The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-02-27
BAPTISTS' STRENGTH.
Rev. Dr.. Jackson Praises
Them for S~acramental
Reverence and
federation.

preached last evening upon points OF
Instruction from the Baptist Church"
After a preIude-letter from the Rev.
Theodore Heizig of the Grove street Bap-
tist Church, the speaker spoke in sub
stance as sollows:-
'The aim in this series Of SER
nous has been to speak only upoa the
features of the various denominations
which we eau commend. We might
dwell at length upon Baptist devotion to
the plaiu words of scripture as they uu-
derstand them. We might tell how the
great modern foreign missionary more
der William Carey o one hundred
years ago. Or we might point out how
the Baptist, of all the Churches three
centuries esince, alone bald heeu
TO the doctrine OF the universal salvation
of children no die in infancy. But we
will give our time chiefly to still more
note worthy features of that communion.
We mention, first, the emphasis which
Baptists place Upon the Sacraments OF
Baptism and the Lords Supper. The
first OF these was instituted by our
Saviour as the means of entrance into the
church; the second, as the means OF
Continuance in it. High Churchmen and
recommendations have, however, gone too
far in identifying religion wholly with
these, and have tended to Journalism.
Quakes have gone to the other extreme
in iguOring the outward practice OF these
ordinances, while striving after their
spirit. But Baptists have taken the safe
and prudent middle course. They neither
exal5 these into self-operating saving
ordinances, nor ignore them. But they
are regarded as orderly observances, in
stituted of Christ, upon which The vlsl-
bility of the church depends, and which,
used with faith, are of spiritual value.
The Baptist position is the true one.
CONVERTED MEMBERSHIP.
"AgaiD, the Baptist Churcn stands for
a converted membership. Holding as
they DO, thai the sacrarnents are not saw
ing ordinances, true Baptists can never
sit down In spiritual security, merely
because they lave received Baptism ana
Communion. They strive to make their
election sure. The Methodists feel very
much sympathy with this insistence upon
a converted membership. We have
various grades of preparatory mem-
bership. as those of infants and
baptized children but this is
preliminary to conversion, which
is supposed to have been attained by all
full members. The Baptists are also to
be praised for being a church of the COM
mon people, for the common people.
They lave not sought especially after the
learned and wealthy, but after that class
chiefly from whom Jesus was born, which
constitutes the great majority OF nan
kind and which holds the larger partsof
the worlds moral excellence. They have
also reached lower down, enrolling more
than two hundred thousand negroes in
their membership in the South. All this
is a most Christian way of conducting a
church.
NOT PROSECUTORS.
FINALLY, we the Baptists for
their freedom from the prosecuting spirit
throughout all their history. OF all the
churches three hundred years ago, they
made no martyr, while furnishing many.
Catholics have prosecuted Protestants
and Protestants Catholics, and each
other, but BaptiSts have never prosecuted.
Roger Williams Colony of Rhode Island
was the only one which, without compul-
sion, guaranteed absolute religious iber-
~ to all. The Catholics of Mary
and gave it, because they were
compelled to by a Protestant king, Pro-
testant capitalists who furnished money
for the colony, and by the Surrounding
Protestant colonies. The Puritans per-
secuted the Quakers and banished the
Baptists, but Baptists were true to their
principles aud never retaliated. There
has not, and by their constitution never
can be, IL heresy trial among the Baptists.
They are rot guilty of the outrageous
wrong of eXpelling men from their
communion whom they nevertheless ac-
knowledge are fit for the Kingdom of
Heaven. They do not believe they a
a right TO impose conditions of member
ship in Gods visible church which He
has not imposed as conditions Of member.
ship In His spiritual church. They do
not exalt man-mads creeds and human
opinions above the Word of God. In this
they are a bright and shining example to
| a great part of our modern churches.'
The speaker closed with q tribute to
- .- D4kN,A II-1I
| Askew. the martyr of Bonner's time.
| The next and last sermon in the course
will be upon why | am q Methodist"