Baptist History, Heritage & Distinctives PART THREE of THREE J. R. Graves / Alexander Campbell Dispute By Samuel H. Ford, 1900

Thomas E Kresal Admin ·  June 22, 2020

Baptist History, Heritage & Distinctives PART THREE of THREE J. R. Graves / Alexander Campbell Dispute By Samuel H. Ford, 1900

The next proposition objected to was this: “In the case of a penitent believer, the pardon of past sins is conditioned upon immersion in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Fanning was asked to affirm that. He refused. He claimed that “baptism” and not “immersion” should be the term used. He was asked if there could be a baptism without immersion. But it seemed that he wished to have the indefinite word (in English) baptism, so as to included all who, though sprinkled or poured upon instead of being immersed, were really baptized.Further, Mr. Fall objected to the words, “conditioned upon.” It was too sweeping. It shut out all hope of pardon for those who did not comply with this invariable condition. An “assurance of remission,” or something like that, was desired to be substituted for condition of pardon.Graves became tired of this seemingly endless logomachy and insisted on the propositions as first stated, and there the whole affair ended. It seemed patent to the writer that Fall and Fanning and the others who were consulted did not desire a debate with Graves, though they threw the blame of its failure upon him.One thing was evident above all else in respect to this preliminary discussion (having conducted the correspondence afterwards published by Mr. Fall), no man with whom I have ever been associated was clearer or more emphatic in his conviction and utterance that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, and in no conceivable way dependent upon or connected with personal work, submitting to baptism, or membership in the church than was J. R. Graves.”I want the discussion,” said Graves, “to go down to the bedrock of the Gospel plan of salvation, or else I have no time to waste upon it. I want the issue of eternal importance to be clearly made. Is salvation ‘by works of righteousness which we have done,’ or is it by sovereign, unmerited grace? If it is by or through baptism; through or by the church or kingdom by any act of the creature done by him or for him then it is by works, and grace is no more grace. This is the damning heresy of Rome and to a great extent of Protestantism.Campbellism is this same heresy, which Paul denounced and Rome formulated, presented in a new and popular dress. I shall not give my time to the discussion of terms such as ‘for’ and ‘unto,’ but discuss, the vital essential principle. ‘Is justification, through faith, or is it by works?’ This decided, and the meaning of Peter’s words at Pentecost and other expressions in the New Testament, are thoroughly in harmony with the great Gospel fact announced by our Lord Jesus: ‘He that believeth in Him shall not come unto condemnation, but has passed out of death unto life.'”And so ended the proposed discussion between these two representative men.In this whole correspondence Elder P. S. Fall proved himself a courteous, honorable gentleman and won my abiding respect. SHF.[Note: Philip Fall had been a Baptist pastor in Frankfort, KY before he aligned with A. Campbell. (J.D.)]Thomas E. Kresal – From Ford’s Christian Repository and Home Circle, August, 1900, pp. 487-493.