Jacob Darden was born in Southampton, Virginia on this day in 1770. Until he was almost forty years old he was a deist, and as such he lived in outward sin. But then God’s grace was poured into him. He was convicted of those sins, until, in the privacy of his home he implored God for forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ, whom he had persecuted. The Holy Spirit performed the miracle of regeneration and conversion, and instantly people around him recognized that he was a changed man. He was baptized and received into the membership of the South Quay Baptist Church. Soon he began sharing his testimony of salvation and was preaching the gospel as best he could. But Jacob Darden suffered from weak lungs and would often cough up blood after excitedly preaching Christ. Nevertheless, he pushed forward in his ministry. Even though he traveled infrequently, in the fall of 1827, he accepted an invitation to another community and while there God blessed with revival and souls saved. Then in the midst of the meeting, Brother Darden’s old malady resurfaced, and he became bed ridden. From his death bed he asked the local pastor to visit him. He then pled with the man to make sure that the recent converts were discipled and well-grounded in the truth. Darden had learned from his own youth that Deism, Unitarianism and other false doctrines can destroy young believers if they are not faithfully and carefully taught the whole counsel of God.
– Source: “This Day in Baptist History, III” – Cummins