February 19, 1942

A brother has written us that he has always believed that one of the fundamental  principles upon which Primitive Baptists base their faith is God's unconditional election. He says there are some who believe and are beginning to preach that it was God's foreknowledge of the faithfulness and good works He foresaw in the
elect, rather than in the non-elect, induced Him to make the choice. He says they use ((Pet 1:2) (I Peter 1:2) and (John 6:29) as proof texts. He asks, “Can these Scriptures or any others be so construed?” We do not know who it is in our ranks that believe such as this. It is Fullerism, pure and simple. It is the doctrine preached and advocated by the rank and file of the Missionary so-called Baptists. It  is not the doctrine of the Primitive Baptists, and never has been. That doctrine denies every principle of grace in salvation, and makes the salvation of the sinner depend upon righteous works done by him. Let us look at ((Pet 1:2) (I Peter  1:2) “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.” The elect means the body of persons chosen of God for salvation. They were chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, and this was through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, and was unto the obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
It was that they might be made partakers of the benefits of the obedience and blood of Jesus. They are made partakers of the benefits of the obedience and blood of Jesus because the Father made choice of them to that end. If the Father made choice of them, elected them, because of a foreseen good thing they would do,
then they are not made the beneficiaries of the obedience and blood of Jesus because God made choice of them to that end, but because of the good thing God saw that they would do. The other text referred to {(John 6:29)} reads, “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him
whom He hath sent.” Suppose it be true that one does the work of God in believing on the Son of God, does that prove that one is embraced among the elect of God because God knew he would believe? If one is embraced among the elect because God foreknew that he would believe, and the elect are all saved, and none are saved, but the elect, then they are not saved because God elected them to salvation, or because God chose them to salvation; but they are saved because they do what God foresaw they would do. This not only makes their election to be based on their doing, but it makes the whole of their salvation to be based on what they do. Hence, it destroys the very idea of grace in their salvation; it is a flagrant denial of the doctrine of salvation by grace. But the Saviour meant to teach no such idea in (John 6:29). Let us look at (Ephesians 1:18-20) in connection with the text above: “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know  what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him on His right hand in heavenly
places.” Paul here having told the truth about the matter, it follows that it is by the working of the same mighty and divine power in the heart of the sinner which was wrought in the body of the Christ when He was raised from the dead that one believes in Him. This being true, is just as the Saviour taught in the above
reference, that it is by the working of the divine power of God in the heart that a poor sinner believes in Him. This all being true, it is preposterous to say that the  sinner was elected because God foresaw that he would believe. It is the height of folly to say that the sinner was elected to salvation because God foresaw he would do anything-believe, or do anything else. The truth of the matter is that God made choice of the sinner, and then, in time, according to, and in harmony with, and because of, that election He works in the heart of that chosen sinner and causes him to believe in Jesus, from an experimental knowledge of Him, as his Saviour.
Thus the salvation of the sinner is all of grace; his election (being embraced in the  number of the elect) is of grace; it was of grace that God made choice of him; it was a matter of grace that God predestinated that same sinner to be conformed to the image of Jesus; it is grace that this same sinner is regenerated, born of God,
born from above; it is a matter of grace that this same sinner is preserved in Jesus Christ, kept by the power of God unto eternal glory; it is a matter of grace that Jesus shed His precious blood for him, and thereby redeemed him all the way to God; it is a matter of grace that when the body of this unregenerated sinner dies a natural or physical death, his soul or spirit will go to God who gave it, and will be permitted to rest in the presence of the Lord until Jesus comes back to this earth again to raise the sleeping bodies of His saints; it is a matter of grace that the body of this saved sinner will be raised from the dead and made spiritual and fashioned like the body of his blessed Redeemer; it is a matter of grace that then all the redeemed family will be taken into the presence of the Lord, and will be glorified, and by grace permitted to eternally live with Him in unsullied bliss and eternal glory. It is “grace for grace” -” grace upon grace.” This is all of grace -not a
mixture of grace and works. We might go on and on showing that the Lord did not choose sinners to eternal salvation because of what was foreseen as good in them.

God looked down one time upon the children of men, and none of them did good when He looked that time. Did He take another look? If so, where is it so recorded? Where did you get your information? If you have such information, you must be “wise above what is written.” We say this in kindness, but it is true. If one (among us is advocating such a doctrine, we would kindly admonish such a one to quit it at once; and we will say, also kindly, that if you refuse to do so, the church should admonish you as many as two times, and if you do not then quit it at once they would be obeying the divine injunction to withdraw fellowship from you.) May theLord add His blessing. C. H. C.