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Life and Labors of a Poor Sinner
AUTHOR: | Dalton, Tolbert S. |
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CHAPTER XV
In the early part of my ministry, I traveled nearly all the time. However, for the first few years I devoted much of my time at home among the churches, and my old home church built up very rapidly for two or three years. I baptized at several of our regular monthly meetings as high as eighteen members, and at one time there were twenty-two, all baptized at once, and among them were some young preachers. But most of my time I spent on the wing, always went where my impressions led me, and rarely ever chose my own fields of labor. At one time I became very much impressed to go to some place and for the life of me I could not tell where; so I became very much wrought up over it, and said to my dear old mother one night, "Mother, I have got to make a trip somewhere, and I can't determine where it is." She said, "Just rest easy; the Lord will show you in due time where it is." So I waited for the Lord to open up the way.
In a day or so I went to the post office to get my mail, and in the mail were two letters from friends away in another state urging me to come over and preach for them, saying they never got to hear any preaching that suited them. I went to the house and showed the letters to mother. She said, "There is the place, go on, the Lord has opened the way." I sat down and answered them stating that I would come at a certain time, the Lord willing, and started to the office to mail it. As I walked along the sidewalk the devil got hold of me, and told me I had no business over there, that I had better stay at home with my old mother; so I took him at his word and did not mail the letter, but said nothing about the matter to any one. A day or two after that, mother got up one morning and seemed to be in great distress. I said to her, "Mother, what is the matter, are you not feeling well?" She looked at me for perhaps a minute before she spoke, then said, "Did you mail that letter to those brethren the other day?" I said, "No, mother, I did not. I thought it best for me to stay at home with you." She said, "I am troubled to death about that. You must go and mail that letter, and then get ready to make that trip." I went immediately and mailed the letter, then got ready and made the trip; was gone three weeks, tried to preach every day, and nearly every night, baptized forty-two people, and came home rejoicing in the dear Lord. But for such blessings along the journey I perhaps would have given over the struggle long ago, but God has always been good to me. My mother was good to me while she lived, and my precious wife has been good to me, and given me all the encouragement she could ever since we have been married; and but for such good ones to encourage a poor preacher, I don't see how I could have held on until now.
The first time I ever heard the two-seed doctrine preached in full, was under very peculiar circumstances. I started on a preaching tour once, and before I reached my first appointment I had quite a long trip to make. Mother persuaded me to start some days before hand, so as to have some rest before my appointments were to begin. I started, and after going about 100 miles from home I had to change cars, and had several hours to wait; so I was trying to pass the time as best I could. While walking about the depot, a brother came along who knew me, and I remembered him. He asked me where I was going. I told him, and he said, "Our association begins tomorrow, about five miles from here. Go out with me and be there." I counted the time and saw that I could do that and yet reach my appointments ahead; and he begged so hard, I finally went out with him.
When they elected their preachers to preach on Sunday, it fell to my lot, with two others. When we met Sunday morning, I found they had arranged for me to go first, and they would follow; but somehow I did not feel right about that kind of an arrangement. I felt just like there was something behind the curtain; so I refused, and told them I was willing to go second; but they could arrange for one of them to lead off, and the other to come after me. They saw I was determined; so they got together and juggled for awhile, and one of them led off; and God being my judge, I never heard such stuff, before nor since. He told us that the children of God, and the children of the devil are no more kin than the corn and cockleburs all growing in the field together, and that if it had not been for the sin of Adam all families would have been like doves, just two children, and both God's children; but because of the transgression God had multiplied the conceptions, and all over two children in any family were of the devil, and he was sure to get them, and two were of God, and would be saved in Heaven. He also stated that the children of God were as old as God, and were men and women in heaven before they came to earth, and were in actual eternal vital union with God from all eternity.
This was new doctrine to me; so I began to make up my mind that as I was a stranger there, the better thing for me would be to back out and refuse to preach lest I cause trouble. But somehow before he was done I waxed as bold as a lion, and determined to tell that people the truth if the heavens fell. When he was through, I arose and quoted my text, which was, "Who maketh thee to differ from another, or what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" etc.; and if God ever helped me to preach in defense of the truth on earth, He helped me that day. I wondered if that was the faith of that people. When I got onto the idea of eternal children, I turned to this preacher and asked him how long he had been out of heaven? He said seventeen years. I said to him, "Now, sir, if you will give us the geography of that country, I will believe your statement," and he could not do it.
I told him I had been away from my native country twenty-one years and could give the geography of that; and if he had only been out of heaven seventeen years and could not give the geography, I should certainly have to question his word, or else would have to charge him with very short memory. "Besides this, you contradict the Bible, for it says, 'The first man was of the earth earthy, and the second man was the Lord from heaven.' But you have men and women in heaven before the first man. I would be glad to hear you explain this paradox." But he would not; so I went on. I told him I was opposed to his mathematics. "You have multiplication bringing together parts of different denominations; for instance you multiply sheep, and get hogs, peaches and get apples, etc. You multiply the children of God, of the same family, and get the children of the devil, which is contrary to every mathematical rule on earth.
I then told him I was opposed to his idea of union, for I was entirely unable to see how there could be actual vital (that is, living) union between parties, and one of the parties dead; and certainly he would not deny that the sinner was dead in trespasses and sins, and there could not exist such a thing as living union between a living Jesus and a dead sinner. In order that there be living union between them Jesus must raise the sinner from that dead state to a state of life with Him. Until then there could be only covenant union between them; that is, a union in purpose, and not actual . I then tried to show the divine sovereignty of God in choosing his people out of the race of Adam; and even those thus chosen, "Were by nature the children of wrath even as others." Hence they must be more closely related than corn and cockleburs. I brought up the case of Cain and Abel and showed that they were brothers, children of the same parents, also Jacob and Esau; and surely these being brothers, were more nearly related than the corn and cockleburs, and yet they were mentioned as being one of God, and the other of the wicked one.
I closed my effort with a warm exhortation to those brethren to beware of such doctrine as that; and if ever I felt the presence of the Lord with me, and in my heart while trying to preach it was surely that day. And when I closed I think every Baptist there except these two preachers who were to preach with me, came to me with eyes streaming with tears, and some of the preachers threw their arms around my neck, saying, "God sent you here to save us from this ruinous doctrine of Eternal Two-Seeds." The other man refused to preach, and thus closed the meeting. I went on to my other appointments, got there in good time, filled them all; then returned home, and found all well, and felt to rejoice in the dear Saviour. I have often thought that if God ever did put me in the ministry, He directed my course on this occasion; for I visited this association after that and found them sound, orderly Baptists, and was told by the brethren in the ministry that they had never been troubled after my visit there. These men refused to visit them, which to them had proved a source of good.
I trust no one will think that I tell this in a spirit of boasting, for I have never felt the least exalted over it, or anything else of this kind; but have ever felt to praise God for so using me to His glory, and to the good and upbuilding of His dear children; and I feel to say truly, "I have nothing wherein I can boast save in the cross of my dear Redeemer." May God bless my readers with a right understanding of my meaning, and a right appreciation of my poor efforts to glorify His dear name.
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