Last time we looked at a quote from a sermon on Regeneration from John 1:12-13 by a man named Asahel Nettleton. Prior to his conversion he was deeply convicted of his sin and “diligently applied himself to the means of grace, often praying for hours. After ten months of spiritual agony, God miraculously changed his heart.” He was thoroughly Reformed in his theology and evangelism. He also greatly opposed Charles Finney and the new ways of evangelism that he brought into the church. I will continue on with another quote from Nettleton:
The fundamental truth of the Pelagian and Arminian scheme, (for they are in substance the same) are these:
(1). That God not only proclaims the offers of grace and salvation to all men alike, but that the Holy Spirit is equally and sufficiently distributed to all men to insure their salvation, provided they duly improve the benefits bestowed upon them.
(2). That the precepts and promises of the gospel are not only good and desirable in themselves, but so suited to the natural reason and interests of mankind, that they will of course be inclined to receive them, unless overpowered by prejudice, and an habitual course of sin.
(3). That the consideration of the threatenings and promises of the gospel is sufficient to remove these prejudices and reform that course.
(4). That those who thus seriously reflect and amend their lives have the promise of the Holy Spirit, and are entitled to the benefits of the new covenant.
Here is the heart of what Nettleton saw as so dangerous to evangelism in his time and he deemed it as rooted in principles that were Pelagian in principle. We must not miss this if we are going to see the dangerous way of evangelism being practiced in our day. If you look at the four points given by Nettleton above, you might not think of these things as being all that dangerous or bad. After all, it might be said, if they are preaching Christ and His cross they are not far from being wrong. That is one point that needs to be brought out. One can teach and preach an orthodox understanding of the Person of Christ and, to a degree, His work on the cross and still preach a false Gospel. In one sense this is the genius of Nettleton in the way he puts it. The outward information for the most part might actually be the same between certain forms of Pelagianism and orthodoxy. Nettleton is getting at how the information is given, which determines what is trusted in by the sinner. In fact, he says that “the very life and soul of the gospel truth is taken away.” Why would he say that? Let me give some more of the thoughts of Nettleton in order to make the matter clear:
Under this specious statement of fundamental principles which is apt to strike an inconsiderate mind in a favorable manner, the very life and soul of gospel truth is taken away. On this scheme, all men are regenerated alike, originally; all having an equal measure of the Spirit, and the difference between one man and another is to be ascribed wholly to himself; to the improvement he has made of the blessings vouchsafed. And regeneration is a reformation of life, induced by moral persuasions, or commenced in consequence of the understanding being enlightened and the affections being moved by divine truth alone. If you ask, how does salvation proceed from divine grace on this plan, the answer is that all the means of improvement are bestowed by God and herein is the grace.
The whole scheme is simply this, God gives faculties and grace to all, and to all alike and thus furnished, they work out their own salvation, being persuaded to do this by the promises and threatenings of the gospel. The dreadful mischief which this extensive and popular scheme has caused spring from its plausibility-from such an appearance of truth, mixed with so many great and dangerous errors.
In the next BLOG we will continue in Nettleton’s thinking. It is much the same as has been presented in earlier BLOGS as it has to do with the application of salvation to the sinner. But Nettleton puts it in a different way and applies it to regeneration. If you have eyes to see and have been looking around in our day, you will quickly see that what Nettleton was saying is happening in our day. Regeneration is not seen in the same way as it used to be.
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