The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1895-11-08

heart or life here, the Lord is STOPPING
down and saying, "Ye shall indeed be
baptized with the baptism wherewith
am baptized withal;'' and if it is so, may
God give you grace and strength to say,
with his Apostle, Yea. and if 1 am
offered upon the sacrifice and service of
faith, | joy, and am rejoieed, rejoicing
that ye are accounted worthy to suffer
in the name of Christ"
And yet how far are we all, how far is
the Christian church, how far is my own
life as l speak to you, from any real par
taking of the baptism CT the cross! We
are so comfortable, nine tenths of our
living is so selfish, even our sorrows we
take so selfishly, we grieve so deeply at
the least thing that does not satisfy US
or that goes wrong with US, the depth
of the mystery hidden from all ages is
so much to us stilla depth of mystery,
that the unselfish way is a joy and a
hope and glory. Have we not, every
one of US. baptism to be baptized with,
an experience of Christian life other
than any we have yet attained unto to
begin? One who had probably sacrific-
ed more for his faith than any one of
US has done looked far back over all that
he had given and far forward to all that
he would b e, and said: 81 see that il
man shall give all his substance, it is as
nothing; and if he should practice great
repentance, still it is little; and il he
shall attain unto all knowledge, he is
still afar off; and if he should be of great
virtue, and of very fervent devotion, yet
there is much wanting: namely, one
thing, which is most necessary for us.
What is that? That, having left all, we
forsake ourselves, and 60 wholly out of
ourselves, and retain nothing Of self
love. Now, this is impossible with man
and yet even here he rideth easily enough
whom the grace Of God carrieth."
Such, and only such, is the full idea
that lies in the Christian baptism, and in
the light of such we must understand.
not only the obligation over ourselves,
but also our teaching unto others. When
the Master sends us out TO baptize all ma
tions, it is not the baptism with water
alone that he has in mind; it is some
thing far greater, grander than that
which is laid upon his Church and his
people; it is the baptism of water and
Of fire and of blood it is the bringing of
the possible purity and the possible in
SEPARATION and the possible self sacrifice,
unselflshness, among men that this mis-
sion of Christ has before us. We 90 I'M
to men in this ministry of Christ with
threefOld message and power; we to fill
them with light and purity and tsuth-a
ministry of refinement Of character; we
go unto them to fill them with enthusi-
asm and zeal and devotion-a ministry
Of exalted spiritual grace and power; we
do unto them to fill them with unselfish-
ness, with the martyr spirits-a ministry
of self-sacrificing love. Poor, deluded
missionaries of the Jesuits among the
IroQuois Indians were burned with fire,
and had their naile bitten off by savages,
and their bodies SCARED by knives flung
to see how near the vital part the aim
this they bore only that, in passing
through the woods with the savages,
they might shake the trees wet with the
rain, and. as the water fell on the heath
en- heads beneath, might, all unknown to
those children of the wilds pronounce the
baptismal formula and so save them from
everlasting torture. II for such super
stitious, ridiculous, and magical idea of
baptism these men were able to 20
through persecution unremittant, tor
lures unspeakable, to die praising and
God-if these men for such
foolish thoughts would gladly make such
glorious sacrifice, how much more shall
we be glad with this nobler, truer idea Of |
what baptism IL and what the baptism OF |
Christ fe meant to bring to men! How
shall we rejoice TO 60 throughout AL |
Gods world ssmaktng disciples and bap- /
ttzing them In the name Of the Father Of