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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/fathersthoughtsoOOmadd 
 
A FATHER'S 
 
 THOUGHTS ON BAPTISM, 
 
 W. H, MADDEN, M.D, 
 
 LONDON: 
 J. H. JACKSON, ISLINGTON-GREEN; 
 
 AND PATERNOSTER-ROW. 
 
 SEELEYS, FLEET-STREET, AND HANOVER-STREET ; 
 AND CROYDON, TORQUAY. 
 
 1851. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Circumstances of a private nature, which it is 
 unnecessary to detail, induced the Author to 
 devote some leisure hours, during- the autumn of 
 last year, to the composition of the following 
 pages. They are now offered to the Public, by 
 the advice of friends, on whose judgment he can 
 rely, and who believe that their more extended 
 circulation may further the cause of Truth. 
 
 May He, who is the great Head of his body, 
 the Church— the Divine Institutor of the holy 
 ordinance of Baptism, use what has been thus 
 written for His own glory. 
 
 Torquay, 
 
 Feb. 1851. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE. 
 
 I. The Question Stated ------ 1 
 
 IT. The Commission -------- 5 
 
 III. The Commission Executed - - - - 9 
 
 IV. The Doctrine -- 43 
 
 V. The Question Answered ----- 85 
 

 51 /atjjtr's Cljmtgijts mt 33u^tiam. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE QUESTION STATED. 
 
 >fe 
 
 Does the Word of God tell me that my children 
 were Regenerated in their Baptism ? 
 
 This is surely a question of deepest interest to 
 every thoughtful parent ; for He who cannot lie, 
 and who could not be deceived, has most solemnly 
 declared, " Except a man he born again, he can- 
 not enter the kingdom of God," John iii. 3. I 
 know, then, on authority to which I must bow, 
 that those dear ones, whose welfare is so precious 
 to my heart, must, at some period of their lives, 
 undergo this great, this all-important change, or 
 they cannot share the joy of heaven. Has that 
 change been already wrought ? They have been 
 brought to Christ in his appointed way ; his 
 name has been called upon them ; they have been 
 baptized into that name : — did they then become 
 new creatures ? Were they then born from 
 
 B 
 
2 THE QUESTION STATED. 
 
 above, "bom, not of blood, nor of the will of 
 the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God V* 
 John i. 13. Or, may it be that they are yet un- 
 changed; that the birth of nature is the only 
 birth they have yet experienced; that the Spirit 
 has not yet been given ; that old things have not 
 vet passed away; that all things have not yet 
 become new ? 
 
 I cannot satisfy myself upon a point so deeply 
 momentous, by any reference to the opinions of 
 men. I cannot feel it a sufficient answer to be told, 
 " This divine, or that Father has ruled it thus." 
 It does not meet, nor fill up the longing wish of 
 my heart to be directed to the formularies of any 
 church, and assured " This must be the truth, 
 for so it is written here." The page of History 
 contains too many, and too sad evidences of the 
 fallibility of such standards. I see there that 
 there have been learned, serious men who have 
 held and upheld heresies most grave. I know of 
 those who deny the Divinity of the blessed Savi- 
 our; and of others who have rejected his Man- 
 hood. I hear of Councils which, in solemn con- 
 clave, have decreed that the worship of the Virgin 
 Mary is a Christian duty, while God has said that 
 to worship any but himself alone is deadly sin. 
 And with these warnings before me, I cannot, I 
 
THE QUESTION STATED. 6 
 
 dare not take man's word as the warrant for my 
 faith. 
 
 Is it unholy presumption to think and speak 
 thus ? I cannot believe it. The apostle John, in 
 his first epistle, urges those whom he addresses to 
 try the spirits — " Beloved, believe not every spirit, 
 but try the spirits whether they are of God ; be- 
 cause many false prophets are gone out into the 
 world/' 1 John iv. 1. And the Holy Ghost, by 
 the pen of Luke, has recorded his commendation 
 of the Bereans for conduct quite similar. " These 
 were more noble than those of Thessalonica, in 
 that they received the word with all readiness of 
 mind, and searched the scriptures daily whether 
 those things were so" Acts xvii. 11. Paul, the 
 great apostle of the Gentiles, and Silas, his zeal- 
 ous fellow -worker, were the teachers of these 
 Bereans, yet are they praised for nobleness of 
 mind, because they brought the spoken words to 
 the touchstone of the written word. What was 
 right in them cannot be wrong in us. And, 
 therefore, with all confidence, but with all humi- 
 lity, do I engage in this work, for my soul's good, 
 — it may be, by the blessing of God, for the good 
 of others too ; and earnestly do I pray that the 
 Enlightener may shine upon my mind, and lead 
 me into the knowledge of the truth. 
 
4 THE QUESTION STATED. 
 
 The simplest, and most satisfactory way by 
 which to arrive at a correct understanding of the 
 matter in hand, will, I conceive, be to examine in 
 order, first, the terms in which the command to 
 baptize was given ; next, the recorded instances 
 in which the commandment was put into opera- 
 tion ; then, the expressions used by the inspired 
 writers with regard to the ordinance itself, and to 
 those who have been partakers of it, which ex- 
 pressions cannot fail to receive some measure of 
 elucidation from our previous inquiries ; and 
 lastly, to apply all that we have thus learned to 
 the direct question of the baptismal regeneration 
 of infants. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE COMMISSION. 
 
 In the Gospel by St. Matthew we find our bles- 
 sed Lord's command thus given : u All power is 
 given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye 
 therefore, and teach [or, make disciples of ] all 
 nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teach- 
 ing them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
 commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway. 
 even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matt. 
 xxviii. 18—20. St. Mark thus puts it, " Go ye 
 into all the world, and preach the gospel to even- 
 creature. He that believeth, and is baptized, 
 shall be saved ; but he that believeth not, shall be 
 damned." Mark xvi. 15, 16. The remaining two 
 evangelists take no notice of this transaction. 
 
 From these words, then, we are to gather what 
 the Great Head of the Church willed his mini- 
 stering servants to do ; they contain the directory 
 
O THE COMMISSION. 
 
 for their conduct. And truly it was a large com- 
 mission which was thus entrusted to them; a 
 commission which could not fail to astonish, and, 
 it may be, in some measure perplex, their Jewish 
 minds. Indeed, we know, from subsequent 
 events, that they did not take it in at once in 
 all its breadth and fulness. They were to go to, 
 and make disciples of, all nations. They were to 
 range over the entire amplitude of this world, 
 and preach the gospel to every creature. Not to 
 the Jew alone were the glad tidings to be now 
 confined; all men, just because they were men, 
 should have the free offer, should hear the good 
 news. And these persons, thus taught, thus 
 made disciples of, were to be baptized in the name 
 of the ever blessed Trinity, the Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost, now for the first time enunciated 
 thus openly in the Triune name, as the object of 
 equal honour. The teaching must precede the 
 baptism, for in the vast majority of instances the 
 true God was previously unknown. And the 
 teaching must be received, that is, believed, or 
 the hearers would not become disciples. There 
 were thousands who listened to our Lord on earth, 
 but they only were his disciples who did more 
 than hear, — who believed what they heard. 
 
 It was the instructed disciple, then, to whom the 
 
THE COMMISSION. , 
 
 ordinance was to be administered ; the man who 
 heard what the Apostles had to say, and who re- 
 ceived then* testimony with faith. Of such the 
 Lord says, " He that believeth, and is baptized, 
 shall be saved." In this sentence we have a con- 
 sequent flowing from two antecedents, a result 
 deduced from two causes. We are positively told 
 that the baptized believer shall be saved. Can 
 any other share in that security ? We know for 
 a certainty that where these two states really 
 exist, there the third will assuredly follow. If 
 either of the first two stand alone, how will the 
 third fare ? The second member of the sentence 
 informs us, with terrific plainness, that the ab- 
 sence of one, at least, is fatal. " He that believ- 
 eth not, shall be damned." Baptism alone, then, 
 will not serve. There must be faith, or the man 
 is lost. It is impossible to escape from this con- 
 clusion. But if the baptism be the absent con- 
 dition — what then ? Will faith alone serve ? 
 There is no answer in this passage. But the 
 same lips that uttered these words, said also : 
 u God so loved the world, that he gave his only 
 begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 
 should not perish, but have everlasting life," John 
 iii. 16. It seems difficult to understand how any, 
 who love their Lord, should neglect an ordinance 
 
8 THE COMMISSION*. 
 
 so unmistakably commanded; but with this and 
 many other like precious sentences sounding, with 
 sweetest music, in our ears, who shall dare to say 
 that error here will be destructive, if faith be 
 warm and bright at heart ? 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 The first instance of the administration of the 
 ordinance of Baptism, after our Lord's ascension, 
 is recorded in the second chapter of the Acts. 
 The mighty miracle of the day of Pentecost, the 
 before unheard-of gift of tongues, had filled all 
 who witnessed it with unbounded astonishment ; 
 " they were all amazed, and were in doubt, say- 
 ing one to another, What meaneth this?" It 
 was utterly unintelligible to them ; they neither 
 knew the power which had performed it, nor the 
 object for which it was wrought; and of the 
 promise of which it was the fulfilment, they had, 
 in all probability, never heard. No wonder that 
 they marvelled at this reversal, as it were, of the 
 old miracle at Babel. Some hard sceptics indeed, 
 seeking, like many of our own day, for a natural 
 explanation of every event, however strange, hit 
 at once upon an easy solution, — " others, mocking, 
 said, These men are full of new wine." 
 
10 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 Perhaps they believed what they said ; perhaps 
 they uttered it merely out of the spiteful bitterness 
 of their unbelieving hearts; but, however this 
 might be, the remark stirred the soul of the now 
 undaunted Peter, and standing forward, with his 
 eleven fellow-workers, he delivered his first dis- 
 course, alike remarkable for clearness of demon- 
 stration, and for boldness of personal application. 
 His closing words struck home. "Let all the 
 house of Israel/'' he said, "know assuredly, that 
 God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have 
 crucified, both Lord and Christ." This was an 
 awful assertion, coming at such a time from one 
 who had been so manifestly endowed with power 
 beyond that of man ; and most awful was the 
 guilt thus laid bare before the eyes of the hearers. 
 This strange preacher told them to their face that 
 they were murderers, and no common murderers, 
 for He, whom e< by wicked hands they had cruci- 
 fied and slain," was the anointed of Jehovah. 
 The arrow sped where it was aimed. The apos- 
 tle's word proved itself to be the word of God, 
 for it was " living, and powerful, and sharper 
 than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the 
 dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the 
 joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts 
 and intents of the heart," Heb. iv. 12. "When 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 11 
 
 thev heard this/' we are told, " they were pricked 
 in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest 
 of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we 
 do ? " How shall we escape the murderer's 
 doom ? How free our souls from the curse of 
 blood ? " Then Peter said unto them, Repent, 
 and be baptized every one of you in the name of 
 Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye 
 shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Por 
 the promise is unto you, and to your children, 
 and to all that are afar off, even as many as the 
 Lord our God shall call." 
 
 There is a whole Gospel included in this short 
 answer, and in giving it Peter strictly acted up to 
 the commission he had received. The command, 
 as we have seen, was to make disciples, and to 
 baptize those disciples in the name of Christ; and 
 the result, if they were sincere, would be their 
 salvation. This is just what the apostle did. He 
 had convicted them of sin ; and now, when they 
 were groaning under the heavy burden of which 
 they had been made conscious, he tells them how 
 to escape from the consequences of their guilt. 
 They were sinners ; — they must repent of their 
 sins. They had despised, and rejected, and cru- 
 cified the Lord Christ ; — they must now change 
 their mind regarding him, and must honour, 
 
12 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 and obey, and love him. They had refused to 
 acknowledge his claims to be the Shiloh ; — they 
 must now believe him to be, and receive him as 
 such. And of their faith they must give outward 
 proof by submitting to the ordinance which he 
 had instituted, being baptized in his name, and 
 thus openly professing themselves to be his. 
 Having done this, they are assured that they will 
 receive the remission of sins, and have a share in 
 that wonderful gift of. which they had seen the 
 Apostles so largely partake. 
 
 The result is thus narrated — " Then they that 
 gladly received his word were baptized ; and the 
 same day there were added unto them about 
 three thousand souls." 
 
 Let us examine with somewhat more closeness 
 this most interesting narrative, for surely it can- 
 not but lend much help to our inquiries after 
 the truth. What was the character, then, of the 
 persons who were baptized on this occasion ? St. 
 Luke tells us that they w T ere those who received 
 Peter's word with gladness. What was that 
 word ? Evidently the declaration of the Messiah- 
 ship of Christ, the announcement of the remis- 
 sion of sins through faith in his name, the 
 promise of the Holy Ghost to those who, thus 
 repenting and believing, joined themselves to 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 13 
 
 him in baptism. Peter's exhort ation, like his 
 sermon, was addressed to all — " Repent, every 
 one of you," bat all did not receive it, and there- 
 fore all were not baptized. This is quite evident 
 from the terms in which the transaction is re- 
 corded. On this occasion, as on most others, some 
 believed and some believed not. The believers 
 were baptized ; the unbelievers remained precisely 
 what they had been before, saving the increased 
 guilt of hearing and rejecting the word of life. 
 
 The sequence of the words in the apostle's 
 answer is also worthy of all attention. He does 
 not say, " Be baptized, and repent," but " Re- 
 pent, and be baptized." As in the commission 
 the promise was to those who believed and were 
 baptized, so here, in the personal application of 
 that promise, the self-same order is observed. 
 Repentance is the prelude to baptism. That 
 repentance, of necessity, presupposes the existence 
 of faith. A man will not be turned aside from 
 an old, long-cherished opinion, by declarations to 
 which he gives no credit. He will not be roused 
 from the ordinary path of life by what he does 
 not believe to be truth. He will not confess him- 
 self to be a sinner, and feel himself to be in 
 danger, and cry out in agony for deliverance, and 
 
14 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 gladly receive the news of a way of escape, unless 
 he has been convinced that the accusations of 
 sin, and the warnings of its punishment, which 
 he has heard, are in very deed most true. Those, 
 then, who gladly received Peter's words, and 
 manifested their repentance by submitting them- 
 selves to the ordinance of baptism, did so because 
 they believed what the apostle said, because they 
 had faith in his testimony of Christ. 
 
 To them he promises remission of sins. " Re- 
 pent, and be baptized every one of you in the 
 name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." 
 Does this remission of sins depend upon both these 
 conditions — repentance and baptism; so that if 
 one be absent it cannot exist ? Or does it hang 
 chiefly upon one of the two ? And if so, which is 
 the great pre-eminent requisite — repentance or 
 baptism ? 
 
 In the 24th chapter of the Gospel by St. Luke, 
 we find that our Lord, in conversing with his 
 disciples, just before he was taken up, said to 
 them, while he opened their understanding that 
 they might understand the Scriptures — " Thus 
 it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to 
 suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third 
 day ; and that repentance and remission of sins 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 15 
 
 should be preached in his name among all 
 nations, beginning at Jerusalem," ver. 46, 47. In 
 the third of the Acts we find Peter using these 
 words — " Repent ye therefore, and be converted, 
 that your sins may be blotted out" ver. 19. And 
 a:raiD, when standing before the council — " Him 
 hath God exalted with his right hand to be a 
 Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to 
 Israel, and forgiveness of sins, v. 31. And Jesus, 
 during his interview with Xicodemus, and while 
 unfolding to him the necessity of the new birth, 
 and the nature of it, speaks thus, — " He that 
 believeth on Him is not condemned ; but he that 
 believeth not is condemned already, because he 
 hath not believed in the name of the only 
 begotten Son of God/ ; John iii. 18. Most 
 notable words ! by which we learn that con- 
 demnation and salvation are not mere future 
 events, to be looked at from a long, far distance, 
 but present realities. The believer has, in the 
 very act of his faith, escaped condemnation ; the 
 unbeliever is already condemned and sentenced, if 
 not executed. 
 
 Now, in none of these passages is one word 
 said about baptism. In the three first, remission 
 of sins is coupled with repentance ; in the last, 
 salvation is made to hang upon faith, which, as 
 
16 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 we have already seen, is an essential ingredient 
 of, and necessary prelude to repentance. 
 
 An expression in the narrative of his conversion 
 which St. Paul gave to the Jews at Jerusalem, on 
 that occasion when he had been rescued from 
 the fury of his countrymen by the intervention of 
 Roman soldiers, may appear, at first sight, to 
 stand opposed to what has just been written. 
 Ananias is there reported to have said to him, — 
 " And now why tarriest thou ? Arise, and be 
 baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the 
 name of the Lord/' Acts xxii. 16. Here remis- 
 sion of sins appears to be connected with the 
 ordinance of baptism, and nothing is said either 
 of repentance or faith. But the contradiction is 
 more apparent than real, as will be readily seen 
 by examination of the circumstances connected 
 with that turning epoch in Paul's life. The fullest 
 account is given in the ninth chapter. There 
 we learn that as Paul journeyed to Damascus, on 
 his mission of persecuting zeal, he was arrested 
 by a sudden light from heaven, exceediug the 
 brightness of the sun. He fell to the earth, and 
 heard a voice, saying to him — " Saul, Saul, why 
 persecutest thou me V 3 It is evident from two 
 references in the first epistle to the Corinthians, 
 that besides the voice there was also the personal 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 17 
 
 appearance of the Lord Jesus. Defending his 
 claims to the apostleship, Paul says, " Have I 
 not seen Jesus Christ our Lord V 3 1 Cor. ix. 1. 
 When arguing for the reality of the resurrection, 
 he observes, " xVnd last of all he was seen of me 
 also," xv. 8. The glorified Saviour being thus 
 pleased to manifest himself to his rebellious 
 servant, he was overpowered at once by the 
 stupendous vision, though he knew not the 
 form before him : " And he said, Who art thou, 
 Lord V 3 In reply to this question Jesus gave 
 that great answer which has been the stay and 
 support of his tried and persecuted followers in 
 all ages, as manifesting so clearly their oneness 
 with Him, and His entire sympathy with them, 
 " I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest ; it is hard 
 for thee to kick against the pricks." How 
 worthy of all note was the effect of these words ! 
 " And he trembling and astonished, said, Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to do V 3 We are apt, I 
 suspect, generally to read these words without 
 perceiving fully how much they contain. Here 
 was the persecutor Saul, who a few moments 
 before had been " breathing out threatenings and 
 slaughter against the disciples of the Lord," who 
 in the madness of his rage and haste, followed 
 the objects of his enmity even into strange cities, 
 c 
 
18 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 grudging them any peace anywhere, now lying 
 trembling and astonished before the face of that 
 same Jesus whose very name he had abhorred; 
 and not only so, but addressing him by the 
 sacred appellation, " Lord," and humbly asking 
 what he would have him to do ! The revulsion is 
 most perfect, the change of state most complete. 
 The proud Pharisee is humbled to the dust. 
 The daring enemy has become a submissive 
 servant. Could this be effected without faith ? 
 Would Saul, that high-minded and stout-hearted 
 zealot, have spoken thus, unless he had believed 
 what Jesus said of himself ? unless he had recog- 
 nized, in the speaker, One who had a right to 
 command ? "Would he have lain there trembling, 
 had not his conscience told him of his guilt ? — 
 had not a power he could not resist brought 
 home conviction to his heart ? It is impossible 
 to imagine it for a moment. All nature and all 
 experience at once pronounce a decided and un- 
 hesitating negative. The belief may be erroneous, 
 but it must exist, or man will not act as Saul 
 acted. 
 
 And that there was real faith now in the heart 
 of the changed persecutor is further evidenced by 
 the words of the Lord himself to Ananias, — 
 " Arise, and go into the street which is called 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 19 
 
 Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for 
 one called Saul, of Tarsus, for, behold, he pray- 
 eth, and hath seen in a vision a man named 
 Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, 
 that he might receive his sight." It is not diffi- 
 cult to imagine what would be the character of 
 Saul's prayers during those three days of dark- 
 ness and of fasting. And it is certain that they 
 were prayers of faith, for God heard them and 
 answered them ; and we know from his own 
 word that such prayers only find access to his 
 ears : " Let him ask in faith," says the apostle 
 James, " nothing wavering. For he that waver- 
 eth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind 
 and tossed. For let not that man think that he 
 shall receive anything of the Lord," Jas. i. 6, 7. 
 
 Thus it is made manifest that Saul had been 
 convinced of his sin and of his danger ; the Sa- 
 viour had been revealed to him, and faith, which 
 is the gift of God, had been bestowed upon him. 
 His case, therefore, and the words of Ananias, 
 are strictly in accordance with what has been 
 before noticed. Saul believed, and was baptized, 
 and received the remission of sins, and the gift 
 of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 The consideration of this example leads us on 
 most naturally to an examination of another 
 
 c2 
 
20 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 question. Repentance and faith being necessary 
 prerequisites to right baptism, whence do they 
 originate ? How comes it that a man, a sinner, 
 sees the error of his ways, repents of his sins, and 
 turns in faith to Christ ? Is it by any working 
 of his own mind unassisted ? or does the change 
 come from, and is it wrought by, another ? Let 
 the Word again reply. 
 
 The author of the book of Job has these 
 remarkable expressions : " He looketh upon men ; 
 and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that 
 which is right, and it profited me not ; He will 
 deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his 
 life shall see the light. Lo, all these things 
 worketh God oftentimes with man, to bring back 
 his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the 
 light of the living," Job xxxiii. 27 — 30. Here, 
 in those far back early days, we find this put with 
 great clearness, that it is God who worketh all 
 these things. The dimness of the revelation 
 then vouchsafed cast no cloud upon this part of 
 the spiritual field. Nor was it obscured after- 
 wards. In a passage of the Acts, to which refer- 
 ence has already been made for another pur- 
 pose, repentance is spoken of as a gift of God : 
 " Him hath God exalted, for to give repentance 
 unto Israel," v. ver. 31. Again ; when Peter had 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 21 
 
 described to the Apostles his vision at Joppa, and 
 the result of his visit to Cornelius, we are told 
 that their objections to his conduct vanished, — 
 " They held their peace and glorified God, saying, 
 theu hath God also to the Gentiles granted repent- 
 ance unto life/' Acts xi. 18; where granted, 
 eScoKei-, stands for gifted, not permitted. In 
 like manner the apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, 
 urges him to instruct with meekness those that 
 oppose themselves, " if God peradventure will 
 give them repentance to the acknowledging of 
 the truth," 2 Tim. ii. 25. 
 
 Repentance, then, the first step that a sinner 
 must take in his way to salvation, has its origin 
 not in the man himself, but in the merciful God 
 whom he has offended. And this is no marvel, 
 for each onward movement must depend, and 
 does depend, upon the same power. " Not that 
 we are sufficient of ourselves/'' says St. Paul, M to 
 think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency 
 is of God," 2 Cor. iii. 5. Again ; " By the grace 
 of God I am what I am ; and his grace which was 
 bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I laboured 
 more abundantly than they all ; yet not I, but 
 the grace of God which was with me," 1 Cor. 
 xv. 10. And yet again: "It is God that 
 worketh in you both to will and to do of his 
 
22 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 good pleasure," Phil. ii. 13. Paul was far 
 advanced in the divine life when he wrote these 
 words ; and those whom he addressed were 
 established Christians too ; and yet he does not 
 hesitate to affirm that he can do nothing, and 
 they can do nothing by their own power. If 
 this be true of the man already converted, can it 
 be less true of the un awakened sinner ? If he 
 who has the gift of the Holy Ghost is still utterly 
 helpless, saving in so far as that Divine In- 
 dweller shall assist him, can it be that the man 
 yet dead in trespasses and sins can achieve so 
 marvellous a performance as is comprised in that 
 great word repentance ? If the believer must 
 be helped even to think, can it be imagined that 
 the unbeliever has the power of himself to change 
 the whole current of his thoughts and feelings ? 
 Surely no. Even reason must give this negative 
 reply. The word of God sets the question at rest; 
 the first step as the last, and as every interme- 
 diate one, is of God alone. Man is nothing; 
 God is All in all. 
 
 So also of faith ; it has no human origin : " By 
 grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not 
 of yourselves, it is the gift of God," Eph. ii. 8. 
 
 Now the means whereby these unspeakably 
 precious gifts are conveyed into the heart of man 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 23 
 
 is the Holy Ghost. Our blessed Lord, when about 
 to leave his mourning disciples, promised them 
 another Comforter, and told them what that 
 Comforter would do, — " But the Comforter, which 
 is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in 
 my name, he shall teach you all things," John 
 xiv. 26. " And when he is come he will con- 
 vince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of 
 judgment," xvi. 8. " Howbeit when he, the Spirit 
 of truth, is come, he will guide you into all 
 truth," ver. 13. Thus also by the mouth of the 
 prophet, — "And I will pour upon the house of 
 David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
 the spirit of grace and supplication ; and they 
 shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and 
 they shall mourn for him, as one mouraeth for 
 his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as 
 one that is in bitterness for his first-born," Zecl^ 
 xii. 10. So Paul prays for his Ephesian con- 
 verts, "that he would grant you, according to 
 the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with 
 might by his Spirit in the inner man ; that Christ 
 may dwell in your hearts by faith" Eph. iii. 
 16, 17. 
 
 It is, therefore, quite clear that where repent- 
 ance and faith really exist, there is present the 
 power of the Spirit of God, seeing that it is His 
 
24 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 sole prerogative to work these things in the heart 
 of man. 
 
 But the apostle Peter says to those who had 
 been roused by his words, u Ye shall receive the 
 gift of the Holy Ghost." If what has been now 
 stated be true, they had already some measure of 
 the Spirit's influence; what then is the special 
 meaning of this declaration ? A careful examin- 
 ation of the context will, I think, show that the 
 miraculous powers communicated by the Holy 
 Ghost are chiefly referred to. The wonder of the 
 people had a] together turned upon the mar- 
 vellous manifestation of these powers, and Peter's 
 sermon was directed to the explanation of their 
 nature and their source. In doing this, he had 
 directed their attention to a prediction of JoePs : 
 " And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith 
 God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh : 
 and your sons and your daughters shall pro- 
 phesy, and your young men shall see visions, and 
 your old men shall dream dreams: and on my 
 servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out 
 in those days of my Spirit, and they shall pro- 
 phesy." And now he assures his heart-stricken 
 hearers that if they repent and are baptized they 
 also shall have a part in this gift : " for the 
 promise is to you and to your children ; M which 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 25 
 
 promise most evidently is that contained in the 
 passage from Joel which he had quoted. 
 
 Subsequent transactions entirely bear out this 
 view. I shall refer to one only. " When the 
 Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that 
 Samaria had received the Word of God, they 
 sent unto them Peter and John : who when they 
 were come down prayed for them, that they might 
 receive the Holy Ghost, (for as yet he was fallen 
 upon none of them ; only they were baptized in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their 
 hands on them, and they received the Holy 
 Ghost/" Acts viii. 14 — 17. In this case it is 
 unquestionable that it was the miraculous in- 
 fluence which was thus imparted ; for the narra- 
 tive proceeds : " And when Simon saw, that 
 through laying on of the Apostles' hands the 
 Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, 
 saying, Give me also this power, that on whom- 
 soever I lay hands he may receive the Holy 
 Ghost." The inward, sanctifying work of the 
 Spirit could not have been manifested at once 
 to the outward sense ; and Simon, moreover, was 
 not the man to value or desire to impart such a 
 gift as that. 
 
 This account, also, introduces us to the second 
 
26 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 recorded baptism. Philip, the Evangelist, had 
 gone down to Samaria, and preached Christ to 
 the people, working miracles among them, in 
 testimony of the authority of his mission, and the 
 truth of his doctrine : " And the people with one 
 accord gave heed unto those things which Philip 
 spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he 
 did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, 
 came out of many that were possessed ; and many 
 taken with palsies, and that were lame, were 
 healed. And there was great joy in that city. 
 But there was a certain man called Simon, which 
 beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and 
 bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that 
 himself was some great one : to whom they all 
 gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, 
 This man is the great power of God. But when 
 they believed Philip, preaching the things con- 
 cerning the kingdom of God, and the name of 
 Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and 
 women. Then Simon himself believed also ; and 
 when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, 
 and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs 
 which were done," Acts viii. 6 — 13. 
 
 Here, as before, we lind that the ordinance of 
 baptism was administered to those who believed, 
 upon the profession of their faith ; and, therefore, 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 27 
 
 the remarks already made apply with equal force 
 to this case also. But there is one new point 
 introduced to our notice in this transaction, and 
 it is a point of no small significance. The magi- 
 cian, Simon, convinced by the greatness of the 
 miracles which he witnessed, declared himself 
 also a believer, and on the strength of that 
 declaration was baptized. But what was the 
 result ? Peter, speaking by inspiration, says of 
 him, " Thou hast neither part nor lot in this 
 matter : for thy heart is not right in the sight 
 of God. Repent, therefore, of this thy wicked- 
 ness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of 
 thine heart may be forgiven thee : for I perceive 
 that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the 
 bond of iniquity," ver. 21 — 23. 
 
 Two things are made quite clear by these 
 solemn words : 1. All belief is not saving faith. 
 2. Where there is not right faith before baptism, 
 the ordinance does not necessarily give it. The 
 apostle James tells us that the devils believe, and 
 tremble, (James ii. 19 ;) but, alas ! their belief 
 does not save them; it is not that faith which 
 is characterised as the gift of God. The devils 
 know Christ; they know the truth of what He 
 says; they recognise and tremble before His 
 Divinity ; but this knowledge has no effect upon 
 
28 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 their nature; they are devils still, — trembling, 
 but unchanged. So it was with Simon. The 
 power which wrought the miracles before him 
 was acknowledged; he felt that such deeds could 
 only be done by one who possessed a real com- 
 mission from God, not such a false one as he 
 claimed for himself; and he was, in his con- 
 science, convinced that the Name in which they 
 were performed must be the Name of God. But 
 this was merely the conviction of a natural unre- 
 newed mind, and it worked no change in his 
 heart. Baptized under these circumstances, he 
 gained the title of Christian, but nothing more. 
 No grace flowed into his soul through the channel 
 of the ordinance. He was unaltered when he 
 came to Philip for baptism; he remained unal- 
 tered when he went away baptized. He had 
 neither part nor lot in the great salvation. The 
 gall of bitterness was still, as before, in his heart. 
 The bond of iniquity still held him in unbroken 
 folds. It is an awful picture, full of awful 
 warning ! 
 
 We turn to a more pleasing sight. After 
 these events had taken place, Philip, obeying the 
 direction of the angel of the Lord, went out on 
 the highway leading from Jerusalem to the de- 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 29 
 
 serted city Gaza ; and there, following the Spirit's 
 guidance, joined company with the Ethiopian 
 eunuch. The inquiring mind of that dignitary 
 was at fault, and he applied to his new com- 
 panion for help in the difficulties which the 
 prophet Isaiah presented to him. " Then Philip 
 opened his mouth, and began at the same scrip- 
 ture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they 
 went on their way, they came unto a certain 
 water; and the eunuch said, See, here is water; 
 what doth hinder me to be baptized ? And 
 Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, 
 thou mayest. And he answered and said, I 
 believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 
 And he commanded the chariot to stand still ; 
 and they went down both into the water, both 
 Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him/'' 
 Acts viii. 35 — 38. 
 
 There is a beautiful simplicity in the whole of 
 this narrative which is exceedingly pleasing ; and 
 most attractive is the child-like teachable spirit of 
 the eunuch ; but the point to which our attention 
 must be now directed is this : The enlightened 
 eunuch desired baptism, and asked if there was 
 any obstacle to its performance. Philip's answer 
 is most instructive : " If thou believest with all 
 thine heart, thou mayest." Doubtless the recent 
 
30 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 case of Simon, in which he had been so grossly 
 deceived, was vividly in his recollection, and 
 hence the peculiar emphasis of his words : " If 
 thou believest with all thine heart." It must be 
 something more than mere lip words. The heart 
 must be engaged, or the inquirer could have no 
 right to the ordinance. How deeply significant 
 is this ! Now, mark the eunuch's answer : " I 
 believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God/' 
 Philip was at once satisfied, and baptized him. 
 How did these words cany conviction to his 
 mind ? They lead us back to another very 
 notable confession. Our blessed Lord, on one 
 occasion, asked his disciples to tell him what was 
 the general opinion abroad regarding himself; 
 and when he had heard what others said, he 
 inquired, " But whom say ye that I am ? And 
 Simon Peter answered and said. Thou art the 
 Christ, the Son of the living God." Observe 
 what Jesus immediately replies : " Blessed art 
 thou, Simon Bar- Jonas, for flesh and blood hath 
 not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which 
 is in heaven," Matt. xvi. 16, 17. St. Paul, also, 
 in writing to his Corinthian converts, assures 
 them, "that no man can say that Jesus is the 
 Lord, but by the Holy Ghost," 1 Cor. xii. 3. 
 This confession, then, of the eunuch, proved to 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 31 
 
 Philip that he had been enlightened by the Holy 
 Ghost, that he possessed from God the gift of 
 faith, and was consequently a fit subject for, and 
 had a right claim upon, the outward ordinance of 
 baptism. He believed in the Lord Jesus, and 
 none might therefore exclude him from the com- 
 pany of Christians. 
 
 The baptism of Paul has already engaged our 
 attention, and therefore we need not again refer 
 to it. 
 
 The case of Cornelius, which stands next in 
 order of narration, presents some striking points 
 to our notice. He was, we are told, " a devout 
 man, and one that feared God with all his house, 
 which gave much alms to the people, and prayed 
 to God always," Acts. x. 2. He was, therefore, a 
 renewed man ; for the natural man is none of 
 these things : he is neither devout, nor God- 
 fearing, nor prayerful : " The carnal mind is 
 enmity against God; for it is not subject to the 
 law of God, neither indeed can be," Rom. viii. 7. 
 But he needed more light. He needed instruc- 
 tion in Divine things, and he was conscious of his 
 need, and asked God to give what he required. 
 This is plain from the words of the angel to him, 
 
32 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 " Thy prayers and thine alms are come np for a 
 memorial hefore God ; and now send men to 
 Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is 
 Peter; he lodgeth with one Simon, a tanner, 
 whose house is by the sea-side, he shall tell thee 
 what thou oughtest to do." Accordingly Peter, 
 having been shown in a vision that the distinction 
 of nations as clean and unclean was at an end, 
 came to him and preached Jesus. And " while 
 Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell 
 on all them which heard the word. And they of 
 the circumcision which believed were astonished, 
 as many as came with Peter, because that on the 
 Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the 
 Holy Ghost ; for they heard them speak with 
 tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 
 Can any man forbid water that these should not 
 be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost 
 as well as we ? And he commanded them to be 
 baptized in the name of the Lord." 
 
 It is impossible to mistake the lesson here 
 taught. Peter expressly says that Cornelius and 
 his friends ought to be baptized, because they had 
 already received the gift of the Holy Ghost. They 
 were not baptized that they might receive, but 
 simply because they had received it. Words 
 cannot be more plainly demonstrative. It may. 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 33 
 
 indeed, be argued that the bestowment here was 
 of the miraculous influence of the Spirit, and that 
 there is a difference between this and the ordinary 
 actings- But this is not to the purpose. The 
 fact is a simple one. God poured out His Spirit 
 on these men, and his inspired Apostle declares 
 that by reason of this gift it was his duty to have 
 them baptised. The nature of the effects wrought 
 by the Spirit cannot possibly make any difference. 
 It is not, indeed, difficult to understand why such 
 peculiar manifestations were exhibited. The case 
 was altogether a new one. God by it was showing 
 to His servants that the Gentiles were to be fellow- 
 heirs, and partakers with the Jews of the promises. 
 And the method adopted was precisely that which 
 would most easily lead to the understanding of 
 this design. Had the gift of the Spirit been 
 confined, as in ordinary cases, to the inward sanc- 
 tifying influences alone, the external indications 
 would not have been marked at once so palpably. 
 They who received it would have professed faith in 
 Christ, but the Jewish prejudices of the Apostle 
 might not have permitted him to receive this pro- 
 fession ; or at any rate to admit them openly into 
 the family of Christians; as it was, there could be no 
 misconception, the effects wrought were visible and 
 audible — the outward sense could take cognisance 
 
34 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 of them, and the evidence thus afforded came upon 
 his mind with a force and clearness which were 
 irresistible. Hear his own words when vindicating 
 his conduct before his brethren at Jerusalem, 
 " Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how 
 that he said, John indeed baptised with water ; but 
 ye shall be baptised with the Holy Ghost. For- 
 asmuch then as God gave them the like gift as 
 he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, what was I that I could withstand God ? * 
 Acts xi. 16, 17. 
 
 The visit of Paul and Silas to Philippi fur- 
 nishes us with the next two examples of the 
 administration of the ordinance of Baptism. The 
 first is thus told ; " And a certain woman named 
 Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, 
 who worshipped God, heard us ; whose heart the 
 Lord opened, that she attended unto the things 
 which were spoken of Paul. And when she was 
 baptized, and her household, she besought us, 
 saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to 
 the Lord, come into my house and abide there," 
 Acts xvi. 14, 15. How significant are those 
 simple words, " whose heart the Lord opened ! " 
 Connect them with the Saviour's promise, " When 
 he, the spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 35 
 
 you into all truth." "He shall receive of mine, 
 and shall show it unto you/' John xvi. 13, 14. 
 Can it be denied that here again was a spiritual 
 influence, preceding, not following the ordinance? 
 The other case is that of the jailor. I need 
 not dwell upon the circumstances which occurred 
 on that memorable occasion; they are familiar 
 to us all. The barbarous treatment of the two 
 missionaries, under the outraged name of justice ; 
 the thrusting into the inner prison, with feet 
 made fast in the stocks ; the triumphant happi- 
 ness of the prisoners; their songs of praise in 
 the dark midnight ; the sudden earthquake ; the 
 bursting open of the prison doors, and the loosed 
 bonds of all its inmates; the jailor's terror and 
 hasty resolve on suicide ; these are all as house- 
 hold words to us from infancy. But the sequel 
 must detain us for a while : " Paul cried with 
 a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm; for 
 we are all here. Then he called for a light, 
 and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell 
 down before Paul and Silas, and brought them 
 out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved ? 
 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And 
 they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and 
 to all that were in his house. And he took 
 d 2 
 
36 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 them the same hour of the night, and washed 
 their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his, 
 straightway. And when he had brought them 
 into his house, he set meat before them, and 
 rejoiced, believing in God, with all his house," 
 ver. 28—34. 
 
 The terror of the jailor, in the first instance, 
 appears to have been roused by his apprehension 
 of the consequences which would follow the sup- 
 posed escape of the persons committed to his 
 custody. But when assured that they were all 
 secure, and that no evil was to be anticipated 
 in that direction, his fears are still unsubdued, 
 and, in the agony of dread, he falls down before 
 his own prisoners' feet, with the anxious cry, 
 "Sirs, what must I do be saved?" Saved from 
 what ? Not surely from temporal punishment, 
 for of that there was no prospect, now that all 
 were still secure. And if there had been danger 
 of this kind, in what way could Paul and Silas 
 have assisted him ? No, it was not the body for 
 which he now trembled, nor for any of its 
 interests in this present world. The Holy Spirit, 
 whose prerogative alone it is to convince of sin, 
 had opened his mental eyes, had shown him to 
 himself in all his natural and acquired deformity 
 of guilt, and he quailed before the prospect of 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 37 
 
 the impending ruin to which it pointed. How 
 should he escape the awful doom ? What must 
 he do to be saved ? This is not the cry of 
 the natural man, case-hardened, heart-deadened ! 
 And what said the Apostle to this eager question? 
 Believe ! " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 thou shalt be saved \" He makes no doubt of 
 the result, because God makes none. There is 
 no peradventure here — no reserve. The simple 
 truth is put forwards, in simple words, which 
 leave no room for misapprehension. Believe, and 
 thou shalt be saved ! And then he preached 
 Christ to him, and to the other inmates of his 
 house. And they received the word with faith, 
 and, believing, were baptized, and rejoiced. 
 Again the same sequence — the same order in 
 the Spirit's dealing, and the Apostle's acting. 
 
 Advancing in our progress, we are led to 
 Corinth. Here, we are told that, " Crispus, the 
 chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the 
 Lord with all his house ; and many of the 
 Corinthians hearing, believed, and were bap- 
 tized," Acts xviii. 8. Where we are again pre- 
 sented with a perfectly similar picture. 
 
 There is more apparent difficulty in that which 
 
38 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 meets us next, viz., the case of the earliest dis- 
 ciples at Ephesus. It is thus narrated : — " And 
 it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at 
 Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper 
 coasts, came to Ephesus : and finding certain 
 disciples, he said unto them, Have ye received 
 the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they 
 said unto him, "We have not so much as heard 
 whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said 
 unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized ? 
 And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said 
 Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of 
 repentance, saying unto the people, that they 
 should believe on him which should come after 
 him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard 
 this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord 
 Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon 
 them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they 
 spake with tongues and prophesied," Acts xix. 
 1—6. 
 
 The first remark which I would make upon this 
 passage is, that Paul's opening question mani- 
 festlv had reference to the miraculous gifts of the 
 Holy Ghost, for he asked them if they had received 
 the Holy Ghost since they believed. They could 
 not have believed at all, without the operation of 
 the Spirit, enlightening their minds and inclining 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 39 
 
 them to the acceptance of the testimony which 
 they had heard ; so that the reception which was 
 inquired of as subsequent to their belief must 
 have been of a different character. The sequel; 
 indeed^ demonstrates that it was so. They did 
 at last receive the gift, and immediately they 
 spake with tongues and prophesied. Their answer 
 appears a very strange one, as it stands in our 
 translation : "We have not so much as heard whe- 
 ther there be any Holy Ghost. " Such an amount 
 of ignorance would seem scarcely credible in dis- 
 ciples, even those who knew no more than John 
 the Baptist's preaching. But the same form of 
 expression is used by St. John in one passage of 
 his Gospel; and there it is rendered, "For the 
 Holy Ghost was not yet given/' John vii. 39. 
 This is doubtless the correct meaning. The 
 Ephesian disciples had not been taught that God 
 was now pleased to bestow upon believers mira 
 culous gifts of the Holy Ghost. St. Paul; appa- 
 rently surprised at their words, then asks them, 
 "Unto what then were ye baptized?'' Does 
 this question imply a necessary connection be- 
 tween baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost ? 
 The progress of our inquiries hitherto points to 
 a decided negative, for we have seen the mira- 
 culous influences manifested before baptism ; and 
 
40 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 we have also seen that they neither went before 
 nor followed the administration of the rite. And, 
 in truth, even in this instance they were not 
 bestowed until, after the baptism, the Apostle 
 had laid his hands upon the disciples. But, as it 
 seems to me, there is another explanation which 
 is free from all these difficulties. Had the Ephe- 
 sian converts been baptized in the name of the 
 Lord Jesus, they would have been more fully 
 instructed in the doctrine of Christ ; they would 
 have heard of this promise, and have been told 
 of its fulfilment ; they would have learned that 
 the Gospel dispensation was the dispensation of 
 the Spirit, and would, in all probability, have 
 seen some of the miraculous wonder-workings; 
 most certainly they would not have been kept 
 in ignorance of the fact, that the great truth of 
 the Resurrection of Christ, the veiy foundation 
 of the believer's hope and security, had been and 
 still was borne witness to by the signs and mar- 
 vels which the Apostles wrought. And having 
 heard all this, they could not have been unac- 
 quainted with the power thus manifested, nor 
 have given to Paul the answer which they did. 
 
 Thus, then, we have examined in detail all the 
 instances of the administration of the ordinance 
 
THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 41 
 
 of Christian baptism, which the Holy Spirit has 
 recorded for our instruction ; and we have seen 
 that, viewed fairly with due reference to the con- 
 text, they all tell the same tale — they all present 
 the same picture. The baptized persons were 
 believers, who were thus openly admitted into the 
 company of the faithful, because God had given 
 them faith to receive the testimony of his Son. 
 In no one case have we heard a word of the ordi- 
 nance being the channel for conveying spiritual 
 life. There was one man, the single exception 
 to the rule just stated, who believed only in 
 name, not in reality : his case strengthens and 
 establishes the lessons taught by the others. No 
 grace came to him through baptism ; dead before 
 in trespasses and sins, he remained dead still — a 
 sapless withered branch. 
 
 It may be asked, "Were there then no children 
 baptized ? The answer is very plain. The history 
 does not tell of any, and we have no right to 
 assume what is not revealed. It is commonly 
 said that we may suppose there were children in 
 the three households referred to as having been 
 baptized. We certainly may supjjose it, if we are 
 so pleased ; but the supposition is utterly without 
 value ; and to raise any argument upon it, is to 
 
42 THE COMMISSION EXECUTED. 
 
 sin against the very first principles of logical 
 reasoning. We assume the very thing to be 
 proved, and then work our way back to the same 
 point in a circle of most perfect inconclusiveness. 
 If such were the only foundation on which to 
 rest our belief of the rightness of P^edo-baptism, 
 we might give the question up at once in hope- 
 less despair. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 The next division of our subject includes an 
 examination of the terms applied in Holy Scrip- 
 ture to the ordinance of baptism, and to baptized 
 persons. 
 
 St. Paul, in writing to the Romans, says, 
 " Know ye not, that so many of us as were bap- 
 tized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his 
 death? Therefore we are buried with him by 
 baptism into death; that like as Christ was 
 raised up from the dead by the glory of the 
 Father, even so we also should walk in newness of 
 life. For if we have been planted together in the 
 likeness of his death, we shall be also in the like- 
 ness of his resurrection : knowing this, that our 
 old man is crucified with him, that the body of 
 sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should 
 not serve sin," Rom. vi. 3 — 6. 
 
 We shall best arrive, I apprehend, at a correct 
 understanding of the true meaning of this pas- 
 
44 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 sage, if we keep clearly before our minds the 
 great object which the apostle had in view when 
 writing this most noble epistle. That object was 
 to explain, illustrate, and enforce the fundamental 
 doctrine of Justification by Faith. In doing this, 
 he first shows the utter rum of man by nature, 
 whether he be circumcised, or uncircumcised. 
 "We have proved," he says, "both Jews and 
 Gentiles, that they are all under sin," iii. 9, and 
 therefore subject to the judgment of God, ver. 
 19, margin. He then points out the impossibi- 
 lity of justifying ourselves in the sight of God; 
 " by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be 
 justified in his sight," ver. 20. And having thus 
 shut up his hearers to the inevitable conclusion 
 that they are helpless and hopeless if left to 
 themselves, he points out the way in which they 
 may be delivered from this miserable condition ; 
 and illustrating his argument by the example of 
 Abraham, shows that as he "believed God, and 
 it was counted unto him for righteousness," iv. 3, 
 so to us also " it shall be imputed, if we believe 
 on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the 
 dead; who was delivered for our offences, and 
 was raised again for our justification," ver. 24, 25. 
 But Paul knew the corruption of man's heart 
 too well not to be aware that a doctrine, so ele- 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 45 
 
 vating and purifying in its right reception, might 
 be, and would be abused by some, and misrepre- 
 sented by others ; and therefore, having first, in 
 the lifth chapter, bnrst ont into an exultingly rich 
 description of the blessedness of those who are 
 thus justified by faith, without the works of the 
 law, he sets himself to combat the objection, that 
 views like these tend to, or encourage licentious- 
 ness. "What shall we say then," he inquires, 
 " shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound ? 
 God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin 
 live any longer therein ? " vi. 1, 2 : and then 
 follows the passage that we are now considering, 
 and which, as it seems, is intended to convey to 
 our hearts this lesson. 
 
 Our blessed Lord died for our offences, suffer- 
 ing in our stead the death which our sin merited. 
 His body was buried; and that burial testified 
 plainly to the truth of his death, it demonstrated 
 that he was absolutely dead. The burial was not 
 the death, but the consequence and the proof of 
 the death. But the grave could not hold Christ, 
 he burst the bands of the tomb, and rose on the 
 third day. This wonderful event again gave tes- 
 timony to the perfectness of the sacrifice, and to 
 its acceptance by God. It showed that He, the 
 second Adam, the Head of the redeemed race, had 
 
46 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 accomplished their salvation ; that they were now 
 clear in the sight of God. He " was raised for 
 our justification." Now, Paul argues that as 
 Christ died thus for sin, all true believers are 
 also dead to sin, they are dead with Christ, that 
 they may live with him. They are dead with 
 Christ in the sense that their sins were cruci- 
 fied and slain with Him ; for they are one with 
 Christ, and the sins which he bore on the cross 
 and destroyed, so far as their operation to the 
 ruin of the soul is concerned, were their sins, the 
 sins of His church, the sins of His people, His 
 brethren ; that is the sins of believers, " for ye 
 are all the children of God, by faith in Christ 
 Jesus," Gal. iii. 26. Of this death to sin their 
 baptism was the sign and token : " We are buried 
 with Him by baptism into death." The baptism 
 does not cause the death unto sin, any more than 
 the burial of Christ caused His death. Nor is 
 baptism the death unto sin itself, any more than 
 the entombment of our Lord was His death. In 
 one, and in the other, it is a sign of and a sequel 
 to the preceding death. Such we have seen was 
 the case in the examples already examined, with 
 that one sad exception, where there was no ante- 
 cedent faith, and the whole proved to be a mere 
 outward unprofitable show. 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 47 
 
 The Apostle continues ; " That like as Christ 
 was raised up from the dead by the glory of the 
 Father, even we also should walk in newness of 
 life." Jesus did not die that he might remain 
 always dead : he died that he might rise again. 
 And so the believer does not die unto sin, when 
 he becomes a believer, that he may remain merely 
 in that condition, justified, but nothing more. 
 He dies, that he may rise again to newness of 
 life, that he may be sanctified, and live to the 
 glory of God, loving, working, growing. Again, 
 our Lord's burial was not the cause of His resur- 
 rection; it followed upon His death. So, in like 
 manner, baptism in the cases we have examined 
 was not the cause of the believer's newness of 
 life; it followed upon his death unto sin by faith. 
 
 A parallel passage in the Epistle to the 
 Colossians illustrates the view here taken. The 
 Apostle, after speaking of his anxious care for 
 them, as for all the converts whom he had not 
 personally seen, and his desire that their hearts 
 might be comforted, "being knit together in 
 love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of 
 understanding, to the acknowledgment of the 
 mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ, 
 in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and 
 knowledge," continues, " And this I say, lest any 
 
48 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 man should beguile you with enticing words. 
 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I 
 with you in the Spirit, joying and beholding your 
 order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. 
 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the 
 Lord, so walk ye in him ; rooted and built up in 
 him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been 
 taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 
 Beware lest any man spoil (rob) you through 
 philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of 
 men, after the rudiments of the -world, and not 
 after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness 
 of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in 
 him, who is the head of all principality and power: 
 in whom also ye are circumcised with the cir- 
 cumcision made without hands, in putting off the 
 body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision 
 of Christ: buried with him in baptism, wherein 
 also ye are risen with him through the faith of 
 the operation of God, who hath raised him from 
 the dead," Col. ii. 2 — 12. Here we have the 
 death unto sin illustrated by a reference to the 
 old economy ordinance of circumcision, as well as 
 to baptism. The Colossians (who had never 
 been absolutely submitted to the Jewish rite, for 
 in the 13th verse the uncircumcision of their flesh 
 is spoken of) are stated to have been circumcised 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 49 
 
 " with the circumcision made without hands, in 
 putting off the hody of the sins of the flesh by the 
 circumcision of Christ." Something here must 
 be meant different from sharing in an external 
 ordinance, because they had not shared in it, and 
 yet they are said to have put off the sins of the 
 flesh by the circumcision of Christ; the expla- 
 nation will be found in the words " in whom." It 
 was by virtue of their union with Christ that they 
 obtained what was signified by His circumcision. 
 For every part of our Lord's work on earth was 
 done, not only in behalf of, but in the place of 
 His brethren. For he is their representative — 
 the Head of the body the Church ; and what the 
 Head did, that the body is regarded as having 
 actually done. Thus it is that believers are com- 
 plete in Christ; they share His perfection — the 
 perfection of His obedience — the perfection of 
 His holiness. If it were not so, they would 
 remain unjustified. If they were not thus vitally 
 made one with the Lord, they would not be co- 
 heirs with Him; they could not be included in 
 the number of those for whom Jesus prayed 
 " that they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art 
 in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one 
 in us" John xvii. 21. Nor could that blessed 
 and most glorious affirmation be true, which 
 
 E 
 
50 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 speaks of the marvellous infinitude of God's love 
 to His people, — " and hast loved them, as thou 
 hast loved me," ver. 23. This blessedness, as 
 we have seen before, cometh of faith as a means ; 
 and therefore the apostle, further illustrating his 
 position, and speaking of the death unto sin and 
 the new life as symbolized by baptism, continues, 
 1 ' buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are 
 risen with Him through the faith of the operation 
 of God, who hath raised him from the dead." 
 
 Again ; in the passage quoted from the Romans, 
 St. Paul speaks of our old man being " crucified 
 with Christ, that the body of sin might be de- 
 stroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin," 
 Rom. vi. 6 ; so that here we have four distinct 
 events, in the history of our Lord on earth, brought 
 forward as the representations of the Christian's 
 death unto sin, and life unto righteousness, — the 
 circumcision, the crucifixion, the burial, and the 
 resurrection. In all these we have our part by 
 the uniting principle of faith, as has just been 
 shown. In none of them have we any interest 
 if that principle be wanting. Baptism alone 
 cannot give it, any more than circumcision could. 
 The two are put here on the same footing, as 
 representatives of the same thing; but we know 
 that circumcision did not necessarily convey any 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 51 
 
 spiritual blessing; we know that all who were 
 circumcised did not become true Israelites : " Ye 
 serpents, ye generation of vipers/' said our Lord 
 himself to his circumcised but unbelieving hear- 
 ers, "how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" 
 Matt, xxiii. 33. And again : " Ye are of your 
 father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye 
 will do," John viii. 44. And we have also seen 
 how the baptized but unbelieving Simon still 
 remained in the gall of bitterness, and the bond 
 of iniquity. 
 
 The third chapter of the Epistle to the Gala- 
 tians presents another striking passage to our 
 notice. St. Paul there says, "As many of you 
 as have been baptized into Christ have put on 
 Christ," v. 27 ; a strong expression, which cannot 
 but be full of meaning. Let us seek to ascertain 
 what that meaning is. The great object of this 
 epistle is manifestly to counteract the injurious 
 tendencies of the doctrines of certain judaizing 
 teachers, who were corrupting the simplicity of 
 the faith of the Galatians by the introduction of 
 "another gospel," in which the observance of 
 the ceremonial institutions of the Jewish economy 
 was affirmed to be essential to salvation. In 
 opposing these false views he proves, with great 
 e2 
 
52 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 power and clearness of demonstration, that we 
 are accepted in the sight of God through faith 
 alone, — "that the law was our conductor unto 
 Christ, that we might be justified by faith," 
 iii. 24. The chapter in which the words we are 
 now considering occur, is rich in expressions 
 giving utterance to this important truth, — " Re- 
 ceived ye the Spirit," he asks, " by the works of 
 the law, or by the hearing of faith ?" ver. 2. " He 
 that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh 
 miracles among you, doeth he it by the works 
 of the law or by the hearing of faith V ver. 5. 
 " Even as Abraham believed God, and it was 
 accounted to him for righteousness : know ye 
 therefore that they which are of faith, the same 
 are the children of Abraham. And the Scripture 
 foreseeing that God would justify the heathen 
 through faith, preached before the gospel unto 
 Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be 
 blessed. So then they which be of faith are 
 blessed with faithful Abraham," ver. 6 — 9. 
 " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of 
 the law, being made a curse for us (for it is 
 written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a 
 tree), that the blessing of Abraham might come 
 on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we 
 might receive the promise of the Spirit through 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 53 
 
 faith/' ver. 13, 14. "The Scripture hath con- 
 cluded all under sin, that the promise by faith in 
 Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe," 
 ver. 22. "For ye are all the children of God by 
 faith in Christ Jesus/' ver. 26. Here justifica- 
 tion, the gift of the Spirit, the reception of the 
 blessing of Abraham, the ingrafting into the 
 family of Abraham, the adoption as children of 
 God, are all connected with faith, and with faith 
 alone. There is not one word said, in any of 
 the passages, about any external rite whatever. 
 It cannot be therefore that the being baptized 
 into Christ, and the putting on Christ, have a 
 different and contradictory meaning. It cannot 
 be the Apostle's meaning that the ordinance con- 
 veys grace, irrespective of faith ; that the putting 
 on Christ is vital union, where that principle is 
 non-existent ; to suppose this, would be to accuse 
 the writer of destroying all that he had been 
 labouring to build up, and of bringing in, under 
 another form, the very same character of errors 
 as he had been contending against. But the case 
 of Abraham, so pointedly referred to, will of itself 
 refute the supposition, untenable as it is on other 
 grounds. The same apostle, writing to the 
 Romans, after stating that faith was reckoned to 
 Abraham for righteousness, inquires: "How was 
 
54 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 it then reckoned ? when he was in circumcision, 
 or in uncircumcision ? Not in circumcision, but in 
 un circumcision. And he received the sign of 
 circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the 
 faith which he had yet being uncircumcised" Rom. 
 iv. 10, 11. Precisely in the same way we have 
 found that in the recorded instances of baptism, 
 the ordinance was given to those who had made 
 profession of faith, that it was a sign and a seal of 
 the righteousness of their faith. 
 
 The term "baptized into Christ/ 5 which we 
 have met with more than once, will, I conceive, 
 receive much illustration from the consideration 
 of another passage, in which a similar mode of 
 speech is employed. St. Paul, addressing the 
 believers at Corinth, says, "Moreover, brethren, 
 I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that 
 all our fathers were under the cloud, and all 
 passed through the sea; and were all baptized 
 unto Moses in the cloud, and in the sea," 1 Cor. 
 x. 1, 2. (In our translation there is a slight 
 difference — into Christ, unto Moses ; but this 
 does not exist in the original; the words are, 
 ets Xpiarbv, ds tov Nuoijv.) What, then, does 
 this baptism into Moses mean ? There was 
 no vital, organic union with him thus brought 
 about. Nor did any spiritual grace flow from 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 55 
 
 this immersion. But those who followed Moses 
 through the waters of the Red Sea, and were led 
 by the pillar of cloud and fire which was sent for 
 their guidance, acknowledged Moses for their com- 
 mander, their prince, whom they were bound to 
 obey. They looked to him as the accredited 
 head of their nation, and trusted to him for 
 support, and sustenance, and direction. They 
 might have stayed behind in Egypt, and been 
 free from his authority ; but when they followed 
 his banner, they became his soldiers and subjects, 
 and disobedience to his words became sin. As 
 such God regarded it; for when they rebelled 
 and spake against Moses, he visited them with 
 punishment. This view is also borne out by 
 what St. Paul says in another part of this epistle. 
 He thanks God that he had baptized so few of 
 them, " lest any should say that I had baptized 
 in my own name/' (i. 15), and thus given coun- 
 tenance to that party division in which one said, 
 " I am of Paul," and another, " I am of Apollos f 
 — where manifestly the expression, "of Paul/' 
 " of Apollos/' means the recognition of the 
 persons named as their special heads — their 
 sacerdotal leaders. Just so it is, but in a higher 
 and more perfect degree, in baptism into Christ. 
 By that act Jesus is acknowledged as the be- 
 
56 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 liever's Lord, and Prince, and Head. The laws 
 He has given are recognised as the rule of life. 
 The way through the wilderness of earth is to be 
 trodden as He directs. To Him he looks for 
 support, and sustenance, and protection. He 
 takes up His name, arid follows His banner. 
 These are high duties, and these are high privi- 
 leges. We shall not think the less of them, for 
 putting the ordinance itself in the place where 
 God has put it. We shall not have our views 
 exalted by attaching to the outward rite, what 
 the imagination of man's heart, not the dictates 
 of God's word, would erroneously fashion. 
 
 And being thus baptized into Christ, the 
 believer puts on Christ. He takes Him for his 
 example ; he seeks to follow in His steps, and 
 to be conformed to His image. He is under the 
 influence of His Spirit, and therefore, in his 
 measure, loves what his Lord loves, and hates 
 what his Lord hates. He feels and knows that 
 to live to the flesh, to follow the desires of the 
 carnal miud, is to rebel against the authority 
 which his baptism acknowledged to be supreme ; 
 to bring dishonour on the holy name which he 
 bears ; and to grieve the merciful and pure Spirit 
 by whom his mind had been enlightened, and 
 that faith bv which he lives was first bestowed. 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 57 
 
 For that this is the correct interpretation of the 
 words, " putting on Christ," is made evident by 
 reference to a passage in the Romans, in which 
 the same form of expression is employed. 
 St. Paul there, having almost exhausted lan- 
 guage in his glowing and varied description of 
 the glories and the blessedness of the covenant 
 of grace, commences the practical application of 
 the great principles which he had laid down, by 
 this earnest exhortation : " I beseech you, there- 
 fore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye 
 present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, ac- 
 ceptable unto God, which is your reasonable 
 service. And be not conformed to this world : 
 but be ye transformed by the renewing of your 
 mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and 
 acceptable, and perfect will of God," Rom. xii. 
 1, 2. Entering then into detail, he specially 
 enforces the duties of humility; of zealous wait- 
 ing upon the work assigned to each; of sin- 
 cerity; of hatred of evil, and cleaving to what 
 is good ; of brotherly love ; of patience ; of 
 prayerfulness ; of Christian liberality ; of blessing 
 our persecutors ; of sympathy ; of honesty ; of 
 peace. He shows how submission to lawful 
 authority is the right part of a follower of Jesus ; 
 how love to our neighbour is the fulfilment of 
 
58 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 the law; " And that/' he continues, " knowing 
 the time, that now it is high time to awake out of 
 sleep : for now is our salvation nearer than when 
 we believed; the night is far spent, the day is 
 at hand : let us, therefore, cast off the works 
 of darkness, and let us put on the armour of 
 light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day : not 
 in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering 
 and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But 
 put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not 
 provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof/' 
 xiii. 11—14. 
 
 The next passage which must engage our atten- 
 tion will be found in St. Paul's epistle to Titus : 
 " But after that the kindness and love of God 
 our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works 
 of righteousness which we have done, but accord- 
 ing to his mercy he saved us, by the ivashing of 
 regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, 
 which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus 
 Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his 
 grace, we should be made heirs according to the 
 hope of eternal life/' Tit. hi. 4—7. 
 
 This is one of the strongholds of those who 
 hold the doctrine of unconditional regeneration 
 in baptism. Let us examine it carefully, and see 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 59 
 
 if it will rightly bear the interpretation which is 
 sought to be put upon it. 
 
 In the first place, it cannot fail to strike every 
 unprejudiced reader of this short epistle, that the 
 word " baptism" does not once occur in it ; that 
 there is nothing said about baptizing any ; that 
 the only ordinance unequivocally spoken of is 
 that one whereby elders were to be ordained in 
 every city. It is, therefore, a simple, and plain, 
 and unmitigated assumption to assert dogmati- 
 cally that the apostle, when speaking of the 
 "washing of regeneration/'' has any reference 
 whatever to the initiatory rite of baptism. It is 
 a very petitio principii to appeal to this passage 
 in support of their views. For, does the term 
 u washing " always mean baptism when applied 
 to spiritual changes in the soul of man ? I read 
 in the book of the Revelation, of a great multi- 
 tude, " who have washed their robes and made 
 them white in the blood of the Lamb." I find 
 the writer of that wonderful book ascribing praise 
 "unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our 
 sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings 
 and priests unto God and his Father," Rev. i. 
 5, 6. And I find the same effect of the blood of 
 Christ thus spoken of: "Thou wast slain, and 
 hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of 
 
60 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 every kindred, and tongue, and people, and 
 nation ; and hast made us unto our God kings 
 and priests : and we shall reign on the earth," 
 Rev. v. 9, 10. From which it is clear that the 
 perfected salvation wrought out for His people, 
 by the death of Christ, by the shedding of His 
 blood upon the cross, is the subject spoken of, 
 not the baptism by water; which those whose 
 ideas we are combating hold to be but the begin- 
 ning of spiritual life, — a beginning, too, which 
 may have no end in glory ! Those whom the 
 prophet saw were fully saved; their robes were 
 washed ; themselves were washed in the blood of 
 Jesus, and they waited for their crowns. "When 
 was this their salvation made sure to them ? Let 
 Him, to whom in their glorified condition they 
 ascribe all the praise, reply in His owd words of 
 truth : " Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that 
 heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent 
 me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into 
 condemnation ; but is passed from death unto life, ,} 
 John v. 24. How different these blessed words 
 from the indeterminate lispings, which throw 
 doubt on all the Christian's hopes, and make his 
 future prospects as uncertain as his ever fluc- 
 tuating feelings ! Well is it for us, when we 
 take what God says, simply as He says it; and 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 61 
 
 receive it, and rest upon it, and treasure it up in 
 our hearts, for our health, and stay, and comfort. 
 Alas ! if man's scheme of salvation were the true 
 one ! who then would enter in through the gates 
 into the city ? 
 
 But granting even, for the sake of argument, 
 that there is a reference to baptism in the passage 
 before us, does it bear out the doctrine of un- 
 conditional regeneration in and by that ordinance ? 
 The Apostle says, " He saved us by the washing 
 of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 
 which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus 
 Christ our Saviour ; that being justified by his 
 grace, we should be made heirs according to the 
 hope of eternal life." Now we have seen, over 
 and over again, that we are " justified by faith," 
 Rom. iii. 28. " The just shall live by faith," 
 Gal. iii. 11. " Ye are all the children of God by 
 faith," Gal. iii. 26, " and if children then heirs, 
 heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ," Rom. 
 viii. 17; "followers of them who through faith 
 and patience inherit the promises," Heb. vi. 12 ; 
 and still more conclusively as regards this parti- 
 cular passage, because the word grace is also in 
 it — "by grace are ye saved, through faith, and 
 that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God," 
 Eph. ii. 8. To speak of an unjustified and un- 
 
62 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 saved man as a regenerated man, is to be guilty 
 of utter confusion of language. The regenerate 
 individual is one who is renewed, born of the 
 Spirit, who has put off the old man with his 
 deeds, who is u begotten again unto a lively hope 
 by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 
 to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and 
 that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you 
 who are kept by the power of God through faith 
 unto salvation" 1 Pet. i. 3, 5. Those then who 
 are born again are justified. But we are justified 
 by faith; therefore the regenerate are believers, 
 and none else; and the idea of unconditional 
 regeneration in and by baptism, is again shown 
 to be a fallacy. 
 
 We may illustrate the same truth by reference 
 to other passages. St. Peter, addressing those 
 strangers who were " elect according to the fore- 
 knowledge of God the Father, through sanctifi- 
 cation of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprink- 
 ling of the blood of Jesus Christ/' ver. 2, speaks 
 of them as being " born again, not of corruptible 
 seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, 
 who liveth and abideth for ever," ver. 23. St. 
 Paul, writing to the Ephesians, and enforcing the 
 duty of domestic love by reference to the love of 
 Christ for His Church, has these words, " As 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 63 
 
 Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself 
 for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with 
 the washing of water by the word, that He might 
 present it to himself a glorious church, not hav- 
 ing spot or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that 
 it should be holy and without blemish," Eph. v. 
 25 — 27. Here we find regeneration, and sanc- 
 tification as symbolized by washing of water, 
 both attributed to the word. Peter's correspon- 
 dents were born again by the word. Paul speaks 
 of the Church as cleansed with the washing of 
 water by the word ; in neither is there anything 
 said of the ordinance of baptism; and if it be 
 contended that, though not mentioned specifically, 
 it is implied, I ask, who are they that benefit by 
 the word, believers or unbelievers ? Again ; let 
 the Spirit, by the mouth of the great Apostle, 
 reply : " Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing 
 by the word of God," Rom. x. 17. 
 
 But the Apostle also tells us what was the 
 object which our Lord had in view, in sanctifying 
 His Church, and cleansing it with the washing of 
 water by the word ; it was, " that he might pre- 
 sent it to himself a glorious church, not having 
 spot or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it 
 should be holy and without blemish." Is this 
 effected by baptism ? Do the members of the 
 
64 
 
 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 visible church become such by that ordinance ? 
 Is the body which they constitute without spot 
 or wrinkle ? Is it a glorious church now ? Is it 
 holy and without blemish ? The very question 
 looks like a malignant satire. Ah no ! there is a 
 washing which no priestly hands on earth can 
 bestow ; it must be wrought by the Great High 
 Priest. There is an engrafting which is not of 
 man, nor of the will of man, but of God. They 
 only that are thus washed, they only that are 
 thus engrafted are members of the true church — 
 others may be baptized, but they belong not to 
 Christ, they are not portions of His body, and 
 His glorious Bride. 
 
 This would seem to be the right place to 
 examine that conversation of our blessed Lord 
 with Nicodemus, which is recorded by the evan- 
 gelist John : " Jesus answered and said unto 
 him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man 
 be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of 
 God," John iii. 3. And again ; " Verily, verity, 
 I say unto thee, except a man be born of water 
 and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the king- 
 dom of God," ver. 5. 
 
 Words cannot more strongly declare the abso- 
 lute necessitv of the new birth. But do they 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 65 
 
 show that baptism is the means of conveyance of 
 this new birth ? I have here the same prelimi- 
 nary objection to make ; viz., that the ordinance 
 is in no part of the chapter distinctly named, the 
 reference to it is merely assumed. Undoubtedly 
 the junction of water and Spirit gives some 
 ground at first sight for the assumption ; but is 
 that ground so firm that it will serve for a sure 
 foundation to the superstructure which has been 
 raised upon it ? John Baptist, when instructing 
 his disciples regarding Him whose predecessor he 
 was, says of Jesus, " He shall baptize you with 
 the Holy Ghost, and with fire" Matt. hi. 11. 
 Here, most assuredly the element must be taken 
 as a symbol only, not as a reality, seeing that 
 baptism by fire has never been an ordinance in 
 the Christian Church. We are not therefore with- 
 out warrant in regarding the other element, water, 
 as mentioned in the passage before us, in the 
 light of a symbol. And it is thus employed by 
 our Lord himself; in His conversation with the 
 woman of Samaria, He uses these words, " Who- 
 soever drinketh of the water that I shall give 
 him shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall 
 give him shall be in him a well of water spring- 
 ing up into everlasting life/'' John iv. 14. And 
 again : " In the last day, that great day of the 
 
 F 
 
66 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any mail 
 thirst let liim come unto me, and drink. He that 
 belie veth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out 
 of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." 
 Nor are we left in doubt as to the meaning of 
 this expression, for the inspired writer imme- 
 diately explains it : " But this spake He of the 
 Spirit, which they that believe on Him should 
 receive," John vii. 37 — 39. 
 
 Moreover our Lord says absolutely, "Except a 
 man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can- 
 not enter into the kingdom of God." Whatever 
 be the sense in which these words are to be taken, 
 the affirmation is most positive that there is no 
 entrance into eternal life without this birth. He 
 makes no exception whatever; the exclusion is 
 certain, if the condition be wanting. It is a 
 simple and most unmistakeable negative, perhaps 
 the strongest form of speech that can be em- 
 ployed. But is this true of Baptism ? Are all 
 unbaptized persons of necessity lost ? — Not to 
 mention those saints of the olden time, who died 
 before Christian baptism was instituted, saved 
 by the sacrifice of Christ, though not baptised in 
 His name; regenerate men, who had the gift of 
 the Holy Ghost, who wrought righteousness, 
 obtained promises, " were tortured, not accepting 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 67 
 
 deliverance, that they might obtain a better re- 
 surrection ;" men, " of whom the world was not 
 worthy," who " obtained a good report through 
 faith f not to speak of those great exemplars of 
 a holy life, and a righteous death, there is one 
 very notable case, in which Jesus himself de- 
 clared the salvation of an unbaptised adult : 
 " And one of the malefactors which were hanged 
 railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save 
 thyself and us. But the other answering re- 
 buked him, saying, Dost thou not fear God, see- 
 ing thou art in the same condemnation ? And 
 we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward 
 of our deeds : but this man hath done nothing 
 amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember 
 me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And 
 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, to- 
 day shalt thou be with me in Paradise," Luke 
 xxiii. 39—43, 
 
 This penitent thief was never baptized, and 
 yet he was most unquestionably saved. If there- 
 fore our Lord's words to iSicodemus referred to 
 Baptism, the solemn assertion He made was not 
 true as regards this case. The man had not the 
 baptismal birth, and yet he was to enter the 
 kingdom of God; for the promise that he was 
 to be with Christ that day in Paradise, was a 
 
68 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 sure earnest that he would return with Christ 
 when He came in His kingdom. But the 
 poor crucified malefactor had the real new birth, 
 he was born of God, born of the Spirit, for 
 he repented of his sins, he recognised Jesus as 
 Lord, and turned to Him in faith as his only 
 Saviour. This is not done by the natural man : 
 the Gospel " is hid to them that are lost," 
 2 Cor. iv. 3 ; they receive not the glad tidings 
 of Christ, nor do they feel and confess that they 
 are sinners. The companion of this penitent 
 stands before us a miserable example of that un- 
 happy class. He was unchanged by the Spirit, 
 he was not born again, and he mocked Christ, 
 instead of believing on Him. 
 
 Our Lord, on another occasion, said to the 
 Jews, (C Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye 
 eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his 
 blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth 
 my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal 
 life ; and I will raise him up at the last day," 
 John vi. 53, 54. The Jews received these words 
 in a carnal sense, and were naturally enough 
 stumbled at them. They could not understand 
 how they were to eat the flesh of Christ, and to 
 drink His blood, nor could they see the con- 
 nection between a proceeding so strange and 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 69 
 
 eternal life. But the Lord himself gives the 
 explanation : u He that believeth on Me hath 
 everlasting life/' v. 47. And again : " This is 
 the will of Him that sent me, that every one who 
 seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have 
 everlasting life ; and I will raise him up at the 
 last day." So that here again we have salvation 
 and the resurrection to life connected with, and 
 dependent upon faith. Should it, then, even be 
 true, that our Lord in discoursing with Nicodemus, 
 did point at the ordinance of Christian baptism, 
 the truth which we have already so abundantly 
 established of the necessity of faith as a pre- 
 requisite would not be in the slightest degree 
 shaken ; for in this place, where affirmations as 
 strong as in the other are set before us, we find 
 that believing is the one essential. And so, once 
 more, as we have already seen, when Jesus gave 
 the definitive command to his Apostles to baptise 
 disciples, He still joined the two together, and 
 declared that " he that believeth and is baptized 
 shall be saved." 
 
 In his First Epistle to the Corinthians St. Paul 
 thus writes : "For by one Spirit are we all 
 baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or 
 Gentiles, whether we be bond or free ; and have 
 
70 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 all been made to drink into one Spirit/' 1 Cor. 
 xii. 13. In our examination of the recorded 
 examples of Christian baptism, we found that at 
 Corinth, as in all other places, the ordinance was 
 administered to such as believed. By reference 
 to the passage in the Acts, where these events are 
 narrated, we find that Paul, who was apparently 
 much discouraged by the virulent opposition 
 which he met with from his Jewish brethren, was 
 favoured by a special revelation for his comfort : 
 " Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a 
 vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy 
 peace : for I am with thee, and no man shall set 
 on thee to hurt thee : for I have much 2^>^oj)le in 
 this city" And the superscription of the epistle 
 shows that it was to them, to these people of God, 
 that the Apostle writes, " Unto the Church of 
 God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanc- 
 tified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints." For 
 them he thanks God that they were " enriched by 
 him in all utterance, and in all knowledge, so that 
 they came behind in no gift," i. 5-7. Indeed, 
 it is evident from succeeding portions of the 
 letter, that the Corinthian believers were in a 
 very remarkable degree endowed with the miracu- 
 lous gifts of the Holy Ghost. But corruptions 
 had crept in among them, and divisions were rife, 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 71 
 
 and therefore the Apostle calls to their remem- 
 brance the fact that believers in the Lord Jesus 
 Christ are members of His one body, and that 
 they partake of and are influenced by one Spirit. 
 He desired thus that they should recognise one 
 another as brethren, laying aside their contentions, 
 and exercising their gifts for mutual edification. 
 He does not trace their spiritual life back to their 
 baptism, as to that which imparted it to them ; 
 for he says, " For though ye have ten thousand 
 instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many 
 fathers ; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you 
 through the Gospel" iv. 15. Now, "faith 
 cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word 
 of God ; " as we have already noticed. 
 
 The next passage which must engage our atten- 
 tion will be found in the First Epistle of St. Peter: 
 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the 
 Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to 
 God, being put to death in the flesh, but quick- 
 ened by the Spirit : by which also He went and 
 preached unto the spirits in prison ; which some- 
 time were disobedient, when once the long- 
 suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, 
 while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that 
 is, eight souls, were saved by water. The like 
 
72 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 figure whereunto even baptism doth also now 
 save us (not the putting away the filth of the 
 flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward 
 God), by the resurrection of Jesus Christ," hi. 
 18 — 21. This is confessedly a very difficult 
 passage, containing many things which are hard 
 of interpretation. I shall not profess to make 
 any attempt to clear up the whole, my only object 
 being to seek the meaning of the last sentence, 
 and to inquire what support, if any, the Apostle's 
 words give to the doctrine of unconditional bap- 
 tismal regeneration. He is speaking of the flood, 
 of those disobedient spirits who were destroyed 
 by it, and of the few, the reserved eight, who 
 were delivered from that destruction, — " saved by 
 water;" and then he refers to baptism, as bearing 
 a resemblance to this transaction, " the like figure, 
 whereunto even baptism doth also now save us." 
 It will be observed, in the first place, that the 
 water was only the indirect means of the safety 
 of Noah, — in itself it was the element of destruc- 
 tion, — " the world that then was, being over- 
 flowed with water, perished" 2 Pet. iii. 6. The 
 ark, a true type of Christ, was the actual instru- 
 ment of safety ; but the waters bore up the ark, 
 and carried it securely on their bosom ; and so, 
 in this indirect way, they may be said to have 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 73 
 
 saved the patriarch and his family. Such being 
 the case, and baptism being said to resemble the 
 water of the flood in its preserving qualities, we 
 should, at first sight, be led to expect that its 
 influence also is not absolute, but only indirect. 
 And such the parenthetical clause of the sen- 
 tence proves by clearest demonstration. The 
 Apostle, evidently alive to the danger of attri- 
 buting too much to the external ordinance, point- 
 edly says, " not the putting away of the filth of 
 the flesh," which is all that the outward appli- 
 cation of the element water can do, "but the 
 answer of a good conscience toward God." Our 
 inquiries, therefore, must be chiefly directed to 
 the ascertaining of the real meaning of these 
 words, for on that the whole hinges. 
 
 The conscience of man, in his original con- 
 dition as first created, was good, holy, pure, 
 enlightened. But the fall brought change upon it, 
 as upon all the rest of his moral and intellectual 
 faculties, and it became evil. Evil in itself, 
 unholy, impure, darkened ; and evil in its work- 
 ings, and bringing terror : 
 
 " I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was 
 afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself," 
 Gen. iii. 10. And so it continues with all, for the 
 infection still remains, and l< man is very far gone 
 
74 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 from original righteousness, and is of his own 
 nature inclined to evil/' Art. ix. 
 
 "This evil conscience then must be changed 
 back again, and it must be made again good, that 
 is, it must be renewed, before it can give the answer 
 of which the Apostle speaks. How is this effected ? 
 The true answer is, the conscience must be brought 
 under the saving operation of the redemption 
 that is in Christ Jesus. It must be sprinkled 
 by the blood of His atoning sacrifice ; it must be 
 enlightened by His word ; it must be influenced 
 by His Spirit. It is thus, thus alone, that any 
 sinner can have a good conscience : ' The blood 
 of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit , offered 
 Himself without spot unto God, purges the con- 
 science from dead works to serve the living God/ 
 Heb. ix. 14. The heart is thus ' sprinkled from 
 an evil conscience/ Heb. x. 22. The evil con- 
 science becomes good, the sprinkling of the blood 
 of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the 
 conscience of the sinner, makes it clean, ' good/ — 
 converts it from a source of misery and sin into 
 a source of peace and holiness. But what is 
 meant by this sprinkling of the blood of Christ 
 on the heart or conscience, and how does it produce 
 such wonderful, such delightful results ? The 
 best way of answering the first of these interest- 
 
THE DOCTRINE. /O 
 
 ing questions is, perhaps, by asking another. 
 The sprinkling of the blood of the sin-offering 
 was necessary, in order to its being effectual to 
 the removal of the guilt of those for whom it was 
 offered. What, in the Christian economy of 
 redemption, answers to this part of the l patterns 
 of the heavenly things ? 3 There can be but one 
 reply ; — the faith of the truth respecting the 
 atoning sacrifice of Christ, produced by the Holy 
 Spirit. It is this which brings home the saving 
 results of the atonement to the individual sinner. 
 Now, how does this faith of the truth respecting 
 Christ, as the great atonement, deliver from the 
 evil conscience, and bring us under the power of 
 a good conscience ? Till this truth is understood 
 and believed, conscience condemns, cannot but 
 condemn, the sinner, and produce in his mind 
 and heart the natural consequences of this con- 
 demnation, fear, and dislike of God. But when, 
 in the faith of the truth, conscience sees God 
 setting forth his Son, a propitiation in His blood, 
 and hears him declaring that He is the Lamb of 
 God, who has borne and borne away the sin of 
 the world; who, though He knew no sin, has 
 been made sin for men, wounded for their trans- 
 gressions, bruised for their iniquities; and who 
 
76 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 has thus magnified the law and made it honour- 
 able, and brought in an everlasting righteous- 
 ness; and that He, the righteous Judge, is well 
 pleased for that righteousness' sake, and while the 
 just God is the Saviour, c Just, and the justifier 
 of him that believeth in Jesus ;' conscience, 
 seeing and hearing all this, and echoing, as 
 formerly, the voice of God, proclaims, c It is 
 finished/ God is satisfied, and so am I; he justi- 
 fies, and I absolve j c there is no condemnation to 
 them who are in Christ Jesus/ Rom. viii. 1. 
 Believing in Him thou art justified from all things; 
 accepted in the beloved, thy sin is more condemned 
 than ever through his flesh ; but thou, thou art 
 justified. Who shall lay anything to thy charge ? 
 God justifies, who shall condemn ? Christ has 
 died, the Just in the room of the unjust. And 
 as the condemning conscience naturally filled the 
 mind with dislike and fear of God ; so the absolv- 
 ing, the justifying conscience casts out the 
 jealousies of unforgiven guilt, fills the heart with 
 confidence and love, fitting the man to yield a 
 living sendee to the living God. In this way, in 
 this way alone, can the conscience of man be 
 made good, or kept good, by bringing it and 
 keeping it under the pacifying, purifying power 
 
THE DOCTRINE. / / 
 
 of the blood of Atonement." — (Expository Dis- 
 courses on 1st Peter. By John Brown, D.D. 
 ii.j 255.) 
 
 And being thus made good " by the operation 
 of the Holy Ghost," working faith in the soul, 
 the conscience makes that " answer " or profession 
 of its confidence in God, and acceptance of the atone- 
 ment of Christ, to which the Apostle refers as the 
 saving principle in baptism. The corollary is self- 
 evident, that, where this profession is wanting, 
 where this good conscience is non-existent, there 
 baptism can have no saving efficacy at all. At 
 the time of the old flood, those only who were in 
 the ark could be said to have been saved by the 
 waters ; to all others they brought destruction, not 
 salvation. And so in the ordinance those only 
 who are in Christ, who have received the spirit of 
 faith, and thus obtained the good conscience, can 
 be said to be saved by Baptism . Again ; the waters 
 did not bring Noah and his family into the Ark, 
 their true place of safety ; they were already in 
 it, before the flood came upon the world of the 
 ungodly. So, likewise, Baptism does not bring 
 those who have the answer of a good conscience 
 into Christ ; they are in Hirmbefore, and the good 
 conscience comes from that indwelling. This 
 passage, therefore, which at first sight appears to 
 
78 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 favour the views against which we are contending, 
 does, when fairly examined, absolutely and most 
 conclusively demonstrate that they are false. 
 
 But it is argued, that the descent of the Holy 
 Spirit upon our blessed Lord, after His baptism, 
 is a proof that Baptism confers on us a similar 
 gift, and bestows on us a power enabling us to 
 fulfil the covenant laws of our religion. There 
 is surely a strange misapprehension here. Our 
 blessed Lord was baptized by John ; it was 
 John's baptism to which He submitted ; a bap- 
 tism which by all parties is distinguished from 
 the Christian rite. Is a thing done to a person, 
 of necessity, identical with a similar thing done 
 by that person ? If not, the fact of the Spirit 
 descending upon our Lord after He was baptised 
 by John, has in reality no evident relation to 
 what may occur in the administration of that 
 initiatory ordinance which He, at a subsequent 
 period, appointed for the admission of disciples 
 into His Church. But the inapplicability of the 
 event narrated by the Evangelist to the subject 
 in question is at once self-evident, by the follow- 
 ing considerations, t The doctrine which it is 
 thus endeavoured to support is, that in Baptism 
 the Holy Spirit is given to the recipient, who 
 
THE DOCTRIXE. 79 
 
 before had it not. Can this be said without blas- 
 phemy, of our blessed Lord ? Was He less the 
 God-man before than after His baptism ? "Was 
 that holy child Jesus, who grew in favour both 
 with God and man, devoid of the Spirit until His 
 thirtieth year ? Can such be even for a moment 
 imagined of Him whose incarnation is thus an- 
 nounced : " The Holy Ghost shall come upon 
 thee, and the power of the Highest shall over- 
 shadow thee : therefore also that holy thing 
 which shall be born of thee shall be called the 
 Son of God V 3 Luke i. 35. The truth is, that in 
 viewing our Lord's baptism in this false light, 
 the entire significance of the occurrence is over- 
 looked. Up to the period when He appeared on 
 the banks of Jordan, Jesus had lived as a private 
 man. He was now to be manifested in His true 
 character; to take upon Himself openly the office 
 for which He came into the world. For the 
 fulfilment of this, it was needful that He should 
 be set apart for the work, consecrated, and clearly 
 and evidently endowed with the right and the 
 power to undertake it. This was what was ac- 
 complished by His baptism at the hands of John. 
 It was the commencement not of His spiritual, 
 but of his official career. And the visible descent 
 of the Holy Spirit upon Him showed to all 
 
80 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 around, and through them to the whole nation 
 and the whole world, that Jesus of Nazareth, the 
 son of David, was in very truth The Christ, the 
 Anointed of the Father, the Son of God, in whom 
 He is well pleased. For it must ever be remem- 
 bered, that one great office of our Lord is 
 His Priesthood. He is the true High Priest, 
 of whom Aaron and his successors were but 
 types. And as they were regularly and solemnly 
 set apart for their high duties, by anointing 
 with oil, among other ceremonies, so it behoved 
 Jesus to be likewise dedicated by the anointing of 
 the Holy Ghost, of which the oil was the repre- 
 sentative. That oil was poured on the heads of 
 the earthly priests, who served the earthly taber- 
 nacle, by the hands of man ; our Lord received 
 His anointing from no human hand, but directly 
 from God Himself, with the audible declaration, 
 " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
 pleased." And this higher bestowment, thus 
 coming in open manifestation from the High and 
 Holy One, who inhabiteth eternity, is in strict 
 conformity with, and evidence of, the fact to 
 which the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews 
 refers, where he speaks of Christ as that other 
 Priest, "who is made not after the law of a 
 carnal commandment, but after the power of an 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 81 
 
 endless life," Ileb. vii. 16 ; and when he illus- 
 trates His calling in these words : "And no man 
 taketh this honour unto himself, hut he that is 
 called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ 
 glorified not Himself to be made an High Priest ; 
 but He that said unto Him, Thou art My Son, 
 this da j* have I begotten Thee," v. 4, 5. 
 
 Again ; it has been supposed that John Baptist's 
 words, " I indeed baptize you with water unto 
 repentance, but He that cometh after me is 
 mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy 
 to bear, he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost 
 and with fire," Matt. iii. 11, indicate the dis- 
 tinctive difference between his baptism and that 
 of Christ. Let us examine it a little more 
 closely, and see how far it will rightly bear this 
 interpretation. 
 
 We know from what Paul said to the young 
 converts at Ephesus, that John, when he admini- 
 stered his rite, did it, " saying unto the people, 
 that they should believe on Him which should 
 come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus," Acts 
 xix. 4. And the words recorded in Matthew 
 evidently point in the same direction : they are 
 calculated to lower himself in the estimation of 
 his hearers, and to exalt Christ ; they show how 
 
 G 
 
8.2 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 inferior he was in his person, " whose shoes I am 
 not worthy to bear/ 5 and how inferior in his 
 work, baptizing with water as a sign and pledge 
 of repentance, but unable to do more — unable to 
 confer any gift; while He who followed would 
 bestow that most wonderful of gifts, the Holy 
 Ghost. All this is quite plain, and the marks of 
 difference between John's work and that of Christ 
 are unmistakeable. But is it so plain that in 
 using these words, the speaker had reference to 
 the yet uninstituted ordinance of Christian bap- 
 tism ? This appears to me more than doubtful. 
 It seems strange that if John spoke of an ordi- 
 nance in which the outward element employed 
 was water, he should have used the very opposite, 
 tire. For if water be the right representative in 
 the actual transaction, it cannot be less right, or 
 less forcible in the prediction. And it seems still 
 more strange that speaking as he did under the 
 influence of the Holy Spirit, for he gave utterance 
 to a true prophecy, he should have affirmed that 
 Jesus would do that, which we know by the 
 inspired writers he did not, for " Jesus himself 
 baptized not" John iv. 2. Our blessed Lord 
 instituted the ordinance of baptism, and com- 
 manded it to be administered to his disciples, but 
 He never administered it himself. So that if 
 
THE DOCTRINE. 83 
 
 John's words had reference to that outward rite, 
 they were fulfilled only in an indirect way. But 
 if, on the other hand, as I strongly believe, they 
 have no such reference, but point simply to the 
 great truth that Jesus, and Jesus alone, is the 
 giver of the Holy Ghost, then have they been, 
 and still they are, most literally accomplished. 
 He did, while on earth, give the Holy Spirit : 
 " He breathed on them, and said, Receive ye the 
 Holy Ghost," John xx. 22. He promised that 
 after His ascension He would send the Comforter; 
 and this promise was largely fulfilled on the day 
 of Peutecost, when the appearance of the Mighty 
 Presence was as " cloven tongues, like as of fire." 
 And still is it fulfilled, still is the Holy Ghost 
 given to them that believe ; and still when given 
 does He work after the manner of fire, purging 
 away the dross, and taking away the tin, till the 
 pure gold, clear and bright, reflects the perfect 
 image of the Refiner's face. Viewed in this light, 
 there is a power, a force, a beauty in the simili- 
 tude; regarded in the opposite, it presents an 
 incongruity which cannot but force itself on every 
 refiecting mind. 
 
 It is moreover evident that the word baptized 
 does not always bear reference to the outward 
 ordinance; for our Lord, as recorded by St. Luke, 
 
84 THE DOCTRINE. 
 
 on one occasion during the course of His mini- 
 stry, and after the only external ceremony of bap- 
 tism to which He submitted, used these words : 
 " But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and 
 how am I straitened till it be accomplished ! " 
 Luke xii. 50 ; where it would seem that the suffer- 
 ings through which the Captain of our Salvation 
 was made perfect, are the object referred to. And 
 the same appears the most correct explanation of 
 that other passage, in which, in answer to the 
 request of the mother of Zebedee's children, that 
 her sons should sit on his right and left hand in 
 his kingdom, he asks them, "Are ye able to 
 drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be 
 baptized with the baptism that I am baptized 
 with ?" Matt. xx. 22. And what is still more to 
 the point, immediately before He was taken up, 
 Jesus said to the Apostles, " For John truly bap- 
 tized with water, but ye shall be baptized with 
 the Holy Ghost, not many days hence," Acts L 
 5. The events of Pentecost are here manifestly 
 the subject of the prediction, and in those events 
 there was not included any outward ordinance. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 
 
 We have thus examined, with considerable minute- 
 ness of detail, what the Word of God contains 
 regarding the ordinance of Christian Baptism, and 
 have seen that the doctrine of unconditional 
 regeneration in and by that ordinance is abso- 
 lutely without warrant. We have seen that, in 
 all the instances recorded, Faith preceded the 
 administration, and have learned how that faith is 
 wrought in the soul, even by the enlightening 
 transforming operation of the Spirit of God. 
 From whence it followed that the new birth did 
 not spring from, nor commence at, the baptism, 
 but existed before the ordinance, and by its exist- 
 ence conferred the right on the believer to share 
 in that which his Lord had appointed as the sign 
 and seal of faith already possessed. 
 
 Such being the case, have we any authority 
 from the Word of God to say that Children 
 form an exception to this rule, and that they do 
 
86 THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 
 
 gain their new birth in their baptism ? The 
 answer is very plain, the Scripture is absolutely 
 silent upon the subject. There is no specific 
 mention of Infant Baptism at all; the entire 
 argument in its favour being purely inferential. 
 But then it rests upon an inference so strong as 
 to warrant, nay, as I conceive, even to demand 
 that which the custom of the Christian Church 
 from the earliest ages has established as the 
 general rale. For is not Baptism the successor and 
 the substitute of the old rite of Circumcision, — that 
 ordinance which was the token of God's covenant 
 with his people ? And does it not seem reasonable 
 that the children of parents who are partakers of 
 the better, the Gospel covenant, should also, like 
 their elder brethren of Israel, receive the outward 
 seal and token of that covenant ? Not to enter 
 fully upon a question which is somewhat foreign 
 to the limited scope of our present inquiries, and 
 which would require an extensive treatise in itself 
 for its full elucidation, I would simply direct 
 attention to a passage in St. Paul's First Epistle 
 to the Corinthians, which, as it seems to me, has 
 a very clear and decided bearing on the subject. 
 Combating the idea, which had apparently sprung 
 up, that a believing wife or husband should not 
 continue to live with her or his unbelieving 
 
THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 87 
 
 partner, the Apostle uses these remarkable words: 
 " For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the 
 wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by 
 the husband; else were your children unclean, 
 but now are they holy/' 1 Cor. vii. 14. It will 
 not be contended by any who are acquainted with 
 God's word, or with their own hearts, that the 
 terms sanctified and holy, in this place, imply the 
 work of the Spirit upon the heart. For then 
 the unbelieving would have become believing. It 
 is evident that they are used to indicate the influ- 
 ence upon the federal condition of the members 
 of a household exerted by the faith of one of 
 the heads. The believing husband and father 
 brought his children within the circle of the 
 Covenant, and therefore conferred upon them the 
 right to its privileges. And as in the case of a 
 proselyte to the Jewish religion it was commanded 
 that all his males should be circumcised as well 
 as himself, — " \Vhen a stranger will sojourn with 
 thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let 
 all his males be circumcised, and then let him 
 come near and keep it ; and he shall be as one 
 that is born in the land," Exod. xii. 48, — so it 
 appears most consistent with that unity of plan 
 which characterises the Divine dealing, that 
 Christian parents should, in the way their Lord 
 
88 THE QUESTION ANSWERED, 
 
 has appointed, procure the bestowment on their 
 children of the outward token, the external seal 
 of the Covenant, which is their own glorious 
 possession. 
 
 But be this as it may, there is not in the whole 
 compass of the word a single, even most remote, 
 hint that there is any difference in the way in 
 which infants and adults are saved. The state- 
 ments of what are necessary to salvation are 
 broad, and clear, and unhesitating. It is man 
 who will refine them away, and by his own forced 
 interpretations destroy the beautiful simplicity of 
 the Gospel scheme. It is the unwillingness of 
 the natural man to receive all that God has said, 
 and to lie low at His feet in the impotence of 
 absolute nothingness, which has invested Sacra- 
 ments with a mystery they do not really possess, 
 and shrouded in the gloom of his own darkened 
 understanding things on which the pure light of 
 heaven shines in His word unobscured. 
 
 It is commonly said that, while faith and 
 repentance are avowedly essential in the case of 
 adults to the right reception of Baptism, they are 
 unnecessary in respect of infants by reason of 
 their innocence, which constitutes them in them- 
 selves fit recipients. But what says the Scripture ? 
 " Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin 
 
THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 89 
 
 did my mother conceive me," Psa. li. 5. " \Yho 
 can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? Xot 
 one," Job xiv. 4. " What is man, that he should 
 be clean ? and he which is born of a woman, that 
 he should be righteous V 3 Job xv. 14. " That 
 which is born of the flesh, is flesh," John iii. 6. 
 "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for 
 it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed 
 can be. So then they that are in the flesh can- 
 not please God/' Rom. viii. 7, 8. 
 
 \Vhat says the Church of England in her 
 Articles ? " Original sin standeth not in the fol- 
 lowing of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly talk), 
 but it is the fault and corruption of the nature 
 of every man, that naturally is engendered of the 
 offspring of Adam ; whereby man is very far gone 
 from original righteousness, and is of his own 
 nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth 
 always contrary to the spirit, and therefore in 
 every person born into this world it deserveth 
 God's wrath and condemnation." — Art. ix. 
 
 "What says she in her Catechism ? " Why 
 then are infants baptized, when by reason of their 
 tender age they cannot perform them [repentance 
 and faith] ? — Because they promise them both by 
 their sureties ; which promise when they come to 
 age, themselves are bound to perform." Now, 
 
90 THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 
 
 it is quite clear that if there be no sin, there can 
 be no need of repentance, whatever there may be 
 of faith. 
 
 It is supposed, however, that the words used 
 by our blessed Lord himself, when children were 
 brought to him, indicate this fact of their inno- 
 cence : " Suffer little children, and forbid them 
 not, to come unto me : for of such is the kingdom 
 of heaven" Matt. xix. 14. Now, not to insist 
 upon the very palpable fallacy which is involved 
 in the assumption, for it is nothing more, that 
 these children were of an age to be incapable of 
 actual sin, a reference to another passage in which 
 a similar expression is employed regarding chil- 
 dren, will show that other qualities than innocence 
 were in the speaker's mind, when He uttered the 
 words. In the immediately preceding chapter of 
 the same Gospel, we find it thus written : u At 
 the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, 
 saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of 
 heaven ? And Jesus called a little child unto 
 him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, 
 Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, 
 and become as little children, ye shall not enter 
 into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever there- 
 fore shall humble himself as this little child, the 
 same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And 
 
THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 91 
 
 whoso shall receive one such little child in my 
 name reeeiveth Me. But whoso shall offend one 
 of these little ones ivhich believe in me, it were 
 better for him that a millstone were hanged about 
 his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth 
 of the sea," Matt, xviii. 1 — 6. Here it is evi- 
 dent that the little child is set before us as the 
 representative of humility : and it is also plain 
 that the age of reason had been reached, or it 
 could not be said of such that he believed. So, 
 again, the psalmist writes : " Lord, my heart is 
 not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty : neither do I 
 exercise myself in grave matters, or in things too 
 high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted 
 myself as a child that is weaned of his mother, my 
 soul is even as a iveaned child, }> Psa. cxxxi. 1, 2. 
 And this is quite in accordance with nature. 
 Children, until we spoil them by evil tuition and 
 evil example, are humble, teachable, and lovely in 
 their simple faith. The latter is especially their 
 most distinguishing peculiarity. They believe 
 all that they are told, until experienced deceit 
 shakes their confidence in spoken words. 
 
 But it is argued again, original sin is remitted 
 in Baptism, and, therefore, as infants have been 
 guilty of no actual sin, they present no obstacle, 
 and the grace is sure. Most strange logic ! Is 
 
92 THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 
 
 original sin no obstacle before it is taken away ? 
 Is its nature changed, because there exists a me- 
 thod by which it may be removed ? Can it be 
 existent, and yet non-existent ? Unless this be 
 possible, the argument is worthless. 
 
 But, is it true that original sin is remitted in 
 Baptism ? We have already seen, by copious 
 reference to the unerring Word, that remission of 
 sins is uniformly connected in Holy Scripture 
 with repentance and faith ; for the one apparent 
 contradiction, in the words of Ananias to St. 
 Paul, appeared on examination to constitute no 
 difficulty whatever. It is, therefore, needless to 
 go over the same ground again ; I shall merely 
 quote one additional passage, because it is pecu- 
 liarly significant in regard to this special ques- 
 tion. The Apostle Paul thus writes : " Now we 
 know, that what things soever the law saith, it 
 saith to them that are under the law ; that every 
 mouth may be stopped, and all the world may 
 become guilty before God. Therefore by the 
 deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in His 
 sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 
 But now the righteousness of God without the 
 law is manifested, being witnessed by the law 
 and the prophets; even the righteousness of 
 God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all 
 
THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 93 
 
 and upon all them that believe : for there is no 
 difference : for all have sinned, and come short of 
 the glory of God; being justified freely by His 
 grace, through the redemption that is in Christ 
 Jesus ; whom God hath set forth to be a pro- 
 pitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His 
 righteousness for the remission of sins that are 
 past, through the forbearance of God ; to declare, 
 I say, at this time His righteousness ; that He 
 might be just, and the justifier of him that be- 
 lieveth in Jesus" Rom. iii. 19 — 26. In this 
 very pregnant passage we find the Apostle, in 
 entire accordance with the whole testimony of 
 Scripture, declaring all the world to be guilty 
 before God; affirming that all have sinned and 
 come short of the glory of God, and attributing 
 remission of sins to the free grace of God, acting 
 towards those who believe in Jesus. There are 
 no exceptions made here ; there is not the small- 
 est hint of any but believers being justified. 
 There is no reference to any Sacrament. The 
 whole is ascribed to God working according 
 to His own will ; justifying freely by His 
 grace. 
 
 And if original sin be, in the words of the 
 Article, " the fault and corruption of the nature 
 of every man/'' and if this be remitted, or, as 
 
94 THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 
 
 some would say, amended in baptism, how is it 
 that we find the same great apostle, a baptized 
 and regenerated man, speaking in such words as 
 these : " I find then a law, that when I would 
 do good, evil is present with me. For I delight 
 in the law of God after the inward man : but I 
 see another law in my members, waiving against 
 the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity 
 to the law of sin which is in my members ?" Rom. 
 vii. 21 — 23. Surely, if there were any truth in 
 the doctrine in question, if it were really so that 
 original sin, that old taint from Adam's trans- 
 gression, were removed by the grace of Baptism, 
 St. Paid, so miraculously converted, so palpably 
 repentant of his misdoings, — St. Paul, that 
 "chosen vessel/' so richly endowed with the 
 supernatural gifts of the Holy Ghost, so highly 
 favoured with the abundance of the revelations 
 given to him, that a thorn in the flesh was 
 needful to remind him that he was still a man, — 
 surely he, if any in this world, would have pos- 
 sessed that gracious influence ; surely in him the 
 birth-sin would have been destroyed. And yet 
 he himself tells us that it was not ; that he 
 groaned bitterly under its workings : " Ob, 
 wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me 
 from the body of this death V* 
 
THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 95 
 
 God, then, speaking by His word, does not tell 
 us that original sin is remitted in baptism. 
 
 Neither does the Church of England. Hear 
 her voice again upon this subject : " And this 
 infection of nature doth remain, yea even in 
 them that are regenerated ; whereby the lust of 
 the nesh, called in the Greek, phronema sarkos, 
 which some expound the wisdom, some sensu- 
 ality, some the affection, some the desire, of the 
 nesh, is not subject to the law of God. And 
 although there is no condemnation for them that 
 believe and are baptized, yet the Apostle doth 
 confess, that concupiscence and lust hath of itself 
 the nature of sin." (Art. ix.) Again : " The 
 condition of man after the fall of Adam is such, 
 that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his 
 own natural strength and good works, to faith, 
 and calling upon God. Wherefore we have no 
 power to do good works pleasant and acceptable 
 to God, without the grace of God by Christ 
 preventing us, that we may have a good will, 
 and working with us when we have that good 
 will/ 4 (Art. x.) Aud yet again : u Works done 
 before the grace of Christ, and the inspiration 
 of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God, forasmuch 
 as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ, 
 neither do they make men meet to receive grace, 
 
96 THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 
 
 or (as the school-authors say) deserve grace of 
 congi'uity ; yea rather, for that they are not done 
 as God hath willed and commanded them to be 
 done, we doubt not but they have the nature 
 of sin." (Art. xiii.) 
 
 These Articles were drawn up for a Church, 
 all, or at least the immense majority of, whose 
 members were baptized in infancy, and yet they 
 affirm that there is no power in man to turn to 
 God, or to please Him; and that works done 
 before the grace of Christ, and the inspiration 
 of His Spirit, are sin ; from which it is plain 
 that the grace and the inspiration are not neces- 
 sarily given in Baptism, so far as the judgment 
 of the Church goes, and that the old man is not 
 destroyed, nor the new will given then. 
 
 What, then, is the meaning of the term, " one 
 baptism for the remission of sins," as used in the 
 Creed ? It has been well observed that the word 
 is "sins," in the plural, not "sin;" and that, 
 therefore, original sin, which could not be desig- 
 nated by the plural noun, consistently with the 
 received definition, is not chiefly referred to. 
 But be this as it may, it is not difficult to 
 understand the expression. For what is done 
 in Baptism ? Is there not a profession of faith 
 in Jesus Christ ? Is there not a declared renun- 
 
THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 97 
 
 ciation of the world, the flesh, and the devil ? 
 Is there not an engagement to be the Lord's, 
 to serve Him, and to do His will ? And is it 
 not by believing in Christ that there is an 
 interest in His salvation ? Are not those for- 
 given who really belong to the Lord, and love 
 and serve Him ? Is not the name in which they 
 are baptized the name of Him, who is the only 
 propitiation for sin, who alone has the power to 
 forgive sins ? Is not baptism the initiatory rite 
 by which men are admitted into the visible 
 church of the Gospel econom} T , — that economy 
 which unfolds the only way by which a sinner 
 can be saved and his sins be pardoned ? These 
 things being recognised, the term becomes quite 
 intelligible, without recourse to the unsound 
 dogma against which we are contending. 
 
 There is then no evidence from Scripture, or 
 from the dogmatic teachings of the Church of 
 England, for maintaining the remission of origi- 
 nal sin in and by Baptism. Is there any better 
 proof of the implantation of the new life ? Some 
 further investigation is here necessary to make 
 the matter perfectly clear. 
 
 Birth is the manifested commencement of life, 
 — the natural birth of natural life ; the new birth 
 of spiritual life. Now all life is manifested by 
 
 H 
 
98 THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 
 
 actions. In natural life there is a continued and 
 never-ceasing series of actions perpetually going 
 on. All are not of the same importance; there 
 are some which may be temporarily suspended 
 without serious injury, though not without some 
 loss of power, or of comfort, or of health. But 
 if all cease, death inevitably ensues on the instant. 
 An organised body may be perfect in all its parts, 
 the whole machinery most exquisitely fashioned 
 and adapted to the ends for which it was con- 
 structed ; but if there be no action of these parts, 
 no movement of the complicated machinery, the 
 body is dead ; it has no life, and in process of 
 time it will decay. In some strangely abnormal 
 states of the system there is the outward sem- 
 blance of death, — the marble pallor, the immove- 
 able features, the unanswering senses. And yet 
 life remains; there is still some action, — faint, 
 scarcely perceptible respiration and circulation, 
 and those chemico-vital changes which produce 
 and maintain animal heat ; — all obscured, all 
 muffled, as it were, and stifled by some potent 
 incubus, but still existent, and in some measure 
 working. And, above all in its deep significance, 
 there is no corruption. Decay does not press its 
 mutilating and deforming finger on the moveless 
 image ; and though death-like, it is not dead. 
 
THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 99 
 
 Now, just so it is with spiritual things. If 
 there be spiritual life, that life will be manifested 
 by actions. They may be slight, and obscure, 
 and intermittent ; now struggling out for a mo- 
 ment from the general apathy, and then again 
 absorbed; now showing themselves in some irre- 
 gular movement, and then shrinking back again 
 out of sight. But they must be there, or the 
 man is dead, — he has no spiritual life. And if 
 there be no spiritual life, there will be corruption, 
 — decay, — the loathsomeness of moral putrefac- 
 tion ; the hideous things which are evolved from 
 a dead soul, — a soul dead in trespasses and sins. 
 To believe otherwise would be to attribute to the 
 Divine life lower powers than those which belong 
 to the mere natural; to affirm that what is 
 worked directly by the Spirit of God is a poorer 
 and a weaker thing than that which flows from 
 one earthly existence to another. It is to accuse 
 the book of inspiration of using words which 
 bear no meaning ; and of tracing out analogies 
 where there are only opposites and contradictions. 
 
 For, again, what saith the Scripture ? " God, 
 who is rich in mercy, for his great love where- 
 with he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, 
 hath quickened us together with Christ," Eph. 
 ii. 4, 5. " For we are His workmanship, created 
 
100 THE QUESTION ANSWEREb. 
 
 in Christ Jesus, unto good works, which God hath 
 before ordained that we should walk in them," 
 ver. 10. "I therefore beseech you that ye ivalk 
 worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 
 with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffer- 
 ing, forbearing one another in love/' iv. 1, 2. 
 " That ye put off, concerning the former conver- 
 sation, the old man, which is corrupt according 
 to the deceitful lusts ; and be renewed in the 
 spirit of your mind ; and that ye put on the new 
 man, which after God is created in righteousness 
 and true holiness," ver. 22, 24. " Rejoice ever- 
 more. Pray without ceasing. In everything 
 give thanks," 1 Thess. v. 16 — 18. "Know ye 
 not that they that run in a race run all, but one 
 receiveth the prize ? So run that ye may obtain/' 
 1 Cor. ix. 24. "Be strong in the Lord, and in 
 the power of His might. Put on the whole armour 
 of God, that ye may be able to stand against the 
 wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against 
 flesh and blood, but against principalities, against 
 powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this 
 world, against spiritual wickedness in high 
 places," Eph. vi. 10—12. "Whether, therefore, 
 ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to 
 the glory of God," 1 Cor. x. 31. 
 
 In these passages, and they might be multi- 
 
THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 101 
 
 plied almost indefinitely, and illustrated by ex- 
 amples alike numerous and instructive, we have 
 presented to us a busy scene — a scene of life 
 manifested by actions. We have the holy walk, 
 the crucified passions, the persevering prayers, 
 the sanctified and loving affections, the earnest 
 running, the hard fight against malignant and 
 powerful foes. It is the portrait of a renewed, 
 regenerate man. A picture which owes nothing 
 to the imagination or the colouring of the artist ; 
 but which, like the sun-drawings of the Da- 
 guerreotype, is an absolute impress of the 
 individual himself. 
 
 There is another picture in the Bible, and it is 
 a very sad one : " The natural man receiveth not 
 the things of the Spirit of God, for they are fool- 
 ishness unto him/'' 1 Cor. ii. 14. " Having the 
 understanding darkened, being alienated from 
 the life of God through the ignorance that is in 
 them, because of the blindness of their heart," 
 Eph. iv. 18. " The carnal mind is enmity against 
 God," Rom. viii. 7. "Foolish, disobedient, de- 
 ceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living 
 in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one 
 another," Tit. hi. 3. " The works of the flesh 
 are — adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lascivious- 
 ness, idolatiy, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emula- 
 
102 THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 
 
 tions, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, 
 murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; 
 of which I tell you before, as I have also told you 
 in time past, that they which do such things 
 shall not inherit the kingdom of God," Gal. v. 
 19—21. " The wicked shall be turned into hell, 
 and all the nations that forget God," Psa. ix. 17. 
 How fearful is the contrast here ! — How 
 melancholy the portraiture of the man himself ! — 
 How appalling the declaration of his doom ! Take 
 these two pictures in your hand, and go abroad 
 into the world and scan the multitudes that throng 
 the surface of our land, and are busied in the 
 many avocations of life, and glitter along the 
 flower- strewed paths of pleasure, or hide them- 
 selves in the dark dens of social infamy ; and as 
 you see and hear, look upon the right-hand por- 
 trait and upon the left, and say which claims the 
 most numerous counterparts ? Who has the most 
 servants, God or the devil ? \Vhich way is the 
 most crowded, the straight and narrow upward 
 path of life, or the broad downward road to hell ? 
 There can be no doubt of the sad reply. Christ 
 himself supplied an answer while yet on earth ; 
 " Few there be that find it, — many there be that 
 go in thereat ;" and all experience with unanimous 
 voice has since proclaimed the same tremendous 
 
THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 103 
 
 truth. Shall we say of these multitudes, who 
 show no sign of spiritual life, who show every 
 sign of spiritual death, that they are regenerate ? — 
 that they are the sons of God, while their whole 
 work is the work of his enemy ? Shall we say of 
 the multitudes, who from their cradles to their 
 graves never give the faintest and smallest incli- 
 nation of holy love or holy life, that they are 
 born from above — born of the Spirit? 
 
 But it may be argued that the germ of life has 
 been implanted, though it brings forth no fruit. 
 A seed will long retain its vitality, though it may 
 not germinate, for want of proper influences to 
 rouse the dormant powers. This is quite true in 
 itself; and it is equally true that there is life 
 during the progress of development of the unborn 
 animal ; but the question is not of this, but of the 
 new birth. That animal is born dead which 
 shows no sign of life after it is produced into the 
 world. The seed which is planted in the proper 
 soil must either germinate or rot, — if no plant 
 spring up, we know that it is dead. Is not the 
 same true of spiritual things ? Is the life of God 
 so weak and frail an essence that it may be in a 
 soul and never show itself? That it may not 
 even have the power to curb the young passions 
 of infancy ? Can it, does it ever enter man's 
 
104 THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 
 
 heart and do nothing there? Surely to deem 
 thus is to think dishonourably of God, to rob 
 Him of his omnipotence, and throw a blot of utter 
 uncertainty upon all his dealings. 
 
 But what saith the Lord of His own purposes 
 and of His own work ? " Ye have not chosen 
 me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, 
 that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that 
 your fruit should remain," John xv. 16. " All 
 that the Father giveth me shall come to me ; and 
 him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." 
 "And this is the Father's will which hath sent 
 me, that of all which he hath given me I should 
 lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the 
 last day," John vi. 37, 39. " My sheep hear my 
 voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 
 And I give unto them eternal life ; and they shall 
 never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of 
 my hand," John x. 27, 28. "Father, I will that 
 they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me 
 where I am, that they may behold my glory, 3} 
 John xvii. 24. 
 
 What saith the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of 
 the Apostle ? " He hath chosen us in him (Christ) 
 before the foundation of the world, that we should 
 be holy and without blame before him in love : 
 having predestinated us unto the adoption of 
 
THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 105 
 
 children by Jesus Christ to himself, according 
 to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of 
 the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us 
 accepted in the beloved," Eph. i. 4, 5. " For 
 whom he did foreknow, them also he did predes- 
 tinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, 
 that he might be the first-born among many 
 brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, 
 them he also called ; and whom he called, them 
 he also justified; and whom he justified, them he 
 also glorified," Rom. viii. 29, 30. 
 
 These are great and glorious words, — words 
 that convey indeed a good hope to all who are 
 the called of God. But, as if they were not 
 strong enough, as if something more were still 
 needed "to assure our hearts before him," to 
 make us feel and rejoice in our safety, He has 
 added yet further precious sayings : " "Wherefore 
 he is able also to save them to the uttermost, 
 that come unto God by him, seeing he ever 
 liveth to make intercession for them," Heb. vii. 
 25 . " Who shall also confirm you unto the 
 end, that ye may be blameless in the day of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Cor. i. 8. "Being 
 confident of this very thing, that he which hath 
 begun a good work in you will perform it unto 
 the day of Jesus Christ," Phil. i. 6. Well may 
 
106 THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 
 
 the apostle say that we "have a strong conso- 
 lation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon 
 the hope set before us/' Heb. vi. 18. Well may he 
 affirm, " There is therefore now no condemnation 
 to them that are in Christ Jesus/' Rom. vih. 1. 
 
 It is self-evident that these things are in 
 palpable contradiction of, in irreconcilable oppo- 
 sition to the dogma of Baptismal Regeneration. 
 It is impossible to hold both. "Which shall 
 stand ? — the unsupported dream of man's imagi- 
 nation, or the word of the Living God ? Hear 
 again the voice of the Church of England, speak- 
 ing through her Article, and see to which she 
 adheres: "Predestination to life is the everlasting 
 purpose of God, whereby (before the foundations 
 of the world were laid) he hath constantly 
 decreed by his counsel, secret to us, to deliver 
 from curse and damnation those whom he hath 
 chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring 
 them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels 
 made to honour. Wherefore, they which be 
 endued with so excellent a benefit of God be 
 called according to God's purpose, by his Spirit 
 working in due season : they through grace 
 obey the calling : they be justified freely : they 
 be made sons of God by adoption : they be 
 made like the image of his only begotten Son 
 
THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 107 
 
 Jesus Christ : they walk religiously in good 
 works, and at length, by God's mercy, they 
 attain to everlasting felicity." (Art. xvii.) There 
 are no uncertain sounds here. Would that they 
 might ring in the minds and hearts of all our 
 pastors ! Then would that miserable mimic 
 Popery which now disgraces us shrink back into 
 its native nothingness, and pass away as a dream 
 that is not. 
 
 But it will be asked — it is often asked — If this 
 be so, if there be no grace certainly conveyed in 
 Baptism, where is the use of the ordinance ? In 
 truth, I am not careful to answer this question. 
 Enough for me to know that my Saviour has 
 commanded it. 
 
 It will be said, also, that the views deducible 
 from what I have written are low views of Bap- 
 tism. Be it so : the imputation will not pain 
 me. But are they true ? This is the real ques- 
 tion. High or low, that is a small matter. It 
 is truth that I have sought. Can it be shown 
 from the ^Word of God that I am wrong ? 
 
 And yet it could be easily contended that the 
 terms "high" and "low," as applied to any 
 ordinance, or to any doctrine, merely in reference 
 to its beneficial influence on the recipient, are 
 misused. "VI nich is the highest view of any 
 
108 THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 
 
 ordinance? — to reverence it as the channel for 
 conveying a blessing to myself ? or to honour it 
 as the command of God ? Surely the latter. A 
 mere human appointment may do me good. 
 That which God has ordered has a claim upon 
 my regard utterly irrespective of its personal 
 individual operation. I may see no reason for 
 it, but that will not diminish my respect, if I 
 know that the Lord has willed it. 
 
 But there are, as has been already stated, high 
 privileges connected with Baptism ; there are high 
 duties incumbent upon the baptized; there are 
 solemn responsibilities which they incur. The 
 baptized individual is net, and never can be again, 
 in the position of the unbaptized. He has been 
 brought within the visible inclosure of the cove- 
 nant : he has been formally made over to Christ, 
 to be His soldier and servant ; he bears His 
 name ; and is pledged to obey His laws. To him, 
 in this new character, are offered all the glorious 
 promises of the Gospel. Before him is spread 
 out, inviting his acceptance, the "feast of fat 
 things," which his Lord has prepared for His 
 people. He has acquired a right to the ordi- 
 nances of the Church, to the instruction of 
 her ministers, to the guidance of her disci- 
 pline. He has been taught, in the very rite 
 
THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 109 
 
 itself, that human nature is polluted with iniquity, 
 and stands in need of washing; and has heen 
 shown that there is a fountain opened for sin and 
 uncleanness, even the blood of Jesus. Can he 
 neglect or despise these things without deepest 
 guilt ? Can he be faithless to the Lord who has 
 been so gracious to him, and not deserve the 
 doom of the traitor? Can he plead ignorance as 
 an excuse, when the very name by which he is 
 called, and the occasion when that name was 
 given, are so full of instruction, if he would but 
 listen ? Surely no. He may be heedless if he 
 will, but he cannot cast off the obligations which 
 are bound upon him, any more than the natural 
 born subjects of a king can, by any act of their 
 own, free themselves from the right which he has 
 over them, while living in the territoiy which he 
 rules. 
 
 Let it not be supposed that, in what has been 
 written, there has been any desire to cast a veil 
 over these truths, or for one moment to deny that 
 in keeping this, as other commandments of our 
 gracious God, there is great reward. The 
 question has been simply — Is the result always 
 new life ? and the compulsory answer has been 
 the negative. 
 
 Is it, then, meant to be affirmed that grace 
 
110 THE QUESTION ANSWERED. 
 
 cannot be given to children in baptism ? God 
 forbid. " The wind bloweth where it listeth, 
 and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst 
 not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : 
 so is every one that is born of the Spirit/' John 
 iii. 8. This is what our Lord himself has told 
 us, and shall man dare to say the contrary ? 
 He has so dared ; for in the blindness of his own 
 self-will he has presumed, practically, to set 
 these words of Christ at nought, by confining 
 the regenerating operation of the Spirit to a 
 single ordinance, by asserting that in no other 
 way, and at no other time, can men be born 
 again. 
 
 Or is it meant that children are incapable of 
 receiving a spiritual blessing ? Again, God for- 
 bid. Our gracious Lord and Saviour laid His 
 hands on little children and blessed them : what 
 parent's heart has not rejoiced over that most 
 precious record ? What Christian parent has not 
 felt that in pleading for his little ones at the 
 throne of grace, he was doing that of which God 
 approves, and was asking for that which He is 
 more ready to give than we to seek ? No, it is 
 not of their incapacity, nor of our God's unwil- 
 lingness that we have been speaking. The Lord 
 can do what He pleases, when, and how, and 
 
THE QUESTION ANSWERED. Ill 
 
 where He pleases ; and when He works none can 
 let nor hinder, none frustrate the operation of 
 His will. But to say that He does work a spiri- 
 tual change in the heart of every child at its 
 baptism, is to affirm that which He does 
 not affirm, to limit that which He has de- 
 clared to be illimitable, to take the sovereignty 
 out of His hands, and place it in the hands of 
 man. It is a fearful delusion, a delusion fruitful 
 of all manner of evil things, destructive of the 
 truth, dishonouring to God. May He who alone 
 is " able to keep us from falling, and to present 
 us faultless before the presence of His glory with 
 exceeding joy," stablish our hearts in the faith 
 pure and undented ! And to Him be the glory. 
 
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 THE GOOD SHEPHERD 
 
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 love Jebus, and he is my good Shepherd, and I am one of his little 
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10 
 
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 THE SYRIAN NOBLE 
 
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J. H. Jackson, Islington Green. 15 
 
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