A history of New-England, with particular reference to the denomination of Christians called Baptists. Containing the first principles and... Quotes

“Mr. Blood is so much esteemed in their government, that he was called to preach their Election Sermon, October 11, 1792, which was published by their authority. One passage therein says, "A wise magistrate will set a constant guard over the words of his mouth; that with a becoming moderation, he may express his resentment of injuries done him, and have all his language such as shall tend to prevent others from an uncivil, profane way of treating their fellow citizens. A magistrate who is rough and profane in his language, is a monstrous character. He is not civil himself, and we cannot expect but that the practice, at least, will do hurt in the community. He is not the gentleman, for any person of sense knows, that a rough, profane way of treating mankind, better fits the character of a clown than a gentleman.”
― Isaac Backus, A history of New-England, with particular reference to the denomination of Christians called Baptists. Containing the first principles and...

“Mr. James Potter was born there in 1734, and was awakened to some sense of sin when he was about ten years old; and convictions followed him, from time to time, until a clear deliverance was granted him, October 3, 1781. And he says, "Now I began to see the base views I formerly had of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the plan of salvation; for when I had a discovery of actual sins, and of the danger I was exposed to thereby, I would repent and reform, and think what a glorious Saviour Christ was, and that some time or other he would save me from hell, and take me to glory, with a desire to be happy, but no desire to be holy. But, glory be to God! he now gave me another view of salvation. Now I saw his law to be holy and loved it, though I and all my conduct were condemned by it. Now I saw that God's justice did not strike against me as his creature but as a sinner; and that Christ died not only to save from punishment, but from sin itself. I saw that Christ's office was not only to make men happy, but also to make them holy, and the plan now looked beautiful to me, and I had no desire to have the least tittle of it altered, but all my cry was to be conformed to this glorious plan.”
― Isaac Backus, A history of New-England, with particular reference to the denomination of Christians called Baptists. Containing the first principles and...

“Yet in the Election Sermon at Boston, May 30, 1792, the ministers in general, who are supported by law in our country, are called, "The Christian priesthood."* And a book was published there this year, the whole labour whereof was to prove that all the children of professors of Christianity are born in the church, and ought to come to the Lord's supper, if they are not openly scandalous, whether they are satisfied that they are born again, or not. And the author says, "It is the will of God that many be admitted into the church who are not in heart friends to him. And if the greater part be of this character, can we imagine that the true interests of Christ's kingdom are in any danger, while Christ has his enemies as much in his power as any, and can use them as his instruments, or restrain them, or make them his willing people, or cut them off, whenever he pleases?"† It is readily granted that Christ has all the world under his power, but his revealed will requires a profession of saving faith of all who are received into his church; and they who imagine that he allows his enemies to come into it, implicitly put him beneath all rational men. For all such men, be they never so deceitful themselves, yet endeavour to guard against enemies in their own families and societies.”
― Isaac Backus, A history of New-England, with particular reference to the denomination of Christians called Baptists. Containing the first principles and...

“And a man who had been excluded from another church, then came with an earnest request that the Association would interpose their influence in his favour; and because they refused to do it, he published a bitter complaint in a Boston news-paper. When they met at Newton, Sept. 12, 1786, a complaint of a division in another church caused a considerable labour, and then a vote to leave them out of the Association, which is the farthest that they have a right to go in such cases. Their meeting at Chelmsford, Sept. 11, 1787, was not interrupted with such things. Yet when they met at Sturbridge, Sept. 9, 1788, a complaint was brought against the majority of another church, who had withdrawn from their minister and a part of their brethren, and the majority were left out of the Association, and the minister with the minority were recommended as the church. But as this was going too far, so the effects have been very unhappy ever since. And when the Association met again at Sturbridge, Sept. 8, 1789, another minister made hard attempts to croud a complaint against a church into it; but it was kept out, though with difficulty, and he has been since disowned by all our churches. And all experience hath shown, that a particular church of Christ is the highest judicature that he hath established upon earth to carry his laws into execution in his name.”
― Isaac Backus, A history of New-England, with particular reference to the denomination of Christians called Baptists. Containing the first principles and...

“As Congregational and Presbyterian ministers have done this, and hold to a successive power to do it, which came through the church of Rome, a minister who was born in Connecticut, obtained the title of bishop of Connecticut, in a more direct line than our ministers have done. For he was ordained bishop of Connecticut, by three bishops in Scotland, November 14, 1784, who derived their succession from three bishops in England, who refused to swear allegiance to king William, after he had driven the popish king James from the throne. So that his line came directly from the church of Rome, without any connexion with the government in Great-Britain for an hundred years past. And this bishop holds that his authority came from Christ, as much as any can, and says, "A church in which Christ has no authority, cannot be his church: It may be the Pope's church, or Luther's church, or Calvin's church, or Wesley's church—but Christ's church it cannot be, unless it be founded on his authority and governed by his commission. The apostles being divinely inspired, and acting under the immediate direction of the Holy Ghost, in all things necessary to the establishment of the church according to the will of Christ, none of their successors could have authority to change the government they had established, unless they could plead the authority of Christ for the change, with as much certainty as the first apostles could for the original establishment, and could give the same proof of divine inspiration as those apostles had given."*”
― Isaac Backus, A history of New-England, with particular reference to the denomination of Christians called Baptists. Containing the first principles and...