Abner Jones - 09-Questioning the Baptists

Questioning the Baptists A few weeks after I returned to Bridgewater, I engaged to teach a school in Hartland, about twelve or thirteen miles from Bridgewater. Here I found myself very agreeably situated in an agreeable neighborhood; but what was still greater, I found a loving company of brethren, with whom my heart was freely united. Here I had opportunity of attending meeting with these brethren, who for the greater part of the time had no preaching, but used to carry on their meeting by improving such gifts as God had blessed them with. In this way we had many glorious and good meetings. Whenever I attended meeting, it was almost certain for me to have some impression either to speak or pray, or both. I was at that time as fully convinced that God had blessed me with a public gift to improve, as I was convinced that he had forgiven my sins; and I felt determined to improve it, yet I could not think it was to preach although it was continually impressed on my mind. I often had passages of scripture resting on my mind, and ideas flowing therefrom, both when I was in meeting, and when I was retired. In Hartland I lived one year and four months; in general, feeling engaged in religion, but not without trials; insomuch that some times it took away my appetite for my necessary food. The trial of preaching was continually on my mind with great weight. I felt my mind much tried about what my brethren called the great mysterious doctrines of the gospel, viz. Election, reprobation, decrees, &c. for I plainly discovered that they preached complete contradictions on the subject, and I read that no lie is of the truth and contradictions must be lies. Thus my mind was in great perplexity concerning these things; which caused me to review them, and compare them by the scriptures of truth, yea in short I took a review of all that I had professed to believe before, and I found I had embraced many things without proper examination. I then drew up a determination to believe and practice just what I found required in the Bible, and no more. There was a Baptist minister that occasionally preached with us in Hartland who often made use of the following expressions. I will have nothing but what I can bring thus saith the Lord, and thus it is written. This put me in search to compare what he preached and practised with the scriptures. The first thing I thought of was the name of our denomination, viz. BAPTIST. When I had searched the New Testament through, to my great astonishment, I could not find the denomination of Baptist mentioned in the whole of it. I only found John the Baptist, or baptiser; he is the only one called a Baptist in all the New Testament. Christ did not call his disciples Baptists, the Christian churches in the apostles’ time were not called Baptists. Christ called his disciples brethren and friends. In the time of the apostles, the disciples were first called CHRISTIANS at Antioch. After this search, I denied the name of a Baptist, and so I have continued to do unto this day. I was then willing to own the names disciple, friend, and Christian, unto which I still hold. The second thing that I took into view was the manner in which Baptists built churches, which they boasted of as being apostolic. The manner of building Baptist churches, was then, and is now, as follows, viz.

1st. They must find a certain number of believers in Christ.

2d. They must be baptized, burying them in water in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Thus far they agree with the New Testament.

3d. There must be some articles of faith drawn up, or articles taken from some already drawn up. A church covenant must be added thereunto.

4th. There must be a counsel of ministers, deacons, &c. appointed, and a day fixed when they must be constituted a church. If they find them orthodox, (as they vainly term it) that is, believing their articles of faith, they are constituted a Baptist church. As to the articles of faith and church covenants, the counsel and constitution above mentioned, it is entirely anti-Christian. They are as popish and unscriptural as infant sprinkling; and I find by searching ecclesiastical history, that they were introduced when the church was in the wilderness of Babylon. I then rejected them as traditions of men, and so I do still. The 5th thing was the manner of receiving members into churches, which was as follows, viz. The person to be received into the church must first tell his experience, in order to know whether he or she was a believer; if the brethren received the person as a believer, he was baptized as above mentioned. Thus far it is according to Christ’s rule, "If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest." After the person or persons being baptized, the minister used to ask them if they wished to join the church, some wished to, and others did not. When one wished to join, the popish platform and covenant was brought forward and read, if they consented to them, they were received into the church by a hand vote. A fourth thing which presented itself to my view, was the practice of what is called giving the blessing or dismissing the people at the close of the meeting.

Thus far my mind was led to examine at that time. And as faith the Apostle, now of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum. The Baptists have an unscriptural name. The manner of their baptizing is according to truth; the articles of faith and church covenant; the counsel and constitution, is according to the traditions and doctrines of men; of which the scripture saith, touch not, taste not, handle not. The manner of dismissing the people is the same. I did then reject them with all my heart; may the Lord ever deliver me from them. When I presented these things before the minister, who said that he would have, thus saith the Lord, and thus it is written, for all that he did; although he was a very ready man in the scriptures and kept a concordance in his house, yet he could not recollect the passages of scripture that proved these things, but said they were necessary. The reason why he could not remember them was, because they were not in the bible. When I mentioned these things to my brethren, they seemed almost as much astonished, as though I had denied the bible, saying that I was wild, &c. At that time I viewed myself alone on the earth, not knowing of any one that believed with me.

I think it is my duty to give the reader an account of the travail of my mind as to doctrine. From my infancy I had always been taught the following ideas, viz. That God from all eternity had elected or chosen a certain number for salvation, and that he would call them in such a manner, that they could not resist it, because he had before determined to save them. As for the rest of mankind, they were left to work out their own damnation by sin; yet they held that God gave them a common call, which he never meant they should obey, yet the condemnation would entirely turn upon the creature, because he did not obey. As for unenlightened heathens, it was held that they all must be damned, because they had not the light of the gospel. O! horrid ignorance. As I felt in great trials about preaching, it was a query in my mind whether God called men to preach contradiction, yea, I was fully convinced that he did not. Under this trial I besought the Lord that he would shew me the consistent line of truth respecting these things; promising that if he would, I would go and preach the gospel to sinners if he called me thereunto. My mind remained in this situation for a considerable time; at length one day the Lord opened my eyes to see it from this passage of scripture, St. John 16:8, "and when he is come he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment." A part of the 13th verse followed, viz. "he will guide you into all truth." These scriptures seemed to come with great and sweet power on my mind, and the following reflections seemed freely to flow. (I knew it was the holy ghost or comforter that was to reprove the world of sin, and guide into all truth.)

What is meant by the world here? The inhabitants, for Christ said to his disciples, I have chosen you out of the world. Here for the first time, I saw all men reproved by the spirit of God. The thought struck my mind, who is here said shall be guided into all truth? the answer was, the apostles. The thought struck my mind, why does it not guide all men into the truth? The answer was, because they will not follow it. Here my mind was brought out of a dark, narrow prison, into the clear sunshine of a free gospel offered to all men; and in such a manner as that they might really partake of it.

Glory to God for this salvation. I never saw the consistency of the creature’s condemnation in such a clear light before. My soul was set at liberty. I discovered also, a consistent way of preaching to sinners. Afterwards, when I came to read the scripture, I found this consistent chain running thro’ the whole. I found Christ was the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. The Lord God is a sun and a shield, darting his rays of light in as many directions as there are souls to see it. On whom doth not his light arise? Those ideas were entirely new to me, for I never heard them held forth by any body, neither had I heard of any body that believed them; and so foolish was I as to believe that no other person ever did believe them. I cried out, my hand is against every man’s hand, and every man’s hand against my hand. When I came to think on the subject, I dare not communicate it to my brethren, supposing that they would call me a worse heretic than they did before; so I hid my light under a bed of Calvinism, which brought great darkness on my mind. And I do not remember of divulging it to any person, for more than five years.