Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1892-06-30

to insist upon 1t. 1t is point on which
ancient. medieval and modern historians
alike. Catholic aud Protestant, Lutheran
the simple reason for this unanimity is
that the statements of the early fathers are
so clear, and the light shed upon their
statements from the early customs of
the church is so conclusive that no his
torian who cares for his reputation would
dare to deny it, and no historian who Is
worthy of the name would wish to"
The quotation which shall now give is
from DIR. Wall. a learned Episcopalian
The quotation, am sure you will all agree,
is strong one IN regard to immersion be-
ing the primitive mode Of baptism. But
am glad to give it not only for that but
because of the rebuke which he gives to
those who treat the Baptist position In
anything but a Christlike way. DR.. Wall
says Their general and ordinary way
was to baptize by immersion, or dipping
the person, whether it was an infant or
grown man or woman, into the water.
This Is plain and clear from an infinite
number of passages that, as one cannot
but pity the weak endeavor> of such pedo-
bsptists as would maintain the negative of
| it, so also we ought TO disown and show a
! dislike of the profane SCOTS which some
| people give to the English anti Pedobap-
lists merely for their use of dipping. 1t is
one thing TO maintain that that cirCum-
| stance is not absolutely necessary to the
essence of baptism, and another To go
about to represent It as ridiculous and
| foolish. or as shameful and indecent; when
It was, in all probability, the way by which
1 our blessed Saviour. and for certain was
the most usual and ordinary way by which
the ancient christians did receive their
baptism. 1t IS a great want of prudence,
as well as OF honesty, to refuse to grant to
an adversary what is certainly true and
NAV be proved so" Suffer lust one more
/ quotation along this line. 1t is from DR..
George Campbell, n Presbyterian. He
says II have heard Of a disputant.
in defiance Of ttgmnlrry. and lsss, main
7
Testament haptze mean, more properly
10 sprinkle than 10 plunge, and, in defiance
of all antiquity, that the former method
was the earliest and for many centuries
the most general practice in baptzng
nnc who argues in this manner never
fails. with persons Of knowledge, to bctray
the cause he would defend; and though.
IN respect to the vulgar. bold assertions
generally succeed as well a. arguments,
sometimes better, yet candid mind will
di-dain to take the help Of a fal-ehood
even In support Of the truth"
Then we turn to that very beautiful
passage in Romans, the sixth chapter, and
we read "Are We ignorant that all we
who were baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into His death? We were iuri.d
therefore with Him through baptism into
death that like a. Christ WAS raised from
the dcad through the glory OF the Father,
we also might walk In newness Of life
Canon Liddon. on Easter Sunday 1883,
preached a sermon In which he said, re-
ferrug to this passage: LAS Jesus, cruel
fed and dead. was laid in the grave by
Joseph Of Arimathea, SO the christian,
Crucihed 10 the world through the body OF
/ Christ, dcscends, as into the tomb into the
bapt-mal waters. He was buried beneath
them; they closed for moment over him;
he was planted Paul would have said.
not only In the like ness of Christs death,
but OF His burial. But the immersion is
over; the christian is lifted from the food
and This evidently corresponded 10 the res
direction Of Christ as the descent had
been 70 His burial Buried with Him In
baptism wherein ye are also risen with
Him. ' And Cony oeare and Howson, Eps-
+ copalians. commenting on this passage say,
none too strongly; This passage cannot
be understood unless it be borne in mind
that the primitive baptism was by INNER
sion"
Thus fGI | have chosen to let those Of
other denominations offer testimony. And
even now | have no desire to bring for
ward Baptist to bear witness in word.
/ Let the testimony be testimony Of act.
/ Very great stress has been laid upon one
/ passage in Acts as showing conclusivelv
1 that baptism is not always immersion.
/ The passagei Is the one that speaks Of three
/ thousand being added to the church 10 one
\ day. Here is proof positive that some
other mode of baptism than immersion
was used. for. says DR.. I. Q. Summers, a
+ noted Methodist writer, 1t was impos.-
1 bic for the twelve apostles to iuimerse
such a multitude in some six or eight
hours" 1t would seem TO be somewhat
{ damaging TO such statement of impos>i-
biity that our own DR.. J. E. Clough, who
has had such wonderful success in the
Telugu mission, in 1873, with five assist
ants, baptized in six hours, two bapt!zng
at time, two thousand two hundred and
twenty-five q 222).
You tell your child to do certain thing.
He does not do it. But he does something
else, and, in doing it, he shows beautiful
spirit. You may rejoice in the spirit he
has shown but you do not call it obedience
that he has done something different from
that which you commanded.
"The law requires absolute obedience,
and We have no right to change or in any
wise alter its demands. No crime is great
er than disobedence. Obedience is the
essence of the law Obedience is the
crowning grace of all. This is the princi-
pie that recognizes the well-nigh forgotten
truth that Christ is Lord as well as Sa-
viour. 1t Is a far reaching truth, and
strict obedience to it carries US into the
immediate presence of God. No more sig
nifcant words are in the Bible than those
of Jesus Christ, 'Ye are my friends. if ye
do whatsoever | have commanded YOU" :"
In our view we cannot free ourselves
from the thought, as expressed by John
Foster, that ''it is the essence of disobed-
ience and rebellion to assume to make COM
mutations and substitutions of duty-to
transfer obligation to where it would be
less inconvenient that it should be en-
forced, and to affect to render, in the form