Jon Gary Williams
Articles / Resources
0175
R. L. Calley (New London, Texas) vs Joe Meese (Primitive Baptist)
December 30, 1937
Troup, Texas
(By E. Lacy Porter)
November 29 - December 2, 1937 in Church of Christ building in Troup, Texas.
Elder Meese affirmed: Unconditional Salvation. Calley affirmed: Conditional Salvation (two nights on each subject)
Elder Meese stated: "The dead don't act; individuals have to live first before they can act. Work of regeneration is in the Spirit and not in the body. The 'flesh profiteth nothing' (John 6:63). Therefore there is no profit in the flesh of regeneration." Bro. Calley showed that the prodigal son was dead in sin, and he acted, "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee." (Luke 15:18). To ceratin Jews, Paul said: "Ye .... judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we urn to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:46). These had power of judging themselves unworthy of everlasting life.
Elder Meese next compared our salvation to the bodily resurrection: "verily, verily I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will." (John 5:21). The body has no part in the bodily resurrection; in like manner, the body has no part, or nothing to do, in salvation." Bro. Calley showed that according to his own scriptures, the dead must hear his voice. Therefore, the voice of the Son and hearing stand between death and life. In reply to this Elder Meese said: "Hearing is the evidence of life, and not a condition." He had much to say about Romans 3:11: "There is none that seeketh after God." In reply Bro. Calley asked: "Will one be saved without seeking? The Lord says, 'Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find." Elder Meese made the usual argument on Romans 8:8 "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." Bro. Calley asked; "Are we in the flesh when we are born again? Christ says: "Ye must be born again? Does that please God?"
Bro. Calley in his first affirmative showed by a chart and several passages of scriptures that preaching, hearing, faith, repentance, and baptism were conditions essential to salvation. Elder Meese tried to answer very few of these proof tests. He said: "If Calley's position is true, what about the people who never had an opportunity of hearing Calley and his people preach? What principle of justice is this? Meese asked: "If these conditions are true, what about the American Indians, who never had a chance of hearing the gospel?" Bro. Calley fixed him proper. He showed from Titus 2:11, "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." So that would include the Indians.
In his first speech, Bro. Calley asked: "Did the Pentecostians, Philippian jailer, and Saul of Tarsus aske vain questions when they asked, 'What must I do to be saved?' and did they received vain answers?" Elder Meese did not see fit to answer this question. Bro. Calley offered to let him answer it on his (Calley's) time but he refused.
One thousand attended each night. The truth did not suffer in the hands of Bro. Calley, and he showed himself master of the situation at all times.
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