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Exaggerated Claims Concerning Andrew Fuller And False Information Regarding ‘High-Calvinists’
Dear Sir, 1795-1835 was a time of widespread revival with Anglican Robert Hawker preaching to thousands, Independent William Huntington equalled his efforts and Baptist William Gadsby founding 45-50 churches filled with new converts. The PBs were not inactive in this time but Mr Cook confuses Gill’s orthodoxy with Fuller’s. Gill had one of the largest Particular Baptist congregations in Britain, outnumbering Fullers by far. Contemporary evangelical magazines objecting to Fullerism’s ‘gangerous’ effect on church growth were legion. However, in 1814, Fuller claimed that his churches had shrunk greatly to an average of fifty members and had been steadily on the decline for 25 years. Church increase was due to split-offs due to Fullerite Liberalism. Yet Fuller confessed that other evangelical denominations were growing. By 1889…
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Chapter 3: Proof Of The Second Of The Three Points In This Debate; Or, The Proof Of This Proposition, That To Propound The Grace-Offer In The External Means, Is No Means Of The Spirit’s Working An Internal Ability In Sinners To Close Savingly With The Offer; Neither Doth Or Will He Set In With Offers To Any Such End.
This proposition is a direct reverse, or quite contrary theme to the triumphs of the plea about offers; yea; it’s contrary to the very mending clause of their article suggested so plausibly before in favour of offers. The emendation of defects discovered in their article is this, that while the offer of Christ, say they, is propounding in the external means to sinners, the Spirit of Christ may be working an internal ability in these sinners to close in savingly with the offer. {“And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed; for I know their imagination…
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Kiffin, Knollys and Keach: Rediscovering our English Baptist Heritage
The news that Carey Publications were to publish the lives of these three 17th century Baptists filled me with a feeling of hopeful expectancy. The three Ks have aided my own understanding of the ways of God immensely and I know from my correspondents that there is an awakened, wide-spread interest in them. Michael Haykin’s book thus comes at a most appropriate time. My expectancy was dampened by Robert Oliver’s foreword in which he takes up his pet theme, Hyper-Calvinism, and back-projects it onto the teaching of Kiffin and Co., arguing that they were against it, whereas they had nothing to do with it, or rather, nothing to do with this modern controversy which is forced onto the churches, leaving havoc and destruction in its…
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Chapter 2: A Disproof Of Offers, Or, The Proof Of The First Of The Three Crowning Points In This Debate; Viz., That Offers Of The Gospel, And Offers Of Salvation To Sinners, Are No Preaching Of The Gospel, Nor Preaching Salvation Unto Sinners.
Do you look, Sirs, upon your Free offers of Grace, &c., {as you call them} to be preaching the Gospel? Yes surely, you will say, we look upon these, especially if we look only one way, to be both one and the same. That is, we look upon them, that albeit all preaching of Christ to sinners is not an offer of Christ to them, yet every free offer of Christ to sinners is preaching the Salvation of Christ to them. Nevertheless I tell you the truth, that offers of Salvation are a thing that falls far short of preaching the Gospel; and a thing that falls far shorter than preaching the Salvation of the Gospel unto sinners. For observe, the power of the Gospel…
Further Study
Chapter 7: Twenty More Particular Resolutions Of The Question, In Order To A Removal Of The Doubt, As To How Must We Preach The Gospel To Sinners, If We Do Not Offer The Gospel To them? Enough To Lay Open The Religious Cheat And The Nakedness Of Free Grace Offers, &c.
Chapter 3: Proof Of The Second Of The Three Points In This Debate; Or, The Proof Of This Proposition, That To Propound The Grace-Offer In The External Means, Is No Means Of The Spirit’s Working An Internal Ability In Sinners To Close Savingly With The Offer; Neither Doth Or Will He Set In With Offers To Any Such End.
Epistle To The Reader
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The Difference Between John Gill’s Free Declaration of the Gospel to Sinners and the Banner of Truth’s ‘Free Offer’
Dear Brother: What is the difference between Gill’s ‘free declaration of peace and pardon, righteousness, life and salvation to poor sinners’ and the ‘free offer’ and ‘duty faith’ of those who deny outright that Gill appealed to all men everywhere to repent and believe the gospel? The difference is that Gill keeps to the gospel as fulfilling what the law could not do, namely provide ‘free grace’. Modern harsh critics of Gill such as friends of the Banner of Truth and Reformation Today, cannot give up their trust in the law for salvation and sanctification. They start with preaching the gospel of duties until faith comes (sic!) and end with preaching sanctification and holiness through keeping the law. There is no room for free grace…
Further Study
The History Of Singing Hymns
Calvinism: An Introduction and Comparison with the Main Historic Christian Alternatives With the Principal Relevant Historical Councils and Creeds Stephen Paynter April 2020
The Old Paths versus New Divinity: Exemplified by William Huntington and Andrew Fuller
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Chapter 1: The Method Propounded, The Matter Stated, And Followed Into The Grand Plea For Offers, And These Briefly Examined And Defeated.
The order of this little writing will consist principally of three points. 1. Concerning offers of Grace. 2. Concerning invitation of sinners to come to Christ. 3. Concerning exhortations to sinners to come to Christ. And albeit I may insist mostly {if the Lord will} upon the first branch of these three laid down, thereby, through the Lord’s assistance, to rectify the mistaken doctrine about offers of Grace, and to advance the true doctrine of Free Grace Operations working efficaciously upon the elect of God; yet I may likewise add something, though very briefly, which belongs to the other two branches. To begin by laying down the method of handling the first, viz., the offers of Grace and Salvation. I. To show how men do…
