'"" 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