A Series of Letters In Defence of Divine Revelation by Hosea Ballou

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If the Christian clergy were once disposed to strip their creeds and
confessions of faith till they were reduced to the simplicity that is
in Christ, and require no other belief than Christ and his apostles
required, there would be an end at once of all the discord and
animosity which have wounded the character of Christianity for ages.
And the prayer of the blessed Jesus would be fulfilled in the
_oneness_ of all who believe in him, which would convince the world
that the Father sent him.

Although you have not yet found it convenient to favour me with any
observations on my former letter, I have not done expecting it. And I
shall endeavour to hold myself in readiness to pay an early attention
to any communication which shall come from your hand. In hopes that
nothing contained in this letter will be considered inconsistent with
the true spirit of a humble believer in Christ, I remain, sir, your
humble servant, for Christ's sake.

HOSEA BALLOU.

Rev. JOSEPH WALTON.

* * * * *

LETTER IV.

FROM THE REV. JOSEPH WALTON TO THE REV. HOSEA BALLOU.

PORTSMOUTH, JAN. 11, 1811.

_Sir_,--I have received your answer to my letter sent you, dated Dec.
7, 1810, and now desire to answer it, in the fear of God, in as
concise a manner as I am capable, agreeable to the scriptures of
_truth_. Sir, I thank you for the civilities you manifest toward me,
and that you received my letter in a friendly manner as I think I sent
it, wishing it might be received and improved for your benefit; not
that I supposed that I was capable of convincing or confuting you of
what I conceive to be erroneous in your doctrine or principles, but
relying on the blessing of God to make it effectual for your
everlasting good, and those you profess to be over in the Lord.

I shall not take into consideration every argument you make use of,
but shall give it a general answer. Since I have received it I have
had a great number of scriptures occuring to my mind which I might
quote if I thought expedient. In the first place you speak or write as
if I thought death was originally designed by the Almighty for the
damage of mankind; I say death was threatened to be the consequence,
if mankind did transgress the law of their Creator; our first parents
transgressed, and the penalty was executed according to the
threatening, "Thou shall surely die;" they were condemned to die; they
were under sentence of death; they became spiritually dead,
immediately; they lost the knowledge of their Creator; darkness
covered their minds; they endeavoured to hide themselves from God
among the trees of the garden; they brought misery upon themselves and
upon their posterity; we feel the woeful effects of their fall and
apostasy until this day; by nature we are spiritually dead; as it is
written, "you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins."
Sir, if there is a law made by our legislature, is there not a penalty
annexed unto it? If that law is transgressed, is not the person who
transgressed punished some way or other?--Yet the law is made for the
good of the whole; the legislature is not to be impeached, as if he
made it for the damage of his people, whom he governs; the law-breaker
is punished either in his own person or his surety, though the pain,
shame and punishment is for the damage of the transgressor, yet the
law is for the good of the whole, and the law maker is not in the
least to blame; the transgressor also, if he repents and is reformed,
is benefited by it, &c.

I think, sir, your giving your hearers encouragement in your preaching
that Christ will save them all, whether they repent and believe the
gospel or no, is of a dangerous nature. Christ has said, "if ye
believe not that I am he ye shall die in your sins," John viii. 24.
Read, if you please, the proceeding context. The decrees of God, you
say, is my creed, and that I believe that God foreordained whatsoever
come to pass. I do not think I ever told you so. And so you think God
foreordained, according to my _creed_, death, for a damage to his
creatures. I have said death is punishment for sin, as I wrote, and I
can maintain it from scripture; death was introduced by sin; the
person that lives a life of sin and dies without regenerating grace,
which all true believers in Christ have, will be miserable, and be
"punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord
and the glory of his power." I believe every true believer is a true
penitent, is regenerated, is in Christ by a vital union is a "new
creature," and that those persons will be saved and none else,
according to the doctrine of Christ and his apostles. I believe that
God the Father worketh all things according to the council of his own
will; that his redeemed and saved people should be to his glory. You
say, in my writing to you, I said, "do you think Christ or his
apostles would preach universal salvation in one place of scripture
and contradict it in another? I believe they would not."--Here you
designedly, I think mistake; I do not believe that Christ or his
apostles ever did preach universal salvation, that is, that every son
and daughter of apostate Adam, would be saved. I believe that this
gospel of the kingdom is to be preached to every creature, and
"whosoever believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned." Do me justice, sir; do not animadvert
upon what I have just quoted, as if I think our Saviour is to be
understood as if every individual would have the privilege of hearing
the gospel. I conceive that the apostles' commission runs thus: "Go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every human or rational
creature."--What I meant by saying, do you think Christ would preach
universal salvation in one place, and in another contradict it, is,
that those texts which you suppose supports your doctrine, is not to
be understood as you apply them; for if they prove universal
salvation, as you would have them, then they will contradict many
texts which Christ and his apostles improved otherwise; therefore I
still assert, that the scriptures ought to be carefully examined,
conscientiously improved and applied. The faithful minister of Christ
will renounce the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in
craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by
manifestation of the _truth_, commending themselves to every man's
conscience in the sight of God. "For we are not as many which corrupt
the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of
God, speak we in Christ."--See 2d Corinthians, ii. 17. And I would
take it as a favour, if you would read the 15th and 16th verses in the
same chapter, and seriously consider them. Those texts of scripture,
which you have quoted from Rom. 8th chapter, are not to be applied as
you apply them, neither doth the apostle apply them so. And methinks
you know they are not, if you consider the connexion from the 28th
verse of the chapter to the end. And that passage of scripture quoted
from 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22, 23, is only to be applied to real Christians;
and this, sir, I presume you know; but it would not suit you and your
scheme of Universal Salvation to apply them so.

I would ask you, if, when I am writing a letter or an epistle to Mr.
Hosea Ballou, it would be proper for me to apply what I write in
particular to you, concerning your affairs or circumstances, to the
whole world? Ministers of Christ should rightly "divide the word;" and
should take the precious from the vile; then they would be as God's
mouth to the people. See Jeremiah xv. 19, see likewise, Ezekiel xiiv.
23, "The priests of the Lord are to teach the Lord's people the
difference between the holy and the profane," and cause them to
discern between the unclean and the clean;" it is by this _general_
way of preaching, errors are introduced, not only by your
denomination, but by others also. I could multiply quotations from the
Bible, both from the Old and New Testaments, but what would it avail,
unless you will consider them and endeavour to improve them, and apply
them as the Holy Ghost would have us to to? "For holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," see 2 Peter i. 25. You say, you
were somewhat embarrassed in understanding what I meant when I wrote
that men undertaking to explain the scriptures in their own strength
and wisdom, and their making havoc of them, &c. by explaining them in
a mystical or literal sense. I will endeavour to explain what I
meant--1st. To allegorize the scriptures in a mere moral or mystical
sense, or altogether in a figurative sense, is a degree of enthusiasm,
(as to say there is no _devil_ but our carnal nature, &c.) and in a
mere literal sense is to understand and improve them not in that
spiritual sense in which they are to be understood, but resting in the
letter only; as we may observe when Christ said in St. John, 6th
chapter, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his
blood, ye have no life in you;" "Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my
blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day;"
"These things said he in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum;"
"Many therefore of his disciples when they heard this, said, this is a
hard saying, who can hear it? Christ said, doth this offend you?"--And
informed them he did not mean that they should eat his human flesh,
and drink his blood literally, but he was to be understood in a
spiritual sense. He informed them "it is the spirit that quickeneth,
the flesh profiteth nothing, the words I speak unto you they are
spirit and life." Some have since misunderstood him, and, to this day,
misunderstand this piece of scripture; and have from thence introduced
the absurd doctrine of transubstantiation, that after the words of
consecration, the bread and wine are the real body and blood of
Christ. So some adhere only to the letter of the word and expound the
law of God in a mere literal sense. It seems the apostle Paul, before
his conversion, understood it so.--Read the 7th chapter of Romans,
from the 6th to the end of the 13th verse. Paul was brought up at the
feet of Gamaliel, a doctor of the law; yet, while in his unregenerate
state, knew not the spiritual meaning of the law of God, (I mean the
holy or moral law) and no doubt he spake by experience when he says,
(as I wrote to you from I Cor. ii. 14) "But the natural man received
not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto
him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned." By the natural man, I conceive, the apostle meant the
unregenerate man: yea, with the highest degree of human teaching and
knowledge without he is taught of God, by his word and spirit, he
cannot truly understand the things of the spirit of God; and therefore
they are, as I say, misapplied, mangled and made havoc of. Faith is,
by some, only held as a bare assent that Jesus Christ came in the
flesh. None do truly believe that, but by the Holy Ghost.

You still will continue to maintain the doctrine of Universal
Salvation, by those texts, which I said you spake at the grave with
such an _emphasis_; if they are to be understood only in a literal
sense as they are expressed, I can quote as many or more spoken by
Christ and his apostles which will contradict them in their literal
sense: Christ says, "He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved;
but he that believeth not shall be damned. Then shall he say unto them
on his left hand, depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels. And these shall go away into
everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal. Then said
Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me and shall die
in your sins: whither I go ye cannot come." John viii. 21, 24, "I said
therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe
not that I am he ye shall die in your sins." With respect to that text
you quote from John xii. 32, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
will draw all men unto me." It is, I conceive, explained by Christ
himself in John iii. 14, 15, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness even so must the son of man be lifted up; that
whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting
life." By Christ being lifted on the cross the way of salvation is to
be preached to all men; but it is only those that believe who will not
perish and have eternal life, according to the foregoing scriptures I
have quoted from Mark xvi. 16, and Mat. xxv. 41, 46. I could quote
many more scriptures spoken by our Lord himself and explained by him;
and I hope, sir, you will allow our Lord to be the best expositor of
his own word. I conceive you think you have got a mighty argument when
you mention the apostle Peter, who had a vision which instructed him
in his duty to preach the gospel to the Gentiles; but remember, Peter
says, "I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every
nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness, is accepted of
him." Then he began to preach the gospel to Cornelius and his friends;
he preached Christ to them; he preached Jesus and the resurrection; he
shows he is ordained of God to be the Judge of the quick and the dead;
and says, "To him give all the prophets witness that through his name
whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." Did he
say that every individual of the human race would be saved? No such
thing! And though he had further light concerning the Gentiles, he
never, as I can find, preached Universal Salvation, but to the
contrary. Read his epistles, first and second, particularly 2d
epistle, 2d chapter from 1st to the end of the 9th verse. "The Lord
knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation; and to reserve the
unjust to the day of judgment, to be _punished_;" not to be
_liberated_! Read 3d chapter, 7th verse, "But the heavens and the
earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store reserved unto
fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." Peter
wrote these epistles after he had further light with respect to the
Gentiles' having the gospel preached unto them.

As to what you write about my saying I do not envy you because great
numbers go to hear you, I still say it, as far as I know my wicked and
deceitful heart, and wish you might preach the pure and simple gospel,
and that your hearers might desire nothing more than the sincere milk
of the word, as new-born babes, preached unto them; that they might
grow thereby, &c.

That place I directed you to in 1 John, iv. 5, 6, and wished you to
consider, though I have in some measure already considered it, I will
attempt more particular to consider it. 1st. You say, John says, "And
every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the
flesh is not of God, and this is that spirit of Antichrist whereof you
have heard it should come and even now already is in the world." John
in the preceding verse said, that every spirit that confesseth Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh, is of God; do you think, sir, that every
person that assents to this truth is a true believer? But few that
have been born in a land of gospel light but what assents to this; but
the soul that is born of God truly believes it, according to what the
same apostle writes, 5th Chapter 1st epistle 1st verse, "Whosoever
believeth Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and every one that
loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him." Do
all men that confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh profess to
be born of God? Do they love the children of God that bear his image?
No; they, if unregenerate, are of the world; they "love darkness
rather than light, because their deeds are evil." Who does our Lord
mean when he says, "If the world hate you, it hated me before it hated
you, if ye were of the world the world would love his own; but because
ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world hateth you?" Sir, you know that there has been
many antichristian professors of this truth, _that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh_, that have shed much human blood, because they
hated the dear children of God. Therefore I conceive this is the
meaning of the text: we must know for ourselves that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God, as Peter did when he confessed him, and Christ said to
him, "Blessed art thou Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not
revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven--upon this
rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it." I believe that true and saving faith is wrought in the
heart by the spirit of the _living God_; and the soul that believes
truly, is, as I have already said, born of God, is in union with
Christ, is partaker of the divine nature, and has escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust, and is pressing forward
towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus. I have wrote more than I intended, having received your other
epistle and have considered some of it. This remains to be considered:
what you wrote concerning your having great numbers of hearers. It is
true Christ had a great number which followed, and heard him, but few
which followed because they loved his doctrine, and followed him from
right motives. He said unto them, "Ye seek me not because ye saw the
miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled. Labour
not for the meat that perisheth, but for the meat which endureth unto
everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you, for him
hath God the Father sealed," John vi. 26, 27. Our Lord says, John
viii. 47, "He that is of God heareth God's words; ye therefore hear
them not because ye are not of God." Hence you may see how our Lord
and his beloved disciple John agree; it is not the truth as it is in
Jesus, the populace are after; it is to gratify their curiosity, or
hear something about their salvation in a way that has no cross in it.
But Christ says, "If any man will be my disciple let him deny himself
and take up his cross, and follow me." When Christ preached soul
searching doctrine as he did in the 6th of John, "Many of his
disciples went back and followed no more with him." And I believe when
you preach repentance and faith, and shew what fruits they will
produce in the true penitent and true believer, the world will not
hear you and cordially like your doctrine. But they, as John says, are
of the world, therefore they speak of the world, and the world heareth
them; "We are of God, we that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not
of God heareth not us: hereby know we the spirit of truth and the
spirit of error." I have reason to think some popular preachers are
good men, but the world do not like them nor their doctrine, because
they are so; but because of their popularity their curiosity is fed,
or gratified--and not their souls with the pure milk of the word. Sir,
you answer in some way which is ambiguous to me about your preaching
repentance, and say repentance may be preached without speaking the
word repentance. What makes you shun speaking plainly as Christ did?
Be explicit in preaching it. You cannot deny, but Christ and his
apostles preached it explicitly. Christ said in plain language,
"Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish," Luke xiii. 3, 5. In
your answer concerning the resurrection of the dead, you do not speak
of that in a clear and explicit way, and your not mentioning it at
either of the funerals, makes me doubt whether you believe it in as
clear and literal a manner as it is expressed in the scriptures by
Christ and his apostles. Paul says, "Seeing we have such hope we use
great plainness of speech." I hope, sir, you will not be offended with
me for plain dealing.

As to your apostasy, I hope I shall have an opportunity to confer with
you about it. I am happy to say I feel no rancour or enmity against
your person or people, as a neighbour and friend, but should be
willing to assist you in, and as far as my ability and power with a
good conscience will admit; and hope this will not interrupt our
meeting together as usual in visiting the schools. I think we had best
drop the controversy, and I think I shall no more write to you, and
hope you will no more write to me on this subject. You may make what
use you please of it; I hope it will be made of good use to you.

I now, dear sir, "commend you to God and the word of his grace, which
is able to build yon up in the _truth_ as it is in _Jesus_, and give
you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified."

From your friend, and well wisher in the gospel of our dear Lord Jesus
Christ.

JOSEPH WALTON.

Mr. Hosea Ballou, _Pastor of a Church_.

* * * * *

LETTER V.

FROM THE REV. HOSEA BALLOU TO THE REV. JOSEPH WALTON.

PORTSMOUTH, JAN. 15, 1811.

_Rev. Sir_,--Yours of the 11th inst. is before me, and according to my
_promise_ I hasten to pay _an early attention_ to its contents,
notwithstanding you express a _hope_ that I should write to you no
more on this subject. In your desire, sir, that I should write no more
I believe you to be _really sincere_, for I believe you to be a man
disposed to give your friends as little trouble as possible; but I
have several reasons for answering your last, which, when I have
stated, I presume, will fully satisfy you that my answer is required
in justice to myself.

1st. I find myself accused of _baseness_, of which, were I guilty, the
forfeiture would be that of _confidence_.

2d. I find my preaching misrepresented, and that in direct violation
of my own declaration in the present correspondence.

3d. I find questions proposed for my discussion, which renders it
reasonable that you should have an answer, as I was in hopes of
obtaining to the questions which I stated to you.

4th. I find you quite off from the subjects of your admonitions, not
attempting to support them, nor yet willing to exonerate me from
charges.

5th. I find the scriptures of our blessed Lord and Saviour quoted with
a manifest design to limit his grace and salvation.

I might go on and state a number more reasons why I conceive it to be
my duty to reply, but the five already given will undoubtedly satisfy
your mind; and they furnish subjects sufficiently ample for an
epistle. To them I shall conform myself, and endeavour to be as
concise as is consistent with the importance of the subject.

1st. Your accusation is in the following words:--

"Here you designedly, I think, mistake." "Those texts of scripture
which you have quoted from Rom. 8th chapt. are not to be applied as
you apply them, neither doth the apostle apply them so. And methinks
you know they are not, if you consider the connexion from the 28th
verse of the chapter to the end. And that passage of scripture quoted
from 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22, 23, is only to be applied to real christians;
and this, sir, I presume you know; but it would not suit your and your
scheme of Universal Salvation to apply them so."

Here I am accused, 1st of _designedly mistaking_ you! And, 2d of a
_wilful misapplication_ of the _sacred word_! To these high charges,
sir, I beg the privilege of pleading _not guilty_; and, after making
my defence, of submitting my cause to impartial judges.

With regard to the _designed mistake_, my defence is that no mistake
was made by me either _designed_ or _not designed_.--I have examined
and find that I quoted you verbatim. I also find that I fully agreed
with you in the sentence quoted as to what was necessarily signified
by it. I applied the sentence according to my own mind; but did not
pretend nor say that you applied it as I did. Where then is the
_designed mistake_? Could an action lie against a man for murder if no
_body_ were found, on which murder had been committed?--Could an
indictment for theft be supported against a man if no property were
missing from the owner? Is it proper to bring an allegation thus,
without pointing out some sort of _mistake_? I will not be so
uncharitable, sir, as to suppose that you _designed_ to bring _a false
accusation_ in this instance. No, sir, you are not capable of such
wickedness; I have ever believed you to be an _honest, sincere
christian_; and that opinion is so congenial to my feelings that I
shall never give it up while I can find a reasonable excuse for
retaining it.

My opinion is, that you, finding that I had made such ready use of
your sentence apparently to my own advantage, thought I designed to
mistake you, and feeling a little disagreeably on the occasion, did
not _look minutely_ to see if you had rightly apprehended me, or not.

With regard to the _wilful misapplication of the sacred word_ my
defence is to be made from the sacred text itself. In this defence,
sir, it is sufficient if I give you reasons which induce me to apply
the scripture as I do. It is not necessary that I convince you or any
body else that my application is right, for we are all liable to err.
What I shall aim at is to show that if my applications are _not
correct_ yet I am not guilty of _wilfully misapplying_ the _sacred
text_. 1st. Of the passage in the 8th of Rom. the following are my
reasons for a general application of that scripture to mankind.

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