Confusion

“There are a multitude of people outside the Primitive Baptist ranks who love the Lord because the Lord has loved them. The fact that they are confused in their beliefs of how they get to heaven, folks, does not make them not a child of God.” (Justification by Faith, Elder Ed Kirkpatrick, 7:43)

This quote states a fact that I have heard preached by many of our Elders over the years, namely that eternal salvation is not confined to members of the Primitive Baptist church, nor to those who have a proper understanding or reception of the gospel. That's because the well-established doctrine of depravity (Romans 3:10-18) teaches that spiritual understanding is not a prerequisite to being born again, but a lagging indicator of spiritual life. Regeneration is an act of God alone upon an object of mercy that has done absolutely NOTHING to acquire or merit such favor. Discipleship is the proper motion of one quickened thereby, and there is great variance in the degree to which children of God exercise their god-given spiritual capacities to a profitable end during their natural lives. It is for this reason that disciples are regularly exhorted to seek God (Matthew 7:7) and to learn of him (Matthew 11:29).

Lord willing, we'll gather to seek the Lord and learn from his word as disciples come Sunday.

- Elder Daniel Samons