the works of john gill vol2 SAMPLE

General Preface
John Gill (1697–1771), known affectionately as “Dr. Voluminous,” 1
was a scholar-pastor who served as a faithful minister to the same
church for fifty-one years in Southwark (London). Additionally, God
used Mr. Gill to stand as a tower of truth to fellow Baptists throughout
the country and was also greatly appreciated by “many other churches
of different denominations.” 2
By many accounts he can rightly be considered the greatest
theologian within the Particular (Calvinistic) Baptist tradition. He left
an indelible impression upon the eighteenth-century non-conformist
religious movement, and according to fellow minister and admirer
John Collet Ryland, he is to be credited for the Particular Baptist’s
“unswerving allegiance to the doctrine of Scripture” 3 during a time
when many churches throughout England were crippled by the
rationalistic proponents of the Enlightenment movement. 4 In fact, it
was during this time that “only among the Baptists do we find
traditional Reformed orthodox exegesis of any significant note, in the
work of the brilliant but somewhat anachronistic figure of John Gill.” 5
In this way, Gill stood as “a bastion against the destructive forces
unleashed during the eighteenth century” 6 and thus, will forever be
1 A term believed to be coined by Gill’s friend John Collet Ryland referencing Gills
insatiable appetite for reading, learning, and most noticeably, writing.
2 John Rippon, A Brief Memoir of the Life and Writings of the Late Rev. John Gill, D.D.
Reprint ed., edited by D. W. Barger (London: Knightstown, IN: Particular Baptist
Heritage Books, 2022), 34.
3 John Collet Ryland, The Beauty of Social Religion (Northhamptonshire Baptist
Association, 1771), 7.
4 A movement which questioned many truths fundamental to the Christian faith. It
resulted in the growth of Deism and other more radical forms of unbelief such as
Skepticism and Atheism.
5
Carl R. Trueman, “The End of Reformed Orthodoxy,” in The Oxford Handbook
of Early Modern Theolgy, 1600-1800, edited by Ulrich L. Lehner, Richard A.
Muller, A. G. Roeber (New York City: Oxford University Press, 2016), 192.
6 Michael Haykin, “John Gill Comes to London (1719).” Unpublished seminary
lecture given at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary, Owensboro, KY.
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