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Sept. 9-12
I. Vermilion affirmed: Church established during personal ministry of Jesus. He suffered a crushing defeat. He is supposed to be one of their strongest men - but will not meet Warlick again. Vermilion said "build" in Matt. 16:18 means to "edify" or "strengthen." He said Thayer said it meant Jesus would strengthen or continue to build up his church. Bro. Warlick showed that Thayer said it means to "establish" or "build."
II. Warlick affirmed: baptism for the remission of sins. He made the strongest defense I ever heard, proving conclusively to the satisfaction of all unbiased minds, that baptism is the initiatory step into Christ. One cannot believe into Christ anymore than a person can believe into a house or tent, unless the belief is accompanied by a physical act. His arguments, based on being saved in the name of Christ and being conformed to his death, burial and resurrection, or obeying "from th heart that form of doctrine (Rom. 6:17), were simply unanswerable. He also presented argument on the transgression in Eden, which Vermilion did not, could not, answer. People heard Satan, believed, desired, and obeyed, and were thus separated from God, and thus the steps were reversed. Vermilion tried to misrepresent Warlick here but was exposed.
III. As to "the spirit in person comes in contact with the sinner in conviction and conversion." Vermilion made his weakest effort. He showed in every way that he felt his weakness or inability to prove by the scriptures the false position that Baptist theology forced him to maintain. His strongest contention was that if the child of God required the Spirit to strengthen, guide, and comfort him, the sinner needed the Spirit much more to help him to become the child of God; and hence, the Spirit must come in personal contact with the heart of the sinner, as an enabling power, before he can believe. This was Vermilion's own conclusion arrived at from the above premise. Bro. Warlick showed that if it were true (which is the Calvinistic doctrine), unless God sends the Spirit no one can believe, and if the Spirit does come as an enabling act, man has nothing to do with his salvation or condemnation. Man is, hence, like the man who wanted to cross the river, and the boat was on the other side; he could not cross the river without the boat and could not get the boat without crossing the river for it. The scriptures say that the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit (I Cor. 2:14). Here bro. Warlick dared Vermilion to tell who the natural man is (yet he did not attempt to tell); and said that there was not a Baptist on earth who could tell by the Baptist system of theology; and showed that if the Baptist contention be right it proves either universal salvation or universal damnation, as the natural man cannot receive the Spirit, and unless he does he cannot become an unnatural man. His illustration of the river and boat was a case in point.
The brethren are more than satisfied with bro. Warlick's defense of the truth, and I am positive that only good can come from the discussion. The Baptists are very much wrought up, and are courting sympathy by saying that bro. Warlick said too hard things; but they should remember that bro. Warlick said those things on their teaching, not of them; that he exposed the teaching of the Baptists; and that he feels only love for them as individuals. He appealed to them to come out of Babylon. Brethren, let me say that bro. Joe E. Warlick is the right man to attend to any Baptist who wants to investigate Baptist theology.
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Joe S. Warlick vs H. F. Vermilion (Baptist)
October 16, 1902
Falcon, Arkansas
(By W. G. Tucker)
October 16, 1902
Falcon, Arkansas
(By W. G. Tucker)
Sept. 9-12
I. Vermilion affirmed: Church established during personal ministry of Jesus. He suffered a crushing defeat. He is supposed to be one of their strongest men - but will not meet Warlick again. Vermilion said "build" in Matt. 16:18 means to "edify" or "strengthen." He said Thayer said it meant Jesus would strengthen or continue to build up his church. Bro. Warlick showed that Thayer said it means to "establish" or "build."
II. Warlick affirmed: baptism for the remission of sins. He made the strongest defense I ever heard, proving conclusively to the satisfaction of all unbiased minds, that baptism is the initiatory step into Christ. One cannot believe into Christ anymore than a person can believe into a house or tent, unless the belief is accompanied by a physical act. His arguments, based on being saved in the name of Christ and being conformed to his death, burial and resurrection, or obeying "from th heart that form of doctrine (Rom. 6:17), were simply unanswerable. He also presented argument on the transgression in Eden, which Vermilion did not, could not, answer. People heard Satan, believed, desired, and obeyed, and were thus separated from God, and thus the steps were reversed. Vermilion tried to misrepresent Warlick here but was exposed.
III. As to "the spirit in person comes in contact with the sinner in conviction and conversion." Vermilion made his weakest effort. He showed in every way that he felt his weakness or inability to prove by the scriptures the false position that Baptist theology forced him to maintain. His strongest contention was that if the child of God required the Spirit to strengthen, guide, and comfort him, the sinner needed the Spirit much more to help him to become the child of God; and hence, the Spirit must come in personal contact with the heart of the sinner, as an enabling power, before he can believe. This was Vermilion's own conclusion arrived at from the above premise. Bro. Warlick showed that if it were true (which is the Calvinistic doctrine), unless God sends the Spirit no one can believe, and if the Spirit does come as an enabling act, man has nothing to do with his salvation or condemnation. Man is, hence, like the man who wanted to cross the river, and the boat was on the other side; he could not cross the river without the boat and could not get the boat without crossing the river for it. The scriptures say that the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit (I Cor. 2:14). Here bro. Warlick dared Vermilion to tell who the natural man is (yet he did not attempt to tell); and said that there was not a Baptist on earth who could tell by the Baptist system of theology; and showed that if the Baptist contention be right it proves either universal salvation or universal damnation, as the natural man cannot receive the Spirit, and unless he does he cannot become an unnatural man. His illustration of the river and boat was a case in point.
The brethren are more than satisfied with bro. Warlick's defense of the truth, and I am positive that only good can come from the discussion. The Baptists are very much wrought up, and are courting sympathy by saying that bro. Warlick said too hard things; but they should remember that bro. Warlick said those things on their teaching, not of them; that he exposed the teaching of the Baptists; and that he feels only love for them as individuals. He appealed to them to come out of Babylon. Brethren, let me say that bro. Joe E. Warlick is the right man to attend to any Baptist who wants to investigate Baptist theology.
VIEW NEXT REPORT >>
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