug on I heir hands. Now the! Q ikers say, that Holy Ghost baptism is this one baptism. This is' not so Acts, xix: there you can seelwelve men baptised by John'-! baptism, who received the Holy Ghost by Ihe laying on of Ihe bauds i ot Paul, alter water baptism. This agrees with John's Testimony of j i.nrist. I5ut lu re is a text that scatleis all before H, Acts, x. 47: "Can any man lorbid water that these should nol be baptised, which have received the Holy GhosAas well as we verse 4S: And hecomman dtd them to be baptised in lh name of the Lord Jesus." Then il is as plain as the ose on your face, that Holy Ghost baptism was nol necessary nor never intended lo make Christians, whether il went belore or come alter water baptism; but was only intended to ;ive gills, tongues, prophecies, working of miracles, and a a sign of the mission of Christ and his apostles, &c. &c. For the apostles were Christians and preachers belore they were baptised with Ihe Holy Ghost, all which in all cases you will see clear by consulting aid comparing the scriptures. So then the Quakers are mistaken, and water baptism is the one baptism alluded to by Paul, whether going before or following alter Holy Ghost baptism. And he calls il one baptism because ii is the, one baptism given of God to John lo admi nister; he calls il the one baptism because il is ihe one mode iven by God to John, for if God did not give John the mode, how would he have known how to administer it, since he had nevtr seen il nor heard of its ever being practised beloie since ihe world began? it is called the one baptism because ihe baptism of John, Clirisi,and the apostles were all the one and same mode much water, certain wa ter, and river water baptism; and therefore the apostle calls out one lailh and one Lord also, becau-e one laith and one Lord were lequi icd both by John ami ihe apostles in order to baptism. Then John's baptism, Ihe apostolic baptism, and the Kehukee baptism are the same one water, one laitb, and one Lord baptism, as the whole te nor ol the New Testament will show; and although there may be baptised unbelievers in I he Kehukee churches, yel ibis don't ailer the case, lor there was an unbelieving Simon .Magus baptised by Peter, yet Peler (see ihe scripture) baptised him on the profession of his faith; hul he lied, as some do in the Kehue churches yet God did not give il to Peltt to know men's hearts bul by their fruits, nor to Know Simon was an unbeliever; nor has he given ii to Ihe Ke hukee ministers. Ii has bten said by an enemy, thai there are drunkaids, fornicators, anil unclean persons in the chuiches compo sing the Kehukee Association we could heartily wish that all oth er chuiciics atid .reds wrc ciear "1 them and we t. o; hut we would say, put all sucii men from among your.-elvts and then thiow stones at u, hut lor the picscnt ustaut fiom such calumnies, iuch self righteous aod sell coi.ceit. Head PjuI's epistles lo the Corinthians, and scj if there wtie nol diunkatds, fornicators, unclear, and inces luoua persons in tiut cliuich; which is a good proof that the Kehu kee churches are just suet as this aposlolic UapWsl chui ch at Corinth, and nol sister to the churches of the pharasuieal order, who !liut iu broadcloth bigged by hirelings, who love the leathers more than the go.se, and iry, 1 thank God 1 am nol as other men. Such a man John i;e H-ipiis,:, or the aoosilcs, would not lei iu their chuiches; and we don't waul them in Ihe Kcuukee, churches, lot they are not of the idd llaptis.1 breed, bul ogs aod soi cerers that lurk aland lick the sure of God's people, llial aie lo be kit oul of Ihe city whv.U Chi is. comes lo make up ins jewels ot penitent, broken hearted, sill confessing, obedient baptised t eheVeis We now in a shoil way, uelovvd bielhien, come to ihe last thing proposed; to show that no church according to the scriptures has a right to be called ihe Chiistian church, but a Haplisl chuich of bapti sed believ is and that none have, according to the scriptures, a night to claim to De ot the Christian leiigion, but a Haptisl who has repented and confessed hts sins, and been baptised on the profession (ji nis iailh in Christ. We have fully shown thai the first Christian chuiches weie liaptists, of baptised believers; this you aie forced from the scripiuie proofs to give up. Il so, can you say, dear bie ihren, how you now can form and build a Chiistian chuich in this day, like those of old time, bul by making ue of the same kind of materials, of ihe same kind of tools and workmen, and the same plau by which the former apostclic workmen worked by? We say il can not be done, for in this day if any man will buiid a Christian-church he must buiid on ihe same foundation, use Ihe same materials, same kind of workmen, same plau, smd construct in all things according to the first pattern showed m the mount, or else Ihe tabernacle or tem ple will nol be like the former. As proof we oiler, I Peter, ii. 4, 5: '4To whom coming as unto a living slone, disallowed indeed of men bul chosen of God and precious." This coming here mention ed means believing m Christ, by which he (Christ ihe slone) gives a sinner life; and then, 5th verse: "Ye also as lively stones are buitl up a spiritual house (not a natural house) and holy priesthood, to of fer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Chrisl verse ti: Heboid 1 lay in Ziun a chief corner stone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him (on this stone, (Christ) slnll not be confound ed." Head the whole chapter. Head I Corinthians, iii. 11,12: "For other foundations can no man lay lhan lhat which is laid, which is Jesus Chrisl 12: Now if any man build on ibis ljundalion gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay stubble," vXe. Now in ihe above verses we ate shown (as iu twenty more we could cite) Ihe manner of building Christian churches by ihe apuslles; Jesus Chrisl the foun dation, Ihe sinner coming to him for life by faith, and then after re ceiving lhat life from him built up a spiritual house, &e. Then all the materials put in this house are, men made spiutual by ihe opera- lion of God's spirit on them, then holy pi -icsinooo, men spuuuai men, then able to offer spiritual sacrifices; so that natural men were uot. and now cannot, be fit fur the chuich of God; and a Christian church cannot be built oul of natural men, and they have no right there while in lhat slate, for they are nol plants ol God's planting. and therefore shall be rooted up. Paul is plainer. he Christian church is builded according to his plan, Chi isi the foundation and the materials gold, silver, precious stones; by this he intends sinners, melted in the fire of repentance and softened into penitence and com pliance to God's will in the work of God's gtace on iheii hearts, and slampt with king Jesus' image to make them current and passable in ail God's dominions in earih and heaven, as gold or silver,, suitable also to be put in any building to beaulily, enrich, and adorn it; and precious stones, polished by the hand ol God, "for ye aie his work manship, created iu Chrisl Jesus unto good woik; "ye are uuu nm Mil n I win iciiiic: liiciii oa on.. --.., , gold is tried" For Jurther proc read Revelations, lhat Paul by gold, silver, precious stones, meant believers in Christ as the imiy fit materials for the church of God, and lhat by wood, hay stubble", he meant children, women and men iu their natural stale, as unfit for the Christian chuich. So then national churches are not Christian churches; nor is a church that is composed of chiidicn and believers, lor children are nol lively stones, have never t ome to Christ ihe life giving stone, bul are dead stones and therefore not fit for the Chris tian church. Nor is a church composed of believers and seeker, and natural men and women and children, a spiritual houst; nor can shich natural persons i.ffer up spiritual sacrifices, being natural and dead iu trespasses and sins, and without faith cannot please God iu that state. So then none but believers have spiritual life, none but they are lively stones, none but they have come to Christ the life giving stone, none but they have been rt fined as silver and tried as gold, and polished as precious stones by the hand of God, and so were the only materials in the apostolic age to build the Christian church; and even so now, the same and the same only, fit material for a Christian church; all others are no more Cl in ihe apostle's es teem than wood, hay stubble, to build the Chrislian church out of. Then a Baptist church composed of believers lias the only rightful claim to be called the Christian church; because il is now w hat the former Christian church was, according to the New Testament. And such are the churches composing the Kehukee Association, as we have shown heretofore. The text shows us thai ihe Chrisiian church was a stone building, built of lively stones; and canyon make a stone building out of wood, hay stubble? No, you know it cannot be done. Then no more can you make a Chrisiian c hurch oul of natural men, women and children. Then if Moses and Solomon had built the tabernacle and temple out of wood, hay stubble, Low wcUld God have liked it since he gave the plan of both, for both were built as a dwelling place for God? So is the Christian church, she is built on earth as a house, tabernacle, and temple of the living God; h host of scriptures prove this. Then if God would not have liked it at ihe hands ol Moses and Solomon to have dwelt iu a straw iabemr'!; and temple, how will he now like to dwell in a hay stubble ht.n h? Consider of this, ye hay and stubble builders, and burn t by God's plan, or else he will burn up your work; as he would no doubt have done lhat of Moses and Solomon, had they n;t gout by Lis plan. Now we know lhat the first Christian church is culled the h.-ide, the Lamb's wife; and we further know, thai love is the g.ouud work of mail and wife do children love Christ? Do natural men and wo men love Christ? Have they given ihcir hearts and their all up to him iu love? Have they taken him as their all, the chief object of iheir afieciious, and become willing to sufier for his sake, and yield obedience to him, his laws, rule and government, and make his will theirs, and iu all things say husband, thy will be done? No, bre thren, we kr.ou better than this thai the carnal mind is enmity against God. Then children, and natural men and women, while in that slate, are no part of the Chrislian church; nor are they ihe bride, the Lamb's wife; but the believers are taught to love him. be cause they see he first loved them, and have been marie willing in the day of his powerful love to gife up their all to him, ar.d yield obedi ence to him; and so to love and serve him all ihe days of their life, and sulfer with him and bear his cross through good and evil repoit as their lot may fall. And thus when Christ wins the sinner's heart by his overpowering love, at the day of conversion ihe match and promise of marriage is made; yet this sinner has v.u right to be call ed a Chrislian, nor his religion the Chrislian religion, until ihe bap tismal rite of matrimony is administered to him; then he loses his maiden name sinner, and puts on from lhat day the nam a of his hus band Christian, and then is entitled to be called Christian and his re ligiou the Christian religion; and such men and women congregated, together the Christian church and their religion the Chrislian icli gion. according to ihe New Testament, and is fully provable tlure from by the whole tenor. But if a wife goes a whoreing and prostitutes herse lf to another man, and lakes up with him as her husband, and is governed by his laws and rules, and owns htra her head, siie forfeits her clain as a wife of the first husband by the law of the gospel, and h?. may put her away. So any Christian church thai ow ns any bad but Christ, and is governed by the laws ami rules of such a head, whoever ne may be, whether king or Pope, forfeits her claim to Christ her former husband, and becomes a prostitute and a committer of fornication with such kings, Popes, and heads. This is the idea that nuts, thro the whole book of the Revelations of John the divine, concerning the church of ami-Christ, and he gives it as a distinguishing main, of t he church of anti-Christ read that book as proof. Thus the Roman Catholic church, which was once a Christian chuich, has gone a whoreing and married the Pope in G05, and has since owned him as the head of that church, has yielded herself to obey his rules, laws and canons, and the laws and rules of kings for her doctrines, ordi nances and discipline, and rejected those of Christ her former hus band; and thus she is said to be a whore, and a committer or fornica tion with the kings of the earth, and to make herself drunk with the blood of the saints. And thus for these and a hundred other scrip ture reasons we could give, has the Cathoiio church forfeiieo her claim lo be scripturally called the Christian church; and her scripture name since lhat dale has been JHystery Babyhn ihe great ihe ther of harlots and abominations of the earth. This is truti.r for she has committed whoredom with near "00 Popes, am! formcRl'ioa with nol much less lhan 300 kings of different nations. Then Christ has put her away as a whore, and given her in the scripture her name, and disowns her as his wife, and given, her up to her paramour ar.d the saints shall in a short time from this burn her flesh w iih re, as she has burned many thousands of them this we seal as truth of prophecy. Suppose a Christian church should take a decanter of water, in stead of wine, and administer lhat in the Lord's Supper would be uot forfeit her claim to be a Christian church, by thus perverting the ordinance of her Lord, since water used in the sacrament could not show any semblauce of the blood of Christ, shed under the New Tes tament for the remission of sins; no show the Saviour's death until he come; nor bring to the remembrance of the communicants his bloody passion and love for them? For in so doing the whole design of that solemn ordinance would be pervened, and ihe Lord's recpiest of his church violated and her disobedience manifested. This e say, dear brethren, to von to fortify your minds againsi some publi cations which we have'seen of water commuuien Baptists, lending to such a state of things. We sav such a church would be unworthy ot

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