R.H. Pittman
Luray, Virginia
April, 1935

One method of gaining knowledge is by asking questions. When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame and wisdom of Solomon "she came to prove him with many questions" (I Kings 10:1). How many questions she asked, and what the questions were, is not stated. But we may infer that she asked many, and that she learned much, for she was astounded and said: "It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom: ... but the half was not told me."

Then in the fullness of time Jesus came. He was a greater than Solomon, as much superior to him as is the sun to a bright and glowing star. And as Jesus walked among men, teaching them by precept and example His eternal and glorious truth, many were they who asked Him questions. Sometimes He answered plainly, sometimes in parables, and at other times He rebuked the questioners - for He well knew the motives of all men. But He always gave the correct and needed answer, for He possessed all knowledge.

But the Perfect Teacher is no longer on earth. He finished the work He came to do and has gone back to heaven where He "sitteth on the right hand of God" (Col. 3:1). We cannot ask Him questions as others did when He lived in the flesh. But He did not leave us comfortless - He sent the blessed Holy Spirit to comfort and teach. And He also called and qualified men as undershepherds and sent them forth as pastors and teachers. This He continues to do, and will, until the end of time. And we believe with all our heart that the late Elder Sylvester Hassell was such a teacher - God-called, God-qualified, and God-sent. Blessed with spiritual understanding, abiding faith, abounding love, and a giant intellect, he became a prodigy in learning. No other evidence of this fact need be cited other than Hassell's Church History, though his editorial work on the "Gospel Messenger," and also his work as Associate Editor of the "Advocate and Messenger," showed an unusual knowledge of the Bible and of various languages. And it was while doing editorial work that the most of the questions in this book were answered by Elder Hassell, the present editor and compiler answered only about ten percent of them.

These answers by Elder Hassell give so much information and are so authoritative that I have for years felt deeply impressed to put them in book form. "Not many wise men after the flesh are called" (I Cor. 1:26), and when God does call and send one among us we should appreciate the gift and seek to profit by his teaching. I pray God's blessings upon this work, that it may be a source of information and of comfort to many thousands of God's people now living and to those of future generations. And, if so, dear Lord, all the glory shall be Thine.

R.H. Pittman

Remarks: From Earth to Heaven there are not many ways, but just one way, and Jesus is that way. He did not say I am a way, but "I am the way ... No man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (R.H.P.)

Adam

Q. Have we any certain knowledge as to the color of Adam?

A. We have not. It is thought that the Hebrew word Adam is derived from the Hebrew words meaning "formed of red earth;" and that, therefore, Adam was a white man with the ruddy complexion of health. As the Jews are traced back, in the Scriptures, through Abraham and Shem and Noah to Adam, the latter must have been a white man. The word Ham, the name of Noah's younger son, is thought to mean "black" or "hot;" he was the ancestor of the people in the southern warm countries of Asia and Africa, Arabia, Egypt, and Ethiopia. The word Ethiopia means sunburnt. In accordance with Acts 17:26, Rom. 5:12, I Cor. 15:22, and Rev. 5:9, nearly all scientists agree that the whole human race descended from one pair, and that the races have been, in the overruling providence of God, brought about by differences, of thousands of years, in climate, temperature, moisture, exposure, and environment. We know from the Scriptures (Psalm 68:31; Acts 8:26-40), and are assured, from experience and observation, that Ethiopians are subjects of Divine grace. No human reasoning can exempt any variety of mankind from accountability to God, and from condemnation by His justice or salvation by His mercy.

Q. What is the meaning of the language of God to Adam in the garden of Eden: "In the day that thou eatest thereof (that is, of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17)?

A. The literal translation is, "In the day that thou eatest thereof, dying, thou shalt die;" that is, as soon as Adam should partake of the forbidden fruit, he should become mortal, or begin to die, and at last, at the time appointed of God, he should die a natural death (Eccles. 3:2, Heb. 9:27). The death of Adam, when he ate the forbidden fruit, was a "death in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1-5); and all his posterity are involved in this death (Rom. 5:12); and, unless chosen, redeemed, and quickened by God, which will be manifested in a godly life unless they die in infancy, they will finally go down into the second or eternal death (II Thess. 1:7-10, Rev. 20:14, 21:8, 22:11).

Atonement

Q. Does the atonement of Christ cover all the sins that the elect commit before and after regeneration?

A. The atonement of Christ is the only real, efficacious satisfaction that has ever been made to Divine justice for any sin; and the very slightest sin not covered by that atonement will certainly sink the perpetrator to everlasting perdition. The sacrifices of clean and unblemished animals in the Old Testament dispensation had no real efficacy in the removal of sin, but were only types and shadows of the atoning death of the spotless Son of God, who by Himself purged our sins, and by His one offering perfected forever them that are sanctified (Heb. 1:1-3; 9; 10); and the New Testament does not give the least intimation that, since the atoning death of Christ, any other real sacrifice for sin has ever been or will ever be made. All sin is the transgression of the law, and deserves the penalty of death, and therefore requires the same atonement (I John 3:4, Ezek. 18:4, 20). God laid on Christ the iniquity of all His people, all classes and conditions, and remembers their sins and iniquities no more, there is no more offering for sin (Heb. 10:10-18). Christ loves us, gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity (Titus 2:14). His blood cleanses us from all sin (I John 1:7). By the will of God we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. His blood was shed for many for the remission of sins (Matt. 26:28). As the Lamb of God, He took away the sin of the world (John 1:29). By His obedience many were made righteous (Rom. 5:19). He, who knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (II Cor. 5:21). He saves and washes us from our sins in His own blood, and makes us kings and priests unto God (Rev. 1:5,6). To say that the elect must and can atone, by their sufferings, for their own sins committed after regeneration, belies the word of God which I have thus abundantly quoted; stains the holiness of God by representing Him as accepting an imperfect offering; dishonors the sacrifice of Christ as insufficient to save His people from all their sins; and degrades the Primitive Baptist doctrine far below ordinary Arminianism to the lowest depths of Roman Catholicism, which dares to represent the penance and purgatorial punishment of guilty sinners as more efficacious for their salvation than the atoning death of the holy Son of God. According to my understanding, this is one of the worst errors that have appeared among the Baptists for a hundred years. The atonement of Christ is the central and chief fact of Christianity; and the denial of the perfect sufficiency of the atonement of Christ to satisfy Divine justice for all the sins of all the elect is the overthrow of the entire system of Christianity, and a return to the midnight darkness of heathenism. This recent and most lamentable error arose from an attempt to explain Matt. 12:22-37 and Mark 3:22-30 and Luke 12:10 by Heb. 10:26-31. As I have repeatedly shown in "The Gospel Messenger," nothing but an ignorance that is unqualified to teach can say that blasphemy is sin in general - it is a special sin, the sin of evil speech, and not of evil action, and, as proved by the Scriptures just cited, was committed, not by the disciples of Christ, but by His inveterate, malignant, diabolical enemies, the Pharisees, whom He calls, in that connection, a generation of vipers, having evil hearts and therefore speaking evil things, calling the Holy Ghost an unclean spirit, and He declares that they would never be forgiven for it, and He does not at all intimate that they could themselves ever atone for this unpardonable sin by anything that they could ever do or suffer. As for Heb. 10:1-23 and the whole epistle and the entire Scriptures, and as understood by all the ablest Baptist and Protestant students of the Scriptures up to the present century, the reference of the Apostle in this passage is to the professed but not the real people of God, who were not born of the Spirit of God, but only enlightened in their heads and not in their hearts, having only an intellectual knowledge of the truth (as the false teachers in II Peter 2), and their wilful sinning or falling away was an apostasy from their profession, a renunciation of Christ for Moses, a rejection of the gospel of Christ and banishment from His presence.

Q. What is the difference between Andrew Fuller's and John Bunyan's theories of the atonement?

A. Fuller believed in the inconsistency of Christ's having made a general atonement for the whole human race and yet applying its benefits by His Spirit to the elect only; while Bunyan believed, as do the Primitive Baptists, that Christ's atonement was only and efficaciously for the elect.

Q. Have Baptists always believed in predestination and a limited atonement?

A. All who read and knew the Scriptures and were taught of God on those subjects have. In the Dark Ages and just afterwards few had or could read the Scriptures, and they were not enlightened on these points of doctrine.

Associations

Q. Has an Association the authority to sit in judgment and render a decision in church differences?

A. Associations are not mentioned in the Scriptures. The first Baptist Association was formed in Wales, A.D. 1651 more than 1500 years after the death of John the last Apostle, and therefore, associations have no right over the churches; or to render decisions between churches. It would be far better to abolish all associations than to have them rule and ruin the churches, sacred to the Lord Jesus Christ her only head and master. The church is the highest, the last and the only organization on earth authorized to settle differences between its members. (Matt. 18).

Q. Do Councils or Associations have any authority over the churches?

A. None whatever, since the death of the Apostles, the last fully inspired and infallible created teachers of the human race. Any assemblies of men may advise a church of Christ, but they cannot impose their decisions upon her. But if a church, after the humble, loving, and continued labors of gospel churches, stubbornly and permanently persists in departing from the doctrine and practice of Christ and His Apostles, she unchurches herself, her candlestick is removed out of its place, and she becomes a synagogue of Satan (Rev. 2:5; 8:9).

Q. How many members and Associations of the Primitive Baptists are there in the United States, and are the Philadelphia and Charleston Associations missionary bodies?

A. The Philadelphia and Charleston Associations have gone into modern, money-based "missions" (some of the oldest and best churches formerly belonging to the Philadelphia Association still remaining Old School or Primitive). No human being on earth knows how many Primitive Baptists there are in the United States; but, according to the latest estimates that I have seen, here are about 126,000 members, about 3,000 churches, about 250 associations, and about 1,500 elders. We have no General Associations or Conventions or Reports.

Q. What is the object of the Circular Letter read at Associations?

A. To set forth and maintain some important scriptural principle or practice. Many of our associations, instead of having a long Circular Letter, have only a short Corresponding Letter addressed to their own churches and to other associations.

Q. Does an Association which is in disorder, make all its churches and their members disorderly, or does an association have power to rule over the churches composing it?

A. Not at all; as the Bible readers know, associations are utterly unknown to the Scriptures; they are modern, human institutions, and, when assuming to rule over its churches or other associations, instead of simply meeting to worship God and edify His people, they are extremely unscriptural and mischievous.

Q. If a church, that is a member of an association, persists, after gospel labor, in a serious error, would it not be proper for the other churches of the association to condemn it, and then cease to associate with it?

A. Yes, unless the unsound or disorderly church purged itself of the error.

Apocrypha

Q. How should we regard the Apocrypha?

A. The old London Baptist Confession of Faith, of 1689, very well says in Chapter 1, Section 3: "The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of Divine inspiration (Luke 24:27,44; Rom. 3:2), are not part of the canon (or rule) of Scripture, and therefore are of no authority to the church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved or made use of than other human writings." And the same views of these books are held by the Jews, the Greek Catholics, and all Protestants except the Church of England (or Episcopal Church) which, in her Thirty-nine Articles of Faith mentions the Apocrypha as books "which the church doth read for examples of life and instruction of manners, but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine." The Roman Catholic Church has always highly favored these books, and in the Council of Trent (1545-1563) received them in part for edification, but not for "the establishment of doctrine;" yet the Romish Church, in its translation of the Bible, mixes these books with the books of the Old Testament, and derives from them its unscriptural doctrines of purgatory, prayers for the dead, and the meritoriousness of good works; and in the Apocrypha, as derived from the Persian Zend-Avesta, two-seedism, or dualism, finds its strongest arguments. The Apocrypha is not the Hebrew Old Testament, but is in the Septuagint or Greek Version of the Old Testament. It consists of the following fourteen books: 1st, Historical (First Estrous, First and Second Maccabees); 2nd, Legendary, (Tobit, Judith, Additions to Esther, Song of Three Holy Children, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon); 3rd, Prophetical (Baruch, Prayer of Manassas); 4th, Apocalyptic (Second Eadras); and 5th, Didactic (The Wisdom of Solomon, and The Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus). These books were written between 300 B.C. and 75 A.D. They are not quoted at all by the writers of the New Testament, and they abound in fictitious stories and doctrinal errors, and they show the workings of the carnal Jewish mind just before and after the coming of Christ.

Baptism

Q. Was John's baptism Christian baptism? and were the baptisms practiced by the disciples of Christ previous to His crucifixion identical with those practiced by His apostles after His ascension? and did John baptize in any name, and, if in the name of Christ, was Christ baptized in His own name?

A. John's baptism was from heaven, and he therefore baptized by the authority or in the name of God. He baptized Christ, although Christ was sinless, to fulfill all righteousness; that is, to do the righteous will of God, to point forward to Christ's atoning death for our sins and His resurrection for our justification, and to show the example that we are to follow. Though Christ had no sin of His own, He was the representative of His sinful people. He was a real man, as well as the real God, and He was baptized and labored and suffered and bled and died and rose as a man. Some of John's disciples whom he had baptized followed Christ, and were not baptized in water again, so far as we are told in the Scriptures. The baptisms performed by Christ's disciples before His crucifixion were undoubtedly in the name or by authority of God (Christ is God), and did not have to be repeated, and were therefore substantially the same as those performed by His apostles after His ascension, though the form of words used was not probably the same; the Scriptures do not tell us the form of words used in the baptisms performed by John or in those performed by the disciples of Christ before His crucifixion, and it is, therefore, not necessary for us to know that form of words. An attempt to be wise above what is written, and speculation upon things that the Lord has not revealed to us, are not only unprofitable but injurious to the people of God, tending, not to edify and unite, but to confuse and divide them.

Q. Do the Scriptures teach that sprinkling or pouring translated to sprinkle, to pour, and to baptize (immerse) are entirely different, and are never confounded with each other?

A. Never. The Hebrew and Greek words translated "baptize" do not mean "sprinkle" or "pour." The Roman Catholics admit that they invented and substituted sprinkling and pouring for baptism, and that Protestants derived from them, and not from the Scriptures, these pretended forms of baptism; and this is the truth.

Q. What passage of Scripture contains the strongest proof that immersion or dipping is baptism?

A. There are so many passages proving this fact that it is hard to say which is the strongest proof of it. Perhaps Rom. 6:4,5 is the strongest passage; but such passages as Matt. 3:13-17 and Acts 8:36-39 are strong enough. But the strongest proof of all is the Greek word baptizo, translated or rather transliterated baptize, which, according to all European and American scholars, never means to sprinkle or pour, but always means to dip or immerse.

Q. It is said that "they were baptized (that is, dipped or immersed) in Jordan, confessing their sins" (Mark 1:5). Did John the Baptist require this, or was it voluntary?

A. Both. John would baptize none unless they "brought forth fruits meet for repentance," that is, unless their lives proved that they were truly penitent, and these he, being sent of God to baptize, no doubt, exhorted to be baptized in token of their repentance for their sins and their faith in the coming Saviour, whom he preached, and they were made of God willing to submit to the Heavenly ordinance.

Q. Does the word of God authorize gospel ministers to baptize or sprinkle infants?

A. Most certainly not, in any passage of the Scriptures.

Q. Does it teach that parents should have their infants baptized or sprinkled?

A. Not at all.

Q. Why do the Old Baptists teach that true believers are the only proper subjects for baptism?

A. Because the Scriptures so teach (Matt. 3:6,8; 28:19,20; Mark 16:15,16; Acts 2:38,41; 8:36-38; 10:44-48; 16:31-34).

Q. Why do they baptize by immersion only?

A. Because, as all scholars admit, baptism, a Greek word, means nothing but immersion, and does not in a single passage in Greek literature up to A.D. 100, the end of the Apostolic Age, mean sprinkling or pouring. For several years a thousand dollars has been offered, by the Western Recorder, of Louisville, Kentucky, to any person in the world who will show a single instance in ancient Greek literature in which the Greek word baptizo means to sprinkle or pour; and no human being, Catholic or Protestant, has ever been able to show such a passage, and thus earn the thousand dollars - not because they do not want the money, but because no such passage exists.

Q. When was infant sprinkling first practiced, and by whom and why?

A. The first recorded instance of sprinkling for baptism was that of the adult Novatian, said to have been a native of Phrygia in Asia Minor, about 240 A.D., when on a sick bed he was in hourly expectation of death, and his so-called (clinical) "baptism" was generally regarded even among Catholics as invalid. After this the Roman (but not the Greek) Catholics began gradually to recognize the sprinkling of sick persons as "baptism;" but the Roman Catholic Council of Ravenna, in A.D. 1311, was the first council of even that apostate communion that legalized "baptism" by sprinkling, by leaving it to the choice of the officiating minister. The Greek Catholics have never allowed the validity of sprinkling for baptism, and they call the Roman Catholic Pope "an unbaptized heretic." The first known instance of infant baptism was in North Africa in A.D. 256. These two errors, therefore, of the substitution of sprinkling for baptism, and of the baptism of infants, originated in the Roman Catholic so-called "church" about the same time; and the cause of them was the thoroughly anti-scriptural, idolatrous superstition of "baptismal regeneration" - that there is a magical, regenerating, saving power in water, while the Scriptures plainly teach that baptism, immersion in water, is but an emblem of our previous spiritual experience of our death, burial, and resurrection with Christ, our only Saviour and Lord.

Q. Did the Old Baptists ever practice it, and, if so, why?

A. Some called Baptists may have practiced sprinkling for baptism in England in the 16th and 17th centuries; and they did so because they chose to follow man instead of Christ, and because it was much more convenient, and seemed more respectable.

Q. Do those who sprinkle for baptism know that immersion is the scriptural mode?

A. The real scholars among them know it; they know that, in all Greek literature, the Greek word baptizo (from which the English word baptize is formed) never meant to sprinkle or pour, but only to dip, immerse, or submerge. The perversion of the meaning of this word is one of the strongest proofs of the total, willful depravity of the human heart. The Roman Catholics invented sprinkling.

Q. Why was the church of Christ called Baptist and was it the original apostolic church?

A. Because, according to the commandment of Christ, they baptized none but those who gave evidence that they were true believers in Christ, just as the apostolic churches did. Believers' baptism distinguishes the apostolic and Baptist churches from all others.

Q. Do Pedo-Baptists sprinkle infants, knowing it to be unscriptural?

A. They know that there is not one plain command or example of it in the Bible. Faith is an indispensable prerequisite to scriptural baptism (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:41; 8:12; 36-38; 10:47,48; 16:30-34).

Q. Do the Scriptures teach that baptism should be administered as soon as convenient after repentance, faith, and confession?

A. Certainly (Matt. 28:19,20; Mark 16:15,16; Acts 2:37-41; 8:36-38; 16:29-33).

Q. How does baptism save the baptized?

A. Certainly not by saving them from an everlasting hell, for the blood of Christ alone does that; but by delivering them, at least to some considerable extent, from the vanities, delusions, and errors of the flesh, the world, and the Devil.

Q. What is the meaning of the Greek preposition "eis," rendered "for," in Acts 2:38, "for the remission of sins?"

A. "In regard to" (this is a translation of this word given by Liddell & Scott); "in regard to, or with reference to the remission of their sins," that is "because they had repented of their sins, and believed that Jesus had shed His blood for the forgiveness of their sins," as plainly shown by the use of the very same Greek words by Christ himself in Matt. 26:28, and in Luke 24:47, and as also used in Luke 3:3 and Mark 1:4. The language of Christ in Matt. 26:28 and John 8:24, and that of John in John 1:29 and I John 1:7 and Rev. 1:5, and that of Paul in Rom. 3:24,25; Eph. 1: 7; and Heb. 1:3, 10:14 prove that the actual, procuring cause of the forgiveness of our sins was the shedding of the blood of Christ for us. If eis in Acts 2:38 means "in order to," as many think, then we know, according to the passages just cited, that, as in Acts 22:16, the meaning is "in order to the symbolical or ceremonial remission of sins" - that is, our baptism expresses our faith that Jesus has shed His blood for the remission of our sins.

Christ Jesus

Q. Why is Jesus called Shiloh? (Gen. 49:10)

A. According to all Jewish and Christian antiquity, Shiloh in this passage refers to the Messiah. Shiloh means "peace" or "peacemaker;" Jesus is so called because He is the "Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6,7); He gives peace and rest to His people, all of whom feel their need of it and come to Him for it (Isa. 11:10; John 14:27; 6:37-40; Matt. 11:28-30).

Q. The Apostle Paul says: "We have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15); how could Christ be tempted to a thing without a desire for it?

A. Christ was perfect man as well as perfect God; and, as man, he "had all the original feelings of humanity - hope, fear, desire, joy, grief, indignation, shrinking from suffering, and the like." He thus, as man, experienced all the infirmities or weakness of a human creature, including the power of temptation; but, as God, He perfectly resisted all the temptations of the Devil to put these feelings of human nature before the Fall into sinful exercise. With millions of other mysteries in the universe, this is one that we cannot fully understand; yet we fully receive all that the inspired writers say on the subject. As man, Christ sympathizes with us in all our trials and weaknesses; and, as God, He succors and sustains us in our temptations and infirmities.

Q. What life did Christ lay down?

A. His human, mortal life; not His divine, eternal life (John, 10:15,17,18,28-30). As a man, He could die (Heb. 9:27; 2:9), but as the eternal ever-living God, He could not die, (I Thess. 1:9; I Tim 6:13-16; John 11:25; I John 1:1,2).

Q. Should the word "Saviour" be spelled with or without the u in the last syllable?

A. Either Saviour or Savior is considered correct; but Saviour is the older and the more usual form, and is the form used in the King James or Authorized Version of the Bible.

Q. The Lord Jesus Christ was perfectly holy in soul and body; what change did His body undergo in the resurrection?

A. No doubt it was changed from natural to spiritual, from mortal to immortal. The risen body of Christ, while it could partake of food, appeared and disappeared suddenly at pleasure; and finally, independent of gravitation, ascended from the Mount of Olives to heaven, and a cloud received it out of the gaze of the looking disciples. The exact nature of this change is not revealed; but the bodies of the sleeping saints, and those of the saints then remaining on the earth, will undergo a similar change at the second bodily coming of Christ to this world, and will be made like His glorious body, by the almighty power of their Divine Redeemer.

Q. Did Christ exist in spirit only before He was incarnate of the Virgin Mary?

A. Of course, as He is God, and God is a spirit, except that, like angels who are spirits, He several times in the Old Testament, appeared for a short time as a man.

Q. What was conceived of the Holy Ghost in Mary's body?

A. The human body and spirit of Christ, in which the Godhead dwelt.

Q. Upon what altar was Christ offered?

A. The Scriptures do not say that Christ, the true Lamb of God, was offered upon any altar; but we may consider that He offered His spotless and tender humanity upon the strong supporting, brazen altar of His almighty Divinity.

Q. Who "first trusted in Christ" (Eph. 1:12)?

A. The Jews, who trusted in Christ before the Gentiles did, as proved by the context (Eph. 1:12, 13; 2:11-22), and also by the original language of the Apostle Paul in this place; for the pronoun rendered "who" in Eph. 1:12, is in the plural number, showing that "we" (and not God) is the antecedent.

Q. How did Jesus "taste death for every man" (Heb. 2:9)?

A. There is no word meaning "man" in the original of this passage. The original says simply "every" or every one of the "many sons whom He will bring to glory," as shown in the next verse; every one of the "sanctified" or "brethren" or "church" or "children," as shown in the following verses of the same chapter.

Q. Were the disciples of Christ divinely or humanly first called Christians at Antioch? (Acts 11:26).

A. Humanly, by the Gentiles, either the Greeks or Romans; for the Jews, who did not believe that Jesus was the Christ or Messiah, would not have called His followers Christians. The followers of Christ in the first century generally called each other "brethren," "saints," or "disciples," or "the faithful in Christ Jesus," and the unbelieving Jews called them Nazarenes, or followers of Jesus of Nazareth. As a denominational name, the followers of James O'Kelly, a native of Ireland who came to America about 1777, and lived for some years as a traveling Methodist preacher, withdrew, in 1793 in Virginia and North Carolina, from the Methodist Episcopal Church, on account of their objections to the government of bishops and the use of creeds and disciplines, and in 1794 called themselves "Christians;" they admit the validity of sprinkling or pouring, as well as immersion, for baptism. The followers of Thomas Campbell, of Ireland, and then of Pennsylvania, called themselves "Christians" in 1809; but he and his son, Alexander Campbell, were immersed, June 14, 1812, as members of the Brush Run Baptist Church, which belonged to the Redstone Baptist Association in Pennsylvania. In 1823 Alexander Campbell began publishing a paper called the Christian Baptist; and in 1827 he founded a separate denomination called the Disciples of Christ; but in recent years they have assumed the name Christians, but are generally called by other denominations Campbelites. They agree with the Baptists in considering immersion the only baptism, and that only believers should be baptized.

Communion

Q. Is it apostolic for a church to assess its members and compel each one to contribute toward defraying the expenses of the church in proportion to what each is worth?

A. We are not informed, in the New Testament, that the Apostles ever so enjoined upon any church; but the heavenly-minded and self-sacrificing Apostle Paul exhorted each member of the Corinthian Church to contribute as God had prospered (I Cor. 16:1-4), and he declares that "covetousness is idolatry" (Col. 3:5), and that we are no more to eat or commune with a covetous person than with a fornicator, or idolater, or railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner (I Cor. 5:11). If all our churches should follow this apostolic injunction (which of course they ought to do), they would be fewer in numbers, but purer and stronger in character and influence.

Q. Does any Scripture require Christians to give one tenth of their property to the service of the Lord?

A. None. Among the ancient Israelites one-tenth of the yearly increase of the land and of the flocks, which was considered by the later Jews to be one-fifth of their yearly income, was to be given to the Levites (who had no landed inheritance in Canaan) and to the priests and the strangers, the fatherless, and the widows (Gen. 28:22; Levit. 27:32; Num. 18:21-32; Deut. 14: 22-29; II Chron. 31:5, 6; Mal. 3:8-12; Matt. 23:23); but, in the New Testament, no stated amount is mentioned, and Christians are exhorted to give liberally and cheerfully, as the Lord has prospered them (I Cor. 16:2; II Cor. 9).

Q. Does the Bible instruct churches how often to commune?

A. No; but it seems that the apostolic church at first communed every day (Acts 2:46), or at least every Sunday, the first day of the week (Acts 20:7); yet Paul, not saying how often they were to commune, says, "As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come." (I Cor. 11:26).

Q. What is a church?

A. The word "church" is translated from the Greek word Ekklesia which means called out; a religious congregation; a community of members on earth or saints in heaven; believers of gospel truth called out from the world.

Q. When was the first gospel church established?

A. In the days of Jesus, John the Baptist and the Apostles.

Q. Who is the foundation and builder of the true church?

A. Jesus is both the foundation and the great Masterbuilder. He said, "Upon this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:18).

Q. What is "the rock" or foundation of the church?

A. It is the knowledge of truth revealed by God to His children; an understanding of Jesus and His work as "the way, the truth, and the life" - really, Jesus himself.

Q. How many churches did Jesus establish or build?

A. Only one church, but composed of many assemblies or congregations.

Q. What kind of church was the first church?

A. It was composed of baptized believers. And believers who are baptized by a proper administrator and by the proper mode, constitute a Baptist Church.

Q. What is the proper mode of baptism?

A. Immersion in water, or as Paul expresses it, "buried with Christ in baptism." The word "baptism" means to immerse, to dip, as all scholars know.

Q. Was Jesus baptized?

A. Yes. He was immersed in water by John the Baptist, the first man ever authorized to baptize.

Q. Where did John the Baptist get his authority to baptize?

A. He got it from heaven - not from men.

Q. Has the mode of baptism ever been changed?

A. Yes, the mode has been changed by men, but not by the authority of God. Sprinkling of water or the pouring of water on persons is now practiced by some religious people who call it baptism.

Q. When did sprinkling begin to be practiced?

A. About 240 years after Christ in the case of a sick person. The sprinkling of infants began about the same time. Both are errors as are all other religious practices not taught by Christ and the Apostles.

Q. How old is the Primitive Baptist Church?

A. It was organized in the days of John the Baptist, Christ, and his Apostles. Primitive means old, first, original.

Q. When the division came with the Catholics did the Primitive Church die?

A. No. It stood for Primitive Christianity through all the dark ages as it does today.

Q. By what name was the Primitive Church known?

A. By various names such as Anabaptists, Baptists, Puritans, Paulicians, but more often called by the name of prominent leaders in the Church such as Novationists, Donatists, Paternines, Hendicans, Arnoldists, Abigenses, Lollards, Waldenses, etc.

Q. What were the followers of Christ first called?

A. They were first called Christians after Christ, in whom they believed and in whose name (together with that of the Father's and the Holy Spirit's) they had been baptized.

Q. How old is the Catholic Church?

A. The church now known as the Catholic Church was the corrupter of the Primitive or Christian Church and became separate from it about 300 years after Christ.

Q. How did the Catholic Church grow so strong in numbers?

A. By joining in with all kinds of worldly religion, by forsaking the truth and adopting error, by seeking the applause and favor of the world, and by persecuting those who would not follow them in their errors.

Q. Who was the first great Reformer who broke loose from the Catholic Church?

A. Martin Luther who was the founder of the Lutheran Church about the year 1525.

Q. Who was the next great Reformer?

A. John Calvin who formed the Presbyterian Church about the year 1541.

Q. What was the next church that was formed out of the Catholic Church?

A. The Episcopalian or the Church of England, formed by Henry VIII about 1534, who was at that time King of England.

Q. Who was the founder of the Methodist Church?

A. This denomination owes its origin to John Wesley of England - born 1703, died 1791.

Q. Who established the Mormon Church?

A. This sect was founded by Joseph Smith who was born in Sharon, VT, 1805. He claimed that he was informed by an angel that he was chosen to form a new religion and that the Book or Mormon Bible, was given him in visions.

Q. How old is the Moravian Church?

A. Nicholas Lewis, a German Nobleman who died in 1760, is claimed to be the founder. He was associated with John Huss who was also instrumental in the formation of the denomination now called Moravians.

Q. Who founded the Adventist Church?

A. This sect was originated about 1833 by William Miller of New York. Miller predicted that the world would come to an end in 1843. They contend that Saturday, not Sunday, should be the day of special worship.

Q. How old is the Disciple Church?

A. This denomination usually call themselves Christians, and was organized about 1827. They are sometimes called "Campbellites" because Alexander Campbell was the founder.

Q. When was the Dunkers or Dunkard Church founded and by whom?

A. They originated with Conrad Peysel, a German Baptist about the year 1724, and their meetings were first held in a colony about fifty miles from Philadelphia.

Q. How many different denominations in the U. S.?

A. Counting the divisions and sub-divisions the number is difficult to determine. A recent census shows that there are seven bodies of Catholics, six of Adventists, eighteen of Baptists, seventeen of Methodists, twelve of Presbyterians, sixteen bodies of Lutherans, twelve of Mennonites, two of Christians, four of Dunkards, and various other smaller divisions.

Q. What is Calvinism?

A. It is the doctrine advocated by John Calvin who was a "professor of Divinity" at Geneva in 1536 and was noted for his genius, learning and eloquence. Calvin taught that all men by nature are totally depraved; that God chose a certain number to be saved; that Jesus atoned for the elect only; that all whom God predestinated unto life, He effectually calls by His Spirit; and that those called shall never finally fall from the state of grace and salvation.

Q. What is Arminianism?

A. Arminianism is the doctrine promulgated by James Arminus, "a professor of Divinity" at Leydon, who lived in the sixteenth century. It is opposite to Calvinism and is based on man's free will. Its cardinal points are: Christ at His death made an atonement for all mankind, subject to the condition of a belief in Him followed by good works; that men are not totally depraved or helpless sinners; that the grace and callings of God can be resisted and accomplishes nothing without man's acceptance of his own free will; that even those who accept salvation, may fall from grace and be finally lost; that God sent His Son to die for the sins of all the race of men and if any are saved it depends upon the voluntary exercise of faith and the performing of conditions; - in a word, that God is doing all He can to save the world. All denominations of the present day, except the Old School or Primitive Baptists, advocate Arminianism in some of its alluring and plausible forms.

Q. What is Absolutism?

A. It is an erroneous and strained view of the doctrine of predestination. Its advocates teach that God absolutely predestinated all things that come to pass, both good and evil; that what is going on in the world now, that which has transpired in the past, and that which will come to pass in the future was all predestinated before time and could not be otherwise from what it was, is, or will be, that all the acts of men and devils were predestinated. This doctrine is not a Bible doctrine - Elder Sylvester Hassell said it was imported from Italy. It was first published among Baptists by the paper known as the "Signs of the Times" in 1832. Since that time the doctrine has been made a hobby by a few Baptists, yet none of our churches were organized upon such a doctrine - it is not found in the articles of Faith of any Baptist Church. It is a lefthanded confusing kind of predestination and has been the cause of much strife and division. Its advocates are not satisfied with predestination as Paul expressed it. They seek to prop up predestination on one side by "absolute," and on the other side they spread it over "all things." The doctrine, when run to its logical conclusion, is nothing less than fatalism, for it makes God as being the author of sin, though most of its advocates deny this.

Q. Have Baptists been advocates of religious liberty?

A. Yes. By the influence of the Baptists, the first amendment to the constitution of the United States was adopted in 1789, forbidding congress to make any law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Even the very idea of the local independence of the Governments is believed to have been derived by Thomas Jefferson from a small Baptist Church whose monthly meetings he attended for several months in succession about ten years before the American Revolution. Mr. Jefferson declared that their form of church government was the only form of true democracy then existing in the world. (Hassell's Church History).

Q. Why do Primitive Baptists practice close communion?

A. Because communion is an expression of spiritual church fellowship, and we can have spiritual church fellowship only with baptized, sound, and orderly believers in Christ (Acts 2:41,42; I Cor. 5:11; 10:16; II Cor. 6:14-18; II Thess. 3:6). Baptism is the immersion of a believer in Christ by a minister authorized by a gospel church to baptize. The Apostles communed only with baptized, sound, and orderly believers.

Q. Should the Communion be offered members of other churches who are members of Secret Societies?

A. If Lodgeism is a religion as is claimed by their highest authorities why commune with this type of religion and deny Communion to other forms of Arminianism? Dr. Mackey further said on page 641 of his Encyclopedia: "The religion of Free-masonary * * * is not Christianity." He claims it is broader and more adaptable than Christianity, that it is eminently a religious institution? He said, "Masonry, then, is indeed a religious institution and on this ground mainly, if not alone, should the religious Mason defend it". We claim that Christianity is the only true religion: Masonry is therefore a false one. Should Baptists have fellowship for a false religion under the name of Masonry or any other name? In none of the "sublime ceremonies" of Masonry, or other like orders, is the name of Jesus used. They use much ceremony even in the burial of the dead, yet never do you hear them use the words "Jesus" or "Christ." In the New Testament we find the name "Christ" used 554 times, but not one time in the religion of Masonry. In the New Testament we find the word "Jesus" 961 times, but not a single time is it found in the religion of Masonry. Should Baptists fellowship a religion which denies their Lord and Master? How can a Baptist who knows in his heart that when he comes to die, Jesus, and not his Lodge, will be his only help, how can such a Baptist deny Jesus now! How can he leave the blessed Lord out in the street while he goes into a Lodge where His dear name is never used in the religious service there? Again, the name of Jesus is not used because it would offend the Jew, the infidel, the atheist, the Hottentot and the what-nots. And rather than offend unbelievers in Jesus they leave Jesus out altogether. And why any Baptist wants to join himself to a Lodge where the name of his Saviour is not allowed is hard to understand. Not many of our people have become entangled in this Lodgeism religion. True religion needs no darkness for a covering. Good works done by professors of Christ should be done in His name, not in the name of a Secret Society which will not even use His name in their so-called "sublime ceremonies." P.

Q. What are some of the dangers of open communion?

A. If open communion were generally practiced by Baptists it would do away with the Bible baptism, destroy all church discipline, and finally do away with the New Testament churches. Open communion leads to open membership which will sooner or later lead to the extinction of visible gospel churches by a union or alliance of the church and the world. P.

Q. What duties does the New Testament lay upon churches as a body?

A. To meet together for the public worship of God; to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints; to practice the ordinances, and obey the commandments of God; to maintain gospel discipline, withdrawing from every member who walks disorderly; to be dutiful in all the relations of life; to visit and minister to the afflicted and destitute; to aid with their wordly substance those who minister to them in spiritual things; to help visiting ministers on their way after a godly sort; to be reverent towards God, and kind and forgiving toward their fellowman, even their enemies; to be obedient citizens of their country; to live in peace with each other and, as far as possible, with the world; to be sober, righteous, and godly; to thank the Lord for His mercies, and to pray to Him for their continuance; to be mindful of the shortness and uncertainty of life and the certainty of death and eternal judgment after it; and to watch and be ready for the second coming of Christ, which may occur any moment. Of course, without Christ we can do nothing; but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (John 15:5; Phil. 4:13).

Q. Is there at present, in Palestine, or Italy, or France, a gospel church as we understand that institution?

A. No; nor anywhere else, so far as I know, except in the British Isles, Canada, the United States and Australia; but still the Lord has a people in every nation, kindred, and tongue. Christ, and not the church or any other creature, is the Saviour of sinners.

Q. Were there other churches in the Apostolic Age, besides those to whom Epistles of the New Testament were written?

A. Yes, many; in Jerusalem (Acts 1;2; 15:4); Joppa (Acts 10:23); Cesarean (Acts 10: 24-48); Samaria (John 4:39-42; Acts 8:12, 25); Galilee (Matt. 28:7 with I Cor. 15:6); Antioch (Acts 13: 1); Damascus (Acts 9:10-22); Babylon (I Pet. 5:13) ; Cyprus (Acts 13:4) ; Pisidia (Acts 13:14-49); Lycaonia (Acts 14:6,7); Phrygia (Acts 16:6) ; Pontus, Cappadocia, and Bithynia (I Pet. 1:1); Troas (Acts 20:6,7); and Berea (Acts 17:10-12); and probably in many other places and countries not mentioned in the New Testament.

Q. In Rev. 3:20 Christ says "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." What is the meaning?

A. This language is addressed to the angel, messenger, or minister of the church of the Laodiceans (Rev. 3:14), and to those who have the Spirit of God (Rev. 3:22), and therefore are spiritually alive, but spiritually dormant or asleep to their Christian obligations and privileges; and Christ, by His Holy Spirit and word, thus arouses them to renewed obedience and comfort. We feast with Christ when, hearing and obeying and having sweet fellowship with Him.

Q. What "church" building is the most costly and magnificent in the world?

A. The Roman Catholic Cathedral at St. Peter's at Rome. It will hold about fifty thousand people, and is said to have cost about sixty million dollars, much of which money was raised by selling indulgences to sin. Thus what the "church" of Rome considers her greatest glory is really her greatest shame.

Q. Are there not "church" houses in existence that were three or more centuries in course of construction?

A. One at least "Saint Peter's," the chief Roman Catholic Cathedral at Rome, completed in A.D. 1664, at a cost of sixty million dollars, much of which money was raised by the blasphemous and unblushing sale of indulgences for past, present, and future sins - so-called "grace" being sold for gold, a price having been set upon each kind of sin. This enormity was the immediate occasion for the Protestant Reformation under Martin Luther.

Q. Who organized the church and by what name was it called?

A. "Upon this rock I will build my church." (Mat. 16:18). Jesus said this. This is the first mention of "church" in the Bible. Jesus is the First and Master Builder. If He is the Builder, He must have been the organizer. And as He was baptized by "John the Baptist," His church must have been a "Baptist Church." And as the word "first" means primitive or original, it looks like the first church was a Primitive Baptist Church, though the contenders for the primitive doctrine and practice have been called by different names in the days that have passed, and will be in the days to come. P.

Q. When Did Christ build His church?

A. In the 16th Chapter of Matt. He says, "I will build my church." Evidently He built it there for immediately He instructs His disciples to tell their grievances to the church after other efforts have failed. Then we find the church transacting business before the day of Pentecost which so many have tried to make the birthday of the church. P.

Q. Did The Holy Spirit dwell on the earth before the day of Pentecost?

A. Most assuredly He did. He came to abide with his people on the day of Pentecost and to make every church "a habitation of God through the Spirit." P.

Chronology

Q. Are the Old Baptists in accord with the chronology of the Bible?

A. Chronology is the science of time, or the science "which treats of measuring time by regular divisions or periods, and which assigns to events their proper dates." Old Baptists are perfectly agreed to all things, whether events or their dates, mentioned in the Scriptures. The dates in the margin of some copies of the King James or Authorized Version of the Scriptures are seldom given in the Scripture text, but were computed and published by Archbishop Ussher, of Ireland, in 1650 to 1654 A.D., and were inserted in the inner margin of the King James Version by order of the British Parliament. These dates are mostly inferences from the Hebrew text, and are generally accepted by our people as about as accurate as they can be made, except that Christ was undoubtedly born four years before the beginning of the "Christian Era," because He was born during the life of "Herod the Great," and Herod died four years before the "Christian Era." This correction makes four thousand years from Adam to Christ; and Christ's baptism A.D. 26 or 27; and His crucifixion A.D. 30; and the death of Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian Church A.D. 33 (the seven years from A.D. 26 to A.D. 33 being the last prophetic week of years foretold by the Angel Gabriel to Daniel in Dan. 9:27, Christ's death being in the midst of that week, and His confirmation of His covenant with His Jewish people being during His earthly ministry of three and a half years, and the special ministry of His Spirit with His Jewish people for the next three and a half years to the martyrdom of Stephen, at which persecution His disciples were scattered among the Samaritans and Gentiles, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles). Daniel 9:24-27 is, with the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, the most unanswerable demonstration, in all literature, of the truth of Christianity and the falsehood of Judaism. No matter what all modern infidel Jews and Gentiles say, these and other similar undoubtedly authentic Scriptures, and the writings of other ancient Jews and Heathens, and the corresponding facts of history prove to all intelligent, informed, and honest minds, both Jewish and Gentile, that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah of the Old Testament, the Christ of God.

Catholicism (Roman)

Q. Did Roman Catholicism have its origin in the Apostolic Church at Rome, and, if so, what was the cause?

A. No human being on earth knows who founded the original church at Rome; but it is probable that it was founded by the "strangers at Rome, Jews and proselytes" ("sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,") who heard and believed the sermon of Peter at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:10), and were baptized and thus added by the Lord to the church at Jerusalem (Acts 2:41-47). The Apostle Paul visited and preached and wrote his longest letter to the original church at Rome (Acts 28:30,31; Epistle to the Romans). Ecclesiastical literature in the second century shows that this became corrupted in doctrine and practice during that century, as all the seven churches of Asia (mentioned in the first three chapters of Revelation) became, in a century or two, corrupt or extinct. Cyprian, "Bishop" of Carthage in Africa (A.D. 248-258), was the father of diocesan episcopacy, and of Roman Catholicism, pretending, in his Epistle 45, that the Bishops (who, in the New Testament, are always the same as pastors or elders) were the successors of the Apostles, and that the chair of Peter is the center of episcopal unity, and that the church at Rome is the root and mother of the Catholic "Church." But the first pope, in the real sense of the word, was Leo I (A.D. 440-461), who was a man of great ability and ambition, and who, as Rome was then the capital of the political world, sought to make the Roman "Church" the mistress of the ecclesiastical world, with himself at its head. Christ gave to the other Apostles, and even to the church, the same disciplinary authority that He gave to Peter (Matt. 16:19; 19:28; 18:15-18). He called Peter "Satan," because of Peter's attempt to rebuke Him (Matt. 16:21-23). Though Peter was warned by Christ, he cursed and swore that he did not know Christ (Matt. 26:34, 69-75). He dissembled, at Antioch, in regard to the ceremonial law, and Paul reproved him publicly before the church (Gal. 2:11-21). And the Scriptures do not say that Peter ever went to Rome, much less that he was bishop or pastor of the church there, and nowhere make the slightest intimation that he was ever to have a successor or line of successors. The vast forgery of the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals, made in the ninth century, pretending that the popes from Clement I (A.D. 91) to Damascus I (A.D. 384) ruled over a church in which the clergy were disconnected with the State, and were unconditionally subordinate to the pope, is now admitted by even Roman Catholics to be fraudulent, but was used by the popes and papal writers for six hundred years to establish and increase the power of the popes over the "bishops."

Q. Who was the first pope of Rome, and when and by what authority was he made pope?

A. Leo I, in 440, by his own authority (Church History, page 407). Cyprian, "bishop" of Carthage, A.D. 248-258, was the father of diocesan episcopacy and of Romanism. He represented the "bishop" as successors of the Apostles, the chair of Saint Peter as the center of episcopal unity, and the "Church" of Rome as the root of all (page 301). But the first pretended "bishop" of Rome to realize Cyprian's invention of the supremacy of Peter over the other Apostles, and the succession of the "bishop" of Rome to Peter and consequently that bishop's supremacy over the whole "church" was Leo I in 440 (Church History, page 407). The Roman Catholics, with thousands of other lies, pretend that the Apostle Peter was the first pope, and, with contradicting statements, pretend that other popes have succeeded him ever since; but, in the Seculum Obscurum, the Obscure Age, the dark period of Church History between A.D. 70 and 100, according to all reputable historians, are forever buried all claims to a personal or material succession of the Apostles (pages 18 and 302). There is not a word in the Scriptures to prove that Peter was ever put by Christ over the other Apostles (Matt. 16:19 compared with 16:23 and 18:18 disproves this) or that Peter was ever at Rome, or that the bishops of Rome were his successors.

Q. At What Time did Christ set up His Kingdom on earth?

A. It began with the calling of the twelve apostles. P.

Q. Is it scriptural to call or treat any created being as " pope?"

A. It is utterly unscriptural and anti-Christian. The word "pope" is the same as "papa," and means father; and Christ forbids any of His disciples to call any man on earth their "father" - that is, their spiritual father, teacher, leader, and master, as God alone, their Heavenly Father, is the Source of their spiritual being, and of all truth, authority, and power (Matt. 23:1-12). The Jewish scribes (Pharisees) copyists and expounders of the Mosaic law, loved to be called "Rabbi" (my great one, my teacher, my leader, my master); it "tickled their ears, and fed their pride." But Christ said to His disciples, "Be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren," children of the same God, equal in right and privilege, no one superior to another, or qualified to exercise authority over the faith and practice of another. Utterly despising and disregarding this commandment of Christ, our only Head and Master, Greek Catholics have "patriarchs" and Roman Catholics have "popes" and thousands of "fathers" (they call all their priests "fathers"); and to us - saddest of all - even some Primitive Baptists follow leaders (self-constituted popes or masters) who have departed from the plain teachings of Christ in the Scriptures, and who have thus divided and alienated brethren, the children of God, from one another. In Divine condemnation of this course our dear Saviour commands us to love one another as He loved us; and when He was about to die in shame and agony for us, He prayed that all who believe on Him might be one, even as He and the Father are one (John 13:34; 17:20,21).

Q. What are the works of supererogation?

A. In the Roman Catholic theology these are the good works which it is falsely pretended that Christians can do over and above the strict requirement of the divine law, and which furnish a store of merit to atone for past sins, or to obtain an increase of grace, and to relieve the souls of the dead from the fiery torments of purgatory. The Devil never invented a bigger lie; for the Holy Spirit teaches us that we are born in sin and remain sinners until death, and that, if we are saved, it is alone of God's free and unmerited grace, and of atoning death and justifying resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the regenerating and sanctifying power of the Divine Spirit. The law of God requires us to love the Lord with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. No human being in the flesh, except our perfect and incarnate Saviour, the Godman, Jesus of Nazareth, ever came up to this requirement, much less going beyond it. If a man could save himself, he would not have needed Christ to die for him, nor the Holy Spirit to renew him, and the whole system of Christianity would be a falsehood.

Q. When was the name "Catholic" first applied to a church?

A. This word literally means universal; in the Scriptures it is never applied to a church, but only to the Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude, which were not addressed to a single church or individual. There is no universal visible church; and, if there were, it could not be called Roman Catholic or Greek Catholic or Anglo Catholic, for these are contradictory terms; if a church is Roman or Greek or English, it is certainly not catholic or universal. In the early centuries, after the first century or the Apostolic Age, churches thought to be orthodox were called by some writers Catholic in distinction from those thought to be heretical. After the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, the so-called "Church of Rome" tried to monopolize this title; but the so-called "Greek or Orthodox Church" also claimed it. The term "Anglo-Catholic" was invented in England in connection with the so-called "Tractarian Movement," the issuance and influence of what was called "Tracts for the Times," tending to the old and false doctrine of "Roman Catholicism." As stated before, there is no universal visible church on earth; there are hundreds of thousands (in fact millions) of square miles where the gospel has never been preached by any man; and Mohammedanism, a pretended religion which allows the gratification of man's vilest passions, is spreading far more rapidly than even a profession of Christianity.

Q. Can it be possible that the great arrogant leaders of Catholicism are sincere?

A. Impossible, if they have any real knowledge of God or of themselves or of the Scriptures; and, even if sincere, they are no more justifiable in their wicked persecution of the children of God than were the ancient heathens and Pharisees, and the Mohammedans.

Q. Is there any Scripture proof of the Roman Catholic doctrines of the Immaculate Conception or sinlessness of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and her Perpetual Virginity?

A. Not the slightest; the Immaculate Conception or sinlessness of Mary was proclaimed, against the entire teachings of the Scriptures, by Pope Pius IX at Rome, December 8, 1854; and the Catholic doctrine of her Perpetual Virginity is disproved by Matt. 1:25.

Q. Is there any need of a "pope" and a long list of his assistants to save us?

A. "Pope" means father; and Christ says, "Call no man on earth your father" (Matt. 23:9), that is, your spiritual father; "for one is your Father, which is in heaven;" yet, in direct disobedience to Christ, Roman Catholics call not only their "Pope" but all their "priests," father. By their inventions and traditions they make the commandments of God none effect (Matt. 15:3-9).

Q. Was the Guy Fawkes attempt to blow up the English Houses of Parliament and King James I November 5, 1605, by Roman Catholics, and how near to success did it attain?

A. It was by Roman Catholics, and was intended to destroy the Protestant government of England, and to restore the Roman Catholics to power; and it was discovered by an anonymous letter received October 26, 1605, by William Parker Montague, a member of the House of Lords, written, it is believed, by his brother-in-law, Francis Tresham, one of the conspirators, warning him not to attend that session of Parliament. Investigation was made, and thirty-six barrels of gunpowder, containing 3,200 pounds, were found, with abundance of fire-wood and coal, in the cellar of the Houses of Parliament. The originator of the plot was Robert Catesby, a cousin of Francis Tresham. Robert Catesby, Thomas Percy, John Wright, and Robert Wright, who were among the conspirators, were shot and killed in a house by the sheriff and his men in attempting to arrest them; Guy Fawkes, Thomas Winter, Robert Winter, Everard Digby, Ambrose Robewood, Robert Keyes, Thomas Bates, and a Jesuit priest, Henry Garnet, were tried and executed; Francis Tresham died in the Tower; while the Jesuit priests, Greenway and Gerard, escaped. Jesuit authors and editors excuse and even justify the diabolical "gunpowder plot" to murder hundreds of innocent people, and the Massacre of St. Bartholomew's August 24-25, 1572, in which the Catholics killed tens of thousands of Protestants in France, and the slaughter of the Albigenses and Waldenses, and all the horrors of the Inquisition, which, as soon as they have the power, they will renew all over the world. But we know, from the Scriptures, that the end will be their own and terrible and everlasting destruction (II Thess. 2:1-12; Rev. 17:15-18; 18; 19:1-3,20; 20:10).

Q. Is kissing the pope's hand and foot an act of worship, or typical of abject submission to his unbounded power?

A. It is both; of course if he is God on earth, as the Romanists pretend, the members of his apostatical communion should be entirely submissive to him. The so-called "cardinals" whom he creates are next in rank and power to him, and, at his death, they elect his successor from their own number.

Q. Do Catholics owe their first and highest allegiance to the church?

A. Unquestionably they do. In a contest with other nations where the church is not involved thousands of Catholics are just as loyal to the flag as Baptists and Protestants, but if the test ever comes no student of history doubts what loyal Catholics will do. They will defend the church and destroy the flag. P.

Q. What is the difference between "the Holy Catholic Church" and "the Roman Catholic Church?"

A. The "church of England" (or the "Protestant Episcopal Church" of the United States) considers itself "the Holy Catholic (or Universal) Church;" but the "Roman Catholic Church" is that organization which acknowledges the Pope of Rome as its infallible earthly head, the vicar of Christ, God on earth, the Lord of Heaven, Earth, and Hell, out of whose communion there is no salvation. The Apostle John, in the 17th chapter of Revelation, gives an exact prophetic photograph of this wealthy, filthy, and bloody institution.

Q. Does not the first beast in Rev. 13th, 17th, and 19th chapters, represent the persecuting world power; and the second beast, and the great whore, and false prophet, in these chapters, represent the false persecuting church, generally supported by the world power, but at last attacked and destroyed by the world power (Rev. 17:16)?

A. I think so. The Pope of Rome has mostly lost, but is regaining, his power over the governments of the world; but we know, from Rev. 17:16-18, that he or his power will finally be destroyed by the nations that have supported him.

Q. What is the meaning of "Selah?"

A. This word occurs 74 times in the Bible - 71 times in the Psalms, and 3 times in the 3rd chapter of Habakkuk, which is a Psalm. It is a musical note, and for more than two thousand years its meaning has been and is yet unknown. Hebrew scholars have conjectured that it means "pause;" or "forever;" or "strong" or "strongest," that is, a change from a lower to a higher note; or that it is a direction for a musical interlude, between stanzas or paragraphs, or for an outburst of music at the close of a Psalm. "Selah" is, in Psalm 9:16, preceded by "Higgaion," a musical note, which occurs in the text of Psalm 19:14 and 92:3; in Psalm 19:14 "Higgaion" is rendered "meditation," and, in Psalm 92:3, "a solemn sound."

Q. What was the Shekinah?

A. Shekinah (also written Shechinah) is a Hebrew word used, not in the Bible, but by the Jews of the second century after Christ and since that time, and means dwelling, that is, the majestic dwelling or glorious manifestation of God among or to men, the Divine presence; and sometimes the Jews used the word to denote God himself. The word is taken from those passages of the Old Testament which speak of God dwelling in the bush or in the pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness or in the tabernacle or the first temple (that of Solomon) or upon Mount Sinai or Mount Zion; and in the New Testament this Divine manifestation is called "the glory of God." This glory is perfectly and eternally manifested in heaven.

Q. What are the meanings of Aleph, Beth, Gimel, etc., at the beginnings of every eight verses in the 119th Psalm?

A. They are the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, each one of the eight verses beginning, in the Hebrew, with the latter standing above them. The alphabetical arrangement is thought to have been made to help the memory of the Hebrews in repeating or singing the Psalm, and also to show that the simple or elementary truths of the Psalm are for the instruction of all the children of God. The letters of the Hebrew and other ancient alphabets had a meaning, somewhat descriptive of their shape. The following are the meanings of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet: Aleph, ox; Beth, house; Gimel, camel; Daleth, door; He, window; Van, hook; Zain, weapon; Cheth, fence; Teth, snake; Jod, hand; Caph, bended hand; Lamed, ox-goad; Mem, water; Nun, fish; Samech, prop; Ain, eye; Pe, mouth; Tzaddi, fish-hook; Koph, back of the head; Resh, head; Schin, tooth; and Tau, cross.

Q. Does the "all" in John 12:32, and I Cor. 15:22, mean the whole human family?

A. In one sense it may, because Christ will raise all human beings from physical death and will assemble them before His judgment seat (John 5:28, 29; Matt. 25:31-46) ; but in a special and saving sense the "all" here means the elect, redeemed, and regenerated people of God.

Q. Who is the strong man armed in Luke 10:21,22?

A. The strong man is the Devil; his palace is the soul of the unregenerate man; his goods are all the faculties of that man, of which the Devil has undisturbed possession; the Stronger that comes upon him is Christ, who overcomes him in his palace, and deprives him of all his armor, his deceitful wiles, and divides the spoils, takes from Satan's service the regenerated man's endowments, and devotes them to the service of God. Christ having dispossessed Satan, conquers our hearts and occupies them forever.

Q. What is meant by the binding and loosing of Satan (Rev. 20:3)?

A. He is not bound now or excluded from the earth, but he goes to and from in the earth, seeking whom he may devour (Job 2:2; I Pet. 5:8) and deceives the whole world, tempting them and leading them into sin (Rev. 12:9); but in the future he will be excluded from the earth a thousand years by God's almighty Power, and then truth and righteousness, peace and happiness will prevail, the nations not then being deceived by him. When the thousand years are expired, Satan, according to God's purpose, will be loosed or allowed to roam over the earth again a little season, and he will again deceive the nations, and lead them, in the last great apostasy, to attempt to destroy the people of God, and God will then manifest His righteous wrath and infinite power in casting him and his angels and all his wicked followers into the lake of fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Rev. 20:21).

Q. How did Christ destroy the Devil (Heb. 2:14)?

A. By destroying his power over the chosen and redeemed people of God, and condemning him, like all his emissaries, to everlasting punishment (Heb. 2:15; Matt. 25:41; 10:28).

Q. Revelation chapter 12:7,8,9 - does this mean that the Devil or Satan, was up in God's heaven and was cast down from there?

A. Not in the third heaven, the habitation of God. There is no discord or fighting there, but peace, love and joy. The church here on this earth is sometimes called heaven. Paul, speaking of the Ephesians, says, "hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Chapter 2, v. 6. I think the war between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels was in this world, and that the Devil was cast out of heaven, or heavenly places, into the earth.

Q. Who is meant by Lucifer in Isa. 14:12?

A. The original word for Lucifer means "the shining one;" and it refers to Venus, the bright morning star. As proved by the context, the direct allusion is to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the head of the first great world empire, who had built that great idolatrous, wicked city, and had conquered the surrounding nations, including the Jews, and proudly boasted of it, but was abased by God to the level of an ox eating grass. But, as shown by Luke 10:18, the indirect allusion is to Satan, whom Nebuchadnezzar represented, and who led the apostate angels in rebellion against God, and who, with his followers, was cast down to hell, reserved, under chains of darkness, to the judgment of the great day (II Peter 2:4; Jude 6). P.

Elder

Q. What are the meanings of the word elder, bishop, pastor, and minister?

A. Elder (an ancient Jewish title) means older, one having age and authority over younger persons; in ancient times age was essential to authority, because age is generally accompanied by experience and wisdom, and persons of age are usually appointed or chosen to positions of authority in modern times; among the ancient Jews, elders were the fathers or forefathers, the heads, representatives, judges, and rulers of families and tribes, and the Jewish Sanhedrin or Assembly was composed of elderly men, and it was the Supreme Court of the nation, to whom were referred the more difficult cases from the lesser courts of elders in the towns and cities, but, under the Roman government, while the Sanhedrin could condemn a person to death, only the Roman procurator or governor could have the sentence carried into execution; in the New Testament an elder is a person possessed of superior spiritual wisdom, and authorized by the church of his membership to preach and administer the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper; even the Apostle Peter (whose false or pretended successors, Roman Catholic popes assume to be lords over the church and the world), calls himself by the humble title of elder (I Pet. 5:1). Bishop (a more modern title) means overseer, and a bishop in the New Testament is a spiritual overseer of a church, and is the same as an elder (Acts 20:17,28); Peter calls Christ the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls (I Pet. 2:25). Pastor means feeder or shepherd, and he is one who should provide good pasture for his flock, and guide, heal, and preserve them; God is called our Pastor or Shepherd (Psalm 23:1); so is Christ (John 10:11; I Pet. 2:25); and so are God's ministers (Jer.3:15; Eph. 4:11). Minister means servant or attendant; Christ is called a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man (Heb. 8:2); angels are also called ministers or ministering servants to the heirs of salvation (Psalm 104: 4; Heb. 1:13,14).

Q. Please state in your paper what it takes to constitute an Elder?

A. Paul states the qualifications thus, "He must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that ruleth his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity. (For if a man, know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil." There are other references to the qualifications of an Elder or preacher, but these fully answer the question. No minister perfectly fulfills all these requirements, but all should try to meet them. By aiming at the mark we will come nearer hitting it than by shooting at random. P.

Q. What may be said to comfort one who is troubled because not realizing the love of the dear Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved poor sinners to such an extent that He the eternal Son of God, became a man to suffer, bleed, and die for them?

A. None are troubled on that account who do not believe in and love the Saviour. All our love for Christ, compared to His love of us, is but as the heat of the moon compared to the heat of the sun; it is cold indeed. When by an eye of faith we behold the King in His beauty, we esteem Him as the chiefest among ten thousand, the One altogether lovely, and we desire to love Him infinitely more, and to serve Him infinitely better, and to be with Him and like Him forever. "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled" (Matt. 5:6).

Q. When we have small but comforting evidences of our acceptance with the Lord, can we rely on these as coming from Him, or are they the products of an overwrought imagination?

A. If these evidences are in accordance with the teachings of the Scriptures, they come from the Lord. If we feel sinful and unworthy of the least of God's mercies, and yet hope that He has given His dear Son to bear our sins in His own body on the accursed tree, and mourn over His undeserved and unparalleled sufferings for our transgressions, and hate the sins that slew Him, and desire above all things else to be conformed to His perfect character, and earnestly wish to obey all the holy commandments of God, and to be resigned to all His providences, however afflictive, and love his dear people because we believe they are His people, and heartily enjoy the preaching of the pure gospel of salvation by grace, we may be sure that these feelings are from the Lord, and that He is our Heavenly Father, and is preparing us by His Holy Spirit and the blood of His dear Son, for a blissful and everlasting abode with Him in glory.

Q. Does God punish His people, and if He does in what way?

A. "The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his way; according to his doings will He recompense him" (Hos. 12:2). "You only (God's people) have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities" (Amos 3: 3). God says of the children He gave to His Son: "If His children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgression with a rod, and their iniquities with stripes." (Psa. 89:30-32). "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the Spirit of grace." (Heb. 10:28-29). Various instances could be cited of God's punishment, in one way or another, of His people for their disobedience, and he who does not believe these truths does not believe the Bible. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." P.

Q. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Eph. 6:12). A brother in Galax wants a sermon on this: I can only give a few ideas here, may others preach it out.

A. Paul was one who was not afraid to meet the enemies of truth. On Mars Hill, surrounded by wise men of the world and worshipers of false gods, he spoke in defense of truth. When false brethren opposed him, he would not be swerved from the truth; and even when Peter gave heed to the clamor of the Jews for the Gentile Christians to be circumcised, Paul "Withstood him to the face, because he (Peter) was to be blamed." (Gal. 2:11). But now he is talking about wrestling "not against flesh and blood," but against principalities, and powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world. Satan is called the prince and the god of this world. He is the father of spiritual wickedness, chief of wicked spirits. And there are many such devils, unclean, proud, lying, deceitful and malicious. These devils occupy high places, sometimes in the church, in the affairs of this world, in our flesh, around, about, and above us watching every advantage to lead us astray. "Wherefore" Paul says, "take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day." God furnishes the armour; we should put it on and fight the good fight of faith, overcome evil with good." Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (Jas. 4:7). P.

Q. "For every man shall bear his own burden." (Gal. 6:5). What is the meaning?

A. Do his own work allotted him; not shift it on the shoulders of others when he is able to bear it. Again, when it comes to the burden of sin, each one must bear it until Christ takes it and bears it for the poor sinner. Also every wicked man will have to bear his own burden, he will not be able to shift it to another. P.

Q. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me," so said Paul. (Phil. 4:13); but Brother R.N. Teare, Kerby, West Virginia, wants to know the meaning?

A. It means the "all things" he is treating about in; his letter, in all trials and sorrow, affliction's and persecutions, with Christ strengthening him, he could be content. He had learned how to be abased and how to abound, and in whatsoever state he was, "therewith to be content," not content with himself, but with God's providence, care, blessings and the duties put upon him to perform. With the help of the Lord he could willingly and cheerfully endure afflictions, reproaches, cruel mocking and torturing death; he could perform all the arduous toil and self-sacrificing labor the Master required at his hand. These are some of the "all things" Paul could do, not that he was omnipotent and could do all things that Christ, his blessed Lord could do. P.

Fatalism

Q. Are all human beings obliged to commit all the sins they do, and do all God's people do all the good that His grace enables them to do?

A. Such wild statements are unscriptural, pantheistic, and fatalistic; they virtually charge all the blame for all sin upon an essentially, infinitely, and eternally holy God, and exempt man from all accountability and all just chastisement or punishment, and they should not be fellowshipped by any sound and orderly church.

Q. About what per cent of Primitive Baptists believe that God decreed all things that occur and all the means necessary to bring about all events?

A. To the best of my knowledge and belief, not more than about one-tenth.

Q. Did some leading ministers of former ages believe in this doctrine?

A. Yes; a few among Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Baptists; though the most of them were careful to modify it as is done in the London Baptist Confession of 1689, which declares "yet so as thereby God is neither the author of sin, nor hath fellowship with any therein, nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established," but God "leaves," "permits," and "gives over" His creatures to sin, and at the same time "most wisely and powerfully bounds, disposes, and governs their sins to His most holy ends."

Q. If the only witnesses against a member charged with disorder are outsiders what course should the church pursue?

A. Appoint a committee to investigate the matter, and if the committee becomes satisfied of the guilt of the member, the church should either reprove or exclude him or her according to the enormity of the offense.

Q. What was the doctrine of the Nicolaitans (Rev. 2:6-15)?

A. It is not defined in the Scriptures, but it is supposed to be substantially the same as the doctrine (or teaching) of Balaam and of Jezebel, denounced in the same chapter (Rev. 2:4,20), that is, antinomian libertinism, "turning the grace of God into lasciviousness" (Jude 4), making the doctrine of salvation by grace an excuse for unchastity and idolatry.

Q. Does the fact that God's foreknowledge embraces every act of man make every act of man just what it is?

A. No. God's foreknowledge of what men will do is not the cause of them doing it. P.

Q. If men have to live the lives they do live because God foreknew that they would live such lives why preach the gospel to them?

A. People do not have to live sinful lives because God knew that they would so live. "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God, cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." P.

Q. Does the gospel preaching move God?

A. No. God moves the gospel preaching. P.

Q. Does prayer move God?

A. God is before all sincere prayer and has ordained that blessing come to his praying children. "Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear." "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." P.

Q. Why teach and exhort the child of God to live soberly and keep the commandments when he cannot?

A. Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Jesus said to Peter, "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou are converted, strengthen thy brethren." God strengthens us for all duties imposed upon us and when we devotedly and faithfully serve him we strengthen others. P.

Q. You criticise the Absoluters for saying they lose nothing in disobedience, nor gain anything in obedience. Now if they gain something in obedience that they would not in disobedience, do they not merit it by their obedience?

A. Merit means reward, and "reward" is found in the Bible eighty times, and to teach the truth as inspired men taught it, my answer must be, yes. Let God's children, however, not get confused here: the rewards spoken of in the Bible never refer to salvation of lost sinners, that is alone by grace. But God's people are under laws or statutes, "and in the keeping of them there is great reward" (Psa. 19:11). "Verily there is a reward for the righteous" (Psa. 59:11). "If thine enemy hunger, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee." (Prov. 25:20-21). Jesus said if in giving alms, if given in the right spirit and in secret - not to be seen of men, "thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Mat. 6:4). Also in the giving "a cup of cold water only .... he shall in no wise lose his reward" (Matt. 10:42). Paul said, "Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor" (I Cor. 3:8). If the preacher preaches willingly, he has a reward (I Cor. 9:17). In Revelation, last chapter, Jesus said, "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." These are primitive truths and he who does not believe them should not call himself a Primitive Baptist. P.

Q. Where in the Bible do you find that God suffers, permits, restricts and overrules sin?

A. "That God's attitude to sin is not compulsive, but permissive, restrictive, and overruling is fully and perfectly demonstrated by the following Scriptures: II Chron. 32:31; Psa. 81:12; Mark 1:34; Luke 4:41; 8:32; Acts 2:23; 7:42; 13:18; 14:16; Rom. 1:24,26,28; 9:22. The two strongest passages on predestination in the Scriptures (Acts 2:23 and Rom. 9:22) contain the inspired word "permit," rendered in Acts 2:23 "delivered up," and in Rom. 9:22 "endured." God's attitude to holiness is not permissive, restrictive, and overruling, but positive, stimulative, and inworking all the holiness in all His creatures being the direct creation of His Holy Spirit, as the Scriptures plainly teach and as all Primitive Baptists believe." The above question was asked by a brother in Georgia, and I quote the statement from Elder S. Hassell as an answer. If not convincing I shall be glad to quote other Scriptures. P.

Fellowship

Q. Does it take the unanimous vote of the members of a church, who are present in conference, to restore an excluded member?

A. Yes; even one vote against his restoration would prevent it for such a restoration would at once cause a division and disorder in the church. If one member trespass against another, the offended brother should first go alone to the offender, to try to gain him; and, if he does not succeed, he should take one or two other members with him as witnesses; and, if the offender still refuses to give any satisfaction, the offended member is to report the matter to the church for a final decision. Such is the law of Christ, as stated in Matt. 18:15-18.

Q. Is it apostolic to declare nonfellowship for a gospel church?

A. It is apostolical to cease communing with and to withdraw from all brethren who walk disorderly and not according to the inspired teachings of the Apostles (I Cor. 5:11-13; II Thess. 3:6). And, if an entire church continues to persist in disorder after having been humbly, lovingly, and faithfully labored with by her sister churches, they will be partakers of her sins if they do not separate from her (II Cor. 6:14-18; Rev. 18:4).

Q. Is it right for one church to call in question the dealings of another church with its own members?

A. Only when such dealings are plainly and grossly unscriptural; then the honor of the cause of Christ requires such action.

Q. Is it not a good thing to read our Articles of Faith at some of our conference meetings?

A. It is an old and excellent practice. The children of God believe the teachings of His Holy Word; and our Articles of Faith express briefly the substance of those teachings; and it is well to read them at least once a year, to refresh our own memories, and to show others what we surely believe.

Q. Has a Church a right to declare nonfellowship for the Pastor of a Sister Church without an investigation or Gospel labor?

A. A Church has no right to declare nonfellowship for the Pastor of a Sister Church without an investigation or Gospel labor. I never heard of such a case.

Q. Should we fellowship an Article of Faith which says, "We believe the foreknowledge and the predestination of God are the same to the extent of time, therefore God foreordained and predestinated all things that come to pass?"

A. No. Inspiration made no mistake in separating foreknowledge and predestination. Don't mix them; keep them separated. "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son," not predestinated to do every thing He knew they would do. P.

Q. Are there any conditions in the New Testament?

A. There are, as in Luke 13:3,5; John 8:34; 13:17; but these conditions of repentance, faith, and obedience are wrought in us by the Spirit of God (Ezek. 36:26,27,31; Zech. 12:10-14; Acts 11: 18; Gal. 5:22; John 16:7-14; I Cor. 12:3; Isa. 26:12; Philip 2:12,13).

Q. What is "the common salvation" (Jude 3)?

A. The eternal salvation common to all God's people, of which He alone is the Author. The word "common" here means general to all, participated in by all the elect of God, as in Acts 2:44; 4:32; Tit. 1:4.

Q. Should we fellowship a church that has members in it who are members of religious secret orders?

A. Primitive Baptists may bear with such a church in reason if there be manifest in it a desire to recover themselves from the error, but to approve and fellowship secret-lodgeism would be to reverse the historical position of Primitive Baptists, to forsake the doctrine of God for the doctrines of men, to do our good works (if good works they be) in the name of a lodge instead of in the name of Christ, and to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. P.

Grace and Works

Q. "By grace are ye saved through faith" (Eph. 2:8); how through faith?

A. The Pharisaic and heathen doctrine of salvation by works is false; we are saved entirely by the free grace or unmerited favor of God; and true faith, the fruit of His Spirit (Gal. 5:22; John 16:13, 14; I Cor. 12:3), is the channel or medium through which we realize our interest in His salvation. Even John Wesley, one of the wisest of Arminians, in expounding Eph. 2:8-10, says that not only grace but also faith and salvation are all the gifts of God. "It is of faith, that it might be by grace, to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed," says the Apostle Paul in Rom. 4:16.

Q. If we are saved by grace and not by our works (Rom. 11:5-7; Eph. 2:8, 9; II Tim. 1:9; Tit. 3: 4-7), how is it that we are to be judged according to our works (Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6-11; II Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:13; 22:12)?

A. Our works show our hearts and our characters. If God's grace is in our hearts and characters, it will shine in our lives; if His grace is not in our hearts and characters, our lives will be dark, selfish, worldly, and devilish. The good fruit shows the good tree; and the bad fruit shows the evil tree (Matt. 7:16-20; 5:16; 12:35; 25: 31-46; Isa. 61:3,11; 55:10-13; 43:21; 44: 1-5; Rom. 6; 13:10; Gal. 5:6; Eph. 2:10; Philip 2:12,13; I Thess. 2-5; James 2).

Q. If we are saved entirely by grace, as the Scriptures teach, how is it that Christ, our Divine Judge, will reward every one according to his works (Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6-11; II Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:12, 13; 22:12, 13)?

A. A man's deeds show the spirit by which he is actuated, as the fruit shows the nature of the tree. If a man loves the Lord and His people, he will delight to serve Him and them, and take no credit to himself for such service; but if he has no such love, his conduct will plainly enough prove it (Matt. 25:31-46; Philip 2:12,13; Gal. 5:6, 16-25; Heb. 8:8-12; James 2).

Q. What is the difference between faith and grace?

A. Faith is belief, and grace is favor or gift; it is of God's free favor or gracious gift that we, in our hearts, believe in His Son as our Saviour (Rom. 4:16; I Cor. 12:3; II Cor. 4:6; Gal.5: 22; Eph. 1:19,20; 2:8,9; Philip 1:29; Heb. 12:2).

Q. What is the meaning of Peter's exhortation to his penitent hearers on the day of Pentecost, "Save yourselves from this untoward (crooked, perverse, wicked) generation" (Acts 2:40)?

A. The verb here rendered "save yourselves" is not in the middle voice with the reflexive sense, as this translation implies, but it is the passive voice, and literally means "be ye saved," that is, "be willing for God to save you from the character and doom of this wicked generation," which was soon to perish in the unparalleled suffering of the siege and capture of Jerusalem by the Roman general Titus. And being divinely wrought upon, his penitent hearers gladly received his word, and were baptized, and were thus added by the Lord to the church (Acts 2:41,47).

Q. Do such Scriptures as I Cor. 1:21; 9:22; Philip. 2:12; I Tim. 4:16; James 5:19,20, refer to a temporal or eternal salvation?

A. A temporal salvation, a salvation here in time, which God works in us by His Holy Spirit (Isa. 26:12; Ezek. 36:26,27; I Cor. 15:10; Ephes. 2:8-10, 18-22; Philip 2:13; 4:13), and which we are to manifest in our outward lives, and we will be more comforted in obedience than in disobedience, and we will gladly and justly give all the glory of both our temporal and eternal salvation to God alone. If the texts mentioned in the first sentence of this question mean our eternal salvation, then Arminianism is true, and the Bible doctrine of salvation by grace is fundamentally wrong.

Q. Does the Bible teach that there is a conditional time salvation?

A. The Bible does not use this phrase, and, as its truth is controverted by some of our brethren, it would probably be best to avoid it. But it is certain that the Bible does teach that there is a salvation or deliverance here in time, which we ourselves are to work out (Philip 2:12; Acts 2:40; I Tim. 4:16); yet we can only do this as God works in us by His grace (Philip 2:12,13; 4:13; John 15:4,5; I Cor. 15:10). The cause of the most controversies is the affirmative of one part and the denial of another part of the truth.

Q. Can any of the elect people of God commit the sin against the Holy Ghost either before or after regeneration?

A. No; for all the elect were redeemed by Christ and will be forgiven and saved eternally (Eph. 1; Pet. 1; Isa. 35; 53; 45:17; John 6:37-40; 10:15, 27-30; 17:1-24). As proved by the Scriptures in Matt. 12, Mark 3, and Luke 12, only the wilful, malicious, persistent enemies of Christ, children of the Devil, given up to hardness and impenitence of heart, ever commit this unpardonable sin.

Q. What does Paul mean when he says, "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light" (Eph. 5:14)?

A. That the church, the children of God should arouse from their state of carnal security, slothfulness, worldliness, and indifference, which seems like spiritual death, and live more reverently, soberly, righteously, and affectionately, toward one another, more self-denyingly, like Christ, and the Lord would increase their heavenly light and comfort (Rom. 13:7-14).

Q. Do we get rest IN or FOR coming to Christ (Matt. 11:28-30)?

A. It is more scriptural to say that we obtain rest in and not for obedience (Psalm 19:11; James 1:25; Heb. 4:3). If we do not come to or believe in Christ, we do not obtain rest; but God's especial electing grace is the cause why we come to Christ (John 6:37-45; Psalm 65:4; Isa. 27:13; 34:10; 55:1-13; Isa. 61:11; Jer. 31:3, 7-9, 31-37; Ezek. 36:25-27).

Q. Do the Scriptures set forth both a time and eternal salvation?

A. No one except those who are willfully or unintentionally ignorant of the Scriptures deny this fact. Salvation is deliverance, and human beings are delivered from distress both in time and in eternity. Our eternal salvation is alone by the free grace of God through His atoning Son and renewing Spirit; and if we are here in time delivered from trouble in our obedience unto God, that very obedience comes from the grace of God (Isa. 26:12; Philip 2:12,13; Heb. 13:20,21).

Q. What is it "to break one of the least commandments" (Matt. 5:19)?

A. All the commandments of God are of divine authority, and the transgression of any of them is sin (I John 3:4); but Christ Himself speaks of a "greater sin," and a "greater damnation" (John 19: 11; Matt. 23:14; see also Matt. 11:20-24); and He speaks of "the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, faith, and the love of God" (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42). The moral law of ten commandments alone was written by the finger of God upon two tables of stone, and was called the covenant of God with national Israel (Exod. 34:28); and its observance was repeatedly declared by the prophets to be of far more importance than the observance of the ceremonial law. And the commandments of the first table of the moral law, showing our duty to God, are more important than the commandments of the second table, showing our duty to our fellow men. And in each table the greatest and most important commandments are put first, just as, after we are quickened from the death of sin, the light of the Holy Spirit shows us first our greatest and then our lesser sins - the heavenly light of the early morning shining more and more unto the perfect day.

Q. Does the olive tree, differently from other trees, affect the character or quality of the fruit borne by the branch grafted in it, as intimated by the Apostle Paul in Rom. 11:17-24?

A. It does, because of its extraordinary vitality and longevity; the olive tree sometimes lives a thousand years. Spiritually speaking, it is Divine grace, and not human nature, that grafts the wild olive branch into the good olive tree; the root is Christ; the sap is the Holy Spirit; the tree is the true Church, and the branches are His regenerated people, who derive all their heavenly beauty, vigor, and fruitfulness from the Divine Root through His indwelling Spirit.

Q. In II Cor. 6:1 the Apostle Paul, in the King James Version, says, "We then, as workers together with Him, beseech You also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain;" what does he mean?

A. The words "with Him" and "You" are in italics, which shows that Paul did not write them. The exact language of Paul is: "But we also, working together, exhort that you receive not the grace of God in vain." By "we" he means himself and Timothy (II Cor. 1:1), and of course all other gospel ministers. And by exhorting the Corinthians (and of course all other) Christians not to receive the grace of God in vain, he means to exhort them to manifest the grace of God in their conduct and conversation, not to hide the light which God had given them, but to let it shine, to abound in good works in which God had before ordained them to walk, to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, to prove that Christianity is not an empty profession, but a Divine reality (I Cor. 15:10; Matt. 5:16; Eph. 2:10; Tit. 2:11-15).

Q. What is meant by "resisting the Holy Ghost" (Acts 7:51)?

A. Resisting or opposing the Spirit of God in His ministers, and persecuting those servants of God (Acts 7:51-53; Neh. 7:30). No human being can withstand the almighty power of the Holy Spirit in regeneration (John 3:8).

Q. What does Jesus mean by saying, "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire" (Matt. 7:19)?

A. That all the finally unregenerate and impenitent and unbelieving and wicked will be cast into the everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41,46; Rev. 21:8).

Q. Please explain in the Advocate the second and third verses of I John.

A. The apostle here gives a rule whereby we may know whether one professing to have the Spirit of God really has it. Jesus is God's Son, born of Mary - God manifest in the flesh - human and divine, and came to destroy the works of the devil and will ultimately do so and save from sin every one God gave Him. Those who confess not that Christ came in the flesh to do the work He came to do, is not of God, but are led by the spirit of anti-Christ. And when John wrote he said, "... and even now already it is in the world." At that early age of the church the spirit of anti-Christ was being manifest. And Paul, a little later said, "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." (II Tim. 3:12). And Jesus said, "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect." (Matt. 24:24). P.

Q. Are regeneration and obedience produced by the same kind of process?

A. According to the Scriptures, they are not. Regeneration is declared by John to be "not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12,13; 3:3,5,6,8; I John 2:29). While in obedience to the commandments of God, the will of man is always represented to be involved, God commanding and commending for obedience, and forbidding and condemning for disobedience (Gen. 2:16,17; 3:16-19; 4:7-12; Exod. 20, 35; Deut. 22, 23; Josh. 24:15-24; I Kings 28:21; I Chron. 38:9: Eccles. 12:13,14; Isa. 1, 19, 20; Ezek. 18, 30; Matt. 16:24,25; John 5:40; II Cor. 8:12; Rev. 22:17); but the will to obey the Lord comes from the inworking and powerful grace of God (Psalm 110:1-3; Phil. 2:12,13; Heb. 13:20,21).

Q. "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death;" (Rom. 6:4). Does this mean water baptism?

A. Yes. "Baptism" means burial, as all good authority admit. The ancient mode was alone by immersion. To be immersed, buried with Christ in baptism, represents the burial of Christ, and our burial with him as our head and representative; and being raised from the watery grave, represents His resurrection from the grave, His victory over death, and His ascension into heaven where all His redeemed children shall ever dwell with Him. No form of baptism except a burial in water represents these truths. P.

Some Parables

Q. What is meant by the parable of the wheat and tares (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43)?

A. Jesus clearly explains that the wheat is the children of the kingdom, who will at last shine forth in the kingdom of their Father; and that the tares are the children of the wicked one; who will, at the end of the world, be cast into a furnace of fire, where shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Q. What are your views on Phil. 2:12-13?

A. This text tells God's children to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in them to will and to do of his good pleasure. God had given them eternal life. Eternal life is salvation. "He that hath begun a good work in you." The good work of salvation is begun by the Lord, and begun in you. Now then work it out. Work out what the Lord has worked in. He has given you faith. Now "add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness." Such work is working out, or proving your faith by your works. And do such things, not boastingly, but with fear and trembling. God has worked in you the will to serve and gives strength to serve, and as we serve, He is glorified and we are benefitted. P.

Heaven

Q. Will ye know each other in heaven?

A. We will know as we are known (I Cor. 13:12), that is, clearly and perfectly, and without any fleshly or sinful feelings, "God, Christ, angels, and glorified saints, and all truth, even as we are known of God, allowing for the difference between the Creator and the creature; that is, we will have as full and complete knowledge of persons and things as we are capable of, like, though not equal to the knowledge which God has of us, and attended with the strongest love and affection to the objects known, even as we are known and loved of God." This is John Gill's explanation of this text, and it seems to me to be correct. When Peter, James, and John saw Christ and Moses and Elijah in glory on the Mount of Transfiguration, they recognized not only Christ, but also Moses and Elijah, though they had never seen Moses or Elijah before (Matt. 17:1-3; Mark 9:2-9; Luke 9:28-36). These glorified saints retained their personal identity; Moses was Moses, and Elijah was Elijah. The bodies of the. saints that are living on earth at the last day, as well as, the bodies of those who have died, will not be exchanged for other bodies, but will be the same bodies from a natural, mortal, and corruptible to a spiritual, and incorruptible condition (I Cor. 15:12-58; Philip 3:21; Thess. 4:13-18). In the pure and perfect light of heaven, and in the immediate presence and holy likeness of God, we shall be satisfied (Psalm 17:15; I John 3:2; Rev. 21 and 22).

Q. Will the Saviour change the bodies of His people and make them like His glorious body?

A. The Apostle Paul says, in Philip. 3:20,21: "Our conversation (or citizenship) is in heaven; from whence we look for the Saviour (or Vivifier or Life-Giver, as rendered in the Old Syriac Version of the second century), the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change the body of our humiliation (the body in which we are humbled or abased by sin and suffering, decay and death), that it may be fashioned (or conformed) unto the body of His glory, according to the working (or efficiency) whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself." Christ, by His Holy Spirit, gives life to the dead souls of His people now, and He will give life to their dead bodies in the resurrection, when He comes again in bodily presence to this world (John 5:25-29).

Q. What is the meaning of Jesus when He says to His disciples. "In My Father's house are many mansions; I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:2,3)?

A. That in the heaven of immortal glory, where Jesus visibly dwells and reigns, there are many abiding homes for His people; and that, after His death and resurrection and ascension, He would personally and bodily go to that Holy City, that blessed, heavenly country, and prepare these homes for their everlasting abode, and at last take all His people there to live forever with Him. He could have made the heavens and the earth and all things therein instantly; but He chose to take six days in which to make them. While He prepares Heaven for His people, He prepares them for heaven; and He sovereignly chooses to take time for both of these works of His.

Q. Will our flesh, blood, and bones enter heaven?

A. Not as they are now, but when our bodies are changed, spiritualized, immortalized, and glorified, and made like the body of our risen Redeemer, they will be reoccupied by our purified spirits which He will bring with Him, and enter into the immediate, manifest, holy, and blessed presence of God.

Q. Will the wicked be annihilated at death, or will they suffer everlasting conscious punishment?

A. All science and Scripture disprove the annihilation of anything. That the wicked - that is, the unredeemed and unregenerate, the finally impenitent, will suffer everlasting conscious punishment is demonstrated, to all informed and believing minds, by such Scriptures as Matt. 10:28; 25:41, 46; Mark 9:43-48; John 3:3,36; Luke 16:19-31; II Thess. 1:6-10; Rev. 14:11; 19:20; 20:10,14,15; 21:8; 22:11. The same Hebrew and Greek words used to describe the duration of God and of the happiness of the righteous are also used to describe the duration of the punishment of the wicked. Annihilation (the doctrine of heathen Buddhism) is not punishment, but the cessation of all punishment; a thing without consciousness (like a stone) can not be punished. The infinite agonies of Christ in Gethsemane and on Calvary prove that He suffered to save His people from everlasting conscious punishment. The delusion of the Devil that the wicked are annihilated at death is a cause and a sign of the most corrupt times. The infidel leaders of the French Revolution inscribed above the gates of cemeteries "Death is an Eternal Sleep." When the majority of the human race really believes that diabolical lie, scenes of far greater horror than those of the French Revolution will turn this world into a pandemonium. Infidelity rejects not only the scriptural doctrine of the everlasting punishment of the wicked, but many other teachings of the Scriptures, such as the total depravity of man, salvation by grace alone, the perfect inspiration of the Scriptures, the Divinity of Christ, the atonement, the resurrection, and the eternity, omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence of God. No church should retain infidels in her membership; and, if she does, all sound and orderly churches should not retain her in their fellowship. The tides of materialism and rationalism are deluding the world, showing that the last evil, perilous times are upon us.

Q. "I go to prepare a place for you," John. 14:2. Does this mean that Christ was going to prepare a place in heaven for his people, or does it mean that he was going in order to prepare a place here for them?

A. Heaven above is meant. It is a place prepared by the Father from the foundation of the world; Christ by His presence, intercession, blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, goes as it were, to fit up these many mansions. "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am." P.

Q. Do The Scriptures teach the doctrine of Infant Salvation?

A. Yes. All that is said about infants is favorable to their salvation. The Scriptures teach that salvation from sin is by grace. Human works do not save adults, much less infants, but grace does. David felt his child was saved. Jesus said "of such is the kingdom of heaven." P.

Q. Will the everlasting punishment of the wicked be annihilation or endless conscious torment?

A. Annihilation, or the utter extinction of conscious existence, is the doctrine of the heathen atheistic Buddhists; it is contrary to all science and all Scripture; it is a sign and a cause of the most corrupt times. As proved by the context and by other Scriptures, destruction in the Scriptures never means annihilation. The Almighty never made anything for nothing; such an idea impeaches His omniscience and His unchangeability. Nonexistence, instead of being everlasting punishment, is an end of all punishment. The Son of God never endured the infinite horrors of Gethsemane, Gabatha and Calvary to save sinners from unconscious nothingness. To every reverent, intelligent and candid believer in the Scriptures the following passages demonstrate, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the conscious, everlasting suffering of the wicked: Dan.12:2; Matt. 10:28; 13:49,50; 25:41,46; Mark 9:43,44; Luke 16:23,24,28; John 3:36; John 5:28,29; Rom.2:6-16; II Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 14:11; 19:20; 20:10, 15; 21:8; 22:11. Satan, transforming himself into an angel of light, perverts these and other plain Scriptures into fables and nothingness (Gen. 4:4,5; II Cor. 11:3,14,15; II Tim. 4:3,4; Rev. 12:9). The false doctrine of annihilationism was first broached, among professed Christians, in the fourth century, by Arnobius, of Africa, a superficial rhetorician; but it has found many followers, in the last two or three deteriorating centuries, among materialists, pantheists, universalists, infidels and Arminians. Life is not existence (for things without life exist); but life is a condition of existence; and so death (the opposite of life) is not nonexistence, but an opposite or different condition of existence. Adam died (in trespasses and sins) in the day when he ate the forbidden fruit (Gen. 2:17), but he still existed as a natural though sinful man. And so the Ephesians, who were "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1), had a natural sinful existence, in which they walked in worldliness and disobedience (Eph. 2:2), until God quickened them, or gave them spiritual and divine life. The cutting off, or consuming, or perishing, or destruction of the wicked on earth (Psalm 37:20,34, 36,38; Mal. 4:1,3) is their judicial, righteous, violent consignment to death, from which they "will come forth unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:29; Matt. 25:41,46). Punishment is pain, physical or mental, and consciousness is essential to pain; therefore everlasting punishment is everlasting conscious pain - everlasting "contempt" (Dan. 12:2), "indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish" (Rom. 2:8,9) "everlasting fire" (Matt. 25:41), where there will be"wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 13:41,42). It seems enmity to God and cruelty to sinners to endeavor to soften these awful truths into annihilation or nothingness. Our English word, punishment, is derived from a Latin and Greek word meaning pain or suffering; and the Greek word rendered, punishment, in Matt. 25:46 ("these shall go away into everlasting punishment") means chastisement, and is in I John 4:18 rendered torment. Christ saves His people from the everlasting torment deserved by their sins.

Holy Ghost

Q. Is there any difference between the Holy Ghost and the Holy Spirit?

A. There is not; the same original word rendered "Ghost" is sometimes rendered "Spirit" by our translators. He is also called "the Spirit of Truth" and "the Comforter" (John 14:16,17), and the Third Person of the Trinity (Matt. 28:19). And by the "gift of the Holy Ghost" is meant in the apostolic age His miracle-working power (Acts 2:38; 5:32; 8:15-25; 10:44-48; 19:5,6); and, if this phrase may be used of persons since the apostolic age, I understand it to mean the refreshing, comforting, sanctifying and establishing influence of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of His people (I Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Eph. 2:22).

Q. What does Christ mean when He says that blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven "either in this world or the world to come" (Matt. 12:32)?

A. As shown by the 32nd verse of this chapter, and by Mark 3:29, and Luke 12:10, He simply means that this sin would not or never could be forgiven. The Greek word translated "world" in Matt. 12:32 is in the King James version, often rendered "age," and the expression may be rendered either in the legal or in the gospel age (or age of the Messiah).

Q. Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Ghost should not be forgiven, what is this sin?

A. Some of the Pharisees no doubt committed the unpardonable sin. They could not deny His miraculous power in healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, raising the dead, etc., but they maliciously and obstinately contended that He performed these miracles by the spirit of the devil. They said, "By the prince of the devils casteth he out devils." Such sinning against the plain manifestations of God's power was unpardonable. But I heard recently an Arminian minister preach that "those who do not accept Christ" join the church and be baptized were sinning against the Holy Ghost." Such preachers wrest the scripture from their true meaning and use them to scare people into their church. The term, "Accept Christ and be saved" has been capitalized by Arminians. They can hardly preach without talking about "accepting" Christ. But this word is not used in the Bible in connection with Christ. Church membership in a gospel church is a position every believer in Jesus should seek to occupy, but church membership is not the means of eternal salvation. "By grace are ye saved." P.

The Holy Land

Q. Is Palestine, or the Holy Land, peculiar above all other countries in the world?

A. It is in four respects: First, in being center of the old world, the great continent of Asia, Europe, and Africa, so that from it the great, fundamental, momentous, and eternal truths of the Scriptures might readily be proclaimed in all the world; second, in being, although only about 12,000 square miles in extent, a world in miniature, containing all the climates and yielding all the productions of the world; third, in being separated from all the world by mountain and desert and sea; and fourth, in embracing all altitudes, from the deepest depression on the surface of the earth to the highest inhabited elevation, thus representing all the changes of Christian experience.

Q. Is the original Mount Sinai yet known?

A. It is believed to be the mountain now called by the Arabs Jebel Musa (Mountain of Moses), 6,540 feet high, between the Gulf of Suez on the west and the Gulf of Akabah on the east, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

Q. Is it known where was Mount Ararat, and also the other mountains mentioned in the Bible, and do they bear the same names?

A. Yes; and some of them have other names given them by the Turks or Arabs or Persians or Armenians who live near those mountains. Ararat, for instance, is called by the Persians the "Mountain of the Ark," and by the Turks "Steep Mountain." There are two peaks of Mount Ararat, one about 17,000 and the other about 14,000 feet high. They are of volcanic origin, and the highest peak is covered with perpetual snow. They are on the boundary between Persia, Asiatic Turkey, and the Russian possessions. The mountains are emblems of the infinite greatness, righteousness, and unchangeableness of God; and, like themselves, so many of their ancient names are unchanged.

Q. Do vessels occupy the Dead Sea?

A. They do not, nor can fish live in its waters, which are seven times saltier than the waters of the ocean, one-fourth of its water being composed of solid matter, so that a human body easily floats upon its surface. Only a few microbes (microscopic vegetable organisms) are found in the waters of the Dead Sea. Other names of this body of water are the Salt Sea, Sea of the Plain, East Sea, Sea of Lot, Sea of Sodom. It is nearly fifty miles long and nearly ten miles wide. From the top of the tableland around this sea to the bottom of the sea the distance is about a mile. It is the lowest, hottest, and most desolate region on the face of the earth. The Jordan and several smaller streams flow into it, but it has no outlet, the seven millions of tons of water that it receives every day being carried off by evaporation. It is believed that Sodom and Gomorrah stood near the southern end of this sea; a pillar of salt there is still called Lot's Wife. The Dead Sea seems to be a most appropriate emblem of the second or eternal death.

Q. Is the temple typical of the believer's house of worship, or of the believer himself?

A. Of the believer himself (John 2:19,21; Col. 2:9; I Cor. 3:16,17; Eph. 2:21,22).

Infant Salvation

Q. Have you, during your ministerial life, ever found any one, claiming the name of Primitive (or "Hardshell") Baptist, that advocated the doctrine of "infant damnation?"

A. I never have. Only those evilminded persons who misunderstand and hate us have ever made such an accusation. One evident cause of such misrepresentation is our belief of the scriptural doctrine of particular election and a special atonement, without which all mankind would be justly condemned and lost. The Scriptures do not plainly state that all who die before natural birth or in infancy are saved; but such passages as II Sam. 12:23; Matt. 18:2,3; Luke 18:15-17; Rom. 5:12-21; and Rev. 7:9, have perfectly satisfied nearly all Primitive Baptists that all who die before natural birth or in infancy are elect and redeemed of the Lord, and are everlastingly and graciously saved by Him, without any merit or works on their part, just as all of His other people are saved; and that water baptism or sprinkling or pouring has nothing whatever to do with the everlasting salvation of any human being, whether infant or adult.

Q. What is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost (Matt. 12:31,32; Mark 3:29,30; Luke 12:10) ?

A. Speaking against, or slandering, or reviling the Holy Ghost, calling Him an unclean or evil spirit, as explained in these passages.

Q. Is the exact spot now known where Solomon located the temple?

A. Yes; it was on Mount Moriah, where now stands the Mohammedan Mosque of Omar, built about 700 A. D.

Q. After all Israel, or the great body of the Jews, are converted to Christ by the almighty power of their Divine Deliverer (Rom. 11:26,27), will any Gentiles be savingly converted?

A. Yes, a great many more than ever before, by the same Almighty Power, so that the unlikely, yet clearly foretold, conversion of the great body of Christ's bitterest and most inveterate enemies, the Jews, to living faith in Him, by His Almighty Spirit's power, will be Divinely blessed to the wonderful spiritual awakening and enrichment of the Gentiles (Rom. 11:12,15). The Jews are already in all nations, and know all languages, and are used to all climates; and, as the prophets and apostles were Jews, they, as the priestly nation, will preach the pure gospel of Christ to every creature in all the world (Exod. 19:6; Isa. 2:1-5; 43:12; 60:1-22; Micah 4:1-5; Zech. 8:22; Matt. 28:16-20; Mark 16:15,16; Luke 24:44-48; Acts 1:8; Rev. 1:5,6).

Q. What is the meaning of John 12:32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me?"

A. The word "men" is in italics and was therefore supplied by the translators; it is not in the original. And so the word "man" in Heb. 2:9 - "that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man" - should be in italics, for it is not in the original; and those for whom Christ tasted death were, as the Apostle says in the next verse, the "many sons whom Christ, as the Captain of their salvation, made perfect through sufferings, brings unto glory" (Heb. 2:10). The "all" whom Christ draws unto Himself are His own loved and chosen people, who were given unto Him by His Father in eternal covenant relationship, and whose sins He bore in His own body on the cross, for whom He died and rose from the dead, and ascended to His mediatorial throne and evermore intercedes whom He has redeemed to God by His blood out of every nation and kindred and people and tongue, and whom He will raise in His own image at the last day, and take home with Him to be forever with the Lord (John 6; 10; 17; Eph. 1; 2; Heb. 1; 2; 6; 10; 12; I Pet. 1; 2; Rev. 5; 7; 21)

Q. Is there any scriptural authority for public prayer meetings?

A. Yes; in Acts 1:13,14; 4:23-32; 12:12; 16:13; Isa. 56:7; Matt. 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46.

Q. Are the Jews to possess the land of Canaan again?

A. It seems so from such prophecies as Gen. 17:8; 48:4; Isa. 2:1-4; Jer. 3:18; 30:3-24; Ezek. 36: 24; 37:15-28; Micah 4:1-5; and from the waning power of Turkey, which now holds Palestine; and from the re-gathering of the Jews in Palestine, in the last 25 years, more than ever before since the destruction of Jerusalem, A.D. 70.

Q. How are children saved? A preacher labored at great length last Sunday to prove that since the death of Christ all infants are born without sin.

A. Infants are saved by the death of Christ. Whatever change is necessary for them to enter the kingdom of heaven, God gives them. Repentance and faith (belief) are not necessary for they have not committed actual transgression but a new nature is necessary because they are born into the world with depraved, sinful natures. That preacher is wrong in his statement that since the death of Christ infants are born sinless and pure. P

Is God Unjust?

Q. How can God vindicate His justice in pardoning and redeeming some of the sinful race of Adam from the law, and in punishing others of the same sinful race by the law?

A. Foolish and sinful man must not arraign a wise and holy God, his Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor, before his poor, little, erring tribunal. The Scriptures clearly teach that God is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works, the Eternal and Infinite Sovereign of the universe, who cannot do wrong, who is accountable to none of His creatures, while all of them are accountable to Him; and that the whole race of Adam are sinful and guilty and condemned by His righteous law; and that the sinless and incarnate Son of God, in accordance with the stipulations of His eternal covenant with His Father, lived on earth and died and rose again for His chosen people, as their Head and Surety, doing all the law required them to do, and suffering all the law required them to suffer, bearing all the wrath of God and all the curse of the law for them, magnifying the law and making it honorable, dying for and making an end of their sins and reconciliation for their iniquities, and rising for their justification, bringing in for them an everlasting righteousness, so that God can be just and yet justify the ungodly who believe in Jesus; and that those sinners of the race of Adam for whose sins Jesus did not atone, who are not quickened by the Holy Spirit, who do not repent towards God and believe in Christ, will have their sins and the wrath of God for their sins forever abiding upon them, and will, at last be righteously consigned by a Most Holy God, who never even tempted much less compelled them to sin, but always forbade them to sin and threatened them with death for sinning, to everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels, the first transgressors of God's holy law. The justice of God shines, in the case of the elect, in His punishment of their Surety, His holy Son for their sins; and, in the case of the nonelect, in His everlasting punishment of themselves for their wilful and inexcusable sins; while