Jon Gary Williams
Articles / Resources

0333

D. H. Friend vs Thomas Joyner (Presbyterian)
August 23, 1923
Hart County, Kentucky
(By Harvey W. Riggs)

For three days Bro. Friend affirmed baptism for remission of sins. His groundwork was a presentation of the causes of man's salvation: (1) Prime cause, the love and grace of God; (2) Meritorious cause, the blood of Christ shed on Calvary; (3) Instrumental cause, faith in Jesus.

The importance of this faith and its exercise was kept continually before the audience by the affirmative baptism being urged as a command of our Lord. It was essential because he gave no nonessential commands and it was efficacious because he made it so. Bro. Friend showed the difference in the Testaments, presenting the New Testament as our law; he showed when the will of Christ went into effect, and its essential feathers; and he showed that acts of mercy done by Christ during his personal ministry can have nothing to do directly with the terms of our salvation under the New Testament.

Behind these fundamental arguments he brought the usual direct definite scripture references like these: (list scriptures usually used). Bro. Friend's repeated appeals simply to trust in Jesus, "hear him," and render unquestioning obedience to his commands were forceful and impressive.

Joyner's replies were varied and ingenious. He insisted that saving faith will obey; but he contradicted himself saying, "I say that the penitent believer has remission of sins before he obeys." Then he joined the critics who reject verse 16 in Mark 16. He substituted Holy Spirit baptism for water baptism that applied to alien sinners. On Acts 2, Joyner found two baptisms for the same people the same day. He had said "Holy Spirit baptism" at verse 38 and "water baptism" at verse 41 after arguing these people had been baptized by John.

Bro. Friend showed that "by one Spirit are we all baptized" (I Corinthians 12:13) means baptized by the authority of the one Spirit; and that "born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5) is the process of being begotten of the Spirit through the word (I Peter 1:22-23) and beginning a new life in Christ through baptism (Galatians 3:27 and Romans 6:4-5)

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