The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1910-02-08

II faithful, they Will be members or
the glorious Church beyond the veil
1t, as the Bride of Christ, will be his
companion and Queen during the Mil
lennial reign Of glory for the blessing
Of the world-for the blessing of the
non-elect, considered last Sunday.
st. Paul not only tells us Of our
need to be thus immersed into mem
bership in the Body of Christ, but he
proceeds to tell us hoto that member
ship can be brought about. The
words, Baptism into his death" ex-
plain the matter. How strange that
we ever thought these words signified
water immersion! Our eyes are now
opened! Plainly, now. we see that
into his death" signifies our partici-
patton with our Lord Jesus in suf-
fering for righteousness, in self-de-
mails, self-sacrifcings of the same
Master. 1t is true indeed that the
whole world suffers pain, sorrow, dis
appointment, ETC.; yet our Lord suf-
fered differently from all others, and
our dying must correspond to his. He
suffered, the Just for the unjust. The
holy, harmless, undefiled One laid
down his life sacrifcially, voluntarily.
joyfully. And we, to share in his
death, to be baptized into bis DEATH
must do the same.
True, Jesus was spotless, while we
are members of the fallen race But
we are justified through faith in his
blood. And hence we have in the
Divine sight through him a standing
of human perfection or justification.
This standing is granted to us or i'm
puted to us for the very purpose of
permitting US to sacrifice our human
rights and earthly interests as he sac
rificed his. The 'elect" are to be dead
with him, that in the resurrection they
may live with him and be like him and
share his glory, honor and immortality
By consecra ton we present our bodies
living sacrifices holy and acceptable TO
God, as the Apostle declares (Romans
xii, u. Thus we are Immersed into
his death and thus we become mem
bers Of bis Body
Whoever fails to be thus immersed
into Christ's death will fail of the
membership in his Body-will fail to
be Of his elect Church, his Bride. The
difference between being dead with
Adam and being dead with Christ is
very great. By nature we are all dead
with Adam He was sinner. con-
demned. We as his offspring are the
same. 1t was necessary therefore that
we should by faith be lifted out of
this condition of death with Adam, In
order that by conservation of all earth
" interests we might become dead
with Christ. Thus we share with him
his sacrifiCial death and. by participa-
ton in Ibis resurrection" also become
sharers of his Kingdom glory.
Kidding ourselves, then, of the I'M
scriptural theory of an eternal torment
awaiting the non-elect. may not all
Christians perceive the reasonableness
of the Divine proposition to bless them
through the elect? AS Jesus by his
sacrifice was made Head of the
Church, so all who will be his members
must share his spirit of self-sacrifce-
death to the world and earthly inter-
est. Only such may share with him
in his Millennial Kingdom work of
blessing, uplifting, instructing, assist
ing all Of the non-elect. Many Of the
nOn-elect under the fuller light and
better opportunities of the Millennium
will turn from sin to righteousness.
from death to life eternal. This hap
tism into death" with it's blessed re-
ward excludes no UNCONVENTIONAL lines.
1t includes in the Church of the elect
those of every denomination and of no
denomination who comply with its
conditions of faith and obedience and
conservation unto death.
Was not this our Lords baptism as
he described it? Just before his cru
cifxion he said, II have a baptism to
be baptized with, and how am strait
ened Qroubled) until it be accom-
plished" His baptism dated from his
conservation at Jordan, but it was not
fully accomplished" until on the crcJs
he cried, at is finished his baptism
into death was finished. Was not this
baptism into death what he referred
to when speaking to his disciples!
James and John requested that they
might sit on his right hand and left
hand in the Kingdom. In reply Jesus
said. Are We able to be baptized with
the baptism that l am baptized WITH
Surely he did not refer to a water i'm
mersion! Surely he did refer to his
baptism into death, and meant his
apostles to understand that only by
sharing in his baptism into death could
they hope to sit with him in his
Throne Ozark K, 80.
With this reasonable, logical, Scrip
tural view of baptism before our minds
which of US would be inclined to dis
pute over the form of the symbol or in
respect to the class of persons who
should properly use the symbol? Sure
ly none would claim that infants could
thus believe and thus consecrate to
death! Surely all would agree that
symbolical immersion into water such
as was practised by the early Church,
according to all the records, would be
the most reasonable, most beautiful.
most appropriate method of symbolic
ing the real baptism into Christ-into
his death Let US then. dear friends,
not be content merely to federate! Let
us unite our hearts and heads and
hands as members of the Body of
Christ; let us be baptized with his
baptism, into his death!