The Security of the Saints

The Security of the Saints, Hymn CCIV in A Collection of Original Gospel Hymns, by John Kent
Long Meter

1. Ye fearful souls, whose hopes alone 
On Jesus rest the corner stone, 
It matters not your faith how small
From thence to hell ye never fall.

2. With Christ in God your life is hid,
Those words at once your fears forbid;
For he must God Himself dethrone
Who takes that life which Jesus won.

3. Tho’ but a spark, ‘tis heav’nly fire,
May dwindle oft, but ne’er expire,
Till brighter than the solar rays
It shines through everlasting days.

4. Earth, hell, and sin, that hateful name,
Together strive to quench the same;
Yet still it burns, his pow’r to shew
In spite of all that hell can do.

5. God is its shield, he guards it well,
When tempests rise, and billows swell;
‘Tis hid by God, where none but he
By his omniscient ken can see.

6. ‘Tis that bless’d hope that never dies, 
Beyond the reach of hell it lies;
‘Twill flourish and immortal be
When death is lost in victory.

7. Shall this, O Christian, make thee say
I’ll serve my lust, and from thee stay?
Nay, rather thus, my God, to thee
Let ev’ry pow’r devoted be.

A Treatise of Baptism, and other ordinance links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• A Treatise of Baptism by Henry Danvers, 1674 -- "Amongst all those Ordinances and Institutions of Christ, that the Man of Sin hath so miserably mangled, metamorphosed and changed, none hath been more horribly abused than that of Baptism..."
• An Essay on the Lord's Supper by Jesse Mercer, 1833 -- "The church at Corinth had corrupted herself by the toleration by the toleration of the grocest immoralities, and profaned the supper of the Lord by the admission of the most scandalous and unworthy persons."
• Baptism 2, by Beebe -- "The commission to preach the gospel, not only authorizes the commissioned ministers, but commands them to baptize believers, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
• Baptism 3, by Beebe -- "To admit to our communion any upon what other denominations call baptism is to remove one of the discriminating institutions of the church and inaugurate what is called “Open Communion”."
• Comments on Feet Washing -- "All parties, so far as we are informed, have agreed that they will not make a difference of our understanding of it, a bar of fellowship, but leave all free to answer the honest conviction of their own minds, in regard to its literal observance."
• Early Customs of the Baptists by J. H. Spencer, 1885 -- "The Washing of Feet was a very common ceremony among the early churches of Kentucky."
• Safeguard the Lord’s Churches by Keeping the Ordinances – Part 1 (Baptism) -- "In baptism the believer pictures the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. To the world it is an outward picture of an inward work of grace."
• Safeguard the Lord’s Churches by Keeping the Ordinances – Part 2 (The Lord’s Supper) -- "If practiced scripturally, [the ordinances] protect from un-regenerate membership, doctrinal error, and the undermining local church authority."
• Sobering Words about Baptism -- "We would caution all that would approach to this sacred evangelical ordinance..."
• The Admission of Unbaptized Persons to the Lord's Supper by Andrew Fuller -- "The question of free communion as maintained by Baptists is very different from that which is ordinarily maintained by Paedobaptists."
• The Scriptural Meaning and Manner of Ordination -- "...Paul attaches importance to laying on of hands by the classification he gives in Heb. vi. 1, 3. He terms it a doctrine, whose foundation needed not to be laid again..."
• Was Judas, who Betrayed Jesus, a Disciple, and Did He Partake of the Lord’s Supper? -- "...there is no reason to believe that Judas was present at the Lord’s supper."

Chattahoochee Abstract of Principles

Abstract of Principles of the Chattahoochee United Baptist Association

Last week I posted the Sharon Confession of Faith as printed in the 1848 Minutes of the Chattahoochee United Baptist Association (p. 4) of west central Georgia. I do not have a copy of the 1849 minutes, but in 1850 the Abstract of Principles is printed in a slightly revised form (pp. 6-7).[i] Scriptures proof-texts were added to all the articles.[ii] A note defining original sin is included under article 3, and a new article is inserted as article 6 (between the 1848 articles 5 and 6) on justification by faith -- increasing the document to 13 articles versus the prior 12 articles in the Sharon Confession.

Abstract of Principles.

1. We believe in one only true and living God, the Creator and Preserver of all things, and only Law-Giver, and that there are three persons in the God Head, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and these three are one. Isa. 44:6,8; 41:4; John 4:24; 2 Cor. 3:17; Luke 3:22; 1 John 5:7; rev. 1:8 to 17; Phil. 2:6; John 1:1,2,3; 10:30; 14:20; Math. 28:19.

2. We believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Word of God, and only rule of Faith and Practice. Acts 1:16; 2 Tim. 3:13 to 17; 2 Peter 1:24; 2 Sam. 23:2.

3. We believe in the doctrine of original sin. John 8:44; 1 John 3:4 to 8; 5:19.

   Note.—Original sin is that whereby our whole nature is corrupted and rendered contrary to the Law of God. Adam, the first man, was made in the image and likeness of God; but when he sinned, he lost that divine image. And when he begat children, it is said in the Sacred Scriptures, that he begat them in his own image.—Gen. 5:3; Prov. 14:3; Rom. 3:12.

4. We believe in man’s inability to recover himself from the fallen state which he is in by nature, by his own strength. John 6:44 to 65; Gal. 1:4; Math. 24:28; Isaiah 53:5 to 11; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 5:19; 8:3; Gal. 2:13; 1 Peter 2:21.

5. We believe in a Covenant between the Father and Son, in which all Grace is treasured up; and in the doctrine of election, according to the foreknowledge of God, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth according to 1st Peter, 1st chapter, 2d verse; and 2d Thessalonians 2d chapter, 13th verse: “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” But that election should not be so construed as to make God the author of sin, either directly or indirectly. Nor, on the other hand do we believe the creature can do any thing meritorious in his salvation. 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Thes. 2:13; Isaiah 65:2; 50:8,9; Rom. 8:32,33; 2d Tim. 2:10,11; Titus 1:12, Numbers 23:12.

6. We believe that believers are justified by the righteousness of Christ, only imparted to them and received by the faith. Rom.4:3,5; 3: 22,24, 26; 1 Cor. 6:11: 2; 5: 54.

7. We believe that good works are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification; that they are the evidences of faith, and absolutely necessary to justification before men. Rom. 3:2 to 28; Lev. 26:3; Eccl. 12:12; John 14:15; 1 Tim. 6:14; Luke 1:6; Heb. 10:22,23; 11:5,12; 2 Jam. 2:1,14,17, 20,26; 2 Peter 1:6,7,8.

8. We believe in a general Judgment, when all shall be judged according to their works; that the happiness of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked will be eternal. John 5:28,29; Rev. 2:14; Math. 25:45,46; Dan. 12:2; Rev. 14:11; Isaiah 24:10; Rev. 19:3; Hos. 13:44; Mark 12:23 to 27; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 15:12,13,21,23.

9. We believe that Saints will persevere in Grace to the end of their lives. John 10:28,29,30; 6:37,13; 1 Phil. 1:6; 1 Peter 1:5; Deut. 33:3; Heb. 6:17,18; John 17:2,3; Rom. 8:38,39; Eph. 1:21 to 23; 6:11 to 19; Co. 3:4; 1 Peter 3:22.

10. We believe that Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are standing ordinances of the Church of Christ, and that immersion only is Baptism, and believers the only subjects. Math. 3:5 to 12; Mark 1:5 to 11; Luke 5:7 to 9; John 3:23; Acts 2:38 to 41; Rom. 6:3,4; Col. 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21.

11. We believe that no Minister has the right to administer the ordinances of the Lord’s house, except such as are called of God, approved by the churches, and regularly ordained. Acts 13:23; 1 Tim. 4:5; Heb. 5:4; Lev. 9:6,7,8,10,15; 8:36.

12. We believe that men by nature are so morally depraved that they will not come to God for life and salvation, and but for the influences of the Holy Spirit none would ever come to him. Gen. 6:3; 1 Peter 3:18; Ps. 24; 73; 28; 10; 7; 18; Heb. 7:19.

13. We hold that it is the command of God to his people, to publish His Word, and promulgate the Gospel of Christian to all nations, making known to the human family the plan of redemption through the atonement of Christ; and we believe it is the duty of every rational descendant of Adam, to whom the Gospel message of reconciliation is addressed, to exercise repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Mark 13:10; Rev. 6:7; Math. 28:19; Luke 23:47,48; John 15:16; Rom. 10:14,15; 6:18; Isaiah 1:2,3; 2:10; Col. 1:23.

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[i] James Rees was moderator of the 1850 session of the Chattahoochee United Baptist Association.

[ii] I tried to list these are faithfully as possible, but in some cases did not understand the punctuation and/or intention.

The Late Rev. J. Rees

The following obituaries are for James Rees (1801-1890), a Baptist minister of the gospel. Rees is the father of two notable Sacred Harp singers and songwriters, twins Henry Smith Rees and John Palmer Reese.[i] He was also associated in some of his ministry with Cyrus White, and was moderator of the Chattahoochee United Baptist Association in 1850.[ii]

The Late Rev. J. Rees.

A FAITHFUL REAPER IN THE MASTER’S VINEYARD GONE TO HIS FINAL REST.

A brief notice of the death of Rev. J. Rees appeared in the Enquirer-Sun a few days ago, but this good and venerable servant of the Lord deserves more than a passing notice.

He was born in Edgefield, South Carolina, July 12, 1801. His father died when he was only three years old and he was left to the care of an uncle, who lived in Putnam county, Ga., where he grew up to manhood, uncultivated and uneducated.

When eighteen years of age he was converted, and joined the Baptist church. Through the kindness of a friend who had become interested in him, he learned to spell and read. In 1824, he married Miss Rebecca Smith, and was licensed to preach the gospel the following year. Three years later he moved to Pike county, Georgia, and settled near Flat shoals on Flint river. In 1830 he was ordained a minister by Macedonia Baptist church. He lived in Russell county, Ala., from 1834 to 1837, and in Harris county, Ga., from 1837 until 1840, when he moved to Muscogee, where he raised eight sons, seven of whom were in the late war, two of the seven losing their lives fighting for the Lost Cause. Five of his sons are yet living, Rev. Henry S. and J. P. Rees, of Coweta county, William Rees, of Harris county, and E. H. and T. C. Rees, of Muscogee.

The subject of this notice preached the gospel for nearly fifty years, until his physical strength failed him and died in peace, loved by all who knew him.

The venerable preacher, Rev. C. C. Willis, conducted the funeral services, taking for his text, “A good name is better than riches.” Appropriate remarks were also made by Rev. S. D. Clements.

The remains were interred with Masonic honors, Judge J. J. W. Biggers being master of the solemn ceremonies. An immense concourse of friends attended the funeral services.

Daily Enquirer-Sun, Columbus, Georgia, Thursday, September 25, 1890, page 7.

The (Newnan, Georgia) Herald & Advertiser, September 26, 1890

Death of a Venerable Citizen.

The death of Rev. James Rees occurred at the home of his son, Judge T. C. Rees, nine miles from Columbus, in Muscogee county, at 5 o’clock Friday afternoon. Rev. Mr. Rees was a Baptist minister, and was licensed to preach the gospel in 1825. He was ninety years old at the time of his death.

Rev. Mr. Rees was, perhaps, the oldest Mason in Georgia, having become a member of the Flint Hill Lodge in 1838.

He was a good man, and all who knew him loved and admired him.

The funeral took place with Masonic honors at 2 o’clock yesterday afternoon, and the remains were interred at Pierce Chapel cemetery.

Daily Enquirer-Sun, Columbus, Georgia, Sunday, September 21, 1890. page 3.

The September 25 obituary mentions that James and Rebecca Rees had eight sons. With the obituary and censuses, I have been able to identify the names of all of them: William,[iii] Henry Smith, John Palmer, Thomas Clopton, Edmon Head, James Monroe, Hardy Nickerson, and Joseph Butler. If this ID is correct, the obituary is in error that two sons died in the Civil War. Joseph Butler Rees died in Virginia in 1861, but James and Hardy[iv] were both living in Texas after the Civil War.

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[i] Some of the family used the “Rees” spelling, and some used “Reese.” Examples of songs by H. S. and J. P. are Cuba and Weeping Mary.

[ii] He was a delegate from Antioch in Muscogee County in 1848 and 1850, but he and Sardis Church separated from the Chattahoochee Association circa 1853. Rees apparently finished his ministry with the regular Missionary Baptists.

[iii] I have been unable to identify what became of William. A William C. Rees in the 1900 Harris County, Georgia census was born in Georgia in September 1825, and his father was born in South Carolina and mother in Georgia. This might be him. His wife’s name was Martha.

[iv] Hardy was dead at the time the obituary was written. He was still living when the Federal census was taken in 1880. Perhaps another possibility is the incorrect identification of James Monroe Reese.

Jesus’ Crucifixion Beatings, and other reviews

The posting of reviews does not constitute endorsement of the books, movies or reviews that are linked.

• Book Review: Jesus’ Crucifixion Beatings and the Book of Proverbs, by David Wenkel -- "One of the best contributions Wenkel offers to biblical studies is that he provides a satisfactory explanation for why Jesus needed to be whipped before his death."
• Book Review: It Takes a Church to Baptize: What the Bible Says about Infant Baptism -- "It Takes a Church to Baptize is a helpful book for those wanting to learn about the Anglican understanding of baptism...however, the book ultimately errs in its theology of baptism."
• Book Review: No Quick Fix, by Andy Naselli -- "As I read this section, I found myself stunned by the innumerable ways this teaching had negatively impacted my own spiritual development—as well as many evangelicals around me."
• Book Review: “Unanswered Prayer” – by G. D. Buss -- "The problem of unanswered prayer is one that has deeply tried God’s people in all ages, especially when they have truly felt blessed with a spirit of prayer."
• Cheap Sex: A Review -- "Regnerus shows that the pill and porn have lowered the “price” of sex, made it more accessible than it ever has been, and therefore put women at a disadvantage in the sexual marketplace."
• It's Not a Birthday Party: A New Old Way of Doing Church -- "Even if Chan gave his daughter the amazing party he described, she would know those friends didn’t come just to be with her; they came for their own benefit."
• Review of the movie, Lizzie: Lizzie Borden Took an Axe… -- "Lizzie is very thin on plot and story and overdone on dark rooms and pondering close ups. This movie needs a lot more than forty whacks."
• The New Aerican Judaism: How Jews Practice Their Religion Today -- "An authority on American Judaism returns with a comprehensive report—descriptive, analytical, predictive—on today’s Jewish religious practices."
• Unseen: The Gift of Being Hidden in a World That Loves to be Noticed -- "Sara bases this book on Jesus’ encounter with Mary of Bethany (Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8)."
• What Happens When You Read a Christian Book -- "...the Christian books I’ve read...are books that have left an indelible mark—not just on my mind but in my life."

Deeper convictions, higher praise, and other quotes

The posting of quotes by human authors does not constitute agreement with either the quotes or their sources. (I try to confirm the sources that I give, but may miss on occasion; please verify if possible.)

"Deeper convictions lead to higher praise." -- H. B. Charles

"Encouragers have Christ-like sight and a Christ-like heart." -- Ian Hamilton

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction." -- Ronald Reagan

"Leadership is the ability to get men to do what they don’t want to do and like it." -- Harry Truman

"Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration has been minding my own business." -- Calvin Coolidge

"It was absolutely necessary either that the sinner should suffer in his own person, or in that of a substitute. Jesus became this substitute; He stood virtually in the sinner’s place, and endured in His holy body and soul the punishment due to Him; for He "was numbered with the transgressors." -- J. C. Philpot

"Churches who won’t tolerate crying children in the worship service won’t experience crying adults in the worship service, either.‬" -- Bart Barber

"We call ourselves a ‘family church’ and then send the babies to the nursery, the children to children’s church and the youth to their own service." -- Paul Fries

"Without Christ the institution of religion is empty and evil, but without the institution as a means of mitigating it the agony in the desert of selfhood is not viable for most men." -- William Barrett

"Leisure is the basis of culture." -- Josef Pieper

"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself." -- Milton Friedman

"They all know how they are going to vote; the rest is political grandstanding." -- Heard, in someone assessing party politics re the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination

Missionary Societies, by John Leland

MISSIONARY SOCIETIES *

A correspondent in Palestine, in a late letter to his friend in this country, dated at Nazareth, in Galilee, writes thus:

“By a great number of pamphlets, said to be Evangelical Magazines, and a great variety of other writings, purporting to be of a religious nature, forwarded to this country, we have received correct and authentic knowledge of numerous missionary societies, and other societies of a like kind, formed and very zealously supported in New England, and adjoining parts, in North America. Believing that these zealous societies wish for useful assistance in the great work they have undertaken, we are happy to inform you – which information you will please to communicate to these societies – that, about seventeen hundred years ago, a missionary society was formed and instituted in this country. Having had access to the records and minutes of this society, we are able, with great pleasure, to state to you, that the great design and objects of this society were not of this world. The chairman, or president, or more properly speaking, the founder of this society, was a person whose character is divine, and altogether lovely; his name, according to the records, is Jesus Christ. The more effectually to accomplish the great objects in view, he associated to himself twelve assistants, taken chiefly from that class of men known by the appellation of fishermen, and constantly going about doing good, was, himself the most self-denying and laborious of all in promoting the all-important ends of this mission. The missionary work increasing greatly, a meeting of the society was called and holden about the year thirty. Present at this meeting, the president and the twelve assistants. After considering the extensiveness of the missionary ground, and the importance of thoroughly promoting the missionary work, seventy missionaries were appointed and sent out into a great variety of places, which the president himself designed afterwards to visit. Their instructions, with orders to report after they had accomplished their mission, were these: ‘Go your ways, and, as ye go, preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scip for your journey, neither two coats, nor yet shoes, for the workman is worthy of his meat, and that they should eat such things as were set before them.’ Having fulfilled the duties of their appointment, they made their report with great joy in the success of their mission, not that they had gained money in great or small sums, but that even the devils were subject to them through the name of the president. The president highly approved their fulfillment of their mission, and congratulated them on their success; but, at the same time, informed them that their highest cause of joy was that their names were written in heaven. About three years after this, on a very trying occasion, in the midst of a vast concourse of people, he addressed his missionaries, and said, ‘When I sent you without purse and scip and shoes, lacked ye anything?’ And they said, nothing. It is the unanimous opinion of the people of Galilee, that, had the president and members of this society, together with their missionaries, declined engaging in the labors of their mission, until ample funds for their abundant pay and support had been collected and fixed on permanent security, the work, which they so remarkably performed, would never have been entered upon, even to this day.

“When the people of Galilee consider the unceasing solicitations, and that in a great variety of shapers, which are made for money, by your missionary societies; the numerous and continual collections and contributions that are made for them, the amazing sums they have funded; and the presidents and directors of the New England, and other missionary societies, almost wholly taken up in managing money matters; even descending to obtain from the unsuspecting little children, the few cents which are given them by their friends; and, at the same time, a few young and inexperienced persons, with great salaries fixed upon them, sent out as missionaries; (and, at the same time, probably, parish-hunting;) they are strongly persuaded that your missionary societies are unacquainted with this ancient Galilean society; or, if they have heard of it, they pay little or no attention to its example. The inhabitants of Galilee, to be sure, after being made acquainted with their schemes and practices, wish to be excused from having a branch of the New England missionary society, or any of the missionary societies of their neighborhood, established in Nazareth, or in any part of their country; being altogether better satisfied with the missionary society anciently established in this country, and which ardently wish to see flourish in its power and purity, not only in Palestine, but in America, and in all the earth.”

* First published in 1818.

John Leland

Written by John Leland, as found in The Writings of the Late Elder John Leland: Including Some Events in His Life (Miss L. F. Greene, editor, New York, NY: G. W. Wood, 1845) on pages 471–472.

Acts 2:37-38, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• Acts II. 37, 38 -- "The propriety or impropriety of our querist holding the Campbellite doctrine and retaining a membership in a Regular Baptist church, we leave with that church to consider and decide; but it is a little remarkable for one claiming such membership to publish to the world that he is not what he professes to be..."
• Caffeine Content: How Much Caffeine in Coffee? -- "Thousands of people are searching online for information about “coffee caffeine content”, but with all the variables, it’s tricky to arrive at a specific number."
• Foolish and Unlearned Questions: A Plea for Gospel Focus -- "The reality is that we are in the midst of a world that desperately needs the gospel, but too many of us are splitting hairs about the finer points of semantics."
• Georgia Baptist university cuts ties with Nike over Kaepernick ad -- "Emir Caner, president of Truett McConnell University, announced Sept. 7 that the Georgia Baptist Convention-owned school will no longer purchase or carry apparel by an athletic company that uses someone who “mocks our troops” to market their products."
• How to Encourage Your People Just Like the Apostle Paul -- "This might sound gimmicky, I know. But stay with me."
• Labrador dog named Lucy saves Oregon man from sex conviction -- "The discovery of a black Labrador named Lucy led to the unraveling of a criminal case Monday against an Oregon man who had begun serving a 50-year prison sentence."
• Leaked Video: Google Leadership's Dismayed Reaction to Trump Election -- "A video recorded by Google shortly after the 2016 presidential election reveals an atmosphere of panic and dismay amongst the tech giant’s leadership, coupled with a determination to thwart both the Trump agenda and the broader populist movement emerging around the globe."
• Lolling Around Luling -- "Town with a tough reputation still basks in benevolence of its oil history."
• Trying To Be Cool -- "For generations, escaping the brutal Texas heat was hardly a breeze."
• I Peter III. 21 -- "Baptism, according to this text, has a figurative import, and as a figure of our salvation, Peter classifies it with the figure of the temporal salvation of Noah and his family in the ark; the former figure is like the latter figure."

A Question about Feet Washing

Answered by J. C. Griffin:

A young lady came to me one day and said, “Mr. Griffin, if feet washing, as practiced by our church is so important, why did Matthew, Mark and Luke fail to mention it?” My answer was, “Miss, if it is absolutely necessary that we must be born again, before we can see the kingdom of God, why did Matthew, Mark and Luke write without making mention of this all important question?” She replied, “I don’t know.” Then, I said, “Neither can I answer your question, more, than it was God’s way.”

Who maketh thee to differ from another

The following hymn by Baptist minister John Fawcett appears in Hymns Adapted to the Circumstances of Public Worship and Private Devotion (Leeds: G. Wright and Son, 1782).

Hymn XIV. L. M.

Who maketh thee to differ from another. I Cor. iv. 7.

1. When my dark soul, once dead in sin,

Was rouz’d at length by grace divine,

In deep astonishment, I saw,

The terrors of a broken law.

2. No longer wrapt in self-deceit,

I then perceiv’d my guilt was great;

My danger I began to view,

And grace reveal’d the refuge too.

3. The willing slave of sin no more;

My dreadful bondage I deplore;

And with a broken spirit cry,

O mercy! save me, or I die!

4. Some rays of hope pervade the gloom,

Since Jesus bids the weary come;

I humbly trust in him, and see

He shed his precious blood for me.

5. Sweet Jesus, I would ever cleave

To thee, and on the fulness live;

And my own righteousness disclaim;

For all I have is guilt and shame.

6. Thy mighty arm the work hath wrought;

My soul abhors a boasting thought;

Before thy feet I humbly own,

The praise is due to grace alone.

7. Thy sov’reign wisdom form’d the plan,

Thy mercy first the work began;

Grace will complete the great design,

And endless glory shall be thine.

A Piety above the Common Standard, and other reviews

The posting of book reviews does not constitute endorsement of the books or book reviews that are linked.

• Review of A Piety above the Common Standard, by Tony Chute -- "Anthony Chute, who now teaches at California Baptist University, has given us a valuable window into the life and times of Jesse Mercer (1769–1841)."
• Book Review: Christian Marriage and Divorce – by Leslie S.B. Hyde -- "Concerning the vexed question of divorce, Mr. Hyde is exceedingly clear that this is not permissible under any circumstances."
• Book Review: God and the Transgender Debate -- "Thanks to God and the Transgender Debate, Christians now have gospel counsel on transgenderism in accessible terms for layman and pastor alike."
• Book Review: Practicing the Power, by Sam Storms -- "I’m glad Storms wrote this book because it makes very clear at least one view of how Reformed continuationists should practice the spiritual gifts in their local church. And yet, it’s these very suggestions that leave me with several significant concerns."
• Book Review: Walking with God through Pain and Suffering by Timothy Keller -- "Life is tragic. With that statement, Pastor/Author Tim Keller embarks on a study of evil and its ramifications..."
• Book Review: When Darkness Seems My Only Friend, by Mark Meynell -- "Meynell’s book is set apart from others in another particular way. Without forsaking biblical instruction, wise counsel, and clear thinking, Meynell offers freedom to shamelessly engage depression more than other books."
• Feature review: Work and Our Labor in the Lord -- "A helpful contribution to growing popular-level treatments of biblical theology, this volume provides practical instruction on work and demonstrates a strong hermeneutical method."
• On Pieper’s Leisure and Living Well -- "Pieper ends the book with a penetrating discussion of celebration, festivity, and worship. At first sight this will seem strange."
• One in Hope and Doctrine: Origins of Baptist Fundamentalism, 1870–1950, Review by Barry Hankins -- "First, Bauder and Delnay have brought to the fore acouple of historical actors who have been overlooked previously."
• Pope Denies God’s Essential Attributes in Latest Book -- "Francis...challenges God’s omniscience (by claiming he can be surprised), his omnipotence (by claiming he “dreams”), his immutability (by claiming he changes), and his eternal nature (by claiming he is young)."
• What Paul’s Prayers Teach Us about Early Christian Worship -- "In Honoring the Son, Larry W. Hurtado investigates the devotional practices of the early church and what they tell us about the place of Jesus in early Christian worship."

Sacred Harp source of church tunes

In 1844 two Georgia Baptist laymen – one in his youth and the other in his middle age – compiled an endearing and enduring song book they titled The Sacred Harp. The younger, Elisha James King (1821-1844) died before he could enjoy the fruit of his labor. The elder, Benjamin Franklin White (1800-1879), lived to guide the book through three more successful editions.

The book contained music such as psalm tunes & plain tunes, works of early New England composers, sturdy folk hymns and camp meeting songs set to music by Southern composers, reformed hymnody (songs by more professional musicians such as Lowell Mason and Thomas Hastings) – as well as long anthems, odes, and set pieces. Much of the music reflected what was being sung in Baptist churches of the day (and in turn influenced what was being sung), while the more difficult pieces were popular in singing schools and singing conventions. The book used the remarkable American invention of shaped notes for teaching young scholars the art of music. In 1845 B. F. White organized the Southern Musical Convention. This far-reacging institution worked with White to produce the 1850, 1860 and 1870 editions of the tunebook. The success of the convention helped set the stage for the book to have a continuous life in the 21st century.

The Sacred Harp book itself was never widely used in church services, but its tunes were.[1] In fact, at the time the Sacred Harp was produced most Baptist churches – probably all in the South – were singing from words-only hymn books such as Jesse Mercer’s Cluster and The Psalmist by Smith & Stow. They did not use books with tunes/music printed with the hymns. Uncle Dave Waldrop explained it to us this way: “In the western part of Panola County [Texas], where I was raised, we did not know any tunes except what was in the Sacred Harp. This was true for much of the south in the county. For use in our churches we had a very small hymn book called ‘Ever Green’ with about a hundred hymns printed in it. An interesting thing, probably, never observed is that in these old hymn books at the top of each hymn you can find characters like: ‘CM,’ ‘SM,’ ‘LM,’ and sometimes figures like 7-8-9, etc. In our older Sacred Harp books you can find the same characters. Now this little hymn book is small enough to carry in your pocket and has the same characters as the big book which has music. Many hymns will have the same. ‘CM,’ ‘LM,’ etc. in either book. That is the meter indication. So any hymn listed ‘CM’ will sing with any tune listed with the same meter in the Sacred Harp. It is the same with all other characters. So ‘Amazing Grace’ (CM) will sing with any tune listed as CM. Old leaders in revivals could sing all day on the same tune and never use the same words!”[2] David Waldrop was born in 1891, and his explanation fits many rural East Texas Baptist churches up into the first two or three decades of the 20th century.
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1. But some Baptist churches have used The Sacred Harp, and a few still do.
2. “Sacred Harp,” Loblolly, Volume 2, Number 2, Fall 1974 Page: 16

Sharon Confession of Faith

The Georgia Baptists in the late 1820s and early 1830s experienced a theological stir as some ministers and churches pushed back against the prevailing soteriology that emphasized unconditional election and an atonement made for only these predetermined elect. Yellow River Baptist Association dismissed the Sharon Church of Henry County.[i] Sharon Church applied to the Flint River Association. Flint River appointed a committee to investigate the Sharon Church. Suffice it to say that this set off a series of events that led to division. Cyrus White’s “schism” was occurring about the same time,[ii] but the Sharon Church apparently kept that movement at arm’s length. After the 1830 session of the Flint River Association, the Sharon Church called for a convention, which met with them in December 1830. One product of the Sharon Convention was a doctrinal statement, sometimes called “the Sharon Faith”[iii] or the “Sharon Confession of Faith.”[iv]

I have been unable to locate the Sharon Confession, and still have not seen an original document. Nevertheless, the 1848 Minutes of the Chattahoochee United Baptist Association identify their Abstract of Principles as the Sharon Confession of Faith.[v] The identification appears on page 2, and the document is reproduced on page 4. Because this document seems not easily accessible, I am posting it here.

4th. Agreed to re-publish, as a summary of our doctrinal views, what is usually termed the Sharon Confession of Faith. (Appendix A.)[vi]

(A)—Abstract of Principles.

1. We believe in one only true and living God, the Creator and Preserver of all things, and only Law-Giver, and that there are three persons in the God Head, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and these three are one.

2. We believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Word of God, and only rule of faith and practice.

3. We believe in the doctrine of original sin.

4. We believe in man’s inability to recover himself from the fallen state which he is in by nature, by his own strength.

5. We believe in a Covenant between the Father and Son, in which all Grace is treasured up; and in the doctrine of Election, according to the foreknowledge of God, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth according to 1st Peter, 1st chapter, 2d verse; and 2d Thessalonians 2d chapter, 13th verse: “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” But that Election should not be so construed as to make God the author of sin either directly or indirectly. Nor on the other hand do we believe the creature can do any thing meritorious in his salvation.

6. We believe that good works are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification; that they are the evidences of faith, and absolutely necessary to justification before men.

7. We believe in a general Judgment, when all shall be judged according to their works; that the happiness of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked will be eternal.

8. We believe that Saints will persevere in Grace to the end of their lives.

9. We believe that Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are standing ordinances of the Church of Christ, and that immersion only is Baptism, and believers the only subjects.

10. We believe that no Minister has the right to administer the ordinances of the Lord’s house, except such as are called of God, approved by the churches, and regularly ordained.

11. We believe that men by nature are so morally depraved that they will not come to God for life and salvation, and but for the influences of the Holy Spirit none would ever come to him.

12. We hold that it is the command of God to his people, to publish His Word, and promulgate the Gospel of Christian to all nations, making known to the human family the plan of redemption through the atonement of Christ; and we believe it is the duty of every rational descendant of Adam, to whom the Gospel message of reconciliation is addressed, to exercise repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.[vii]

To compare to the “Abstract of Principles” of the Georgia Baptist Association, the oldest Baptist association in Georgia, click HERE.

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[i] The Sharon Church is about seven miles east of McDonough, Georgia, and was founded February 28, 1824 Historical marker, Henry County Courthouse, McDonough, Georgia.

[ii] From whom and his church, Bethlehem, the Ocmulgee Association withdrew in their 1830 session. At this point it is not clear to me how much contact there was between the “Sharon group” and the “White group”.

[iii] Georgia Baptists: Historical and Biographical, J. H. Campbell, Macon, GA: J. W. Burke & Company, 1874, p. 111; Campbell wrote, “To the articles known as ‘The Sharon Faith’ there can be no great objection, because it pretty much the language of scripture.”

[iv] “Origins of Free Will Baptists in Georgia,” Daniel Williams, in The Journal of Baptist Studies, Volume 6 (2014), 31-59, p. 45

[v] Made more interesting in light of the 1842 statement: “...for we never did adopt the Sharon Confession of Faith; and neither did we ever design so to do...” (Minutes of the Chattahoochee United Baptist Association, October 28, 1842, p. 5) Thanks to Robert Picirilli and the Free Will Baptist Historical Collection for making these available to me.

[vi] Minutes of the Chattahoochee United Baptist Association, October 14-17, 1848, p. 2

[vii] Ibid., p. 4

Abstract of Principles of the Georgia Baptist Association

The Abstract of Principles of the Georgia Baptist Association, as recorded in History of the Georgia Baptist Association, Jesse Mercer, Washington, GA: 1838, pp. 29-31.

1st. We believe in one only true and living God; and that there is a trinity of persons in the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and yet, there are not three Gods, but one God.

2d. We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the word of God, and the only rule of faith and practice.

3d. We believe in the fall of Adam, and the imputation of his sin to his posterity. In the corruption of human nature, and the impotency of man to recover himself by his own free will—ability.

4th. We believe in the everlasting love of God to his people, and the eternal election of a definite number of the human race, to grace and glory: And that there was a covenant of grace or redemption made between the Father and the Son, before the world began, in which their salvation is secure, and that they in particular are redeemed.

5th. We believe that sinners are justified in the sight of God, only by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them.

6th. We believe that all those who were chosen in Christ, will be effectually called, regenerated, converted, sanctified, and supported by the spirit and power of God, so that they shall persevere in grace, and not one of them be finally lost.

7th. We believe that good works are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, and that they only justify us in the sight of men and angels, and are evidences of our gracious state.

8th. We believe that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a general judgement; and the happiness of the righteous, and the punishment of the wicked will be eternal.

And as for Gospel order:

1st. We believe that the visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful persons, who have gained christian fellowship with each other, and have given themselves up to the Lord, and to one another, and have agreed to keep up a Godly discipline, agreeably to the rules of the Gospel.

2nd. We believe that Jesus Christ is the great head of his Church, and only law giver, and that the government is with the body, and is the privilege of each individual; and that the discipline of the church is intended for the reclaiming of those christians, who may be disorderly, either in principle or practice; and must be faithfully kept up, for God’s glory, and the peace and unity of the churches.

3rd. We believe that water baptism and the Lord’s supper, are ordinances of the Lord, and are to be continued till his second coming.

4th. We believe that true believers in Jesus Christ are the only subjects of baptism, and that dipping is the mode.

5th. We believe that none but regular baptized church members have a right to communion at the Lord’s table.

6th. We believe that it is the duty of every heaven-born soul to become a member of the visible Church, to make a public profession of his faith, to be legally baptized, so as to have a right to, and to partake of the Lord’s Supper at every legal opportunity, through the whole course of his life.