The Cause of God and Truth

---

 The name of our site, “Cause of God and Truth,” is taken from the title of a book written by Dr. John Gill in defense of the doctrines of grace. In 1733/34, a Dr. Whitby published a popular attack on the historic Baptist faith. Gill’s book, The Cause of God and Truth was a response published in 4 parts between 1735 and 1738.

In the late 1800’s, when Charles Haddon Spurgeon faced the possibility of the loss of friends and finances over his stand in the “Downgrade Controversy,” he found encouragement from Dr. Gill's example. Spurgeon wrote: 

"My imminent predecessor, Dr. Gill, was told by a certain member of his congregation who ought to have known better, that if he published his book, The Cause of God and Truth, he would lose some of his best friends, and that his income would fall off. The doctor said, “I can afford to be poor, but I can't afford to injure my conscience;” and he left his mantle as well as his chair in our vestry" (C. H. Spurgeon, Autobiography, 2 vols. [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1973] 2:477.

Our philosophy is that truth, not popularity, must be our goal; thus, we, too, identify with Gill. Our aim, in the words of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, is “to revive the old doctrines of Gill, Owen, Calvin, Augustine, and Christ” (Ian Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon, [Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Banner of Truth Trust, 1992], 58). 

Who is John Gill? 

Dr. John Gill was an eighteenth-century Particular Baptist minister in England. He was pastor of the Carter lane Chapel in London for 51 years (later known as the Metropolitan Tabernacle under the ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon). Church history historian Henry C. Vedder wrote that Gill was “the ablest and most learned of the Baptist of his time period.” 

Dr. Gill was a prolific author, a theologian, and a defender of the faith. Raised up of God at a time when the logical errors, particularly Unitarianism, were rampant among Baptists, Dr. Gill stood as a bulwark of the biblical faith.

As we also see serious doctrinal defection in our day, Dr. Gills memory inspires us to the dedication and resolve that he demonstrated for the truth. However, word of caution must also be inserted here least any reach erroneous conclusions such as one critic who wrote, “A casual observer senses that the problem [in reference to our ministry] is in following Calvin and Gill more than Christ.”  We vehemently declare that our only desire is to follow Christ and Him alone; but to follow Him, we must know to the truth. 

Controversy, May it Live and Prosper!

Modern times are characterized by spirit of acceptance and accommodation. Each person can believe what he/she wants to as long as no one dares to claim that his/her beliefs are exclusive. We believe the Bible requires a different position. There is only one truth. God is “a God of truth” (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 31:5). To worship Him, one must “worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Jesus is God come in the flesh. He claimed that He was the truth and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). His word is truth (John 17:17). Therefore, we are set for the defense of the of the truth. As Spurgeon preached over 100 years ago:

"The great controversy which for many ages has divided the Christian Church has hinged upon that difficult question of “the will.” I need not see of that conflict that it is done much mischief . . . but I will rather say, that it has been fraught with incalculable usefulness. I believe there is a needs be for this . . . the pebbles in the stream the living stream of truth are worn smooth and rounded by friction. . . . When we cease each of us, to maintain our own views of the truth, and to maintain those views firmly and strenuously, then truth so fly out of the land and error alone shall reign. . . ." (“God’s Will, Man’s Will,” Spurgeon’s Sovereign Grace Sermons, pp. 2, 3).