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32 Bible Doctrine – The Doctrine Of Duty Faith
I would like to welcome you back to another study in Bible Doctrine. In our previous study, I laid out for you the covenantal framework for 18th century Hyper-Calvinism. There is a covenant of works God made with Adam on behalf of the human race, requiring perfect obedience to the law inscribed upon the heart; and there is a covenant of redemption, otherwise known as the covenant of grace, God made with Himself on behalf of the elect. The conditions of this covenant are the electing love of the Father, the redeeming grace of the Son and the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. I pointed out that this framework was not only a refinement of the covenantal scheme of 17th century Hyper-Calvinism, but also…
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The New Covenant
A covenant means a contract, compact, arrangement between two or more persons. As employed by God it denotes the methods and terms in which He deals with men. He brought Israel out of Egypt by His outstretched arm, and entered into a covenant with them at Sinai. In our text He promises to enter into another arrangement with His people of a different nature to that made at Sinai, which they had broken. An understanding of this covenant, and an interest in it, are matters of paramount importance. It is denominated “a new covenant.” This refers to the date of its publication, otherwise it existed before the other covenant. As Kent sings:— " This cov'nant stood ere time began, That God with men might dwell;…
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The Life and Ministry Of Frank Grimwood
The congregation meeting at Bethesda Chapel, Notting Hill Gate, London, was organized in 1866 around the teachings of the Strict and Particular Baptists. The first pastor, Mr. David Crumpton, served the office for six years, during which time he partnered with Mr. John Hazelton when organizing the Metropolitan Association of Strict Baptist Churches. Four more pastors followed before the turn of the century, leaving the office vacant between the years 1898-1907. It was then Mr. Frank Grimwood was appointed the pastor, serving the office for twenty-one years. In the year 1900, seven years before taking the oversight of Bethesda Chapel, Mr. Micthell, on behalf of the Earthen Vessel, requested Mr. Grimwood submit a short testimony of his life and ministry. This background may be of…
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Article 12 – Spirital Faith A Grace, Not A Natural And Legal Duty
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 XII. Spiritual Faith not a Natural and Legal Duty. We believe that the “precious faith” of “God’s elect,” with which salvation is conjoined,[1] is “the gift of God, “obtained" by the elect “through the righteousness of God our Saviour,” wrought in the heart by “the operation of God,” and manifested by acts of spiritual belief or trust which are performed through gracious ability communicated by the Holy Ghost,[2] and that it is not a duty incumbent on men as men, which they can perform at their pleasure, but is obligatory only…
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Sabbath-Breaking: A Crime Worthy Of Death?
In Numbers chapter 15 an incident is recounted from Israel’s wilderness wandering. It concerns a man who gathered sticks on the sabbath day, and the high cost of his actions. Today, in Britain, we have completely erased capital punishment from the list of possible sentences for wrongdoing. The ultimate act of retribution, the death penalty, is no longer available to judges even for the most heinous of crimes. Sabbath breaking But in Old Testament Israel this was not the case. There were numerous crimes such as murder, adultery and idolatry that earned the punishment of death. However, there were also other crimes such as disobedience towards parents, gluttony, and sabbath-breaking that equally brought down the wrath of the executioner. In our modern culture in which…
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Substituting Fable For Historical Truth
A marked negative feature of common-grace gospellers is the scorn which they pour on men of God who emphasise that the whole gospel must be preached to the whole man as the Spirit leads. Thus they condemn such Christians of the past as Tobias Crisp, John Ryland Senior, William Romaine, William Huntington, John Gill, Augustus Toplady and Robert Hawker who would not dilute their gospel to suit what the common-grace gospellers call ‘man’s agency’. These men were called to preach Christ’s victorious crucifixion accomplishments, including great Bible truths such as the eternal union of Christ with His Bride; Christ’s faith and righteousness imputed to His people, election, predestination and the justifying, saving decrees of God in and from eternity and a faith which endures. Common-grace…
