George Washington Flowers Memorial Collection DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ESTABLISHED BY THE FAMILY OF COLONEL FLOWERS SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. I 1 HENDERSONVILLE, N. C. : { Jas. D, Davis & Bro., Newspaper and Job Printers. I 1887. SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. HENDERSONVILLE, N. C. : Jas. D. Davis & Bro., Newspaper and Job Printers. 1887. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/suggestionstobapOOunse THE FLOWERS COLLECTION Suggestions to Baptist GKristians. ARTICLE FIEST. John s Baptism unto Repentance. HAT did our Saviour declare concerning John the Baptist ? ^'Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist : notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of Heaven is greater than he." St. Matt. 11:11. To what does He allude by the expression, Born of women ?" To natural birth as distinguished from spiritual birth. How do you know this ? By His remark immediately suc- ceeding the above : Notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of Heaven is greater than he." What is meant generally by the phrase, kingdom of Heaven ?" The Christian Church. How do you know this ? From our Saviour Himself: ''The kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field," etc. St. Matt. 13:24-30. Here it is impossi- ble for the phrase, kingdom of Heaven," to mean the Heaven above, for no tares, i. e. wicked men, will enter there — it means the Christian Church where the good are growing with the bad. Give another illustration : The kingdom of Heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind : which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away." St. Matt. 13:17-18. What does our Saviour say this means ? So shall it be at the end of this world : the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just." "The Son of man shall send 4 SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. forth his an£;els, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity/' St. Matt. 13:41, 49. What do these, and many similar illustrations, mean ? That in the Christian Church, God's kingdom on earth, evil men are mixed with the good, and that the separation can only possibly properly be made by almighty and omniscient power. What, then, is the evident meaning of our Saviour's words concerning John the Baptist : " Of them that are born of women," etc., and "He that is least in the kingdom of heaven," etc.? They mean, first. That we must be born of water and the spirit." St. John 3:5. Second, That the least person bap- tized into the Christian Church is greater than John the Baptist. How can these things be, and Avhy are they so ? On account of superior privileges enjoyed in the Christian Church ; John died before our Saviour was crucified, and before He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sent the Holy Ghost. Even before these events took place, what were the privileges of his disciples? See St. Luke 10:23, 24. Did John understand this? Not only did he understand it, but he also strove to impress it upon his disciples : ^'I," said John, " am the voice of one crying in the wilderness," etc., i. e., so great was his modesty he utterly disclaimed being anybody ; merely a voice — sound and nothing more! Christ was the Word, and the Word was God ! Give another instance: "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom — this my joy therefore is fulfilled." The Church is the Bride, and Christ is the bridegroom. He will baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire." and then both the " Spirit and the Bride will sa}^ come." Rev. 22:17. Was John's baptism Christian baptism? It was not. What is Christian baj^tism, as literally instituted in the Greek language by our Saviour in St. Matt. 28:19, 20 ? "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe," etc. When was the Holy Ghost given ? On the day of Pentecost after our Saviour had ascended into heaven. Acts 2:2-4. How do you know the Holy Ghost was not given prior to this time ? ' From St. John 7:39 : " Thus spoke he of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glori- SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. fied," and from xlcts 1-5 : John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." Also from John's own words quoted above. 8t. Matt. 3:11. Why, then was John's haptism not Christian baptism f Be- cause it was not baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Give some further proofs of this fact? In Acts 18:24-26, we read of Apollos, an eloquent man, etc., who knew only the bap- tism of John : Aquila and Priscilla expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly y Name another instance : In Acts 19:1-5, we read of those who, although these were the days of the Spirit, having been baptized with John's baptism, " Had not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost." Although they had been baptized with John's baptism they w^ere baptized over again ^* in the name of the Lord Jesus." What do these instances abundantly prove ? That it is a fearful error to substitute John's baptism with water unto re- pentance, for Christ's baptism with water and the Holy Ghost. He being now exalted as a Prince and Saviour not only to give repentance^ but also remission of sins^ and all the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Acts 5:31. ARTICLE SECOND. The Baptism of our Saviour hy John the Baptist. What baptism did John the Baptist administer ? He bap- tized unto repentance. St. Matt. 3:11. What is true repentance ? To be sorry for sin, and to forsake it. Who came to be baptized of him ? Our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Who was and is Jesus Christ ? He was and is both God and man. Had he committed any sin ? No. He was the spotless Lamb of God. 6 SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. Why, then, should he be baptized with John's baptism unto repentance ? He was not baptized with John's baptism unto repentance. Why, then, was he bax^tized ? To fulfill all righteousness. St. Matt. 3:15. What does this mean ? Our Saviour came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. St. Matt. 5:17. He died on the cross to fulfill that requirement of the law which declared that, " With- out the shedding of blood there is no remission." Hebs. 9:22. And by his passive obedience in this and other respects, he suifered all that the law required in the way of penalty for the sins of men. What else did the law require ? Active obedience : i. g., that all its Geremonial enactments should be fulfilled. Name some of these ceremonial enactments. Divers w^ash- ings. Hebs. 9:10. Greek : Diverse baptisms, i. e., difi'erent kinds of baptisms. AVhat was one of the most important of these difi'erent kinds of baptisms ? That bv which the priest was consecrated. Ex. 29:4; Lev. 8:5-6; Nums. 8:6-7. How is it expressly stated in these places the water was to be applied? By sprinkling, etc. What does the picture in Mosaic found in the church erected at Ravenna in -401 represent ? Our Saviour is standing in the water, and John, standing on a rock, pours from a shell the water on the Redeemer's head. Painted on the rocky side of the chapel discovered in the catacombs of Rome, what do we find? A representation by a Christian of the second century of the Saviour's baptism by John : our blessed Lord is standing in the river Jordan : John, not himself in the stream, but, standing on the brink, pours with his hand the water on the Saviour's head. (Dr. Fuller's Loutron.) What did this baptism of our blessed Lord signify? It was the regular legal means by which he was admitted into the Jewish priesthood, by which he fulfilled this portion of the ceremonial law, and by which he submitted himself to be out- wardly ordained. How do vou know this? From our blessed Lord himself, and from the scriptures. See St. Matt. 21:23-27 ; St. Mark 11:27-33 ; St. Luke 20:2-8, etc. Here yow will perceive the question of authority was raised by the Jews. Our Saviour settled it by referring to his ordination. We must be careful not to con- found the baptism of John," spoken of by our Saviour in SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. 7 these verses, with "John's baptism unto repentance." The sole question here raised was as to the Saviour's autliority. "J'or as no man taketh this honor upon himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron ; so also our blessed Lord glorified not himself to be made an highpriest, but he that said unto him, Thou art mv Son, this dav have I begotten thee." Hebs. 5:4, 5. What error is sometimes made in speaking of the Saviour's baptism? It is mentioned as an example to us, whereas He himself declares it w^as to ''fulfill all righteousness." So far as any argument of example may be adduced from the mere fact of our Saviour's baptism, it is as fully obligatory upon us to be circnmcised as it is to be haptized'^ for he submitted to each of these requirements, that he might fulfill the righteous- ness of the Jewish law by his active obedience. What is the "example" declared by the scriptures to have been left us by our blessed Lord ? Read carefully 1st Peter 2:21-23. He did not intend for us to be ahvays trying to fulfill the law by being circumcised, ordained to the Jewish priest- hood, or nailed to the cross. He fulfilled all these require- ments himself, for He fulfilled every jot and tittle of the law. St. Matt. 5:17, 18. He now offers through a faithful use of the sacrements of the Church to impute to us His obedience, and to impart to us His righteousness. : — 0 — :• ARTICLE THIRD. What is Christian Baptism f Of Tvhat covenant do we read in the 17th chap. Genesis? Of the covenant God made with Abraham and his seed after him. What was to be the duration of the covenant ? It was an everlasting covenant. Gen. 17:7. What is meant by the here? Christ and his mystical body the church. How do you know this ? From Galatians 3:16 and id. 29. Was the Gospel preached to Abraham ? It was Gal. 3:8. 8 SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. Where else is Christ called the seed?" Gen. 3:15. What is the term applied to the covenant made with Abraham ? Everlasting. See Hebs. 13:20, Isaiah 55:3, id. 61:8, Ezek. 16:60. Where, also, do we read of this covenant ? St. Luke 1:72,73. Where is our Saviour expressly called " the messenger of the covenant? Malachi 3:1. What was, originally, the mode of admission into this ever- lasting covenant ? Circumcision. Gen. 17:7-10. Was this covenant at that time unlimited in its application ? No, it was confined to one nation, the Jews — and to the males of that nation. Did the lavj^ which was 430 years after, annul this conve- nant? No! See Gal. 3:17. Wherefore then serveth the law ? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed (Christ) should come to whom the promise was made» Gal. 3:19. Could the law give eternal life? It could not. Gal. 3:21. When Christ, the promissd seed, came, what took place? The covenant was then expressly declared to include all nations: "For in Christ Jesus there is neither Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, male nor female, Jew nor Greek, but Christ is all, and in all." Col. 3:11. Was circumcision discontinued by the early Christians as the mode of admission into the everlasting covenant? It was. How do you know this ? From Acfs 15; Gal. 5:2, 6:12-14. Why was it discontinued ? It was too narrow and limited in its operation : it could not include females in its terms ; it was restricted to the Jewish race ; Christ was to gather all nations into the everlasttng covenant, for In thy seed (^. e., Christ) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." What was substituted in the place of circumcision as the means of admission into the everlasting covenant? Baptism. How do you know this ? From many passages of scripture, and especially from Col. 2:11-12, where baptism is expressly called "circumcision made without hands. What, then, is Christian baptism ? It is that divine ordin- ance established by our Saviour to go into operation, and to take effect after He returned to heaven and sent the Holy Ghost, by wiiich we are born again of water and the Spirit into that everlasting covenant offered to all mankind through the blood and merits of Jesus Christ, its mediator, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. 9 ARTICLE FOURTH. The Mode of Baptism. Has the Saviour ordained any particular mode of applying the water in baptism ? He has not. What may we infer from this? That the quantity of water is not important. How then should the water be applied in baptism? In any desirable or convenient way — by pouring, sprinkling, or im- mersion. What remarkable fact should arrest our attention? Where dipping is undeniably meant in the New Testament, lapto^ and not haptizo, is employed. See Matthew 26: 23 ; Mark 14: 20 ; Luke 16: 24 ; John 13: 26 ; Revelation 19: 13, whereas haptizo is always used to signify baptism." How mauv meaninij:s has the word ''baptizo?" At least fifty. Mention some of these. It means to pour, to dip, to sprinkle, etc. What conclusion may be fairly deduced from these premises? If immersion is the only form of baptism, surely our Saviour, in speaking of baptism, would not continually and always omit the use of a word which means nothing besides immersion, and constantly employ a word which has fifty other meanings ; the conclusion, then, is inevitable : He never intended to confine the rite of baptism to any such contracted limits. Is there any undeniable instances of immersion in the New Testament? Only that recorded in St. Matthew 8: 32. Does not the scripture say : " John was baptizing in Enon because there was much water there ? No ; it is a wrong trans- lation. The Greek is " many waters," i. e., springs. St. John 3: 23. Did not Philip immerse the eunuch? It is contrary to sound reason to suppose he did. How so ? The eunuch was reading from the prophet Isaiah ; he desired instruction which Philip gave ; he then requested baptism as the result of what he had just learned. Now turn to the portion of Isaiah he was reading, and, remembering that the Bible was not then divided into chapters, you will find he had just read (see 52d and 53d chapters) that Christ would sprinkle many nations." What is a very violent sui)position ? That the eunuch had 10 SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. just read that Christ would sprinkle " many nations, and then immediately desire to be baptized by immersion. Do the scriptures expressly declare there are different modes of Baptism ? They do. Where? In Hebrews 9:10, where the words ''divers wash- ings " mean, in the original Greek, different baptisms." Were some of these certainly performed by sprinkling^? They were. See Nums. 8:7, and throughout the Old Testament. What remarkable language do we find in Ezek. 36:25-30? Every blessing, spiritual and temporal, is promised in terms which cannot be more explicit or desirable. From what were these blessings all to flow ? From Water and the Spirit. How is it expressly stated the water is to be applied ? The water is to be sprinkled. See verse 25. What has recently been discovered in the ruins of an ancient European church ? A genuine Bajjtistery of the earliest centuries. Describe this. It is about four feet high, and three feet in diameter. The interior center of the font is of the same height as the outer rim, and slopes gradually to the rim. Within this rim, in a channel which recedes gradually to the centre of the font, the water flows in a stream six inches wide. What is the only way the water could have been applied? The candidates for baptism knelt or stood around, or were held in the arms of the baptizer while the water was applied with the hand by pouring or sprinkling. Where were the ancient Christians compelled to secrete themselves from the fury of heathen persecutors? In the catacombs of Rome. What are the dimensions and age of the Baptistery recently discovered there in the chapel which has been unknown for a thousand years? It is two feet long, two [feet deep,;^and;^two feet wide, and is at least sixteen hundred years old. Who only could have been immersed in this Baptistery ? Infants. When we read : Buried with Christ in Baptism," is a literal burial intended? No; the expression is figurative. Christ was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea : this tomb was above the ground, hewn out of the rock. Thus we are said to be "crucified with Christ,'- but a literal crucifixion is not intended — a mortification of our lusts is meant by both expressions. SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. 11 What instance of Baptism could not have been bv immers- ion ? 1 Oor. 10:2 ; Psa. 66:6 ; Ex. 14:29. Why could this have not been by immersion ? They walked upon dry land. Ex. 14:29. When were the apostles baptized with the Holy Ghost? On the Day of Pentecost. How were they baptized with the Holy Ghost? Cloven tongues, like as of fire, sat upon them. Acts 2:3. What is here narrated? A positive and indisputable in- stance where Baptism was not by immersion, the cloven tongues representing rather the drops of water. What filled the room " on this occasion ? The sound of a rushing, mighty wind.'' What, in fact, is all the controversy and confusion created by the immersion theory? Merely sound, and nothing more. Where did our Saviour rebuke the tendency to rely too much on the quantity of water or washing? In John 13:10, where He assures Peter that a man may be every whit clean, though only a part be washed. What has been the result of the contention and strife about the dip theory? The whole controversy about Baptism has shifted from an important fact (the authority of the Church, and of the Baptizer) to a frivolous and umimportant point — the quantity of water used. Who have authority to Baptize ? Those whom Christ has commissioned. Have any others authority ? We do not decide that point. In the Apostolic Church we know we have that authority, and are anxious that all should avail themselves of the advantages offered by the Church of the Living God — the Bod}" of Christ on earth — the Pillar and Ground of the Truth. How do you know that you have authority in the Church ? Because her ministers trace their commissions back to the only One who ever had authority originally to send out ministers — our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ himself. Who originated the society of Christians who now hold the doctrine of immersion as the only form of Baptism? Roger Williams and Ezekiel Holloman, in 1639. Who was Ezekiel Holloman ? An unbaptized man, not a member of any church. How did he start the new society? He immersed Roger Williams. What did Roger Williams then do ? He immersed Ezekiel Holloman. 12 SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. Why did he do this? Because the new faith of the new society was that unless a man was immersed by a man who had been himself immersed he was not properly immersed. What was the difficulty here? They -stultified themselves: for according to their own theory neither of them was properly immersed. How so? Why, when Holloman immersed Williams, Wil- liams was immersed by a man who had not been himself im- mersed — and therefore, according to the Baptist theory, Wil- liams was not properly immersed ; and when Williams, in turn, immersed Holloman, Holloman was immersed by a man who had never been properly immersed and, therefore (also, accord- ing to the Baptist theory) Holloman was not properly im- mersed. What (still according to their own theory) is the logical and inevitable result ? The Baptists are without any Baptism at all. If immersion of adult believers by a minister who was him- self immersed as an adult believer be the only proper Baptism, what necessarily follows? There were no proper baptisms in the world from the death of the Apostles for 1600 years, for infant Baptism universally obtained throughout the world for that length of time, and no manner or mode of applying the water was prescribed. What further follows ? There is no proper Baptism on earth to-day : For Williams and Holloman, as we have shown, w^ere not immersed properly according to the Baptist theory. What does all this show ? That God confounds the ways of those who refuse to hear the Church. What else does it show ? That the Dip-theory (Diphtheria ?) is bad for adults, as well as for children. From whence, then, do the Baptists derive all the ministerial authority they possess ? From Roger Williams, a clergyman of the Church of England (known in this country as ''The Episcopal Church.") What is the Christian Church ? It is '' The Body of Christ," (Eph. 1:23; Col. 1:24) the Pillar and Ground of the Truth," (1 Tim. 3:15 ; Acts 20:28) The Church of the Living God, not the society of a dead man. Did Williams have any right or authority to ordain clergy or start a church ? No more than he had to consecrate the devil and start a new Gehenna. Why do you say this ? Because Williams belonged to the second order of the ministry, and these have no authority to SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. 13 ordain. After all their mutual interbaptizations, Williams and Holloman had no more authority to ordain ministers than had any other unauthorized members of the Episcopal Church. What also necessarily follows ? As a stream cannot rise higher than its source, it follows that every member of the Episcopal Church — male, and female, and infants — have the same ministerial authority, in kind and degree, as have the Baptist ministers. Why do you say this? Because all the authority the Baptist ministers have, they received, originally, from being baptized by an Episcopal preacher ; and therefore every person baptized by an Episcopal preacher has the same authority to start a church as has a Baptist minister. But, in fact, who only have authority to ordain ? The Bishops of the Church of God — the first order of the Christian ministry — the successors of the Apostles. Was Williams a Bishop ? No ! he belonged to the second order of the ministry, while Holloman was not even a Christian (?'. e., a member of the Church) when he pretended to baptize and ordain Williams ; he was never baptized until after he had immersed Williams, when AVilliams immersed him. How have our Baptist brethren strongly testified to the validity of the authority of the Church of God ? They are well satisfied with the validity of ministerial orders which have de- scended from an eccentric clergyman of the Church of England, who had no authority to convey them, and the so-called Bap- tist Church is thus the illegitimate off'spring of a faithless Episcopal preacher. Deut. 23:2. What is a strange fact? That we should find (as w^e do) some intelligent and pious people in such an organization. Is there any valid account of any body of Christians who held the present Baptist tenets before the time of Roger Williams and Ezekiel Holloman? No! There are a few isolated instances scattered several centuries apart, of eccentric characters who held some of the present Baptist theories, e. g., Photius denied Baptism to infants because he maintained they all, who died, went to hell, as they couldn't have faith, and ''without Faith it was impossible to please God," and it is maintained that a few of the ignorant and deluded Waldenses and Albigenses have never, like Apollos, had the opportunity of hearing any- thing but John's Baptism, and need to be instructed more perfectly. (See Acts 18:26). But it is an undeniable fact that the fearful heresy which denies the right of infants in the 14 SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. covenant of God, and restricts the grace of Christ to one mode of Baptism, and that to be administered by an individual who has no authority to baptize anybody — is a modern invention of the 17th century, which owes its growth to the schisms and divisions in the Christian Church. Where do we find the peculiar tenets of the Baptist society. (i. e., close communion, one mode of administering Baptism, and denial of God's covenant to infants) evidently foretold in Scripture? Rev. 13:17. What should be the humiliating reflection of Baptist min isters ? That while all the Apostolic churches, for centuries, in persecutions of blood, fire, and wild beasts, were con tending for the Faith once delivered to the saints, and preaching Christ crucified to the heathen world, the histories of the Baptist society can only show the mighty eff'ort and contention of an occasional heretic to restrain God's free sacrament cf water to a narrow channel, and to deprive the little children of the blessings of Christ's covenant ; while no organized society endeavored to perpetuate such deplorable doctrines until Williams and Holloman, with the Red man as their principal dupe, organized in 1639 the present Baptist church. : — 0 — : ARTICLE FIFTH. Who Should he Baptized f Who were, expressly, by name, ordered by Almighty God to be placed in the everlasting covenant made by him with Abraham and his seed ? Male children eight davs old. Gen. 17:9-14. Who do the scriptures declare this ''seed'' was? Christ. Gal. 3:16. Were children initiated into this covenant at that age ? They were. Gen. 17:10. Where are the little ones particularly mentioned as partici- pating with their elders in the covenant ? Deut. 29:10-14. What is remarkable about the covenant of circumcision ? It was a siyn of the Faith which Abraham had, yet being un- circumcised, (Roms. 4:11) and yet children ivere especially ordered to he admitted at the age of eight days. SUGGESTIONS TO BAPTIST CHRISTIANS. 15 What would be the extraordinary condition of affairs if children were not admitted into the covenant under the Gospel ? It would prove that Abraham and Moses were superior to Christ; that the limited covenant was wider in its application than when it became unlimited; that when the covenant w^as extended to include Barbarians, Scythians, bond and free, Jews and Greeks, male and female, it was to be restricted in regard to children, it would prove that the Law was more merciful than the Gospel, and that the blood of bulls and of goats was of greater efficacy than the blood of Christ! How should such nonsense be characterized? As preposterous and absurd. Did our blessed Lord ever show any inclination to neglect children, or to diminish their privileges? On the contrary He was much displeased at anv effort to keep them from him. St. Mark 10:14-16; St. Luke 18:1 5-17. What must we especially notice in these passages ? That although these infants were broughU the Saviour declares they thereby came to him. What have we already shown to be the meaning, generally, of the t