Lectures 72-73: Particular Baptists and the Evangelical Revival in Great Britain

**[Historical Theology 3: Reformed Baptist Seminary]** **[Lecture 72:] Particular Baptists and the Evangelical Revival in Great Britain, part 2** As we pick up again in our study of Church History and Historical Theology we have been considering the Great 18^th^ century Evangelical Awakening in En...

**[Historical Theology 3: Reformed Baptist Seminary]** **[Lecture 72:] Particular Baptists and the Evangelical Revival in Great Britain, part 2** As we pick up again in our study of Church History and Historical Theology we have been considering the Great 18^th^ century Evangelical Awakening in England.... We paused last time to begin to address the question, what was going on with the Particular Baptists in England at this time? I remind you that the Particular Baptists were Calvinistic/Reformed Baptists who grew out of the English reformation We learned a little bit about them in our study of the Puritan era in England They were called Particular Baptist's because of their Calvinism... It was a prominent segment of Particular Baptists in England who first published what has come to be known as *The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith*... In the last lecture, we were reminded of how Particular Baptist churches began to pop up in England in the early part of the 17^th^ century, largely as an outgrowth and development of the Puritan movement... By the mid-1640's there were seven churches in London When Charles II took the throne in 1660, and the relatively peaceful days of the Cromwell era came to an end, the Baptists went through a period of increased persecution But then a very important event occurred in 1689 It gave new freedom to the Baptists after years of persecution On the surface we might think these new freedoms would result in even greater spiritual vitality and growth Buy the early 1750's the number of churches was down to around 150, from around 220 in the second decade of the century A decrease of about one third Andrew Fuller summed up the situation in these words, "Had matters gone but for a few years, the Baptist's would have become a perfect dunghill in society."[^1^](#fn1){#fnref1.footnote-ref} We saw last time that the first factor in the decline of Particular Baptist's, and also their early resistance to Evangelical Revival... This was the first factor But now we move on to new material and the second factor was... **II**. **[Controversies over More or Less Minor Issues]** Once the Act of Toleration was in place in 1689 and major persecution ceased..... The problem was not so much that there were disagreements among Baptists on some issues *The first issue* was the matter of singing in worship services There may have been exceptions, but apparently the singing of "uninspired*"* hymns was not practiced in any of the English churches, in general, in the 17^th^ century.[^2^](#fn2){#fnref2.footnote-ref} There is evidence some churches did But many were against it and didn't sing at all.[^3^](#fn3){#fnref3.footnote-ref} In some cases, this may have originated from the fear that their secret meetings would be discovered by the authorities during the days of persecution.[^4^](#fn4){#fnref4.footnote-ref} The Particular Baptist, Benjamin Keach, in 1673, persuaded his church to sing a hymn at the close of the Lord's Supper. He allowed those who objected to leave before the hymn Fourteen years after that, "At a church meeting on March 1, 1691, a large majority of the members" of Keach's church "voted to have a hymn sung following the service every Sunday."[^6^](#fn6){#fnref6.footnote-ref} Well twenty-two of Keach's members left over this They felt this practice was an unscriptural innovation. Then they formed themselves into a new church that met at a place called Maze Pond. They stated that it was, "a gross error equall with common nationall Sett forme Prayer."[^7^](#fn7){#fnref7.footnote-ref} "The convictions of these people were shared by a number of leading London Baptists, including William Kiffin, Robert Steed and Isaac Marlow."[^8^](#fn8){#fnref8.footnote-ref} Others wrote against it as well, but Marlowe was the main antagonist writing eleven books that dealt with the issue.[^9^](#fn9){#fnref9.footnote-ref} Haykin points out that, Well, this division over hymn-singing became quite a controversy *The second issue* was the matter of closed versus open membership and open communion This was a debate that also began early before the Act of Toleration. However, the compilers of the 1677 confession (which is also the 1689 confession) decided not to insist on either side of the issue. They explained, "We...are not in full accord among ourselves."[^11^](#fn11){#fnref11.footnote-ref} So, they were content not to insist on one position or the other in the confession. So, these two issues, congregational singing, including the singing of "uninspired" hymns... A lot of energy and time was taken up debating and fussing over these issues, all of which tended to distract from more important things. Apparently, he knew many nonconformist pastors well, including Particular Baptists Finally, he chose to stay and one of several reasons he did was his impression that the nonconformists were constantly entangled in doctrinal disputes. It's also interesting to read John Newton's explanation of why he never became a Baptist The lesson for us is clear as Reformed Baptists. We must not allow such things to distract us from the higher priorities of the kingdom. Of course, there's the opposite danger of neglecting and minimizing the importance of sound doctrine. This too must be avoided. We must uphold our confessional standard when it comes to our closest inter-church relationships and ties. And even with brethren who don't hold to our confession... This is a good lead in for us to consider, now, thirdly III. **[The Negative Attitude at First of Many of the Particular Baptists toward the Evangelical Revival When It Began (And Some of the Reasons for this)]** As we've been seeing in earlier lectures, in the late 1730's, in connection with the ministries of men like George Whitefield and John Wesley and many others we've learned about.... In England thousands gathered sometimes in the open air to hear men like George Whitefield and others preach the gospel. What effect did this great awakening have upon the Particular Baptists? Well sad to say, it basically passed by many of them. According to Mark Reid, "The Baptists seem to have largely passed the first Evangelical Revival by with very few records of positive responses to it in the peak years"[^14^](#fn14){#fnref14.footnote-ref} In the words of Haykin, "up till the death of Whitefield in 1770 the majority of Calvinistic Baptists in England stood aloof from this great work of God, the Holy Spirit, and were largely untouched by it"[^16^](#fn16){#fnref16.footnote-ref} There were exceptions to this, but this is the general picture we're given. Now the awakening eventually did begin to have an effect, and especially to have a huge effect upon Particular Baptists by the last quarter of the century Why is that? **First of all,** *they were suspicious of the revival because its leaders were members of the Church of England*. This was partly related to what was a commendable and faithful commitment of the Baptists to the importance of biblical church order. But these concerns and experiences went wrong with many of them by swinging to the extreme of failing to have a proper spirit of catholicity toward all true Christians. And some of the leaders, like John Gill and Benjamin Wallin, had strong opinions as to how this decline was to be remedied. For example, Benjamin Wallin, pastor of the Maze Pond congregation, argued that, "as long as there was a neglect of believer's baptism and the principles of congregational church government, any attempt to revive the churches of Christ was 'essentially deficient.'"[^18^](#fn18){#fnref18.footnote-ref} The emphasis of the preaching was not upon biblical church order and the proper subjects of baptism. In addition, most of the great preachers who were leaders of this revival were members of the Church of England. So were John and Charles Wesley. Much worse than that, the Wesley's were also Arminian These realities caused the Particular Baptists, in general, to view the whole revival with suspicion and to stay aloof from it. William Herbert, a Welsh Baptist pastor, was a friend of Howell Harris. He protested to Harris about him staying in the Church of England, which we can sympathize with "In a letter he wrote to Harris in January of 1737, he compared the Church of England to a pub, 'which is open to all comers', and to a 'common field where every noisome beast may come.'"[^19^](#fn19){#fnref19.footnote-ref} Don't you realize, he asked Harris, that the Scripture describes the church as, "a garden enclosed, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Separate from ye profane world." Their dislike for the Wesley's is more understandable, in light of the Arminianism of the Wesley's and Wesley's doctrine of Christian Perfection But most of the great leaders of the revival were Calvinists like Whitefield So, what is the lesson for us as Reformed Baptists? Though some may have difficulty accepting this, God in His sovereignty sometimes greatly blesses and uses men who are not Reformed Baptists Or even men who are wrong in certain non-essential areas of their theology. Also, there's a common mistake we need to be aware of. Likewise, it's true we must always be pursuing more and more thorough reformation. But in God's sovereignty, it's simply a fact of history that sometimes revival precedes reformation. They were wrong, and because they felt that way, they stood aloof from the revival when it came. It was first a spiritual awakening *before* it became a reformation. In England there were men like Hugh Latimer who got converted and began preaching the gospel. What about the revival in England we've been considering? Listen to Lloyd-Jones making this same point I'm making, Many Particular Baptists missed it because they were not willing to even allow for that possibility in their ecclesiology. Instead of standing aloof from what God was doing through them. But there's another factor that contributed to the early resistance of Particular Baptists to the revival **Secondly**, there was *the chilling effect of Hyper-Calvinism* that had crept into the thinking of some of their churches The hall mark of Hyper-Calvinism is the rejection of the free offer of the gospel to all men. *Or* they believed Christ should be offered only to those who showed signs of election or signs of regeneration.... A certain measure conviction of sin and so on The Hyper-Calvinist rightly sees the doctrines of sovereign grace (unconditional election, particular redemption and human inability) in the scriptures... On the other hand, Biblical Calvinism, or what is sometimes called Evangelical Calvinism, embraces both of those truths, because it believes they are both taught in the Bible. There is mystery here because we are dealing with God. Well many of the early 18^th^ century Particular Baptists began to be heavily influenced by Hyper-Calvinism. These views were embraced by a member of his church, John Skepp. Skepp, together with another Particular Baptist who came to Hyper-Calvinistic views, John Brine, had a major influence in bringing those views into Particular Baptist churches. Gill was a very gifted scholar and preacher who pastored in London. However, there's little doubt, I think, that he was at least tinged with certain Hyper-Calvinist tendencies... And many of those who identified with Gill were Hyper-Calvinists. Spurgeon later said, "The system of theology with which many identify his name has chilled many churches to their very soul, for it has led them to omit the free invitations of the gospel, and to deny the duty of sinners to believe in Jesus"[^24^](#fn24){#fnref24.footnote-ref} In 1752 Eve was ordained pastor of the Baptist church in Soham, a small village north-east of Cambridge. He ministered there until 1771. Fuller grew up under his ministry. Generally, there was no pleading with sinners, and no exhortations to sinners to come to Christ. It shouldn't surprise us that churches coming under this influence tended to be marked by a lack a passion for evangelism and missions that brought an appalling deadness to the churches.[^26^](#fn26){#fnref26.footnote-ref} **Thirdly**, discomfort with the outward expressions of emotion that sometimes accompanied the revival As I've pointed out before, today to be enthusiastic means to be zealous or fervent about something. In those days it meant something different*.* In the early 18^th^ century the word was commonly used to describe an imbalanced religious emotionalism of persons who suppose that they have some special nearness to God.[^27^](#fn27){#fnref27.footnote-ref} The climate of the eighteenth century being one that gloried in reason and moderation*,* anything that might smack of fanaticism or emotionalism was frowned upon. It also came to be used to refer to any kind of religious excitement.[^30^](#fn30){#fnref30.footnote-ref} Now there is a kind of fanaticism we do very much need to beware of. There is usually a fringe element that falls into a kind of mindless emotionalism which ignores the Bible... So, this is always a real danger that must be guarded against and reproved. Whitefield in his early days tended at times to put great stock in inner impressions for personal guidance, but this soon changed as he matured He argued that all inner impressions must be tried by, "the unerring rule of God's most holy Word" and that anything incompatible with God's Word must be rejected as "diabolical and delusive."[^32^](#fn32){#fnref32.footnote-ref} Even Wesley was strongly opposed to many of these things At a certain point one of the Methodist preachers, George Bell, claimed that he had power to heal the sick and to give prophesies... With that, Wesley disowned Bell from the Methodists and denounced him.[^35^](#fn35){#fnref35.footnote-ref} However, they did preach, and rightly so, that true Christianity is experiential. They believed that the work of the Spirit in the heart through the gospel impacts and affects the whole man; mind, will and emotions. For example, Howell Harris tells about the preaching of Daniel Rowland. To some of the Particular Baptists, and others, these manifestations of emotion were viewed as rank enthusiasm. The prominent Baptist theologian John Gill in his great work, *A Complete Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity*, written in 1769-70, wrote that joy is, "not to be fully expressed by those who experience it; it is better experienced than expressed"[^37^](#fn37){#fnref37.footnote-ref} The pastor of the Baptist church in Cardigan, South Wales, a Pastor Williams, maintained that it was not genuine spirituality but carnality which becomes, "excited and expanded and goes up in words, sounds, tears and agitations of the affections."[^39^](#fn39){#fnref39.footnote-ref} Likewise in 1754 St. Mary's Baptist Church in Norwich ruled that it was "unlawful for any \[member\]...to attend upon the meeting of the Methodists."[^40^](#fn40){#fnref40.footnote-ref} In fact, in the year prior to this ruling by the church in Norwich, Whitefield had spent three weeks there, preaching "to thousands..twice every day."[^41^](#fn41){#fnref41.footnote-ref} It's uncertain, and I've been unable to determine, exactly how widespread this attitude toward the emotion of the revival was among Particular Baptists... Along with that, they were also suspicious of the sudden nature of the conversions that sometimes happened under the preaching of Whitefield and these other men... Quoting Roberts, "Their experience of Christ had been much more of a process of education into the faith, often as second-generation Baptists"[^42^](#fn42){#fnref42.footnote-ref} Quoting Roberts again, "Lingering over the guilt of sin, emphasis on being educated into the Christian faith, as contrasted to radical (sudden) conversion marked their acquaintance with grace"[^43^](#fn43){#fnref43.footnote-ref} These men will be, "mostly first generation Baptists, having experienced various levels of" a more "dramatic" conversion under revival evangelists and itinerants"[^45^](#fn45){#fnref45.footnote-ref} [Comment] Well, let us learn from this the importance of being balanced on this subject. Also, we must not undervalue the conversion of those whose experience of grace is not sudden and dramatic.... As is often the case with those raised in a Christian home But at the same time, we must not be immediately suspicious of those whose conversion *is* more sudden and dramatic In fact, we see a lot of that in the book of Acts, don't we? Obviously, this is a very delicate area in which there is great need of balance. A whole series of sermons could easily be preached on these things Jonathan Edwards addressed this subject in great detail in his works *Treatise on Religious Affections, Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God,* and *Thoughts of the Revival of Religion in New England.*[^46^](#fn46){#fnref46.footnote-ref} But let me just mention a few principles we must always keep in mind *One* is that the worship of God is to be marked by *both* reverence and joy *Two*, reverence and joy properly understood do not contradict or cancel out each other *Fourthly*, sometimes these emotions may be raised to an unusual and extraordinarily high degree and there may be nothing improper in that There's nothing necessarily wrong with that, so long as it's the power of Bible truth rightly comprehended and understood that produces it. [Explain] **[Take a break]** **[Lesson 73:] Particular Baptists and the Evangelical Revival in Great Britain, part 3** [Review] *Well picking back up here where we left off, I now want to show us how things began to change* *A whole series of lectures could be given on this alone* *But in this context, I'll have to keep to more of a summary* *I want us to consider this from four angles* *Second, the influence of Grimshaw upon the Baptists in Yorkshire* *Three, the influence of the Baptist Academy in Bristol* *And then the life and influence of Andrew Fuller* *So first of all...* I. ***[Changes in the Particular Baptist Churches in London]*** *R. Philip Roberts has written a detailed study in which he focuses specifically on Calvinistic Baptists in London and the Evangelical Revival....* *Looking especially at the years 1760-1820*[^47^](#fn47){#fnref47.footnote-ref} *It was originally prepared as a Doctoral Thesis for the Free University of Amsterdam....* *After spending a significant section of the book discussing the initial negative response to the revival by many of the London Baptists* *He states that in this period, London Calvinistic Baptists gradually incorporated the spirit and influence of the Evangelical Revival into virtually all of their churches* *He argues that two of the factors causing this were.....* *One, there arose a new generation of pastors, many of whom had been converted during the revival and under the preaching of men like Whitefield* *For example, one of the historians of Whitefield's Tabernacle declared that that both it, and Whitefield's Tottenham Court Chapel, were notorious for, "feeding the Dissenting Churches on all sides at the cost of its own prosperity"*[^48^](#fn48){#fnref48.footnote-ref} Later he also mentions the influence of new pastors coming into London who had been trained at the Baptist Academy in Bristol More about that later Roberts gives a very interesting and fairly detailed survey of what occurred in 13 Particular Baptist churches in London[^49^](#fn49){#fnref49.footnote-ref} Between 1730-34 there were sixty one So something was already happening in that particular church, very early Gifford eventually became a friend of George Whitefield In fact, he edited and published eighteen sermons by Whitefield Moving a little further on, in the course of the 1760's 116 persons were baptized into the fellowship of the church In the course of the 70's, there were 98 Between 1748 and 1760 five young men were appointed by the church to preach the gospel Next, *Devonshire Square Church* Between 1750 and 1760, 217 were baptized and brought into the church *Unicorn Yard Church* Between 1736 and 1745 the church had declined from 115 members to 81 Eventually the church had so declined, they considered closing their doors But they kept on In the early 1770's things began to change There were 32 baptisms between 1772 and 1774 *Curriers Hall Baptist Church* *Prescott Street Church* Between 1769 and 1779 there were 122 baptisms And by the end of his ministry there, there had been 452 *Carter Lane Church* When he was first called there in 1773 it caused a division in the church and thirty members left But by the end of 1774 there had been 57 baptisms 320 more were added by 1791 *Red Cross Street Church* In 1773 they called a pastor who was a revival convert His name was William Augustus Clarke Under his ministry from 1773 to 1790 the church grew From 21 members it increased four-fold with, at least, 115 baptisms *Maze Pond church* The new pastor had been trained at Bristol His name was James Dore In his first year as pastor, in 1784, there were 11 baptisms Within five years, 38 more The decade of 1790-1799 saw sixty five recorded baptisms *Little Wild Church* It had been pastored since 1758 by Dr. Samuel Stennett, a strict traditiontialist who was opposed to the revival He died in 1795 After his death the church went without a pastor for five years Finally, in April of 1800, another Bristol student, Benjamin Coxhead, supplied the church, and three months later was called to be their pastor In his first full year of ministry there in 1801 there were 28 baptisms This was followed by a mild decline and Coxhead resigned in 1807 In July 1809 Thomas Waters became the pastor there Again, there was an immediate time of blessing, but again followed by a time of resistance and decline He resigned in 1815 There appears to have been a part of the congregation still adhering to the views of Stennett.... As this cycle happened again with the next pastor It seems this particular church never did fully shake off its old tendencies and discomfort with the evangelical preachers *Little Allie Street Church* This church had been pastored by a High Calvinist, or we might say someone tinged with Hyper-Calvinism, from 1756 until 1795 A new pastor took the church in 1798 There were only 23 people present for his first sermon It's said that he was a man "who steered clear of Arminianism" while guarding "against a false Calvinism" *Blandford Street Church* The new pastor had been a farmer who experienced an evangelical conversion *Grafton/Keppel Street Church* It used to meet at Grafton Street, but eventually moved to Keppel Street John Martin began his ministry there in 1774 While at Grafton Street he baptized 45 people in his first ten years, between 1774 and 1784 He baptized 15 in 1796 after the church moved to Keppel street, 24 in 1797, and 36 in 1812 In addition to these already existing churches that began to prosper... East Lane in 1779; Mare Street/Hackney in 1798; Fetter Lane in 1782; The Bow Church in 1785 Lion Street in 1805 and Cotton Street/Poplar in 1808 Roberts makes the comment, "By 1800 it had become evident that London Calvinistic Baptist pastors were in the midst of a complete and thorough transition" He has a chapter in which he shows, that besides the growth of baptisms and new congregations, there were other ways the Baptists evidenced revival[^52^](#fn52){#fnref52.footnote-ref} *Another*, was the influence of Bristol Baptist Academy and the balanced evangelical Calvinism it promoted in its students.... *A third* was a refocusing on prayer But London is only one small part of England, an important part and a very influential part.... II. **[The Influence of William Grimshaw Upon the Baptists in Yorkshire]** You may remember we considered the life and ministry of William Grimshaw in a previous lesson And he exercised a powerful evangelistic ministry in Haworth, and the surrounding areas in the county of Yorkshire And there were several other men who became Baptists who were converted under Grimshaw Grimshaw would joke about this He once joked, "So many of my chickens are becoming ducks!" There was another man in Yorkshire by the name of John Fawcett, who had been converted under the ministry of George Whitefield... Well Fawcett too eventually came to Baptist convictions, and he became pastor of Wainsgate Baptist church in 1764 In the late 1760's he experienced a revival in his church The meeting house became too small to accommodate all the people A gallery had to be erected, and the interior had to be altered to provide more seating Sutcliffe eventually attended and was trained for the ministry at, you guessed it, The Bristol Baptist Academy And, also, with the Baptists John Ryland Jr. and Andrew Fuller In 1784 Ryland received in the mail a treatise by Jonathan Edwards It was sent to him by the Scottish Presbyterian minister John Erskine It's entitled *An Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of God's People in Extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ's Kingdom on Earth, Pursuant to Scripture Promises and Prophecies concerning the Last Time* For short it's often called, simply, *The Humble Attempt* Reading this had a profound impact upon Ryland, and he immediately shared it with Sutcliffe and Fuller Sutcliffe proposed that the brothers respond to this plea, and establish monthly prayer meetings for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the revival of the churches in Great Britain He said, "The grand object in prayer is to be, that the Holy Spirit may be poured down on our ministries and churches, that sinners may be converted, the saints edified, the interest of religion revived, and the name of God glorified. At the same time remember, we trust you will not confine your requests to your own societies, or to your own immediate connection; let the whole interest of the gospel to the most distant parts of the habitable globe be the object of your most fervent requests....Who can tell what the consequences of such an united effort in prayer may be! Let us plead with God the many gracious promises of his word, which relate to the future success of the gospel. He has said (and here he quotes our opening text this evening), "I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them, I will increase them with men like a flock" (Ez. 36:37)." Remember in 1750 the number of Calvinistic Baptist churches in England and Wales had dwindled to just about 150 John Rippon wrote, "It is said that more of our meeting houses have been enlarged within the last five years and built within the last fifteen, than had been built and enlarged for thirty years before" III. **[The Influence of the Bristol Baptist Academy]** I pointed out earlier that many of the pastors who began to fill the pulpits in the churches in London had graduated from there And this is also where John Sutcliffe was trained So let me tell you a little bit about it Bristol is a city about 119 miles directly west of London Edward Terrill, an elder in the Broadmead congregation who lived from 1634 to around 1685... But it was not until 1720 when this vision and this stipend was paid out to Bernard Foskett, who had come to Broadmead to be the assistant minister This was the beginning of Bristol Baptist Academy There are no records of the Academy prior to 1770 When Foskett died in 1758, Evans succeeded him as pastor of the church at Broadmead and principal of the academy During most of his tenure he was assisted by his son, Caleb Evans Hugh Evans took a keen interest in his students and sought to be as a father to them There was a great emphasis in the academy on training the students in Greek and Hebrew It was Jonathan Edwards who was given the highest praise by Caleb Evans in a list of books drawn up in 1773 for one of the students Caleb Evans in the ordination service of one of the students on Aug. 4, 1773 told him that, "The grand business....of a gospel minister must be to preach Christ" IV. **[The Life and Influence of Andrew Fuller]** He's already been mentioned as one of the friends of John Sutcliffe who was involved in the formation of *the Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Amongst the Heathen* At least *one of* the greatest and most influential Let me tell you a bit about him[^55^](#fn55){#fnref55.footnote-ref} Andrew Fuller was born on Feb. 6, 1754 in the village of Wicken, Cambridgeshire He came from a lower middle-class background His parents were Baptist by conviction The pastor at the time was a man named John Eve And that his preaching, "had little or nothing to say to the unconverted" Fuller gave little thought to the sermons he heard in the church... And little serious consideration to the state of his soul, except occasional twinges of conscience about lying, cursing and swearing He read Bunyan's *Pilgrim's Progress* and his spiritual autobiography, *Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners* And, also, some of the works of the great Scottish preacher Ralph Erskine He would be moved in his reading of these things to weeping and tears at times... But these feelings, ultimately, proved to be transient and superficial Haykin points out that, "one popular expression of eighteenth-century High Calvinist spirituality was the notion that if a scriptural text forcefully impressed itself on upon one's mind, it was to be regarded as a promise from God" Surely, he thought this is a token of God's pleasure toward me God is telling me that I'm in state of salvation But that evening, he later recalled, "I returned to my former vices with as eager a gusto as ever" In 1769 he once again came under conviction of sin He went for weeks vowing and breaking vows.... And on a morning in November of that year he walked out by himself, with an awful load of guilt upon his conscience Though he had deceived himself at times into thinking he was a Christian, he felt that all the time he had no love for God and no desire for His presence... No hunger to be like Christ and no love for his people He felt he was lacking in any right feelings, or qualifications, to come to Christ and that he had no refuge And yet he could not bear to give himself up to complete despair It was here the the Hyper-calvinistic teaching he had been under proved to be a great hindrance to him "This perspective on conversion" was based on the argument common among Hyper-Calvinists "that the Scriptures invite only those sinners who are sensible of their sin to believe in Christ. The net affect of this teaching---though unintended by either Gill or Brine---was to place the essence of conversion and faith, not in believing the gospel, but in a persuasion of our being interested (included) in its benefits" "Instead of attention being directed away from oneself to Christ, the convicted sinner was turned inward upon himself or herself to search for evidence that he or she was being converted. Against this perspective Fuller would later argue that the gospel exhortation to believe in Christ was a sufficient warrant to come to the Lord Jesus" So here is Fuller, in this vice of hopelessness He was convinced he didn't meet up to the proper standard of right feelings and convictions and qualifications to give him a warrant to trust in Christ... Let me quote now from Fuller himself "I was not then aware that *any* poor sinner had a warrant to believe in Christ for the salvation of his soul, but supposed there must be some kind of qualification to entitle him to do it; yet I was aware that I had no qualifications. On a review of my resolution at that time, it seems to resemble that of Esther, who went into the king's presence, *contrary to law*, and at the hazard of her life. Like her, I seemed reduced to extremities, impelled, by dire necessity to run all hazards, even though I should perish in the attempt."[^57^](#fn57){#fnref57.footnote-ref} Well from this time forward Fuller began to experience peace with God He says that his, "fears were gradually and insensibly removed" And he became aware that he had, "passed from death unto life" This happened in November 1769 He was baptized in April 1770 and became a member of the Baptist church in Soham At that time Fuller and another man in the church, a friend, 25 years his senior, began filling the pulpit... This began a theological process in Fuller's thinking as he began to study the Scriptures... He refined his understanding of justification by faith and one of the things to which he especially gave his attention is what was called, "The Modern Question"... Namely, "Is" an "unregenerate man under spiritual obligation to repent and believe upon Christ upon hearing the gospel, and parallel to that, is the gospel minister to call upon such sinners for evangelical faith and repentance"[^59^](#fn59){#fnref59.footnote-ref} Or must we restrict the invitations of the gospel to those who show certain qualifications or indications of regeneration And only those who are convicted enough or show signs of being regenerate will believe on Christ There's an important distinction here to be made The w*ay of* faith and *the warrant* of faith, these are not the same thing The warrant to believe in Christ is the free invitation of the gospel to all men, indeed, the command of the gospel to all men to believe and to receive Christ for salvation The tendency is to turn him inward looking in himself to see if he has enough of whatever he thinks he must have It's a subtle form of self-righteousness (explain) Our only qualification is that we are sinners, and God freely invites and urges us and even commands us to trust in Christ and be saved Someone says, but men can't because they are spiritually dead Yes, but that doesn't change the fact it's their duty to do so And often it's in the very context of urging the sinner to come to Christ, that God gives him the grace to do so [Ilus.] The Man with the Withered Hand Well Fuller gave himself to working through these questions by a careful study of the scriptures A work that was greatly used of God to deliver many Baptists from the chilling effects of hypercalvinism... This was one of many excellent works by Fuller addressing various front burning theological issues of the time "First, sinners have every encouragement to trust in the Lord Jesus for the salvation of their souls. They do not need to spend time dallying to see if they are among God's elect or if God is at work in their hearts by his Spirit. Moreover, they can no longer sit at ease under the sound of the gospel and excuse their unbelief by asserting that faith is the gift of God"[^61^](#fn61){#fnref61.footnote-ref}.... As mentioned earlier Fuller was to become one of those men who helped to send William Cary to India ::: {.section.footnotes} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. ::: {#fn1} Ibid. 25.[↩](#fnref1){.footnote-back} ::: 2. ::: {#fn2} Merck, 261.[↩](#fnref2){.footnote-back} ::: 3. ::: {#fn3} Thomas Ross, *English Particular Baptist Singing and Congregational Worship Practices*, internet.[↩](#fnref3){.footnote-back} ::: 4. ::: {#fn4} Merck, 261.[↩](#fnref4){.footnote-back} ::: 5. ::: {#fn5} Ibid.[↩](#fnref5){.footnote-back} ::: 6. ::: {#fn6} Michael Haykin, *Kiffin, Knollys and Keach,* (Leeds, England: Reformation Today Trust, 1996), 92.[↩](#fnref6){.footnote-back} ::: 7. ::: {#fn7} Ibid.[↩](#fnref7){.footnote-back} ::: 8. ::: {#fn8} Ibid.[↩](#fnref8){.footnote-back} ::: 9. ::: {#fn9} Ibid. 93.[↩](#fnref9){.footnote-back} ::: 10. ::: {#fn10} Ibid.[↩](#fnref10){.footnote-back} ::: 11. ::: {#fn11} Oliver, *History of English Calvinistic Baptists,* xviii.[↩](#fnref11){.footnote-back} ::: 12. ::: {#fn12} D. M. Lloyd-Jones, *The Puritans: Their Origins And Successors* (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1987)*,* 299.[↩](#fnref12){.footnote-back} ::: 13. ::: {#fn13} John Newton, *Apologia,* in *The Works of John Newton*, Vol. 5 (1820 reprint, Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust. 1985) 3-58.[↩](#fnref13){.footnote-back} ::: 14. ::: {#fn14} Mark Reid, web article in my files[↩](#fnref14){.footnote-back} ::: 15. ::: {#fn15} Quoted by Reid.[↩](#fnref15){.footnote-back} ::: 16. ::: {#fn16} Haykin, *Sutcliff,* 27.[↩](#fnref16){.footnote-back} ::: 17. ::: {#fn17} Ibid. 26.[↩](#fnref17){.footnote-back} ::: 18. ::: {#fn18} Ibid.[↩](#fnref18){.footnote-back} ::: 19. ::: {#fn19} Ibid. 27[↩](#fnref19){.footnote-back} ::: 20. ::: {#fn20} Ibid.[↩](#fnref20){.footnote-back} ::: 21. ::: {#fn21} D.M. Lloyd-Jones, "Revival: An Historical and Theological Survey", in *Puritans: Their Origins and Successors* (Carlisle PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1987), 14-15.[↩](#fnref21){.footnote-back} ::: 22. ::: {#fn22} On this point see Ian Murray, *The Old Evangelicalism: Old Truths For A New Awakening* (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2005). Chapter five is entitled, "What Can We Learn From John Wesley?"[↩](#fnref22){.footnote-back} ::: 23. ::: {#fn23} ::: 24. ::: {#fn24} ::: 25. ::: {#fn25} ::: 26. ::: {#fn26} ::: 27. ::: {#fn27} Iain Murray, *Pentecost-Today?: The Biblical Basis for Understanding Revival* (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Banner of Truth Trust, 1998), 135.[↩](#fnref27){.footnote-back} ::: 28. ::: {#fn28} Ibid. Murray uses this word reluctantly acknowledging that it's not the perfect word either.[↩](#fnref28){.footnote-back} ::: 29. ::: {#fn29} Haykin, *Sutcliff,* 28.[↩](#fnref29){.footnote-back} ::: 30. ::: {#fn30} Ibid.[↩](#fnref30){.footnote-back} ::: 31. ::: {#fn31} George Whitefield, "Walking with God", *George Whitefield: Sermons-Vol.1* (reprint, New Ipswich, NH: Pietan Publications, 1993), 241-255.[↩](#fnref31){.footnote-back} ::: 32. ::: {#fn32} Ibid.[↩](#fnref32){.footnote-back} ::: 33. ::: {#fn33} Ibid.[↩](#fnref33){.footnote-back} ::: 34. ::: {#fn34} Murray, *Pentecost,*136.[↩](#fnref34){.footnote-back} ::: 35. [[↩](#fnref35){.footnote-back}]{#fn35} 36. ::: {#fn36} Ibid.[↩](#fnref36){.footnote-back} ::: 37. [[↩](#fnref37){.footnote-back}]{#fn37} 38. ::: {#fn38} Ibid.[↩](#fnref38){.footnote-back} ::: 39. ::: {#fn39} Ibid. 31-32.[↩](#fnref39){.footnote-back} ::: 40. ::: {#fn40} Ibid. 32.[↩](#fnref40){.footnote-back} ::: 41. ::: {#fn41} Ibid.[↩](#fnref41){.footnote-back} ::: 42. ::: {#fn42} *Continuity and Change,* 69[↩](#fnref42){.footnote-back} ::: 43. ::: {#fn43} Ibid. 70[↩](#fnref43){.footnote-back} ::: 44. ::: {#fn44} Ibid.[↩](#fnref44){.footnote-back} ::: 45. ::: {#fn45} Ibid.[↩](#fnref45){.footnote-back} ::: 46. ::: {#fn46} See *The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 1 and 2* (1834 reprint, Carlisle, Pa: Banner of Truth Trust, 1987)[↩](#fnref46){.footnote-back} ::: 47. ::: {#fn47} R. Philips Roberts, *London Calvinistic Baptists and The Evangelical Revival 1760-1820* (Richard Owen Roberts Publishers: Wheaton, Illinois ,1989)[↩](#fnref47){.footnote-back} ::: 48. ::: {#fn48} Ibid., 88.[↩](#fnref48){.footnote-back} ::: 49. ::: {#fn49} See pp. 87-123.[↩](#fnref49){.footnote-back} ::: 50. ::: {#fn50} *Little Wild Church Minute Book*, quoted by Roberts, 107.[↩](#fnref50){.footnote-back} ::: 51. ::: {#fn51} Ibid. 120[↩](#fnref51){.footnote-back} ::: 52. ::: {#fn52} Chapter Four, 125-162.[↩](#fnref52){.footnote-back} ::: 53. ::: {#fn53} Most of this information is drawn and adapted from Haykin, *One Heart and One Soul,* 39-47[↩](#fnref53){.footnote-back} ::: 54. ::: {#fn54} See chapter 3, "Bristol, 'the metropolis of the West'", 48-67.[↩](#fnref54){.footnote-back} ::: 55. ::: {#fn55} This biographical information is drawn primarily from two sources: Tom Nettles, *The Baptists: Key People Involved In Forming A Baptist Identity, Volume One: Beginnings in Great Britain* (2005 reprint, Geanies House, Fearn, Rosshire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 2008), 243-278 and Michael Haykin, *One Heart and One Soul: John Sutcliffe of Olney, his friends and his times, 133-152.*[↩](#fnref55){.footnote-back} ::: 56. ::: {#fn56} Haykin, *One Heart and One Soul,* 135.[↩](#fnref56){.footnote-back} ::: 57. ::: {#fn57} Quoted by Nettles, *The Baptists, Volume One*, 246.[↩](#fnref57){.footnote-back} ::: 58. ::: {#fn58} Ibid.[↩](#fnref58){.footnote-back} ::: 59. ::: {#fn59} Nettles, *The Baptists Vol.1*, 247.[↩](#fnref59){.footnote-back} ::: 60. ::: {#fn60} Nettles, *The Baptists, Volume One,* 250[↩](#fnref60){.footnote-back} ::: 61. ::: {#fn61} Haykin, *One Heart and One Soul,* 142[↩](#fnref61){.footnote-back} ::: 62. ::: {#fn62} Ibid.[↩](#fnref62){.footnote-back} ::: :::