by Jim Savastio | Sep 29, 2023 | Practical Theology
I have been involved, in one form or another, in the public ministry of God’s word for nearly 45 years. In those years I have taught or preached to saints and sinners over 3,000 times. Some years ago, I noticed a general sense of fatigue in the ministry. I realized that I had been battling discouragement for an extended period of time. This discouragement, for me, was rooted in what I will term a ‘theologically informed pessimism’.
This heart condition was exposed some years ago when I was preaching through the book of Acts. In chapter 26 Luke tells us of Paul’s defense before Agrippa and Festus. Paul had every reason to be discouraged and pessimistic in bringing the gospel to these men. After all, he was seeking to present the truth to men whom he knew to be dead in their sins and trespasses (Eph 2:1). They were furthermore from a group (the rich and powerful) where conversions are rare (see 1 Cor. 1:26-29). He also knew that the core message he brought (Christ and Him crucified) was offensive and foolish to the very men he sought to reach (one a Gentile and the other a ruler over the Jews). What struck and convicted me was not only that Paul preached the truth anyway (always the faithful plodder), but that he did so with such passion and hope. When Festus tells him that his great learning has driven him mad, Paul pleads with him. He asserts that his message was one rooted in truth and reality. When the King mocks Paul’s attempts to ‘convert’ him, Paul tells him that he desires all men to have what he has (with the exception of his chains). How often had Paul faced just this kind of unbelief, skepticism, and rejection? What possible reason did he have to believe that this hour would be any different? And yet, he carried on. And, he did so in hope.
In this light, I have been meditating upon Paul’s word to the Corinthians as found in chapter 9. He is dealing with the subject of teachers and preachers receiving a financial reward for their labor. In that context he says, 1 Corinthians 9:10…[it] is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope.
Paul makes his argument based upon a certain ‘truism’. Those who plow and sow and thresh do so in hope. They do not do it merely to be faithful to their task. They are thinking of all the lunches and dinners down the road that make the labor and toil worth it all. I have labored all my ministerial life to be faithful. In the midst of this, I have at times lost hope. I have taught with a desire to please God but, at times, with little expectation that it would do anything. I have labored many times with little hope that the Word given would change people, help people, or convert people. Why? Because of what I so often saw and experienced. Past discouragement ought not to crush future expectations and hope. God’s word is powerful. It does sanctify and it does save. It is a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces and a sword that cuts into the inner being of saints and sinners. I am repenting of my pessimism. I am taking up God’s Word with fresh hope. I do so as one who plows and one who sows anticipating the fruits of my labors.
Jim has been with RBC since 1990. He was set aside by the church for full time ministry in November of 1991. Jim was brought to faith as a teenager and soon began to experience a desire to preach God’s Word. He trained for the ministry at Columbia Bible College in Columbia, SC (now Columbia International University) and at the Trinity Ministerial Academy in Montville, NJ. He married his wife, Becky in 1989 and they have been blessed with three daughters and one son.
by Tom Nettles | Sep 25, 2023 | Church History, Practical Theology, Systematic Theology
The Hymn “Amazing Grace,” reached its 250th year of age in 2023. Being first sung under the leadership of its composer, John Newton, by the parish congregation in Olney, Bucks, England, it was published in 1779 in Olney Hymns. The hymn book was composed jointly by Newton and William Cowper. Newton informed those who purchased the volume, “We had not proceeded far upon our proposed plan, before my dear friend was prevented, by a long and affecting indisposition, from affording me any further assistance.” [John Newton, Works, 6 vols, 3:301] Newton marked each contribution of Cowper with a “C” right after the enumeration of the hymn. Cowper wrote 56 of the 348 hymns contained in Olney Hymns.
This hymnal is divided into three “books,” or divisions of types of hymns. The first consisted of hymns on particular texts of Scripture. The second addressed “occasional subjects,” a variety of hymns divided loosely into “seasons, “ordinances,” “providence,” and “creation.” The third dealt with the “rise, progress, changes, and comforts of the spiritual life.” Cowper’s hymns numbered 31 in that category.
“Amazing Grace,” or “Faith’s Review and Expectation,” was number 41 in Book One, the lone entry under 1 Chronicles. The text contains the word Grace six times. Notably, verse three has the most direct exposition of the operation and effects of converting grace.
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Newton regularly called to mind the testimony of Paul as an encouragement. After describing the deep rebelliousness and injurious intent of his life—saying of himself that of sinners, “I am the chief” (1 Timothy 1:15)— he received the grace of God. For Newton, this meant that even chief sinners could be saved and would thereby magnify the grace of God. He frequently drew attention to Paul’s testimony, for he knew that its broad parameters enveloped him in its embrace. In a hymn entitled “Encouragement,” Newton wrote:
Of sinners the chief,
And viler than all,
The jailer or thief,
Manasseh or Saul;
Since they were forgiv’n,
Why should I despair,
While Christ is in Heav’n
And still answers prayer.
[Newton, Works, 3:581.]
Newton did not view grace as a cooperative power of God but a unilateral and effectual exertion of power based on the eternal saving intent of God. In the preface to the hymn book, Newton made clear that he did not intend the hymn book to be an element of a polemical dispute with those who “differ with me, more or less, in those points which are called Calvinistic.” [Newton, 3:303] He was not out to promote controversy but to edify the worshipper and convict the unregenerate of sin and absolute dependence on God. He claimed the freedom, however, as others of a different viewpoint claimed for themselves, to make his hymns as clear as he could on points of doctrine and Christian experience that glorified God and sent the sinner to the merits of Christ and the grace of God without reservation. “The views I have received of the doctrines of grace,” Newton explained, “are essential to my peace; I could not live comfortably a day, or an hour, without them.” As to any accusation that they promote carelessness and diminish evangelistic concern, Newton contended for an opposite viewpoint. “I likewise believe, yea, so far as my poor attainments warrant me to speak,” Newton averred, “I know them to be friendly to holiness and to have a direct influence in producing and maintaining a Gospel conversation, and therefore, I must not be ashamed of them.” {Newton, Words 3:303]
When Newton, therefore, writes of grace, he has in mind the sovereignly chosen, eternal disposition of love toward sinners viewed as fallen and under just condemnation. From the unit of fallen sons of Adam, the triune God placed electing, redeeming, justifying, and persevering love on particular individuals to bring them from being under a sentence of eternal damnation to inherit the status of sons of God and receive eternal life. In a hymn on Leviticus 8, Newton versed, “He bears the names of all his saints deep on his heart engrav’d; attentive to the states and wants of all his love has saved.” [Newton, 3:328] That the gospel call is to be sent to all, Newton gave no pause through Gibeon’s cause. He wrote, “But Jesus invitation sends, treating with rebels as his friends; And holds the promise forth in view, to all who for his mercy sue.” [3:330] He used Samson’s lion to teach God’s protective grace for believers: “The lions roar but cannot kill; then fear them not my friends, they bring us, though against their will, the honey Jesus sends” [Newton, 3:333]. Contemplation on 2 Kings 2 in the story of Elisha’s healing the waters of Jericho with salt led to this verse. He emphasizes human depravity, which can only be healed by grace.
But grace, like the salt in the cruse,
When cast in the spring of the soul;
A wonderful change will produce,
Diffusing new life through the whole:
The wilderness blooms like a rose,
The heart which was vile and abhors,
Now fruitful and beautiful grows,
The garden and joy of the Lord.
[Newton, 3:349.]
That the “Grace” of “Amazing Grace” is indeed the sovereign grace of the doctrines of grace is seen in an article entitled from one of the lines of the hymn, “I once was blind, but now I see.” He engaged the question, “What is the discriminating characteristic nature of a work of grace upon the soul?” {Newton, 1:282]. His thesis statement seems to be, “Men by nature are stark blind with respect to this light [Gospel truth]; by grace, the eyes of the understanding are opened.” {Newton, 1:283] After some discussion of blindness and light and the vanity of the blind seeking to tell the sightful that their contention that sight and light do exist is mere fantasy or deception, Newton made these points. “It shows that regeneration, or that great change without which a man cannot see the kingdom of God, is the effect of Almighty power.” From that principle, Newton inferred “the sovereignty as well as the efficacy of grace.” Those who now see once were blind like others and, like them, “had neither power nor will to enlighten their own minds.” Newton affirms both human responsibility in evangelism and absolute dependence on the sovereign power of God.
Ministers cannot be too earnest in the discharge of their office; it behooves them to use all diligence to find out acceptable words, and to proclaim the whole counsel of God. Yet, when they have done all, they have done nothing, unless their word is accompanied to the heart by the power and demonstration of the Spirit.” [Newton, 1:286]
The next time we sing “Amazing Grace,” our joy should surge in the eternal truth of sovereign saving grace, in the condescension of a God who speaks to the dead and says “Live,” who speaks to a sinner and says, “I forgive,” who speaks to the unrighteous and pronounces them justified, who ransoms his enemies and gives a relation rectified. In addition, we know that we are bearing a co-witness with the true meaning of a composer who knew the grace of God in truth.
Dr. Tom Nettles is widely regarded as one of the foremost Baptist historians in America. He joined the faculty of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary after teaching at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he was professor of Church History and chairman of that department. Previously, he taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. He received a B.A. from Mississippi College and an M.Div. and Ph.D. from Southwestern. In addition to writing numerous journal articles and scholarly papers, Dr. Nettles has authored or edited nine books including By His Grace and For His Glory, Baptists and the Bible, and Why I Am a Baptist.
Courses taught: Historical Theology of the Baptists, Historical Theology Overview, Jonathan Edwards & Andrew Fuller.
by Tom Nettles | Sep 18, 2023 | Church History, Practical Theology
In 1773, on the first Sunday of January, the parish congregation in Olney, England, sang a hymn that their minister had written based on his sermonic text for the day, 1 Chronicles 17:16, 17. The title of the hymn was “Faith’s Review and Expectation.” Given that the Sunday was the first of the year in 1773, the pastor, John Newton, wanted his congregation to look at the wonder of God’s provision of salvation and all things truly good in the past with a trust in God for the same faithfulness to his promise for the future. The text Focused on David’s prayer of astonishment at the goodness of God in selecting him for such present blessings and future promises. We know the hymn by the first words, “Amazing Grace.”
Newton followed the general pattern of the biblical text from verses 16 through 27. Nathan, the prophet, had told David that he was not selected to build a house for the Lord, but the Lord would build a house for him. David had been taken from the sheepfold and had been given a name among the great men of the earth. His son would follow him on the throne; in fact, the throne thus established would last forever. Astonishingly, God said, “And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever” (1 Chronicles 17:14). David then expressed in humble tones, yet exuberantly grateful tones, the goodness of the Lord to him and his house. From being nothing to being forever. As was virtually always the case with Newton’s approach to preaching, he wanted the historical narrative and the doctrinal synthesis to be of benefit to the Christian experience of his parishioners. David’s story and David’s prayer were personalized to the Christian’s journey in grace. It was, in a sense, Newton’s story, but also the text puts words to the testimony of every Christian.
We find scattered through the hymn a few phrases that appear in the prayer of David. “You have brought me this far,” (16) finds expression in verse 3 of the ageless hymn, ”’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far.” Newton sees an analogy between David’s sense of blessing and his own. David gloried in divine sovereignty in protecting him from harm and his subsequent gracious elevation to kingship. Newton viewed his own protection during days of danger and subsequent placement in a position as a minister as consistent with a pattern of divine intervention. Newton never tired of reciting his remarkable elevation from enmity to adopted child, from destroyer to edifier, from a spirit of hostility to the gospel to a constant business of preaching the beautiful truth that he once tried to destroy. When David remarked that God’s gracious intervention promised favor “for a great while to come” (17), Newton applied it, “And grace will lead me home.”
The first phrase of the next verse (4) resumes this thought in the words, “The Lord has promised good to me, his word my hope secures.” He then confirms it with a personal thrust to David’s words, “And now, Lord, You are God, and have promised this goodness to your servant” (26). Just above that, David referred to “the word which You have spoken concerning your servant” (23). Newton extrapolated from David’s experience of the goodness of God, confirmed with God’s word that such an expression of confidence would be just as relevant, perhaps even more so, when considered in light of God’s word in the gospel as secured in Christ—“His word my hope secures.”
If God had manifested his invincible power and purpose by “driving out nations from before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt,” (21), how much more may we sing in worship, “He will my shield and portion be, as long as life endures,” especially in light of the image of shield depicting God’s aggressive movements for the protection and progress of his people. The Psalms present God as a shield for his people thirteen times. They present God as using a shield for his people twice. They picture his destroying the shield of the wicked once. Proverbs 30:5 says, in the very spirit of the Psalms, “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”
Newton closed the hymn with confidence that “God, who called me here below, will be forever mine.” David looks upon the dimensions of God’s elevation of his house and the nature of the redemption that he has given as something that will endure “forever.” He used that word in 22 (“You have made your people Israel your very own people forever”); again, in reference to the house of David (23: “Let it be established forever”), with the intent that (24) “Your name may be magnified forever.” David’s prayer closed, “Now You have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue before you forever, for You have blessed it, O Lord, and it shall be blessed forever” (27). In light of stated, confirmed, and reconfirmed promises of the eternity of God’s gracious acts, Newton felt perfectly confident in leading his congregation to sing, “But God who called me here below, will be forever mine.”
Dr. Tom Nettles is widely regarded as one of the foremost Baptist historians in America. He joined the faculty of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary after teaching at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he was professor of Church History and chairman of that department. Previously, he taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. He received a B.A. from Mississippi College and an M.Div. and Ph.D. from Southwestern. In addition to writing numerous journal articles and scholarly papers, Dr. Nettles has authored or edited nine books including By His Grace and For His Glory, Baptists and the Bible, and Why I Am a Baptist.
Courses taught: Historical Theology of the Baptists, Historical Theology Overview, Jonathan Edwards & Andrew Fuller.
by Ben Carlson | Sep 12, 2023 | Practical Theology, Systematic Theology
Introduction
The final destiny of the redeemed is glorious. We read about it in many New Testament passages which speak about the Christian hope. What are believers ultimately looking forward to? What are the eyes of their hearts set upon? What are they waiting to receive? Below are seven things having to do with this hope that every believer in Christ possesses.
1.) The hope of Christ’s glorious return
1 Corinthians 1:7: “. . . as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Titus 2:13: “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”
The Christian hope can be boiled down to just one thing: the confident expectation of the second and final coming of Jesus Christ. Throughout our pilgrimage on earth, the eyes of our hearts are fixated on the Day of the Lord; on the Parousia; on the moment when we see the risen and exalted Christ coming back to earth riding on the clouds of glory. He is our blessed hope, and therefore, our constant prayer in this life must be, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
But the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior is not all that we hope for. We also await the glorious blessings He will bring to us on that day.
2.) The hope of receiving the fullness of eternal life
Titus 1:2: “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began”
Titus 3:7: “so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Jude 1:21: “keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”
Christians have the hope of experiencing eternal life. What is eternal life? It is life without death, life without sin, and life without any hindrances to worshiping and enjoying God. In essence, it is living in the full favor and pleasure and glory of the Triune God forever and ever without end.
We have eternal life the very moment we believe in Christ (John 3:36; 1 John 5:11). As Christians, we, in a sense, will never die. The gospel has made us spiritually alive. The Spirit of God has regenerated us. The power of sin and death has been broken in our lives. We have been given the saving knowledge of God, and the indestructible life and blazing light of Christ are now in us. But the full enjoyment of that blessed life awaits a future day when Christ returns. Only then will we be clothed in blessed, sinless immorality. And only then will we see and know God face to face. But our hope is firmly fixed upon the promise of eternal life that the Father has made to us and the Son has secured for us (1 John 2:25).
3.) The hope of reaching the state of glorification
Romans 5:2: “. . . and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Colossians 1:27: “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
The plan and purpose of God in eternity past was to bring this world and everything in it to a state of glory where perfect harmony and order would characterize the universe and where God’s attributes would be on full display for all to see. Although our first father, Adam, failed in his task to take dominion over this good world and transform it into a glorious world, Christ, as the second and last Adam, has succeeded. Right now, He is turning the old creation into the new creation, but when He returns, He will transform the current state of things into an eternal state of unshakable order, unending peace, immutable righteousness, and pure blessedness.
And we have been given a joyful and confident hope that we will be caught up in this renewal and regeneration of the cosmos. Glorification is in our future. We look forward to the day when we will behold and marvel at the majesty and excellency and perfections of God shining all around us. And we look forward to the day when we will perfectly reflect the righteous attributes of our Savior in our bodies and souls forever (2 Thessalonians 1:10).
4.) The hope of partaking in the resurrection of the dead
Acts 23:6: “. . . It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”
Acts 24:15: “having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.”
Romans 8:23: “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
The blood of Christ has spiritually redeemed and resurrected us to new life, but we haven’t experienced the full application of this blessing yet. We still live in frail and sinful bodies of death, but we don’t look forward to redemption from our bodies; instead, we look forward to the redemption of our bodies on the last day![1]
Our hope looks past death and even looks past our bodiless existence in heaven to the time of the resurrection of the dead. Then our souls will be clothed with our bodies again (2 Corinthians 5:1-5) but not with bodies of death. Instead, our lowly and sinful bodies will be transformed into perfect, sinless bodies which will fully reflect the holy character of Jesus Christ. As Philippians 3:20-21 says, “20But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.” On that day, our Savior will swallow up death for all time (Isaiah 25:8). And as we rise to die no more, we will sing with no qualifications, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).
5.) The hope of hearing the public pronouncement of our righteousness
Galatians 5:5: “For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.”
I believe Paul is referring to the time when we will be declared righteous by God before the entire universe on the Day of Judgment. God has already declared us righteous in Christ. The moment we believed in Christ, we were actually and truly justified in God’s heavenly courtroom. There can be no future addition to that justification. It is already complete and perfect in every way because Christ has covered us in His precious blood and clothed us in His perfect righteousness. As John Gill comments, we have our justification not in hope but in hand.[2] It is presently ours.
But our justification, or being accounted righteous in Christ, is still largely hidden and private in this life. We know it in part, and a few others know it in part, but it hasn’t been revealed to the whole creation yet, and we haven’t experienced the full blessing of it yet.
So, when Christ returns, our justification will be fully confirmed. It will be completely unveiled. It will be openly declared. It will be authoritatively announced by God not just to us but to the whole world. We will be openly acknowledged and acquitted and vindicated by the Judge of the Universe before Satan, before his demons, before wicked men, before our friends and family members, before our neighbors and coworkers, before the rich and powerful, and before the angels in heaven. On that day, our names will be read from the Book of Life, we will be placed on the right side of Christ’s throne, we will be shown to be Christ’s sheep, we will hear those blessed words of commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” we will inherit the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world, and we will enter into the eternal joy of our Master!
6.) The hope of obtaining our heavenly inheritance
1 Peter 1:3-4: “3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,”
2 Peter 3:13: “But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
As adopted sons and daughters of God, our Heavenly Father has stored up for us a rich and glorious inheritance. It is having a portion and habitation in the New Heavens and New Earth and experiencing all the blessings that come from living in that glorious kingdom.
When Christ returns, He will purify, renew, liberate, and unify the universe. He will bring in a radically new order of existence. He will transform the world into a place fit for His special presence to dwell in for all eternity. All the effects of the Fall will be purged from it. The Dominion Mandate will be accomplished. The Great Commission will be completed. The Garden of Eden will be universally expanded. The world will be filled with righteous worshipers who perfectly reflect the image and glory of God for all eternity. And our inheritance is not only to live there in Immanuel’s Land but to live there with Immanuel, God with us. Christ is our portion and our inheritance. He will dwell with us forever, and we will glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Therefore, we are to set our hope fully on this gracious inheritance that will be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).
7.) The hope of experiencing ultimate salvation
1 Thessalonians 1:10: “and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
1 Thessalonians 5:8-9: “8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Hebrews 9:28: “so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.”
Christ has saved us in the past from the penalty of our sins. He is saving us in the present from the power of our sins, and it is our great hope that He will save us in the future from the presence of our sins. But that is not all He will save us from. Our mighty Deliverer will also save us from all the miseries of this life, from crying and mourning and pain and suffering and dying, for He will cause all these things to pass away. Christ will save us from Satan, for He will cast him into the lake of fire forever. And Christ will save us from the wrath to come on the Day of Judgment, for He will hide us and protect us from the fiery fury of God that will fall upon and consume this evil world.
Conclusion
Brethren, our hope is not to be set on the good things that come to us in this life nor even on the good things that will come to us in heaven during the intermediate state. Instead, our hope is to be fixated on the good things we will see, receive, and experience when Christ returns in glory to bring about the eternal state.
We look forward to the full enjoyment of eternal life, final salvation, the universal declaration of righteousness, resurrected bodies, our heavenly inheritance, reaching the state of glory, and most of all, dwelling in the special presence of our great God. This is our destiny! These are absolute certainties that can never be taken away from us!
Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving these promises, for the Father lovingly makes them to us, the Son graciously secures them for us, and the Spirit powerfully gives us a foretaste of them now (Hebrews 12:28). Let us hold fast to this hope without wavering, for He who promised these things to us is faithful (Hebrews 10:23). And let us be stirred up to live pure and holy lives, patiently awaiting the day when Christ comes to bring His (and our) reward with Him (1 John 3:3; Revelation 22:12).
[1] The Reformation Study Bible, “Body and Soul, Male and Female”, 10.
[2] John Gill comments on Galatians 5:5.
Ben has been one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Owensboro, Kentucky, since June 2017. In February 2018, he received his Master of Divinity from Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary. Ben has been married to his lovely wife Ali since September 2011. They have four children together: Liam, Luther, Cosette, and Maezie. In his spare time, Ben enjoys playing with his kids, coaching, doing yard work, and Friday family nights.
by Michael Haykin | Sep 12, 2023 | Church History
One way of characterizing the change that took place in British and Irish Particular Baptist life in the course of the long eighteenth century (1680s-1830s) is along the lines of walls and bridges: the Particular Baptists transitioned from being a community of wall-builders (Song of Songs 4:12 was a favoured text, the “enclosed garden” being understood as an image of the community of properly-baptized visible saints) to one of being bridge-builders.
This general description can be misleading if taken as an invariable description of all British and Irish Particular Baptists of that remarkable era. But as a general description I find it to be quite helpful.
To be sure, the idea of a walled community provided a measure of security and clear identity, but, in the case of these Particular Baptists, it also led to a narrowness of outlook and loss of catholicity. Thus, the suspicions of far too many in the Particular Baptist camp about George Whitefield: he claimed to be a Calvinist, but, to Baptist ears, he spoke with an Arminian accent and moreover, he was an Anglican. If he had truly been sent by God, he would leave the state church, characterized as a daughter of the Whore of Babylon, and become a Baptist.
With the advent of Fullerism, though, the bricks in these walled communities began to be used to build bridges. Witness the friendships that were established between Particular Baptists like John Ryland, Jr. and an Anglican like John Newton.
Of course, there was a danger here in the other direction, namely, the loss of Baptist identity in the wide ocean of Evangelicalism.
But for the lifetime of men like Andrew Fuller and John Sutcliff, John Hinton and Samuel Pearce, William Carey and Joshua Marshman—in the final decades of the eighteenth century and first few decades of the nineteenth century—the balance was retained: the bridges that bespoke evangelical catholicity were not built to the neglect of the walls of identity.
Such a balance is much needed in our day, though it is not easy to achieve or maintain.
Born in England of Irish and Kurdish parents, Michael A.G. Haykin serves as professor of church history & biblical spirituality. Haykin has a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto (1974), a Master of Religion from Wycliffe College, the University of Toronto (1977), and a Th.D. in Church History from Wycliffe College and the University of Toronto (1982). Haykin and his wife, Alison, have two grown children: Victoria and Nigel.
He is the author of a number of books, including The Spirit of God: The Exegesis of 1 and 2 Corinthians in the Pneumatomachian Controversy of the Fourth Century (E. J. Brill, 1994); One heart and one soul: John Sutcliff of Olney, his friends, and his times (Evangelical Press, 1994); Kiffin, Knollys and Keach: Rediscovering Our English Baptist Heritage (Reformation Today Trust, 1996); ‘At the Pure Fountain of Thy Word’: Andrew Fuller as an Apologist (Paternoster Press, 2004); Jonathan Edwards: The Holy Spirit in Revival (Evangelical Press, 2005); The God who draws near: An introduction to biblical spirituality (Evangelical Press, 2007).
Course taught for CBTS: Biblical Spirituality.
