A LETTER TO THE LEATHERWOOD CHURCH

            The following is a copy of a letter written by Eld. James Dixon to the Leatherwood Church on Dec. 8, 1874.  Published in 1937 Indian Bottom Association Minutes.  Association held at Indian Bottom Church, Blackey, Ky.  Transcribed by J.B. Francis

            “Dearly beloved brethren and sisters in the Lord, and in the tribulations of patience of the kingdom of our God, and his Christ.  Having a great desire for your future prosperity as a people professing to know Jesus, not naturally, but spiritually in the power of his resurrection by a living and divine faith, which justifies the helpless, guilty sinner in the sight of God.  In order that you might not know what my long absence from you has not abated my affection for you and the people of the surrounding neighborhood, both professors and non professors, I have availed myself of the present moments to write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. (1 John 2:12-13-14)

            This holy, inspired apostle of Christ, being endowed with wisdom from above to discover future events, it was pleasing to God, who works all things after the council of his own free will, to defend the glorious kingdom which He had purchased by His own blood and His everlasting, untiring, unchangeable love and watchful care will be the same in all coming time, and under all circumstances.  He had aught and guided the pen of this poor old disciple to forewarn His little children of ravages of anti-Christ that had gone out from them, because they were not of them (1 John 2:19), and is of the devil their father, and his works they will do, and if they take after their old daddy they will tell lies and preach them to I am afraid.    The same writer admonishes His children to love one another, for he that hates his brother is not of God, for God is love, and that he is of him will love his brother also.  He says, “Love not the world” (1 John 2:15) and emphatically declares that when the world holds predominant sway over the mind, the love of the Father was not there, but when the sweet, pardoning love of God is poured into the soul of a truly converted, repentant, believing creature, that is stripped out of self, the healing virtues of Christ’s blood heals the wounded soul, clothing it with His own righteousness, it will then love Jesus instead of the world.  It is then a living soul, being born again, and lives because of righteousness, and has not bought its new from dead human works of law, but Christ freely gives it without money or price, requiring nothing but your reasonable service, the fruits of your lips and yielding your bodies as instruments of righteousness and complying with the commands by a confession of faith in Christ, buried with Christ in Baptism, rising with Him in newness of life, no more under the law, but under grace, make free from the law of sin and death, and translated into the kingdom of Christ.  Not to use liberty as an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another, as new born babes desire the sincere milk of the world that ye may grow thereby to the stature of the fullness of Christ–the everlasting head of the church, his glorious, ready bride, the lamb’s wife and in the day of the final restitution of all things earthly, when Christ will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in a flaming fire, taking vengeance on all of them that know not God.

            It is then that hypocrites will see that their pretended formalities do not afford them any protection for naked souls, for not having any wedding garment, they will be speechless at the presence of the blessed Saviour, who will command them to be cast out into the outer darkness. O, My Soul!  What an awful sentence.  Cast out in that gloomy lake, burning with fire and brimstone, there to under go the tortures of the second death.  Crying in that dark and hideous place of outer darkness, of deep and dark damnation, there to mourn their dreadful station and say, “How have I hated instructions and my heart despised reproof and have not obeyed the voice of my teacher, nor inclined my ears to them that instructed me.,, (Prov. 5:12-13) May the great God grant that this my not be the unhappy lot of any of the respectable people in the vicinity of Leatherwood meeting house or elsewhere, if they will only submit to the good, old way.

            But let us return and try, by the help of God, to say a few words about the free woman, the elect lady and her children (II John1:1).  She is elected and saved by grace, precious and beloved of her husband, the mighty God of the whole earth.  No wonder that John, the revelator, cries out and says, “Let us rejoice and be glad for the marriage of the lamb is come and his wife hath made herself ready and to her it was granted that she should be clothed in fine linen clean and white.” (Rev. 12:1).  Her head is an invisible one to the natural eye but is viewed by his wife with an instrument of glass. (1 Cor. 13:13).  Or by the eye of faith, her clothing is the imputed righteousness of her blessed head or husband and is without spot or blemish, and hers is not a spotted nominal profession, having only form of godliness, but denying the power of divine revelation, but like the harmless, lonesome dove, safely housed in the clefts of the rock. (Solomon’s Songs 2:14).  There she is kept by the power of God ready to be revealed. (1 Peter 1:5).  She is like a fair, celestial dove and precious in the eye of her husband who speaks to her in words of love, consolation and comfort, saying, “Thou are all fair my love, there is no spot in thee.”  This is not the speckled bird spoken of by the prophet.  This speckled bird was not the heritage of God only by nation and circumcision, natural Israel after the flesh, for they are not all Israel, that is of Israel that are the children of the Saviour.  These self-willed people were spotted with blood of the poor old ancient prophets even from Abel to Zacharias.  And he that is born after the flesh persecuted him that is born of the spirit or promise and so it is yet they will speak great swelling words against you and strive to pervert the right ways of the Lord, but they will be snared and taken and perish in their own deceivings.

            But who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun?  Yes, brethren, she is coming up from the wilderness leaning upon her beloved.  Yes, ye children of the Great I Am, that is embodied together on Leatherwood, I feel for you, I feel for your children, in your lonesome situation, yet you are not alone if you are leaning upon your beloved, you are leaning upon the strength of eternal wisdom that knows no bounds, as you are coming up out of the wilderness of sin and sorrow and when you are done suffering here the Lord Jesus will take you to Himself, for where I am ye may be also, in a glorious mansion house where your eyes shall see the King in his majesty and beauty, where he sits enthroned al clad in bright, shining glory with a name above every name in heaven or earth.  There you will join with prophets and apostles in a sweet and loud song of harmonious praise to him that liveth forever and ever, while he that once suffered the painful tortures of death, but lives again and says to his little ones in soft words of love, “As I live, ye shall live also.”  He will there present his father, not a speckled bird, but a harmless dove, without spot or wrinkle.  It is there, sisters and brethren, that the radiant beams of light and glory will burst forth from his pleasing, smiling countenance upon you whilst heaven will ring again with the sweetest music of saints and angels crying “Glory, Honor, Power, and Might and Dominion be ascribe to his that sitteth upon the throne forever, and ever, Amen

                                                                                    JAMES DIXON

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