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OCTOBER
 

9, 1747 --Connecticut. David Brainerd will die today in the home of Jonathan Edwards, his father-in-law. He has married Mr. Edwards' daughter, Jemima. He is twenty-nine years old. The Diary he leaves behind will inspire several notable men to go to the mission field. One of these men will be William Carey. Mr. Brainerd has spent his life teaching the Indians of New England the Word of God. He has asked his brother John to replace him in his missionary work. The last words he was heard to utter were, "I am almost in eternity. I long to be there ...Oh, to be in Heaven to praise and rejoice with God and with His angels!"

9, 1862 --South Carolina. Near Charleston, on Sullivan's Island, Rev. E. J. Meynardie, chaplain to Col. Keitts' regiment of South Carolina volunteers, writes, "On Thursday evening, ...I determined to hold a series of meetings during which up to last night, ninety-three applied for membership in the various branches of the Church, nearly all of whom profess conversion. Every night the Church at which we worship was densely crowded, and obvious seriousness pervaded the congregation. To the invitation to approach the altar for prayer, prompt and anxious responses were made; and it was indeed an unusual and impressive spectacle to behold the soldiers of the country, ready for battle and even for death on the battlefield, bowed in prayer ...God was with us most graciously.
     "The influence of this meeting has pervaded the regiment . . .. It has struck at the very root of camp vices, and the great crime which is more frequently committed in the Army against God and common decency, than any other, hides its hideous head --I mean profanity.
     "The Church of Christ is very strongly represented here in the regiment. We have praying men; and indeed a more quiet, orderly and religiously-disposed body of troops cannot, I presume be found in the service . . .. It is the genuine religious tone of Jackson's which under a pious Commander, has thus far rendered it unconquerable . . .."

10, 644 --England. Paulinus, the first bishop of York dies. He was responsible for the conversion of Edwin and baptized him. In 633, Penda, the heathen king of Mercia together with the Britons overthrew and killed Edwin at Heathfield. Paulinus and Queen Ethelburga together with her children took refuge in Kent.

10, 732 --France. Charles Martel, "The Hammer," defeats the Saracens at the Battle of Tours. The Star and Crescent of Mohammedanism will not wave over Europe.

10, 1413 --England. Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, has been summoned by Henry V to be convinced of the heresy of Lollardism. Refusing to be convinced of his "errors," he left the royal court without permission and returned to his castle at Cowley.
     On September 25th he was brought before an Episcopal court and refusing to retract his opinion, that the Pope, the Cardinals, or the Prelates have no right to define matters of conscience, he was delivered over as an heretic to the secular arm for punishment. He has steadfastly refused to be convinced by the king of his "errors," and has been imprisoned for weeks in the Tower.
     Today, he escapes.

10, 1560 --Holland. At Oudewater, Jacob Arminius is born. Revolting from Calvinistic theology which makes God both the Creator and Judge of Sin, he felt it his duty to rescue God from such "dishonor. He will, therefore, teach, as David Steele and Curtis Thomas relate --

1.) "Although human nature was seriously affected by the fall, man has not been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness. God graciously enables every sinner to repent and believe, but He does so in such a manner as not to interfere with man's freedom. Each sinner possesses a free will, and his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it. Man's freedom consists of his ability to choose good over evil in spiritual matters; his will is not enslaved to his sinful nature. The sinner has the power to either cooperate with God's Spirit and be regenerated or resist God's grace and perish. The lost sinner needs the Spirit's assistance, but he does not have to be regenerated by the Spirit before he can believe, for faith is man's act and precedes the new birth. Faith is the sinner's gift to God; it is man's contribution to salvation.

2.) "God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world was based upon His foreseeing that they would respond to His call. He selected only those whom He knew would of themselves freely believe the Gospel. Election therefore was determined by or conditioned upon what man would do. The faith which God foresaw and upon which He based His choice was not given to the sinner by God (it was not created by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit) but resulted solely from man's will. It was left entirely up to man as to who would believe therefore as to who would be elected unto salvation. God chose those whom He knew would, of their own free will, choose Christ. Thus the sinner's choice of Christ, not God's choice of the sinner, is the ultimate cause of salvation.

3.) "Christ's redeeming work made it possible for everyone to be saved but did not actually secure the salvation of anyone. Although Christ died for all men and for every man, only those who believe in Him are saved. His death enabled God to pardon sinners on the condition that they believe, but it did not actually put away anyone's sins. Christ's redemption becomes effective only if man chooses to accept it.

4.) "The Spirit calls inwardly all those who are called outwardly by the Gospel invitation; He does all that He can to bring every sinner to salvation. But inasmuch as man is free, he can successfully resist the Spirit's call. The Spirit cannot regenerate the sinner until he believes; faith (which is man's contribution) precedes and makes possible the new birth. Thus man's free will limits the Spirit in the application of Christ's saving work. The Holy Spirit can only draw to Christ those who allow Him to have His way with them. Until the sinner responds, the Spirit cannot give life. God's grace therefore is not invincible; it can be, and often is, resisted and thwarted by man.

5.) "Those who believe and are truly saved can lose their salvation by failing to keep up their faith, etc.

     "All Arminians have not been agreed on this point; some have held that believers are eternally secure in Christ --that once a sinner is regenerated, he can never be lost.
     "According to Arminianism, Salvation is accomplished through the combined efforts of God (who takes the initiative) and man (who must respond) --man's response being the determining factor. God has provided salvation for everyone, but His provision becomes effective only for those who of their own free will ‘choose’ to cooperate with Him and accept His offer of grace. At the crucial point, man's will plays a decisive role; thus man, not God, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation.
     "This was the system of thought contained in the "Remonstrance" (though the 'five points' were not originally arranged in this order). It was submitted by the Arminians to the Church of Holland in 1610 for adoption but was rejected by the Synod of Dort in 1619 on the ground that it was unscriptural."


 

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