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A Concise History of the Ketocton Baptist Association (1808)
The light in which good works is considered by the Churches in this Association.
WE deem it consistent with our history, to give the reader an idea of our opinion of good works, for what they are performed, and what purpose they are to answer. The more so, because it is often said, we have adopted a system, and hold principles that exclude good works, and render the doing them of no avail.
It is a received opinion with us, that the salvation and entire saving of the soul is a work of sovereign free grace, in which creature performances form no part -but we do not conclude from hence, that good works are unnecessary, in other respects, but answer valuable purposes in their place: that is, we hold that the love of God to His chosen people, was voluntary, sovereign, and free -that He is of one mind, and none can turn Him, nor anything out of himself can control nor influence His eternal mind, nor alter, frustrate or disappoint His divine purpose -and that the whole reason why He has mercy on any is because He will have mercy -out of pure love He sent His dear Son to perform the great work of redemption for sinners -out of love He sends His gospel to call in His people, under the preaching of which Christ calleth His sheep by name and leadeth them out -out of love the Holy Ghost is sent by His renewing operations, to create the soul anew in Christ Jesus.
Justification is God's act, it is God that justifieth, and that through the Lord Jesus, the great and precious promises by which they partake of the divine nature, on which they rest, and by which they are supported, through the whole of their warfare, are said to be given. Grace is given to them here, and glory reserved for them hereafter, all bestowed freely, and comes to them by way of gift -and the reason why they shall certainly arrive in glory is, because it is their "Father's good pleasure to give them the kingdom." The scriptures assure us, that salvation is of the Lord, from first to last, and will admit of no co-partnership, nor dependent on human performance as a condition, but accomplished wholly by sovereign grace.
And it is so far from lessening our obligation to perform good works, and yield obedience to Christ, that of our being saved by grace, that we are laid under greater obligation by far from the consideration of the freeness of divine love, from their being called by unfrustrable grace, and from the certainty of their by and by possessing the heavenly inheritance. -They are so frequently exhorted in scripture to diligence; "seeing ye are bought with a price, glorify God in your bodies, and your spirits which are God's;" the glorifying of God was not to procure His favor, but being redeemed by the blood of Christ, and called by grace, adopted into God's family, subjected to the divine government, and brought into a spi ritual relation to God; all this being done for them by an omnipotent hand, it was reasonable God should have His own, and body and soul be rendered up and employed in good works.
On the same principle the apostle exhorted his brethren to set forth the praise of Him, who had called them out of the darkness into His marvellous light, that since God hath illuminated your dark minds, and gave you to see His glory in the fall of His dear Son, it is reasonable you should, and it is obligatory on you to set forth His praise -their title claim to the divine favor was not founded in part nor in whole, upon their setting forth the praise of God -but flowed as a natural consequence upon their receiving mercy. Again the apostle enjoins diligence in seeking those things that were above, under the consideration, that they were risen with Christ from a spiritual death and that their life was hid with Christ in God, and that when Christ appeared they should appear with Him in glory -when the apostle Peter, wrote of the dissolution of the present heavens and earth, and then according to the promise, they looked for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelt righteousness. -Under a view of your happiness being secure, the place of your residence will be where righteousness dwells, completely delivered from sin, and all the miseries attending it. Let the view of these things and the certainty of their accomplishment, stimulate and excite you to holiness of life and conversation: so that whenever good works or obedience is enjoined, it appears with no view to procure salvation, or to have been done as a condition of it, which leads us to consider what they are done for.
We will enquire first, what qualifications are necessary to the performance of a good work, a work acceptable to God?
First, it is necessary the Holy Spirit should be the influencer of the soul, for no man can call Jesus the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. Paul describes the worship he performed in these words: "I will pray with the spirit and with the understanding, and I will sing with the spirit and with the understanding;" no worship meets with acceptance, but what is performed in spirit and in truth.
A second ingredient, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ -for without faith it is impossible to please God -for where faith is wanting the worship meets with a rejection, as in the case of Cain, when he offered sacrifice with his brother Abel; "and numbers who heard God's word, were not profited, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."
Third thing necessary, to constitute a good work is, a view singly to the glory of God; the exhortation is, that whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, all ought to be done to the glory of God; the direct opposite of this, is depraved man, while in a state of nature -instead of looking to, or depending on, a supernatural influence, he relies on the poor feeble arm of flesh: as to exercising faith in Christ, it is far from nature; while a strong inclination leads them to count upon merit in the performance, that there is some good in the duty, for the sake of which, they must be the more acceptable with God; as for the seeking the glory of God when complying with the duty, is a growth nature never produced: all being done by a person void of grace, from a principle of self, and with a view to serve his own purpose, either to still the gnawing and distresses of his troubled conscience, to atone for his gui1t thereby, or to appease wrath, and render Jehovah propitious. It is as impossible for a person with an unsanctified heart to perform an act spiritually good, as it would be to form a world, or take wing and flyaway to heaven -for an unclean thing has never yet, nor never will, produce a clean thing: a bitter fountain cannot yield sweet water, nor a bad tree good fruit, and figs might as soon be gathered of thorns, as for a natural man to perform, what is spiritually good.
But although good works cannot atone for sin, procure a pardon, nor justify our souls, cannot purify our hearts, nor melt us for the kingdom of heaven -yet they are of great importance in other respects, and answer very valuable ends, and therefore ought not to be omitted, for the following reasons:
God hath enjoined on His people the performance of good works, and the walking in all His commands and ordinances blameless, throughout the sacred writings; and reasonable it is, obedience should be yielded, when the sovereign of heaven and earth directs it to be done. For if a father is right he should be honored, and if a master he is much to be feared: when the great Lawgiver, who always does right, issues His commands, due subjection is to be exercised by His rational creatures; it is wicked to enquire into the reasons why such a command, or refuse obedience to it, for the right of commanding is with the Almighty, who does His pleasure, in the armies of heaven, and inhabitants of the earth.
Another reason why commands are to be obeyed, ordinances walked in, and institutions complied with: God hath ordained and appointed them as the means and way by which He is pleased to make himself known and reveal His gracious designs to His people. The revealing the divine law, God manifests - the holiness of His nature, the inflexibility of His justice, and His almighty power to execute His purposes of vengeance -by this means, a discovery is made of the perfections, and attributes of deity, which we must have remained ignorant of, had not such revelation been made -and lessons are taught there which we could not have learned, from the wide extended creation, with all its contents; in the gospel a gracious God is pleased to make still clearer discoveries of himself, as a God of love, as well as a God of holiness and justice; by means of these sacred gospel pages Jesus arises with His refulgent beams, and cheering rays, to expel and burst in sunder the lowering clouds and thick darkness in which all the progeny of Adam are fallen. In this gospel the grand source of rich grace is made known, and God's loving gracious design, in saving sinners, made manifest -by the gospel the remedy is pointed out, a remedy for every disease sin has brought on us -this blessed volume brings sweet intelligence of an eternal life, and a blessed immortality, and many other important and interesting truths are made known by the gospel, which we could never have learned from the works of nature. When the naturalist carries his researches and philosophies on the creatures to the greatest extent, what has he learned? at most that an almighty hand formed them, and acknowledges a grand display of infinite wisdom in the order, harmony, and convenience of the whole system -a system bound by unerring laws, so that confusion cannot take place, but entire harmony continue while time endures, both in the terrestrial and celestial regions -but after all this improvement and discovery, the wise man may know nothing of the way, in which the love of God is manifest to the soul of a rational creature, know nothing how he, an offender, is to be reconciled to an offended judge, be ignorant how his sins are to be pardoned, and he stand justified at the bar of a God of inflexible justice.
Nature, it appears, was never designed to teach these things, and therefore infinite wisdom saw fit to give a law, and send His gospel -now if hearing and perusing the divine law -if attention to the gospel, a frequenting the place where the word is administered, a trying to understand it and derive instruction from it, be deemed a good work, there can be nothing meritorious in the creature's act, when he consults the law, or hears the gospel, nor once to be thought of, as a condition of salvation -but being God's method of revealing himself, He is pleased in instances beyond number, to bless His appointments, attend His law with energy, and shew the sinner his condition, and the need he is in of a cure - the gospel brings forth the healing medicine and makes application of a Saviour's benefits, and leads the soul to embrace Christ as his all in all.
From this consideration, there appears reason sufficient, why we should wait upon the Lord, and attend on His institutions, as the means of receiving the blessing -the same may be said of public worship, when congregations meet, to preach and hear, to pray and praise; we have no idea of carrying money, or price along with us to purchase the blessing: but view the rich feast, and reviving entertainment provided by the great ancient of days, flowing through Jesus Christ, as the mediator, and elegantly brought forward in the rich variety of gospel doctrines, and all the spiritual sons and daughters, welcomed to eat and drink abundantly, being the subjects of Christ's love -when the gospel doctrines are illustrated, we receive food for the soul flowing as a free gift from God -when attempting to pray, we just form a position and open the heart to receive a blessing, no more of merit in it, than in a poor destitute beggar asking alms at a benefactor's door, and every person must know that a beggar's asking and receiving a blessing, is no compensation or reward to the giver. But shall we conclude, since there is no merit, in our presenting ourselves before the Lord, no condition of our salvation, our going to, and joining in worship -why go at all? There are good reasons why; we are not only in God's appointed way and under the means of His grace, but God's glory is thereby set forth, the manifestative glory of God is set forth in this world by the instrumentality of His church and people, when they unite to preach, and hear, and comply with every institution appointed in God's lower house, and unite their voices in the solemn praise of God -it is the grandest performance rational beings are capable of, from which glory redounds to God.
The glory of God being the great end for which man was created, and continues to exist, let none say it is to no purpose to serve God if our works are no condition of our salvation -when baptism is submitted to, there is no merit in it -but being an institution of Christ's, it becomes a duty incumbent on a believer, thereby the death and resurrection of Christ is represented, and the death of the old man in the believer and his resurrection to newness of life -so of the Lord's Supper, nothing of merit in it, but the pleasing lesson concerning the Saviour's death is taught, redemption by the shedding of His precious blood, and the interest every believer has in His mediation.
As to hospitable acts, there is nothing of merit in them, it is praiseworthy among men, but adds nothing to God; when gifts are bestowed on the needy, it is no more than duty calls for, seeing the great proprietor of the world, has lodged in the hands of individuals, the good things of this life, and enjoins it on them to act as faithful stewards -these things have often been good and profitable unto men, and therefore the omission ought not to be allowed.
From what has been said, there appears reason sufficient, why good works should be maintained, although they form no part as a condition of salvation - but complied with, because commanded, and used as a means that God is pleased to bless, in the use of which He affords His people communion with himself - and in their compliance with duty the glory of God is advanced.
But we are told by some, that if they are not rewarded they will not work -we do not dispute the truth of what you say, it is the language of nature; but true as this saying is, it shews that such a person never saw himself -such answers the character of a slave, and not a son; one thing we are conscious of, we never served God as much as we ought to do, although no justification by the deeds of the law, yet from a child-like love they serve God.
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