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Elder T. S.
Dalton |
The article below is from the book “A
Treatise On Salvation” By Elder T.S. Dalton. The book has
preserved many of the points of his debate with Elder T.R.
Burnett, Disciple or Church of Christ: which took place in
1886 and was published in 1897, by The Gospel Advocate
Publishing Company. The book here, “A Treatise On Salvation”
was published after Elder Dalton’s death (Elder Dalton went
to be with his Lord in 1931).
The thoughts set forth in this writing were published by
“The Baptist Bible Hour Publications” of Cincinnati, Ohio,
sometime in the 1950's or 60's (Estimated, as the
publication is not dated), and are rarely available in book
form today.
These articles were written in a time, when there were
sundry discussions and debates between the Primitive
Baptists and those who advocated for “Universal Atonement
and a Conditional Salvation.”
Editor
“Eternal Salvation is Unconditional Because:”
Sixth Premise
Our next premise is: “Salvation is Unconditional
because Jesus finished the work His Father gave Him
to do, which was to save sinners,” in proof of which
please read John 17:1-4: "These words spake
Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,
Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy
Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him
power over all flesh, that he should give eternal
life to as many as thou has given him. And this is
life eternal, that they might know thee the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I
have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished
the work which thou gavest me to do."
In the above quotation the Saviour first tells us
what the work was that His Father had assigned Him
to do, and then tells us that He has finished the
work. He first tells us that His Father had given
Him power over all flesh, and surely if He has power
over all flesh He will not allow any flesh to
prevent Him from doing what His Father has assigned
Him to do. We feel sure, and cannot think for a
moment that Jesus would be careless in carrying out
the will of His Father concerning His people, the
objects of His love. Therefore, we must conclude
that Jesus possessed power over all flesh to the
intent that nothing should prevent Him from doing
the work that His Father had assigned Him.
To say that Jesus did not do the work that His
Father gave Him to do, is to say that He did not
possess power to do it, or else He was careless and
did not exercise the power He possessed; is to deny
His own statement; when He said, His Father had
given Him power over all flesh; could He then be
careless, or refuse to exercise it, in obedience to
His Father? Such is a foolish and derogatory claim
against divine character, and charges God with
failing to be able to perform that which He had
decreed to be done. See Eph 1:11
The object for which Jesus was put in possession of
power over all flesh was that “He should give
eternal life to as many as the Father had given Him”
If the Lord failed to do what His Father gave Him
power to do, then He failed to do the work—And He
has made a false statement, for He said "I have
finished the work which I thou gavest me to do." If
Jesus has done this work for the poor sinner, then
why should we tell that sinner that God requires him
to perform certain conditions in order that, this
work might be done for him again, which has already
done by Christ, according to the will of the Father?
The angel that was sent from heaven to Joseph when
he was mindful to put Mary, his espoused wife away,
said to Joseph, "Fear not to take unto thee Mary,
thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of
the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall
save his people from their sins." (Matt 1:20,21) If
Jesus has done this work for poor sinners, and He
says He has finished the work which His Father gave
Him to do, then why tell poor sinners that they must
do certain things in order that they may be saved?
Now, if the Bible had said anywhere that Jesus came
to try to save, or that he came to offer salvation
to men, or that He came to make a way by which men
could be saved, we all would be as ready to teach a
conditional theory as any other man; but as long as
Jesus continues to tell us that He Himself has done
this work for sinners, just that long we shall fight
against this idea of a conditional eternal
salvation. Paul says, again, in Heb. 10:14; "For by
one offering he hath perfected forever them that are
sanctified." This Jesus did when He offered Himself
upon the cross without spot to God—perfected His
people forever. Then we would ask what conditions
must the sinner perform in order that he may be
perfected forever? If a sinner be perfected forever,
will he be lost if he does not perform conditions?
Can a man be perfected forever and lost at the same
time?
Paul said again, "This is a faithful saying, and
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."
We are not disposed to dispute with Paul, that it is
"worthy of all acceptation; that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners." But if Paul had
said: “If all accept,” we should have been compelled
to dispute with him for there are very few that
accept it. If Jesus came to save sinners (and Paul
says He did), and He has finished the work He came
to do (and He says He has), then why tell poor
sinners that they cannot be saved unless they
perform certain conditions? One of the strangest
things to us in the world is, that men professing
to believe in Christ Jesus and religion will boldly
and fearlessly deny what He has said in His word,
simply to sustain their creed; while Jesus says He
came to save sinners, and says He has finished the
work. The people go over the world telling the
people that Jesus is anxious to save them and will
do it, if the sinner will let Him—a plain, positive,
palpable contradiction of the Lord's word; and yet
they will say, "we believe in Jesus and His
teachings; we believe His word is true." When Jesus
hung upon the cross, and had suffered the tortures
of hell itself for the space of three hours, to pay
the debt due to the crimes of His people, and had
drunk of the bitter dregs of the cup, He bowed His
head and said, "It is finished." Surely we are to
understand from this that the work that His Father
had assigned Him was done; the sinner was saved; He
had perfected him forever, and nothing now remains
only for the poor sinner to be put in possession of
the fact that Jesus has done this work for him, The
only reason that every poor sinner represented upon
the cross by Jesus Christ is not rejoicing now in
hope of heaven and immortal glory is that they have
not been put in possession of the fact that Jesus
has died for them, and by the offering of Himself
has perfected them forever. This is the work of the
Holy Spirit, as Paul said, "Whereof the Holy Spirit
is a witness unto us." And here is where many of our
conditionalist friends make their grand mistake;
they think, and teach, that the Spirit's work is to
save sinners, but the Spirit never has saved a
sinner, nor never can, for that was not His mission
in the world; but He can and does witness to those
whom Christ has saved, and gives them the blessed
assurance that Christ has met all the demands of the
law for them, and has died upon the cross for them,
and has thereby perfected them forever. The poor
soul is enabled thereby to rejoice with joy
unspeakable and full of glory, and begins at once to
inquire as did Peter, "Why tempt ye God, to put a
yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which we nor
our fathers were able to bear."
It is strange to us that saints, people of God, will
sit down around their firesides with their children,
those they ought to love, and doubtless do love, and
relate to them their experience, in which they will
tell that they saw themselves lost and undone, and
tried to perform good works so as to gain the favor
of the Lord, and all of their efforts only carried
them farther away. They tried to pray but could not
pray; they tried the prayers of others but all to no
avail, and they at last gave up all, and
conscientiously believed that eternal destruction
was theirs, and they felt, and were made to confess,
the justice of God in their eternal condemnation,
because they could do nothing to appease His wrath.
Just at this terrible moment in their history there
was an unseen hand that relieved them, and their
souls ran out to Cod in everlasting praise, because
"He took them out of the mire and the clay, and
placed their feet on a rock, and put a new song in
their mouths, even praises to his name," and they
were made to cry out, as did old Nebuchadnezzar,
"How mighty are his wonders." Like one of old said,
"Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God
almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou king of
saints." At this moment they can see a sufficiency
in the finished redemption of Christ, and can see
how good and merciful He has been to them in giving
them an evidence of their salvation through the
merits and blood of Jesus Christ, when they were
unable to perform conditions and then they will tell
their children that "God has but one way to save
sinners, but if you do not perform conditions you
will be lost forever. I could not perform them but
you must, or else be lost to all eternity." "Oh!
consistency, thou art a jewel." Such teaching as we
have never portrayed, as is taught by parents to
their children in this fast age of wisdom (?), is
flooding the world with infidels and hypocrites and
causing children to lose confidence in parents and in
Christianity. Even now we can hear young men say, "I
once thought that Father and Mother were all right,
but now I see that their doctrine and their
experience are not in harmony. Their experience
teaches that salvation is unconditional, and their
doctrine teaches that salvation is based upon
conditions; hence, there is no consistency in it,
and therefore it is all a farce; and they are trying
to bind a yoke upon the neck of their children that
they themselves could not bear." Oh, that God may
open the eyes of Christian parents to these grand
truths, and enable them to "lean upon the Lord, as a
stronghold in the day of trouble," and as a covert
from the impending tempest.
Next: Seventh and Final Premise
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