William Styles, A Guide To Church Fellowship

Articles Of The Faith And Order Of A Primitive Or Strict And Particular Baptist Church Of The Lord Jesus Christ, Based On The Declaration Of Faith And Practice Of John Gill, D. D., 1720

VIII. Justification and Forgiveness.

We believe that the Justification of God’s elect is by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, without the consideration of any works of righteousness done by them,^[1] and that the full and free Pardon of all their sins and transgressions, past, present, and to come, is only through the blood of Christ, according to the riches of Divine grace.^[2]

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[1] Ps 71:16; Is 45:24; Dan 9:24; Rom 3:24-26; 5:19; 8:30
[2] 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:8,9; Tit 3:5; Ps 32:1; Rom 4:6,7; Is 38:17; Hosea 14:4; Mic 7:19; Lk 7:42; Acts 13:38,39; Rom 3:25; 1 Cor 6:11; Eph 1:7; 4:32; Col 2:13; Heb 10:17,18; 1 Jn 1:7,9; 2:12; Rev 1:5

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Annotations:

Note 1.—Between these two, important distinctions exist, on which the reader should seek to think correctly.

Justification is a legal act, and proceeds from God in His character of the “Judge of all.” Forgiveness is a royal act, and proceeds from God in His character of King.

In human government the two are separable. Criminals who turn “King’s evidence” against their former accomplices, are often pardoned and liberated—though, if tried, it is known that they would be condemned. In the government of God the two are inseparable. Those whom God, as a Judge, justifies, God, as a King, forgives.

In the Divine order Justification precedes pardon. God’s elect are first acquitted from all legal condemnation—then their sins are forgiven.

Justification a Legal or Forensic Term.

Note 2.—It is highly important to understand that, accord­ing to the use of the word in Scripture, Justification must be understood forensically. It is a law term, derived from human courts of justice, and signifies (not the making of a person righteous by the infusion of grace) but the holding and declaring him to be righteous in law.

This is manifest from the term Justification being frequently opposed to Condemnation. (Deut. 25:1; Prov. 17:15; Rom. 5:16, 8:33,34.)

The force of a word is frequently to be ascertained by examining the meaning of the term to which it is opposed. Condemnation does not lie in infusing wickedness into a criminal, or in…

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Articles Of The Faith And Order Of A Primitive Or Strict And Particular Baptist Church Of The Lord Jesus Christ, Based On The Declaration Of Faith And Practice Of John Gill, D. D., 1720

VII. The Intercession of Christ.

We believe that the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead,^[1] and has ascended in His whole person to Heaven,^[2] where He intercedes, as our great High Priest, for those whom the Father gave Him, and whom He redeemed with His blood, (and no others,) and that His pleas are perpetual and prevalent,^[3] and we hold that the Holy Ghost works on earth in concurrence and harmony with His advocacy in Heaven, progressively accomplishing the salvation of those for whom He died, to His abundant satisfaction and glory.^[4]

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[1] See the accounts given by the Evangelists, 1 Cor 15:3-7
[2] Acts 1:9-11; 1 Pet 3:22
[3] Zech 6:13; Rom 8:34; Heb 1:3, 8:1; 10:12; Jn 17:9; Ps 1:8
[4] Ps 110:3; Is 49:8,9; 53:10,11; Jn 16:13,14; 1 Cor 15:25; Phil 2:9,10,13; Heb 12:2; Jude 24

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Annotations:

This Article expresses our belief concerning the ministry of Christ in Heaven, and the Work of the Holy Spirit on earth.

It insists that the present intercession of Christ (like the satisfaction He made of sin on the cross) is for His elect only, and that His pleas are invariably prevalent and effectual. It is opposed to the Arminian or Pelagian idea that He is the official representative of all men, ana desires that all men may be saved. It thus embodies a distinguishing doctrine of the Particular Baptists, and demands much attention and the boldest enforcement.

It also testifies to our belief in the harmony which exists between the advocacy of Christ and the operations of the Spirit. It is a popular belief that the Holy Ghost “strives” with all men; making kindly, but often ineffectual, attempts to induce them to accept the offer of the Gospel; give their hearts to God; close with Christ, and thus obtain salvation. To these errors, we, as Strict and Particular Baptists, are earnestly opposed. Scriptures are indeed cited in support of them. These are fully dealt with in the Author’s “Manual of Faith and Practice”, page 111.

“To His abundant satisfaction and glory.” Many popular hymns deny this—representing Christ as being solicitous to save sinners who will not come to Him, and that He is mortified and enraged at their refusal to comply with His terms.

This libel on the character of the Saviour we also resolutely reject—as the article in question asserts.

Serious as are the above errors, texts are cited in their support, which are dealt with in the “Manual of Faith and Practice,” pages 86 and 111 to 119.

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Articles Of The Faith And Order Of A Primitive Or Strict And Particular Baptist Church Of The Lord Jesus Christ, Based On The Declaration Of Faith And Practice Of John Gill, D. D., 1720

VI. Particular Redemption.

We hold that since the redeeming and atoning work of the Lord Jesus was defined and determined by His Covenant engagements; He suffered to ransom the persons and expiate the sins of the elect of God only; who, (and no others,) participate in the special and peculiar blessings that flow from His sufferings and death.

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Is 53:6; Matt 1:21; Jn 10:15,16,26; 17:6,9; Acts 20:28; Rom 11:7; Eph 5:25; 1 Pet 1:2; 2:24

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Annotations:

Note 1.—The word “particular” is here used in the sense of “special,” as opposed to “general” or “universal,” to describe the doctrine that Christ died for the elect only, and not for the entire human race.

Note 2.—The saving work of the Lord Jesus is here referred to as “redeeming” and “atoning.” The words are not synonymous and interchangeable, but present the great transaction of Calvary in two distinct aspects. Young theologians should spare no pains to obtain accurate thoughts on the subjects of Redemption and the Atonement.

Redemption.

Note 3.—Redemption—the act of buying back—is a civil term; that is to say, it is derived from that department of human law which is not concerned in the investigation and punishment of crime. It refers:—(1) To the taking of a thing, which has been pledged, out of pawn, or to the restoration to its original owner of an estate on which money had been raised, by the repayment of the bor­ rowed sum. (Eph. 1:14.)

(2) To the emancipation, by the payment of money, of the person of one held captive by a creditor or enemy.

(3) It is also applied in a secondary sense to the obtaining possession of captives by the conquest of their enemies.^[1] (Psa. 107:2; Isa. 43:1,3.) Theologians—when employing the term Redemption—ordinarily do so in the second sense, and apply it to that aspect of Christ’s work by which the claims of the Law upon the persons of the elect were met—and the emancipation of their souls in this life, and “their glorious liberty” in heaven here­ after are secured.

Amongst the Jews, a man’s person was a chattel which could be seized and sold by his creditors, if he was unable to pay his debts, (2 Kings 4:1; Matt. 18:25.) But the sale was not absolute or final. If the money came into his possession, he might repay it, and…

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Articles Of The Faith And Order Of A Primitive Or Strict And Particular Baptist Church Of The Lord Jesus Christ, Based On The Declaration Of Faith And Practice Of John Gill, D. D., 1720

V. The Mediation of Christ.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, (who was set up from everlasting as the Mediator of the new Cove­nant,) having engaged to be the Surety of His people^[1] did, in the fulness of time, really assume human nature, (but free from sin,)^[2] in which He suffered and died in their room and stead, as their Representative and Surety^[3] thereby rendering all the satisfaction for their sins which the law and justice of God required^[4] as well as making way for the communication of all the blessings which are needful to them, both for time and eternity.^[5]

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[1] Prov 8:23; Zech 13:7; Rev 13:8
[2] Is 7:14; Matt 1:23; Matt 12:8; Gal 4:4; Heb 2:14; 1 Jn 4:2,3
[3] ls 53:5,6; Matt 20:28; Jn 10:15; 11: 50; Rom 5:6,7; 1 Cor 15:3; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13; Eph 5:2; 1 Tim 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; 3:18; 4:1; 1 Jn 3:16
[4] Job 33:24; Ps 85:10; Ez 16:63; Dan 9:24; Acts 13:39; Rom 3:24-26; 8:1,3,33; Gal 3:13
[5] Rom 8:32; Gal 3:14; 4:5; 2 Pet 1:3

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Annotations:

“It is an unspeakable mercy that Sovereignty has admitted mediation into the moral government of God.”—John Hazelton. Note 1.—A Mediator is one who intervenes between two parties for the advantage of either or both.^[1]

Christ is a Mediator in other senses than this Article states.

He is such between God absolutely or abstractedly considered, and all His rational creatures.

Between these and His infinitely great and glorious self, there is so immense a distance in nature, that none can apprehend His majesty apart from a personal revealer. The statement of Matt. 11:27 is more comprehensive than many suppose. “Neither doth any creature—(angel or man) know the Father, save the Son and he to whom the Son willeth to reveal Him.” R.V. So also John 1:18, “No one (oudeis—neither angel nor man) hath seen God at any time (hath, apart from the Son, apprehended His glory;) the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath (disclosed or) declared Him (revealing Him and making Him known.”) Hence from the beginning, He was “the Word,”—the expression of the thoughts of God, (John 1:1; 1 John 1:1;) “the effulgence of His glory and the express image of His substance.” (Heb. 1:3, R.V.)

It would thus appear that Christ is tho Mediator through whom the Divine character is perceived, and the Divine presence approached and worshipped by angels in heaven.

The whole moral universe is governed on mediatorial principles. “By Him, God made all things,” (Eph. 3:9.) He “upholds all things by the word of His power,” (Heb. 1:3.) The throne of universal government is His throne, (Psa. 45: 6 and Heb. 1:8.) “The Father hath given all things into His hand,” (John 3:35,) and “committed (or given) all judgment (governmental and penal) to the Son,” (John 5:22.) “All things” here should surely be understood in the widest sense. Christ is the first and final authority in heaven as well as on earth. He thus sustains a mediatorial relation to God and His creatures, apart from His gracious office as the Saviour of sinners.

Note 2.—He was the Mediator between God and unfallen Adam, to whom He appeared in human form, and conveyed in human language the mind of Jehovah. A holy being as Adam then was (Article III) did not indeed, require an…

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Articles Of The Faith And Order Of A Primitive Or Strict And Particular Baptist Church Of The Lord Jesus Christ, Based On The Declaration Of Faith And Practice Of John Gill, D. D., 1720

IV. The Covenant of Grace.

We believe that, before the world began, a Divine and gracious arrangement was made between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, to determine and secure the salvation of sinners, which is scripturally designated the Covenant of Grace.^[1] We believe that, from eternity, the Father loved a multitude whom no man can number, whom He chose, sanctified, and predestinated to eternal salvation, and to “the adoption of children” in and by the Son.^[2]

We believe that the Son, by Covenant, gave Himself up into His Father’s hands, to be the Surety of the people, “with whom were His delights.” and engaged in the fulness of time, to assume their nature, to work out an everlasting righteousness for them, to endure all the penal wrath and hot displeasure due to their sin, and to obtain eternal redemption for them, so that they might be blessed in Him with all the blessings of grace and glory.^[3]

We believe that these blessings are conveyed and communicated to those who were elected by the Father and redeemed by the Son, by the Holy Ghost, who as a Person in the Covenant of grace, engaged before time to quicken and regenerate them, to invest them with spiritual capacities and powers, and to work in them “those things which are well-pleasing to the Lord.”^[4]

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[1] 2 Sam 23:5; Zech 6:13; 1 Cor 11:25; (“new testament” or “covenant”) Heb 10:16, 29; 13:20
[2] Deut 33:3; Jer 31:3; Jn 17:23,24; 2 Thess 2:16; Rom 8:29; 1 Cor 1:27,28; Eph 1:4; 1 Thess 1:4 ; 1 Pet 1:2; Jude 1; Acts 13:48; 1 Cor 1:30; 1 Thess 5:9; Ps 84:11: Eph 1:5; Gal 5:6; 1 Tim 1:1
[3] Prov 8:22; Is 13:1; Jn 17:4,6,12; Heb 7:22; Prov 8:31; Ps 40:6-8; Heb 10:6,7; Is 7:14; Matt 1:23; Is 32:2,17; 13:21; 14:17,24; 54:17; Jer 23:6; Dan 9:24; Is 53:4,11; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13; Col 2:14; Heb 9:9,12; Gal 3:8-16; Eph 1,3,6
[4] Is 44:3; 54:13; Jer 31:33; 32:40; Heb 8:10; 10:16; Joel 2:28; Eph 4:20; Heb 13:21; 2 Pet 1:3

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Annotations:

Note 1. —The expression, “the Covenant of Grace” is not in the Bible; but, like the phrases, the “Trinity in Unity,” the “Personality of the Spirit,” or the “Sovereignty of God,” it embodies a scriptural idea.

Note 2.—Copious as are the references to the Covenant of Grace in the Bible, little is said of it in modern Divinity, and it would appear to be generally overlooked by Christians in the present day. It is, however, an essential department of the Gospel. The number of the saved; the method of Redemption, the time when chosen and blood-bought sinners are regenerated and called by grace; the character of their experience; the measure of their gifts; the severity and duration of their trials; and the period of their death, were all determined before the foundation of the world.^[1]

Note 3.—The great doctrine that the salvation of sinners is, in all its departments, regulated by the everlasting and immutable Covenant of Grace, is often assailed, as if it were derogatory to Divine equity.

Men limit their conceptions of the Sovereignty of God (if they think of it at all) to His right to act as He pleases in time; whereas it equally includes His right to will to act before time. None question his rectitude when He now, by an act of gracious power, saves a sinner, yet many cavil at the assertion that He purposed to perform that act before the foundation of the world. Election and Predestination are, however, as much the exercise of a Divine right, as Regeneration and Effectual Calling. Happily, the gainsaying of man does not make void the purpose of Him who hath said, “My counsel (or Covenant determinations) shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,” (Isa. 46:11.)

Note 4.—This Article scripturally assigns equal prominence and importance to the Covenant Engagements of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. All alike demand prayerful and prolonged study from the earnest student of the truth of God.

The Covenant Engagements of the Father.

Note 5. —These are, perhaps, more obvious and plain than those of…

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Articles Of The Faith And Order Of A Primitive Or Strict And Particular Baptist Church Of The Lord Jesus Christ, Based On The Declaration Of Faith And Practice Of John Gill, D. D., 1720

III.The Federal Headship of Adam, and Human Guilt and Depravity.

We believe that God created the first man, Adam, after His own image and in His own likeness, an innocent, upright, and holy being, capable of serving and glorifying Him,^[1] but that he, sinning, all his posterity sinned in him, and have come “short of the glory of God the guilt of whose sin is imputed to, and whose corrupt nature is derived by, all that descend from him by ordinary and natural generation,^[2] so that all men are under sentence of condemnation, and by their first birth carnal and unclean, averse to all that is good, prone to all that is evil, and incapable of pleasing God, and are hence by nature the “children of wrath,”,^[3] and that they are consequently not only involved in spiritual death, but subject to corporeal and eternal death^[4] from all which there is no deliverance but by Christ, the “ Last Adam.”^[5]

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[1] Gen 1:26; Ps 8:5; Ecc 7:29; 1 Tim 2:14
[2] Gen 2:17; 3:3; Rom 6:23, 5:12; 8:10; 1 Cor 15:22; Job 14:4
[3] Ps 58:3; Jn 3:6; Rom 5:18; 6:23; Eph 2:3
[4] Matt 8:22 (“Let the {spiritually} dead bury their {natural} dead.”); Rom 5:15; 2 Cor 5:14; Eph 2:1; 1 Tim 5:6; Ecc 12:7; 2 Sam 14:14; Heb 9:27; Matt 10:28; Lk 12:5; Rom 8:13; Rev 2:11; 20:14
[5] Ps 49:7,8; Jn 3:36; 14:6; Acts 4:12; Rom 3:22,23; 1 Cor 15:45

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Annotations:

The Nature of Adam before the Fall.

Note 1.—“Adam” as created was “an innocent, upright, and holy being. This he must have been, or God would have originated a sinful creature, which His essential holiness forbids our thinking. Adam, however, was not a spiritual being, that is—the holiness he possessed, as a creature, is not said to have flowed from Christ as the source of spiritual life to His people, and to have been the same as is now possessed by regenerated sinners.

The position that he was originally a spiritual person lies at the foundation of Andrew Fuller’s scheme of Duty-faith—and the argument is sound. It is indisputably incumbent on all natural men to be and do all that was incumbent on Adam before the Fall,—since man’s inability to keep the whole Law involves no diminution of its claims. If, therefore, Adam were spiritual, and spiritual Faith was a duty which he was origin­ally under obligation to perform, all men ought to be spiritual, and it is their duty to believe with spiritual faith.

We, however, deny the assertion,—and repudiate the conclusion.

Federal Headship taught in Scripture.

Note 2.—The expressions, “the Covenant of works,” and that “Adam sustained a federal relation to his posterity,” are not found in the Bible: though the truths they convey, are unmis­takably in God’s word. (1 Cor. 15:21,22.) The Jews are accused of transgressing the Covenant under which they as a nation possessed their land, in the same way as…

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Articles Of The Faith And Order Of A Primitive Or Strict And Particular Baptist Church Of The Lord Jesus Christ, Based On The Declaration Of Faith And Practice Of John Gill, D. D., 1720

II. The Blessed Trinity in Unity.

We believe that there is one living and true God,^[1] the Creator and Upholder of all things,^[2] and that there are three eternal Persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, who are equal in nature, power and glory,^[3] and that the Son and the Holy Ghost are as truly and properly God as the Father.^[4]

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[1] Deut 6:4; 5:26; Jn 18:3; 1 Thess 1:9; 1 Tim 2:5; Js 2:19
[2] Gen 1:1; Ex 20:11; Job 7:20; Jn 1:3; Acts 17:24
[3] Matt 3:16,17; 27:19; 2 Cor 13:14; Col 2:9; Heb 1:8; 1 Jn 5:7
[4] Jn 1:1-3; 6:69; 1 Cor 7:17; 12:11; 2 Cor 3:17; Col 2:2; Heb 9:14; 1 Pet 4:14

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Annotations:

The Being of God.

Note 1.—From these passages we learn that there is a great and glorious Being, who is a Spirit, self-existent, eternal, unchanging, omnipresent, unconditioned and infinite in His wisdom, power, goodness and truth, who desires to be known and worshipped as God, (Elohim,) or the Lord, (Jehovah,) by the children of men.

We further learn that in the one uncreated and undivided Godhead there subsist three Persons whom we are directed to distinguish as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Natural and Gracious Knowledge of God.

Note 2.—The Bible gives no definition of God, nor does it expressly assert His existence. This, however, it continually assumes. The testimony of Nature to the…

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Articles Of The Faith And Order Of A Primitive Or Strict And Particular Baptist Church Of The Lord Jesus Christ, Based On The Declaration Of Faith And Practice Of John Gill, D. D., 1720

I. The Holy Scriptures.

We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired,^[1] and our sole, supreme, and all-sufficient guide in every matter of Christian Faith and Practice.^[2]

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[1] Jn 10:35; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:20,21
[2] Psalm 19:9 -11; 119:128; Is 8:20; Lk 16:29-31; Jn 5:39; 2 Tim 3:15,16; 2 Pet 1:20,21

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Annotations:

Inspiration Asserted

Note 1.—The passages cited clearly assert that, while the books of the Bible were written by human authors, (whose personal peculiarities are often apparent in their compositions) they were produced under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, which rendered them authentic communications from God.

Thus, we are assured, that the writers of the Old Testament “spake from God, being moved (or borne along) by the Holy Ghost,” (2 Pet. 1:21,) and that every one of these sacred writings was “given by inspiration of God,” (2 Tim. 3:16.)

The writers of the New Testament claim to have produced what they wrote in a similar way. Paul delivered that which he “received of the Lord,” (1 Cor. 11:23,) and “in words which the Holy Spirit” taught him,—as one of the company of inspired men. (1 Cor. 2:13.) John claims to have had “commandment from God.” (1 John 4:21.) Peter asserts that what he wrote was “the word of the Lord.” (1 Pet. 1:26.)

Verbal Inspiration

Note 2.—The Bible was verbally inspired—that is to say that its writers did not simply deliver their messages in a vague and general way, but in the very words which the Holy Spirit induced them to employ.

This is plain from the fact that, in some places, weighty arguments are founded on the very words of other…

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Articles Of The Faith And Order Of A Primitive Or Strict And Particular Baptist Church Of The Lord Jesus Christ, Based On The Declaration Of Faith And Practice Of John Gill, D. D., 1720

Introduction:

Having been enabled, through Divine grace, to give ourselves to the Lord, and likewise to one another, according to the will of God^[1], we count it our duty to make a declaration of our Faith and Practice, to the glory of His holy name.^[2]

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[1] 2 Cor 8:5
[2] Rom 10:10; 1 Tim 6:12; 2 Tim 1:13; 1 Pet 3:15

I. The Doctrines Of The Gospel.

I. The Holy Scriptures.

We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired,^[1] and our sole, supreme, and all-sufficient guide in every matter of Christian Faith and Practice.^[2]

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[1] Jn 10:35; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:20,21
[2] Psalm 19:9 -11; 119:128; Is 8:20; Lk 16:29-31; Jn 5:39; 2 Tim 3:15,16; 2 Pet 1:20,21

II. The Blessed Trinity in Unity.

We believe that there is one living and true God,^[1] the Creator and Upholder of all things,^[2] and that there are three eternal Persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, who are equal in nature, power and glory,^[3] and that the Son and the Holy Ghost are as truly and properly God as the Father.^[4]

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[1] Deut 6:4; 5:26; Jn 18:3; 1 Thess 1:9; 1 Tim 2:5; Js 2:19
[2] Gen 1:1; Ex 20:11; Job 7:20; Jn 1:3; Acts 17:24
[3] Matt 3:16,17; 27:19; 2 Cor 13:14; Col 2:9; Heb 1:8; 1 Jn 5:7
[4] Jn 1:1-3; 6:69; 1 Cor 7:17; 12:11; 2 Cor 3:17; Col 2:2; Heb 9:14; 1 Pet 4:14

III.The Federal Headship of Adam, and Human Guilt and Depravity.

We believe that God created the first man, Adam, after His own image and in His own likeness, an innocent, upright, and holy being, capable of serving and glorifying Him,^[1] but that he, sinning, all his posterity sinned in him, and have come “short of the glory of God the guilt of whose sin is imputed to, and whose corrupt nature is…

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(This Book contains “The Articles of the Faith and Practice of a Primitive or Strict and Particular Baptist Church,” and Annotations, or Explanatory and illustrative notes on the same. To facilitate reference, each Article with its corresponding Annotations is here presented under one heading.)

Part 1—The Doctrines Of The Gospel

Article 1—The Holy Sciptrues

Inspiration asserted; Verbal Inspiration; 2 Timothy 3:16

Article 2—The Trinity In Unity

The Being Of God; Our Knowledge Of Him; The Trinity A Mystery; Erroneous Phraseology; Christ, the Creator; 1 John 5:7,8

Article 3—The Federal Headship Of Adam And Human Guilt And Depravity

Adam’s Original Nature; Federal Headship Taught In Scripture; Human Guilt And Depravity Distingusihed; Christ, Through His Miraculous Conception, Exempt From The Results Of The Fall; Adam’s Sin, Our Shame; Death A Penal Evil; Federal Headship The Security Of The Elect; Infant Salvation; The Fall And Its Results To Be Preached; Note On James Wells

Article 4—The Covenant Of Grace

The Covenant Of Grace; Covenant Engagements Of The Father; Of The Son; And Of The Holy Spirit; Those Of Christ A Clue To The Understanding Of His Ministry; Divine Preterition; Importance Of These Truths; Since They Explain Difficulties; Error Concerning Them To Be Resisted

Article 5—The Mediation Of Christ

Mediation, Defined And Explained; Characterizes God’s Whole Moral Government; Christ A Mediator In Relation To Adam And To All Men; And Especially Of The New Covenant; Christ’s Mediation, Its Seven Branches; Biblical Illustrations Of; An Inclusive Office; Based On His Sonship; And Effectual

Article 6—Particular Redemption

Redemption And Atonement Not Identical; Redemption, A Phrase In Civil Law—The Hebrew “Goel”; The Atonement; Romands 8:3; Redemption, Particular; The Atonement, Commensurate; Mischievous Doctrines; The Truth Supported By Arguments—Logical Inferences; The Benfits Of Christ’s Work Extend, Though Not Savingly, To All Men

Article 7—The Intercession Of Christ

Christ’s Intercession For The Elect Only; Satisfactory To Him; Harmony Of, With The Spirit’s Effectual Operation On Earth

Article 8—Justification And Forgiveness

Distinctions To Be Noted; Justification, The Term Forensic; Righteousness Of Christ; Justification By Its Imputation; By Whom Denied; Faith And Justification; Note, Repentance And Faith Not Conjoined With Justification And Salvation In The Case Of Children Dying In Infancy; Divine Forgiveness; God Alone The Forgiver Of Sin; James 5:16; Confession Must Precede Pardon; The Spirit’s Witness To Divine Pardon; The Ground Of “Assurance”; 2 Samuel 12:13

Article 9—The Sanctification Of The Spirit

Reasons For The Omission Of This, As An Article Of Faith, From the Doctrinal Statements Of Many Churches; Though All Agree As To Its Importance; Present need Of A Concise Yet Comprehensive Article Which Should Receive Universal Approval

Article 10—Divine Chastisement

Chastisement, A Parental Act; Not A Penal Inflication; Their Sufferings Of Saints Not Necessarily Chastisement; Mistaken View Of Tobias Crisp And Others; Ground Of Their Error

Article 11—Effectual Calling

The Elect And Redeemed Only Called By Grace; The Spirit’s Operations Invincible, The Arminian Notion Exposed; Ability, Natural And Moral Denied; The Spirit’s Operations Mysterious, Yet Consistent With Man’s Rational Constitution; Regeneration And Conversion

Article 12—The Gospel: Its Nature And Invitations

It Is A Declaration Or Proclamation; Offered Grace—Though An Ancient Doctrine—Denied; Having No Scriptural Authority; Texts Examined; Implies Creature-Ability; Spurgeon And Wells Contrasted, Romans 10:20,21; Its Refusal Does Not Augment Future Punishment; Gospel Invitations Addressed To Specified Characters; General Invitations, Objections To

Article 13—Spiritual Faith And Grace, Not A Natural And Legal Duty

Faith, Its Divine Origin, “The Gift Of God”; Not A Natural Duty, Our Sentiments Stated; Misrepresentations Denied; Faith, How To Be Preached; An Objection Met; Duty-Faith Denied By Strict And Particular Baptists; “The Metropolitan Association Of Strict Baptist Churches” And “The Home Counties Baptist Association,” Their Declarations Contrasted; Remarks On The Latter; Duty-Faith An Awful Error; Spiritual Faith Not Commanded By The Law; Nor By The Gospel—Texts Examined; Faith, Presented Hypothetically, Not A Command To The Unregenerate To Believe; Duty-Faith, Why Maintained; The Term “Mystery”; Silence Of Modern Particular Baptists Concerning This Error; Reticence Of Its Advocates As To Whence And How They Adopted It; “Is It Not A Harmless Error?”

Article 14—Final Perseverance

Remarks On Texts Often Cited By Arminians

Article 15—The Intermediate State And The Future Resurrection Of The Dead In Christ

The Intermediate State Claims Consideration; Disembodied Saints, Though Happy, Not Yet Glorified, Dr. Watts On; The Death Of Saints, A Sleep; The Intermediate State One Of Consciousness; Joy Of The Godly After Death; Degrees In Glory Denied; The Resurrection Of The Sainst; Diversity Of Opinion Permissible; Mutual Recognition Of Saints In Heaven, John Stevens On

Article 16—The Resurrection And Final Condition Both Of The Godly And The Ungodly

Certainty Of Both; Where Opinion On Non-Essentials Differ, Liberty To Be Accorded; Glorification, Its Blessedness; “Will Saints And Sinners Be Raised Simultaneously?”; Notes On Several Scriptures; Millenarianism Lacks Scriptural Support, And Is A Pernicious Notion; Future Judgment; Of The Saints Before The Tribunal (bema) Of Christ; Which Is Not The “Great White Throne”; Judgment, The, Of The Living Or Quick; Of Sinners Of All Human Kind; Of Angels; Final COndition Of The Godly And Ungodly, Heaven And Hell Both Eternal; Views Of Materialists, Universalists, And Those Entertaining The “Larger Hope”; Annihilation Of The Wicked, The Doctrine Stated; And Refuted; G. W. Shepherd On Human Immortality; The “First Adam,” His Soul Deathless; The “Last Adam,” His Holy Soul Immortal; The Ground Of The Error Of “Conditional Immortality”; Eternal Punishment, Though Terrible, Distinctly Revealed, And To Be Preached

Part II—The Constitution And Order Of A Gospel Church

Article 17—The Constitution Of A Gospel Church

Christ’s Church A Unity, Which Christians Should Render Apparent; Note On The Word “Church”; Systems Of Church Government; Independents And Baptists; Baptist Churches, “Bodies”; Independent; Organized; Whose Membership Is Voluntary; And Involves Mutual Consideration; Irregular Assemblies Whether True Churches?; Christian And Church Fellowship

Article 18—Pastors And Deacons

The Christian Ministry Among Episcopalians, Presbyterians And The Free Churches; Christian Bishops, Or Pastors; Qualifications Of; Election Of; Ordination Of; And Their Remuneration; Evangelists; Christain Deacons; Their Character; The Office Whether Perpetual; Or Periodical; Teachers

Article 19—The Two Ordinances

Sacramentalists And Evangelists; The Ordinances Not Sacraments Or Efficient Channels Of Grace; They Are Perpetual; Other Ritual Acts Disallowed

Article 20—Baptism: Its Subjects, Mode, And Significance

Baptism Is Immersion; Objections Met; Its Subjects Must Possess Intelligence; And Have Repented And Believed; Baptism Not A Condition Of Salvation; Truths Expressed By; Views Of Pedobaptists

Article 21—Oral Confession Should Precede Baptism

We Baptise Believers Under Two Circumstances; Oral Confession Indispensable When Baptism Precedes Church Membership; Two-Fold Assurance Then Sought; Objections Met; Advantages Realised; Suffolk’s Testimony; Hazelton’s Corroboration

Article 22—The Lord’s Supper

A Repast; Transubstantiation And Consubstantiation Disclaimed; An Acts Of Commemoration, Not Communication; Figurative Language; “This Is My Body—This Cup, The New Testament In My Blood”; Note On The Use Of Fermented Wine; The Rite Symbolises The Plan Of Salvation; The “Rest-Meal”; Worshippers’ Actions Symbolical; Fellowship And Communion; Fellowship With Christ, And With Other Members, Both Signified; Cause Of Happy Experiences At The Communion, Dr J. G. Rogers And Dr. R. W. Dale Quoted; Objections To The Latter Opinion; View Of Strict Baptists; The Ordinance, An Incitive To Holiness; Unworthy Receiveing, 1 Corinthians 11:27-34

Article 23—Strict Communion

The Lord’s Supper An Acts Of Church Worship Only; United Communion Services Unscriptural; Our Position Defended—Testimonies Of J. C. Philpot And W. Palmer; Case Of The Eunuch; Further Proofs Based On—The Universal Manner Of Receiving Members; Religious Life In Apostolic Times; The Nature Of The Ordinance; And Its Relation To Church Discipline; The Ordinance Not A Means Of Grace For The Sick And Dying; Note On The Public Notification Of Church Exclusion

Article 24—Transient Communion To Be Extended Only To Members Of Churches Of The Same Faith And Order

Strict And Open Churches; Transient Communion, Antiquity Of; Terms Of; Reasons For These; And The Practice Shown To Be Scriptural—From The Nature Of The Ordinance; The Supremacy Of Christ, “As Lord”; The Claims Of Christian Benevolence; And Expediency; And Because Demanded By The Dignity Of “Sister Churches”; Objections Answered; Strict Baptists As Transient Communicants

Article 25—Reception Of Members From “Sister Churches”

Christians Locally Removed, Should As Promptly As Possible Join Another Church; Care to Be Taken In The Reception Of Members Of Other Churches; All Should Vote For Their Reception Or Rejection; A Publica Confession Not Essential From Persons So Joining, But May Be Asked As A Favor; The Amalgamation Of Churches Unscriptural

Article 26—The Reception Of Members From Other Than “Sister Churches”

Method Of Procedure; A Confession Of Faith Essential; But Not Re-Baptism

Article 27—Lapsed Membership

How Only Membership Can Terminate; Church Exclusion—For Absence; Backsliding; Heresy; And Immorality; Religious Derelicts, Their Recovery, Personal Efforts For; Their Reception After Restoration; Rebaptism, Whether Necessary

Article 28—Obligations Of Church Members

Membership Should Be Reality; Embodies “The Social Principle”; Is Volunatary; Demands Holiness; Constant Attendance; Courtesy And Placeability; Pecuniary Generosity; Practical Concern For Other Churches And Christians; And The Maintenance Of Benevolent Societies

Article 29—Churches Should Conserve And Circulate The Truth

Importance Of “The Truth”; Which Every Church Should Conserve; As “A Pillar And A Ground Of The Truth” (1 Timothy 3:14,15); W. Palmer’s Corroboration; The Mission Of The Churches; How “The Truth” Should Be Conserved; By Displaying It; By Circulating The Bible; By Instructing Children; Divine Authority For Sunday Schools; Which Should Impart Moral Instruction; And Sound Doctrine; “Should Church Members Only Be Teachers?”; Views Of Dr. Parker And J. Hazelton; Practice As Soho Chapel; Churches Should Aid In the Extension Of The Gospel; Whereby All Will Be Benefited And The Elect Saved; Home Claims, Priority; Erroneous Teaching, Evils Of; Anxious Inquirers To Be Specially Helped; Not By Fullerism Or Arminianism, But By Sound Doctrine; And By Presenting Distinctions; Delineations; And Directions; As In A Church There Is Not Only Diversity, But Unity, All Should Co-Operate; And Respect The Body, As Such; None Should Become Members Of A Strict And Particular Baptist Church Unless In Full Sympathy With Its Principles And Practices

Article 30—Conclusion

The Foregoing Articles Mainly Based On Those Of Dr. Gill; Ancient Church Covenant

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Frequent reference is made to the Author’s “Manual Of Faith And Practice”, which was published in 1887. A hope was then expressed that a second volume would follow. Heavy trials, both personal and relative, and the present condition of his health now render this improbable if not impossible. God has, however, greatly owned that work, which he ventures to commend as amplifying much that is advanced [in this work]; while the two may, he submits, be advantageously studied together.

After forty years’ labour in the cause of Christ the writer avers his solemn belief that their contents embody the truth of “the living God,” the Gospel of his own salvation in the hope of which he prays to be preserved till his “change shall come” and his earthly service cease.

October, 1902.

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A Guide To Church Fellowship,

As Maintained By

Primitive Or Strict And Particular Baptists.

By William Jeyes Styles

1902

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