Free Will Baptist historical materials online

Listed below are some Free Will Baptist historical materials that I found online.

• A Brief History of the Liberal Baptist People in England and the United States from 1606 to 1911, by G. W. Million and G. A. Barrett
• A History of Original Free Will Baptists by Michael R. Pelt
• History of the Free Will Baptists of North Carolina by T. F. Harrison and J. M. Barfield
• The History of the Freewill Baptists, for half a century by I. D. Stewart
• A History of Free Will Baptists by G. W. Million
• The Free Will Baptist Story, by Damon C. Dodd
• Minutes of General Conference of the Freewill Baptist Connection, Volume 2, 1859-1886
• General Conference of the Original Free Will Baptists of United States, 1930
• General Conference of the Original Free Will Baptists of United States, 1931
• General Conference of the Original Free Will Baptists of United States, 1932
• General Conference of the Original Free Will Baptists of United States, 1933
• General Conference of the Original Free Will Baptists of United States, 1934
• General Conference of the Original Free Will Baptists of United States, 1935
• Eastern General Association of the Original Free Will Baptists of United States, 1936
• Eastern General Association of the Original Free Will Baptists of United States, 1937
• Eastern General Association of the Original Free Will Baptists of United States, 1938
• Minutes of the State Line Free Will Baptist Association, 1939 (AL)
• Minutes of the National Association of Free Will Baptists, 1972
• 1991 Minutes South Carolina State Association of Ooriginal Free Will Baptist
• The Freewill Baptist Quarterly, Volume 11, 1863
• The Free will Baptist [serial] 1949

The strange "freewillers"

I know we all have our idiosyncrasies, and what we see in others can come back on ourselves. But here are some weird things I've noticed...about the loudest advocates of libertarian free will.

• Those who make free choice of salvation the hallmark of their theology often insist that God has done all He can do to save man -- and then pray for Him to do more.
• Those who make the necessity of free choice to sin the hallmark of their theology eagerly look forward to a time when they will no longer be able to freely choose to sin. (At least in this, perhaps, we can all agree!)
• Those who make human free choice the hallmark of their theology contend God cannot freely choose to do anything which goes against His own nature, yet are satisfied that man not only can, but must be able to choose against his own nature.
• Those who make unrestrained free choice the hallmark of their theology believe that individual acts of wickedness cannot be prevented by God on an arbitrary basis, yet try to do everything humanly possible to arbitrarily restrain such acts.
• Those who hold free choice of salvation as the hallmark of their theology maintain that God cannot effectually call men to salvation, but then work through the wildest methods, vainest gimickry and strongest pressures to make men freely choose Jesus!
• Some of the most avid proponents of libertarian free will reject Bathsheba's response to David from being a free response, because David was a king and she his subject -- yet they insist we creatures can make a free response to God the King of the whole universe.
• Some of the strongest advocates of the libertarian free will of man also assert than sexual predators cannot change -- cannot ever use their own free will to change themselves.

These seem like strangely inconsistent views that don't go together.

You have a will

You have a will.

It is real.

God is in charge.

He controls all things.

You won't understand it.

Get over it.

Focusing on one issue

In the God's pleasure; man's free will thread, the discussion has focused on general/limited atonement and conditional/unconditional election, though not necessarily in so many words. I have despaired that we will get back to the actual theme in that comment thread, so I have pulled out one context to post here and see anyone wants to discuss it. Please keep discussing on the other thread.

In the book of Numbers God records Israel coming to the land of the Amorites. They sent messengers to Sihon the king asking to be allowed to pass through thy land: they said would go straight through and not get off the main highway. Sihon would not give permission for Israel to pass through his country but rather gathered his people together to fight against Israel.

In a divine commentary on this incident we are told: "But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. (Deut 2:30)" Do you believe it? Is it so? The reason Sihon did not allow the Israelites to pass through his land peacefully is because God hardened him and made him obstinate. The end of this was to judge him and give his land to the people of Israel.

So I ask you, do you believe the Bible as it is literally recorded here? Did God actually harden Sihon's spirit and make his heart obstinate, or do we need to shave it here and there to make it fit our ideas of free will and fairness? Is it wrong because it is not fair, or must it right because God did it? Or something else?

God's pleasure; man's free will

The question we have before us from the Divine Governance thread is where man's free will resides within God's divine governance. I reassert that I believe man can make choices. I deny that man can do as he pleases. Only God can do that.

Does God do what He pleases? Yes. (Cf. Psalm 115:3; 135:6; Jonah 1:14; Isaiah 46:10; et al.)
Can anyone stop Him from doing so? No. (Cf. Dan. 4:35; Isa. 14:14-27; 43:13; et al.)
Can God move, turn and/or change the will of man? Yes. (Cf. below)

Does God move, turn and/or change the will of man? I believe this is a main sticking point between a lot of Christians. I assert that God not only can, but does, move, turn, and /or change the will of man -- according to numerous Scriptures, if we take them at their simple and literal meaning.

God changes events.
Many will agree here, at least if we don't push it too far. God is sovereignly absolutely in control of all events that take place in His universe. We can quibble over what He "causes" and what He "allows", but how can any Bible reader deny that God is working out His will in all things?

God was in control of the events of the destruction of Job's possessions, deaths of his children, and debilitation of his body.
Job 1:21 - And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
Job 23:13-14 - But he (God) is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. For he (God) performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

God was in control in settling Israel in the land of Canaan, even to making it an inhospitable place for others.
Exodus 23:28 - And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
Deuteronomy 7:20 - Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.
Joshua 24:12 - And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
Psalms 44:1-2 - O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days...How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.

God was in control of Ahab's death -- He determined the cause, the events and the instrument.
I Kings 22:23 - Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.
I Kings 22:34 - And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
(God also kept Jehoshaphat from being killed: II Chron. 18:31 - And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.)

God was in control of when and where the Israelites would go into captivity.
Jer. 29:4 - Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
Ezek. 39:28 - Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.

God changes minds.
Many are not so disturbed by God's influence of events, and probably don't meditate too much on the fact that in changing events He changes minds. But what disturbs the human mind is to suppose that it is not free to think and do as it wishes.

God hardened Pharoah's heart against the Jews, that He might deliver Israel and destroy the Egyptians.
Exodus 4:21 - And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
(God said he would harden Pharaoh's heart long before it mentions Pharaoh hardening his heart.)

God turned the heart of the Egyptians against Israel, before and after Moses came.
Psalm 105:25 - He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.
Exodus 14:17 - And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
(Egyptians didn't make a free will decision to drown in the Red Sea. They were hardened by God to follow Israel to die in the sea.)

God hardened Sihon's heart and made him obstinate, and then judged him.
Deut 2:30 - But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.
The king, whether Pharaoh, Sihon or someone else, in in the Lord's hands. Proverbs 21:1 - The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. Romans 9:18 - Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

God, using Satan, provoked David to number Israel.
II Sam. 24:1 - And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
I Chron. 21:1 - And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

God blinded the eyes and hardened the hearts of some of those to whom Isaiah preached, as well as some to whom Jesus preached and preformed miracles.
John 12:40 - He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
Isaiah 6:9-10 - And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

God turned the heart of the Assyrian king to favor the people of Israel.
Ezra 6:22 - And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

When we think of God doing as He pleases, we must be careful to not mix in our ideas of human emotions and pleasures. We probably think of pleasure often in the sense of "enjoyment or satisfaction derived from what is to one's liking; gratification; recreation or amusement; sensual gratification." But in reference to God, we should think of it more in the sense of pleasure being "one's will, desire, or choice."

Isa 53:10 - Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

When the Bible says it pleased the Lord to bruise/crucify His Messiah, it is not in the sense that He received some kind of sensual or sadistic gratification, but that He was fulfilling His will from the foundation of the world. The Hebrew word chaphets -- to delight in, take pleasure in, desire, be pleased with -- is also translated will.

God will do all His pleasure. Let us leave off our humanistic worries about Him somehow violating our free will. He doeth all things well.

Isa 46:10 - Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Psalms 115:3 - But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
Psalms 135:6 - Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
Isaiah 46:10 - Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Isaiah 43:13 - Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
Daniel 4:35 - And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

How Does the Lord Direct Today?

The following began in answer to several questions by Jeff Haney in another venue. How do you know the Will of the Lord in unsaid things? How do you hear His voice in day to day life? How can a person KNOW that what they have "heard, been impressed, guided, directed or instructed" has been from the Lord, and know it without any shadow of doubt?

This is an interesting and important question, but also a difficult and complex one. I have always found knowing God's will in this regard very difficult for me.

I believe that there is a will of God (e.g. Eph. 1:11 - Who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will). Further, I believe that includes His will for us. And that within that will for us there are things not expressly or specifically revealed in the Bible -- whom one should marry, whether to accept a certain job, go to a certain church, move to a certain town, etc.

How do we know the Will of God in these kinds of "unsaid" things? The writer of Proverbs says "He shall direct thy paths." But how does He do that? I will offer the following timorous thoughts for the perusal and criticism of the brethren.

Bible study/principles
Though we are talking about things left "unsaid", we must begin with Bible study. It is there that we find what is said, and therefore also learn what is unsaid. From study of the word of God we learn principles that guide us in our decision-making. For example, one cannot turn to the Bible and find the name of the wife he should marry. But he can find principles that approve or rule out certain ones. That is at least a start toward the direction of knowing the will of God in the matter.

Providence of God
This is one I have relied heavily upon, whether rightly or wrongly, perhaps thinking it was more obvious to me than others.

Acts 16:6-9 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. This may be a strange verse regarding providence, since there are some other things operating in it. I have felt providence was involved here as well as revelation. Notice that in whatever way God chose to let Paul know he was not to go into Asia, it was not specific in where he should go. So Paul & company attempted to go into another place -- Bithynia -- where the Lord ultimately did not allow them to go. You may not get a vision of someone calling you over to help, you might get a call on the phone -- "We have no preacher; you are not preaching anywhere. Can you come help us?" This might be a simple thing in God's providence to get one's attention. He opens doors and shuts them. Col. 4:3 - Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: Rev. 3:8 - I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

Inner witness/feeling/conscience
I didn't put this first because I didn't want to scare any Baptists!!
John 16:13 - Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

1 Cor. 2:12-16 - Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Jesus has promised that His Spirit will guide us into truth, though that guidance might fit into several different categories. One is a sort of inner witness or feeling, an answer from God's Spirit to our spirit. Romans 8:14-16 - For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: When we are converted, we cannot find our names in the Bible, and we cannot look into the Book of Life. But there is a witness of the Spirit to us whereby we know we are the children of God. Do we suppose the inner witness ceases shortly thereafter? I think not.

The conscience is not the same as the inner witness. It is something all men have. But having one, in a child of God the conscience can bear witness in accord with the Holy Spirit. If so, shouldn't we listen? John 8:9 - And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience... Acts 24:16 - And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. Rom. 9:1 - I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,

Feeling can be very subjective (and some of the other is as well). But sometimes we have a feeling that something is wrong -- a fear, an unsettled heart -- that causes a timidity to move forward (in natural things as well as spiritual). Perhaps that fear may cause us to look around the corner to see if there really is something there to fear before going on. Besides fear, there is a feeling of peace, which we are called to and which can rule in our hearts. Col. 3:15 - And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. A sanctified common sense may tie in here as well. 1 Cor. 11:14 - Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? Whatever Paul meant, something he and others could see in the natural order of things agreed with the principle he was teaching.

The counsel of friends/others
Before his conversion, the eunuch of Ethiopia needed some man to guide him (Acts 8:31). This is somewhat different from the initial question. But some of us, after we become Christians, think we don't need any advice anymore -- don't need anyone to guide us. Untrue. In his book Commenting and Commentaries, Charles Spurgeon wrote, "It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what he has revealed to others." Proverbs 11:14 - Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Experience
Some things we don't know at first, but learn by experience. As we acknowledge God in what we know, through our experiences we learn to follow Him more confidently. Prov. 3:6 - In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. As we renew our mind in living and doing the things of God, the will of God generally becomes clearer to us. Romans 12:2 - And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Perhaps once we learn His will in one instance, we know more of it in another?

Faith/Not knowing
There is a simple fact that we may operate on what we do know, and trust God for what we do not. We do not at this time know all the will of God, and probably His will cannot be completely known in this life by finite, fallible humans. But we move forward knowing He IS at work. He is working in us His good pleasure. Phil. 2:13 - For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. At one point, Abraham had a general knowledge of where he was going, but not a specific one. Hebrews 11:8 - By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. Obey what we do know. Take the rest on faith, not knowing the details, but knowing the God of the details.

I don't think a person can KNOW that what he has "heard, been impressed, guided, directed or instructed" is from the Lord beyond any shadow of doubt if it is a thing not mentioned in the Bible. I am willing to believe that some do know with certainty sometimes, but that is not something they/we can consistently have all the time.

I want to close with two warnings: (1) the above things should work together, though all might not be present on all occasions; and (2) some of what I wrote above can be quite dangerous if divorced from the Word of God.

Clark quotes

In a review of God and Evil Darrin R. Brooker wrote, "God and Evil...sets forth the only coherent and consistent answer to the problem [of evil]." Earlier he wrote, "Quite simply, the problem only exists where there is an errant view of the character of God."

"The term will is ambiguous. The Ten Commandments are God's preceptive will. They command men to do this and restrain from that. They say what ought to be done; but they neither state nor cause what is done. God's decretive will, however, as contrasted with his precepts, causes every event. It would be conducive to clarity if the term will were not applied to the precepts. Call the requirements of morality commands, precepts, or laws; and reserve the term will for the divine decree. These are two different things, and what looks like an opposition between them is not a self-contradiction. The Jews ought not to have demanded Christ's crucifixion. It was contrary to the moral law. But God decreed Christ's death from the foundation of the world."

"Free will is not the basis of responsibility. In the first place, and at a more superficial level, the basis of responsibility is knowledge." p. 33 (but also the headship of Adam)

"In the theological literature, free agency -- or natural liberty -- means that the will is not determined by physical or physiological factors. But free agency is not free will. Free will means that there is no determining factor operating on the will, not even God. Free will means that either of two incompatible actions are equally possible. Free agency goes with the view that all choices are inevitable." p. 31

"Free will has been defined as the equal ability, under given circumstances, to choose either of two courses of action." p. 15 "...man faced with incompatible courses of action is as able to choose any one as well as any other."

Another hard question

A few weeks back, I asked a hard question for "general" Baptists. Now one for "particular" Baptists:

If you believe that Christ died to save only His elect, what is your answer to the following?

If Jesus Christ died for the elect, and God irresistibly regenerates them and gives everlasting life -- then what is the difference between man and a robot?

A hard question

If you believe that Christ died to make possible the salvation of all men, what is your answer to the following?

If God equally loves all men, and Christ's atonement does as much for them that perish as for them that receive everlasting life -- then what is the difference that brings about the salvation of one and not the other?