1837 Circular Letter of the Baltimore Association
[T]HE EXPERIENCE OF ALL THE SAINTS, …attests, that the work of regeneration is wholly of the Lord, for not only have they not helped in the work; but did all they could to hinder it—their carnal reason and their senses, their lust, and passions, were all up in arms against it, they were every way averse to it, and indeed when they saw the necessity of salvation, they sought it, by the works of the law and until at last stripped of all legal hope they were brought as humble suppliants to the foot of sovereign mercy, were led to renounce righteous as well as sinful self, so almighty was that arm of the Lord that was revealed, that every opposing power was subdued, the strongest prejudices vanquished, the most corrupt habits mortified, so that of reluctant sinners, God has made them by his grace, the willing subjects of the Redeemer’s kingdom, and therefore, their language is, “Not unto us, not unto us, but to thy name” Blessed Lord “be all the glory.”
God [claims] this work for his own, hence it is written “I’ll give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,” see Ezekiel, chap. xxxvi verse 26, in this passage there are no less than three I wills, all declarative that God will do the whole work again as it is written “this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people,” these words are not spoken potentially; as only a possible thing, that may or can take place, nor subjunctively, as a doubtful thing, dependent upon a condition, but indicatively, I will, and they shall.
We read in the Acts of the Apostles, that the Lord opened the heart of Lydia, as he certainly does the hearts of all his people, for the reception of his word, that the work is of grace will further appear when we reflect that all the Christian graces which are of the Spirit’s operation, are represented in the sacred volume, as the special gifts of God, particularly faith and repentance. Faith is expressly said not to be of ourselves; “By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” And of the Philippians, St. Paul affirms, that it was given to them in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on his name, but also to suffer for his sake. Repentance is likewise a gift of God’s grace. “If God peradventure may give them repentance unto life,” “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance unto Israel and forgiveness of sins.”
We are aware that we have now approached a subject of much disputation, and perhaps none has more divided the American Baptists than this, for while some in their ministry are constantly urging the unbelieving and impenitent to the exercise of faith and repentance, as bounden duties, and the want of these as constituting, the matter of their condemnation. There are others who more correctly and more consistently, preach the necessity of these Christian graces, not indeed as required duties, but as pure covenant blessings, freely bestowed by a gracious God upon all the heirs of salvation. In this latter sentiment we entirely concur, and will briefly assign our reasons for so doing. We take it for granted, that it is divine faith and repentance, which is the subject at issue, in contradistinction from all other kinds of faith and repentance, which are merely the natural acts of the human mind. Theologians have distinguished between several kinds of faith such as miraculous, historical, theoretical, evangelical, &c., and several kinds of repentance, such as national, legal, evangelical, &c., the scriptures warranted a distinction; but perhaps the better distinction as well as the more simple, is that of
natural and divine, the former being produ
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