MR. YATES’ FIRST SPEECH.
GENTLEMEN, MODERATORS, AND RESPECTED AUDITORS:

Through the good providence of God I appear before you this morning, to open the joint discussion which has been arranged to begin at this hour, upon the proposition just read in your hearing. For this privilege I am indeed profoundly grateful. It also affords me great pleasure to be greeted by so many earnest and pleasant faces. I hope that Elder Potter and myself will be so guided by the Spirit of God, that we will be so earnest and cautious in this discussion, and that it will be conducted in such a manly spirit, that all the predictions that have been made in regard to evil results may be proven to be false, and the cause of Christ in this locality receive a great impetus. Some good people on both sides of the question under consideration, I have no doubt, have looked forward to this discussion with great misgivings, fearing that it may engender ill feelings among the Christian people of this community. There is nothing in the language of the proposition before us to justify such misgivings. If we discuss this subject in accordance with its strict meaning, and in the spirit, which its importance demands, the very opposite results will be produced.
There is no theme, to my mind, in the whole range of the divine economy that is better calculated deeply to impress and powerfully to draw out all the nobler feelings and principles of a man’s spiritual nature, both heavenward and earthward, and thereby cause the hearts of Christians to become more perfectly blended and their hands more firmly plighted in gospel work, than this. This is not a discussion of the minor points of Christianity, upon which Christians differ, such as Church organization, Church polity, and Church ordinances, or the discussion of theological dogmas which have for centuries torn the seamless robe of Christ asunder, and divided the Christian world into many factions, and filled it with fearful dissensions. No; the subject-matter in this discussion is the primary principle of the Christian religion; the great heart and essence of the gospel; the great principle that should guide, and the purpose that should actuate the people of God in carrying out the great work committed to them by the Divine Master in proclaiming and propagating the gospel throughout the inhabited globe, and especially in those parts of the earth where mankind are sunk in ignorance, corruption, misery, and crime. This is to Church organization, Church polity, and the ordinances of the Church what the kernel is to the outer covering of the grain. Remove the kernel, and the grain is but an empty shell, without life or value. So remove the principle under discussion from the doctrines and the outward organic expression of the Christian religion, and you have nothing left in these forms. They are without life and without force. Hence the principle of Christian missions. to which your attention will be called during the present discussion, gives these doctrines that I have named all their potency and value.
How ephemeral and insignificant they appear when viewed in contrast with the great question of the world’s evangelization by the Christian Church. In this question is involved the temporal and eternal destiny of millions of the human race now living, and no doubt countless numbers of unborn generations. There are questions to which you and I have given much more thought in science and education, in political economy and theology. But, my friends, the very things that we put so much stress upon will pass away with the wreck and ruin of temporal things. Yea, Church polity and Church ordinances and Church symbols will pass away with the things of time; but this grand theme, the conquest of the world for Jesus, will loom up in isolated grandeur and glory when time shall cease to be, and the cycles of eternity shall be rolling on. Ah, I have no doubt this theme will grow with increasing interest in the days to come.
When Foreign Missions are viewed in their true light, the work will be seen to be a work of preeminent importance, and thrilling interest. The gravity of this question, so fraught with human destiny, both in this and the world to come, requires of us, in entering upon this discussion, a devout and earnest state of heart and mind if we would reap the profit which it is our privilege to reap. This will enable us to investigate this subject for the sake of truth alone, and not for victory. This will enable us to examine this subject with that preparation of mind and soul that will cause the speakers to present it in its proper spirit, and the auditors to listen to it in a way that will be profitable to them. It will enable them to see the arguments when presented in their true light. The results of this discussion, and its benefits, will depend much upon the spirit in which we shall present the theme. I am not one that believes that joint discussion necessarily result in evil; but while I do not so believe, I must confess that a great many of these controversies have resulted in evil. But those who are acquainted with the history of the past will also have to concede that many truths that are dear to us in science, in education, in political economy, and religious doctrine, have been brought to light, unveiled, and firmly established through controversy.
He who has truth on his side need not fear the results of investigation. Hence, Jesus Christ himself, and his apostles, advanced the gospel cause through controversy. As I have already said, the evil effects flowing out of these joint discussions are the results of the spirit that is manifested by the disputants. So we see the state of heart and mind that we must possess in this discussion, and the spirit in which each party must present his arguments, if we would have this debate prove profitable.
Now, my dear friends, I will not ask you for your undivided attention; I know I will have that; but I ask of you an impartial hearing. Especially I ask it of you who differ from me. It is a very difficult thing for persons who have been taught, and have for years embraced, views which are the opposite of those embraced and advanced by an opponent to listen to him in an unprejudiced manner, and to receive his arguments in their true light; therefore I ask of you today to give me an impartial hearing; and I ask my brethren and sisters to give the very same to my worthy opponent. I want to say that I am not waging war upon our Regular Baptist brethren. It is not my desire to hurt the feelings of any one; but while this is true, I do not as a man, feel like sacrificing my manhood or my convictions to win any man’s friendship. If men are willing to accord me their friendship and allow me my convictions, they have my hand and heart in truth and honesty.
Today I come before you as the advocate of a cause which I believe to be the grandest in heaven or on earth. Before taking up my affirmative line of argument I shall briefly explain the causes that led to this discussion. It grew out of a challenge published by me in the Gibson County Leader of October 14, 1885. The circumstances that gave rise to this challenge were these: Eider Thomas, a minister of the Regular Baptist Church, at the close of their Association, which had convened with the Owensville Regular Baptist Church the Friday before, said, in a sermon preached in the General Baptist Church, of this place, on the 14th of September, at 10:30 o’clock, that Christian people need not trouble themselves about Foreign Missions; that when the Lord got ready, in his own good time, he would attend to them—inferring that nothing as yet had been done in Foreign Mission work by the Lord. When this fact was brought to my attention, I thought he certainly must have been misunderstood, if he possessed the natural ability and the information for which he is reputed. I had on several occasions conversed with different ministers of the Regular Baptist Church in regard to their attitude toward Foreign Missions, and every one of them claimed that there was no difference between them and me as to the work, but there was some difference as to the methods employed. As to the work, they said they believed in it as strongly as I did. So between the statements of Elder Thomas and his ministerial brethren I was confused as to the real position occupied by the Regular Baptist Church of today in regard to Foreign Missions. In order to test the matter, and thereby have, my own views righted in regard to their real position, I published the challenge, and in connection with it an explanation of my purpose in so doing. This challenge was not made against the Regular Baptist Church as a denomination, for I was not positive as to its position. The challenge was not made in the special interest of any sect, or specially against any sect, but in behalf, as I have said, of the great cause. I intentionally put the proposition in its present format that it would present the Foreign Mission work alone, and not directly the means and measures employed. I knew if the challenge was accepted by a representative minister, who was indorsed by his Church, this would reveal the position of the minister and those who should indorse him, as opposed to the Foreign Mission work. If any minister took issue with me upon the proposition, and could not secure the official endorsement of his Church, it would show it was only his own view as an individual, and not that of his denomination. I must confess that when I put the challenge in the paper I could not induce myself to believe it would be accepted; for I have never known any minister of the gospel, among the hundreds with whom I have associated, who dared, in the light of the wonderful triumphs of the foreign missionary work, to come out and boldly oppose this great cause as unscriptural and unfavored of God. For any minister, as a representative man, to put himself and his brethren in that attitude, at this advanced stage of the Foreign Mission work, was to my mind a thing unreasonable—too unreasonable to be expected. I thought there might be the slightest possibility bf such a thing, but scarcely a probability. If my challenge had remained unnoticed, I should have decided that Elder Thomas was misunderstood, and that the Regular Baptist Church was not opposed to the Foreign Mission work. But, to my surprise, my worthy opponent, Elder Potter, indorsed by his brethren, accepted the challenge, taking the negative of the proposition, thus placing his Church squarely in opposition to the Foreign Mission work, as carried on by the different denominations of the Protestant world in heathen lands, denying that this work is authorized in the Scriptures, and owned and blessed of God. This challenge was not against any individual or any Church until it was accepted. Hence, it was not against my brother and his Church until he made it such by accepting the challenge. It was not for any minister particularly as an individual, or Church as a denomination. It was for any minister or Church, of whatever name or order, that opposed the Foreign Mission work as unscriptural and not blessed by the Divine favor.
Now, my friends, this is enough in regard to this matter. If, in bringing the gospel authority and the Divine approval of the Foreign Mission work into public controversy, I appear to this Christian public to concede that it is an undecided question, I owe this Christian community a public apology. No, this question has been settled years ago. There are nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every thousand of the Protestant world that espouse the cause of Foreign Missions. There is no great doctrine of the gospel that the Christian world so universally agreed upon as this.
Neither am I ready to admit that those opposed to Foreign Mission work have good reasons for withholding their endorsement of it and their cooperation in its advancement. So plainly is God’s approbation and blessing seen in the marvelous results of the work that he who runs may read; and such are the opportunities for obtaining information concerning the progress and development of the Foreign Mission work, that there is no excuse for not being well informed on this subject. From pulpit and platform, in the secular papers, in the writings of the learned, and in the last few years from the vast and varied productions of the Foreign Mission literature itself, every one may learn the wonderful facts in regard to this great work.
I believe, my friends, to obtain a correct knowledge of this work is to become interested in it and to be an advocate of it. Of course my worthy opponent is an exception. The fact that the gospel authorizes Foreign Mission work, and that the Divine favor rests upon it, is well established. The question we are to discuss is already settled: but the discussion of it affords me a golden opportunity to present the claims of this great cause, and the arguments in its favor, to men and women to whom I would not have had the privilege of presenting them under any other circumstances. The celebrity of my brother, and the confidence his brethren have in his ability to defend the anti-mission position, have drawn you here today, and you will have an opportunity to weigh both sides of the arguments that will he presented.
The proposition that has been read in your hearing is:
Resolved. That the gospel work carried on by the different denominations of the Protestant world in heathen lands or foreign countries, known as the Foreign Mission work, is authorized in the Scriptures and blessed and owned of God.
In order that you may understand the arguments I have to put forth to sustain the affirmative of the proposition, and that my brother’s arguments to disprove it may be understood, the real issue between Brother Potter and myself needs to be clearly stated. That we may plainly see what I affirm in this proposition, and what my brother denies, we have but to ask the following question: “What is it that is carried on by the different denominations of the Protestant world in heathen lands or foreign countries, and which they believe to be authorized in the Scriptures and blessed and owned of God?“ It is the Foreign Mission work. You can see, then, it is the work itself, absolutely, which is the subject of controversy—the work itself.
I will read here a proposition that Brother Potter proposed to me. This is his language in a letter to Father Hume, dated October 19, 1885:
“CYNTHIANA, IND., Oct. 19, 1885.
“DEAR BROTHER HUME:—I received your letter, and I had seen Yates’ challenge before. I will meet him and debate the question of Foreign Missions, and if it suits all round, I would suggest that the debate begin on Tuesday after the third Sunday in November. I do not know how long it ought to last, but I suppose one, two, or three days will be long enough. Ask him. I want you to see if he would admit a change in the wording of the proposition. You will find enclosed the one I would like for him to affirm. You can see him and find out. If he will not allow the change, I will meet him anyway, but I would rather have the change.” 
The enclosure is as follows:
“Will Brother Yates affirm the following proposition:
“Resolved, That the work known as the Foreign Mission Work, as it is, and all the means and measures used in its support for evangelizing the world, are authorized by the Holy Scriptures.”
I refused to make this change. My brother had accepted the challenge, and I was going to stand to the challenge that I had made. Now, suppose my brother in his criticisms could show that the measures and means employed in the Foreign Mission work are defective; he still has not touched the proposition. He has not touched it, from the fact that the measures and means employed in any work may be defective, and the work itself be good. Two generals who are equally interested in a campaign may differ as to the measures and means employed in carrying on that campaign, and both be equally enlisted in the cause for which the campaign is carried on. The criticisms of my brother on the measures and means cannot touch my position, unless he can show that the methods and instrumentalities employed by all the Protestant denominations engaged in this work antagonize the principles of the gospel, and that the results of their work are not the fruits of the gospel. Here is the issue that we meet on this today. It is the Foreign Mission work itself. If he could succeed in showing that all the mission stations that girdle the globe, as they are represented here on the map, are failures, and that every denomination and every society that sends out these missionary workers are mistaken in their methods, yet if he could not show that the principles the missionaries themselves advocate are contrary to the principles of the gospel, he would still lose his case; and if but one mission station out of the many thousands complied with the principles of the gospel, and brought forth gospel fruit, Elder Potter would have to yield the proposition; for then there would be Foreign Mission work authorized in the Scriptures and blessed and owned of God.
I will proceed now, since you see what I have to affirm, and what my brother has to deny, to give you my definite line of argument in support of the proposition under discussion. My whole line of argument will rest upon this basal position—this granite and immovable foundation: THAT THERE IS, IN EVERY ESSENTIAL FEATURE, A PERFECT IDENTITY BETWEEN THE FOREIGN MISSION WORK, AS CARRIED ON IN THE FOREIGN FIELD TODAY BY THE PROTESTANT WORLD, AND THE GOSPEL WORK RECORDED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
I. This identity is seen first in the grand object to be accomplished, and the end to be subserved. This will appear if we carefully examine the great Magna Charta of the Church of Christ, in which its mission is enjoined by its Master himself, and its nature and object clearly defined. In Matthew xxviii. 19 the commission is given in this language: “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” In Mark xvi. 15 it is given: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
In the commission as given by Matthew, the Saviour by express and imperative command enjoins upon the Church, through its representatives, the apostles, to “go and teach the gospel to all nations;” as given by Mark, to “go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” The Saviour by Matthew simply declares Christianity to be a universal religion, adapted to all nations, and equally addressed to all nations. Mark is definite and explanatory. He says it is equally suited to every child of Adam; hence, “go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” We are not, then, to wait for a direct call from heaven to go and teach the gospel to the heathen, and proclaim the glad tidings of salvation; for the Master enjoined this upon his Church more than eighteen centuries ago. This is truly the object of the Foreign Mission work, as carried on by the Protestant world today. It is to take the gospel to all benighted portions of the earth, and to teach and preach it to every creature. The advocates of the Foreign Mission work believe in the doctrine of the great commission that Christ has given; that this religion is needed everywhere, and adapted to every member of the human family. Hence, under the leadership and aid of the loving Master, they are laboring to spread it abroad. Thus, the work that has been enjoined upon us is especially to preach and teach the gospel to every creature. This command lies at the very foundation of mission effort. It says that the heathen world is perishing; that they must have the gospel or be lost. If we say the heathen are saved without the gospel, we make the command of the Saviour meaningless. Mr. Potter, or the most intellectual man on earth, may say that the heathen would be saved without the gospel, but he is not so competent a witness in the matter as the Lord Jesus, who knows all things in heaven and in earth. There is nothing clearer in this commission than the guilt of the heathen world, their need of the gospel, and our duty to carry it to them. This is not one of the hidden things that belong to God, but it is revealed to us. This enterprise is not a needless task, but one of imperative necessity—one to which God has set his seal, and shown favor with conspicuous distinction. Nothing is more plainly taught in the New Testament than that the heathen need the gospel for salvation, and that it is our duty to carry it to them. This is the need to which the missionary work is subservient. Did not the Redeemer emphasize this when he opened the heavens after his ascension, and called Saul of Tarsus as a missionary to carry the gospel to the Gentile world? Listen to Him as he speaks to Saul on that great occasion (Acts xxvi. 15—18): “And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes”—they were blind, were they not?—”to open their eyes “—notice that; not some trivial matter—” to open their eyes, and to turn them “—from what?—”from darkness to light, and from “—what? I want my brother to notice that—“the power of Satan unto God”—the Gentile world was under the power of Satan, and the heathen world is under the power of Satan today— “that they may receive”— what?—“forgiveness of sins”—don’t they need it, need the gospel, that they may receive the forgiveness of sins?—“an inheritance among them”—be saved—“an inheritance among them which are sanctified by “—what?—“faith”—what faith?—“that is in me.” So you see this gives it a new emphasis; and that is just exactly what we believe; that is my position today; I stand on that basis.
II. The second feature of identity will be seen in the principles and the great motive-power that actuates the Foreign Mission work. I will name a few of these principles: Faith in the promises of God; faith in Jesus as the only Saviour of man, and in the gospel, the chosen means of God to bring men to Christ; obedience in performing the Christian work in the field of the Master—“the world is the field;” belief in the doctrine of the brotherhood of mankind and the Fatherhood of God; that all nations are of one blood, and that all men who are saved must be saved by one faith, one Bible, one Saviour, and one gospel. Another phase of this feature of identity with the gospel work of the New Testament is the self-sacrificing spirit and motive-power of the Foreign Mission work. 2 Cor. viii. 9: “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” “Now if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Rom. viii. 9). This self-sacrificing, compassionate spirit of Christ the Foreign Mission work possesses in a very eminent degree. Matthew ix. 36: “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them.” That is, his feelings were stirred to their profoundest depths in sympathy with the need of the multitudes; and that is the spirit of the Foreign Mission work. This is the great power that moves these men and women who labor in the foreign fields. This causes them to leave their homes and go among the jungles of India, in the midst of its malignant diseases, or to face the other dangers found in other heathen lands, and meet that life of self-denial and sacrifice that the missionary who goes forth to labor for Christ has to meet and suffer. It is because their hearts are moved with compassion for these poor, degraded, deluded, and suffering people. As this compassionate love is the very heart of Christianity, so it is the very essence of the Foreign Mission’ work of today. Therefore, the missionary idea is the basal idea of the gospel. When Jesus said to his disciples, “Go preach the gospel to every creature,” the command meant to send the good tidings into all parts of the world, to bear this gospel of light to benighted and suffering humanity everywhere.
III. The third feature of identity between the Foreign Mission work of today and the gospel work of the New Testament is seen in the fact that The great spiritual agency that now begets, energizes, and guides the Foreign Mission work is identical with the agency that begat, energized, and guided the gospel work in the days of the apostles. In proof of this we will read from John xvi. 7—13: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” Acts i. 4—8; also 13, 14: “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, arid in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” “And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”
Now we will read Acts ii. 1—4: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
So we here learn that when the Primitive Church commenced its work, though its members had the truth, they tarried at Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. The Holy Spirit, this Vice Regent of Jesus, was to beget, energize, and guide the work.
Now we will turn to Acts xiii. i, 2: “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”
So it is in the Foreign Mission work of today. Its laborers are begotten, energized, and guided by the Holy Spirit that gave spiritual life, power, and success to the primitive disciples. It was the revival of the Church-life by the Holy Spirit, through prayer, that gave birth to the wonderful epoch of the Foreign Mission work of the present day, and which is carrying its great victories in every land of the world.
We are told by Isaac Taylor that in the first half of the eighteenth century England herself was in virtual heathenism; that it was filled with a lascivious literature, a worldly Church, and an atheistical theology. Black-stone, during this particular period, heard every clergyman of note in London, and he said there was not a discourse that had enough of Christ in it to tell whether the preacher was a disciple of Christ, Confucius, or Mohammed, or that had any more Christ in it than a lecture upon science or literature. In America, Samuel Baine declared that “Religion lay dying.” Voltaire and Rousseau led society in France. In Germany, the court of Frederick the Great was the Olympus of infidels. Morality and spirituality in Europe were trampled under foot. I am glad that such a worldly, corrupt religion as that possessed by the Church the first half of the eighteenth century has no propagating powers.
In order for the Church of Christ to be revived, it needed a deep and wide spiritual work. This was brought about by that wonderful constellation of evangelists, viz.: by such men of God as Whitefield, the Wesleys, Grimshaw, Romaine, Rowland, Beveridge, Penn, Walker, Hervey, Toplady. and Fletcher. Bishop Pyle speaks of them as the twelve apostles of the new Reformation. These men rose in the name of the Lord and the strength of his might, and preached the gospel of individual Salvation and experimental religion. 
This great series of Church revival work extended through the years between 1735 and 1785. It awoke not only the Church in England, but the whole Protestant world from its awful apostasy, irreligion and infidelity. At first the Church resisted all efforts to revive its dying life. The ministers of Scotland shut their churches against Whitefield and the Wesleys, and set apart days of prayer and fasting in opposition to their work; but this was Divinely overruled in preparing the way for open-air preaching, which in the hands of God has been greatly blessed in reaching the masses. Through the godly and earnest labors of the illustrious constellation of evangelists before named, all Protestant Christendom was thrilled with a revived evangelical faith. An evangelical zeal is always sure to follow. Out of these Pentecostal outpourings came the flaming tongues of witnessing. The Church, from its silver trumpets, pealed forth its summons to prayer for the affusion of the Holy Spirit upon the Christian Church and upon all the benighted lands of the globe. Praying bands in all parts of Britain answered the trumpet-call. From America’s shores came the echo of Jonathan Edwards’ bugle-call of the Christian world to concerted prayer for the same purpose. The tidal wave of revival rose higher and moved with greater momentum under the Haldanes, Andrew Fuller, Sutcliffe, Rowland Hill, and others, which resulted in the Warwick Association, in 1792, formally setting apart the first Monday of each month as “a monthly Concert of prayer for the world’s evangelization,” and also in the formation of the first Foreign Missionary Society” in England in the same year. 1792. The next year, 1793, this society sent to India its first missionary, William Carey, that wonderful man of God—that colossus of the centuries — whose name has more influence in England today than that of any other man.
Look at those red and blue spots on the map today. They represent how much has been done through the foreign work. So we see the Foreign Mission work of today is identical with the gospel work, as it was begotten, endued with power, and guided by the same Holy Spirit. Why, this enthusiasm, and this witnessing for Jesus in the enthusiastic prosecution of the Foreign Mission work is just as natural and as necessary a consequence of this baptism of the Holy Spirit as was the witnessing of the apostles on the day of Pentecost. To show that the Holy Spirit was the great Agent that gave life, force, and guidance to the gospel work in the day of the apostles, I will quote from i Cor. ii. 3—5: “ And I was with you in weakness and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” So the Holy Spirit, in the same sense, is the great spiritual Agent of the Foreign Mission work of today, as we have shown from its history.
IV. I will now go to the next feature of identity. We have seen that the Holy Spirit has given life to the Foreign Mission work, and has energized and guided it, just as he did the primitive Church in the gospel work. The fourth feature of identity is seen in the selecting and sending forth laborers into the field.
Let us now read from Acts xiii. i—3: “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord “—notice, there were prophets in the Church there—” and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Said for the work whereunto I have called them “—they fasted and prayed, of course. “And when they had fasted and prayed “—that is what they did in those days—” and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.”
Now we will turn to Acts xiv. 26, 27: “And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God “—that is, Paul and Barnabas—”for the work which they fulfilled. And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.” The Church sent them out, and they came back and rehearsed the story of their work to the Church. I think that is plain. Paul, you know, was told by the Lord that he was to be a chosen vessel to the gentiles, and he had labored considerably among the brethren before he was sent out on this missionary journey. During his first visit to Jerusalem, after his conversion, he was drawn into a controversy with the enemies of Christ; but perhaps his opponents were not as smooth with him as we will be with each other, and the brethren felt it was better for him to go over home, to Tarsus. Some time after this event a great revival took place at Antioch, and up to this time the disciples had been preaching the gospel to the Jews only. Some Cyreneans came to Antioch and preached the Lord Jesus unto the Grecians, and they accepted the message of salvation, and a great number turned unto the Lord. When tidings of these things came unto the ears of the Church which was in Jerusalem they sent forth Barnabas to Antioch to see if the work was blessed and owned of God. Barnabas saw that it was scriptural, and he went over and brought Paul from Tarsus to Antioch, and they preached a year there; and the brethren learned thereby what workers they were, and thought the work ought to be extended into the other provinces; and the prophets came down and assembled the Church together, and the holy Spirit said, “ separate mc Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” The Church prayed over it, and that was the decision finally reached; and they put their hands on them and sent them away. That is the way the laborers are selected and sent forth in the Foreign Mission work today.
A great many people have a misconception of this matter, and I want to make a few plain statements, and if I am not right the Moderators will correct me. Those of us who believe in the Foreign Mission work know that whenever one comes before the Board as a candidate to become a missionary in the foreign field, he is examined upon his Christian experience by earnest Christian men and women. These applicants give their testimony and make known the convictions by which they are led, and we compare that with the Word. Then they are examined as to their knowledge of the field, for fear their call to the foreign field may be merely imaginary, from wrought-up feelings, without thorough intelligence or deep conviction concerning the matter. They are required to study the field to which they think of going. They see the dangers and self-denials they have to meet, and the obstacles they have to overcome, and what sacrifices the work will demand. It takes the Spirit of the Master to make these sacrifices, yet even young women have done this; leaving their homes, and their parents who have always counseled and cared for them, leaving all their friends, and the precious opportunities of a Christian land, with all its privileges and blessings, to go to the benighted and degraded countries of heathendom. O it takes the grace of God, my brethren! It is brought about by much prayer.
MR. POTTER: Can you give an instance of this?
Yes, I will name a man to you, and he is only a sample of the real workers. It is Alexander Duff. He graduated in Aberdeen University, Scotland, in 1824. Thomas Chalmers, that wonderful minister of God, gathered together the young men who had embraced the religion of Jesus Christ, and who were studying under him in that college. These young men he induced to organize themselves into a Missionary Prayer-meeting. The chief object of this prayer-meeting was to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit as to their work in the future. Three missionaries came out of that movement. One of these was Alexander Duff: one of the grandest men that ever trod the soil of India, and whose discipline and work are only one example of what is seen in every consecrated and faithful man or woman who has ever gone to the Foreign Mission field.
V. My friends, I call your attention to the fifth feature of identity between the Protestant Foreign Mission work and the gospel work of the New Testament in the fruits of the work. I will only have time in this speech, merely to touch upon this feature. I invite your attention to 2 Cor.v. 17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all thing are become new. I will now turn to Gal v 19—21 : “ NOW the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these. Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulationtions, heresies, envying, wrath, strife, seditions, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell von before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Now, my friends, that is an exact picture of heathenism throughout the world, in all the islands of the sea and the continents of earth. as represented here on this map—in the islands of the Indian Archipelago, in part of the islands of Oceania, here on the continents of Africa, Asia, Europe, and America. That is the exact description of it.
Now let us read to you the fruits of the Spirit: Gal. v. 22, 23: “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Now in the conclusion of my address, I want to bring before you a statement that will show some of the gospel fruits of the Foreign Mission work in heathen lands. In the Missionary Herald, Nov. 13, 1885, page 437, is a statistical table showing the number of communicants of the different evangelical Churches that are planted in heathen lands. These have been won for Jesus from an imbruted state. They were slaves of the very lowest passions—many of them feeding upon human beings, many guilty of infanticide. Before their conversion they engaged in exterminating wars, and were often guilty of crimes almost incredible. Yet, as a result of eighty years labor in the Foreign Mission work, there are today 752,152 communicants of the different evangelical Churches in the various countries of the heathen world.
The light gleams out in those islands (pointing to the map) of Oceania. They extend from south to north about five thousand miles and the majority of them are captured for Jesus. In them the church and the schoolhouse are going up side by side. In those very islands, where these men destroyed each other before the gospel was sent to them, and where no civilized man dared to put his foot, the children are singing the sweet songs of Zion, church-spires gleam in the sunlight, and every blessing of civilization flourishes. So here are 752,152 communicants, whose character has been transformed by the gospel of God. How do they live faithful lives? How do they bring forth this fruit, if God has not blessed and owned the Foreign Mission work in regenerating their degraded natures by the Holy Spirit, through the teaching and preaching of the foreign missionaries? All the men and women who manage this work belong to the home Churches here. It is the same thing exactly the ministers who work in these islands are subject to the denominations to which they belong, just as they would if they were in the home field, and they examine the converts from heathenism who apply as candidates for Church-membership much more particularly than candidates who apply for membership here in the Church at home. I have a vast amount of evidence to present, showing that the fruits of the Foreign Mission work are identically the fruits the gospel.
Now, my brother has to meet this; He has to account for this. Let me explain this map, that you may understand it. The red marks represent all the mission stations of the different Foreign Missionary Societies of Europe. The blue lines represent-the stations of the missionaries sent out by the different Foreign Missionary Societies of America. O what a host we have! One hundred and seventy societies, hundreds of thousands of workers, and 752,152 members of the gospel Churches in heathen lands! The Church members are not the only ones that are blessed by Christianity in these heathen countries. Besides those who are professed Christians, there are over two million who are nominally Christian today, who have given up idolatry, assented to Christianity, but have not personally appropriated and realized its saving power. In 1795 there were not fifty thousand in heathen lands that sustained Church relations. In 1878 there were sixty thousand taken into The Church—ten thousand more than the whole number who had been brought to Jesus in the heathen world eighty years ago. Hence, my friends, I take every one of those converts, with all the blessings that have grown out of the Foreign Mission work, as a monumental demonstration of the truthfulness of the proposition that I affirm: that the gospel work carried on in the heathen lands, or foreign countries, by the different denominations of the Protestant world is authorized by the Scriptures and blessed and owned of God.
Now, my friends, this being true, I want to read a selection that I have here from Japan, a paper from the native Japanese pastors to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, which was presented at the annual meeting of the Board in Boston last October—its seventy-fifth anniversary. It is found in The Missionary Herald, page 465:
“The Christians of the Associated Japanese Churches to the American Brethren and Sisters constituting the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions send Greeting:
“May God the Father of all people, and Jesus Christ the Saviour of all nations multiply unto you grace and peace. We have been informed of the diamond anniversary of your venerable Board which you are going to celebrate this year at this its seventy-fifth anniversary. We heartily share in your hopes and joys for this great meeting, and gladly take up this opportunity to offer you most respectfully a few words of gratitude for your Christian love and precious gifts which you have so bountifully bestowed upon us. Thus do millions today send back their thanksgiving over the seas to those earnest, consecrated men and women who have sent to them the blessed gospel of the Son of God. If we look upon our past history twenty years ago, we had been sunk in the corruption of the world, passing our days in sins and transgressions, without hope and without God, and in utter ignorance of the salvation of Christ. But now, through the precious knowledge of Christ our Saviour, and of the blessed communion of the Holy Spirit, we are reconciled to, and made sons of our great Father in heaven, no more to be wanderers in this world, but with the saints made partakers of the same glorious inheritance in the kingdom of God. No doubt we are all in all indebted to the sovereign grace of our Almighty Father in these blessings; still at the same time we heartily acknowledge our indebtedness to the pains-taking efforts and patience of the missionaries of your venerable Board. We look out on the wide surface of the earth; many are the countries as yet enshrouded in the darkness of sin and ignorance. Don’t you see how their hearts run out for the salvation of those countries which have not the gospel, after they have received this rich boon and blessing? And the people to whom the gospel is unknown are not limited to this land of Japan. Nevertheless you have early selected our beloved country as a field of missionary labor; and the missionaries you sent over have admirably manifested their self-sacrificing spirit and ardent zeal in their constant efforts for the salvation of our country. Notwithstanding the inconveniences arising from the difference of climate and language and manners in a strange country, and in spite of the most insolent oppositions from the obstinate people. O the depths of gratitude we feel toward you! It is more than we can express in words.”


MR. POTTER’S FIRST SPEECH.
BRETHREN, MODERATORS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:

In all probability there is not a person here who feels more pleasantly, under all the circumstances, than I do. That may seem surprising to quite a number, after listening to the eloquent speech we have heard this morning. So far as pubic discussion and investigation are concerned, as an individual, I feel favorable to them when they are carried oh in the right spirit; and I am under the same impression as my brother, that troth has nothing to lose in investigation. I hope you will not forget what he has said. He has given us an able speech in defense of his proposition, as he claims, and it is my duty to reply to it. I wish to state that about two months ago, in looking over a paper called the Gibson County Leader. I read the following:
“Is the Foreign Mission work of God or of man? Even today, in the light of the wonderful triumphs of the gospel work in the foreign field, among the many thousands of gospel ministers there are a few here and there that oppose this work as unscriptural, and hence of man, and not of God. Therefore, in view of these facts, for the sake of gospel truth and gospel work, and the honor of the blessed Saviour, I make the following challenge: That I will meet in joint discussion any ordained minister of the gospel, indorsed by the denomination to which he belongs, as a representative man, and of good character in Owensville, Indiana, upon the following proposition: “Resolved, That the gospel work carried on by the different denominations of the Protestant world in heathen lands or foreign countries, known as the Foreign Mission work, is authorized in the Holy Scriptures and is blessed and owned of God.” 
H. CLAY YATES.
“Owensville, Ind., Oct. 9, 1885”
When I saw this challenge, so far as I was individually concerned, I did not intend to pay any particular attention to it, from the fact that I never accept challenges from any man for debate. I might be debating every day if I would. But if my brethren think that a debate is necessary to do justice to our people in the community where the challenge is made, and ask me to work, then I, undertake to do the best I can.
I want the people to remember today what the issue is. We want to understand that fairly. According to the caption of the article, the issue is not whether there have been any good results in the way of education- or civilization by the Foreign Mission work, but the issue is, agreeable to the published challenge, Is the Foreign Mission work of God or of man? That is Brother Yates’ own explanation of it. I want the people to understand the issue. We are not here to say there has not been any good done by them, but we are here to discuss the authority for them? My opponent is here to state they are of God, and makes his challenge on the ground that some men say they are of man and not of God. That is his own statement in his challenge. That cannot be misunderstood. Is it authorized in the Scriptures? Is it? I want all this people to think. This discussion rests upon that part of the proposition. Brother Yates has read to us quite a number of texts of Scripture today. Did you hear Foreign Mission work in any text he read, or any thing that sounded like it? If the Scriptures do authorize a thing, they must speak about it in some way or another. They must give it in the exact language, or in something equivalent to it. And I want all these examined carefully during this discussion, for in the course of six days he will have plenty of time to mention one text that mentions or implies Foreign Mission work in the Bible.
I am here to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that it is not authorized in the Bible. The Scriptures authorize no such thing. I want you to notice his arguments. I want my brethren to do so. I want you to weigh every argument he introduces, and let us discuss this subject, in the spirit of Christianity, for we profess to be Christians. I am glad we are talking about Christian moderation. I never allow a man to excel me in being friendly. Brother Yates is hardly large enough to be more friendly than I, unless he has more sense than I have. Let us have no wry faces or frowns here during this discussion, but investigate this proposition for the truths there are in it, and in a Christian spirit.
One reason I am glad I am here on this occasion is this: The position occupied by myself and my brethren is misunderstood by the people generally. We are accused wrongfully. I do not know of one Regular Baptist minister in the world who thinks it is wrong to go into all the world, “and preach the gospel to every creature.” That is not the issue before us. That is not the point to be discussed here. That is not it. If there were ten thousand such texts as that, that is not the issue between us. I do not know of a Regular Baptist minister anywhere, or a brother anywhere, who thinks it is wrong. Go everywhere, and preach the gospel to everybody where you go. We are not here to deny that. I want this audience to understand that part of it at the beginning. The issue is with the work known as the Foreign Mission work. Do you know what that work is? Brother Yates ought to define it. He speaks of “the work known as the Foreign Mission work.” He ought to tell us what that is. It is his place to do it. The rules require it. I hope he will make us understand just what he means by it.
I want to say that so far as education, civilization, politeness, and refinement are concerned, I know of no people who oppose them in all civilization. They seem to have been intuitive among the people from the first origin of nations. We read from history the following:
“Egypt, however, continued to pour forth her colonies into distant nations.” That was away back fifteen hundred years before Christ. The kingdom of Egypt, that is known today as a child of darkness, was the most enlightened kingdom there was at that time in the world, the first organized kingdom there was in the world, whose king was Nimrod, and history says they placed such importance on education and civilization that they sent their colonies to other lands to educate the people.
Let us read: “Egypt, however, continued to pour forth her colonies into distant nations. Athens, that seat of learning and politeness, that school for all who aspired to wisdom, owed its foundation to Cecrops, who, 1556 B.C., landed in Greece with an Egyptian colony, and endeavored to civilize the rough manners of the original inhabitants. From the institutions which Cecrops established among the Athenians it is easy to infer in what a condition they must have lived before his arrival. The laws of marriage, which few nations are so barbarous as to be unacquainted with, were not known in Greece. Mankind, like the beasts of the field, were propagated by accidental connection, with little knowledge of those to whom they owed their birth.” (Guthrie’s Geography, Vol. I., page 32.) Now this was a good work—we are not here to oppose that work—but it did not depend on the commission that says, “Go preach the gospel to every creature,” for it was nearly sixteen hundred years before that commission was given. It is the duty of men to do the best they can for one another, so far as that is concerned; and this work, if it had been today, perhaps would have been connected with the Foreign Mission work. It was a good work. It was benevolent.
As an evidence, again, that people, even where there is no gospel, and where there are no Bibles nor preachers, where they are enlightened at all do have an eye to education, let us refer to the country of Japan, to which my opponent so eloquently referred us in his closing remarks. And here I wish to say, because a work is good that is no evidence it is authorized by the Bible. This system of free schools, as we have it in Indiana, is no doubt a good thing, but it is of man, and is not authorized in the Holy Scriptures. Because a thing is good is not a reason for believing that the Bible authorizes it, or that it is owned of God. The proposition says nothing about the educational work of the missionaries. It is the gospel work that we are discussing. Let us take Japan. Japan is one of the best educated nations in the world today. The missionaries say this. There are fewer people in Japan who cannot read than among any other people in the world. Education is general. All classes are taught, and yet missionaries say, as I shall show before the close of this discussion, that the people of Japan, while they are ready to receive Western ideas, and read the Bible and Christian books with avidity, yet read them chiefly from curiosity. I have testimony of that fact, and will produce it at the proper time. There are not ten thousand Christian communicants in the whole country of Japan today, not ten thousand from the missionaries’ own statistics, and it is a country whose population is two-thirds that of the United States. There are not ten thousand communicants, as we shall show as this discussion progresses.
Now I want to notice the speech. I say, to begin with, and challenge any contradiction on that, that foreign missionary societies were not necessary, and never were considered necessary, to the propagation of the gospel in all lands. But we will see whether they were or not. As a reason why I say they were not there was no such thing thought of until 1792, when, in England, the first Protestant Missionary Society was organized. That is Brother Yates’ own statement of it, and that is correct. In 1792 the Church stood, and the gospel was preached in different nations over the world for nearly eighteen hundred years before the first foreign missionary society was organized.
MR. YATES: I said the first missionary society in England.
MR. POTTER: Yes, in England.
Another thought: My opponent says in this question is involved the temporal and eternal destiny of millions of the human race now living, and no doubt, countless numbers of unborn generations. Now, that is one objection I have always had to this plea for Foreign Missions, that its advocates preach the universal damnation of all the people where there is no Bible. I object to that doctrine. It is contrary to God’s word. It is the plea that gets your half-dollar from your pocket in mission work, that the heathen are going to hell unless they get the Bible. More than that, Brother Yates has trampled upon Presbyterianism, as I will show you. His own proposition now lies in the dust under his feet. What will our brethren do? Will they dismiss Brother Yates, or throw away their Confession of Faith? I call your attention to the Confession of Faith of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Article 3 On page 10, where they say: “All infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth. So also are others who have never had the exercise of reason, and who” (and that adds still more) “are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the word.” That is what Cumberland Presbyterianism says in its Confession of Faith. We have three classes here who are saved without the ministry of the word, according to their doctrines. I indorse that, and perhaps it is a fine thing I am here to defend it, as Brother Yates has turned against it. There are three classes called by the Spirit of God, and regenerated and saved by Christ — idiots, infants, and those who cannot be called by the ministry of the word. Who are they? I want Brother Yates to tell us in his next speech, for it will never do in the world for him to throw his Confession away. He was ordained to the work of the ministry upon the sincere acknowledgment and acceptance of that Confession of Faith, as embracing and adopting the true system of the doctrine of the Scriptures. It will not do for him to throw it away now; he is too young, and has not been preaching long enough. As an evidence that those mentioned in this article are not only infants or idiots, I will read the proof-texts they give in support of the latter part of the article, which is Acts ii. 38, 39: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” That is their proof-text to show that a class of people aside from idiots and infants are called, and. regenerated, and saved by the Spirit of Christ, who cannot be outwardly called by the ministry of the gospel. That is Presbyterian doctrine, and Brother Yates trampled that in the dust this morning. I do not want him to do that any more. It is Cumberland Presbyterianism that I quote. I want to give you another article of it. Chapter 25, Articles 1 and 2:
“The catholic, or universal, Church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ, the head thereof, and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.
“The visible Church, which is also catholic. universal under the gospel (not confined to one nation, as before, under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion, together with their children, and is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God.”
Now here we have two Churches presented in this Confession of Faith—one called the visible Church, and that visible Church consists of all the people everywhere throughout the world that profess the true religion. Here are Brother Yates, Brother Strickland, Brother Hume, and others, who preach the gospel. We see them. They make public confession of the faith. They indicate the Christ of God that is in their hearts by their lives, and we can see them. That is the visible Church. So says the Cumberland Presbyterian Confession of Faith. But there is an invisible Church that embraces more than that. How much more? How many more than all those that profess the true religion throughout all the world? None of the heathen, Brother Yates says in his speech this morning. Who are they? We want to know. We want some explanation of that matter. It is evident from this article that there is a universal Church that is invisible, which “consists of the whole number of the elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one under Christ, the head thereof, and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.” As an evidence that this embraces Gentiles, and heathen even where there is no gospel, I want to give you their own proof-text of this article: Ephesians 1. 10 and 22, 23:
“That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him.” “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head, over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.” Also Colossians i. i8: “And he is the head of the body, the Church.” These passages of Scripture arc said by Cumberland Presbyterianism to embrace the children of God, who are, have been, or ever shall be gathered into one under Christ, the head thereof; and they extend further than the visible Church of Christ, that embraces all that profess the Christian religion.
If that is not so, I want Brother Yates to tell us the difference between the two articles. If it is true, what is his speech worth today, that damns all the heathen universally, without any salvation at all where there is no gospel? I want everybody to think of that. But that is not all, it is not only the belief of Cumberland Presbyterianism. There was an argument had at one time between a man by the name of Alexander Campbell — everybody knows his name — and a gentleman by the name of Rice, who was a Presbyterian; and on this question of the influence of the Holy Spirit I thought Mr. Rice was about right, and I was rather under the impression that he rather flaxed Mr. Campbell in that debate. I will tell you what Mr. Campbell said, and see how it harmonizes with Brother Yates. We want to see whether he is fighting for Campbell or his Church:
“Our second argument is adduced from the fact that no living man has ever been heard of, and no one can now be found, possessed of a single conception of Christianity, or one spiritual thought, feeling, or emotion, where the Bible, or some tradition from it, has not been before him. Where the Bible has not been sent, or its traditions developed, there is not one single spiritual idea, word, or action. It is all a midnight, a gloom profound, utter darkness. What stronger evidence can be adduced than this most evident and indisputable fact? It weighs more than a thousand volumes of metaphysical speculations.”
That looks like it was tolerable strong. That is what Mr. Campbell says. Mr. Rice, what do you say about that? Mr. Rice says on page 638, in reply: “We”— whom does he mean by “we”? we Presbyterians; won’t we be astonished if Presbyterianism begins to droop and die for the sake of the Foreign Mission work, in order to defend that? — “we believe and teach that in conversion and sanctification there is an influence of the Spirit in addition to that of the Word, and distinct from it; an influence without which the arguments and motives of the gospel would never convert and sanctify one of Adam’s ruined race. We further believe that, although the Word of God is employed as an instrument of conversion and sanctification, where it can be used, God has never confined himself to means and instrumentalities where they cannot be employed.”
That is what Presbyterianism is. Brother Yates is not a Presbyterian. He is fighting them. He is ruining that doctrine. He says to us that the eternal salvation, or the eternal destiny, of the people hangs upon the following of the commission of the gospel, which is to make it depend upon the missionaries. That is the reason I object to that system known as Foreign Mission work, because it so flatly contradicts, not only the Bible, but also religious tenets. It says that hell is the home of all that unfortunate people who are never blessed with the Bible. Again Mr. Rice continues:
“Mr. Campbell objects again, that if in one case regeneration takes place without the Word, it must be so in all cases; and then of what use is the Word? He has often told us that it is far easier to assert than to prove. It is admitted that regeneration is the same in all cases, but it is not admitted that the means employed in all cases are the same. He asserts that the same means must always be employed, but he cannot prove the truth of the assertion, either scripturally or philosophically. I know of no part of God’s Word that teaches that if God should sanctify a soul in one instance without the truth, because it cannot be employed, he must of course sanctify all others without the truth. God is a sovereign, and he works by means or without means, as his infinite wisdom directs. When his people were journeying in the wilderness, and their supplies of water gave out, it was miraculously replenished. So does he feed the soul with the bread of life, through means and instrumentalities when they are accessible, and without them when they are not.”
That is what Presbyterianism teaches. Does that sound like brother Yates’ speech? I want all of you to think. One more on that subject; I am not done with Brother Rice yet; he is such a good man I want to follow him up a little further: “But let it be remarked, that while we believe in an influence of the Spirit in addition to the Word, and distinct from it, we do not believe that in conversion new faculties are created (Mr. Campbell was charging that on those who believe in experimental religion). The mind, both before and after conversion, possesses understanding, will, and affections. There is no creation of new faculties, but a change of the moral nature, a spiritual change, a change from sin to holiness, a change from the love and practice of sin to love and service of God.”
That is what is done in regeneration and sanctification, according to Presbyterianism, and that is what I think is good. I indorse that, and try to preach that doctrine.
“Nor do we maintain that in conversion and sanctification the Holy Spirit reveals new truths not found in the Scriptures; for all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. The design of regeneration is not to reveal new truths, but to enable the sinner, who is blinded by his depravity, to see the truths of revelation in their beauty and excellency, and to incline him to embrace them and live accordingly. The difficulty is not that God’s revelation is not perfect, presenting every truth which is necessary to life and godliness; nor is it true that it is obscurely taught, but that the hearts of men are fully set in them to do evil; that they love darkness rather than light; that they are proud and rebellious, and averse to the service of God and the plan of salvation which he has devised.”
Again: “This statement of the doctrine of Divine influence is a complete answer to the argument of Mr. Campbell, that those who profess to have been regenerated by the special influence of the Spirit have received new ideas which are not contained in the Scriptures. Regeneration consists not in giving a new revelation, but a new heart.”
Now, I want to show you that what I have read from Mr. Rice was intended as an answer to Mr. Campbell when he said there could not be a man found, or heard of, who was in possession of a new idea or emotion without the Bible. This was Mr. Rice’s intention. He said so himself, in his speech recorded on page 647. He says: “his second argument was, that there are among pagans, who have not the Bible, no spiritual ideas. This was answered by showing that, according to our views, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is not designed to communicate new ideas, but to enlighten the mind by removing sin, the cause of its blindness, that it may see in their true light the truths contained in the Scriptures. The gentleman could not hear my reply.”
It seems Mr. Rice did hold the idea that there were spiritual ideas among the pagans. He did not indorse Mr. Campbell’s idea; but we have heard it preached very eloquently today; and I think if Mr. Campbell were here, he would think he had a new disciple.
I will tell you another thing Mr. Rice thought Mr. Campbell did in taking that position; and he was a good logician. He was a debater; I am not, but he was. On page 650 he says: “He admits their native depravity. He denies that they can be sanctified without the truth. We know that they cannot receive the truth; consequently they cannot but die in their depravity; and wherever they may go, certain it is that they cannot go to heaven. He may express the opinion that they may be saved, but his opinion contradicts his doctrine. There is no way of escaping the difficulty but by abandoning the doctrine. He cannot answer the argument. It admits of no answer.”
I want to say this: that the doctrine of Presbyterianism is not the doctrine of infant damnation. The doctrine of no people is the doctrine of infant damnation. Yet I say Mr. Rice was logical and consistent when he said that if the gospel is God’s chosen and only medium of communication to mankind, that it does leave the infant out, it does leave the idiot out, it does leave the heathen out. If the Spirit ever operates without it, if it does it in one case it may in every case. If the Spirit of God reaches down and saves an infant without preaching to him, or his having knowledge of the Bible or gospel, it can reach to the idiot and save him in the same way; and I believe it will. If it does that, it reaches to the heathen in the same way; and I say it will; and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church says it will, and they have always taught that it would.
Brother Yates, I want you to harmonize your own doctrine with your arguments.
This further from Mr. Rice, and I will dismiss him: “Mr. Campbell objects again that if in one case regeneration takes place without the Word, it must be so in all cases. And then of what use is the Word?” I suspect that Baptist preachers have had that hurled at them as often as any other. If that be true, what is the use of the Word? I appeal to any lady, gentleman, or child in this country. Let Mr. Rice tell. He is a good man, and able to answer that question, in my judgment. He says:
“He has often told us that it is far easier to assert than to prove. It is admitted that regeneration is the same in all cases; but it is not admitted that the means are in all cases the same. He asserts that the same means must always be employed; but he cannot prove the truth of the assertion, either scripturally or philosophically. I know of no part of God’s Word that teaches that if God should sanctify a soul in one instance without the truth, he must of course sanctify all others without the truth. God is a sovereign, and he works by means or without means, as his infinite wisdom directs.” Notice, that is the doctrine of Presbyterianism.
Now, I wish to follow up my brother’s speech a little farther. I have a good many notes, but there are so many of them just alike. He refers to the evil and good results of investigation. That is all right. So far as investigation is concerned we agree. Truth has nothing to lose by investigation. The evil and good results, then, of investigation depend on the evil and good spirit exhibited during the discussion. If we intend to fight and conduct this discussion in a bad spirit, we had better let it alone; and if I thought that was the intention of Brother Yates in coming here and making the challenge, I never would have met him, for I will not fight if I can keep out of the way. And neither do I ever make apologies for what I preach. I am aware I am on the unpopular side of the question that we are now debating. I am aware the denomination with which I stand identified is perhaps the only denomination that opposes what is commonly known as the work of the Foreign Missions. I am aware of that fact, and when I saw this challenge I believed that Brother Yates had his mind upon the Regular Baptist denomination. He said in his speech that he did not make this challenge against any particular denomination. However, when he was at my house, in company with Mr. Collins, I drew out of him the fact that he was thinking of the Regular Baptists when he made the challenge, because they were the only people that opposed the Foreign Mission work. This being true, we feel we are challenged. We are here in self-defense; we are not here challenging other people’s views and to trample them under foot. But it is perhaps not surprising, with the idea that Mr. Rice was defending in his debate, that all of the world could be saved, in introducing that feature of the doctrine, that we need not be uneasy about that; the Lord will not let his work go undone, that we should be here represented. But I say, is it true we are not allowed to present that doctrine in the manner in which all Christendom have ever understood it, without laying ourselves liable to frowns and challenges from our religious neighbors? Brother Yates understood we were opposed to Foreign Missions. He was not mistaken about that. He knew where we stood on that question. I am satisfied he did.
He said that as it is a debated question, it is of course an unsettled question. That is true. There has been very little said about it, however, in this country lately. It is a free country, and all people who wish to work for or defend Foreign Mission work are at liberty to do so. We are not hindering them; and I do not know that I have heard one of my brethren say a solitary word against Foreign Missions in a year or two. I am in the pulpit about as often as any man in this country, and I never heard any one lift a voice against it that I know of. I do not say Brother Thomas did not do it, for I did not hear him that day. There has been nothing to provoke a challenge. However, I am glad that it is here, from the fact that I want you to know what the Foreign Mission work is. You do not know. There is hardly one man in ninety that knows. You only hear one side of it. You see this map in its glowing colors, and you do not know just what it means. You do not know whether there are ten million Christians there or one thousand. If you hear Brother Yates speak of it, he will tell you there are a great many. We want to present the truth, the history; let us have both sides presented. Let us have it from the missionaries themselves, and perhaps during this discussion we shall show you they are not doing half they claim they are; and we will show it from missionary evidence at that.
He wants it known and distinctly understood what he is here to prove. I can tell you what it is: “That the Foreign Mission work is authorized in the Scriptures, and blessed and owned of God.” He may get the sanction of every man in this house that it is a good work. That does not prove his proposition. He may get the sanction of every denomination in all Christendom that it is a good work. That does not prove it is authorized in the Scriptures. He may get the sanction of every minister he ever strikes hands with throughout this land that the Foreign Mission work is a good work. That does not prove that it is authorized in the Scriptures. He may quote the commission that says, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” and the words “Foreign Mission” are not in that commission at all. Not a word of it. He has quoted several texts, and if any man heard the words “Foreign Mission” in any text he quoted, either expressed or implied, let him tell me which one it was, and I will notice it and reply to it or give up the debate, one or the other. What text in all the catalogue referred to by my brother today mentions or implies Foreign Missions?
He speaks of an identity. We will soon show the differences where he says there is an identity.
There is one mistake on the subject of Foreign Missions on which I want to correct Brother Yates. He made the assertion — and it is an assertion which is generally made — that the Saviour, when he addressed the disciples, and said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” gave that commission to the Church — Brother Yates said to the Church through the apostles. Brother Yates, I want to know where is your authority for that. Is it not an invention gotten up about the time Foreign Mission work was? Let us go to that commission, and see to whom it is addressed. We do not want any thing but what the Bible gives to prove a Bible point by. I propose to see to whom the commission was given. I will show you a gospel commission if you will listen now to me.
I object to the Foreign Mission work, because, in order to show even a shadow of authority for it in the Scriptures, its advocates say the great commission was given to the Church instead of to the apostles and their successors. That is what they say. Brother Yates said that this morning. It is just as common, to say that as it is for them to defend Foreign Mission work. To prove that, I will give you another witness on his side. I quote from a book I have “here in my valise, called “The Great Commission and its Fulfillment by the Church,” in which the writer says:
“All forms of evangelical work and enterprise are based upon these words (the writer means the words of the great commission). Not ministers only, but all Christians, ordained and unordained, male and female, old and young, are bound by them. Some can go farther than others, but all are to go on this errand of mercy.
Some are to give more than others, but all are to give according to their ability the means requisite for saving the lost. Some are to preach officially and more regularly than others, but all are to preach in the sense of communicating saving truth to those in spiritual darkness; and all are to contribute to that great, unceasing volume of earnest prayer which has only to become general and tenderly importunate to secure the salvation of a great multitude of God’s elect who are now wandering unsaved on the mountains of sin in every land.”
This is a missionary who agrees with my brother. He says the commission was given to the Church, not only to the ministry, but given to every man, every individual ordained and unordained, male and female, old and young; that all are addressed in the commission that says, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Let us see whether they were or not. I call your attention to Matthew xxviii. 16—20 inclusive: “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and. of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Who were present? To whom did the Saviour speak? What does the pronoun “ye” in this text have for its antecedent? I ask Brother Yates. — “Go ye.” Go who? The eleven disciples — that is it. The eleven were the ones spoken to, and not the Church. There is no intimation that it was the Church — it was the eleven. As a matter of course no person denies — that I know of — that it is to their successors as well. 
First to the ministry the commission is given. It is the duty of a man who is called of God to preach, to “go.” It is the duty of every man whom God calls to preach. The Saviour said, “Go;” he did not say, Send. I want you to notice there is quite a difference between a man going into all the world and preaching the gospel, and the Church sending. He said, “Go,” and as you go, preach. He did not say, Send. If the commission had been to the Church, and the missionaries were correct in their application of it, the commission would have read, “Send into all the world.” But it was to the ministry, and they are called on to “go.”
I will read again — Mark xvi. 14—16: “Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
Now, the eleven were the people addressed there, not the Church—not every one; not male and female, old and young, ordained and unordained, rich and poor; but the eleven, the ministry—they are the people whose duty it is to preach. Now let us see how the apostles and early ministers of the gospel obeyed this heavenly mandate, and how they succeeded. I want to show you a gospel mission—the mission I believe in—and all want to say to you there is not a Regular Baptist on the earth, who understands himself, who will oppose such a mission: One writer says, in speaking of himself in obedience to this commission: “Despised as Christianity has been by many, yet it has had an extensive progress through the world, and still remains to be professed by great numbers of mankind, though it is to be lamented many are unacquainted with its genuine influence. It was early and rapidly propagated through the whole Roman Empire, which then contained almost the whole known world; and herein we cannot but admire both the wisdom and the power of God.” That is the way the ancients talk about the commission that was given. They went; they did not send; they went to preach—that is the difference.
Another good writer says: “Destitute of all human advantages, protected by no authority, assisted by no art, not recommended by the reputation of its author, not enforced by eloquence in its advocates, the word of God grew mightily and prevailed. Twelve men, poor, artless, and illiterate, were beheld triumphing over the fiercest and most determined opposition, over the tyranny of the magistrates and subtleties of the philosophers, over the prejudices of the Gentile and the bigotry of the Jew. They established a religion which held forth high and venerable mysteries, such as the pride of man would induce him to suspect, because he could not perfectly comprehend them, which preached doctrines pure and spiritual, and such as corrupt nature was prone to oppose, because it shrunk from the severity of their discipline,” etc. This was the severity of their commission.
Again: “In the apostolic mission we have presented to our view a small company of plain and pious men leaving Judea and traveling over the, empire to exalt their crucified Master and the Lord and Saviour of the world. They had little subsistence from the Churches of their own country, but when exigency required they did not disdain to labor with their own hands.”
Hear what they say. I want to see what these missionaries said. These apostles, I believe, were missionaries. I am a missionary. Do not call me an anti-missionary. But I am opposed to this language you have in this proposition. I want Brother Yates, before I quote from this book that I believe in, to tells us, and note particularly where he is, of one missionary that pursued the course that the Apostle Paul did.
I will now quote from 1 Cor. iv. 11—13: “Even unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; and labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.”
That is the course the apostles pursued when they started out in obedience to the commission of Christ. Where is the missionary today that will stoop to work with his own hands to provide for his necessity and that of those with him, who goes out as the apostles did, under the instructions and auspices of the Foreign Mission societies of today? If you have his name, Brother Yates, we want it. 
Again, Brother Paul, what do you say? Acts XX. 33, 34: “I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to them that were with me.”
Again, 1 Thess. 2:9: “For ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail: for laboring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.” 
Here were the early missionaries; here is what they say: “This being true, in humble obedience to the heavenly commission, the apostles began their holy work at Jerusalem and distributed themselves throughout all the provinces of the Roman empire, which, on account of its extent, was called the world, both by sacred and profane writers. Some traveled to Rome, to Gaul, to Spain, and to the islands of Britain. Others pursued their route to Egypt, and preached in all the cities on the north of Africa as far as Carthage. Paul and Barnabas, with their colleagues, extended their labors to all the cities and islands of Greece, and to the Grecian colonies of Asia. Some penetrated among the Scythians and other barbarians of the North. In almost every city these preachers had some fruit, and evangelical men were raised up in all the Churches, who imitated the apostles in their life and ministry. The gospel preached by the apostles made such rapid progress that it attracted the wonder and admiration of the ancient fathers.”
Eusebius says: The gospel, like the sun, enlightened the world at once. Great multitudes of people were brought into the Church, both in cities and villages by the ministry of the apostles, like corn stored up in a granary. One Celsus maliciously objected to the novelty of Christianity; Origen replied: “Here is the mystery: that a new doctrine in so short a time should so surprisingly prevail over all the world, over the Greeks and the barbarians, over the learned and the illiterate, over every order and profession, and persuaded them with so firm a belief of its divine authority that they are ready to seal their faith with their blood.”
Clemens Alexandrinus said: “The philosophers pleased the Greeks only, nor did every one please all. Plato followed Socrates; Theophrastus, Aristotle, Cleanthus, Zeno, every master had his own school and his own scholars, but our great Master’s philosophy was not confined to Egypt as theirs is to Greece. It diffused its luster over the world at large. It was embraced by whole cities and nations, and no man can resist its force who will leisurely contemplate its wisdom. 
Philosophers themselves have been captivated by its charms. If the Grecian philosophy were suppressed at any place by the magistrates, it presently disappeared. On the contrary, our religion has been persecuted by kings, by emperors, by governors; generals, and by the populace, who were more ferocious than all the others. They have combined the whole of their power and ingenious malice to exterminate Christianity, and yet it flourishes the more, and does not droop and die, as it certainly must have done had it been of mere human invention.”
Arnobius, in his Defense of Christianity, says: “You should not, I think, be a little surprised to see this despised name everywhere prevail, and in so short a time. There is no nation in the empire, however barbarous and uncivilized, whose manners have not been softened and improved by this philanthropic institution; and what is yet more surprising, it has subdued the brightest geniuses; orators, critics, lawyers, physicians, and philosophers have yielded to its force. Its disciples are so sincere and pious in their profession as to forego the enjoyments of life, and life itself, rather than renounce the cross. Hence, notwithstanding all your edicts and precautions, all your menaces and massacres, all your hangmen and ingenious tortures, they not only become more numerous but more vigorous in their resolutions. Can you suppose all this is brought about by chance? That men will die for a religion, of whose divine authority they are not assured, or that there is a general conspiracy of fools and madmen who mean to throw away their lives for a phantom?”
Now, I say all this was done without a solitary thought of the Foreign Mission Society. I want Brother Yates to tell us the name of the Foreign Mission Society that Brother Paul belonged to. I want to know whether it was the American Board of Missions, the American Baptist Union, or what it was? I want to know what society he belonged to. He must belong to some Foreign Mission society, or else he was not a foreign missionary of the type of the present time; and yet the gospel spread, as we have already shown you in the language of several witnesses who were acquainted with this matter. I say all this was done without any foreign mission board. There was no such thing as an organization of a board anywhere at that time for the propagation of the gospel. Whenever the apostles started, they started at the command of Jesus Christ. And that is not all. I will now give you a witness, who is a modern missionary by the way, on the subject of “Paul as a Missionary.” That is the heading he gives his article. It is as follows:
“Paul, who was a man of ability, faith, consecration, and energy, was the great missionary of Christ to the Gentiles. He commenced, comparatively speaking, on a small scale and ended with great results. He was mighty in word and abundant in labors. He traveled much, visited many cities, preached often, endured trials, and persevered manfully. He had nothing specially to encourage him in his work but the presence of God and the guidance of the Spirit.” That is enough for any minister. “He broke ground and did pioneer work. He had no advance guard to open the way and prepare the field. He had no newspaper or telegraph agency to herald his coming, no Christian constituency to give him a cheering welcome, no structure erected in the form of a grand tabernacle or magnificent church edifice to accommodate the multitudes that might assemble to hear him, no wealthy missionary organization at his back to encourage and support him. No; none of these. All he had was the Lord’s commission and the Lord’s promise of help and direction. He went at the call of the Lord, in the name and strength of his Master, to encompass the great missionary field, and to proclaim Jesus and the resurrection to those in sin and error. Many heard the word and believed. The work extended, believers were multiplied, Churches were established, heathenism quailed, and the Cross triumphed. The world was improved by the life and labors of Paul, and the blessed results of his mission have been the means of blessing thousands through the centuries past, and will doubtless continue to do so to those who shall live in the ages to come.”—From the Journal and Messenger, a paper published by the Missionary Baptists, at Cincinnati, Ohio, October 1, 1877.
That is missionary testimony of what Paul was. He was a missionary, so it says. I believe he was. And this man is careful to say that he had nothing only God’s commission, and God’s promise, and the guidance of the Spirit, and was not backed up by a wealthy missionary organization to support him.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.