A Series of Letters, in Defence of Divine Revelation: In Reply to Rev. Abner Kneeland's Serious Inquiry into the Authenticity of the Same. To Which is Added, a Religious Correspondence, Between the Rev. Hosea Ballou, and the Rev. Dr. Joseph Buckminster and Rev. Joseph Walton, Pastors of Congregational Churches in Portsmouth, N. H.Ballou, Hosea
Religion
A Series of Letters, in Defence of Divine Revelation: In Reply to Rev. Abner Kneeland's Serious Inquiry into the Authenticity of the Same. To Which is Added, a Religious Correspondence, Between the Rev. Hosea Ballou, and the Rev. Dr. Joseph Buckminster and Rev. Joseph Walton, Pastors of Congregational Churches in Portsmouth, N. H.
Ballou, Hosea
Revelation; Universalism -- Doctrines
corruption that is in the world through lust, and is pressing forward
towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus. I have wrote more than I intended, having received your other
epistle and have considered some of it. This remains to be considered:
what you wrote concerning your having great numbers of hearers. It is
true Christ had a great number which followed, and heard him, but few
which followed because they loved his doctrine, and followed him from
right motives. He said unto them, "Ye seek me not because ye saw the
miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled. Labour
not for the meat that perisheth, but for the meat which endureth unto
everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you, for him
hath God the Father sealed," John vi. 26, 27. Our Lord says, John
viii. 47, "He that is of God heareth God's words; ye therefore hear
them not because ye are not of God." Hence you may see how our Lord
and his beloved disciple John agree; it is not the truth as it is in
Jesus, the populace are after; it is to gratify their curiosity, or
hear something about their salvation in a way that has no cross in it.
But Christ says, "If any man will be my disciple let him deny himself
and take up his cross, and follow me." When Christ preached soul
searching doctrine as he did in the 6th of John, "Many of his
disciples went back and followed no more with him." And I believe when
you preach repentance and faith, and shew what fruits they will
produce in the true penitent and true believer, the world will not
hear you and cordially like your doctrine. But they, as John says, are
of the world, therefore they speak of the world, and the world heareth
them; "We are of God, we that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not
of God heareth not us: hereby know we the spirit of truth and the
spirit of error." I have reason to think some popular preachers are
good men, but the world do not like them nor their doctrine, because
they are so; but because of their popularity their curiosity is fed,
or gratified--and not their souls with the pure milk of the word. Sir,
you answer in some way which is ambiguous to me about your preaching
repentance, and say repentance may be preached without speaking the
word repentance. What makes you shun speaking plainly as Christ did?
Be explicit in preaching it. You cannot deny, but Christ and his
apostles preached it explicitly. Christ said in plain language,
"Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish," Luke xiii. 3, 5. In
your answer concerning the resurrection of the dead, you do not speak
of that in a clear and explicit way, and your not mentioning it at
either of the funerals, makes me doubt whether you believe it in as
clear and literal a manner as it is expressed in the scriptures by
Christ and his apostles. Paul says, "Seeing we have such hope we use
great plainness of speech." I hope, sir, you will not be offended with
me for plain dealing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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