Blackheath, January, 1875.
My Beloved Brother,
Your letter was so full of gentle and loving remonstrances, and our friendship has been so intimate, that it is due to you that I should explain somewhat more in detail the grounds of the change I have made in my position. And since there are many others who are asking how it is that I, who some years ago wrote a pamphlet against “the Brethren,” have so changed my “views” as to become identified with them, you will not, I am sure, object to my addressing them through you. It is, indeed, due no less to the “Brethren” than to my friends to give some account of the way by which I have been led.
First of all, however, permit me to recall our past association. Some six years have now elapsed since our friendship was formed—a friendship that has continued without even a passing shadow, and which grew ever deeper and more intimate with the lapse of time—no small evidence, I think, that the blessing of the Lord was resting upon it. Its very commencement was a prediction of its nature and character; for it sprang out of fellowship in what we, at that time, held to be the truth, and until the other day our position, both as regards truth and denominationalism, was almost identical. What then, let me ask, was that position? Nominally we were Baptist ministers, but in spirit, and also in practice, we were outside of the Baptist denomination altogether, so much so that we not only disliked, but we very often refused, the appellation of Baptist ministers. And wherefore? Because we had been emancipated from the trammels of theology, and had been led to prize the Scriptures as the veritable word of God; and hence, having been taught something of the truth as to the dispensations, the distinctive position of the Church of God, and teaching, as we did, the true doctrine of the believer’s standing before God through death and resurrection with Christ, the heavenly nature of our calling; the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the return of the Lord for His saints before the millennium, and the Messiah’s glorious millennial reign, and so forth, we found ourselves entirely out of harmony with our fellow-ministers (so much so that we were afraid to ask them to preach in our pulpits, lest they should contradict our own teaching), and in conscientious dissent from all denominationalism whatsoever; for, with the truths we held, we could not heartily support “our societies”; we were constrained to stand entirely aloof from the political proceedings of so many of the denominational gatherings, and we had no sympathy with the plans for denominational extension which were so often discussed. The consequence was that you and myself, when present, were alone in these meetings, and we were very strongly suspected (as many would phrase it) of a tendency toward “Brethrenism.” Our position was well known, and our isolation was nearly complete.
The effect of this was that we gave ourselves more heartily to the work of the Lord, striving to fence off our people as much as possible—though the task was very difficult—from denominational influences, to train them to study the Scriptures for themselves, and to build them up in the truth of God. The Lord graciously blessed our labors, encouraging us by many tokens of His favor. Indeed, up to the end of 1872 we both had abundant cause for gratitude; for scarcely a month ever passed without our having to rejoice over souls brought to Christ under the preaching of the gospel. How often did we at that time pour out our hearts together before the Lord, in gratitude for His great condescension in using us for His glory! And you will bear me witness that in all our prayers our one desire was to become “vessels sanctified and meet for the Master’s use.” And while we were speaking our prayers were heard; for I cannot but see in the experiences of the last two years the answer to our cries. Our hope was to continue with our people, and to have increasing blessing resting upon us and our labors in their midst. But we had prayed for greater consecration, and we were shutting our eyes to the fact that there were things connected with our position which were not according to the mind of God (and there were some things, in my teaching at least, which were not according to the Scriptures). Hence, if our prayers were to be answered, it could only be by separating us from all, whether in position or in teaching, which was evil before the Lord; and so it came to pass that He answered us according to His own thoughts of love, and not according to our desires.
Believe me, dear brother,
Yours affectionately in Christ,
E. D.