Newport daily independent., 1902-05-30
SERMON ON BAPTISM.
By Rev. L. H. Richardson, Pastor of Presbyterian Church, Relative to Essentially of Baptism and
 Mode Practiced in
 Scriptures.
(coNT1NUED FROM WEDNESDAY, }

baptism of the Apostle Paul in Da- mascus, Acts 22:16. Paul says to Ananias ssArise and be baptized and wash away thy sins" He does not say s'wait until we can go to river" What would most likely have been the thoughts of a zealous Jew like Paul, upon hearing those words? Doubtless those of the Psalmist, Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean, wash me and shall be whiter than snow," which we all understand to refer to sprinkling man with water, into which the hyssop was dipped to cleanse him that was de- filed by sin.
 (b.)- Again, Saul at this time was blind and had had no food or water for three days. Again, there were enemies who had heard of this won derful conversion and who were in- censed against him for turning against them
 Under these circumstances is it likely, is it possible that Ananias would have required Saul to go out to a river for the purpose of immer- sion? Or is there any knowledge or evidence that there were any pools built by the christians there in that day? There is no evidence that the Jews had them for such purposes; or if there had been any built, would the opponents of christianity have let them alone, especially as they perse- cuted this same Saul so relentlessly as that he had to escape from the city by basket let down from the wall?
 (c.)-Again verse IS says that he arose and was baptized; the more correct translation of the participle "anastas" is, "standing up." In the house standing upn this great apostle was baptized The inference is plain He was not immersed stand ing up.
 IV.-THE PHILLIPPIAN JAILoR. .- Acts 16:23 39. Some who hold to immersion claim that the jailor took the prisoners to some stream, If he did not, but remained in the jail, the jailor was certainly not i'm mersed, as there were no rivers or baptismal founts either in that hea- then prison.
 Note first, the jailor was very much terrified, seeing the prison doors all open, thinking that all the prisoners had escaped, since he had been es- pecially instructed to keep them; and for this purpose had put them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. Thinking that they had escaped he was about to fall upon his sword and commit suicide knowing that the Roman government would take his life should any prisoner escape from him.
 Now under these circumstances would the jailor have dared risk talk ing these prisoners out of the jail to a stream or any body of water at the depth of midnight? To convince a jury upon even the possibility of such deed there would have to be shown the actual facts of the trip. 1t is simply incredible to suppose that a man in such state of mind; as was this tailor, would have run such risk.
 Again we have almost the direct
 
 statement of Paul to the effect that at the time of the jailor's baptism he had not gone forth from the prison walls.
 It is true that verses 30 and 34 say that he brought them out; and he brought them into his house. Which evidently means that he still had them within tLe prison walls and in his custody, as prisoners, as is shown by the answer of Paul to him when he said vEhe magistrates have sent to let you go .** "But Paul said unto them, they have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison, and now do they thrust us out privily x < And they came and besought them and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. And they went out of the prison" If they had been out of the prison before when in the iailor's house, the magistrates would have known it and visited vengeance upon the jailor. Besides, the verse says ''they took them out of