Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-14

repentlng and believing, but here Is the
little child. The society has assured
itself, as best it can, that these
parents will be worthy members, but the
two defensive tests do not touch the child.
Remember. that what the tests are Tor is
simply for defense. They have no other
purpose than to keep unworthy or disloyal
people out. How can the church defend
nerseif against the possible unworthiness or
dlsloyalty of this little child? The cate
cnism answers the question. Why, then,
are INFANTS baptized when, by reason OF
their tender age, they cannot repent, can
not believe? Because they promise there
by both their parents, which promise, when
tney come TO age, themselves are bound 10
| perform.
What is baptism? We take st. Paul's
definition. Baptism is the washing of re-
generation. But regeneration-what In
| that?
To this question there are three ausvera
Regeneration means change of condition.
That is one answer. A child is brought TO
be baptized. This child, before his head IL
wet with the holy water, is nothing, so some
say, but a little human animal. He is the
child of God only as a dog is, or a cat, be-
cause God made him. Nay, he is not the
chIld OF God at all, but rather of the devil.
His heart is full of the germs of sin, waiting
to grow up into its harvest of poison. God
looks down into this little heart, and sees
this sin there, and is angry. Unless some
thing is done, this child is lost. But some
thing is done. The child is brought to
baptism. The water touches him, sacred
words are pronounced over him, the sign Of
the cross is made upon his forehead, and be-
hold, a miracle! The old conditions are
passed away, the child has come into a new
condition. He is Gods child; he is an heir
OF heaven. This marvellous change baptism
has wrought.
Inere Is no need to say much In criticism
OF this definition OF regeneration. Whether
1t is true or false, it does not interfere with
infant baptism. 1t is perhaps sufficient to
remark that if this is what baptism is, then
baptism is an incantation, an exorcism, Q
piece of magic, spell.
A SYMBOL OF CHANGE.
So we come to the second answer. Regsn-
Grafton means a change of character. Year
by year the child grows, unbaptized, into
the days of discretion. He may be Gods
child or he may be the DEVILS child, we do
not know yet. All depends upon the child.
At last he is converted. By faith, BY re-
pentance, by reaching out toward God, by
personal appropriation OF the promises of
God, the soul is changed. A new life begins.
The man is changed in character. Here is
the time for baptism. As a symbol of this
change let US have a performance of the
ceremony of baptism.
Something good deal like this happens
whenever grown person is baptized. You
may call it regeneration, if you will, but
that is not the name for it. 1t was not Of
this that st. Paul was thinking when he
spoke OF the washing of regeneration. It
was not this of which our Lord spoke when
he declared to Nicodemus the need Of being
regenerated by water and the Holy Ghost.
The connection of this change of character
with baptism is purely artificial one. The
change takes place all the same whether the
man be baptized or unbaptized. Baptism,
If this idea about it be correct, is surely
curious piece of unnecessary ritual. But
this Is not regeneration, this is conversion,
a very different thing indeed.
And so we come to the third answer. Re.
generation Is not a change of condition
caused by baptismal spell. Regenera-
tion is not change Of character, certified
by baptismal symbol. What is II, thsn7
1t is that by which whoever IS babtized is
made member of Christ, the child of God,
and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.
Not by change of condition, not by
change OF character, but by q change Of cir
cumstance.
AN INITIAToRY SERVICE.
Baptism is an initiation into the church
of Christ 1t makes Us members of Christ
Baptism is an adoption into the family Of
God. 1t makes us in a new sense the children
ofGod. Baptism is bringing of the soul into
contact with new spiritual influence. It
makes US, in q special sense, inheritors Of
the kingdom Of heaven. Baptism makess
oh of fair tor
Let us show you what this change Of cir
cumstances means.
A child is adopted into family. Tbs
child is not changed in character, but he is
changed in circumstances. His surround
ings are different. There may be change
of character, by and by. There will be il he
continues in those surroundings, and is re-
ceptivs to their influences. But that will
take place slowly, year by year. The only
immediate effect of adoption is a change Of
circumstance. A young man is received
into college. The young man is changed
in a single hour, by the passing Of an eI-
animation, from an applicant for admission,
into a freshman. He does not know any
more at the end OF that hour than he did at
the beginning There has been no change in
his intellectual character. The change il in
his intellectual circumstances.
ST. PAUL's ILLUSTRATION.
A company of Hebrews, under cover Of o
great storm, the wind making them a way
through the water, cross over from Africa to
Asia. st. Paul says this is a good lllustra-
ton of what baptism is. What changes did
that flight across the water make? No
change in character at all. Upon the other
bank arrived the Hebrews, just the same
Hebrews, speaking the same language, look
ing out of the same eyes, possessing the
same infrmitIes of temper-but changed In
circumstances. Behind them Egypt, with
its slavewhips and its idols; before them the
free wilderness, Sinai rising up in the midst
of ir.
Those Hebrews were saved when the Red
Sea closed in behind them. Saved-yes,
salvation made possible for
them; freedom, manhood, possible now 70
them. But no salvation insured to them,
no righteousness given to them without
being first earned and paid by hard en-
deayors after it. In the end the great COM
pany of those who were thus saved were lost
Lost because they did not make good use
of their changed circumstances, did not
circumstance into character.
These illustrations are parallels of bap-
tism. They define regeneration. Reforma-
ton is such change-not of condition, not
of character, but of circumstance-that it
may be very properly said that with this
change new life actually begins. Tho
man is born again. That which happens to
! child taken into a good home, or to
young man admitted to good college; that
which happened to that company of He
,rews getting out of the land CT bondage
nto a new land of liberty; just that sort Of
hing happens to every soul in the moment
,f baptism.
THE BEG INNING OF SALVATION.
Il. folI lI0ru fha