{"id":24375,"date":"2025-03-04T23:04:09","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T23:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/?p=24375"},"modified":"2025-03-04T23:04:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T23:04:09","slug":"a-holy-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/2025\/03\/a-holy-calling\/","title":{"rendered":"A Holy Calling"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWho hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling.\u201d\u20142 Timothy 1:9<\/strong><\/p>\n

Such as our notions of sin and danger are, such is our judgment of salvation and deliverance. In our natural state we see only the fruits of sin in outward actions, but consider not the corrupt cursed root from whence they spring. Hence poor souls think it no great and difficult matter to be saved, especially if they have some specious show of the external adornings of sobriety, morality, and religion. Happy souls, who have escaped this dangerous rock of pride and self deceit. For when the scales of ignorance fall from the eyes, and the veil of unbelief is taken off the heart; when the true light shineth in the mind, and the purity and spirituality of God\u2019s holy law is made manifest in the conscience, then the sinner sees his state to be truly desperate. Sin appears exceeding sinful, justly deserved hell and wrath are most dreadful; and most deplorable of all, he finds he must utterly sink into despair and perish, for any thing he is able to do to save his own soul. \u2018God be merciful to me a sinner,\u2019 is the cry of his heart. \u2018In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book; and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity,\u2019 saith the Lord, Is. 29:18. The book of God\u2019s eternal counsel shall be disclosed, his purpose and decree of salvation shall be made known by his revealed truth to the heart, the joyful sound of salvation by Jesus shall be heard in the soul, and the poor sinner shall see Christ\u2019s finished work as his only hope. Love presided in the council, grace shall reign to salvation. The gospel trumpet sounds reconciliation to ungodly sinners, salvation for lost souls. Their good works produced it not; their sins, however numerous and great, shall not deprive them of it. We are first saved, then called to know it, and to glorify God for it.<\/p>\n

When called with an effectual calling to Jesus, by the word and power of the Spirit, we possess and enjoy hope in God, and comfort from him. Effects prove their cause. A bold, confident assurance that I am elected, that I know my sins are pardoned, is not of the essence of gospel faith, or that applies the comforts of gospel salvation to the soul; but election to salvation is made manifest by \u2018a holy calling.\u2019 Paul did not confidently assert that he was an apostle; but, says he, \u2018truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you.\u2019 2 Cor. 12:12. And verily, disciple, if thou art saved in purpose and decree from eternity, redeemed by Jesus in time, effectual vocation is the consequence; whereby thou art called to the knowledge of a holy Saviour by a holy faith; art a partaker of a holy nature, and wilt \u2018show thy faith by thy works.\u2019 Inward purity of heart and outward holiness of life will ever be the study and joy of thy soul. \u2018Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.\u2019 Heb. 12:14<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Such as our notions of sin and danger are, such is our judgment of salvation and deliverance. In our natural state we see only the fruits of sin in outward actions, but consider not the corrupt cursed root from whence they spring. Hence poor souls think it no great and difficult matter to be saved, especially if they have some specious show of the external adornings of sobriety, morality, and religion. Happy souls, who have escaped this dangerous rock of pride and self deceit. For when the scales of ignorance fall from the eyes, and the veil of unbelief is taken off the heart; when the true light shineth in the mind, and the purity and spirituality of God\u2019s holy law is made manifest in the conscience, then the sinner sees his state to be truly desperate. Sin appears exceeding sinful, justly deserved hell and wrath are most dreadful; and most deplorable of all, he finds he must utterly sink into despair and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":325,"featured_media":20656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1571],"tags":[1197],"class_list":["post-24375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-william-mason","tag-spiritual-growth"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/325"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24375"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24376,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24375\/revisions\/24376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}