, 1874-04-06

groat Gospel communion. With suoll { oohvlo.
zion, how oan I, "a a. God~soaring, Ohrist-oboy-
ing man, fecl satisfied, contentod, happy Those
aro pronounced blosaod who oboy Josus.
"Dloascd arc thoy WHO do Ills commandments,
and entor: IN through the gatea into tho
city, Now, tho being baptized ia as
clearly phrt Of Chriets command as tho bo-
ltrss-Now, from this pasnaEo, and from every
instance OF New Testament baptism, NO find
faitl preceding tho outward profession. In rob-
son, tho innor consent must bo given boforo tho
outward sign Is applied. Proachlng mud beliov-
Ing tho Gospel, III Christ'a commRud, arc given
those who gladly rocelvod tho word" wore
naptizot. 30 tho Eunuot ,vas first instructed,
then bolleyod and was baptized. In like man.
not, Paul, Cornelius, LYDIA: tho iailer, aud every
other rocortled instance, represents believing as
accepting or rejecting Christ ia purely pcraonal
mo , Christ must be tho object Of a
FREQ, Intelligent. dotorminato choice and only
to profoss that they hnvo nado it. No pn1ont,
no sponeor, can profeas faith In Christ for an-
other thun his own soul. Tho Episoopalan Lit
nrgy shows that the sponsor 1ntie1takea to be-
l!evo for tho child: "hfininter-Dost then DO.
contained In tho Apostles Creed? Answor:..I
do. h1iniBter-Wilt thou bo baptized in this
Faith2 Atswer-Thnt Ia my CHOICE" In tho
Roman Ritual, tho child Is asked whother lo will
faith Tor another seems yery ridiculous; but is
1t not really implied III all infant baptism We
snile at others; arc wo FREQ from like ahsurdity
ourselves. Tho Larger Catochiam aaya: "Tho
tho Visible Church, and enter into au open
md only tho Lords" %. 1853 How
can child possibly make such s'an open and
profetaed engagement" And 4 the parents 't,
doing what geems go ridiculous in tho Romish
aud Episcopal Churches undertaking to be-
lioge for another, without tho possibility Of that
others consent? Is not this q refinement on
tho plain command OF Christ to believe and then
codonco Of believing; and 30 they hayo invented
tue opinion that parents mud sponsors can bo-
lieyo for other sou1s-a doctrine which only cus-'
tom can roscuo from tho appearance Of being as
suited as to the faith in which was baptizod.
4 rito waa administered to mo i'll my helpless in
fancy without my consent, without my knowl-
odgo. Tint rito the Presbyterian Church calls
baptis% ana mo hia tho rGifysgS within VI
faith In Christ, in tho way which he command
ed, namely: boliovor's baptism. Once only to
one person Ia thoir rule. Their once ia none at
a1l to my mind. lily once they will not ALLOW;
name, oboy tho snvior and bo onco truly, as a;
boleyer, baptized for His sake.
Sccond-But not only the subjects of bap-
tism. but the mode, Is q matter Of con on
soieneo with I'm, me- Whon IT. Christ .,a sGid wet
does that word bnptism mean What did
plainoet meaning was what He intended. Ho:
meant to be olcar, definite, oasily understood.
1t was no puzzle He was propounding. The
most obvious Specification Of His words must
ha fhar1fora fhn trra Identification.
that Hh"E' obvious as meaning All % tho le1ioops ICONS
say baptizo mcans to dip, to immorso, to
plunge into. Or. Edward Robinson. 5aci!e p'1n-
Ills @ oft-dIsputed word. So also do Greenfield,
Donnogan, Bagotus Analytic, Lddell, and scott,
aud others. But it may be naid that this ID not
it's exclusive meaning Well but It ~ It's most ,1tat
JeauB ,7as propounding riddle to His disciples.
To them, 5aptixo would mean "immetso;"
and Ho did not Say toat In this case it did not,
Many scriptural illusions to baptism can only
intended. " Baptized unto Moses in the cloud
and in tho son." Can that mean ,aprinkling
!" Buried with Him BY tapttss. unto doath"
Can a sgEtns noora 81 tFaftate p
lication, entitled .The Mode OF Dap!
tjsm," contains tho following REMARKS
on Romans'e g.. 4. :" Our burial haa q flint rcsem-
blanco to immersion though VIC pour the earth
upon the body, mover dipping the body into tho
earth. Do you know how tho Romans buried. to
whom Paul speaks They burned their dead,
aud put tho aahea in an urn into the sepulohro.
Was that like immersion 2" would Just pro-
pose two questions to tho learned brother who
wrote this illogical nonsense, viz: First-ro
whom did tho APOSTLE write hls opistlo,. to the
Pagan Or Christian Ronaus socond--Wero
tho "saints" in Rome in tho. habit Of burning
cataoombsr % ] Dr. Phillip sciatr, Professor in tho
Union Theological Seminary. Now York, perhaps
tho most thorough Biblical scholar in tho Pres
byterian denomination, makos tho following
ddeolarstion, II his History Of tho Christian
remission OF sins, and Of tho implalting Of the
Holy Ghost !; and, In the nature. Of the
case, to bo received but once. It incorporates
the peniteut sinner in tho Church, and olititles
tho @ datos IL a e' Els % Where I
diion Of repentance aud faith ia wanting, the
blessing, as in the caso of tho supper and the
proaching of the word, is turned into ourse,
and what God designs aa O Bnyor Of life unto
life. becomes, through tho abuse of man, q Bayor
Of death unto death.
''Tho usual forco OF tho act WAS immersion,
aa is plain from tho original moaning Of the
Crock Bdptizein and BaptismoS !; from the anal
ogy OF Johns baptism In tho Jordan; from tho
Apostles confession OF tho sacred rite with the
miraculous pasBago Of the Rcd Sea, with Tho es-
cape OF the ark from the flood, with cleansing
and refreshing bath, and with burial and resur-
rootion finally from the custom OF the ancient
Church VI %hicn prevails in tue East to this day."
The history Of tho Church confirms this view.
go!eman, . Pedobapttst, says: " "1mmorsion or
Dipping: In tho primitive Church, Immediately
subsequently, to tho ago Of tho Apostles, this
vas nndoniably the common mode OF baptism"
(Ancient Christianity, =. se5.) This. diasin-
guishod Congregatiouallat admits that the prao-
tlce OF immersion continued In the Church until
tho thirteenth or fourteenth century. About
tho frat example Of spr1nkhng is TINT Of
NoYatns, who, about. 4. D. 251, was when Sick
,''haptized by asporsion In tho bed On which lop
llny;"ss Cornelius, Dlshop Of Rome, phrases it,
as to the validity OF such q mode of adminiater-
iMng this t3ls ordinance lEuzebius. D; Vi. g 49,
institution and import Of tho symbol 1t (bap-
tism) was generally administered by in1mersion,
Of being entirely. ponetratod by His graco."
(ohlnroh History, bohn's Ed: 1. ADD He saya
only to adults, as men were accustomed to con
ceivo baptism and faish AZ strictly connected"