(A sermon delivered at the One Hundredth annual meeting of the Salem association of Primitive Baptists, held with Goshen church, Boone CO, Mo., September 2,3 and 4, l927 ) .

   Departures from faith in the blood of Jesus alone soon crept into the church. False teachers bewitched the Galatians and led them into conditionalism. Here the struggle commenced against the fundamental principles of the church and the church is still resisting it. There are two classes today. The church is still contending for salvation by grace and grace alone, and the other teaching that salvation depends on the act of the sinner.

   During the third century there were many departures from the simplicity of the first churches. The pastors assumed powers they did not possess, and ambition stirred in the breasts of the officers of the churches. Novation, an elder in the church at Rome stood against all innovations, and taught that the church should be separate from the world, and be a communion of saints. But Cornelius, also an elder in the church at Rome, was very lax in discipline and had a great ambition for members, without regard to character. The majority elected Cornelius pastor in the year 251, and Novatian, and those who stood with him withdrew from the majority. Here is manifested the principle that has marked the Primitive Baptists church in all the past and up to the present time. Great desire for members and power has brought in the heresies in doctrine and practice that the church has had to stand against, and this has resulted in its always being in the minority. Cornelius turned away from the teaching of Jesus, "Ye must be born again," and the true church stood for that teaching; and still stands for it, for Jesus changes not

   Following Novatian was Donatus, who stood for pure doctrine and practice, which led to more and more persecution. Jesus said, "Blessed are ye when men shall persecute you, shall revile you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake." Donatus believed in regeneration and spirituality of life. He was chosen pastor at Carthage on 315. The more they stood for the truth the more were they persecuted. They were treated as rebels, and as resisting the authority of the Emperor.

   By this time the church and state were being united, which was another departure from the teaching of Jesus, who said that his kingdom was not of this world. In 313 Constantine established Christianity by law. He was made Emperor of Rome in 325, and stood with the Cornelius party. The church of Christ never persecutes, nor seeks to rule by power and from this principle it is easy to see where the true church was. It was with the minority, for the worldly side was gaining in numbers and power all the time. From this time on all the churches founded prior to the 18th century adopted the course of Constantine, that the church should legislate for and support the church. This included the Greek church, the Lutheran, the Presbyterian, the Episcopalian, all but the Baptist. Baptists have ever stood against union of church and state.

   During the reign of Constantine the Arian doctrine was introduced, a doctrine which is manifested in our day in denying the virgin birth of Christ. In fact all departures in the present day which the Primitive Baptists have to separate from, have been appearing in different forms since the days of the apostles, and there has always been a body of believers to stand against them.

   Popery embodies a great many of these departures. The first pope was Leo I who assumed the position in 440. The church of Christ was a distinct body, however, and has ever been, and never came out from the Roman Catholic church, having always kept aloof from heretical departures. Pelagianism arose in the 5th century. It represents the race of man as not condemned by the sin of Adam. Many at this time really hold to Pelagianism. The belief that infants are pure and holy is a form of Pelagianism. Arminianism differs from Pelagianism in asserting that all men are born in sin. But these two ideas agree in that they represent that salvation depends upon the will of the creature.

   James Arminius was born in l560. Nearly all denominations today are Arminians in belief, except that but few of them believe as much in the work of the Holy Spirit as did Arminius. All denominations which accept either Pelagianism or Arminianism reject the special atonement of Christ, and this is one of the reasons why they cannot be recognized by Primitive Baptists as churches of Jesus Christ. It is not necessary to call attention to all the departures from the truth from which the church had to keep separated. They may be summed up in those doctrines which reject the divinity of Christ, thus rejecting his power; rejecting the effectuality of the atonement for those for whom Christ died, rejecting the necessity of regeneration, and the certainty of it, for all who are embraced in the atonement of Christ. These are the fundamentals for which the church has stood, as they are the work of Jesus who is the unchanging Savior.

   From 476 to 1453 is called the Dark Ages, during which time awful persecutions drove the followers of Christ into seclusion. But all that could be done against them failed to extinguish the churches. They were the offspring of the Novatianists which were driven from Rome. They existed for hundreds of years before the Reformation, and never did acknowledge the supremacy of the popes of Rome. They rejected infant baptism as the Novatianists had done. Infant baptism is not noticed in history until Tertulian spoke against it in the third century. The doctrine of baptismal regeneration had crept in during the time of Constantine, and from this heresy came infant baptism. But the baptisms were by immersion until the l3th century. The Roman Catholic can say that there is authority for sprinkling because he believes in the authority of his church to make changes; which authorized sprinkling in the council of Ravenna in the year l3ll. Those who do not claim to recognize the right of the Roman Catholic church to make changes have no authority for sprinkling and pouring. But, in fact, practicing these forms for baptism does recognize the authority of the Roman Catholic church, for there is where they originated. Primitive Baptists recognize no form of baptism except that which was administered to Christ by John the Baptist. Matthew and Mark both testify that after Jesus was baptized he came up out of the water.

   The Protestant Reformation, which began in the 16th century, was heralded with joy by those who held to the doctrines now held by Primitive Baptists, as they thought it meant breaking the power of their persecutors, and throwing off the iron yoke of Catholicism. But it soon developed that those who were moving in the reformation, although they stood for many truths of the Bible, yet they showed the same spirit as had been manifested by the Man of Sin. They thought to force subjection of others, which has always been contrary to the teaching of Baptists. Primitive Baptists allow to others what they themselves desire, freedom to worship God. Baptists could not go with the Protestants at the time of the reformation, and as they have gone farther and farther from Bible teaching cannot go with them now. They are continually enlarging on those points which show that they do not have a scriptural understanding of the atonement. Nor do they teach the Bible doctrine of regeneration, and do not require proof of it in their membership.

   It is thought strange that we do not adopt Sunday schools. The first Sunday school was opened by Robert Raikes, of England, in l781. This school was for the instruction of the children of poor people and with this none can find fault. But as a religious movement, with the announced purpose had in view, Primitive Baptists can have nothing to do with it for two reasons. First, scripture teaching and practice laid the obligation of teaching and training children in regard to the Bible upon the parents; second, it is the avowed purpose of the Sunday schools to train up the children for entrance into the church, and so they use it. This would leave out of sight the teaching of Jesus that being born again is an indispensable requirement, and that it is not brought about by the teaching of men. We have the same objection to the training of the modern Sunday school that we have to the teaching of Arminian preachers, who disregard the effectuality of the atonement and regeneration.

   We stand apart from modern missions because it teaches that the spiritual kingdom of God is dependent upon men for its extent among men, and not upon God's grace and the atonement of Jesus. The first Baptist missionary society was started in England October 2, l792. As this was the first effort of the kind it is proof that it was not taught by Jesus, nor practiced by his apostles. We cannot recognize an institution so far removed from any scriptural foundation. It is close kin to the movement under Cornelius who increased the membership of the church without regard to God's work in the soul. The practice of offering the inducements that are given to the heathen to become Christians, is like the practice of Constantine who offered gold to such persons as would become Christians in profession.

   The separation between the Mission Baptists and the Primitives covered the period of 1827-40. The reason Baptists do not join in the modern mission movement is because it is founded and carried on with the idea that the atonement is not effectual without the consent and obedience of sinners. It is the age-long struggle to make salvation depend on the act of the creature, denying the effectuality of the choice of God before the foundation of the world as laid down by the Apostle Paul : "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. --- In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." --Eph. i. 4, 5. The Mission Baptists now occupy the same position on election and the atonement that other Arminian organizations hold. One of their editors recently put forth a different statement to that generally held by them on the atonement. He said that it was absurd to hold that the atonement did not atone. So he took the position that Christ died for all the race of man, and made a complete atonement for sins. Now none were lost for lack of atonement, but all who rejected Christ would be damned for not believing in Christ. From his standpoint, even the atonement can be nullified by not believing on the Son of God. Of course this new idea of theirs leaves out of consideration regeneration and its effects. According to this idea all the heathen would be saved if they never heard the gospel and so had no opportunity to reject it.

   The first Baptist church in the bounds of the United States was founded by Dr. John Clark in Newport, Rhode Island in l838 with eleven others. The church was in faith what the Primitive Baptists are today, and what the Salem Association now believes.

   There have been many offshoots from the Primitive Baptists in America. Alexander Campbell and his followers were withdrawn from in 1827. So that denomination is about the same age as the Salem Association, but it does not have a record in faith and practice reaching back to the apostles as does the Salem Association.

   The Means Baptists went out in 1887. Like so many others they wanted to go in partnership with the Lord in his work of regeneration, and contended that the preaching of the gospel was used in the work of regeneration of sinners. They have been trying to hold on to the doctrines of election, the atonement, and the necessity of regeneration, and it is so hard to connect these up with human means that they have not got very far. There is not room between the Arminian Baptists and the Primitives for them, so they have not made much progress. I say "Arminian Baptists" for the Primitives alone are not Arminian. When the Mission Baptists first left the Primitives they said they just wanted to preach the gospel in a wider field. But there was the idea of conditional salvation behind the movement, and the tenets they hold today show that. Where are they today? They preach a conditional election, a conditional atonement, a conditional regeneration. These are the doctrines that the true church has rejected from the time of the apostles, and so we cannot now recognize them as the church, nor receive their work. This explains why the Salem Association is standing aloof from all denominations.

   Later we had the "Progressives" to drop out. One of the first of these in the field wrote me that he wanted the privilege of using the columns of the MESSENGER OF PEACE. I wrote him he would have to explain. He wrote in reply: "Our church is not prosperous; it never can be prosperous until it is popular; it never can be popular with the people while we emphasize the doctrines of election and predestination. We should preach as other people do, the universal obligation of all men to believe the gospel and accept Christ." Said he, " This will not affect the result of election and regeneration, but all men are under obligation to believe the truth and accept Christ whether they are able to do so or not, and it will build up our congregations to preach it that way." I replied that all men are under obligation to believe the truth, but the truth says that men are dead in sins and must be born again before they can see the kingdom of God or enter therein. And if they believe on Jesus it is proof that they are born again. "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born again.:--1 John v. 1. I replied that the MESSENGER could not be used to hide the truth nor teach an untruth to popularize the church. So the Progressives went away because we could not with them for popularity.

   We are not going to the left or the right. We are starting for another hundred years along the same lines as in the past, believing in the work of Jesus, who is the same yesterday and forever. Until he announces a change, we cannot change our doctrines for everything depends upon him. We have confidence in him, for he is the sovereign God, the God of all grace, the Savior of sinners. We believe in his atonement, and that the Father has put all things into his hands. We accept the words he addressed to his Father: "The hour is come; glorify thy Son, That thy Son also may glorify thee; as thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him."--John xvii 1, 2.

   Here is the explanation why we stand alone. We will not favor anything that contradicts full and complete confidence in the electing grace of God: a full and complete atonement, and a work of regeneration in harmony with these, accomplished by the power of God, and fully completed in the resurrection of the bodies of the saints. We wish to live in peace with all men, "as much as within us lies," and have no enmity toward any. We will not judge others, to God they stand or fall but we must judge the doctrines that they teach, for we receive only the doctrine of God our Savior, and reject as the church has ever rejected, all the "improvements" to the plan of salvation as revealed in God's holy word. The old pioneers of the Salem Association lived the simple life of pilgrims through a world of strife, and doctrines of devils, clinging to Jesus as the only Savior, and died in faith, leaving to their posterity the old church for comfort and protection. We exhort the generation upon whose shoulders the cause now rests, to set their faces toward the Zion of our God, keeping themselves unspotted from the world, and treasuring up in their hearts the precious gospel of him who is the same today, and yesterday and forever. Teach your children to hold these things sacred, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

   We teach and exhort all men to live righteously in this present evil world, and that righteousness always has its reward here. We exhort all who bring forth fruits meet for repentance to follow Jesus in baptism, thus becoming members of the militant church, and under this influence to bear spiritual fruit to the glory of God.