Excerpt from Manual and Directory of the First Baptist Church, of Raleigh, N. C: October 1, 1900 IX. - god's purpose OF grace - We believe the Scriptures teach that election is the eternal purpose Of God, according to which he graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves Sinners; that being perfectly consistent with the free agency of man, it comprehends all the means in connection with the end; that it is a most glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, being infinitely free, wise, holy and unchangeable; that it utterly excludes boasting, and pro motes humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God and active imita tion Of his free mercy; that it encourages the use'of means in the highest degree; that it may be ascertained by its effects in all who truly believe the Gospel; that it is the foundation of Christian assur ance; and that to ascertain it with regard to ourselves demands and deserves the utmost diligence. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.