Elder John Daily On Two Key Texts

In this posting I want to examine what Elder John R. Daily said in explaining two passages of holy scripture, namely II Thess. 1: 8 and Rom. 2:6-9. Daily was one of the leaders of the late 19th and early 20th century who helped to change "Primitive Baptist" beliefs and to mold it into the heretical cult group that it is today. He, like his colleague, Elder C. H. Cayce, introduced and promoted the heretical "no means" view of the new birth, changing the historic view of their forefathers for a novel view on what is the nature and causes of regeneration and of the historic doctrine of the perseverance of the sanctified. He was one of their leading debaters along with Cayce.

In an article titled "Certain Passages Considered" (Zion's Advocate, Vol. 45, No. 4, April 1906 - here) Daily said (emphasis mine):

"In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." II. Thessalonians 1: 8.

The apostle had expressed gratitude to God for the growth of the saint's faith and charity and patience in all their persecutions and tribulations. he calls all these things a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that they might be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which they were called upon to suffer. He showed it to be a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to those who troubled them, and to give them rest, "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel."

It is certain, therefore, that the persecutors of the saints are meant, who are ignorant of God and opposed in their hearts to the gospel of Christ. "Obey" is translated from the Greek word hupakouos, which is derived from akouos, the signification of which is to hear, to hearken, to understand. Hence the term "obey not" has reference to the hatred and opposition to the gospel by the persecutors of the saints. The eyes of their understanding had not been enlightened. Ephesians 1:18. Their understanding was darkened, "being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart." Ephesians 4:18. They did not obey the gospel. Moreover they could not do so, because of their hatred of it. Being in the flesh, they could not please God. Romans 8: 8.

Comments & Observations

1. Daily does not attempt to make the "everlasting punishment" to be a mere "time salvation." This is probably because to make it a temporal punishment would have gone against what had been the accepted interpretation of Daily's PB forefathers.

2. Yet, he had to come up with an interpretation of the text that overthrew the idea that the text taught that believing or obeying the gospel, and knowing God, were required for obtaining eternal life, for the new Hardshell view was fast becoming, in Daily's time, the predominant view, which view affirmed that many of the Lord's people are regenerated and finally saved who never heard, believed, or obeyed the gospel.

3. He seems to imply that the threatened punishment was limited to only those who are unregenerate and who were persecutors of Christians, saying "the persecutors of the saints are meant, who are ignorant of God and opposed in their hearts to the gospel of Christ." Is he affirming that those who, though not persecutors of Christians, yet still disbelieve the Christian gospel, are excluded from the threatened punishment? He seems to be affirming this. I suspect that Daily is still clinging somewhat to the doctrine of perseverance (which doctrine was being challenged by the new "no means" view) in saying that once one is born again and hears the gospel, then he will believe and follow it.

4. The text very clearly teaches that all those who reject the gospel, whether they persecute Christians or not, are all destined to suffer everlasting destruction. This was the view that Daily's forefathers taught.

"God will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile." Romans 2:6-9.

In the chapter that follows this one, the apostle collects a number of passages that teach the depravity of the human race, and deduces the conclusion that "there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Since there is no difference, all Jews and all Gentiles are exactly alike. This is true of them in their natural standing. Now if we apply this passage to them in that state, and represent it as teaching that such only as continue patiently in well doing, and seek for glory and honor and immortality, receive eternal life because of having done so, we prove by it that none will ever have eternal life. Since there is no difference, "there is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God; they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no not one." The conclusion is unavoidable, that if the condition of receiving eternal life should be a patient continuance in well doing, and seeking for glory and honor and immortality, none will receive eternal life. This is the perplexity into which Arminians are plunged in trying to apply this text to favor conditionalism, and from it there is no escape for them."

Huh? The passage says God will "render eternal life" to those who patiently continue in well doing and he will "render wrath, etc." to those who continue doing wrong (obeying unrighteousness, or "not doing well"); So, how can Daily say that the text clearly says just the opposite? i.e. that receiving eternal life is not conditioned upon perseverance in well doing? An unbiased person reads the text and "concludes" that those who obtain eternal life are they who persevered and they who did not persevere obtained eternal wrath. It takes a professional scripture twister to make the verse say just the opposite of what is plain to all the unbiased! The scriptures speak of those who "resist the truth" (II Tim. 3: 8) and here is another glaring instance of it on the part of our Hardshell brothers.

Daily continued:

"The apostle is not looking forward and proposing conditions to alien sinners to be complied with by them in order to obtain eternal life. He takes his stand at the "great day of wrath and revelation of the righteousness judgment of God," and retrospectively surveys the race of mankind. In that survey he sees two classes, one of which have borne the fruits of being born of God and of having been made to differ from the others as the "workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus unto good works." These had received eternal life in the soul, for Jesus declared, "He that heareth my words, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." It is the resurrection of the body into the same eternal life that the apostle refers to here. The others, who were as corrupt trees that had never been made good, and had therefore borne the corrupt fruits of unrighteousness, receive indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish. He thus "renders to every man according to his deeds," his deeds being the fruits of his character as a good or bad tree. If he has borne the good fruits mentioned, it is because he was first made to be a good tree, which was entirely the Lord's work, for the preparations of the heart in man are from the Lord. Proverbs 16:1. In the sense that he treats Jews and Gentiles alike there is no respect of persons with God. He does not respect one man's person because he is a Jew. National distinctions are not regarded by him."

Again, Daily's explanation is simple - "the text means just the opposite of what you think it says."

Daily evades the force of the text on perseverance. Though "continuing" is not a condition for eternal life in initial conversion, obviously, it is still a condition for those who have professed faith in Christ. Many conditions for obtaining eternal life in the day of judgment and resurrection are pressed upon the converted for their perseverance unto eternal life.

What think ye?