On this day in 1750 Philip Hughes was born. He was born again and baptized when he was 23 by the Regular Baptist preacher, David Thompson. Then, over time he became a close friend to the Separate Baptist, Elijah Baker.
Baker was one of the forty-four who were incarcerated in Virginia for preaching Christ. He became such a problem for his jailor it was determined that he be delivered into the hands of a certain ship captain with orders to drop him off anywhere but in Virginia. He was transferred from vessel to vessel before finally being released in Delaware. It was there he met our subject Philip Hughes, and the two formed a missionary team like Barnabas and Saul. The Lord blessed their combined ministry with converts, baptisms and the eventual establishment of twenty-one Baptist churches in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Each man had their special God-given gifts. Baker for example was usually the preacher. But Hughes would debate with the Methodists, and several of that denomination were converted. He was also the better writer. He wrote and published hymns and authored a book on baptism.
Sadly, toward the end of his life, Philip Hughes became a true hyper-calvinist, rejecting missions, personal evangelism and Bible classes for children. Also, becoming an Antinomian, he rejected the law and this led to intemperance and open sin.
Why do I bring this up? To point out that not one of the subjects of these vignettes was above sin, and to remind us all that despite the good we may do in Christ’s service, we can still ruin our testimony through dissipation and sin later in our lives.