The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation: The Duty of Sinners to Believe in Jesus Christ

by Andrew Fuller, Garrett M. Walden (editor), Thomas J. Nettles (Introduction)

By the latter half of the eighteenth century, hyper-Calvinism had frozen parts of the Baptist denomination in England. Do the unregenerate have a duty to believe in Christ unto salvation? Do Christians have an obligation to offer the gospel to sinners? Fuller believed so, and in this significant book, he demonstrates his positive answers to these questions through careful biblical and theological reflection. Historically, the book was effective as a catalyst for missions and evangelism among evangelicals of all stripes. Hanover Press is pleased to offer contemporary readers an attractive new edition of this classic treatise, with a new introduction, informative footnotes, and a Scripture index.

175 pages, Paperback

Published January 3, 2024

About the author

Andrew Fuller (6 February 1754 – 7 May 1815) was an English Particular Baptist minister and theologian. Known as a promoter of missionary work, he also took part in theological controversy. Fuller is best known in connection with the foundation of the Baptist Missionary Society, to which he for the most part devoted his energies.

Reviews

[C.J. Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very helpful update/revision of Fuller’s “Gospel Worthy.” It’s such an important text in the history of Particular Baptist theology, so I’m glad it’s been redone for new generations of researchers to have access to.

Nettles’ summary at the beginning was quite helpful, as it can be hard for someone new to 18th-century works to trace the author’s argumentation (especially since we don’t have the benefit of fully knowing the context in which it was written). Fuller was letting his contemporaries and forefathers “have it,” so this really helped set that stage.

To that end, Walden’s footnotes and revisions are helpful as well. He provides short tidbits of history (in footnotes) to let you know what Fuller is implicitly or explicitly addressing, as well as short bios of the major figures he quotes or alludes to. Having all the uncited Scripture references as footnotes, as well as two indexes, only adds to this book’s usefulness for researchers/scholars.

It also looks good—both the cover and the typesetting. I hope to see more of these revisions come out.

[Timothy Crockett · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a recent sermon on the value of dead mentors, I decided to hunker down and dig into Andrew Fuller. He was a Particular Baptist and studied Edwards and Owen. Spurgeon had nothing but high regard for him.
The main thrust of the book is faithfulness in preaching the Gospel to all. He encourages preachers to preach plainly the inspired word. Without apology, he makes the case that the unregenerate have a duty to believe in, love, and follow the Lord Jesus Christ and trust him for their salvation.

Fuller had this to say -" I therefore believe free and solemn addresses, invitations, calls, and warnings to them to be not only consistent but directly adapted, as means, in the hand of the Spirit of God, to bring them to Christ."

The book is broken down into two sections, with the first section covering the importance of preaching the Gospel to all sinners and compelling them to repent and follow Jesus Christ. He stresses over and over again that every man has a "duty to believe in Jesus Christ. The second section, which I found particularly helpful, was on some of the objections raised against Calvinism (he was not a Hyper Calvinist), which included comments on the decrees of God, Particular Redemption, the inability of sinners to believe in Christ and do anything spiritually good.

All in all, there are 96 pages, and his writing style and ability to communicate biblical truth made the book easy to palate.

[Jake Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great defense of the free offer of gospel from a Reformed Baptist. Fuller argues against the prevalent hyper-calvinists of his day and rightly shows that it is the duty of all sinners to believe the gospel of Christ, as well as the duty of all Christians to freely proclaim the gospel to all.

[Joshua Bremerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

At points reading this book, you feel like this could be an article rather than 40% of the book (especially the core arguments on sinners needing to respond to the gospel call), but others inform truly important points in Christianity like the nature of saving faith, compatibilism between sovereignty and man's responsibility, particular redemption, and regeneration.

I can definitely see why this book sparked revival in hyper-calvinist Baptist circles toward the end of world missions, and I also think this speaks powerfully to controversies like Lordship salvation and the new perspective on paul (with thoughts on regeneration).

The book is more dense than I expected compared to other Baptists in this period, but it was worth the work in many ways.

[Danieltituscom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fuller's arguments to preach the gospel and call on sinners to repent and believe are thorough, biblical, and convincing. This is a wonderful treatment that deserves more attention today. It is not merely the hyper-calvinist who stumbles over the duties of the sinner.

Walden's update of this work was needed, and he has done a masterful job. The divisions make the work easier to follow, and the scriptural/biographical citations are quite handy as well.