Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1915-01-14
WHY INFANTS SHOULD
NOT BE BAPTIZED

Editor News:
AS s'Uncle Tom is badly in need
of light on the subject OF infant Dap
tism, permit me to turn on the search
light of investigation for bis intorma-
ton and editicRtion. In tue great
commission of Christ to the apostles,
Jesus said, "He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that
beiieveth not shall be damned. ST.
Mark 1915. All can see that Jesus
commanded the baptism of believers
only. A specific command to 90 any
one thing forbids the dol 1g OF anoth-
er. To illustrate, if l tell my son 10
take my axe and go into the forest aud
cut the big timber, and he goes ana
cuts the small, wouldn't he do the
very thing which / commanded him
not to dor The expression OF one
thing is the exclusion of another.
infant baptissm was valid, 1t would
t release them from the obligation
to be baptized when they became De-
lieyers, It tends to undermine ana
abolish the believers baptism that
was instituted by our God.
Bro. w. w. King, of Charleston
Tenn, received infant baptism when
a little child. He grew to MANHOOD
aud made a profession of religion ana
for forty long years be was told by
some preachers that his infant pap
tism was all right and there was no
necessity of his being baptized since
his conversion, but he WASH { cohtent
with such advice, so he went TO cnurch
and heard a faithful minister OF the
Word preach a sermon on oDedlenco'
The preacher said that to obey was
better than sacrifice and to haarken
than the fat of rams, and that 1t was
MT the nearer of the word that was
justified before God but the doer OF
the Word The scales then fell from
his eyes and he repudiated his baby
baptism and went and happily obeyeo
God in the ordinance OF believer
baptism. He told me two weeks Ia
ter that be had enjoyed himself more
religiously in the two weeks than ne
had in the forty years he had failed
to accept believers baptism: Bro
King is a living witness to what we
have written and will gladly tell any
one the same facts, if written to In
regard to the matter.
No conscious benefit is or can be
conferred upon an infant through
their baptism. The antecedent pre-
rsouisite qualifications for baptism,
that ia repentance and faith, can't be
ACQUIRED by infants, If they cans
meet the prerequisite qualifications,
how can they be scripturally admitted
to the rite, since no warrant fol- such
ceremony can be found in all the BIZ
bleP Is it not teaching and practlc.
ing for doctrine commandment OF
man. since Christ didn't teach it, and
the apostles didn't practice it, and the
grand reason no allusion is made to it
in the New Testament is because 1t
didn't exist 1t is only a man-made,
30 called baptism, opposed to GOD
believers baptism. Some advocates
assert, without any sort of proof. that
baby baptism takes the place OF cir
cumcision, and If it does as they say
wonder why they don't practice what
thew preach BY baptiZing only the
male children, as they we're the only
ones that received circumcision under
the law. The very fact that a baby
can't repent and exercise faith in
crucified and risen Lord, itself forever
settles the question that God doesn't
require such tomfoolery as baby bap-
tism, for He commanded believers
baptism only Moreover. they aren't
susceptible to the benefits of baptism;
neither is it necessary to their bap..
tism. DR.. A T. BIedsoe, editor of
the Southern methodist QUARTERLY
Review, July, 1874, wrote: with all
oul searching, we have been unable to
find in the New Testament single
express declaration or word in favor OF
| infant baptism We Justify the rite
therefore solely on the ground of logi-
cal inference, and not on any express
word of Christ and His apostles. As
no living man can point out the book,
chapter and verse in Gods Bible that
even makes mention of infant bap-
tism, DR.. Bledsoe could have wonder
fully improved his statement hao ne
said it was the offspring of neither
logic nor the Bible, but that it grew
out of the false dogma of baptismal
regeneration.
G.. W. WHITE,
| Wbitwell, Tenn, Jan II, 1915.