As I have shared elsewhere, Benjamin Beddome is one of my favorite Particular Baptists from the 18th century. Beddome (1717-1795) served as pastor of Bourton-on-the-Water for over 50 years as well as wrote several hymns. Recently I purchased a volume containing outline notes he used for several sermons he preached during his ministry.
Since I also admire Martin Luther, I was quite interested in a portion of a Beddome sermon entitled “Sin Offensive Both to God and Men” in which he references Luther, albeit briefly. His text is 1 Thessalonians 2:15 which reads:
Who have killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us: and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:
Beddome divides his message into two major points: those who please not God and those who are contrary to all men. Under the latter point, he writes:
Now this character more especially belongs, 1. To the bigoted and superstitious. … 2. To the churlish, fretful, uncharitable; … 3. To the fraudulent and oppressive, the disturbers of the peace, and invaders of the rights of mankind. …
Beddome then concludes his message by addressing the fourth class of men addressed by this text.
4. The context leads me to apply this particularly to persecutors, who “killed the Lord Jesus,” says the apostle, “and their own prophets, and have persecuted us.” The seed of the serpent will still retain its enmity to the seed of the woman, and Cain, as Luther expresses it, will kill Abel to the end of the world. It is the glory of the gospel to turn the lion into a lamb; but where the light of the gospel is not come, nor the power of it felt, the average disposition of the lion still remains.
I am not certain where in Luther Beddome found this reference but I do find it intriguing. “Cain … will kill Abel to the end of the world.” What an awesome illustration concerning sin and the depravity of unregenerate man.
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