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The Pilgrim’s Banner. ,
A. V^SIMMS, Valdosta,Ga., I Editors
LEE HANKS, Boston Ga. |
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EDITORIALS
SOME GOOD MEETINGS.
Accompanied by Elders A. W.
Patterson of Middle Georgia, and
Z. H" Bennett of South Florida,
we visited during the last week,
three of the churches of our care
and enjoyed a sweet and refresh
ing season w’ith each church, a
brief account of which we feel in
clined to give to our readers, hop
ing that others may rejoici with
us.
First, we visited on Thursday
of last week, Hebron church Ham
ilton County Fla, whera we have
served as an unworthy pastor for
the past five years, and we have
richly enjoyed the mercies of the
Lord—the church having almost
doubled her number in member
ship during that time, having
now about 110 in fellowship. On
the first day of the meeting referr
ed to Elders Patterson and Ben
nett were blessed to deliver those
blepobr. After preac 11 Th u re’
day, w<k opened conference and
received two members —a brother
aitd sister, fir bantism amid
many joyful tears. Friday morn
ing we met at the little creek
near by, for baptism, and another
precious and worthy sister who
had been expected a long time,
was received and baptized. After
baptism the congregation reasem
bled in the house and listened at
tentively to two most excellent
sermons by our visiting ministers.
While singing a parting song a
poor trembling woman came up
and extended her hand and amid
tears and sobs asked for a home
among the Lord’s people. She re
lated a bright experience and was
joyfully received,aud : the congrega
tion disbanded and went to their
homes, feeling that they had met
the Lord in his temple.
Saturday morning we made our
way for Bethel, Hamilton County.
This church we have served in
much weakness for the past"
twelve years. It was this
church we were first called and
for her was ordained. At that
time there were only seventeen
members—only four of whom
were males. The church at that
time-was very cold, careless and
indifferent and their youthful
pastor was timid and weak. But
the Lord smiled upon them and
the church now numbers more
than 60, the most of them are live
ly, active members. After preach
ing on the day mentioned, the
church sat in conference, and four
dear brethren came forward weep
ing like children, telling , of their
hopes, doubts and fears, Three
of this number afe bright intelle
gent young men, having just en
tered their twenties. We cannot
picture the scene as it was. A
widowed mother clasps her only
son in her arms as she welcomed
him to a heme with her
in the church. Another pre
vious sister almost shouted aloud
for joy as she threw het arms
tribtf nd the neck of her husband,
who had lingered i long time in
the wilderness. What a pleasing
s : ghtto see fathers and mothers
shedding these tears ot jey -oyer
their penitent children. Arad as
wo glanced over eyes over the con
gregation before us we were made
to feel sad and yet rejoice at the
sad, sweet sight. A bright young
lady whose brother was then be
ing received in the church, and to
whom she had made a solemn
promise she would follow him, sat
with her face burried in her hands
and was weeping aloud. And still
another whose father and mother
had left her. and many others,lads
and lasses, and those with hoary
heads sat weeping aloud, both tor
joy and sadness. Indeed it was
a Pentecostal daywhen every one
seemed filled with the holy fire of
God’s love, and with tue> Holy
Ghost. ’ * •
Saturday night Elder Patterson
bade us farewell and made his
way for the Ochlockonee Associa
tion. Before leaving however, lie
preached a most feeling sermon
at the pleasant home of our dear
brother R. C. Hodges. His ser
mon reminded us of Paul’s fare
well address to the brethren at
Ephesus. (See Acts 20th chapter).
Sunday morning we met early
at the River near the church,
for baptism, when an
other dear brother who for
many years had lived with the
Missionary Baptists, came forward
• and told the church the reason of
his hope, of how ho had tried to
stay with the Missionaries, of the
• afflictions he had suffered for his
disobedience, and how at last he
s was compelled to succumb to the
• overcoming power of God, and
> come home. He was joyfully re-
> ceived. These five with two others
: who had been received at previous
■ meetings were all baptized in the
r Alapaha River. Avery large con
i course of people stood on the high
• banks above us and witnessed the
- beautiful sight. After preaching
» by Elder Bennett and the writer
| ended. We f
per
met with the church
at Mount Hortb, Madison Co,Flu.,
and after preaching received Uo
dear brethren in the fellowship of
that church amid many tears.
That night we visited and preach
for a precibiis old sister who has
only been a member a few months
and has not been able to visit her
church since her connection with
the church. We found her hope
ful and very spiritual, and while
she never expects to be well again,
she seems perfectly resigned and
full of patience. She seemed so
glad to know she had not been for
gotten by the brethren and sisters
and 'esoecially the preachers.
Said she, as we bade her farewell:
“O I never can tell you how glad I ’
am you have come and preached
for me. I feel stronger and feel
that I now have enough to last me
a long time.” Brethren in the min
istry do we not often neglect such
cases? Remember we minister lo
Jesus when we minister to his
afflicted people
Tuesday morning we met again at
the church and Elder Bennett
preached with sweet ability and
we concluding our services by giv
ing another opoortunity for mem*
b? rs when another young sister jame
and told the dealings of the Lord
with her, and was received with
joy. From the church we went
directly to the Withlacoochee
River to attend to the ordinance
of baptism. Here again we openpd
the door of the church and a poor
old trembling woman—trembling
with infirmity, came up saying,“l
want to live with you but I know
I’m not worthy,” But the church
thought she was worthy and man
ifested much love in receiving her.
We then baptized the four , wait
ing subjects, after which the breth
ren is’era and friends spread a good
dinner and the congregation ate
refreshed themselves, and dis
banded.
Brethren a better time is upon
us. From far and near conies the .
glad i.ews that'Zion’s children are
coming home. The Lord is work-!
ing in the hearts ot our children !
and giving them to us.Oh how we ’
should appreciate His mercies by'
walking orderly and godly before i
all men.—-S* |
election:
This does not mean that God
foresaw who would believe ahi? 1
saved tfieifi as a result of their be
lief, making belief a cause of their
election; but God chose them to
salvation through sanctification of
the Spirit and belief of the truth.
2 Thess 2: 13. Nobody ever
believes the truth but God’s elect
who were ordained to eternal life
j “And as many a? were ordained
[ to eternal life believed.” Acts.
. xiii: 48. This election or ordina-
■ tion precedes the belief, and be-
■ lief follows as a fruit of his sore
r ordination. Whosoever believeth
a that Jesus is the Christ is born of
? God.” 1 Jno. iii: 1. You see the
f believer is born of God and a child
of God: hence it is too late for him
to believe in order to be chosen
and become a child of God. Be
lief is the work of Godi “This is
the work of God, (not the work
of the sinner) that ye believe on
him whom he hath sent.” John
vi: 29. Election then is not the
fruit of belief, and belief a iruit of
the flesh; but election is an act of
God in eternity upon the fallen
sons and daughters of Adam, anc
belief is the work of God wrought
in the sinner in time, and is found
ed upon evidence. “He that be
lieves hath the witness within
himself.” The witness of his elec
tion is wrought in him before he
believes. “Thou hath wrought
all our works within us.” God
does not elect this people provid
ed they will obey and justify
themselves, but elects them and
and justifies them himself. “Who
shall lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? It is God that
justifies.” Rom. viii 31. Nobody
can condemn them for Christ has
died tor them, and risen Tor their
justification, and now intercedes
for them, and the Father-tai ways
bears him, hence the Fatßyr wib
hear
tfrui and isinoepehdent df maW
works. For tho children being
not yet born, neither paving
• lone any good or evil, tlfit the
purpose of God according.to elec
lion might stand, not of works,
but of him that calleth. ‘‘Jacob
have 1 loved, but Esau -have 1
hated,” Rom. ix. 2. According
as he hath chosen us in him be
fore the foundation of the world,
I hat wu should be holy and with
out blame before him ik love;
having predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus
Christ unto himself, according tp.
the good pleasure of his will, to
the praise oi the glory of his
grace, wherein He hath m&le us
accepted in the beloved, ‘dn
whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness « sins,
according to the riches |f his
grace.” Eph 1: 4,5, 6,7.
You see from the foregoing that
they were chosen in eternity, not
because he saw they would make
t h S 1 T’/l r-. ll Zll i-v «-» 1 [CI 1- X-- z 1
themselves holy, but “that they
should be holy and without blame
before him in love.” He chose
them, to justify them and glorify
them. This choice, predestina
, tion and adoption is all the net of
God upon the vessels of mercy
whom he afore prepared-unto
glory The child cannot adopt
itself. God predestined to adopt
them into his family by Jesus
•Christ. Both the grace of adop
tion, and the kingdom and glory
to which they are adopted, come
by and through Christ as media
tor; through his espousing their
persons, assuming their nature,
and redeeming them from under
the law and its curses. We are
through the obedience and righ
teousness of Christ, made accepted
in the beloved; our sins being for
given through the redeeming
j blood of Christ.'
i “Who hath saved us, and called
jus with an holy calling, not ac
cording to our works, but accord*
i i tig to his own purpose and grace<
Which wag glfen us in Vhrfst
Jesus before the world began.” r
2 Tith. iii. 9. This election and
effectual calling is not according
to the act of the creature, but'
according to his own pur
pose and grace given us in Christ
in eternity. 2 Tim ii: 19; Psa.
139:15 1 Pet. 1: I—2. All the
types and shadows teach the doc
trine of election as well as your
experience. There were Cain
and Abel, having equal advan
tages in life, but God chose Abel
and did not choose Cam. Did he
injure Cain by saving Abel? No.
Election damns nobody, but
graciously lavors a multitude that
no man can number. It did not
injure Abraham’s relatives for
God to choose him and not the
rest. Election is very clearly
taught in the animals that were
saved in the ark. Some were
chusen and others left just as good
by nature as the ones saved.
The stones in the- temple teach
election, for some were taken and
others left just as good; all the
difference between them was in
■ the preparation- Christ’s “dove”
is chosen from the queens, concu
bines and virgins, but she being
chosen and made to be the un
defiled by washing her from het
sins in his own blood and justify
[ ing her by his righteousness does
not injure the others. When the
> Lord called Peter, Paul and you
from the world, he left others just
as good as you were. Why is it
to-day that you love the Lord’s
. humble poor, and can eat ot His
flesh and drink of His blood? Be
cause God has chosen you out of
? the world and caused you to ap
i proach unto him. All these
, chosen were given to Gfirist and
j shall come to him.
r There is no conditions on the
s chosen’s part to cause them to be
s come his elect. Christ came to
i save them, and accomplished the
1 work he came to do.
He puts his law in their minds
a God and
they shall be my people.”
If any sinner ever reaches heav
en, it will be upon this principle
of the electing love and grace of
God. It is disgusting to a poor
humble contrite soul to hear peo
ple talking about the sinner per
forming conditions and letting
Christ save him. Chri.-t is not a
poor puny insignificant being, but
He does His will in the army of
heaven, and among the inhabitants
of the earth and none can stay
his hand or say unto him, “What
doest thou?” It is His will that all
the Father gave Him shall come
to him, and that will will be ac
complished. This may be called
and old “fogy” doctrine but we
love it and our only hope of hea
ven ic in the election of grace.
“Election 1 tis a joyful sound
To wretched, guilty man :
The Father, Son, and Spirit formed
The everlasting plan.
I
0 may this Bible truth inspire
My heart with purest bliss.
’ And land my sodl in mansions
- where
j My chosen Jesus is.”
? A poor sinner saved by electing
. grace, if saved at all.—H.
[•
THE UNIOX ASSOCIATION.
• convened with Olive Leaf church,
; Clinch county Ga., October 19-20
' and 21. Twenty-two churches
were represented—all reporting
peace and love, with a greater
number of accessions by bap
tism than for many years in the
past. We had in attendence,
Elders Temples,Patterson, Thorn
ten, Minshew, Hollingsworth,
Strckland, Porter, Fe mett,Parker,
Tucker and others. The preach
ing was all well seasoned with
grace and was well received. The
weather was fine and everybody
seemed to enjoy themselves.
The next session will convene
with Arna churchy Coffee county
Gk; —&
THE DOCTRINE OF; THE
NICOL AIT ANS.:r
, • i
I was recently asked by a dear
brother what was the doctrine of
the Nicolaitans. The following is <
the most satisfactory definition
that we can find or the subject: <
An early sect of heretics, the dis
ciples of Nicolas, a plurality of
wives; imputed their wickedness
to God as the cause,” Rev. 2: 6,15.
It seems that some of’ the early
churches got into this error of a
plurality of wives, but Christ
taught an-important lesson here, —
The church of Christ has but one
husband, and He has but one
bride. If the husband has a
pluraltiy of wives, or the wife a
plurality of. husbands this figure
would be worthless.
There is but’one dove or unde
llled church and Christ wants no
other. There is Lut one Lord
and head of the church and she is
satisfied with him as her husband.
- Christ has taught us the legal
method to govern all cases oi
divorce and there is only one
s cause for which a man can put
s away his wife and marry another,
i Christ‘s law should be reverenced
J above everything else; yet we see
the early churches had trouble
, over this matter and Christ hateci
. this in these Christians, but they
f were gently admonished as breth
ren. We should be slow to declare
‘ non-fellowship for brethren on
I
this point, for we may be as gui •
ty in some other direction, but let
us labor in meekness to save them.
3 We would not refuse to commune
e with a church that had such a case
but would much prefer that they
I _ 1 1 1 • • 51* • ■
be"better to their wives and wives
better to their husbands, it woulc
stop so much divorcing. Chil
dren be careful. This plurality o:
wives and charging all their mean
ness to the Lord as the cause it
an abominable doctrine, and nc
wonder the Savior hated it.
If a . man gets drunk, steals,
commits fornication, uses profane
language, abuses his wife and
marries another, and says “The
Lord made me doit and I could
not help it,” the church that
has the mind of Christ will hate
all such. A child of God has a
hope in Christ, and the Nicolaitan
will tell him don’t you come to the
church as long as you can stay away
God will make you come at hit>
time. Jesus hated this and we do
too. The child of God should be
encouraged to come home and
live with the Lord’s people. Je-
s sus nor his faithful apostles ever
exhorted one to remain in disobe
g dience. If God makes us disobey
him, our disobedience would be
obedience, and hence we would
not sin. The Christian’s enjoy
, ments depends upon his obedience
and he can obey or he can disobey,
s When he disobeys he cannot tel
a the truth and say the Lord made
r me stay out. When a Christian
- stays out of the church he is obey
' ing the flesh and not God. He can
> see a lion in the way and great
obstacles and difficulties which
> seem almost unsurmountable, but
i when he comes and takes the
cross he finds the yoke easy and
the burden light. The Nicolaitaii
that makes all those propositions
to you is the flesh.
The Nicolaitaii is so strong in
the ddetrine that he will tell the
saints to do nothing for their pastor
thfil God will take GSre 61 Kun,
she is God’s preacher he *4l]
not suffer, yet will shut up his
bowels of compassion from him.
The Nicolai tan is so strong in the
faith that he thinks a poor preach
er can turn his back upon his
wife and children and serve
churches at his own charges anc!
will say; “God will take care of
him.” or “if the Lord wants us to
help him he will make us help
aim. He tells his to go and be
be filled or clothed, yet does noth
ing for him. Jesus hated this doc
trine for it dishonors him to charge
all of our meanness to him.
The Nicolaitan does nothing
and is always finding fault with
others who are devoted obedient
Christians. The Nicolaitan dots
not want to hear the preacher en
courage or exhort his church to -a
godly life, and to love and good
woiks, for he thinks that is too
much like somebody else.
The Nicolaitan has no use for a
large portion of the Bible—that
which treats upon our common
salvation or time salvation being
conditional. He finds great fault
in that preacher who forsakes all
to follow Jesus and labors to en
courage God’s people to live their
profession thus giving himself
wholly to the work. He cannot
see any comfort in the ressurrec
tion as he does not think there is
anything done for the sinners in
regeneration, and says, “Let us do
evil that good may come, for there
is no change in me, and I love
sin as good as I ever did etc..” This
. fatal idea is hateful to Christ and
> all who have the mind of
J Christ*
' While we love the soverignty
s I upholding all things by the worA
d of his power, and believe that all
I- true Baptists are one, if they un
»i derstoodeach other on this poAU
;• yet there is danger of the Christian
s getting into the abominableNicolai
o tau doctrine. Christain live your
profession and keep yourself un
i, spotted from-the world. Wo hope
b no old Baptist will ever get into
1 the Nicolaitan doctrine.—H.
A TOL K
j r
W r e are at home again from a
1 very pleasant tour in the bounds
of the Upper and LowerCanoochee
Associations and found our family .
1 well for which we fed greatful to
the Lord for his mercies.
, We had the pleasure of witness
ing the reception of ten precious
ones into the church seven of whom
we had the privilege of baptizing.
We at ended both associations and
1 Z'i/'kl 4 rk f 4 z] T .1 . 11
teei tnat the good Lord was with -
r
them in their meetings. Peace and
sweet fellowship now abounds with
several churches returning in each
( association that had been off and
a number of accessions in the
churches throughout both Associa
tions.
Associational differences were
adjusted and their hearts were fill
ed with love and praise to God,
We have never found a more pie
cious band of brethren and sisters
than these. There are more
Christians standing without the
visible kingdom than I ever saw
before in one section.
We feel that there is a good day
for that dear and precious people.
We cannot find language to de
scribe our love for them and how
much they all feel endeared to us.
We have never left a place with
a heavier heart than when We •
est these dear people.
Ofifjoyrf were surely i