Srcmt f^e fetfirarg of Q^equeaf^eb 6^ ^im to f 5e £t6tar^ of (pttncefon t^eofostcaf ^emiMtg BV 811 .N6 1850 Cassel Noel, Baptist Wriothesley, 1798-1873. Essay on Christian baptism [i^ ^-^^ I f ^T- w •T SaZpin, sc/. ^farpt ESSAY ON CHRISTIAN BAPTISM, BAPTIST W. NOEL, M.A. " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."— Afar^ xvi., 16. " Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesua Chriat, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy GhoBt,"— Acts, ii., 38. NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 82 CLIFF STREET. 185 0. PREFACE. During my ministry in the Establishment, an indefinite fear of the conclusions at which I might arrive led me to avoid the study of the question of baptism ; but I felt obliged to exam- ine honestly each passage of Scripture upon the subject which came in my way, and the evi- dence thus obtained convinced me that repent- ance and faith ought to precede baptism. The reasons assigned by the Anglican Catechism why an infant should be baptized without re- pentance and faith, are very unsatisfactory. As soon, then, as I had settled my mind upon the union of the churches with the state, I turn- ed my attention to this question. Aware how many are disposed to attribute any opinion which contradicts their own to such a partial, one-sided investigation as they practice them- selves, I determined to form my judgment en- tirely by the study of the Scriptures, and of such authors as advocate the baptism of infants. To that determination I have adhered. And not having read a single Baptist book or tract, IV PREFACE. I publish the following work as an independent testimony to the exclusive right of believers to Christian baptism. Undoubtedly, I might have enriched its pages by an examination of the able and excellent authors who have written on the same side, and, by the use of their reason- ings and researches, might have escaped some of the errors of detail, into which it is possible that, in the discussion of a question so extensive and so complicated, I may have fallen ; but then I should have lessened its value as an independ- ent testimony. Several of the works with which I have the misfortune to differ are written with ability and with calmness, especially those of Wardlaw and Leonard Woods, of Halley and Godwin. Nothing can be better than the spirit which pervades the volumes of Budd and Bick- ersteth : if I dissent from their conclusions, I gladly express my conviction of their honesty ; and, while contending against one of the opin- ions of pious Pgedo-Baptists, I earnestly hope that nothing may ever diminish the cordiality with which we may act together in promoting the cause of the Redeemer. I assume in the following essay that the word baptism means immersion, and that to baptize is to immerse ; the evidence of which fact I hope to adduce in a separate volume. LIST OF AUTHORS REFERRED TO. Barnes, Commentary on the New Testament. Bengel, Gnomon Novi Testament!. Bickersteth, Treatise on Baptism. London, 1840. Bloomfield, Greek Testament, Critical Digest. Budd, Infant Baptism. London, 184L EUesley, Annotations on the Gospels. Godwin, Christian Baptism. London, 1845. Grotius, Amiotations. HaUey, The Sacraments. London, 1844. Henry, Commentary on the Bible. Archdeacon Hoare, Baptism. London, 1848. Pool, Annotations on the Bible. Scott, Commentary on the Bible. Tracts for the Times, No. 67. Wardlaw, Dissertation on Infant Baptism. Glas- gow, 1846. Whitby, Commentaiy on the New Testament. Woods, Lectures on Infant Baptism. Andover, U.S., 1819. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. I. The Commission to Baptize giveu in Matt., xxviii. . 9 II. The Baptism mentioned in the Commission is Bap- tism in Water ^ 13 III. Baptism of perpetual Obligation 23 CHAPTER I. The Meaning of the Commission given to the Apos- tles 26 CHAPTER II. Baptism to be admtnistered to none but Believers. I. Meaning of the Commissioii..- - 48 II. Jewish Baptism 51 III. Baptism of John 54 IV. First Baptisms by the Disciples of Christ 65 V. Apostolic Baptisms. Baptism of three thousand Converts at the Day of Pentecost 66 Baptism of the Samaritans 74 Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch 79 Baptism of Paul 81 Baptism of Cornelius 83 Baptism of Lydia and her Household 84 Baptism of the Jailer of Philippi 85 Baptism of the Corinthians 88 Baptism of the Twelve Ephesians 88 VIU CONTENTS. Page VI. The Nature and Effects of Baptism, as declared in the New Testament 92 VII. The Practice of the Churches of the fii'st Centu- ries of the Christian Era affords Evidence that Believers alone ought to be baptized 120 CHAPTER ill. Infant Baptism. Sect. I. General Considerations to show the Unlawful- ness of Infant Baptism 126 II. Infant Baptism is not warranted by the Circum- cision of Jewish Children 137 HI. Promises to Parents and Children 189 IV. The Blessing pronounced by our Lord on Chil- dren 212 V. The " Holiness" of the Children of Believers (1 Cor.,vii., 14) 220 VI. The Baptism of Households 227 VII. Silence of the New Testament respecting the Baptism of the believing Children of Chi-is- tians 232 VIII. Practice of the early Churches 241 IX. The Numbers who practice Infant Baptism 250 CHAPTER IV. The Effects of Baptism 263 CHAPTER V. Practical Inferences. 1. Reasons why Members of Paedo-Baptist Church- es should be baptized 280 II. BeaBons for Free Communion 287 CONCLUSION. A Form of Baptismal Self-dedication to God.. . 302 INTRODUCTION. After our Lord's resurrection from the dead, and shortly before his ascension to heaven, he addressed to his apostles these solemn words : " All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth : go ye there- fore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things whatso- ever I have commanded you : and lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world," Matt., xxviii., 18—20. In an examination of the nature of Chris- tian baptism this passage merits the earliest and most attentive consideration, because it both records the institution of baptism and declares its perpetuity. To understand what baptism fs, we must first ex- amine carefully the terms of the law which renders it obligatory. After we have examined the law it- self, we may then consider the various comments which inspired writers have pronounced upon it, and gather whatever light we may be able from the prac- tice of baptism, both before this enactment and after it ; but our first duty is to examine the terms of the law itself. It has been said, indeed, that Christian baptism was instituted before, because it is recorded that " Jesus made and baptized disciples," John, iv., 1 ; iii., 26. But this incidental mention of the fact of baptism having been administered by the first dis- 10 INTRODUCTION. ciples can not amount to a perpetual law in the churches. Four disciples only are mentioned as having followed Christ : Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel, John, i., 40—43. Even these had not received their call to leave their nets and follow him, Matt., iv., 18. And it was with reference to a time later than this that Luke records, " When it was day he called unto him his disciples ; and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles,' Luke, vi., 13. So that these disciples baptized be- fore they were ministers of Christ, and when they were yet very imperfectly acquainted with the Gos- pel. When Jesus began to preach, his instruction exactly resembled that of John : " Jesus began to preach and to say. Repent, for the kingdom of heav- en is at hand," Matt., iv., 17. And it is probable that when his disciples baptized, they did not bap- tize unto the name of Jesus, as John did not baptize unto his own name ; but that, like John, they bap- tized in token of the repentance of the converts as persons expecting the kingdom of heaven to be short- ly set up. The idea that they were baptized by the command of Jesus, as professing their faith in him as Christ, is very improbable. For many were bap- tized, John, iii., 26 ; iv., 1. If Jesus had command- ed them all openly to confess that he was Christ, how could he charge his apostles to conceal the fact that he was Christ ? How can we understand the following passage : " When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying. Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am ? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist ; some Elias ; and others Jeremias, or INTRODUCTION. H one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am ? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. .... Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ," Matt., xvi., 13-16, 20. Either the apostles had wholly ceased to baptize, or those who were baptized did not profess their faith in Jesus as the Christ. More- over, as the Pharisees knew that many had been baptized (John, iv., 1), and assuredly learned the cir- cumstances of those baptisms, if all the converts had by the order of Jesus declared their faith in him as Christ, how could the Jews come round about him in the temple and say, " How long dost thou make us to doubt ? If thou be the Christ, tell us plain- ly," John, X., 24. The profession of the converts by order of Jesus would have been certain and over- whelming evidence that he claimed to be Christ, nor could they either then or afterward have been in want of any proof of that fact. See Matt., xxvi., 63—65 ; Luke, xxii., 66—71. There were, doubt- less, proofs enough afforded that he was Christ by the song of the angels, the visit of the Magi, the testimony of John, the miracles which he wrought ; but the question is, whether he so openly and so constantly declared himself to be Christ that all men knew his claims ; and if he did not then, whether the baptism of his disciples could involve a profes- sion of their faith in him as Christ. To me it ap- pears clear that they made no such profession ; and that the baptism then administered by his disciples was sim.ply, like that of John, a baptism of repent- ance, because the kin2:dom of heaven was at hand. 12 INTRODUCTION. Let us further notice that there is no statement whatever that the twelve apostles, subsequently to their appointment, ever baptized a single convert till after the ascension of Christ. If they did so, still there is no statement that this was by express com- mand of our Lord, nor that it Avas meant to be a perpetual law in his Church ; and even if this also be assumed without proofs, still it remains certain, as I think; that their baptism was essentially differ- ent from the baptism enjoined by Christ before his ascension, because it was not baptism unto the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This it could not be. Even the apostles of Christ, though his chosen companions, and daily taught by his own lips, remained very ignorant of spiritual truths till the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He often reproved them for their unbelief, Matt., xvi., 6-12; xvii., 20; Mark, xvi., 14; Luke, xxiv., 21-25. When he told them that he should be crucified, they could not comprehend it, Matt., xvi., 21-23; Luke, ix., 45; John, xvi., 17, 18; and many truths, which they were to learn afterward, did Jesus abstain from teaching them during his ministry on earth, because they were not prepared to receive them, John, xvi., 12. Under these cir- cumstances, it can not be supposed that these apos- tles, still so ignorant and so unbelieving, every where consecrated men to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, associating with the Deity the Lord Jesus Christ, as one with him in nature and glory, and the Holy Spirit, who had not yet been poured out, because Christ was not yet glorified, John, vii., 39. I am unable, therefore, to believe that Chris- INTRODUCTION. 13 tian baptism was instituted before the resurrection of Jesus Christ ; and am compelled to examine his commission as containing " the great law of Chris- tian baptism," and " the chief authority for the con- tinued practice of baptism in the Christian Church." ^Halleij, 490, 493. II. Next, it is necessary to settle another prelim- inary question, i. e., whether the baptism spoken of in Matt., xxviii., 1 9, refer to the body or to the mind. Did our Lord command his ministers to baptize in water or in the Spirit? The following considera- tions may enable us to determine that the general opinion, which refers the word to material, and not to spiritual baptism, is correct. 1 . "When men are brought to believe in Christ, it is necessary that they should profess their faith in him openly, Matt., X., 32, 33; Rom., x., 9, 10 ; Rev., xxi., 8. Baptism unto the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, is such a profession, which is therefore necessary to the Church, and, as such, is here commanded. The objection that the baptism of the Spirit, as being more important than water baptism, must be here understood, has the less force when we consider that the spiritual baptism is in- volved in the discipleship which is previously men- tioned. All believers are baptized in the Spirit at the time of their conversion to God, John, i., 12, 13 ; iii., 5 ; and, therefore, when our Lord commanded his apostles to go and make disciples, he in effect com- manded them to seek for them by prayer and preach- ing the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the next duty was to lead them to confess Christ by baptism in wa- ter. To object that baptism here can nol mean wa- 14 INTRODUCTION. ter baptism, Decause the baptism of the Spirit is more important, is no more sound than to affirm that when our Lord said to his disciples, "Take, eat" (Matt., xxvi., 26), he could not mean the sacramental bread, because it is so much more important to eat his flesh spiritually by faith, John, vi, , 5 3—5 5 . Assuredly the baptism of the Spirit is more important, but the bap- tism of water is not therefore unnecessary ; and un- less we are prepared to discard the Lord's Supper as unworthy of Christ, we must maintain the rite of baptism to be worthy of him. If symbolic acts are unsuitable to our spiritual religion, we should not eat the Lord's Supper ; if, on the contrary, they are suit- able to it in any case, no symbolic act can be more simple or more expressive than immersion. This rite was indeed practiced by the apostles from the beginning, Acts, ii., 38. But on what was their practice founded ? They certainly did not introduce will- worship into the churches : they enacted nothing which was without Christ's authority. Now whence did they derive this baptism of the converts ? The baptisms mentioned in John, iii. and iv., were not unto the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spir- it, nor even unto the name of Jesus as the Christ ; nor did they afford any proof that Jesus meant them to be universal in his churches, if, indeed, they con- tinued beyond the first months of his ministry. Now if these baptisms, incidentally mentioned and not ex- pressly commanded, amount not to a law in the Chris- tian Church, then there is no other law of baptism than that contained in Matt., xxviii., and in Mark, xvi. If these statements do not contain an injunc- tion to baptize, then there is no command directing INTRODUCTION, 15 the ministers of Christ to baptize ; there is no initia- tory rite in the Christian rehgion ; there is no ap- pointed mode by which a man shall at his conver- sion individually confess Christ : a thing very diffi- cult to credit. It has been argued, that a law meant to be uni- versally binding on the Church of Christ would have been expressly recorded by all the Evangelists, where- as Matthew alone has recorded it. But, indeed, Mark has recorded a similar declaration of our Lord, which involves it, Mark, xvi., 1 5, 1 6. It is no more surprising that John has omitted to record the insti- tution of baptism than that he has omitted to notice the institution of the Lord's Supper ; and if John might omit it, why might not Luke ? If it may be argued that this is no command to baptize in water because Luke and John have not recorded it, we may argue that he has not promised to be with his disci- ples to the end of the world, because these two evan- gelists are silent respecting it ; and deny that he has given any promise of the Spirit to his Church, because that promise is not noticed by the Evangelists Mat- thew and Mark. See Luke, xxiv., 49 ; John, xx., 22. When Paul declared that he was not sent to bap- tize (1 Cor., i., 17), he referred to the words of his special commission, recorded Acts, xxvi., 17, and the reason why he rejoiced to have baptized but few Co- rinthians, was that they could not suppose him to have wished to form a Pauline party of those baptized by his own hands (1 Cor., i., 15). But in no respect did his general practice difier from that of the other apostles ; like him, they were chiefly sent to preach 16 INTRODUCTION. the Gospel (Matt., xxviii., 1 9 ; Mark, xvi., 15); and, like them, he baptized the converts. In various churches he may have left them to be baptized by his companions, as at Corinth ; but they were all baptized with his sanction. The converts were bap- tized at Philippi (Acts, xvi., 15, 33), at Corinth (Acts, xviii., 8 ; 1 Cor., i., 13 ; xv., 29), at Ephe- sus (Acts, xix., 5 ; Eph., iv., 5), at Colosse (Col., ii., 12), and throughout Asia Minor (1 Pet., iii., 21) ; the disciples were also baptized at Rome (Pv^om., vi., 3) ; and since there is no reason to suppose that the discipline of these churches difiered from that of the other apostolic churches, we may infer that all the converts in those churches were similarly baptized. From the days of the apostles, all the churches, with- out exception, received baptism without any other commands than these ; in the earliest Christian writ- ings these passages are appealed to as the law upon the subject. No one in the first ages ever objected to this interpretation on the ground that a spiritual baptism was intended ; and all, without exception, accepted water baptism as a divine ordinance. Since, then, an open confession of Christ at the beginning of the Christian life is important, since the mode of confessing him by immersion is simple and signifi- cant, since there is no other command of Christ en- joining baptism, since the apostles every where bap- tized their converts in water, and since all the church- es of Christ received the practice from them, we have reason to think that the command in Matt., xxviii., referred to water baptism, and not to baptism of the Spirit. 2. It is important to consider in what sense the INTRODUCTION. 17 command would naturally be understood by the apostles, because our Lord would not so speak as to mislead those whom he was instructing. It is evi- dent, from the manner in which baptism is men- tioned in the New Testament, that the writers were familiar with the term and with its meaning. On this occasion, apparently, the apostles asked no ex- planation of the command, and the evangelist ofiers none to his readers. The meaning was, it seems, plain to every one. What, then, was that mean- ing ? Baptism in water had been practiced by the Jews, by John, and by the apostles of John. We read, " Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan," Matt., iii., 5, 6. Thousands, therefore, had been baptized by him, and his baptism was the topic of universal conver- sation, Luke, iii., 15 ; John, i., 25. Shortly after the disciples of Jesus began to baptize, and numbers received the rite from their hands, John, iii., 22—26 ; iv. , 1 , 2 . When any conversation arose among the disciples respecting baptism among the Jews, the word always meant baptism in water ; if they used the word with reference to the ministry of John, it meant baptism in water ; or if they spoke of it with reference to the followers of Christ, it still recalled the fact that they had been baptized in water. Every one was familiar with the baptismal rite, ev- ery one talked of it ; it admitted proselytes into communion with the Jews ; it admitted converts into the company of John's disciples ; it was admin- istered to the disciples of Jesus. When, therefore, Jesus said to his apostles, " Go ye and teach all na- B 18 INTRODUCTION. tions, baptizing them. ... Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. . . . He that believe th and is baptized, shall be saved" — they must have understood him to speak of baptism in water. It is true that John had spoken of a superior bap- tism when he said to the multitudes of Jesus, " He shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost," Matt., iii., 11. And Jesus himself had renewed the promise to his disciples in these words : "Ye shall be baptized in the Holy Ghost not many days hence," Acts, i., 5 ; but the disciples could not understand our Lord to mean in the terms of the commission this spiritual baptism, because this was a new thing understood by few (John, iii., 1-9), talked of by few (John, xiv., 17), and which certainly had not yet superseded, as, indeed, it never afterward did, the common mean- ing of the term. Not one Jew in twenty who used the word baptism would mean the baptism of the Spirit ; not one in a thousand would think of spir- itual baptism when he heard the simple word em- ployed ; and, therefore, no one would employ it in that sense ; and when the apostles received the com- mand simply to baptize, they must have understood it as all other Jews would of baptism in water. Had any question arisen for a moment as to the meaning of the term, it would, as I think, have been speedily settled in their minds, by their noticing in what manner both John and Jesus spoke of the spir- itual baptism. They had heard John say of Jesus, " He shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost ;" and they had heard Jesus say, " Ye shall be baptized in the Holy Ghost ;" but they had never heard either INTRODUCTION, 19 John or Jesus say, " Ye shall baptize others in the Holy Ghost." On the contrary, though John was a great prophet, who " turned many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God" (Luke, i., 16), yet he expressly disclaimed this power of baptizing in the Spirit, which was to be the prerogative of Jesus alone : " I indeed baptize you in water unto repent- ance, but he shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost," Mattv, iii., 11. Hitherto, when John had com- manded his disciples to baptize, he meant them to baptize in water ; when Jesus had commanded his disciples to baptize, he meant them to baptize in water ; and now that, without any special promise of higher power, he again commanded them to bap- tize, how could they understand him to mean some- thing totally new, or suppose him incidentally, and without any explanation, to confer a power withheld even from John the Baptist ? But as Jesus knew that the disciples must understand him to mean that they should baptize in water, he certainly did mean it. 3. We have also satisfactory, positive evidence that our Lord here commanded his disciples to bap- tize in water. Like John, the ministers of Christ to the end of time are sent forth to turn many to God (Luke, i., 16) ; but, like him, they are unable to baptize in the Holy Ghost, Matt., iii., 11. This baptism in the Spirit, which is the regeneration of the soul, is exclusively the work of God. Men may be em- ployed by him to preach, but the work of regenera- ting a spirit, of giving life to a dead soul, the work of the new creation, is always ascribed to God and to Christ — never to ministers. See Acts, ii., 33, 20 INTRODUCTION. 47 ; John, i., 13 ; Tit., iii., 5 ; James, i., 18 ; 1 Pet., i., 3 ; 1 John, iii., 9 ; 1 Cor., iii., 5, 9 ; 2 Cor., v., 17 ; Eph., ii., 1-5, 11, &c., &c. The ministers of Christ, therefore, are here not called to do what is exclusively the work of God, to baptize in the Spirit, but, as their appropriate work, to lead those whom God has baptized in his Spirit to profess their change of mind by baptism in water. Nowhere can bap- tism, when it stands alone, be shown to refer to spiritual baptism. But both the word and the phrase which are here employed are employed of the baptism in water. First, let us observe the New Testament use of the word baptism. " Then Peter said unto them. Repent and be bap- tized, every one of you," Acts, ii., 38. " Then they that gladly received his word were baptized," Acts, ii., 41. " When they believed Philip . . . they were bap- tized. . . . Then Simon himself believed also ; and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip," Acts, viii., 12, 13. " Many of the Corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptized," Acts, xviii., 8. " 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 bap- tism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is, Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus," Acts, xix., 3-5. *' I thank God that I baptized none of you but INTRODUCTION. 21 Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanus ; besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent mc not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel," 1 Cor., i., 14-17. Without comment on these passages, we can at once see that in them all baptism alone, without any mention of water, means baptism in water, and not baptism in the Spirit. Next, let us notice the New Testament use of the phrase " baptism unto the name of God." I should not omit, in passing, to recall the phrase in the prophecy of Jeremiah, " Circumcise yourselves to the Lord" (Jer., iv., 4), because " circumcision to the Lord" is similar to " baptism to the Lord," both ex- ternal acts betokening the same duty of sanctification and dedication to God. Several times are similar phrases used in the New Testament, of which the following are instances : " They were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea," 1 Cor., x., 2. They were marked to be the disciples of Moses, by following him into the Red Sea, where they were buried for a while within the cloud and sea which surrounded them. " Were ye baptized unto the name of Paul," eig TO bvofia 'n.av?iov (1 Cor., i., 13), were you dedica- ted by your baptism in water to be disciples of Paul ? " Only they were baptized elg to bvojia, unto the name of the Lord Jesus," Acts, viii., 16. " When they heard this they were baptized eig TO bvofia, unto the name of the Lord Jesus," Acts, xix., 5. 22 INTRODUCTION. As in all these places the phrases " to be baptized unto the name" of any one means to be dedicated by water baptism to the service of any one, the similar phrase in the commission to the apostles must mean the same thing ; and when Jesus said, " Baptize them unto the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," he meant. Dedicate them by water baptism to the service of the Triune God. As all the direct evidence is in favor of interpret- ing the word baptism when it stands alone in the New Testament to mean water baptism, and as " antecedent probabilities," if there be any, " are of very small value, if opposed by direct evidence," " scarcely deserving to be taken into account" (^God- win, 143), we may unhesitatingly conclude that the commission to the ministers of Christ to baptize is a command to them to baptize in water. On the whole, as it seems to me, we have abund- ant reason to conclude that the command in the commission to the ministers of Christ to baptize is to baptize in water ; and that it is the will of Christ that disciples or believers in him should be baptized in water in all successive generations. On the same grounds, all the other passages of the New Testament in which baptism is mentioned alone must, unless special reasons can be adduced for the contrary, be understood to mean baptism in water. In Rom., vi., 3, and Gal., iii., 27, believers are said " to be baptized unto Christ ;" and in CoL, ii., 12, "to be buried with him in baptism." Eph., iv., 5, reminds us that among Christians there is " one bap- tism ;" and the Apostle Peter declares (1 Peter, iii., 21), «' Baptism doth save us ;" all which passages, [NTRODUCTION. 23 for the reasons above assigned, must be understood to mean baptism in water. III. Further, this command to baptize, or to im- merse in water, must be understood to be of perpet- ual authority, and to bind the ministers of Christ to baptize his disciples to the end of time, for the follow- ing reasons, among others : 1 . As our Lord has here commanded his disciples to disciple and to baptize the nations, with the as- surance that while they are accomplishing this mis- sion he will be with them ecjg rrj^ avvTeXelag rov aiutvog, " to the end of the world," it follows that they must continue to baptize until the end of the world.* 2. As the dispensation of the Spirit began at Pen- tecost, and the kingdom of Christ began then to be established, whatever was then practiced generally by the apostles in the churches became a law of the kingdom of Christ, which was not meant to pass away like the Mosaic ceremonial, but to last; and since the apostles administered baptism to their con-* verts, it must still be administered to the same class * " Alijv, an age, a long space of time, a period. -O aldv ov- Toc, this present world." — Liddell. " Aluv, the present world;" — Robinson. " Mundus orbis terrarum in Nova Testamentum 6 aidv dicitur." — Schleusner. The word is used to express the present world : Matt., xii., 32; xiii., 22, 39; Mark, x., 30 ; Luke, i., 70; xvi., 8 ; xviii., 30 ; xx., 34, 35 ; Acts, xv., 18 ; Eph., i., 21. " Hence," says Schleusner, " it appears that ' this world' does not ever sig- nify in the New Testament the times of the Old Testament, nor the 'world to come' the times of the Messiah." See Heb., i., 2; xi., 3. " IvvTeTida, accomplishment."— iiddeZ/. " Full end, consum- mation." — Robinson. Matt., xiii., 39, 40, 49 ; from ovvteMo), " to accomplish," " to end," used Matt., vii., 28 ; Luke, iv., 13 ; Acts, xxi., 27. 24 INTRODUCTION. of persons. No reason can be assigned for the discon- tinuance of baptism now, which was not equally valid at the period wherein the apostles were baptizing. 3. Baptism being the appointed method by which the first converts professed their faith in Christ, is as suitable to our times as to theirs. As Judaism had its initiatory rite, so is it useful that Christianity should have its initiatory rite likewise. A profes- sion of faith is necessary at the beginning of a Chris- tian life, and no act of profession can be more solemn or expressive than this. 4. The terms in which baptism is spoken of in the New Testament are such as to forbid the notion that it was intended for a limited period alone at the com- mencement of the Christian era. Our Lord's solemn words are, " He that helieveth and is baptized shall be saved,'' Mark, xvi., 16. To the Jewish multitude the Apostle Peter said, ''Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins,'' Acts, ii., 38. By baptism believers are said to be " buried ivith Christ," and to ''rise with him" (Rom., vi., 3 ; Col., ii., 12); and baptism is said to "save us" (1 Pet., iii., 21). An ordinance which had such consequences was not meant to be discontinued in the churches. 5. The uses of baptism remain the same in every age ; whatever advantages believers and churches obtained from it in the apostolic age, they can obtain now ; and if it was necessary then, it must be no less necessary now. 6. Our Lord has directed his disciples to "disciple ALL NATIONS, baptizing them;"* and since the na- * " All nations," Tldvra ra tOvrj, all the nations of the world. INTRODUCTION. 25 tions generally are not yet either converted or bap- tized, the command remains to be accomplished. These conmiands of Christ, therefore, are now in force just as when they were first given to the apos- tles ; and we have to consider what the duties are which they enjoin. See Matt., xii., 18, 21 ; xxv., 32 ; Luke, xxL, 24 ; Acts, ii., 5 ; xiv., 16; xvii., 26; Rom., iv., 17, 13 ; Rev.,xi., 9; xii., 5, &c., &c. CHAPTER I. THE MEANING OF THE COMMISSION GIVEN TO THE APOSTLES. Having now ascertained that Christ has com- manded his ministers to immerse disciples, and has commanded his disciples to be immersed, let us fur- ther examine the meaning of this command, as de- veloped by the commission itself. Before our Lord ascended to his glory, he said to his apostles, '' Go ye and teach all nations, baptiz- ing them i?i the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things ivhcot soever I have commanded you'' The word \iaQr\TtvEiv , here translated " to teach," is sometimes used in that sense, as Matt., xiii.. 52 ; but here it means apparently " to make a disciple" [Liddell), <' to train or teach as a disciple" (^Robin- son), " to draw any one to the Christian religion" (^Schleusner), as Acts, xiv., 21. Three acts are therefore enjoined — to disciple the nations, to bap- tize them, and to teach them obedience to all Christ's laws. Now there are three ways in which these words may be understood, supposing the meaning of the separate terms to be ascertained. First, We may understand that the second and third commands are explanatory of the first. " Baptizing the nations and MEANING OF THE COMMISSION. 27 teaching them to obey my commands, make disciples of them ;" in other words, " Make disciples of the nations by baptizing them and by teaching them obe- dience." According to this construction of the sen- tence, some maintain that persons are to be baptized, not after they are become disciples, but in order to their becoming so ; they are not to be made disciples that they may be baptized and taught, but to be bap- tized and taught that they may thus be made dis- ciples. All serious applicants, they thinlc, ought to be baptized at once, and then instructed that they may become disciples : the nations are to be baptized and then taught, there being no other limit to the duty than the practicability. There are serious objections to this interpretation. 1 . Without previous knowledge of Christ and faith in Christ, the nations would not be baptized ; and to command the disciples to baptize the nations before they were converted was to command what was im- practicable. How, for instance, would the mission- aries now on the coast of China be able to baptize the people of Canton, Amoy, or Shanghae, before leading them to believe in Christ ? By baptism a Hindoo renounces caste, connections, property : will he do this before he understands and believes the Gospel ? 2. If baptism precedes discipleship, so does the instruction in all the details of obedience ; for the second and third commands, being both participles present, must be synchronical ; and if the one must precede discipleship, so must the other. Hence no man can be a disciple till he is instructed in all the details of obedience as well as baptized, which is 28 BAPTISM. contrary to the common use of language, and con- trary to fact. 3. According to this interpretation, men are to be taught to obey all the commands of Christ before they become his disciples, which is impossible ; for, till men become disciples of Christ, they will not listen to his commands. 4. The most serious objection to this interpreta- tion is, that no man is made a disciple by being bap- tized and being taught the details of obedience, but by hearing and receiving the doctrine of Christ. 5. In various places in the New Testament, dis- cipleship is stated to be different from baptism, and to precede it. Thus, in John, iv., we read, " When, therefore, the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, he left Judea." Jesus therefore made disciples, and then baptized them. The baptism was different from the discipleship, and succeeded it. 6. This interpretation is refuted by the practice of the apostles, who led men to believe the Gospel before they baptized them. But there are not wanting passages in the New Testament which show that these three commands may mean, " Make disciples of the nations by lead- ing them to believe in me, then baptize them as disciples, and then teach them as baptized disciples to obey all my commands." Present participles thus, sometimes, in the New Testament, express actions which immediately fol- low the action of the verb with which they are con- nected, and are accessories to it. Thus (Matt., viii., 27), *' The men marveled, saying," «fcc. When the MEANING OF THE COMMISSION. 29 wonder preceded the language and caused it (Matt., ix., 33), " The multitudes marveled, saying," &c. See, also, Matt., xix., 25 ; xxi., 10, 20 ; xxvi., 8, &c. In all these cases the emotion described pre- ceded the words. So, when Jesus said, <' Go ye and disciple the nations, baptizing them," the disciple- ship might precede the baptism, and be its cause. Present participles are connected in a similar man- ner with words of approaching, as (Matt., xvii., 14), " Then came to him a man, kneeling down to him ;" Matt., xix., 3, " The Pharisees came to him tempt- ing him." In the one case the man came before he knelt, and in the second the Pharisees came before they tempted. So when it was said to the apostles, *' Disciple baptizing," they might disciple before they baptized. In these and similar instances we may observe, too, that the verb and the participle may refer to different acts, and that the participle may describe something additional to the principal action ; as, for instance (Luke, vi., 36), ''Lend, hoping for nothing again ;" again, " Lend, and when ye lend, hope for no return." So here the command is, «' Make disciples, and as you make disciples, baptize them." There are some instances in which, if I mistake not, three consecutive actions are expressed precisely as the three acts are in the commission. Thus (Eph., v., 18-20), 1. " Be filled with the Spir- it;" 2. " speaking to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things ;" 3. " submitting yourselves one to another."* * UlrjpovGde ev Hvev/iaTi, laTiOvvre^ tavTolg, aSovreg kol TJidXTiovTec; evxcipLarovvTeq, VTcoTaaGo/xevot ak'Ki]\otq, &;c. 30 BAPTISM. As here the perpetual thanksgiving and the submis- sion to each other are consequences of being filled with the Spirit, so, in the commission, baptism and instruction are to be consequences of discipleship. Eph., vi., 17, 18. 1. " Take the helmet of sal- vation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God ;" 2. " praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit," 3. "and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. "*" The soldier takes his armor first in a time of danger, and then watches ; the Christian is called to assume Christian tempers and the word of God as his armor, and then to pray and to watch. Just so, according to the commission, the sinner is called to become a disciple first, and then to profess discipleship in baptism, and to receive instruction in the details of a Christian life. The construction of the two sentences is exactly similar, and so is the order of the actions. In Eph., vi., the two present participles following the verb express two actions immediately following the action of the verb, and this is exactly the case with the present participles which follow the verb in Matt., xxviii. Col., iii., 16. 1. " Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly ;" 2. " teaching and admonishing one another," 3. "in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."t They were first to store their minds with scripture, and then teach one another, and sing praise. * Tijv TTspiKEipalaLav 6(:^aade, Trpoaeyxofievot kv navTi Katpi^, Kal aypvKvovvTeg kv Tvdari npoGKapTeprjaei. t 'O Xoyog rov Xpiarov kvoiKeiTu kv v/xiv, dtSduKOVTEg iav- rovf , ipaTifiolg adovreg. MEANING OF THE COMMISSION. 31 The two present participles following the verb ex- press actions immediately following the action of the verb ; and in Matt., xxviii., a similar construction expresses the same order of ideas. But although, according to New Testament usage, the two participles express, as I think, actions sub- sequent to the action of the principal verb, those who will not admit this construction are not reduced to the necessity of interpreting the commission to mean, "Make disciples by baptizing and by teaching to obey." The construction of the sentence may illustrate the following rule : " Every action which admits of being considered as only accompanying another, which is the main action, and may thus be represented as an accessory circumstance of another, the Greeks are fond of expressing by the participle, and even when two finite verbs are joined by ' and,' one of them is generally put in the participle and the copula is omitted Several participles fre- quently stand in one proposition without a connec- tion, where the conjunctive particle would represent these verbs as three separate actions." — MatthicB, Participle. Here, therefore, when our Lord said, " Disciple all the nations, baptizing them, teaching them to obey," it is the same as if he had said, "Dis- ciple, and baptize, and teach ;" the three actions are cotemporaneous. With respect to each individual, the actions are consecutive. Each minister disci- ples or converts the individual first, then baptizes, and then teaches the details of Christian character and conduct ; but, comprehensively considered, these actions are cotemporaneous, since of the whole body of the ministers of Christ, to whom the commission 32 BAPTISM. is given, some are preaching the Gospel, some bap- tizing, and some teaching the details of Christian duty at the same time, through all successive gen- erations. So it is said (Matt., ix., 35), 1. "Jesus went about all the cities," 2. "teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the king- dom," 3. "and healing every sickness." In each place the preaching and the healing necessarily fol- lowed the arrival ; but the three habits of traveling, teaching, and healing were, with respect to the whole tour, concurrent. If, further, we seek to determine the order of the actions in the text which we are examining by the authority of distinguished men, we shall find that the commentators the most remarkable both for scholar- ship and for their acquaintance with the Bible, by common consent understand our Lord to declare that discipleship must precede baptism, not baptism discipleship ; that our Lord has ordered his minis- ters to disciple in order to baptize, not to baptize in order to disciple ; to baptize after conversion, not in order to convert. " Christ orders those to be baptized who shall have given their name to the Gospel, and shall have professed themselves disciples ; partly that baptism may be to them the watchword of eternal life be- fore God, partly the external sign of faith among men. Therefore, in Mark it is said, ' He that be- lieveth and is baptized.' By which words Christ joins baptism to doctrine, so that the former may be merely an accession to the latter. But since Christ orders to teach before baptizing, and wills that believers alone be admitted to baptism, bap- MEANING OF THE COMMISSION. 33 tism seems not to be rightly administered unless faith has preceded. And properly is faith in the word placed before baptism, since the Gentiles were wholly alienated from God, nor had any thing in common with the elect people ; otherwise the figure would be mendacious, offering remission of sins and the gift of the Spirit to unbelievers who were not as yet members of Christ." — Calvin.^ " Go ye therefore and teach all nations. To gather together my subjects and believers .... which is done by the preaching of the Gospel. . . . Bai^iz- ing them for a sacrament of my grace to them in remission of sins, and likewise for a token that they are bound on their side to consecrate themselves to me." — Diodati.-f "■ Teach all nations. Teach all the nations the Christian doctrine, and persuade them to embrace it, * " Baptizari jubet Christus, qui nomen evangelic dederint, se- que professi fuerint discipulos : partim ut illis baptismus vitaB eter- 1133 sit tessera coram Deo, partim apud homines externum fidei signum. Ideoque apud Marcum dicitur, Q?«' crediderit et baptiza- tusfuerit, quibus verbis . . . Christus . . . doctrinse baptismum cop- ulat, ut hoc nihil aliud sit quam illius accessio. Verum quia do- cere prius jubet Christus quam baptizare, et tantum credentes ad baptismum vult recipi, videtur non rite administrari baptismus nisi fides precesserit. Merito autem ante baptismum locatur ver- bi fides, quum gentes alienae prorsus essent a Deo, nee quicquam haberent cum electo populo commune ; nam alioqui mendax esset figura, quae peccatorum remissionem et Spiritus donum offerret incredulis, qui nondum essent Christi membra." — Calvin on Matt., xxviii., 19. t " Andate adunque, ed ammsestrate tutti i popoli, per ricog- liere i miei sudditi e fedeli . . . il che si far per la predicatione deir evangelic. Batezzandogli, per sagramento della mia gratia in remessione de' peccati, ed insieme in segno d'obbligatione, dal canto loro di consecrarsi a me." c 34 BAPTISM. and to live according to it, baptizing," &c. — Ham- mond. " Go into all nations, preach the Gospel to them, work miracles among them, persuade them to come in themselves, and to bring their children with them ; and then admit them and theirs into the Church by- washing them with water." — Henry. " The writer of the Constitutions, which are as- cribed to Clement, explains the sense, ' You must first strip them of all impiety, then impart piety to them, and so make them worthy of baptism.' " — Grotius.^ " « Make disciples of all nations.' That must be first by preaching and instructing them in the prin- ciples of the Christian faith ; and Mark expounds it, telling us our Savior said, ' Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.' " — Poole. " When made disciples, they were to be baptized into the name," &c. — Boothro7jd. *« Our Lord's words, taken together in both verses, distinctly enjoin three things, and that in the fol- lowing drder — ixaOrjTeveLV, (SaTTTL^eiv, diddoneiv, i. €., to proselyte men to Christ, to baptize, and to teach them. It is true, however, that adult persons, be- fore they can be made Christ's disciples, or be pros- elyted, must be instructed, and brought to believe the great essential truths of Christianity, and even to profess their faith in them." — Be7iso7t. " There are two words in this passage which are * " Sensum explicat scriptor Constitutionum quae Clemente ad- scribuntur : Aet vfiag Ttporepov miaav uaifSeiav e^tXovrag, Tore TTjv Evaei3ecav avrolg iyKaTa[3u?\,?i.eadai nal tov iSanTiainaTog ci^iuaat: Oportet vos, exempts prius impietate onini, deinde pie- tatem ipsis inscreic, ct sic cos baptismo dignari." MEANING OF THE COMMISSION. 35 translated * teach' and * teaching.' The former is of the same import with that which is rendered dis- ciples, and it means that general instruction which was necessary to bring men to profess themselves the disciples of Christ ; and the other relates to their more particular subsequent instruction in all the various parts of Christianity." — Scott. " Madrjreveiv (to make disciples) is here to preach the Gospel to all nations, and to engage them to be- lieve it in order to their profession of that faith by baptism, as seems apparent, 1. from the parallel commission, Mark, xvi., 15; 2. from the scripture notion of a disciple, that being still the same as a believer. To be made disciples here is to be taught to believe in Christ, that so they might be his disci- ples." — Whitby. " There are manifestly three things which our Lord here distinctly enjoins on his apostles to exe- cute with regard to the nations, fiaOrjTEveiv, (ia-nri- ^SLV, diddoKEiv, that is, to convert them to the Christian faith, to initiate the converts into the Church by baptism, and to instruct the baptized in all the duties of the Christian life." — Campbell, Valpy, Bloomfield. " This was the regular course .... to change the aoe6eLa of the converts into evaedeia, and render them worthy of baptism Thus, with Christians collected from all nations, baptism was made the distinguishing mark of their profession of a common faith .... iJ,ad7]revecv is the first initiation into the principles preparatory to baptism ; dLddofcetv, the more complete instruction afterward imparted." — EUesley, 36 BAPTISM. Thus a general consent of the best commentators estabhshes the sense of the commission to be, that the ministers of Christ should do three consecutive duties : 1 st, They should lead men to be disciples of Christ by faith, through instruction in the doc- trines of the Gospel ; 2dly, They should baptize them as professed believers ; 3dly, They should in- struct them in the details of Christian obedience, and lead them to obey the will of Christ in all things. - This meaning of the passage being established by the meaning of various passages in the New Testa- ment which have a similar construction, and by the consent of the best expositors, is further established by the meaning of the terms employed. There are three expressions employed — to make disciples, to baptize, to teach obedience. From the sense of the terms, these must be consecutive acts with respect to each individual. The text can not mean to make a man a disciple by baptizing and by teaching to obey ; but make him a disciple, then baptize him, and then teach him to obey. 1. The meaning of the word "disciple" shows that this text means disciple and baptize, not disci- ple by baptizing. Because a disciple means a be- liever, and to make disciples must be to lead men to believe.* False professors of faith in Jesus Christ * " MadtjTevo), in the New Testament, to make a disciple." — Liddell. " To train as a disciple, to teach, to instruct." — Robin- son. " To draw any one to the Christian religion, to imbue any- one with the first elements of the Christian religion ; /nadTjTevaaTe TTuvra Tu. edvjj ; teach or render followers of my doctrine all the nations, e. g., jxadr^Tug ttoleIte, John, iv., 1." — Schleusner. " Ma- 6r]Tf]g, a disciple (from juadelv, to learn), a learner, a pupil." — hiddell. " A follower of Christ, professing his doctrine, a Chris- tian." — Schleusner. MEANING OF THE COMMISSION. 37 are, indeed, called disciples, because of that profes- sion, John, vi., 60, 61, 66. And Judas, as a pro- fessed believer, was called a disciple. Matt., x., 1 ; Luke, vi., 13. But as false disciples were false professors of faith, so true disciples are true believers, Luke, xiv., 26, 27, 33 ; John, viii., 31 ; xiii., 35; XV., 8. The apostles were simply termed disciples. Matt., X., 1 ; Luke, vi., 13; Lx., 1 ; John, xxi., 24. The seventy evangelists were simply termed disciples, Luke, X., 1, 17, 23. The members of the Church at Jerusalem were simply termed disciples. Acts, i., 15; vi., 1 ; ix., 1. And the members of other churches are so termed, Acts, xiii., 52 ; xiv., 22 ; XX., 1, 7 ; xxi., 4, 16. No persons are true disci- ples but those who obey him ; according to our Lord's express statements : '' If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed," John, viii., 31. "Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples," John, xv., 8. Assuming that the name of disciple might be given to any unconverted man who taught instruction in the Christian religion, it was not such a disciple that Jesus desired to make. He surely wished to have true followers, not false ones ; and when he told them that while they were occupied in making disciples he would be with them to the end of the world, he certainly promised the aid of his grace to make true disciples, not spurious ones ; not to im- part to ungodly men some elementary and abortive notions of Christianity, but to turn them from the power of Satan unto God, Acts, xxvi. , 1 6-1 8 . When, therefore, the apostles were called to make disciples 38 BAPTISM. of the nations by the power of their Master (verses 17, 20), they were called to make true disciples, such disciples as apostles, evangelists, and members of living churches. But baptism can not make such. Persons coming to be baptized are at the time either believers or unbelievers ; if they are un- behevers, baptism can not make them believers, and therefore can not make them disciples ; and if they are believers, they are disciples already. Baptism can not make a disciple in the lowest sense, because it can not make a man even a learner of the Chris- tian doctrine, still less can it make a true disciple a believer in Christ. The children of God are born again by the word of God, James, i., 18 ; 1 Pet,, i., 23; Eph., v., 26. And all who beHeve are his children, John, i., 12 ; Gal., iii., 26. But the chil- dren of God are disciples of Christ, and all who be- lieve are disciples of Christ. Faith comes by hear- ing the truth, not by baptism, Rom., x., 17. And, therefore, to make disciples is to bring men to believe by preaching to them the Gospel, not to baptize them ; and the text must mean disciple and then baptize, not disciple by baptizing. If any one still insist that the word " disciple" may be taken in its lowest sense to signify a mere learner, and that, therefore, if discipleship precedes baptism, baptism may precede true faith, I ask what term could have been selected to express that true faith must precede baptism. Had our Lord said, " Go, make men believers, make men saints, con- vert them, lead them to regeneration, and then bap- tize them ;" still objectors, nothing daunted, might have said, " Some men believe without being con- MEANING OF THE COMMISSION. 39 verted. See Luke, viii., 13. Saints do not mean holy persons, but professors of Christianity. See Locke on 1 Cor., i., 1, 2. Conversion means re- nunciation of idolatry, and men are regenerated by water, John, iii., 5. So nothing need precede bap- tism but a general belief that Jesus is the Christ." In the infirmity of language, any text may be evad- ed by applying to its terms low meanings against common usage and against the indications of the context. We may further learn that baptism must follow discipleship from the meaning of baptism itself The use of water is employed in scripture symbolically, to signify the purification of the soul. To wash the soul means, in scripture phraseology, to free it from the guilt and the defilement of sin, Ps. li., 2, 7 ; Isa., i., 16 ; Jer., iv., 14. A religious washing must, at the least, signify that the soul requires to be puri- fied ; a religious immersion must express the com- pleteness of that required purification. When, there- fore, a person voluntarily receives immersion, he vol- untarily receives a rite which expresses his need of total purification. But how can any one receive vol- untarily a rite which expresses his need of purifica- tion without himself expressing that need ? And how can a man honestly express his need of purifica- tion without seeking to be purified ? And how can a man seek to be entirely purified, and not seek to lead a life of holiness and piety ? He who does all this is a true disciple ; and he who professes all this is a professed disciple. And since baptism itself im- plies all this, it is in itself a profession of disciple- ship; and, therefore, baptism, from the symbolical 40 BAPTISM. meaning of the act, ought to be preceded by disciple- ship. I think that we may learn the same thing from the next words employed by our Savior in the text. When he said, '« Go ye and disciple, baptizing elg rd bvofia, unto the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," he manifested his will that baptism should follow discipleship. The ordinary meaning oielg is " into" or " unto ;" and in the New Testament it is used to express dedication to any one. The following are instances : Pwom., xi., 36, " To him, elg avTov, are all things ;" 1 Cor., x., 2, " They were all baptized unto Moses, elg rbv MGJvorjv ;" 1 Cor., i., 13, " Were ye baptized unto the name, elg rd ovoiia, of Paul?" Rom., vi., 3, "As many of us as were baptized unto Jesus Christ, elg XpLOTov" In these cases, to be baptized unto Christ, or unto Moses, or tmto Paul, means so as to be his follower or disciple, consecrated to his service. " The expression, to be baptized unto Christ, in the style of Paul, does not designate a simple external profession of the religion of the Gospel, but the act of heart by which one ac- cepts that religion ; an act of which submission to the rite of baptism was the public and ordained ex- pression. "=^ Hence immersion unto the name of God means consecration to God ; and the words, " Bap- tizing them unto the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," means consecrating them unto the Triune God.f Such being the mean- * Hodge, Rom., vi., 3. French translation. t Unto the name. " Per consegrargli al solo vero Iddio rivelato in tre persone." — Diodati. Unto the name. " Into the profession of the Trinity, i. c, one God in three persons, in opposition to all false gods and false wor- MEANING OF THE COMMISSION. 41 ing of baptism unto the name of God, recognized by the best commentators with a very general consent, how can an ignorant and unconverted man make this profession without hypocrisy or presumption ? And how can a minister of Christ, without unfaith- fulness to his commission, sanction such worthless profession ? Certainly our Lord did not intend it ; and therefore, when he said, " Disciple all nations, baptizing them unto the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," he ordained not that they should be immersed in water unto the name of God, with a view to eventual consecration to him, but that they should consecrate themselves to him ship ; and thereby to dedicate and give up ourselves to them, ac- cording to their personal relations : to the Father, as our Creator, to love, serve, obey him, and be happy in the enjoyment of him ; to Christ, as our Redeemer, to free us from the guilt of sin and the wrath of God ; to the Holy Ghost, to guide and sanctify us, and comfort us with the sense of our present interest in God's love, and the hopes of future glory." — Samuel Clark. Unto the name. " Into the profession of the Trinity of the per- sons in the one Divine Being ; dedicating the persons baptized to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and thereby obliging them to worship and serve God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; for in baptism there is both a solemn dedication of the person to God and a solemn stipulation, the person baptized either covenant- ing for himself that he will be the Lord's, or his parents covenant- ing for him." — Poole. "To be baptized unto any one, or unto his name, is to bind and devote one's self to him, and to wish to be called by his name." — Grotius. " To be baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, implies a professed dependence on these three divine persons, jointly and equally, and a devoting of our- selves to them as worshipers and servants," — Benson and Scott. " Baptizing them unto the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, by a solemn profession of the only true religion, and by a solemn devo- tion to the service of the sacred TnnWy." —Tiarnn^. 42 BAPTISM. first, and then profess it by immersion in water unto his name. We may learn, also, that cliscipleship precedes baptism by the last clause of the commission ; for if baptism is to precede discipleship because the com- mand to baptize is in the present participle, then the teaching of the details of Christian obedience must precede discipleship, because the command to teach is likewise in the participle present. Now how can ministers teach all the commands of their Master to those who are not his disciples ? Such persons can not be expected to receive his orders. The reason why persons are expected to receive them is, that, being disciples, they recognize his authority. A serv- ant will listen to his master's commands, and all others will spurn them. Hence it is apparent that when Christ said, " Disciple the nations, teaching them to obey all my commands," he meant, " Make them disciples, and then teach them to obey." But since the expression, " Disciple teaching," means dis- ciple first, and then teach, the expression, " Disciple baptizing," likewise means disciple first, and then baptize. We may further learn the same thing from the terms in which our Lord, shortly after the baptismal commission recorded by Matthew, renewed that com- mission according to the narrative of Mark, saying to the eleven disciples as follows, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that helicveth and is ba2')tized shall be saved,"" Mark, xvi., 16, 17. Here our Lord declared, first, That his disciples should preach the Gospel, urging men in general to believe it, which answers to the MEANING OF THE COMMISSION. 43 corresponding command in Matthew to disciple the nations ; and, secondly, He promised salvation to all who should first believe and then be baptized. That this is the order of ideas in this command is appar- ent, first, from the order of the terms employed ; and, secondly, from the connection here established between baptism and salvation. The order of words in any sentence expressing various actions generally, though not always, indi- cates the order of the actions themselves, because in expressing various consecutive acts it is natural to express the first action first. The instances of this harmony between the order of the words and the order of the acts are innumerable, and generally we should feel that a reversal of the order of the words would violate our sense of propriety. A few speci- mens may illustrate this fact. Had the wise men who visited Bethlehem said respecting Jesus, not *' We have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him," but, " We are come to worship, and have seen his star," they would have spoken less exactly. Matt., ii., 2. If John had said to his disciples, " Every tree Vv^hich bringeth not forth good fruit is cast into the fire and hewn down," he would have spoken less properly than when he said of such a tree, " It is hewn down and cast into the fire," Matt., iii., 10. And similarly, when our Lord said, " The rain descended and the floods came" (Matt., vii., 27), the order of words indicated the order of the facts. And that there is in our text a harmony between the order of the words and of the facts, is rendered more probable by our finding the same or- der to be invariable in the New Testament. If the 44 BAPTISM. order of the facts had been that persons should first be baptized and then beUeve, we should find this or- der of words in some places, but this latter order of words is never found. Acts, ii., 38, we read, " Re^ pent and be baptized ;" Acts, xviii., 18, " Many be- lieved and were baptized ;" and Eph., v., 4, " There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism." But we never find, <' Be baptized and repent ;" " They were bap- tized and believed ;" " There is one baptism, one faith." This constant order of the words can not be accidental, and must intimate that belief precedes baptism in reality, as the one precedes the other in the language of scripture. =^ Secondly, there is a connection established in these words between baptism and salvation which forbids the idea that baptism precedes belief It is not in- deed said by our Lord that he who is not baptized shall be damned, because many cases are conceiv- able in which baptism would be impossible ; but since it is said, " He who believes and is baptized shall be saved," we must conclude that baptism is generally necessary to salvation. And this is still more strongly stated by our Lord in his recorded conversation with Nicodemus, " Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God," John, iii., 5. And Peter expressly says, " Baptism doth save us," 1 Peter, iii., 2 1 . Now, if baptism had been the initiatory rite * In John, iii., 5, which is indeed a somewhat similar passage, the water is mentioned before the Spirit, because the thought to be conveyed to Nicodemus, that regeneration by the Spirit was the essential thing, required that this spiritual regeneration should be mentioned last. There is in words an order of emphasis as well as an order of time. MEANING OF THE COMMISSION. 45 by which heathens without faith were to be made catechumens, who could clearly be made so as well without it, how could it be generally necessary to salvation ? Is it conceivable, on this hypothesis, that " no one can enter the kingdom of heaven without being born of water ?" or is the Apostle Peter's state- ment intelligible that " baptism doth save us ?" But if baptism follows faith, all these scriptural state- ments become plain. Since men are pardoned and justified for the sake of Christ alone (Rom., iii., 4 ; 1 Cor., i., 30), they are therefore justified by faith alone without the deeds of the law. John, i., 12, 13 ; iii., 16, 36 ; xiii., 39; xvi., 31 ; Rom., iii., 28 ; Gal., iii., 26. But as a true faith must manifest itself and baptism is one appointed mode of its mani- festation, the faith which does not lead one who says that he believes in Christ, and who knows that Christ has enjoined baptism upon his disciples, to be bap- tized, is a false faith. Since he who believes in Christ must confess him, confession is declared to be as necessary to salvation as faith : " Whosoever shall confess me before men, him ivill I confess also before my Father ivhich is in heaven. But ivhosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny be- fore my Father lohich is in heaven,'' Matt., x., 32, 33. ^^ If thou shalt confess ivith thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart tlmt God luith raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For loith the heart man believeth unto righteous- ness, and luith the mouth confession is made unto salvation,'' Rom., x., 9, 10. " Bttt the fearfid . . . shall have their iiart in the lake luhich burneth with fire and hrhnstone," Rev., xxi., 8. We arc 46 BAPTISM. saved by grace through faith, without the deeds of the law ; but faith without a confession of Christ is impossible. And therefore, since confession is the necessary manifestation of faith, it is as necessary to salvation as faith is. And as baptism is an appoint- ed method of confession, it is generally, to those who know Christ's appointment, as necessary as confes- sion is. Since, therefore, faith is said to save us, because it is the instrument through which God saves us, so baptism is said to save us, because it is the necessary expression of true faith. If baptism is placed before faith as the initiatory rite of catechu- mens, we can not understand why it should be gen- erally necessary to salvation ; but if it be placed after faith, as its appointed expression, then its necessity as a confession of Christ is plain. And this being the case, we may conclude from this, as from other passages of scripture, that baptism being made neces- sary to salvation in scripture is a profession of faith in Christ made by a penitent believer. From all these considerations, we may gather that our Lord, in this commission, intended his ministers first to convert men by preaching to them the Gos- pel, then to baptize them as disciples, and finally to urge them, when baptized, to be entirely obedient to him as their Lord. The structure of this sentence, when compared with sentences of similar structure in the New Testament, establishes this meaning : it is established by the meaning of the word " disciple," which is equivalent to believer ; by the meaning of immersion, which, as a spontaneous religious act, involves a profession to renounce sin and lead a new life ; by the prescribed baptismal form of immersion MEANING OF THE COMMISSION. 47 unto the name of God, which signifies consecration to him ; by the place which the third command to enforce obedience to Christ's laws must have in the fulfillment of the commission ; by the order of the terms in the parallel passage in Mark ; and by the connection which that passage reveals between bap- tism and salvation. On all these accounts we may conclude that baptism, as a profession of repentance, faith, and consecration to the Triune God, must be preceded by faith and by discipleship to Christ. CHAPTER II. BAPTISM TO BE ADMINISTERED TO NONE BUT BE- LIEVERS. Having already proved that Christ has command- ed his ministers to baptize believers, I proceed to show that no one v^^ho does not make a consistent profession of faith ought to be baptized. I. Meaning op the Commission. I . This follows directly from the commission giv- en by Christ to the disciples ; for since he said to them, " Go and disciple all nations, baptizing them," thus directing them to make men disciples and then to baptize them, whence can Christian ministers de- rive authority to reverse that order ? Why did Christ say that they were to baptize believers if faith was not necessary to baptism ? If all men indiscrimin- ately might be baptized, then with respect to bap- tism faith was immaterial ; and if faith is immaterial to baptism, why was it specified in the commission ? When Oliver Cromw^ell, who saw that the forces of the Parliament were beaten by the troops of Charles the First, because there were gentlemen in the ranks of the royal army, and none but low men of worth- less character in the other, sent out his recruiting sergeants to enlist godly and sober young men into his regiment, would they have been entitled to enlist MEANING or Tlii: COMMISSION. 49 drunkards and profligates because he had not ex- pressly excluded them ? His specification of the godly and the sober excluded all the rest. And when the Lord Jesus Christ has commanded his ministers to enlist believers under his banners by baptism, he has excluded all the rest. When God enjoined upon Abraham and on his children and servants circumcision as the token of his covenant with that family, the mention of these classes ex- cluded all others. And unless they had received express permission to admit proselytes into the priv- ileges of the national covenant, they would have had no right to admit them. So, when Christ has declared that believers shall be admitted to the token of the covenant of grace, no one else can be admit- ted to that token without express permission ? To have circumcised a heathen stranger without com- mand from God would have been presumptuous in the Israelites, and to baptize an unbeliever without command from Christ must be presumptuous in a Christian minister now. From our Lord's naming believers as the proper subjects for baptism, it is plain that none others must be baptized unless Chris- tian ministers have his authority, expressed or im- plied, to baptize them. And as he has never given such permission it follows that none but those who make a consistent profession of faith ought to be baptized. Our Lord has here forbidden any persons to apply for baptism who are not true believers, and he has forbidden his ministers to baptize any who do not seem to be true believers. But as no man can read another's heart, reason agrees with apostolic prece- D 50 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. dents to declare that no minister should refuse bap- tism to a candidate of sound creed and of Christian habits because he does not feel sure of his conver- sion ; otherwise baptism might be refused to many true believers. Pveal faith, therefore, warrants the candidate to apply for baptism, and a credible pro- fession of faith warrants the minister to receive him. 2. It appears, further, that no one but a believer should be baptized from the nature of the profession made in baptism. Baptism being, as we have proved, a profession of repentance and of a new life, in which the baptized person is consecrated to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, no one but a believer can make this profession without falsehood. How can one who does not mean to renounce all sin be immersed, to signify his death unto sin, with- out hypocrisy ? How can one whose heart is un- changed profess, by rising from the water, that he means to live a new life of faith, of gratitude, of obe- dience, of spirituality, when he has no such inten- tion ? How can one who is still a votary of pleas- ure, a servant of the world, a slave of Satan, profess, without falsehood, to consecrate himself to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, by being im- mersed in water unto the name of God ? And since there is manifest falsehood in the profession made in baptism by every unregenerate person, how can Chris- tian ministers have authority from Christ to sanction such falsehood by administering baptism to any per- sons who are manifestly unconverted ? No one, therefore, who does not make a consistent profession of faith can be admitted to baptism without manifest JEWISH BAPTISM. 51 disregard of the nature of the ordinance, or without sanctioning sin in the person baptized. II. Jewish Baptism. As the terms in which the disciples were com- missioned to baptize, and the meaning of the pre- scribed symbol, prove that our Lord meant believ- ers to be baptized, and as he never authorized the baptism of any others, we must conclude that he did not intend any others to be baptized. Other con- siderations confirm this conclusion. Among these I may mention the consideration of the facts of Jew- ish baptism. The baptism instituted by our Lord being, like Jewish baptism, an immersion in water for religious purposes, and the initiatory rite of his religion, we may expect to find an analogy between them. " We do not assume," says Mr. Godwin, "that Christian baptism was in all respects the same as Jewish baptism ; but as it possessed the same form and bore the same appellation, at least a pre- sumption exists that there is a general accordance. Christianity has an external purification with water, which is performed as a religious service, and which is named a baptism : Judaism had external purifi- cations with water, which were performed as relig- ious services, and which were named baptisms ; and one of them was a rite of initiation into Judaism. In investigating the nature and usage of Christian baptism, we ought to look to the known nature and usage of similar rites ; and we may justly conclude that agreement exists where difierence is not proved." — Godivin, 203, 204. At the same time, since the first covenant was faulty (Heb., viii., 7, 8) ; since 52 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. its ordinances were weak and beggarly elements of religion (Gal., iv., 9), carnal ordinances (Heb., ix., 10), a system of types (Heb., ix., 9), having a shad- ow only of good things to come (Heb., x., 1), in which the priest " served unto the example and shadow of heavenly things" (Heb., viii., 5), we may expect to find in its ordinances just such a difference as existed between a religion which, containing spir- itual truth, was eminently ceremonial, and a relig- ion which, containing some positive ordinances, was eminently spiritual. This analogy and this differ- ence between Jewish and Christian baptism evident- ly exist. In Numbers, xix., 17—19, we read, " For an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running wa- ter shall be put thereto in a vessel. And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day ; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in ivater, and shall be clean at even." Hence, as the heathen were unclean, they were obliged, before they could be admitted into as- sociation with the Jews, to be bathed or baptized ; and this baptism was required of every proselyte. " When they received a proselyte to their religion, they both circumcised and baptized him ; affirming that this baptism was a kind of regeneration, where- by he was made a new man. . . . That the Jews really did attach the idea of regeneration to baptism in the case of converts is well known from Mai- monides and other rabbins." — Calmet, "Baptism." " Those that were thus initiated did put off all their former relations, not only their former worships and JEWISH BAPTISM. 53 manners, but tlieir relations of kindred, and came forth as if they had been new born of a new moth- er, as the Talmud often expresses it." — Hamnnond on Matt,, iii., 1. Let us observe that this baptism was not the sign of a purification to be effected aft- erward, but w^as itself a ceremonial purification. When the unclean person was bathed, he was cere- monially clean, Numb., xix., 19. "A person ap- plying to the priest for purification professed by word or deed that he was then free from the disease which had occasioned his impurity. He was carefully ex- amined by the priest that it might be known that his profession was true. His baptism was a sign of restored health ; and, in general, baptism was a sign that there had been ceremonial impurity, and that the occasion of this impurity was removed." — Godivin, 207. So, when the proselyte was bap- tized, he was legally clean. " Those who were proselytes to Judaism, being unclean, were purified with water." — Godivin, 207. Once immersed, they might, as clean persons, participate in Jewish ordinances. For this is the doctrine of the Mishna : "As to a proselyte who becomes a proselyte on the evening of the Passover, the followers of Shammai say, Let him be baptized, and let him eat the pass- over in the evening." — Wilso?i, 190, Thus we see just so much analogy and so much difference be- tween the Jewish and Christian baptism as the na- ture of the two religions indicated. Jewish baptism was the sign of a ceremonial cleansing, Christian baptism the sign of a spiritual cleansing ; the one signified a change of external condition, the other a change of spiritual condition ; the one a renunciation 54 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. of heathenism, the other a renunciation of sin ; the one a new Jewish hfe, the other a new spiritual hfe ; the one a total change of habits, the other a total change of heart ; the one admitted to the society of Jews, the other to the society of saints : both re- garded what was done already, as well as what was to be done afterward ; both were the profession of a past change, and of a present resolution to lead another life. The proselyte was not baptized that he might afterward be taught how to become a Jew, but because he now became one ; and so the Chris- tian proselyte is not baptized that he may be taught how to become a Christian, but because he is al- ready become one. As repentance for heathenism, and faith in the authority of Moses, were to precede Jewish baptism, so repentance for sin and faith in the Redeemer were to precede Christian baptism. As the baptized Jewish proselyte became, by Jew- ish baptism, the avowed disciple of Moses, entitled to all Mosaic ordinances, so the baptized Christian proselyte becomes, by Christian baptism, the avow- ed disciple of Christ, entitled to all Christian ordi- nances. The Jewish baptism was intended for none but believers in Moses, the Christian baptism is in- tended for none but believers in Christ. As a change of opinions and habits preceded an introduc- tion to the society of Jews, so a change of heart and life ought to precede an introduction to the communion of saints. III. Baptism of John. We may, further, be led to conclude that none but believers should receive baptism by considering BAPTISM OF JOH\. 55 the administration of baptism by John the Baptist. John came as the forerunner of Jesus, to bear wit- ness to him, and to lead men to repentance as a prep- aration for the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. The Almighty, by Isaiah and by Malachi, thus predicted his ministry : " The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God," Isaiah, xl., 3. " Behold, 1 will send you Eli- jah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord ; and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the chil- dren to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse," Mai., iv., 5, 6. According, then, to the Old Testament, John was to be a great reformer, and to preach with great success. The same was predicted by the angel who appeared to his father Zacharias in the temple : " Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God ; and he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Ehas, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just ; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord," Luke, i., 16, 1 7. And his father himself predicted, " Thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest ; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways ; to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins," Luke, i., 76, 77. At length John began his ministry, and called men to repent, because "the kingdom of God was at hand," Matt., iii., 2. Thus he required two things : first, a thorough change of mind and life, expressed by the word " repentance ;" and faith in the Redeemer to 56 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS- come, to whom, indeed, he repeatedly bore witness, John, i., 6—8, 23—36. A disciple of John, there- fore, was one who repented of his sins, and believed that the promised Christ was about to appear. The prophets predicted that he was to make many such. But what evidence have we of the fulfillment of their predictions, except that numbers were baptized by him ? " Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan." I know no other proof that the ministry of John corresponded to the predictions concerning him ; and the value of this proof depends upon the conditions of his baptism. If he baptized all applicants indiscriminately, then there is no proof whatever that he " made ready a people prepared for the Lord," because superstitious or sor- did motives may have induced numbers to apply for baptism. But if he baptized those only who solemn- ly professed to repent and to believe in the Christ shortly to come, then the multitudes who were bap- tized by him show that he signally fulfilled the proph- ecies concerning him. It is, therefore, probable — since he certainly fulfilled those prophecies, and the sacred narratives record no other proof of the fulfill- ment — that these numerous baptisms furnish that proof, and that those Avho were baptized by John made a solemn profession of their repentance and faith. It is improbable that John would baptize on lower terms, because he declared that the approach of the kingdom of heaven called for repentance (Matt., iii., 2) ; and as he was the herald of Christ, appointed to lead men to a more spiritual dispensation than that of Moses, he would not be satisfied with lower quali- BAPTISM OP JOHN. 57 lications for baptism than those which were demand- ed by the Jewish priests. If a heathen wished for Jewish baptism, he must renounce his idols, profess his beUef in the divine authority of Moses, and prom- ise obedience to the Mosaic laws : would John, then, baptize a Jew unless he renounced his sins, and pro- fessed behef in the approaching advent of Christ, with his intention to keep the commands of God ? What he had ever seen demanded in the initiatory rite of the more carnal religion, he would not dispense with in the initiatory rite which was to enroll men under his ministry as expectants of the Messiah. The narrative shows that he did enforce these con- ditions of baptism. In Mark, i., 4, we read, "John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins," Luke, iii., 2 ; Acts, xiii., 24. If We suppose, with the advocates of indiscriminate baptism, that this expression means a baptism which demanded repentance — and less than this assuredly the words could not mean — then his baptism must have involved a profession of repent- ance on the part of the baptized. For to apply for a baptism which pledged them to repent, while they were avowedly impenitent, would be mockery. Im- agine a person coming to John to be baptized, declar- ing that he did not repent of his sins and had not turn- ed to God, but that he wished to be instructed, and allowed the necessity of repentance, of what use would Buch baptism be ? He could be instructed just as well before baptism, and since baptism signified the necessity of a total renunciation of sin, to receive it without being grieved for sin, or intending to renounce it, was to violate the baptismal instruction while re- 58 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. ceiving it. The repentance, moreover, to v^^hich John called them was connected with the expectation of Christ, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." " John baptized with the baptism of repent- ance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus," Acts, xix., 4. If, therefore, any one asked for baptism while disbelieving the near advent of the Redeemer, he was rejecting the doctrine of John, and John would certainly not baptize as one of his disci- ples any one who rejected his doctrine. The char- acter, therefore, of John's baptism renders it probable that he administered it to none but those who pro- fessed to be penitent believers in the Savior to come. And the evangelists declare that this was the pro- fession of those who came to be baptized by him. Matthew relates, that they " were baptized of him in Jordan, l^oiioXoyoviiEVOi, confessing their sins."*' Those who were baptized by him did not own their sins reluctantly, but earnestly ; not slightly, but fully, as the word, e^o^ioXoyoviievoi, here used means. Such confessions make the penitent accept the Gos- pel fully. " Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," Matt., v., 3. Such con- fessions were like those of the publican who was de- clared by Jesus to receive pardon, Luke, xviii., 13. David knew their value M'hen he wrote, " I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord ; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin," Ps. xxxii., 5. Paul recognized it when he wrote, " Godly sorrow * " 'E^ofzoTioyovfisvoc tuc uiiapriag avTcJv, fully confessing their sins ; k^oiioloyeo[j,aL, to confess in full." — Liddell. " Libere diserteque — freely and copiously." — Bengel. BAPTISM OF JOHN. 59 worketh repentance to salvation," 2 Cor., vii., 10. And the promise to them is ample and explicit : " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to for- give us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unright- eousness," 1 John, i., 9. Such confessions show that many of those baptized by John were real penitents. The same truth is intimated by the following ex- pression used by John in his ministry, " I indeed baptize you elg nerdvoiav, unto repentance," Matt., iii., 11 ; for by these words he declared that repent- ance must accompany his baptism, and that not at any distant time, but then. Thus the expression used by Peter to the Jewish multitude, " Repent, and be baptized elg dcpsacv duaprtGJv, unto the re- mission of sins," signified the necessary and imme- diate effect of baptism. Acts, ii., 38. Similarly, the expression used by our Lord at the institution of the Supper, " This do, elg rrjv k^ifiv avdjxvriaLV, unto a recollection of me," or "for a remembrance of me" (Luke, xxii., 19), means a recollection of him at the same time. The words, therefore, used by John signify that those who come to his baptism must re- pent at the same time. Now as the water could not effect repentance, and yet the repentance must be felt then, it is plain that the applicants must have repented before, and that, coming to baptism with a penitent heart, they there confirmed their repentance. They were baptized unto repentance, ^. e., unto a profession of repentance, as Christians are baptized unto the name of God, or unto a profession of devo- tedness to him. This view is further confirmed by the following expression of John : " The Pharisees had heard that 60 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,'* John, iv., 1. According to these words, to make disciples is a different thing from baptizing them, and the one is prior to the other. Jesus made dis- ciples, and then, by the hands of his disciples, bap- tized them. But the same thing is also said of John, for the words mean, " John made disciples and bap- tized them, but Jesus made and baptized more." All, therefore, who received baptism from John were first his disciples. Now a disciple was one who at least accepted his chief doctrines, the need of repent- ance and the approach of the Redeemer. No one was, therefore, a disciple who did not acknowledge his need of fierdvoca, a change of mind, and look for the Redeemer, and no others were baptized. Moved by fashion or interest, probably many of the Scribes and Pharisees applied for baptism ; but as he knew the character of their class, if not their individual character, instead of welcoming them to his baptism, he exclaimed, " O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? Bring forth, therefore, fruits meet for repentance," Matt., iii., 7,8. " The Sadducees were as proud of their superior discernment as the Pharisees of their supe- rior sanctity, and with as little reason. But neither of them were prepared, by repentance and humiha- tion before God, to welcome the mercy and spiritual blessings of the Messiah. Instead, therefore, of sanc- tioning their character or of courting their favor, John plainly, and even roughly, addressed them as a generation of vipers, a race of subtle, designing men, of poisonous principles and practice, dangerous to all around them, the genuine children of the old BAPTISM OF JOHN. 61 serpent. If, however, they truly repented, they might be admitted to his baptism." — Scott; Matt., iii., 7-10. Here let me add the testimony of Josephus to the fact that John required from those who came to him for baptism a previous profession of repentance and faith, premising that Josephus lived so near to the time "of John that he must have learned from many of his disciples the character and circumstances of his baptism. " Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness toward one another and pi- ety toward God, and so come to baptism. For that the washing would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away of so7ne sins, but for the purification of the body, sup- posing still tJiat the soul was tJioroughly pitrijied beforehand by righteousness.'' — Ant., xviii., 5, Whistoji's Translation . These and similar considerations have brought the best expositors of Scripture to much agreement on this matter. Henry says, *' Those who received his doctrine and submitted to his discipline were baptized of him in Jordan, thereby professing their repentance and their belief that the kingdom of the Messiah was at hand. They testified their repentance by confessing their sins." •' Baptism in the adult," says Doddridge on Acts, xxii., 16, "excepting in the very peculiar instance of our Lord, was a token of confession and humilia- tion for sin, on which account it is called the bap- tism of repentance (Matt., iii., 11 ; Mark, i., 4, 63 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. &c.), and of a desire to be cleansed from it, and be- ing administered to such professed penitents by di- vine appointment, as a token of favorable regard to them, it was a seal of pardon." "It is most certain that a profession of faith and repentance was ordinarily required before the bap- tism of adult persons." — Poole on Matt., iii., 6. *< They acknowledged in words their sinfulness and guilt, professed repentance for and a detestation of all their sins, and submitted to be baptized in token of their being convinced of their need of par- don and purification." — Benson. " Adult Jews, professing repentance and a dispo- sition to become Messiah's subjects, were the only persons whom John admitted to baptism, . . . John baptized the people with water, calling them to re- pentance, and making baptism their outward pro- fession of it, and the avowed beginning of a new life."_^co«. And Mr. Godwin admits that the baptism of John indicated ''a professed willingness to commence" "a new course of life," "embodying in a public act the resolution to pursue purity," and was " the avowal of a present resolution to live in the manner re- quired," made by "professed penitents." — Godwin, 235, 236. To this view there are some objections, which shall here be noticed : 1 . * It is impossible that John should examine such numbers with a view to determine their conversion.' Ans. (1.) They were either baptized as penitent believers who had received his doctrine, or as cate- chumens desiring to be taught by him. It woiJd BAPTISM OF JOHN. 63 require as much time to teach them the doctrines and duties of rehgion after baptism as before it. (2.) It is not asserted that he ascertained their con- version, but that he required a profession of repent- ance and faith in the approaching advent of Christ, which would require very little time. 2. 'John baptized all applicants, because he said to them all, I baptize you with water, Luke, iii., 16.' Ans. As John said to all the people respecting Christ, " He shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost," when it is certain that Christ baptized in the Holy Spirit none but believers, so when he said to them at the same time, " I baptize you in water," he meant that he also baptized penitent believers, Luke, iii., 16. 3. < Since " Jerusalem and all Judea" were bap- tized by John (Matt., iii., 5, 6), it is not conceivable that all the baptized were penitent believers.' Ans. (1.) It is no more difficult to imagine that all the baptized repented, than that they all " fully confessed" their sins ; and yet we know that they thus confessed them, Matt., iii., 6. (2.) It is not asserted that they were all penitent believers, but that they all made a solemn profession of repentance and faith ; which is proved by the statement that they fully confessed their sins (Matt., iii., 6), and that they were disciples, John, iv., 1. 4. * If baptism signified a profession of repentance, how could Jesus Christ be baptized ?" Ans. If the eating of the Passover signified faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, how could Jesus eat the Passover ? His case was an exception : and he was baptized " to fulfill all righteousness," i. e., 64 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. to honor that divine ordinance of baptism, and bear witness to John's prophetic commission,. Matt.,iii., 15. 5. 'We read (Luke, vii., 29), the Pharisees and laviyers rejected the counsel of God against them- sel/es, being- not baptized of John. If John refused to baptize them, they could not be said to reject his baptism.' A7ts. They rejected his baptism by rejecting its conditions. They were called to repent and be bap- tized ; and refusing to repent, they rejected both re- pentance and baptism, saying of John, " He hath a devil," Luke, vii., 32. On the whole, then, we see that there was a sim- ilarity in John's baptism to the baptism of Jewish proselytes, and a difference between them. This baptism was designed for similar ends, but it was more spiritual ; it required a similar profession, but one more complete. The priests said to the hea- then, ''Repent, for the Jews are the people of God ;" John said to the Jews, " Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." They required the renuncia- tion of idols, he the renunciation of sin ; they demand- ed faith in the authority of Moses, he in the coming Savior ; they demanded obedience to the Mosaic law, he to the whole will of God. The disciple of the priests renounced idolatry, conformed to the Mo- saic ritual, and was baptized ; the disciple of John confessed his sins, avowed his belief that the Christ was at hand, and was baptized. All this, if I mis- take not, Mr. Godwin virtually admits when he says that John's baptism indicated " a professed willing- ness to commence a new course of life" (p. 235) ; and the " avowal of a present resolution to live in BAPTISM OF JOHN. 65 the manner required" (p. 235); so that each bap- tized person was a "professed penitent" (p. 236). For if a man really " wills to commence a new course of life," he does commence it ; and if he '' resolves to live a godly life," he does live it, since each man lives as he A\dlls and resolves to live. And if each of John's disciples professed this willingness and avowed this resolution at the time of baptism, they were, as Mr. Godwin says, " professed penitents ;" they made a profession of repentance and faith ; and none were baptized by John but those who, in pro- fession at least, were penitent believers. IV. First Baptisms by the Disciples of Christ. While John was baptizing Jesus began his minis- try, and his earliest disciples, imitating the custom of the priests and the practice of John, began to baptize disciples to him. The following is the only notice of this fact to be found in the four evangel- ists : " After these- things came Jesus and his disci- ples into the land of Judea ; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. . . . And they (John's disciples) came unto John, and said unto him, Rab- bi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him," John, iii., 22, 26. "When, therefore, the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples), he left Judea," John, iv., 1—3. The manner in which this practice of the first disciples is here mentioned, without any recorded command of Christ, before the disciples had been called by him E 66 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. to any ministry, while they were yet very partially instructed, without the slightest comment by the evangelist upon the nature of the transaction, shows that the disciples were simply imitating the practice of John and the custom of their country. It fol- lows, that their baptism resembled in its general character the baptisms by the priests and the bap- tism by John. In each case the baptism implied the renunciation of evil and assenting to the doctrine and commandment of the person baptizing. As those who were baptized by the priests renounced idolatry, and those who were baptized by John re- nounced sin, so those who were baptized by these disciples renounced sin. As those baptized by the priests conformed to the Mosaic ritual, and those baptized by John professed their belief of his doc- trine, so those baptized by the disciples professed their belief in the doctrine of Jesus. And this is declared by the brief record which states that Jesus "made and baptized disciples," John, iv., 1. The disciples, therefore, baptized those only who were first made their fellow-disciples. V. Apostolic Baptisms. We will now examine in succession the cases of baptism subsequent to the resurrection of our Lord, which furnish the most explicit and unanswerable commentary upon the commission to baptize, which he had previously given to his disciples. Baptism of three Thousand Converts at the Day of Pentecost. — Acts, ii. On the day of Pentecost, the feast of first fruits, APOSTOLIC BAPTISMS. 67 upon which God meant to gather the first fruits of a universal harvest of souls, the Holy Spirit who had been so long promised, the great Teacher who was to glorify Clirist and to change the condition of the world, was at length bestowed on the Church of Christ. About one hundred and twenty disciples, including the eleven apostles, and many, doubtless, of the seventy evangelists, had continued in prayer to God, and were waiting for the promised Spirit, when suddenly they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. Bathed in a divine influence, of which the sound of a rushing wind which filled the house, and cloven tongues of fire resting on each, were the external signs, they were at once new men. Animated with zeal and charity, with faith and hope, with desire to glorify Jesus and to save sinners, with resistless wisdom and with inexhaustible patience they began to preach Christ to the multitudes then gathered within the walls of Jerusalem. Thousands of devout persons, who, though prejudiced, perhaps, and super- stitious, still were earnest in religion, dvdpsg evXa- 6elg, were met to keep the feast of first fruits.^ In ten or twelve different languages these rude and simple Galileans began to preach to the multitudes ; groups from the difTerent nations gathered round the speakers, who were pouring forth a tide of holy eloquence in their several languages, as they " spoke the wonderful works of God," rd ^eyaXela rov Qeov. Their minds and hearts were full of Christ and of salvation by his atoning blood, Luke, xxiv., 52, 53. And now that * Acts, ii., 5 : '^kvdpEg ehla^eXg. ELiAa,5^f, devout, reverential, Luke, ii., 25 ; Acts, viii., 2, from Ev?Mfiiojuai, to reverence God» Heb., xi., 7. See Liddell. 68 BAPTIBM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. the Holy Spirit gave them utterance to speak of the " magnificent things" of God, they must have ex- pounded fully to the peopk their guilt and ruin by nature and practice with the atoning death and glo- rious triumph of Christ their Savior (11). The miraculous utterance excited in the crowd the ut- most astonishment, and their attention being fully gained, these great truths, so demonstrated, still more excited their wonder (12). Then it was that Peter addressed the Jews of Jerusalem, and the devout strangers surrounding them (14). All this, he declared, was the work of the Spirit promised by God through the Prophet Joel (14-18), and afibrded proof that the great predicted day of the Lord was at hand (16-20). Jesus had been wickedly mur- dered by them according to the purpose of God, but according to prophecy had been raised from the dead, of which they were all witnesses (22—32) ; that crucified Jesus was ascended to glory ; it was he who had given them the Holy Spirit, of which they then saw the undeniable and marvelous proofs (33); and he was thus proved to be Lord and Christ, who would make his foes his footstool (33—36). Num- bers who heard this were pricked in the heart, Kare- vvy7]oav rfi Kapdia ; all that they saw and heard convinced them that Jesus was the true, the great, the long-expected, the triumphant Messiah. He had come and been rejected, hated, crucified. Some had, probably, actively shared in his murder ; some had justified the priests: all must have been talking and hearing of his recent crucifixion ; and probably, following their hierarchy, had condemned him as an impostor and blasphemer. It being impossible that APUSTULIC BAPTISMri. 69 this event was unnoticed by them (see 22, 23 ; Matt., xxi., 8, 10, 12), and almost impossible that they had not, through prejudice, condemned him, we may in- fer that they felt the guilt of the nation and their own. If he was the Lord of all, and they his ene- mies, what would become of them ? Convinced, therefore, of their sin and danger by the Holy Spirit working with the v/ord (Mark, xvi., 20 ; Heb., ii., 4 ; 1 Pet., i., 12), they exclaimed, " Men and breth- ren, what shall we do ?" (37). To whom Peter re- plied, " 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 Spirit" (38). They were thus called to renounce their sins, especial- ly to turn from their sin of unbelief, to beheve in Je- sus as Lord and Christ, to confess their faith in him by being baptized in his name, and then they would have a free and full forgiveness, with an influence from the Holy Spirit, such as had been promised by the Prophet Joel, and such as they, the apostles and disciples of Jesus, then possessed. Much explana- tory conversation followed (40). To that complete fisrdvoia, conversion, that open profession of faith, and the remission of sins which would instantly at- tend it, they were called then. In much fervent ex- hortation, with a fuUer explanation of these great truths, with more detail of facts and doctrines, the apostle continued to address them. <'With many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation" (40). Upon this dafjLEVOjg dnode^dfxevoi, they "gladly" and completely " received his word" (41). They re- ceived his declaration that Jesus was Lord and 70 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. Christ, and believed ; they received his exhortation to turn to God, and they turned and repented unto life (Luke, iii., 3 ; xxiv., 47 ; Acts, v., 31 ; 2 Cor., vii., 10); they believed in the promise of pardon, and relied on the promised gift of the Spirit (30) ; they determined to seek salvation (40) ; for all this, and more, is included in their hearty reception of his word, and, therefore, though deeply convinced of sin (37), they rejoiced in this great salvation (41). The suddenness of their conversion is not surprising : they were devout persons, acquainted therefore with the Scriptures ; the facts were wonderful, the proofs were complete ; already the nation was plunged in guilt by having rejected and crucified him ; inestimable blessings, of which those miraculous gifts of the Spirit which they witnessed were pledges, would follow their faith ; if there was reason to becom.e disciples of Je- sus at all, there Avas reason to turn to him then : that was a day appointed for glorifying Christ, and there was the Omnipotent Spirit in all his power. In one hour Zaccheus had welcomed Christ ; the dying thief had been converted as he hung upon the cross ; Paul, the blaspheming persecutor, became at once a zealous apostle ; so these were "made will- ing in the day of Christ's power," Psalm ex., 3. Their eager looks and earnest tones ; their applica- tion for baptism, though it would expose them to per- secution,* and their thorough acquiescence in all that they heard preached to them, indicated to the apos- tles that they were earnest and sincere disciples ; and, professing to be penitent believers — for how else could * John, ix., 22 ; Acts, iv., 3 ; v., 16, 33, 40; vii., 54, 59 ; viii., 1-3; k., 1-3; 1 Thess., ii., 14; Heb., x., 32, 33, &c., &c. APOSTOLIC BAPTISMS. 71 the historian know that they ' • gladly received his word?" (41) — they were baptized. The result shows that the apostles judged of them rightly ; for the evangelist records that they were added that day — they were added to the believers in Jesus — added to the saved. The same word is used, and the same thing is recorded as in the 47th verse, " The Lord add- ed to the Church that day three thousand aG)^o[ievovgy saved," and of this they forthwith afforded proofs ; for after professing their faith by baptism, they con- tinued steadfast in maintaining the doctrine of the apostles, sought their society, received with them the Lord's Supper, persevered in united supplication. Many parted with their property to supply the wants of the poorer brethren ; all were filled Avith joy and with gratitude to God ; and converts were added daily to their number (42—47). So that with re- spect to these three thousand converts, there is not only evidence that they made a profession of repent- ance and faith, but that with respect to the great majority their repentance and faith were real. They were that day converted and saved. It may be noticed that the apostles baptized the three thousand converts the same day on which they first heard the Gospel, when most of them were strangers to the members of the Church, and when it was impossible to test their sincerity. Was this consistent with the idea that baptism is meant only for believers ? It was ; for this was the day of the Lord's power. The preachers were " filled with the Holy Ghost" (4) ; the convictions of the multitude were deep and pungent (37) ; they testified much joy (41). They expected persecution, shame, loss, 72 BAPTISM TU NONE BUT BELIEVERS. and death itself, as the consequence of their faith, and would not offer themselves to baptism without very strong belief and decided courage. Under these circumstances, the apostles, without supernatural knowledge of other men's hearts, could discern the tokens of that sound conversion which so soon issued in remarkable piety and zeal. It has been said, indeed, that they had no reason to expect persecution, since they had " favor with all the people" (47). But no one of them could expect to escape persecution. Jesus having been recently crucified as a blasphemer through the in- fluence of the priests. Scribes, and Pharisees, these now found that they were charged by his disciples with the judicial murder of the Christ. It was im- possible that they should tolerate a doctrine which was incompatible with their interests and scarcely consistent with their safety. They had persecuted Christ to death as an impostor and blasphemer^ an enemy of their religion and country. Scarcely any of the rulers had believed on him ; not a single priest, not a solitary Pharisee, had become his disci- ple ; and if three thousand men out of perhaps five hundred thousand, assembled from all countries, now professed their faith in him, how could they expect any thing from the priests and from the people but contempt and hatred ? Events soon indicated the temper of the most powerful men in the natian. Within a few months the apostles were arrested for preaching Christ (Acts, iv., 1— 3) ; shortly after they were again put into prison (Acts, v., 17), and were then beaten (40). After another short period, Stephen, one of the deacons of the Church, was APOSTOLIC BAPTISMS. 73 Stoned to death as a blasphemer, amid the execra- tions of the Sanhedrim (vii.). Again we read, "At that time there was a great persecution against the Church which was at Jerusalem ; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ... As for Saul, he made havoc of the Church, entering into every liouse, and haling men and women, committed them to prison" (viii., 1— 3) ; " and when they were put to death he gave his voice against them" (xxvi., 10). The conversion of Saul brought a short rest to the churches (ix., 31). But about A.D. 43, or ten years after the death of Christ, the Apostle James was martyred by Herod, who, because " he saw it pleased the Jews," determined to kill Peter also (xii., 1—3). To the members of the churches of Judea generally the Apostle Paul could say, " Call to re- membrance the former days, in which ye endured a great fight of afflictions ; partly, while ye were made a gazing-stock, both by reproaches and afflictions ; and partly, while ye became companions of them that were so used," Heb., x., 32, 33. What less had Jesus promised to his disciples when he uttered the following words ? " Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Beware of men ; for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child ; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake," Matt, x., 16, 17, 21, 22, 34-36. " If ye were of the world, the world would love his 74 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. own ; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you," John, xv., 19, 20. The apostles were too honest and too wise not to set all this be- fore those to whom they preached. Indeed, no one needed warning. The reasons why the priests and Scribes should hate the doctrine of Christ were too obvious. The hatred itself was already too appar- ent. Hence few- Jews would profess their belief in the doctrine of Christ without entire conviction of its truth and great earnestness. And of all these three thousand baptized persons the apostles had good reason to think that the profession of repentance and faith was sincere. Indeed, they appear to have become eminently pious, if the diligent use of means, continued prayer, unparalleled generosity, ardent gratitude, and gener- al joy, can prove it ; and the indications of this earn- est feeling must have been from the first apparent. Baptism of the Samaritans. — Acts, viii., 5, 25. When the members of the Church at Jerusalem were driven from their homes by persecution, they " went every where preaching the word," Acts, viii., 4. On that occasion, Philip, who had been chosen by the Church at Jerusalem one of its deacons, be- cause he was "full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom" (Acts, v., 2-5), visited the city of Samaria*' and there preached Christ, Acts, viii., 5. As his preach- *• Which might be translated, a city of Samaria. — See John, iv., 5, Greek. APOSTOLIC BAPTISMS. 75 ing was accompanied by miracles, the people listened earnestly, and were "filled with joy at what they saw and heard" (6—8). We know what he preach- ed. A man flill of the Holy Ghost, preaching Christ to an attentive people, must have told them of their ruin by nature, of the love of God to mankind, of the atonement wrought out by Christ, pf salvation by grace through faith to all that believe, of their need of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, of the hell which awaits unpardoned sinners, and of the heaven to which believers will be admitted. All this, with much more, he preached to them. When Paul preached among the Gentiles, he simply preached Christ as Philip did (1 Cor., i., 23 ; ii., 2, 4), and the chief business of the apostles was to be witnesses for Christ (Acts, i., 8) ; but the effect of this testi- mony was to be the conversion of multitudes (Acts, xxvi., 17, 18), and, in fact, numerous churches of saints were formed in many lands by this simple preaching of Christ. Numerous miracles proved the truth of the facts which Philip declared . Demoni- acs were rescued from the power of the devil, para- lytic persons received strength, and the lame were healed (6, 7). The circumstances at the time add- ed greatly to the force of the testimony of Philip. Persecution was at this time raging ; believers were arrested in their houses and hurried to prison (Acts, viii., 1— 3) ; some were beaten, some compelled to blaspheme, some were killed (Acts, xxvi., 10, 11) ; and when, under these circumstances, he, being driv- en from Jerusalem, preached to the Samaritans, they listened (6), they received his word (14); and "when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning 76 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women" (12). Let us recollect how plainly salvation is in the New Testament annexed to faith : "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name," John, i., 12. " God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever belie veth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life," John, iii., 16. See also John, iii., 36 ; vi., 47 ; Acts, xiii., 39, 48 ; xvi., 31 ; Rom., i., 16 ; iii., 22; ix., 33 ; 2 Thess., i., 10 ; 1 John, v., 10. Let us re- member, too, that a thorough belief of the facts and doctrines of the Gospel implies saving faith in Christ, as is stated in scripture : " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved," Rom., x., 9. " Whosoever believ- eth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. . . Who is he that overcome th the world, but he that believ- eth that Jesus is the Son of God ?" 1 John, v., 1, 5. Hence the expression in the text, " They believed Philip," who preached Christ, amounts to a decla- ration that they believed in Christ. To this it is added that "they received the word of God" (14). When the three thousand were converted at Pente- cost, it is said " they gladly received the word of Peter," Acts, ii., 41. When the Bereans received the word, they believed, Acts, xvii., 11, 12. When Cornelius and his friends became true believers, it is said simply that " they received the word of God," Acts, xi., 1. When Paul wrote to the Thessaloni- ans, he said, " Ye became followers of us and of the APOSTOLIC BAPTISMS. 77 Lord, having received the word," 1 Thess,, i., 6. And as it is said of the Samaritans that they also '' received the word of God,'"' we may infer that they likewise became followers of the Lord. Seeing, then, their earnestness, their reception of the Gospel, and their joy, Philip could not doubt the sincerity of their profession, and baptized them as disciples of Christ. He judged rightly : the gift of the Holy Spirit, which speedily followed, was the proof of their sincerity ; when the apostles, Peter and John, " laid their hands on them, they received the Holy Ghost" (17), and thus " God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost," Acts, xv., 8. One of them, indeed, the sorcerer Simon, after his baptism, proved that lie still retained bitter en- mity to God and was the slave of sin (23) ; but, like the rest, he was baptized as a penitent believer (13). His offer of money to Peter, by which he hoped to buy the power of communicating miracu- lous gifts, proved that he was unconverted, but was no proof that he had made no profession of repent- ance and faith. From Philip he had certainly heard the great truths of the Gospel (12, 13). He therefore believed, and professed to believe, the cor- ruption of man, his ruin by the fall, his need of a Savior, the atonement made by the Son of God, re- generation by the Holy Spirit, the necessity of entire obedience to the law of God, the resurrection, and the future judgment. For some time after his bap- tism he continued with Philip, and had, therefore, many opportunities of hearing him. The miracles which he witnessed excited his attention (13) ; and, therefore, he must have listened to ah that Philip 78 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. said. He could not have been ignorant of the Gos- pel at the time when he ofiered the money to Peter ; that offer, therefore, is no proof that he was ignorant at the time of his baptism ; and, as there is no other proof of it, we are entitled to conclude that at his baptism he made, like the rest, a credible profession of repentance and faith ; and this was a sufficient reason for his being admitted by Philip to baptism. If it be further objected, that as Simon is said to have believed, and yet he had no saving faith, belief must mean something less than saving faith, and that, therefore, the Samaritans may neither have ex- perienced nor professed any more faith than that which was experienced and professed by Simon. I answer, that since it is said of the gift of the Spirit to Cornelius and his friends, " God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost" (Acts, XV., 8), the gift of the Spirit to the Samaritans was likewise a testimony from God to their sincerity. And whether it was so or not, we are entitled to believe that they made a credible pro- fession of saving faith. For, since salvation is so distinctly and repeatedly attached in scripture to faith, and the true disciples of Christ are constantly termed believers whenever we meet with these terms in the New Testament, we must understand them to mean true and saving faith, unless the contrary is expressed or may be clearly proved from the con- text. It is certain that Philip placed before them the great truths of the Gospel ; it is certain that they believed them and received them ; they, there- fore, made a profession of faith in Christ. That profession was credible, because they made it when APOSTOLIC BAPTI3MS. 79 the Church was undergoing a furious persecution, and the subsequent gift of the Holy Spirit to them is an evidence that their profession was true. Baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch. — Acts, viii., 26-39. This eunuch was a worshiper of God, who had taken a long and expensive journey to attend a re- ligious festival at Jerusalem (27). He was in pos- session of the book of the Prophet Isaiah ; and, as he traveled in his chariot, was reading the prediction of our Savior contained in the fifty-third chapter of that book (28, 32, 33). At this moment he was joined by Philip, who was first directed by an angel to enter the wilderness between Jerusalem and Gaza ; and, secondly, was directed by the Spirit to approach the chariot (29). Invited to sit beside him in the chariot, Philip, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, expounded to him the prophecy which he had been reading, and " preached unto him Jesus" (30, 35) ; that is, he de- clared to him the incarnation, the life, the miracles, the doctrine, the death, the resurrection, the ascen- sion, the reign, and the future advent of Jesus. In substance, at least, he told him the words of Christ : "God so loved the world that he gave his only-be- gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." That Philip taught the eunuch all this, and much more, is cer- tain, first, from the statement, that " he preached unto him Jesus ;" and, second, from the desire which Philip, as a man full of the Holy Ghost, felt to save his soul. And when, on approaching a pool of wa- ter, he said, " See, here is water. What doth hin- 80 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. der me to be immersed ?" How could Philip hesi- tate to comply with his request ? How could he doubt that he was a real believer ? 1 . Philip had been sent to him by special revela- tion (26, 29). Why was this, if God did not de- sign to convert him by his grace — if, indeed, he was not already converted ? 2. Philip found him read- ing the word of God (28), a fact which alone beto- kened great seriousness of mind. 3. Philip found that he had just taken a long and expensive journey from the heart of Ethiopia to worship God at Jeru- salem, according to the law of God (27 ; Exod., xxiii., 17), having renounced the idols of his coun- try, which were sacrifices which no one would make who was not actuated by strong religious feelings. 4. When Philip " preached to him Jesus," explain- ing to. him the way of salvation, he immediately de- sired to be baptized as a disciple of Christ. Now, either he had learned something about Jesus at Jeru- salem or not : if not, then Philip must have explain- ed the nature of baptism, for else he could not have wished for it ; and in that case he deliberately con- secrated himself to the Father, the Son, and the Spir- it ; but if he had a previous knowledge of Christ and of Christians, then he was aware of the fierce jDerse- cution of Christians at Jerusalem, and desired bap- tism when he knew that it would expose him to the hatred of all his co-religionists. 5. When he was baptized he manifested joy (39) : now baptism alone could not occasion this ; it was, therefore, the joy arising from a discovery of the way of salvation. See Acts, ii., 46, 47; viii., 8; xiii., 52, &c., &c. And this joy must have been as apparent before his APOSTOLIC BAPTISMS. 81 baptism as after it. And what could cause this but faith ? When PhiUp considered all these things, he could not but conclude that he was a true believer, and that God had sent him to him for the express purpose of bringing him to faith in Christ. In his own country of Ethiopia, where there were no Chris- tians, he could not obtain baptism ; and as an open expression of faith before his servants would honor Christ and strengthen his faith, Philip could not hesitate to baptize him as a believer in Jesus. Ba'ptisin of Paul. — Acts, ix., 1—20 ; xx., 1—16. When, upon being struck to the earth and blind- ed by the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, Paul, "trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" his self-will was subdued, Acts, ix., 6. Notwithstanding that our Lord graciously declared his purpose to make him his missionary to the Gentiles (xxvi., 16—18), he was so agitated that for three days he could nei- ther eat nor drink (ix., 9). Unable, apparently, to obtain a sense of pardon, but yet incapable of de- spair, he continued during those days to pray (ix., 11). While he was so engaged, our Lord directed Ananias, a disciple of Damascus, to visit him (10, 11), who, entering his room, said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, and immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales. And he received sight forthwith" (17, 18). Ananias now continued, "The God of our fathers hath chosen thee that thou shouldst loiow F 82 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. his will, and see that Just One, and shouldst hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his wit- ness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou ? Arise, and be bap- tized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (xxii., 14-16). " And he arose and was baptized" (ix., 18); "and straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues that he is the Son of God" (ix., 20). It was then that Jesus was revealed to his soul that he might preach in his name. Gal., i., 16. His subjection to Christ (6), his persevering prayer (11), his reception of the Holy Ghost (17), his immediate renunciation of the world, and his entrance on a ministry entailing pov- erty, opposition, pain, and perhaps death, prove that he was then converted. And Ananias had reason to conclude this, for he had heard from Christ him- self that Paul was "a chosen vessel" (ix., 15). He had been sent by Jesus to communicate the Holy Spirit to him ; he witnessed in him those humble and earnest feelings which his continual prayer had manifested ; and when he saw that his sight was restored, and that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were communicated to him (ix., 17, 18), he could not hesitate to baptize him as a penitent believer. It has been argued that Ananias could not con- sider him to be a believer because he said, " Arise, and wash away thy sins" (xxii., 16). But as con- fession must follow faith, and yet is said to save (Rom., X., 9, 10), so baptism may follow faith, and yet be said to wash away sins. In both cases it is the faith itself which justices. In the one case con- fession is spoken of as the expression of saving faith, APOSTOLIC BAPTISMS. 83 in the other case baptism is spoken of as its expres- sion. In the one case the apostle declares, virtual- ly, that faith saves when it makes a man confess Christ ; in the other, Ananias intimated that it would save when it led to the particular mode of confessing Christ, viz., baptism. For, as Mr, Poole says, " Where true faith is together with profession of it by baptism, there is salvation promised." — Poole on Mark, xvi., 16. Baptism of Cor^ielius. — Acts, x., 1-48. That Cornehus was a believer at the time of his baptism is, I think, apparent from the narrative. He was, it is said, evaebriq icai (po6ovji£vog rdv Qeov, " a devout man, and one that feared God," and all his household had the same character. Acts, x., 2. By this term, evaedrjg, devout, the piety of Ananias of Damascus was expressed, Acts, xxii., 12. By this term the children of God generally are desig- nated by Peter, 2 Peter, ii., 9. One great end of redemption is said by Paul to be to make men evae- 6elg, godly, Titus, ii., 12. Cornelius was, there- fore, a godly man. The expression " to fear God" means to have supreme reverence and regard to him, as we may judge from the following passages : "His mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations," Luke, i., 50. " Servants, obey in all things your masters ... in singleness of heart, fearing God," Col., iii., 22. " Let us cleanse our- selves, perfecting holiness in the fear of God," 2 Cor., vii., 1, &c. Cornelius, therefore, and his household, who feared God, were the servants and children of God, and were, therefore, accepted by him, Acts, x., 84 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. 35. There is reason to think the same of his " kinsmen and near friends" (24), who all met to hear the word of God (33). Upon them all, after that they had heard the Gospel preached unto them, the Holy Ghost was poured out (44), all in foreign languages magnified God (46). Then " God, which knows the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost . . . purifying their hearts by faith," Acts, XV., 8, 9. And when the Church at Jerusa- lem, instructed by apostles, heard these facts, "they glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life," Acts, xi., 18. This, it is clear from the narrative, the apos- tle understood. They were penitent believers, the apostle knew them to be so, and as such he baptized them. Baptism of Lydia and of her Household. — Acts, xvi., 11-15. Lydia and her household were baptized by Paul as believers. Lydia was a pious person at the time of her bap- tism. For she was a worshiper of God (14) ; she listened attentively to the preaching of Paul (14) ; she did so because the Lord " opened her heart" to receive the truth ; and at her baptism she made a distinct profession of faith, asking Paul and his com- panions to become her guests if they judged her to be TTLorT}, a believer (15). And Paul had reason to think that she was a be- liever. For when the Lord opened her heart to re- ceive the Gospel in reality, her conversation would soon show both her knowledge of it and her hearty APOSTOLIC BAPTISMS. 85 reception of it. Immediately after her baptism she invited the evangehsts to become her guests, if they considered her faithful, that is, a true believer ; for so the word ttlottj means, Acts, xvi., 1 ; 2 Tim., i., 5 ; Eph., i., 1 ; Col., i., 2, 7 ; iv., 7, 9 ; 1 Tim., i., 12. And their acceptance of the invitation; made upon that express condition, shows that they did then consider her to be a believer. But, if so, they must have considered her so before her baptism, since that ceremony could not effect the change. It is therefore apparent that she was baptized as a peni- tent believer. Of the members of her family nothing is said ; but, from the practice of the apostles in other cases, we may judge that they also had professed their faith, and no less than their mistress were baptized as believers ; as Cornelius " feared God with all his house" (Acts, x., 2), as the nobleman at Capernaum believed "and his whole house" (John, iv., 33), as the jailer at Philippi " rejoiced, believing with all his house" (Acts, xvi., 34), and as Crispus of Co- rinth " believed in the Lord with all his house" (Acts, xviii., 8), so it appears from the fact of their baptism that Lydia believed with all her house ; and, like all others, they were baptized on a profes- sion of their faith. Baptism of the Jailer of Philippi. — Acts, xvi., 22-34. The jailer had treated Paul and Silas with un- necessary harshness ; for he thrust them into the in- ner prison, fastened them in the stocks, and there left them to bear their pain and hunger unpitied, 86 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. when he might have easily learned their innocence, and v/hen, without any violation of his duty, he might, as he afterward did, have treated them kind- ly, dressing their wounds and offering them food. When, therefore, the earthquake, in conjunction with their Christian conduct, convinced him that they were the servants of God to whom he had acted with cruelty, he was afraid of the immediate vengeance of God (29, 30). But when they said to him, "Be- lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," and then explained the Gospel more fully to him, " He was transported with joy, TiyaXXidoaro, be- lieving in God" (3 1 , 34). The word used expresses the joy of faith experienced by the Christians of Asia Minor, to whom Peter, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, said, " In whom ayaXXtdade, ye greatly re- joice." " In whom believing ayaXXidGde, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory," 1 Pet., i., 6, 8. No man could so rejoice in Christ without faith ; and faith is said to have been the cause of his joy : " He rejoiced believing in God." There seems to me no force in the objection that his joy and his faith are named subsequently to his baptism, because the water could efiect no change in his views. Without trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and without the assurance of the pardon of his sins, how could immersion fill him with joy ? He was immersed because he believed in Christ, and rejoiced because he was thus allowed to profess his faith. His open and instant confession of Christ might in- crease his joy, but its only intelligible source is, that he, as a guilty sinner, felt himself to be pardoned, and that joy was the same before baptism as after. APOSTOLIC BAPTISMS. 87 It is apparent also that Paul thought him to be a believer. His extreme terror was apparent in his agitated looks, his frantic gestures, and his earnest words, " Sirs, what must I do to be saved ?" (27—30). Paul necessarily saw how eagerly he welcomed the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. The immense change from terror to exultation effected by faith was equally visible ; and when, in place of his former cruelty, he now treated them with brotherly kindness, how could the apostle, who was so much accustomed to the sudden conversions effected by divine grace, doubt that the Spirit of God had changed his heart ? How could he refuse to bap- tize him as a penitent believer ? It is no less certain that his household believed also ; for they likewise, excited by the earthquake and by the other circumstances of that eventful night, listened to the words of these wonderful pris- oners (32) ; the change wrought in the head of the family must have acted powerfully on their minds, and the narrative expressly declares, 7]yaX,XidaaT0 navoinl TTETnGTEVKibg TW GfGJ, " he exulted, having believed in God with all his house" (34). These words express the faith of the household, whether we understand them to mean that he rejoiced to- gether with all his house, or that he believed togeth- er with them. For if he believed together with them, their faith was like his ; and if he exulted to- gether with them, then, like him, they possessed the vehement joy of faith.^ * See Acts, ii., 46 ; Jude, 24. It makes little diflference wheth- er TcavoLKi be construed with riyaKXiaaaTo, or with ireTrtaTevKug ; but it is generally construed with the latter. 88 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. The Baptism of the Corinthians,. — Acts, xviii.. 8. Of the formation of the Corinthian Church we read, " Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, beUeved in the Lord with all his house ; and many of the Corinthians hearing, believed and were bap- tized." Since our Lord has said, " He that believ- eth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark, xvi., 16), and these Corinthians "believed and were baptized," they were therefore saved. There is no more reason to give the lowest sense to the word " believed" in this narrative than there is to give it to the same word in Mark, xvi, ; and, therefore, there is no rea- son to doubt that these persons were true believers before baptism. The Baptism oftivelve Ephesians. — Acts, xix.,1— 7. These Ephesians were also baptized as believers. When Paul came to Ephesus, he found, it is said, twelve "disciples." As believers alone are called disciples in the New Testament, and as the apostle thought that they were believers in Christ (2), these must have been men of a religious character ; and as they were, in fact, disciples of John, from whom they had received baptism many years before, it is evident " The jailer is said to have believed in God with all his house, I. c, with all his family to have accepted and approved the Chris- tian doctrine. Gustos carceris, -KavoLKt 7ve7riaTtvK0)c tQi Qeu), di- citur, i. e., cum totd suA familiii accepisse et probasse doctrinam Christianam." — Schleusner. " He exulted because with all his house he had believed in God. Exultavit quod cum totd dome credidisset Deo." — Stephen. " On this account he rejoiced, that not on himself alone, but on his whole family, such light had been poured. Ideo gavisus est quod, non ipse tantum, sed tota ejus familia tanta luce perfusa esset"--Grotms. APOSTOLIC BAPTISMS, 89 that Ihcy had been baptized unto repentance for the remission of sins (Mark, i., 4), that they had re- pented unto hfe (Matt., iii., 2, 6), and that after the lapse of so many years they were living as pious per- sons. Although they were looking for the immediate advent of the Messiah (Matt., iii., 2), and knew that he would baptize his followers in the Holy Ghost (Matt., iii., 11), yet, being far from Judea, they had neither known the particulars of the life of Jesus, nor had they heard of the gift of the Holy Ghost to the churches in consequence of his exaltation. But when Paul reminded them that John had announced a Savior to come after him (4), and then explained to them the claims of Jesus (4), they were baptized eig TO 6vo(ia, "unto the name of the Lord Jesus," and immediately received the Holy Spirit (5, 6). Since thus " God, who knoweth the hearts, bare them wit- ness, giving them the Holy Ghost" (Acts, xv., 8), we may infer not only that they were then believers before that they were thus " sealed by the Spirit" (Eph., i., 13), but also that Paul had good grounds from their hfe, and from their conversation with him, to judge them to be so, and, as such, baptized them. These being all the instances of baptism recorded in the New Testament, it appears that all the per- sons of whose baptism there is any inspired narrative were persons who were professed behevers in Christ. There is no excepted case. The evidence of this fact seems to me so clear and precise, that no imaginations can be received in opposition to it. Nevertheless, as these are much insisted on, let us examine their amount and worth. 90 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS It has been said that these persons were generally baptized at once ; many of them on the first day that they heard the Gospel ; that no tests of character were applied, no testimonials were asked, and no delay suggested ; that ministers baptized without any consent of churches ; and that they were there- fore baptized, not as believers, but as catechumens. I answer, that since the inspired word declares that they were believers, all these objections can not dis- prove it. But the objections themselves seem to me weak. In the circumstances in which these converts were placed, sudden conversions were to be expected. To the truth of the sudden conversion both of Zacclieus and of the crucified thief our Lord bore testimony (Luke, xix., 9 ; xxiii., 43) ; and of Paul's sudden conversion to be a faithful apostle there can be no doubt, Acts, ix., 20. Why, then, should not other conversions be sudden ? The preachers were, in most of the cases, inspired and fervent ; they had made great sacrifices for the truth ; the miracles which they wrought were impressive ; their doctrine could not be doubted ; and if that doctrine was true, men were bound to trust and serve Christ at once. Under such circumstances, to change their views, feelings, and habits at once, was sobriety ; to delay the change, was infatuation. If no testimonials of character were asked, and no delay of baptism suggested, neither of these were necessary. The converts embraced shame, perse- cution, loss, and hardship, when they received the Gospel : none but earnest men were then likely to profess their reception of it ; and neither ministers APOSTOLIC BAPTISMS. 91 nor churches were authorized to demand any other quaUfications in the converts than the external in- dications of conversion — a hearty reception of the doctrine of Christ, and a cheerful subjection to his yoke. If the converts were sometimes baptized without the sanction of the churches, this was in every case apparently when there were no churches which could sanction them. In the case of the three thousand at Jerusalem, nearly the whole Church apparently were engaged in baptizing the converts. The Sa- maritans, the eunuch, Cornelius, Lydia, the jailer, the Corinthians, and the Ephesians, were baptized when there was no Church in the place. The bap- tized were themselves the first members of the churches to which they afterward belonged. Now, since all the persons baptized by the apostles and their cotemporaries were, according to the only records which we possess, believers, what right have we to baptize any others ? The baptism of a be- liever is a spontaneous profession of faith ; the bap- tism, of any other class is something essentially dif- ferent ; and how can we innocently add to Christ's institution something essentially different ? His com- mission declares that believers are to be baptized ; the books of the New Testament record the baptism of none but believers ; where, then, is the precept or the precedent for something totally distinct, the baptism of catechumens or of infants ? If you bap- tize these, baptize also heathens. Why do you re- ject heathens from baptism but because you have no precept or precedent to authorize their baptism ? And since you are equally without both precept and 92 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. precedent for llio baptism of infants, rescue them also from the disadvantage of an unauthorized and deceptive rite, which, by making them Christians in name, may hinder them from being Christians in reahty. VI. The Nature and Effects of Baptism, as DECLARED IN THE NeW TeSTAMENT. We have already seen proof that behevers alone ought to be baptized from the terms of the commis- sion in Matt., xxviii., and from the fact that they alone are declared to have been baptized by apostles and their cotemporaries. We may see further proof of this truth from other statements of the New Testa- ment respecting the nature and effects of baptism. The passages which I wish to examine on this subject are the following : "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born dvcddev, from above, he can not see the kingdom of God. . . . Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God." — John, iii., 3, 5. " 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." — Acts, ii., 38. "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord." — Acts, ii., 16. " Know ye not, that so many of us as were bap- tized unto Jesus Christ were baptized into his death ? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism unto death ; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 93 should walk in newness of life. For if we have heen ovfX(pvTOL,^^ associated, connected in the likeness of liis de^th, we shall be also in the likeness of his res- urrection : knowing this, that our old man is cruci- fied with him that the body of sin might be destroy- ed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." — Rom., vi., 3—6. " For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized unto Christ have put on Christ. ... In whom, also, ye are circumcised with the circumcision 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." — Gal., iii., 26, 27 ; Col., ii., 11, 12. ** Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost." — Tit., iii., 5. " The antitype to which, o) avrirvnov, baptism, doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but ovvetd'^aeijjg dyadrjg hnspojrrjua elg Qsbv, the petition unto God, or the seeking after God, of a good conscience." — 1 Pet., iii., 21. Any person attentively reading these passages without a previous bias, would, I think, be at once disposed to think that faith must precede baptism ; * " 'Zvfj.ipvTo^, planted together, connected together." — Stuart. From " 1,vjj.(f)vo/xai, to be necessarily connected." — Lidddl. " 'ZvfjKpvTog, grown together into one, conjoined, united." — Robin- 94 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. and this is made plainer by a closer examination of their meaning. John, iii., 3, 5. — " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a onan he horn avG}d£v,froni ahove, he can not see the kingdom of God. . . . Verily, ve?'ily, I say unto thee, Except a man he horn of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of Godr The word avo)B£v, usually translated " again," in this place does not mean again, but "from above." See verse 31 ; xix., 11 ; James, i., 17 ; iii., 15, 17. It has not the sense of " again" in the lexicons, nor in the Septuagint, nor in the New Testament, if we except, perhaps, one doubtful passage, Gal., iv., 9 ; but it constantly means "from above." "To be born from above" is the same thing as "to be born of water and of the Spirit," in the 5th verse, both describing the same new birth, because the 5th verse is our Lord's explanation of the 3d verse, in answer to the question of Nicodemus. Let us examine, then, first, the nature of this new birth, and, secondly, its necessity. 1 . The Nature of the New Birth. — To be born from above (verse 3), to be born of God (John, i., 13 ; 1 John, iii., 9), to become sons of God (John, i., 12 ; Rom., viii., 14), to be born of the Spirit (John, iii., 6, 8), to be born of water and of the Spirit (5), to be born again (1 Pet., i., 23), and to be re- generate (Tit., iii., 5), are all phrases which express the same thing. For to be born from above must be to be born of God, who is above ; to be born of God is to be a son of God : to be born of God is to THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 95 be born of the Spirit, who is God ; to be born of the Spirit must be the same thing as to be born of wa- ter and of the Spirit, since the Spirit does not ac- complish two births from above ; and this birth of water and of the Spirit must be the new birth, or re- generation, because this spiritual birth is a new birth, and there is no other new birth which men experi- ence. This new birth is effected by God through his word, James, i., 18 ; 1 Pet., i., 23. It is effected through faith, John, i., 12 ; Gal., iii., 26 ; 1 John, v., 1. The effects and proofs of it are love to God and man, 1 John, iv., 7 ; holy obedience, R-om.,.viii., 14 ; 1 John, ii., 29 ; iii., 9, 10 ; v., 18 ; and a filial spirit, Pvom., viii., 15, 16. Those, therefore, who, through the influence of the Scriptures, beheve in Christ, love God and man, obey the commands of God, and feel toward God as children toward a par- ent, are born of the Spirit. But our Lord here says that water has some con- nection with this change. Each is to be born of water and of the Spirit. Now, since the Jews bap- tized their proselytes, and called the baptized per- sons new-born, of which Nicodemus was aware, since John had baptized many disciples, and the disciples of Jesus themselves also baptized converts in water. By water in this place, there is reason to think that Jesus meant, not the influence of the Spirit, but the water of baptism. There is no other place in Scrip- ture in which regeneration by the Spirit is called a birth by water ; and this passage is unlike Matt., iii., 11, where the baptism in the Spirit is termed <' a baptism in fire," because here the word " water" 96 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. is not put after the word " Spirit," as though to ex- plain the spiritual baptism, but before it, as though to express something distinct, though associated. Calvin, Bullinger, Grotius, Poole, Lampe, and Gill, deny the reference of the passage to baptism ; Beza, Baxter, Benson, Scott, Barnes, Bengel, and others, maintain that reference ; and they are probably right. But if our Lord here referred to baptism, then he declared that a man is born from above by the Spirit and by baptism. How is this to be un- derstood ? Does the Spirit effect the regeneration of a person by the water of baptism ? Many think so. " In baptism," says a respectable writer of our day, " two very different causes are combined — the one, God himself; the other, a creature which he has thought fit to hallow for this end. . . . This re- generation is the being born of water and of the Spirit, or by God's Spirit again moving on the face of the waters, and sanctifying them for our cleansing, and cleansing us thereby." — Tract 67, p. 13, 19. But the idea, is wholly contrary to Scripture, which declares that men are regenerated by the word of God (James, i., 18 ; 1 Pet., i., 23 ; John, i., 12, 13 ; Gal., iii., 26; Eph., v., 26); and as distinctly re- futed by facts, since their ungodly lives prove num- bers of baptized persons to remain unregenerate. The expression can not mean that men must be made catechumens by baptism, and afterward be born of the Spirit, because these two things are so distinct and separate that they can not both be call- ed one new birth, one birth from above. But as regeneration takes place when a man receives faith from God, and baptism is the expression of faith THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 97 which necessarily follows, a person who does not possess faith has no faith and is not regenerate ; and baptism, as the outward sign of faith or regenera- tion, may thus be rightly connected with it in lan- guage. The work of the Spirit makes a man a new creature, and baptism is the manifestation of the change. The Spirit alone renews the mind, the will, and the affections, changing pride into humili- ty, self-righteousness into contrition, unbelief into faith, enmity into love, worldliness into spirituality of mind, slavery to sin into the love of duty and the habit of obedience, Eph., ii., 4, 5, 10. Profession alone is wanting to complete the change. And when a person who has received spiritual life mani- fests it by confessing Christ before men by immersion, then he is born of water and of the Spirit — his new birth is complete. He has received new life, and his new life is manifested to the world. 2. The Necessity of the Neio Birth. — All en- lightened persons own the necessity of a great moral change to be effected by the Spirit of God ; but why is baptism a necessary adjunct ? The moral change is not effected by baptism, but before it, as we know from Scripture and from indubitable facts ; but why then is baptism so necessary that Jesus could say, " Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God ?" The answer is obvious. Baptism is the profession of faith, the pubUc confession of Christ, without which confession there is no true faith and no salvation. So Jesus has himself pronounced, Matt., X., 32, 33 ; see also Rom., x., 8-10 ; Rev., xxi., 8. And as the confession of Christ is necessa- G 98 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. ry to salvation, so is baptism to those vv^ho knowr that this is the appointed method of confessing him. '< It is not another kind of faith, but that same which in the sincere is saving which is required to be professed in baptism." — Baxter. "It is most certain that a profession of faith and repentance was ordinarily required before the baptism of adult persons. . . . Where true faith is together with the profession of it by baptism, there is salva- tion promised, Mark, xvi., 16." — Poole, Matt., iii., 6 ; Acts, xxii., 16. " The necessity of regeneration in the first place, and then of baptism, is here confirmed." — Bengel. " Unless a man has a new nature given him by the Spirit, which is being born of the Spirit, and publicly receive the Christian religion when ofiered to him (Matt., x., 33), which is being born of water, he can not be a subject of God's kingdom here, nor have a share in his glory hereafter. ... As the wash- ing of the body with water in baptism fitly repre- sents the purification of the soul, this ceremony is very properly made the rite by which we publicly take upon ourselves the profession of the Christian religion ; wherefore the receiving of this rite is nec- essary in all cases where it may be had ; the con- fessing of Christ being often as necessary as believ- ing in him." — Benson. " Baptism in the ordinary course of things is req- uisite to the outward profession of Christianity." — Scott. *' Jesus meant undoubtedly to be understood as aflfirming that this was to be the regular and uni- form way of entering into his Church, that this was THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 99 the appropriate mode of making a profession of relig- ion. ... It is the duty of every one not only to love the Savior, but to make an acknowledgment of that love by being baptized and devoted to his service. . . . He can not enter into the true Church here or in the Vi^orld to come except in connection with a change of heart, and by the proper expression of that change ki the ordinances appointed by the Savior." — Barnes. Acts, ii., 38. — " Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the reynission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghosts Repentance includes the confession of our sins, sor- row for them, and turning away from them. " Repentance implies sorrow for sin as committed against God with a purpose to forsake it. It is not merely a fear of the consequences, nor of the wrath of God in hell ; it is such a view of sin, as evil in itself, as to lead the mind to hate it and forsake it." — Barnes. It is connected with conversion. Acts, iii., 19 ; xxvi., 20. It leads to faith, Mark, i., 15 ; John, xvi., 9 ; Acts, xx., 21 ; 2 Tim., ii., 25. It secures forgiveness. Matt., v., 3 ; Luke, iii., 3 ; xv., 7, 17-20 ; xviii., 13, 14 ; xxiv., 47; Acts, v., 31 ; xi., 18 ; 2 Cor., vii., 10 ; 1 John, i., 9. Those who repent of ungodliness, become godly ; those who re- pent of unbelief, believe ; those who repent of sin, obey ; and, therefore, the repentant are forgiven.^ " The Jews were called by Peter to repent first, * Repent. " MeTavorjaare, jLteravoio), to change one's opinion, to repent ; nerdvoLa, a change of mind on reflection, repentance." ^Liddell. 100 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. and then to be baptized. His language was, < Firm- ly believe the doctrine of Christ, and submit to his grace and government ; and make an open, solemn profession of this, and come under an engagement to abide by it by submitting to the ordinance of bap- tism.' " — Henry. " The direction which Christ gave his apostles was that they should baptize all who believed, Matt., xxviii., 19; Mark, xvi., 16. The Jews had not been baptized, and a baptism now would be a pro- fession of the religion of Christ, or a declaration made before the world that they embraced Jesus as their Messiah. It was equivalent to saying that they should publicly and professedly embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior. The Gospel requires such a conviction, and no one is at liberty to withhold it. And a similar declaration is to be made to all who are inquiring the way to life. They are to exercise repentance, and then, without any unnecessary de- lay, to evince it in the ordinances of the Gospel. If men are unwilling to profess religion, they have none ; if they will not in the proper way show that they are truly attached to Christ, it is proof that they have no such attachment. . . . He who comes to be baptized comes with a professed conviction that he is a sinner, that there is no other way of mercy but in the Gospel, and with a professed willingness to comply with the terms of salvation, and receive it as it is offered through Jesus Christ." — Barnes. Such repentance, then, as implies faith and secures pardon is to precede baptism, and therefore believers alone ought to be baptized. II. The Jews were here exhorted to repent and THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OP BAPTISM. 101 to be baptized for the remission of sins. They were not to expect the remission of their sins through bap- tism without previous repentance, nor through re- pentance without baptism, but through repentance and baptism. If baptism regenerates the person, then how could a previous repentance be necessary ? If baptism is to be administered to all serious appli- cants, then why were these Jews required first to repent ? And why, in this case, is remission of sins so connected with baptism ? We do not read in the word of God, Repent and be just, Repent and give alms for the remission of sins, but only, " Repent and believe ;" " Repent, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out," Mark, i., 5 ; Acts, iii., 19. But if baptism be simply a profession of repentance and faith, then the expression, " Repent, and be baptized for the remission of sins," is equivalent to <' Repent and believe for the remission of sins." Re- mission of sins attends baptism simply because it at- tends faith. The baptism of the three thousand was an act of saving faith in them, an act which was necessary to salvation (Matt., x., 32 ; Rom., x., 9, 10), and which secured it. "It is not enough to believe in Christ, but we must also profess our Chris- tianity, which it is the will of Christ that we should do by baptism. He -who does these things is assured of the remission of his sins."* Since, then, baptism is thus necessary to remission of sins, and is so closely connected with it as no mere acts of obedience ever * '* Non satis est Christo credere, sed oportet et Christianis- mum profiteri (Rom., x., 10), quod Christus per baptismum fieri voluit. Qui haec praestat certus fit de remissione peccatorum." — Grotius. 102 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. are, baptism must be a profession of faith, and none but believers ought to be baptized. III. Repentance and baptism are declared in the text to secure the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit alone gives repentance and faith (John, i., 12, 13; vi., 44; Acts, ii., 47; xviii., 27; 1 Cor., iii., 5 ; xii., 3 ; Gal., v., 22 ; Eph., ii., 4, 5, 8 ; James, i., 18); and as baptism ought to follow repentance, baptism ought to follow the gift of the Holy Spirit : but here larger communications of grace were intend- ed, such as were promised by Jesus to his apostles before his death (John, xiv., 16 ; xvi., 7), and to all believers, John, vii., 38, 39. These were not mi- raculous gifts alone, but the Spirit himself, with all his saving influences (1 Cor., vi., 19; Rom., viii., 9), for it was the gift promised to all the elect in all the world, Acts, ii., 39; Joel, ii., 28. And multi- tudes of these have never received miraculous gifts. This gift of the Spirit enlightens (2 Cor., iii., 17), sanctifies (Rom., v., 5 ; viii., 1), is the seal of a be- liever's adoption (Eph., i., 13 ; 1 John, iv., 13 ; Acts, XV., 8 ; Eph., iv., 30 ; 2 Cor., i., 22), and the earn- est of his celestial inheritance, Eph., i., 14 ; 2 Cor., v., 5. It was promised by the Almighty to his Church through the prophets (Isa., lix., 21 ; Ezek., xxxvi., 27) ; and it is hmited to believers, John, xiv., 17; Acts, v., 32; Rom., viii., 9 ; Gal., iii., 2; Eph., i,, 13. This was expressed by the Apostle Peter, who limited the promise to " the called" (Acts, ii., 39); for those called are not those invited by the Gospel, but the elect of God, who are called by his grace, Rom., i., 6, 7 ; viii., 30; 1 Cor., i., 24 ; Eph., i., 13; Gal., iii., 2; 2 Pet., i., 10; Jude, 1. Yet, THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 103 while this gift is limited to believers, it is given to all who are rightly baptized ; for the apostle distinctly said that they all should receive it if they repented and were baptized, Acts, ii., 38. And the baptized did generally, in the apostolic era of the Church, re- ceive it (Acts, viii., 17 ; xix., 6 ; 1 Cor., xii., 7, 11 ; xiv., 26; Gal, iii., 2, 5; Eph., i., 13; Heb., vi., 4—9); and it was God's testimony to them (Acts, XV., 8), and proved their repentance to life. Acts, xi., 18. But as the gift of the Holy Spirit is limited to believers, and yet generally followed baptism in the time of the apostles, it follows that none except pro- fessed believers, and few except real believers, were then baptized. On the whole, this text declares that believers alone ought to be baptized : 1 . Because it demands a change of heart and life before baptism ; 2. Because it connects baptism with the remission of sins ; 3. Because it declares that repentance and baptism secure the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts, xxii., 16. — ''And now ivhy tarriest thou? Arise, and be hai^tized, and icash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'' Paul was at this time deeply convinced of sin; his pride and self will completely subdued (Acts, ix., 6), he continually cried to God for mercy (Acts, ix., 11); but he now felt that the law sentenced him to death (Pv-om., vii., 9, 10), and was so agitated that for three days he could neither eat nor drink, Acts, ix., 9. To him, thus oppressed with guilt, Ananias, who was sent by Jesus, used the words of the text, in which he exhorted him to do two things at once, to call on the name of Jesus and to be baptized, upon 104 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS, which his guilt would be washed away. 1 . By the Lord, Ananias meant Jesus. See verses 10,19,21; ix., 6, 10, 11, 15, 17; Rom., xiv., 6-9, &c. To call on the name of the Lord is to pray to him as God, Gen., iv., 26; 1 Kings, xviii., 24; 2 Kings, v., 1 1 ; Psalm cxvi., 17 ; Acts, vii., 59. It is there- fore to come to him in faith ; and it is connected with salvation, Joel, ii., 32 ; Rom., x., 12, 13 ; John, vi., 39; Matt., xi., 28. All who truly call upon him are his disciples, Acts, ix., 14, 21 ; 1 Cor., i., 2; 2 Tim., ii., 22. And when Ananias exhorted Paul to call upon the name of Jesus, he exhorted him to ex- ercise faith in him. 2. He exhorted him to be bap- tized, in presence doubtless of the household, as a public profession of his faith ; upon which two things, the exercise of faith and the profession of it by bap- tism, his sins would be washed away. " Baptism ad- ministered to real penitents was intended to be both a mean and a seal of pardon ; nor did God ordinari- ly, in the primitive Church, bestow this on any person till he submitted to baptism." — Benson. " The re- mission of sins is promised to faith, and to the profes- sion of faith by baptism, conjoined, Mark, xvi., 16." — Grotius. "As washing causeth the spots to disap- pear, so does pardoning mercy, or remission of sins, which accompanieth baptism in the due receiver. Matt., iii., 11; 1 Pet., iii., 21, 22. Where true faith is, together with the profession of it by baptism, there is salvation promised." — Poole. This truth is expressed alike by this text, by Mark, xvi., 16, by Acts, ii., 38, and by John, iii., 5, for all declare that men are saved by faith manifested in the confession of Christ, and can not be saved without it. And it THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 105 follows equally from each of them that none but be- lievers can properly be baptized. Rom., vi., 3—6. — " Knoiv ye not, that so inany of us as were baptized unto Jesus Christ were bap- tized into his death ? Therefoi-e ive are buried with hirn by baptism into death : that like as Christ ivas raised up from the dead by the gloi-y of the Father, even so ive also shoidd ivalk in new- ness of life. For if ive have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection : knoiving this, tliat our old man is crucified tvith him, that the bodij of si?i might be destroyed, that henceforth tve should not serve sin.''' *' Know ye not that when men are baptized, they are by vow, covenant, and profession listed into the belief of a crucified Savior, who died for sin to save us from it ; and do profess that repentance by which we renounce it, as dead to it for the time to come ? Therefore in our baptism we are dipped under the water, as signifying our covenant profession ; that as he was buried for sin, we are dead and buried to sin ; that as the glorious power of God raised him from the dead, so we should rise up to live to him in newness and holiness of life." — Baxter. "■ All who had been baptized unto the name and religion of Jesus had received the sign and made the profession of communion with him, and conformity to him in his death, that in virtue of his dying for their sins, they should die to all sin. This profes- sion was equivalent to being buried with Christ, as dead with him. The baptism of a converted Jew 106 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. or Gentile was a professed manifestation of his death to sin, and it was a professed introduction to his walking in newness of life." — Scott. " We, by being baptized into his death, are con- ceived to have made a similar translation ; in the act of descending under the water of baptism to have resigned an old life, and in the act of ascending to emerge into a second, or new life." — CJialmers. " The act of baptism denotes dedication to the service of him in whose name we are baptized. One of its designs is to dedicate or consecrate us to the service of Christ. Thus (1 Cor., x., 2) the Israel- ites are said to have been baptized unto Moses, i. e., they became consecrated, or dedicated, or bound to him as their leader and law-giver. In the place before us, the argument of the apostle is evidently drawn from the supposition that we have been sol- emnly consecrated by baptism to the service of Christ. By the solemn profession made at our bap- tism we had become dead to sin, as Christ was dead to the living world around him when he was buried ; as he rose from death, so we, being made dead to sin and the world by that religion whose profession is expressed by baptism, should rise to a new life, a life of holiness." — Barnes. "To be baptized unto Christ {in Christum), is beyond doubt to be baptized unto this, that each should profess his communion with Christ ; that each by that baptism, as by a sign and testimony, should avow that he had believed in Christ." — Vi- tringa, Obs. Sac, iii., 22, 822. " The sense is ... as many of us as have been devoted to Christ by baptism." — Stuart. THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 107 " As the mean by which a union takes place with Christ is faith, and the mean of professing that faith, of seaHng our union with Christ, is baptism, Paul employs the expression, ' to be baptized unto Christ,^ as equivalent to this, ' to be united to Christ.'' To be baptized unto Christ in the style of Paul does not designate a simple external profession of the re- ligion of the Gospel, but the act of heart by which one accepts that religion, an act of which submission to the rite of baptism was the public and ordained expression. In all this passage, as in Gal., iii., 27, baptism is taken for the acceptance of Christ, an act of which that ceremony was the prescribed profes- sion.' ' — Hodge , French Translation . From this passage it is plain that believers alone ought to be baptized : 1 . Because the baptized are said to be consecrated to Christ by baptism, which is true of none but believers. 2. Because the bap- tized die to sin and rise to a new life, which none do but true believers. As the baptized are said to die and to rise again, the passage can not mean that baptism is merely emblematic of what they ought to do. Its expressing what they ought to do would not prove that they did it. Either, then, the bap- tized persons really died and rose again in a spiritual sense in baptism, and then they were real believers, or else they died and rose again professedly, and then they were professed believers. Either sense proves that, according to this text, none but true believers ought to offer themselves for baptism, and none but those who make a credible profession of faith ought to be recaved to baptism. 108 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. Gal., iii., 26, 27. — " Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized unto Christ have put on Christy " To put on Christ" is to be clothed, as it were, ill Christ, to have Christ alone seen in us, and it includes two things : 1. To imitate the example of Christ, E-om., xiii., 14; Eph., iv., 24; vi., 11; Col., iii., 10, 12 ; 1 Pet., v., 5. 2. To trust in the righteousness of Christ, which is to be, as it were, clothed in his righteousness, to receive the wedding garment (Matt., xxii., 1 ] ), the white robes of the redeemed. Rev., vii., 9, 14. It is to receive Christ as our righteousness (1 Cor., i., 30), and to " be made the righteousness of God in him," 2 Cor., v., 21. "To put on Christ may be understood legally and evangelically. Legally : Rom., xiii. : ' Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,' i. e., imitate the example and the virtues of Christ. But to put on Christ evangelically is not a matter of imitation, but of a new birth and creation. To put on Christ evangelically is not to put on the law and works, but an inestimable gift, namely, the remission of sins, righteousness, peace, consolation, joy in the Holy Spirit, salvation, life, and Christ himself" — Luther. " He uses the similitude of a robe when he says that the Galatians had put on Christ ; but he means that they were so grafted into Christ, that before God they bore the name and person of Christ, and were more reckoned in him than in themselves." — Cahin. THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 109 *« God now looking on them, there appears noth- ing but Christ. They are, as it were, covered all over with him, as a man is with the clothes that he has put on." — Locke. All those who have been rightly baptized have thus put on Christ. " The old man is to be put off with his deeds (Eph,, iv. ; Col., iii.), that, being the sons of Adam, we may become the sons of God. This is not done by a change of dress, by any law or works, but by the new birth, and the renovation which takes place in baptism. In baptism there is not given a legal clothing of righteousness or of our works, but Christ becomes our clothing." — Luther. '* "When Paul addresses believers who rightly use the signs, he joins them with the truth which they represent. Not, therefore, without reason, when he addresses believers, does he say, that they in baptism had put on Christ." — Calvin. " All of you that are sincere believers are taken into the family of God as his adopted children by Christ, whom you believe in. For as many of you as have sincerely consented to the baptismal cove- nant, and so been baptized into the faith of Christ, have thereby even put him on as your garment, and wholly given up yourselves to him, and so, as his members, are united to him. All that are baptized have professed this, which the sincere perform." — Baxter. " For so many of you as have been baptized unto Christ, and so have taken upon you the solemn pro- fession of his religion, may then be said to have put on Christ, to be clothed with his character, and cov- ered with his righteousness." — Doddridge. 110 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. '< As many of you as have been baptized into Christ, in consequence of your believing in him w^ith your heart unto righteousness, and have thereby test- ified and professed your faith in him, have put on Christ, have received him as your righteousness and sanctification. " — Benson. Thus, according to St. Paul, all baptized persons have put on Christ, i. e., are justified through him. But sinners are justified by faith alone (Rom., iii., 20—28) ; and the righteousness of Christ is put on none but believers and saints, Rom., iii., 22 ; ix., 30 ; Rev., xix., 8. Since, then, all persons right- ly baptized are justified, and yet none but believers can be justified, it folio w^s that all persons rightly baptized must be believers ; in other words, that be- lievers alone ought to be baptized. The same truth appears from a comparison of the 27th verse with the 26th. " Indeed, the con- nection of the 27th verse with that which precedes, shows that the faith in Christ which was publicly professed in baptism, and not the mere outward ad- ministration (whether the baptized person had faith or not) was specially intended." — Scott. The Galatians were the children of God hy faith (26), because all baptized persons have put on Christ, i. e., are justified and adopted (27). If we assume that baptism was administered indiscriminately to all applicants, and was no profession of faith, then the argument would be this : " You are the children of God by faith ; because baptized persons put on Christ, and those who put on Christ are his chil- dren, therefore baptized persons without faith are his children : you arc therefore his children bij faith, THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. Ill because you are his children tvithout faith'' which is absurd. But if we assume that baptism is an act of faith, then the argument is sound : "Ye are the children of God by faith ; because all who are bap- tized in faith put on Christ, and those who put on Christ are children of God : as, then, you have been baptized by faith, you have put on Christ by faith, and have become the children of God by faith." Hence baptism is an act of faith according to this text ; and believers alone ought, therefore, to be baptized. Col., ii., 11, 12. — ^' Inwhmnalso ye are circum- cised with the circumcision inade ivithout hands in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ : buried ivith him in bap- tism, ivherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from the deaclT As persons, rightly baptized, are buried with Christ to sin by a faith which God has wrought in them, and are risen with Christ to a new life by the same faith, it is plain that no persons but behevers ought to be candidates for baptism, because no oth- ers so die and rise again by faith ; and no persons but those who make a credible profession of such faith ought to be received to baptism. Titus, iii., 5. — " Not by works of righteousness tvhich we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the tvashing of regeneration and re- newing of the Holy Ghost'' As "■ the renewing of the Holy Ghost" means the 112 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. renewing by him, so " the washing of regeneration" might mean the washing by regeneration. Had this been his meaning, he would have used these, terms with an allusion to baptism. Why else em- ploy the periphrasis, when the single word '< regen- eration" would have expressed his meaning better ? The expression, " God saves us by regeneration," would have been fully as forcible as the expression, " God saves us by the washing of regeneration." He evidently used this unusual expression with ref- erence to the baptism of converts, and thus alludes to baptism as the sign of regeneration. But there is reason to think that by '' the wash- ing of regeneration" the apostle means not the re- generation which washes, but the washing which is connected with regeneration. It is so understood by Calvin, Beza, Grotius, Whitby, Macknight, Bengel, Bloomfield, Slade, and others. The genitive is often used thus by Paul and other New Testament writers to express the effect wrought by any person or thing. Thus we read of the God of grace, of hope, of love and peace (1 Pet., v., 10 ; Rom,, xv., 13 ; 2 Cor., xiii., 11), because God gives grace, hope, love, and peace. " The spirit of divination" (Acts, xvi., 16) means the spirit enabling to divine. " The spirit of wisdom" (Eph., i., 17) means the spirit which makes wise. " The blood of sprinkling" (Heb., xii., 24) is the blood which sprinkles. *' The Gospel of peace" (Rom., X., 15 ; Eph., vi., 15) is the Gospel which gives peace. " The word of reconciliation" (2 Cor., v., 18) is the word which reconciles. " The Gos- pel of salvation" (Eph., i., 13) is the Gospel which saves. <* The baptism of repentance" (Luke, iii., 3) THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 113 is the baptism which was the sign of repentance ; and so " the washing of regeneration" is the wash- ing which is the sign of regeneration. " Baptism," says Calvin, " is suitably and truly called * the bath of regeneration.' Here Paul addresses believers, in whom, because baptism is always efficacious, it is j)roperly joined with its true meaning and effect." The Spirit effects a moral change, and baptism is the sign of it. The Spirit imparts new life, and baptism manifests it ; and both complete the new birth. As a child first lives and then comes into the world, and thus is born, his entrance into the world not giving life, but manifesting it, so the child of God receives life and then is baptized, and thus is new born, his baptism not giving spiritual life, but manifesting it ; and therefore baptism is the wash- ing of regeneration, or the washing which is the manifestation and completion of regeneration. By these two things, the washing and the renew- ing, the spiritual renovation and the baptism which manifests it, God saves his people. All the passages respecting baptism are exactly in harmony in this matter. According to Matt., xxviii., a man must become a disciple, and then be baptized, Mark, xvi., declares, that he who believes and is baptized shall be saved. John, iii., 5, declares, that no one can enter the kingdom of heaven, that is, be saved, un- less he is new born by the Holy Spirit and by bap- tism. Acts, ii., declares, that those who repent and are baptized receive the remission of their sins with the gift of the Spirit, and are thus saved. Acts, xxii., declares, that if a man calls on the Lord Jesus for salvation, or comes to him in faith, and is baptized, H 114 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. his sins are washed away, and he is therefore saved. Rom., vi., and Col., ii., declare, that when a man is baptized he dies to sin, and rises to a new life by faith, and is therefore saved. Gal., iii., declares, that all who are baptized put on Christ, become the chil- dren of God, and are therefore saved ; and thus the text under consideration declares that believers are saved by the renewing of the Spirit and by baptism. But if baptism be the sign of regeneration, an unre- generate person ought not to be baptized. If the rite is a public manifestation of spiritual life, it should be withheld from those who afford no tokens of that life. If baptism is the washing of regenera- tion, it ought not to be administered to the unregen- erate. To suppose that "God's Spirit again moves on the face of the waters, and sanctifies them for our cleansing, and cleanses us thereby" (Tract 67), is wholly at variance with the word of God (John, i., 12,13; Gal., iii., 26; James, i., 18; 1 Pet., i., 23), is contrary to facts, and grossly superstitious ; and since the water can not give spiritual life, and yet manifests it, it must be preceded by it. Baptism can not be the baptism of regeneration except with respect to those who are previously regenerate ; and as Christian baptism is the baptism of regeneration, according to the text, regenerate believers alone ought to be baptized. 1 Pet., iii., 20, 21. — ''The long-suffering of God tvaited in the days of Noah, lohile the ark was 2^reparing, ivherein feiv, that is, eight souls, were brought safely through the water. ^ The an- * Were brought, &c., 6ieaudi]aav i)C vdaror. So the word is THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 115 titype whereunto,* even baptism, doth also noio save us, not the putting atvay of the filth of the flesh, hut the inquiry after God of a good con- science, \ by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.'^ This passage clearly shows that none but believers have a right to baptism. 1. Baptism is here said to be the antitype, or the fact corresponding, to Noah's entrance into the ark. As then the vengeance of God brought a flood upon the earth, so a flood of divine wrath is now about to overwhelm the ungodly. As the ark was divinely appointed as a refuge for Noah and his family, so Christ is the divinely appointed refuge for behevers, Isa., xxxii., 2, As Noah entered into the ark, so believers take refuge in the merit and mediation of Christ by faith ; but as they are here said to take refuge in Christ by baptism, baptism must necessa- rily be an act of faith. All who are in Christ are translated, Acts, xxiv., 2-1. "Were safely conveyed through the water." — Macknight. " Through the water : when they were on the waters; did, for kv, as Rom., iv., 11." — Grotius. "Through the flood— mediis in aquis." — Slade. * The antitype to which, u avTLTViTOV. " 'k.vrlTV7tog, formed after, copied, Ijo) avrirvnov, a copy." — Liddell. " 'AvTCTvna, copies, Heb., ix., 24 ; uvTlrvTvog, corresponding, antitypical." — Robinson. t The inquiry, &c., awetd'^Gecog ayadiig ETrepcJTTjfxa slg Qeov. " ^E7repcjTT}fj.a, an inquiry ; kTcepdoTau, to consult, to inquire of {to xPVty'Vpi'Ov, rbv Qebv)" — Liddell. " 'ETTfpwraw, to ask.; Matt., xii., 10 ; xvii., 10 ; Luke, xi., 46 ; John, xviii., 7 ; Acts, i., 6, &c., &c. In the Septuagint, to ask, Josh., ix., 14 ; Isa., xxx., 2. To inquire, 1 Kings, xxii., 7, 8 ; Jer., xxi., 2. To ask after God, Isa., Ixv., 1. So Rom., x., 20. ' I was made manifest, role ^M^ ni] ^nepuTUGt, to those that asked not after me.' Hence, etteputtj- fia Etc Qeov is ' an inquiry after God.' " — Bretschneider in Robinson. " A petition to God."— Steiger. 116 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. believers (Rom.,xii., 5 ; xvi., 7 ; 1 Cor.,iii., 1 ; 2 Cor., v., 17 ; xii., 2 ; Gal,, i., 22, &c.) ; but all sincerely baptized are in Christ, as Noah was in the ark ; and therefore sincere baptism is an act of faith. 2. It is said here that baptism saves us. But we are saved by grace through faith (John, iii., 1 6 ; Acts, xvi., 31 ; 1 Cor., i., 22; Eph., ii., 8), and without faith there is no salvation, John, iii., 36 ; Mark, xvi., 1 6 ; Heb., xi., 6. Baptism, therefore, without faith, can not save us ; but as the statement of the apostle is absolute that baptism does save us, it follows that baptism implies faith, is an act of faith, and may be put for faith itself. 3. It is here added, that the baptism which saves us is not the external rite merely, but that which is signified by it, " the inquiry after God of a good conscience." Baptism, then, is the seeking after God with a conscience set free from the guilt of sin (Heb., ix,, 14 ; x., 22), and a mind conscious of habitual rectitude and sincerity. Acts, xxiii., 1 ; xxiv., 16; Rom., ix., 1; 1 Cor., iv., 4; 2 Cor., i., 12; 1 Tim., i., 5, 19 ; iii., 9 ; Tit., i., 15 ; Heb., xiii., 18 ; 1 Pet., iii., 16. But no one except a believer can so seek after God. Faith only can free the conscience from guilt, faith only can purify the heart (Acts, XV., 9) ; and, therefore, no one but a believer has a good conscience in either sense. And if bap- tism is the seeking after God with a good conscience, baptism must be an act of faith ; and so it is under- stood by the best writers. " Baptism, and the sincere profession of religion conjoined with it, preserves us from perdition." — Rosenmiiller in BloomJiclcV s Digest THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 117 " The best translation appears to be, 1. The peti- tion of a good conscience, and then it notes the ef- fect of baptism, viz., that holy confidence and secu- rity wherewith a conscience sprinkled with the blood of Christ addresses itself to God in prayer as a Fa- ther." — Poole. " Baptism, including all that is properly meant by baptism as a religious rite, that is, baptism ad- ministered in connection with true repentance and true faith in the Lord Jesus, and when it is proper- ly a symbol of putting away of sin, and of the re- newing influences of the Holy Spirit, and an act of unreserved dedication to God, now saves us. No man can be saved without that regenerated and pu- rified heart of which baptism is the appropriate sym- bol." — Barnes. <« The godly ask, consult, and address God with confidence ; the ungodly not. Therefore, the appeal of a good conscience, i. e., the appeal wherein we address God with a good conscience, our sins being both pardoned and renounced, saves. This appeal is made in baptism. "*= — Bengel. Since this is the nature of true baptism, it must be an act of faith ; for believers alone have a good conscience : to seek God with a good conscience is to exercise faith in him ; baptism, therefore, is an exercise of faith, and believers alone can properly apply for it. * " Non dubium est quin Hebraicum TlSi^li'j spectaret aposto- lus Piorum est rogare, consulere, compellare cum fiducid Deum. At impiorum non rogare ilium, aut idola rogare. Salvat ergo nos rogatio bonae conscientiae, i. e,, rogatio qu§. nos Deum corapellamus cum bon& conscienti^, peccatis remissis et depositis, 16, Heb., X., 22. Haec rogatio in baptismo datur." — Bcngel. 118 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. If we recur to the passages which have been ex- amined, we may see what abundant and varied evi- dence they afford that baptism is an act of faith, must be preceded by faith, and is a duty which none but beUevers can rightly fulfill. Baptism is a consecration to the Triune God, Matt., xxviii., 19; and specially to Christ, Rom., vi., 3. It is a seeking after God with a good conscience, 1 Peter, iii., 20. It must be preceded by true repentance. Acts, ii., 38. It is the sign, manifestation, and completion of regeneration, John, iii., 5 ; Tit., iii., 5. It is a death unto sin and a new life of holiness, Rom., vi., 3-6 ; Col., ii., 11, 12. Those rightly baptized are in Christ, 1 Pet., iii., 20. Those rightly baptized have put on Christ, Gal., iii., 26. True baptism secures pardon, Acts, ii., 38 ; xxii., 16. True baptism secures the gift of the Spirit, Acts, ii., 38. Baptism is generally necessary to salvation, John, iii., 5. True baptism saves, 1 Pet., iii., 20 ; Mark, xvi., 16; Tit., iii., 5. Each one of these statements is a distinct and con- clusive proof that baptism must be preceded by faith ; each by itself is sufficient to prove that believers alone should be baptized ; and when they are all combined, the accumulated evidence is such that it is difficult to understand how any one who is guided THE NATURE AND EFFECTS OF BAPTISM, 119 in his religious opinions by the word of God can ar- rive at any other conchision. To the proofs that baptism impHes faith which are afibrded by the spiritual effects ascribed to baptism, let me add the proof afforded by its external conse- quences. If baptism in the apostolic age was a pro- fession of faith, baptized persons would naturally be reckoned members of the Christian churches in con- nection with which they were baptized ; but if bap- tism were nothing but the exhibition of certain spir- itual truths, a symbol administered to all who seri- ously desired it, then baptized persons would not be- come by the act of their baptism members of the churches in connection with which they were bap- tized, but would be admitted subsequently upon their profession of faith. Now this latter case never hap- pened. The baptized person was admitted at once to communion with the Church in connection with which he was baptized ; and there is no instance of the contrary. If a man was baptized when there was no Church, he could not join what did not exist. Such was the situation of the Ethiopian eunuch. But immediately that the three thousand were bap- tized on the day of Pentecost, they became church members, and were admitted to the table of the Lord ; for we read that " they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in break- ing of bread and in prayers," Acts, ii,, 42. At Samaria, Corinth, and other places, the bap- tized at once formed the Church, Acts, viii., xviii. ; and, therefore, when disciples died, and the ranks of the Christian army were broken, new converts were " baptized for the dead," 1 Cor., xv., 29. They be- 120 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. came at once disciples and soldiers of Christ in place of the dead. Let the reader consider well the force of this evi- dence. Since baptism is the seal of regeneration, none but the regenerate ought to be baptized ; since it is the sign of justification, it should be administer- ed to those only who are justified ; since it was at- tended by the gift of the Spirit, none but believers, to whom that gift was limited, ought to receive it ; since it saves, and there is no salvation except by faith, it should be administered to those only who have saving faith ; and since it conferred the right of admission into the churches of saints and faithful brethren, none but saints and faithful brethren ought to receive it. If unbelievers are baptized, baptism is the sign of regeneration to the unregenerate, and of justification to those who are still in their sins ; it ought to save and does not, and admits into com- munion with the churches those who are unfitted for that privilege. Such an application of baptism could not be intended, and therefore the baptism of the un- believer is contrary to Christ's authority, by which be- lievers alone ought to be baptized. VII. The Practice of the Churches of the FIRST Centuries of the Christian Era affords pyiDENCE THAT BeLIEVERS ALONE OUGHT TO BE BAPTIZED. It is only necessary to adduce one more proof that baptism in the apostolic churches was considered a profession of faith. If it was so considered, we may expect to find that for some time the same belief con- tinued to prevail. And if this belief is proved to PRACTICE OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 121 have been common in the first four centuries of the Christian era, we may consider it to afiord some proof that it was also the belief of the apostolic age. As churches tend to decay, we may expect to find relaxations in doctrine and discipline springing up of themselves, but innovations requiring more spiritu- ality and self-denial could scarcely prevail to any ex- tent. The information which we possess on this point may be comprised under the four following heads : In the early Christian churches catechumens were not baptized, a profession of faith was required of applicants for baptism, the baptized were esteemed regenerate believers, and they were admitted at once to the Lord's table. 1. In the early churches catechumens were not baptized. *' Eusebius reckons but three orders (in the Church), rulers, believers, and catechumens." " The name believers is here taken in a more strict sense, only for the believing or baptized laity, in contradis- tinction to the clergy and catechumens." "In this sense the words believers, ttiotoI, Jideles, are com- monly used in the ancient liturgies and canons to dis- tinguish those that were baptized and allowed to par- take of the holy mysteries from the catechumens." " The believers, niGTol, oi Jideles, being such as were baptized, and thereby made complete and perfect Christians, were upon that account dignified with marks of distinction above the catechumens." " Cat- echumens have the names diivaroL, dfivrjTOi, the un- initiated or unbaptized . " " None came to the Lord's table but such as were first initiated by baptism : whence the custom was, before they went to celebrate 12*2 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS the Eucharist, for a deacon to proclaim, 'Aym ayton;, ' Holy things for holy men. Ye catechumens, go forth.' "* " St. Austin, in one of his sermons to the newly baptized, saysj ' Having now dismissed the catechumens, we have retained you only to be our hearers'" (29). " Theodoret also says, 'We dis- course obscurely of divine mysteries before the unbap- tized, but when they are departed we speak plainly to the baptized' " (30). " Catechumens were a de- gree higher than either heathens or heretics, though not yet consummated by the waters of baptism" (iii. , 2 ). " The Church found it necessary to lengthen the time of probation, lest an over-hasty admission of persons to baptism should either fill the Church with vicious men, or make greater numbers of rene- gadoes and apostates in time of persecution. For this reason the Council of Eliberis appointed two years' trial for new converts, that if in that time they appeared to be men of a good conversation, they might then be allowed the favor of baptism" (iii., 6). "■ They were obliged to get some of the Holy Scrip- tures by heart before they were baptized" (iii., 11). " Upon the approach of the Easter festival, it was usual for the catechumens to give in their names in order to be baptized" (17). " As they were all ex- amined, so they were all exercised alike for twenty days before baptism" (18). "During this same term of twenty days the catechumens were also exercised with abstinence and fasting as a suitable prepara- tion for baptism" (21). 2. A profession of faith was required from appli- cants for baptism. * Bingham, i., 22-24, 26, 27. PRACTICE OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 123 " Let such as give in their names to be baptized be exercised a long time with abstinence from wine and flesh, with imposition of hands and frequent ex' amination, and so let them receive their baptism."— Fourth Council of Carthage : Bingham, iii., 21. " They that are about to receive baptism must first make frequent prayer and fastings .... and make confession of all their former sins." — Tertul- lian, Ibid., 22. "Together with the creed they were also taught how to make their proper responses in baptism, particularly the form of renouncing the devil and his works, and the contrary form of cov- enanting wdth Christ and engaging themselves in his service. . . . And these engagements they actually entered into, not only at their baptism, but before it, as a just preparation for it. ' For,' says the author of the Co7istitiitions, ' they ought first to abstain from the contraries, and then come to the holy mys- teries, having purged their hearts beforehand of all spot, and wrinkle, and habits of sin' " (24). " The conditions required of all those who received it (bap- tism) were the profession of a true faith and a sin- cere repentance" (120). " Converts from Judaism or Gentilism, before they could be admitted to bap- tism, were obliged to spend some time in the state of catechumens, to qualify them to make their profes- sions of faith and a Christian life in their ow^n per- sons ; for without such personal professions there was ordinarily no admission of them to the privilege of baptism' '(179). " Their baptism was generally de- ferred for two or three years, or a longer or shorter time, till they could be sufficiently instructed and disciphned to the practice of a Christian life" (199). 124 BAPTISM TO NONE BUT BELIEVERS. " Men were obliged to give security to the Church that they intended to live by the rules of the Gospel before they were admitted to the mysteries of it" (205). " Three things were now indispensably re- quired of them — a formal and solemn renunciation of the devil, a profession of faith made in the words of some received creed, and a promise to live in obe- dience to Christ or by the laws and rules of the Chris- tian religion" (217). *' The next thing required of men at their baptism was a vow or covenant of obe- dience to Christ, giving themselves up to the govern- ment and conduct of Christ" (224). " Some urged that to deny wicked men the privilege of baptism was to root out the tares before the time. To which St. Austin replies that this rejection of them from baptism was not rooting out the tares, but rather not sowing them as the devil did" (225). "Together with this profession of obedience, there was also ex- acted a profession of faith of every person to be bap- tized. . . . One way or other the whole creed was re- peated, and every individual article assented to by men at their baptism" (228, 229). " The matter is so incontestable, that the ancients did never bap- tize into the profession of any single article, but into a complete and perfect creed, that I think it need- less to insist upon the proof of it" (230). 3 . The baptized were esteemed regenerate behev- ers. The ttlotoI, or fideles, were such as were bap- tized, and thereby made complete and perfect Chris- tians. — Bingham, i., 25. "A noble effect of bap- tism was regeneration, or a new birth, from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, for every Christian was supposed to be born again by the waters of bap- PRACTICE OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 125 tism" (iii., 114). "Hence baptism had the name of TraXLyyeveata ^vxrig, the regeneration of the soul, and vScop ^cj^." — Ibid. 4. The baptized were admitted at once to the Lord's table. The words believers, moTot, Jideles, are commonly used in the ancient liturgies to distin- guish those that were baptized and allowed to par- taJke of the holy mysteries from the catechumens (i., 23). " Believers were called teXelol, the perfect, because they were consummate Christians, who had a right to participate in the holy Eucharist" (i., 26). •'As soon as the ceremonies of baptism were finished, men were admitted to a participation of the Eucha- rist ; for this was to teXelov, the perfection or con- summation of a Christian, to which he was entitled by virtue of his baptism. Therefore all the ancient writers speak of this as the concluding privilege of baptism, which in those days was always immedi- ately subjoined to it" (iii., 332). "In reference to its making men complete members of Christ's body, it (baptism) had the name of rEXEicjoig, consumma- tion, because it gave men the perfection of Christians, and a right to partake of the teXeiov, the Lord's Supper" (i., 123). "A class of penitents only ex- cepted, all other baptized persons were not only per- mitted, but by the rules of the Church obliged to communicate in the Eucharist under pain of ecclesi- astical censure." — BingJia?n, v., 297. 126 INFANT BAPTISM, CHAPTER III. INFANT BAPTISM. Section I. Ge7ieral Conuderations to show the Uiilaivfulness of Infant Baptism. We have seen that baptism is a solemn profession of repentance, faith, and devotedness, which no one but a behever can honestly make, and which, there- fore, ought to be administered to no one without a credible profession of faith. As, then, infants are in- capable of such profession, they ought not to be bap- tized without express authority from Christ, which can not be adduced, or plain apostolic precedents, which are not to be found. Since Christ has made baptism to be a voluntary act, what right have his ministers to substitute for it what is perfectly involuntary ? No baptized in- fant has been baptized by his own consent, no person baptized in infancy has ever in his own person hon- ored Christ's ordinance ; but conformity was forced upon him when he was as unconscious as a stone. Can this be right ? Since Christ has required bap- tism as a profession of faith in him, how can his ministers lawfully administer it to those who can make no profession, and thus, with respect to them, completely alter the whole character of his ordinance ? Since he has made repentance and faith necessary to baptism, what right can they have to set his com- FTS UNLAWFULNESS. 127 mands aside by baptizing those who have neither repented nor beheved ? And since he has ordained that saints and faithful brethren should be introduced to fellowship with saints and faithful brethren by this ordinance, how can it be proper that churches should by it receive into their society unregenerate and un- conscious infants instead ? Infant baptism differs essentially from the baptism of believers. The believer is active in his reception of baptism, but the infant is passive ; the believer asks for it as a privilege, the infant receives it with- out its consent ; the one by it professes his faith, the other professes nothing. The baptism of the believer and the baptism of the infant are therefore two dif- ferent baptisms, with different significations and dif- ferent consequences ; and both, therefore, to be law- ful, must have a separate warrant from the Lord. Since they are quite different institutions, the precept which enjoins the one rather by inference forbids the other. Since Christ has commanded a baptismal profession, no man may without his authority hinder that baptismal profession by substituting a parental act for the act of the person himself Since bap- tismal dedication in infancy sets aside, with reference to all such infants, baptismal profession in after life, the one must not be lightly substituted for the other, lest a human invention be found to subvert a divine ordinance. The commands of Christ to each peni- tent believer are plain, " Repent, and be baptized ;" " Arise, and wash away thy sins ;" " He that be- lieveth and is baptized shall be saved." But where is the authority for the baptismal dedication of the infant without profession ? In vain do we look 128 INFANT BAPTISM, through the whole New Testament for a line, for a word in its favor. But why, it has been asked, do you not equally insist on express authority for administering the Lord's Supper to women ? Men are expressly com- manded to receive it, but where is the express com- mand for women ? I answer, that there is express authority for their reception of it. Women who be- lieve in Christ are by that faith disciples of Christ, and children of God, as much as believing men. Gal., iii., 26-28 ; Acts, v., 14. When baptized, they are baptized into the Church of Christ, Acts, viii., 3. They are, therefore, members of churches as well as men, and are so addressed, Rom., xvi., 1, &c., &c. They were, therefore, members of the Church at Corinth, 1 Cor., xiv., 34. But all this Church is said by the apostle to have assembled to receive the Lord's Supper, women as well as men, 1 Cor., i., 2 ; xi., 18, 20, 26. And as this habit was recognized by the apostle, and not condemned, it had his sanc- tion : see, also, Acts, ii., 38—42. Besides, if there had been no express authority for the admission of women to the Lord's table, there would have been no similarity between the cases ; for in Christ Jesus " there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female," Gal., iii., 28. A believing woman before God is exactly as a believing man ; and, therefore, the reception of the Lord's Supper by a woman is exactly the same spiritual act as the reception of it by a man ; and since " there is neither male nor female in Christ Jesus," a command given to disciples generally is given to women as well as men ; and when Jesus ITrf UNLAWFULNESS. 129 said to his disciples respecting the cup, " Drink you all of it," he said it to women as well as men. What a shallow fallacy likewise it is to argue that because the same spiritual act may be performed by two. classes of believers, of which one alone has been named in the precept, that therefore two opposite acts may be performed by these two classes I When one believer receives the Lord's Supper, it is the same act as when another receives it ; and we may infer the duty of the one from the duty of the other. But when an unconscious infant has baptism forced upon it, and, being yet unregenerate, receives the sign of regeneration, its baptism is a rite totally dif- ferent from the baptism of a believer who, as regen- erate, voluntarily expresses by baptism his faith and his obedience. The duty, therefore, of one believer to baptize his infant can not be inferred from the duty of another believer to be himself baptized ; and the case which rests upon so forced an analogy must be weak indeed. But if there is no analogy between the reception of the Lord's Supper by women who believe and the reception of baptism by unconscious infants, there is a close analogy between the reception of baptism by an infant and its reception of the Lord's Supper. While believers are commanded to receive both baptism and the Lord's Supper, the word of God is silent respecting the administration of either sacra- ment to infants. It is, therefore, by the nature and design of the sacraments that we must judge wheth- er or not they are to be administered to them ; and the analogy between the two sacraments demon- strates that either both should be received by infants, I 130 INFANT BAPTISM, or both deferred till the infant has become a believer. As the adult must believe before he can properly re- ceive the Lord's Supper, so he must believe before he can properly receive baptism. As the reception of the Lord's Supper is a profession of faith, so the reception of baptism is a profession of faith likewise. If, therefore, the adult is qualified for baptism, he is qualified for the Lord's Supper ; and if he is dis- qualified for the Lord's Supper, he is disqualified for baptism. The qualifications for each ordinance are the same. But what is true of the sacraments gen- erally, must be true of them with respect to all who receive them ; for the sacraments remaining the same, the qualifications must remain the same also. If, therefore, the infant is qualified for baptism, he is qualified for the Lord's Supper ; and if he is dis- qualified for the Lord's Supper, he is disqualified for baptism. Hence it follows, that if you may infer the baptism of infants from the baptism of believers, you may also infer the admission of infants to the Lord's table from the admission of believers to it, for the qualification or disqualification of infants is the same in both cases. But if it be superstitious and unlawful to administer the Lord's Supper to in- fants because they have not the faith which is requi- site for it, so it must be equally superstitious and unlawful to administer baptism to them when they are equally incapable of the faith which is requisite for it. If a distinct authority is wanted to justify the admission of infants to the Lord's Supper, it must be equally wanted to justify their admission to baptism, because both ordinances require the same quahfi cations. ITS UNLAWFULNESS. ISl To those who ask authority for their exehision from the ordinance of baptism, I reply that no such exclusion is needed. Christ's law is, "Repent, and be baptized." We know that we do his will when we baptize i)^e believer ; and as he has not com- manded the baptism of infants, it can be no viola- tion of his command to delay their baptism till they become believers. His silence renders it improbable that he intended them to be baptized ; the required conditions of baptism render it more improbable ; and if no positive precept be found prohibiting the baptism of infants, as no precept is found prohibit- ing their reception of the Lord's >Supper, yet the re- vealed nature and design of both sacraments amoun to such a prohibition. All that the advocates of infant baptism can ven- ture to say with reference to the evidence of the New Testament is, that the exclusion of infants is not certain. But is this evidence enough upon which to baptize them ? May Christ's requirements of re- pentance and faith be so lightly set aside ? Let us recall the rule of the Apostle Paul in all cases of doubt, " Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. ... He that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith ; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin," Rom., xiv., 5, 23. Since there is no evidence that Christ intended infants to be bap- tized, and it is certain that he intended believers to be so, it is safer to follow his declared will than un- certain inferences which may be in opposition to it. Jesuit morality is indeed of a different kind. " Prob- ability," the Jesuit says, "is a doctrine according to which, in the concurrence (collision?) of two opinions, 132 INFANT BAPTISM, of which the one is more probable and in conformity with the law, the other less probable but favoring concupiscence, it is lawful to follow the latter in prac- tice." — Extraits des Assertions, tom. i., p. 27, note. " The authority of one good and learned doctor ren- ders an opinion probable."* " That any opinion may be probable to me, it is sufficient that I have a reason which seems to me good, or the authority of a good doctor which is equivalent to a reason."! '<' It is sufficient for an inexperienced and unlearned man to follow the opinion which he thinks to be probable, because it is maintained by good men, who are versed in that art, although the opinion may be neither the more safe, nor the more common, nor the more probable. "$ " It would be an insupport- able burden to the consciences of men, and liable to many scruples, if we were bound to follow and ex- amine the more probable opinions." § "It is law- ful to follow the more probable opinion, rejecting the less probable, although it may be the more safe. It is lawful to follow the less probable opinion, although it may be the less safe. It is sufficient for unlearn- ed men to act rightly, that they follow the opinion * *' Infertur . . . unius doctoiis probi et docti auctoritatem opin- ionem reddere probabilem." — Vincent Filliucius. t " Ut aliqua opinio sit mihi probabilis, sufficit mihi ratio, quae mihi videatur bona, vel auctoritas doctoris boni, quae rationi aequi- valeat." — George de Rhodes. t " Homini imperito et illiterato satis esse si sequitur opinio- nem quam ipse putat esse probabilem, quia docetur a probis et peritis in ea arte ; etiamsi ilia nee sit magis tuta, nee magis com- munis, nee magis probabilis."— /oAn of Salas. ^ " Intolerabile esset onus conscientiarum, ac multis scrupulis expositmn, si opiniones probabiliores sequi et investigare tenere- raur." — Stephen Fagundez. ITS UNLAWFULNESS. 133 of a learned man . . neither is it necessary to be certain of acting rightly."* " He does not sin who follows a probable opinion, rejecting the more prob- able, whether the latter be the opinion of others or of the agent himself, and whether the less probable opinion which he follows be the safer or the less safe."t " We may follow a probable opinion with- out sin, rejecting that which is more probable and more safe."t " In fact, many opinions may be ad- duced which are prudently probable, although they may be contrary to Scripture. "§ " We are never more free from the violation of the law than when we persuade ourselves that we are not bound by the law. . . . He who says that the law is not binding can not sin. He, therefore, who follows the less rigid and less probable opinion, can not sin . " 1 1 " Even in the administration of the sacraments it is lawful to follow the less probable things, rejecting the more probable. "IF " Of two contradictory probable opin- ions touching the legality or illegality of any human action, every one may follow in practice or in action that which he would prefer, although it may appear to the agent himself less probable in theory. "*=^ * "Necrequiritur certitude bene operandi." — Vincent Filliucins. t Nicholas Baldel. X Anthony Escobar. 6 " De facto dantur plures opiniones prudenter probabiies, licet sint contra scripturam." — Charles Anthony Casnedi. II "JNunquam sumus magis liberi a violations legis, quam quando nobis persuademus, nos non teneri lege. Qui autem de- cet legem non obligare peccare non potest." — Ibid. % " Etiam in administratione sacramentorum licitum est sequi minus probabilia, relictis probabilioribus."— iV/a»Aeu; Stoz. ** " In duabus contradicentibus probabilibus opinionibus, quae versantur circa actionem humanam, an ea licita sit, necne, quisque in praxi, sive operatione, sequi potest quam maluerit ; etsi ipsi operanti speculative minus probabilis videatur." — Paxil Laymann. 134 INFANT BAPTISM, This Jesuit doctrine certainly justifies infant bap- tism. The Scripture says, " Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Let every man ascer- tain by examination of Scripture that his course of conduct is agreeable to the will of God. Let him obtain complete scriptural evidence that he may lawfully neglect to make a profession of his faith by immersion. The Jesuit replies, " It would be an nnsupportable burden to the consciences of men, and render them liable to many scruples, if we were bound to examine and to follow the more probable opinions. It is lawful to follow the more probable opinion, rejecting the less probable, although the lat- ter may be the more safe. The authority of one good and learned doctor renders an opinion proba- ble." " Scripture seems to command the immersion of all believers as a profession of their faith ; but Christians can not be bound to ascertain this duty for themselves. Many excellent men think infant sprinkling is sufficient. Their authority renders this opinion probable. It must be lawful to follow it." Scripture says, " He that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith ; for whatsoever is not of faith, is sin :" in other words, " He that doubteth the sufficiency of infant sprinkling is con- demned if he adheres to it, by refusing to profess his faith by immersion, because he adheres to it with- out conviction that it is the will of God ; for what- soever is done without belief that it is the will of God, is sin." The Jesuit replies, " In the collision of two opin- ions, of which the one is more probable and in con- formity with the law, the other less probable, but ITS UNLAWFULNESS. 135 favoring- our wishes, it is lawful to follow the latter ill practice. It is much more agreeable not to be immersed, though immersion was probably intended ; and therefore it is lawful to adhere to infant sprink- ling. It is lawful to follow the less probable opin- ion, although it may be the less safe. Neither is it necessary to be certain of acting rightly. We are certain that Christ commanded believers to be im- mersed. We can not be certain that he allowed infants to be sprinkled ; but it is lawful to supersede the immersion of believers by the sprinkling of in- fants notwithstanding." Christ has said by his Apostle Peter, " Repent, and be immersed, every one of you ;" and by his o\vn lips, " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." How, then, can Christian churches law- fully prevent believers in general from being bap- tized, by taking care to baptize them long before, when they are unregenerate infants ? ' The Jesuit replies, " There are many opinions which are prudently probable, although they may be contrary to Scripture. The sprinkling of infants is one of these. Christ commands believers to be im- mersed ; but we think that he could not intend it. We are not, therefore, bound by his command ; and we are never more free from the violation of the law than when we persuade ourselves that we are not bound by it. We declare that Christ's command to us to be immersed does not bind us ; and he who says that the law is not binding can not sin. It is utterly distasteful and oftensive to be plunged into water as a profession of a death to sin, and a new life of devotedness to God. And as we prefer the sprink- 136 INFANT BAPTISM, ling of US when we are infants to any such baptismal profession to be made by us as men, we may lawfully adhere to the former ; for of two contradictory prob- able opinions, touching the legality or illegality of any action, every one may follow in practice that which he prefers." This is human nature. In examining, therefore, the claims of a duty which is unfashionable and de- spised, let us take care that we are not tainted by Jesuit morality, and that we do not refuse to make a profession which Christ has enjoined, from respect to human authority or the fear of human censure, from custom or convenience, from prejudice or pride. It is certain that Christ has enjoined the immersion of believers, and let it be remembered that the sprink- ling of infants is not an addition to this law, but a substitution for it. " The Reformers knew no baptism," says Mr. Budd, " but that of infants, and therefore prepared no service for adults : that was a subsequent provi- sion, to meet the evils which had been introduced by times of Anabaptist confusion. They had no idea of a Church, the membership of which was not con- stituted by infant baptism." — BudcVs Pref., 233. So completely had the baptism of believers, which alone is known in the New Testament, vanished from the Churches. Even now, except in the Baptist churches, not one person in a hundred is baptized as a penitent believer ; the baptism of profession is vanished, the baptism of dedication by another has taken its place. Spontaneous baptism is gone, the sprinkling of those who are without thought or will remains. Christ's law is nearly sunk into obhvion, NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 187 the apocryphal corollary governs almost uniA'-ersal practice. Our Lord has said by his apostle, " Re- pent, and be baptized ;" and the Churches sprinkle those incapable of repentance. The New Testament records the baptism of believers and of no infants ; ,the Churches now sprinkle infants and scarcely any believers. All the passages on baptism in the New Testament have lost their meaning, because baptism has been severed from faith, regeneration, remission of sins, the death to sin, the new life, the putting on Christ, salvation ; all connected with baptism in the New Testament have ceased to be connected with it, because water is now administered to a different class of persons without faith. And all this has happened without any authority whatever from our Lord. To my mind, this alone is decisive. Inferences and indirect arguments — for an addition to Christ's law, which in reality subverts it — are inadmissible. Nothing but express and positive enactments can sanction an innovation so entirely at variance with the spirit of the original institution. Such enact- ment is wanting ; and the disciples of Christ seem, therefore, bound to adhere to his declared will. Section II. Infant Baptism is not ^varr anted by the Circumcisio?i of Jeivish Children. Among the arguments used by the defenders of infant baptism, none appears to me stronger than that which is derived from the circumcision of Jew- ish infants. Able men have labored hard to justify the former by the latter, but, unless I greatly mis- take, without the smallest success. The argument 138 INFANT BAPTISM has been stated thus : " Before the coming of Christ the covenant of grace had been revealed, and under that covenant there existed a divinely instituted con- nection between children and their parents ; the sign and seal of the blessings of the covenant was by di- vine appointment administered to children, and there can be produced no satisfactory evidence of this con- nection having been done away." Here the baptism of infants now is founded upon the circumcision of infants under the Abrahamic covenant ; and I un- dertake to show, in opposition to this statement, that the Abrahamic covenant, on the contrary, condemns the baptism of infants. First, let us examine the national covenant made by the Almighty with Abraham. And here three points must occupy our attention — the persons with whom the covenant was made, the nature of the covenant, and the token which was enjoined. I. Let us consider the 2^ersons who icere the ob- jects of the Natioiuil Covenant tvhich God made with Abraham. It is sufficient simply to recall the promises themselves. When God called Abraham in Mesopotamia, he said to him, «' T will make of thee a great nation ;" and when Abraham reached the land of Canaan, he added, " Unto thy seed will I give this land," Gen., xii., 7. Some years after the promise was thus amplified, "All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed forever . . . and I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth," Gen., xiii., 15, 16. "Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them ; and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be," Gen., XV., 5. "As for me, behold, my covenant is with NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 139 thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations ; and I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession ; and I will be their God," Gen., xvii., 4—8. Ishmael, how- ever, the son of Abraham, was not to be included in the covenant, which was made exclusively with Isaac and his posterity. " And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed ; and thou shalt call his name Isaac ; and I will establish my cove- nant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard thee . . . but my covenant will I establish with Isaac," Gen., xvii., 19—21. "For in Isaac shall thy seed be called," Gen., xxi., 12. As Ishmael had been rejected, so was Esau, the son of Isaac, Gen., xxvii., 27, 33 ; Mai., i., 2, 3 ; and then the covenant was renewed to Jacob thus : <' I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father ; the land whereon thou liest to thee will I give it and unto thy seed ; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth," Gen. , xxviii. , 13,14. This covenant was afterward renewed to the twelve tribes at Horeb, Exod., ii., 23-25 ; iii., 6-8 ; iv., 22, 23 ; vi., 2-8 ; Ps. cv., 8-10, 11, 12. From these passages, we see that all the sons of Jacob, with all their posterity, were the objects of this national covenant. The magnitude and the perpetuity of the blessings granted under it were made to depend upon the obedience of the people to the law of God ; but the title to a place within the covenant was simply a descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Ignoran^ or instructed, godly or un- 140 INFANT BAPTISM godly, all the children of Israel were, by their rela- tionship to Abraham, the covenanted nation. The brothers who conspired the murder of Joseph ; Ko- rah, Dathan, and Abiram, who perished in their sins ; all those who died in the wilderness through their disbelief and rebellion ; the multitudes who fell into idolatry during the rule of the judges ; those of whom the Almighty said, in a later period of their history, " I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me ;" those who were driven to Babylon for their sins, and those who, after rejecting Christ, continued " to fill up their sins alway because wrath was come upon them to the utmost" (1 Thess., ii., 16), were all of them within the provisions of the national Abrahamic covenant. From this brief statement, it is evident how little similarity there was between the Jewish nation and the Church of Christ. The Church is composed of "saints and faithful brethren . . . sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints" (Col., i., 2 ; 1 Cor., i., 2 ; XV., 28) ; the nation included multitudes of unregenerate persons, who were members by birth. The Church is the body of Christ and his bride (Eph., i., 22 ; Col., i., 18, 24) ; the Jewish nation crucified him. The Church is subject to Christ and to God (Eph., v., 24) ; the nation was rebell- ious against the divine authority, Isaiah, i., 4. The Church is a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a pecuHar people, bought with the blood of God (1 Pet , ii., 9 ; Acts, xx., 28) ; the nation was left in its sins, Rom., ix., 32 ; John, viii., 24. The Church was typified by Sarah the free-woman, and its members by Isaac the child of promise (Gal., iv. NUT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION, 141 26-28) ; the nation by Hagar the bond-woman, and its members by Ishmael the outcast, Gal., iv., 24, 25, 29, 30. The Church is the general assembly of the children of God, whose names are written in heaven, and who are all as the first-born, because all are heirs of God (Heb.,,-xii., 23 ; Rom., viii., 14— 17) ; to the chief members of the nation, Jesus said, " Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do," John, viii., 44. The Church is the object of Christ's unchangeable love (Eph., v., 25) ; the nation was the object of his wrath, 1 Thess., ii., 16; Luke, xix., 27. The Church is kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, and the counsels of hell can not pre- vail against it (1 Pet., i., 5 ; Matt., xvii., 18) ; the nation was judicially hardened and then cast away, Isaiah, vi., 10 ; John, xii., 39, 40 ; Matt., xxi., 43. Instead of being the Church, the Jewish nation is frequently represented as the world in contrast with the Church, John, i., 10 ; vii., 7 ; viii., 23 ; xiii., 1 ; xiv., 17, 19, 22 ; xv., 19 ; xvi., 20 ; xvii., 6, 14. There is no force in the objection that the nation of Israel was termed by the martyr Stephen " the Church, EKKXriata^ in the wilderness," Acts, xii., 38. So a tumultuous crowd of idolaters at Ephesus was termed by the Evangelist Luke eKKXTjaia, the Church, Acts, xix., 32, 41. And the one was no more like the Church of God than the other. The idolaters at Ephesus were called a Church, or assem- bly, simply because they were assembled in the thea- ter ; and the rebellious Israelites at Sinai were termed the Church, or assembly, because they were assem- 142 INFANT BAPTIS3I bled at the foot of the mountain ; and if the one civil assembly was not the Church of God, so neither was the other. When was the nation of Israel, after it ceased to be an assembly by occupying the land of Canaan, called a Church ? Never. Nor was Is- rael any more the Church because it was called to be holy, God said unto them, " If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people ; for all the earth is mine, and ye shall be unto me a king- dom of priests and a holy nation," Exod., xix., 5, 6. " Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy," Lev., xix., 2. But these commands and promises did not make them the Church. England and France, no less than Israel, are commanded to obey the commands of God, and so are India and China. But England and France, and India and China, are not therefore the Church of Christ. And these nations have promises as great as those which were given to Israel ; for if they would keep God's covenant of grace, they would become also portions of his Church. But just as modern nations who will not believe and obey the Gospel are, therefore, no portions of the Church of Christ, so Israel, which would not obey God nor keep his covenant, never Avas to him a kingdom of priests nor a holy nation. There was a church of God within that nation, as there are churches of Christ within England, France, India, and China ; but Israel itself was no more the Church than these nations are. " The covenant made with Abraham was made first with himself; 2. with his household generally ; 3. with his servants by name, whether born in his NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 143 house or bought with money ; 4. with his infant chil- dren, afterward Hmited particularly to the descend- ants of Isaac, and afterward again to the descendants of Jacob; 5. to their descendants as a people ; 6. to their little ones, or infants, in every generation ; 7. to their servants universally ; and, 8. to the strangers who dwelt in their nation." — Divight, v., 325. From this enumeration, it is plain that the cove- nanted nation was not the Church of God, and that the " Abrahamic Church" is only a scriptural or true expression when it denotes the elect people of God, the true believers within the nation, not the nation itself; the spiritual children of Abraham, not his natural descendants ; and when a proselyte and his children were admitted into that national covenant, they were no more admitted into the Church of God than a Turk and his family would be by becoming naturalized in this country. II. The Nature of the Abrahamic National Cov- enant. — In the passages already cited we have seen that God was pleased repeatedly to enter into cove- nant with Abraham on behalf of his children. This covenant was confirmed to Isaac : "And God said to Abraham, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son in- deed ; and thou shalt call his name Isaac ; and I will estabhsh my covenant with him for an everlast- ing covenant, and with his seed after him," Gen., xvii., 19. And after Abraham's death God said to Isaac, " I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abra- ham thy father ; and I will make thy seed to mul- tiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed ; because that Abra- 144 INFANT BAPTISM ham obeyed my voice," Gen., xxvi., 3. Some years later the Ahnighty confirmed the covenant to Jacob (Gen., xxviii., 1 3—1 5) ; and when at length the time came that the covenant was to be fulfilled in the act- ual enjoyment of the promised land by the children of Jacob, God again confirmed the covenant to them. Having now grown into a nation, and being oppress- ed by the King of Egypt, they cried to God, "And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect mito them," Exod., ii., 24. "And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people,'' Exod., iii., 7. " I am the Lord, and I ap- peared unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I have also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrim- age wherein they were strangers. I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel . . . and I have remembered my covenant . . . and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God . . . and I will bring you into the land concerning Avhich I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob," Exod., vi., 2—8. At Sinai God required the people to enter therefore into covenant with him to obey him : "And Moses took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people ; and they said. All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said. Behold, the blood of the covenant w^hich the Lord hath made with you con- cerning all these words," Exod., xxiv., 7, 8. It was then renewed on the banks of the Jordan, just before NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 145 they began the conquest of Canaan, as we learn from the following \vords of Moses : " Keep, therefore, the words of this covenant : ... ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God ; . . . that thou shoaldst enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day ; that he may establish thee to-day for a peo- ple unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob," Deut., xxix., 9—13. Upon all which transactions the author of the lOoth Psalm has made this com- ment : " He hath remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand gener- ations ; which he made with Abraham, and his oath luito Isaac, and confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant. . . . Israel also came into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. And he increased his people great- ly, and made them stronger than their enemies. . . . He brought them forth also with silver and gold. . . . He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light in the night. . . . He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out. . . . For he remembered his holy prom- ise, and Abraham his servant ; and he brought forth his people with joy," Psalm cv., 8-10, 23, 24, 37, 39, 42, 43. All these were several confirmations of the covenant made with Abraham on behalf of his descendants by Jacob. As the covenant with Isaac was a confirmation of the covenant with Abra- ham, and as the covenant with Jacob was a confirm- ation of that made with Abraham and Isaac, so the covenant made with the twelve tribes was the con- K 146 INFANT BAPTISM firmatioii of that made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; and that made on the banks of the Jordan was the confirmation of that made at Sinai. The Sinaitic covenant was no more distinct from that made with Abraham than the covenant made with Isaac was distinct from it. If Moses said to the peo- ple, " The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb" (Deut., v., 2), Moses also has recorded that God said, " My covenant will I establish with Isaac," Gen., xvii., 21 . As the former was the con- firmation of the covenant with Abraham, so was the latter ; and we can no more argue that the Sinaitic covenant was distinct from the covenant with Abra- ham, because Moses said, " The Lord made a cove- nant with us in Horeb," than we can argue that the covenant at the Jordan was distinct from that at Si- nai, because Moses said to those who were about to enter the promised land, " Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord, that thou shouldst enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his oath which the Lord thy God m.aketh with thee this day." The covenant at Mount Sinai v»^as simply the cove- nant made with Abraham renewed and confirmed ; and this is argued both by D wight and Witsius in the following terms : " It was the same covenant formerly made by God with Abraham, and afterward renewed with Isaac and Jacob. It was the same in substance : ' That thou shouldst enter into covenant loith the Lord thy God, that he may establish thee this day for a jwojile imto himself, and tltat he may be unto thee a God,' Deut., xxix., 13. It was the same in fact : ' As he hath said unto thee, and as he hath NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 147 sicorn unto Abrahcun, to Isaac, and to Jacob. ^ " — Divight, v., 325. " That promise (of the land of Canaan) was not first made at Mount Sinai, but long before, even to the Patriarch Abraham, four hundred and thirty- years before the giving of the law, Gen., xii,, 7 ; XV., 7. Hence it appears what answer ought to be given to Jer., xxxi., 32, and Gal., iv., 24 ; namely, that the first institution of the old testament (cove- nant) is not treated of in these places, but the sol- emn renewal and confirmation of it, and the acces- sion of many new rites ; for God liimself often testi- fied concerning that time, that he did those things in virtue of his covenant entered into with Abraham, Exod., ii., 24 ; vi., 8. It therefore remains that the testament (covenant) about giving the land of Canaan was not then first published, but solemnly renewed, when God was now about to accomplish it." — Witsius, i., 422. Let us now consider the terms of the covenant. First, the Almighty said to Abraham, " I will make of thee a great nation," Gen., xii., 2. " Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them ; so shall thy seed be," Gen., xv., 5. «'Unto thy seed will I give this land," Gen., xii., 7. "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the River of Egypt unto the great river, the River Eu- phrates," Gen., XV., 18. "I will make thee ex- ceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee ; and kings shall come out of thee. And I will es- tablish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an everlast- ing covenant ; to be a God unto thee, and to thy 148 INFANT BAPTISM seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession ; and I will be their God," Gen., xvii., 6—8. " In blessing I will bless thee, and in multi- plying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore ; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies," Gen., xxii., 17. "I will be their God," Gen., xvii., 8. "I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God," Exod., vi., 7. " Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my cove- nant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people ; for all the earth is mine ; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation," Exod., xix., 5, 6. "And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments ; and all the people answered with one voice and said. All the words which the Lord hath said will we do," Exod., xxiv., 3. " And Mo- ses took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people ; and they said. All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient," Exod., xxiv., 7. " Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them ; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety," Lev., xxv., 18. "If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my command- ments, and do them, then will I give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase. And ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall chase your enemies. And I will multiply you, and establish my covenant with you NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 149 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these com- mandments, I will set my face against you," Lev., xxvi., 3-7, 9, 12, 14, 17. See the whole chapter. "And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me ? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have show- ed among them ? I will smite them with the pest- ilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation, and mightier than they," Numb., xiv., 11,12. " Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, your carcasses shall fall in this wil- derness . . . and ye shall know my breach of prom- ise," Numb., xiv., 28, 29, 34. " Take heed unto yourselves lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God. ... I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly per- ish from off the land," Deut., iv., 23, 26. "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse ; a blessing if ye obey the commandment of the Lord your God . . . and a curse if ye will not obey," Deut., xi., 26, 27. " Keep, therefore, the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do," Deut., xxix., 9. The following things are evident from these pas- sages : 1. This covenant was made with the whole na- tion. God required Israel to obey him, and if they revolted against him they would be condemned and punished ; but they would be punished as a cove- nanted people. The covenant required them to be holy, but it was made with them all, holy or unholy, 150 INFANT BAPTISM as the children of Abraham. When holy, they kept his covenant and were blessed. When unholy, they broke his covenant and were punished ; but, holy or unholy, they were within the covenant. The unbe- lievers who perished in the wilderness experienced God's breach of promise (Numb., xiv., 34), and therefore the promise had been made to them : Na- dab and Abihu, Hophni and Phinehas, were wicked men, but they were still legally priests. The wick- edness of the people did not alter the fact that God had taken them into covenant with himself So all who are born in a land where the Gospel is known are bound to be pious in proportion to their advant- ages, but the want of piety does not at once destroy those advantages. As an Englishman does not cease to be an Englishman because he is ungodly, so an Israelite did not cease to be within the Abrahamic covenant because he was ungodly. The Israelite had great privileges in consequence of his birth, as the Englishman has ; and in neither case was the right determined by moral worth. The Israelite had great religious advantages because he was de- scended from Abraham, as the Englishman has great religious advantages because he was born in England. 2. Next we observe that the promises of this covenant were of an external character, and did not include salvation, nor renewal of heart, nor the gift of the Holy Spirit. The covenant declared that the children of Israel should be numerous ; that they should possess the land of Canaan ; that their terri- tory should extend from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates ; that if they were obedient, their land should be fertile, they should conquer their enemies NUT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 151 and live in safety ; and that if they ivould keep his covenant, they should be his peculiar treasure, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. It further provided them with religious ordinances. Under it the Shekinah assured them of the constant presence of God ; he gave them prophets to declare to them his will ; they had the word of God. This was, according to Paul, their chief distinction. " What advantage, then, hath the Jew ? or what profit is there of circumcision ? Much every way ; chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God," Pvom., iii., 1, 2. With this Moses com- bined their access to God by prayer : " For what nation is there so great who hath God so nigh to them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for ? And what nation is there so great that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day ?" Deut., iv., 7, 8. These things ofTered them great advantages for moral and spiritual improvement, and if rightly used would have made them a wise and prosperous people ; but nowhere within the cov- enant was there a promise of salvation, of renewal, or of Divine influence upon the heart. Termina- ting in external blessings, it furnished means of grace, but secured no grace. Each prophet warned them of the danger of apostasy, and each generation fur- nished melancholy proof that excellent means of im- provement were thrown away upon a graceless and stubborn people. What single moral advantag had they which is not more amply possessed by En- gland, France, Germany, or any other nation which possesses the Bible 1 152 INFANT BAPTlriM It has been thought that the Abrahamic national covenant included spiritual blessings, because the terms of the promise to Abraham respecting his de- scendants were, " I will be their God" (Gen., xvii., 8) ; and God said to them, " I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God" (Exod., vi., 7) ; "I am the Lord thy God" (Exod., xx., 1). Now this is the promise made to the glorified saints of Christ, " God himself shall be with them, and be their God" (Rev,, xxi., 3). But it is obvious that words may have a lower or a loftier sense in different connections. All men are said by Paul to be the offspring of God, because they are created by him (Acts, xvii., 28, 29) ; and the Almighty de- clared of the Jews, " I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me" (Isa., i., 2) ; and yet the adoption of believers into the family of God is the effect of Christ's mission alone. " God sent forth his Son to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Gal., iv., 4, 5) ; " Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus," Gal., iii., 26 ; see Eph., i., 5. As, then, we may not say that the heathen are the children of God in the same sense that adopted believers are, so neither may we say that God was the God of Israel in the same sense in which he is the God of saints. He was the obj-ect of their worship while others wor- shiped idols, and their Almighty protector while others were without the promise of his protection ; but that he made no unconditional promise to par- don, renew, or sanctify them as a nation, is apparent from the following passages among others : NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 153 " And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim. And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. Whithersoevei they went out the hand of the Lord was against them for evil," Judges, ii., 11, 12, 14, 15 ; see, also, vi., 10. "And Samuel called the people together . . . and said . . . Ye have this day rejected your God . . . and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us," 1 Sam., x., 19. "Moreover, all the chief of the priests and the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen ; . . . they mocked the messengers of God, and de- spised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy," 2 Chron., xxxvi., 14, 16. " They tempted and provoked the Most High God. . . . They provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. When God heard he was wroth, and greatly ab- horred Israel," Psalm Ixxviii., 56, 58, 59. "My people would not hearken to my voice ; and Israel would none of me ; so I gave them up unto their own heart's lust," Psalm Ixxxi., 11,12. " Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth ; for the Lord hath spoken. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me . . . Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil- doers, children that are corrupters ; they have for- saken the Lord. . . . Why should ye be stricken any more ? Ye will revolt more and more. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth : they are a trouble to me, I am weary to bear them. 154 INFANT BAPTISM And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you ; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear ; your hands are full ojf blood," Isa., i., 2, 4, 5, 14, 15. " Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not ; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand %\ith their heart, and convert, and be healed," Isa., vi., 9, 10. " And it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God," Isa,, viii., 21. " ] have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people. . . . And ye shall leave your name for a curse to my chosen ; for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name," Isaiah, Ixv., 2, 15. "Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid ; be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils ; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cis- terns, that can hold no water," Jer., ii., 12, 13. " Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel. . . . Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers," Jer., iii., 20, 1. " Shall I not visit for these things ? And shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this ?" Jer., v., 9 ; compare 1—8 ; see, also, Hos., iv., 12 ; v., 4 ; ix., 1 ; xi., 7 ; Amos, ix., 7, 8. " O Jerusalem, JerU' salem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUIWCISION. 155 have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate," Matt., xxiii., 37, 38. " The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof," Matt., xxi., 43. " They are not all Israel which are of Israel ; neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children. But in Isaac shall thy seed be called ; that is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God ; but the children of the promise are counted for the seed," Rom., ix., 6—8. " The Jews both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us ... to fill up their sins alway ; for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost," 1 Thess., ii., 15, 16. With these passages in our recollection, we must see that the covenant under which the children of Israel were placed promised them temporal blessings and means of grace, but not grace itself. Under it they could be ignorant and rebellious, turn away from God, forsake his worship, reject him, and curse him ; while he could abhor them, and view them as the objects of his uttermost wi'ath. The expression, therefore, " I will be your God," could mean no more than that he would be the object of worship in that nation, and their protector, involving no promise of pardon, renewal, or salvation. It was a covenant of external blessings, not a covenant of grace. 3. The Abrahamic national covenant was condi- tional with respect to the external blessings which alone it secured. Some part of the posterity of Abraham must indeed be numerous, must possess all 156 INFANT BAPTISM the territory between the River of Egypt and the River Euphrates, and must last for many generations, because all this was promised absolutely ; but we learn from the following passages that the amount and the duration of their blessings were made to depend upon their own obedience : " Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people ; for all the earth is mine," Exod., xix., 5. " If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them, then I will give you rain in due season, and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. . . . But if ye will not hearken to me, and will not do all these commandments, I will set my face against you. . . . And if ye will not yet for all this hearken to me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. . . . And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary to- me, then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. . . . And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me, then I will walk contrary to you also in fury ; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images ; and cast your carcasses upon the car- casses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you," Lev., xxvi., 3-5, 14, 18, 27-30. "Keep, there- fore, the words of this covenant, and do them that ye prosper in all that ye do," Deut., xxix., 9. "Be- hold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse : NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 157 a blessing if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, and a curse if ye will not obey," Deut., xi., 26, 27, 28. " If thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and do all his commandments ... all these blessings shall come upon thee. But if thou wilt not hearken to the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his command- ments ... all these curses shall come upon thee," Deut., XXX., 1, 2, 15 ; see 1-68. " And the Lord said unto Moses, This people will go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them," Deut., xxxi., 16, 17 ; see, also, Joshua, xxiii., 14--16 ; xxiv., 19, 20. " The Lord is with you while ye be with him ; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you ; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you," 2 Chron., xv., 2. " If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land ; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured of the sword ; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it," Isaiah, i., 19, 20. Large blessings might be secured by obedience ; but obedience was not secured by grace ; and disobedience was to be followed by corresponding punishment. 4. The Abrahamic national covenant being thus conditional, was defectible. All its blessings might be lost by any individual, or by the nation ; and it might, upon its conditions being broken, be wholly Bet aside. Its blessings were lost by multitudes, 158 INFANT BAPTISM Numb., xiv., 34 ; Heb., iv., 2. God would not hear the prayers of the nation, Isaiah, lix., 2. His soul abhorred them, Lev., xxvi., 28—30. He declared that they should not be his people, Hos., i., 9. He predicted their rejection, Isaiah, Ixv., 1 5. Our Lord declared the same. Matt., xxi., 43. Paul also de- clared it, Gal., iv., 21—31. The utmost \\Tath de- scended upon them, 1 Thess., ii., 16. And the cov- enant itself was done away, Heb., viii., 13 ; ix., 10 ; Jer,, xxxi., 31. This covenant with the nation was so far from being identical with the covenant of grace, that it is expressly contrasted with it. " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new cov- enant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah ; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant they brake," Jer., xxxi., 31, 32. Here the covenant of grace is called a new covenant, which is unlike the former national covenant. Ac- cording to Paul, it is a better covenant, established upon better promises (Heb., viii., 6), which has su- perseded the other. " In that he saith, A new cov- enant, he hath made the first old : now that which decay eth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away," Heb., viii., 13. The substance of the new covenant completely illustrates its superiority to the national covenant. 1 . It is a covenant of spiritual blessings. It con- tains a promise of holiness : "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts." It promises adoption : "I will be their God, and they NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 159 'shall be my people ;" " Thou shalt call me, My fa- ther," Jer., iii., 1 9. It promises knowledge : "They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them" (Jer., xxxi., 34) ; " My people shall know my name" (Isa., Iii., 6) ; "All thy chil- dren shall be taught of the Lord," Isa., liv., 13. It promises pardon : "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jer.,. xxxi., 34) ; " In that day thou shalt say, O Lord,. I will praise thee ; though thou wast angry with me, thine an- ger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me," Isa., xii., 1 . It promises perseverance : " Thou shalt call me. My father, and shalt not turn away from me" (Jer., iii., 19); "I will betroth thee unto me for- ever" (Hos., ii., 19) ; "I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever. . . . And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I -vvdll put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me," Jer., xxxii., 40. Lastly, it promises the Holy Spirit : " I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh" (Joel, ii., 28) ; "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit wiU I put within you ; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh ; and / wiU put my spirit within you, and cause you to Vv^alk in my statutes," Ezek., xxxvi., 26, 27. 2. The covenant of grace is absolute, uncondi- tional, and effectual. Let us recall its terms : " They shall all know me ;" "I will forgive their iniquity ;" " I M'ill write my law in their hearts ;" '• I will be their God ;" "A new heart will I give 160 INFANT BAPTISM you ;" "I will cause you to walk in my statutes ;" " Thou shalt call me, My father, and shalt not turn away from me," Jer., xxxi., 33, 34 ; Ezek., xxxvi., 25 ; Jer., iii., 19 ; see, also, Isa., xii., 1,2; Joel, ii., 28. "In the covenant of works God promised life to man on condition of perfect obedience, but he did not promise to produce or effect this obedience in man. In the covenant of grace he not only prom- ises life eternal, but also, at the same time, faith, and repentance, and perseverance in holiness, with- out which life can not be attained, and which being granted, life can not but be attained. It does not depend on any uncertain condition, but is founded on the suretyship and actual satisfaction of Christ ; does infallibly secure salvation to the believer ; and as certainly promise faith to the elect . . . Whatever can be conceived as a condition, is all included in the universality of the promises. Should God only promise eternal life, there might be some pretense for saying that repentance, faith, and the like, were the conditions of this covenant. But seeing God does ratify both the beginning, progress, uninterrupt- ed continuance, and the consummation of the new life, nothing remains in this universality of the prom- ises which can be looked upon as the condition of the whole covenant." — Witsius, 372, 374. 3. The covenant of grace is sure and eternal. Recall its promises : " Incline your ear, and come unto me ; hear, and your soul shall live ; and I >vill make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David," Isa., Iv., 3. "I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good ; but I NUT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 161 will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me," Jer,, xxxii., 40. " We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose ; for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate 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 Avhom he justified, them he also glorified," Rom., viii., 28—30. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ : according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love : hav- ing predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleas- ure of his will ... In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will," Eph., i., 3—5, 11; see Jer., iii., 19; xxxi., 31; Hos., ii., 19; John, x., 28 ; xiv., 16 ; Heb., xiii., 10 ; 1 Pet., i., 1-5. 4 . The covenant of grace is made with the elect, and with no others. 1 . It is made with elect be- lievers of the Jewish nation. " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new cove- nant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah," Jer., jlxx., 31 ; see Jer., iii., 19 ; Isa., xii., 1, 2; lix., 20, 21; Jer., xxxii., 37-40; Ezek., xxxvi., 24-27. By these passages is intended the elect portion of Israel : " For they are not all Israel L 162 INFANT BAPTISM which are of Israel, neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children ; but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called (Gen., xxi., 12); that is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed," Pvom., ix., 6—8. " I say then, Hath God cast away his people ? God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. There is a remnant according to the election of grace. What then ? Israel hath not obtained that which he seek- eth for ; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded," Rom., xi., 2, 5, 7 ; see, also, 26-28. 2. It is made with the elect of every na- tion. " Thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed shall inherit the Gen- tiles," Isa., liv., 3. *' Behold, thou shalt call a na- tion that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified thee," Isa., Iv., 5. "Know ye, therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are the chil- dren of Abraham. If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise," GaL, iii., 7, 29. " For by one offering he hath per- fected forever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us ; for after that he had said before. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them ; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more," Heb., x., 14—17. " Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the house- NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCLiMCISlUN. 163^ hold of God," Eph., ii., 19 ; see, also, Isa., xlii., 1-6 ; xlix., 8 ; with 2 Cor., vi., 1,2; Rom., ix., 22-26 ; Gal., iv., 25-31 ; Eph., ii., 11-19. " The contracting parties are on the one part God, on the other the elect. . . . Here men are considered as chosen by God to grace and glory, according to his most absolute good pleasure, and so appointed heirs of eternal Hfe, Luke, xii., 32." — Witsius, i., 369, 370. " Two things are to be considered : 1st. The cov- enant between God the Father and Christ the Me- diator; 2dly. That testamentary disposition by which God bestows, by an immutable covenant, eternal salvation and every thing relative thereto upon the elect. The former agreement is between God and the Mediator, the latter between God and the elect." — Witsius, i., 210. <' The Father is held forth as the principal author of it, 2 Cor., v., 19 ; Rom., viii., 17. The Son is mediator and executor of the covenant ; the Spirit brings the elect to Christ, and in Christ to the pos- session of the benefits of the covenant. . . . Salvation itself, and every thing belonging to it or inseparably connected with it, are promised in this covenant ; all which none but the elect can attain to." — Ibid., 370. Rightly, then, does the Apostle Paul say that the covenant of grace is better than the legal national covenant, Heb., viii., 6. The national covenant promised external blessings, the covenant of grace all spiritual blessings in Christ ; the one was condi- tional, the other was absolute ; the one was defect- ive, and has been done away, the other is sure and eternal ; the one was made with all sorts of charac- 164 INFANT BAPTISM ters, the other is made with the elect people of God ; the one was confined to the limits of a particular na- tion, the other is the charter of the children of God throughout the world. III. The Difference between Circumcision and Baptism. — When God entered into covenant with Abraham on behalf of his children, he required them to be circumcised ; and since infants were circum- cised by divine command, it is argued that infants ought to be baptized. Since infants were required to receive the initiatory rite of the first covenant, they may also receive the initiatory rite of the second. But this conclusion manifestly rests upon the as- sumed similarity of the two rites, whereas circum- cision difiers from baptism in all its principal feat- ures : 1 . they were appointed for different persons ; 2. they had different significations ; 3. they intro- duced into different societies ; and, 4. they were at- tended by difierent consequences. The difierences in the two ordinances were as great as those in the religious systems to which they were introductory. 1. Circumcision was appointed for unregenerate as well as for regenerate adults, baptism for the re- generate alone ; whence it follows that unregenerate infants might be circumcised, but .unregenerate in- fants may not be baptized. God appointed circum- cision at the same time that he entered into cove- nant with Abraham ; every male in his house was to be circumcised, the servants being included. Gen., xvii., 10—14. The whole nation was thus to be cir- cumcised through successive generations. Gen., xvii., 9, 10, 12. All servants were to be included in suc- cessive ages (Gen., xvii., 13 ; Exod., xii., 44) ; and NOT WARKANTKD BY ClRCUMCIfilON. 165 all foreigners, with all their children and servants who were living in the country, were also to be ad- mitted to it, Exod., xii., 48, 49. Thus circumcision was appointed for all the de- scendants of Jacob, and for their dependants, and for the foreigners who lived among them, without refer- ence to character or previous instruction. According to God's commandment, all Abraham's servants were circumcised the very day that he received the com- mand. "And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin, in the self-same day as God had said unto him," Gen., xvii., 23, 26, 27. No previous instruction was ordained, no profession required, no examination instituted, no delay allowed. About six hundred men and boys received that day the to- ken of the national covenant, Gen., xiv., 14. After this time, any persons who professed a wish to be con- nected with the favored family, and would submit to its laws, though they were without piety or knowl- edge, might, apparently, without profanation, receive this rite. When the sons of Jacob required of the subjects of Shechem, a Hivite prince, that they should be at once circumcised, as the only condition on which they would enter into any alliance with them, and these heathens consented upon commercial consider- ations, Jacob, who must have known the transaction, did not forbid it as a desecration of the ordinance"; and they at once received it, just as the heathen serv- ants of Abraham had previously received it (Gen., xxxiv., 24). An equally indiscriminate administra- 166 INFANT BAPTISM tion of the rite took place long after, when the nation had crossed the Jordan, and were about to enter on the conquest of Canaan. Some hundreds of thou- sands of men, including, doubtless, persons of every degree of irreligion and ignorance, with all their chil- dren, were ordered by the Almighty to be circumcised before they commenced their campaign, Josh., v., 2. No person can reasonably suppose that all those who received circumcision were regenerate persons, or seemed to be so. Some have said that Abraham's servants were pious, because the Lord said, " I know him, that he will command his children and his house- hold after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord," Gen., xviii., 19. To suppose that three hund- red and eighteen men-servants, capable of bearing arms, with all their boys, living in a barbarous age among idolaters, without the Bible or other books, were all pious, is to suppose such a miracle as the world has never seen ; but if they were so, the case is not altered. All the children and servants of Isaac and of Jacob were not, surely, pious ; all the subjects of Shechem were not at once converted ; all the nations on the banks of the Jordan, with all their servants, were not so ; still less M'ere all the success- ive millions of Israelites, with their slaves and the foreigners who lived among them, and all the chil- dren of all these, converted to God, since, on the con- trary, they were cast away for their obstinate ungod- liness. And 3"et all these received circumcision by the express command of God. Circumcision, then, was appointed for all the descendants of Jacob, as such, with their servants and children ; and for all foreigners, with their children, dwelling among them, NOT WARRANTED RY CIRCUMCISION. 107 without respect to character. Ignorant as well as instructed, good or bad, godly or ungodly, all were to be circumcised. But baptism was appointed by our Lord to be administered with respect to adult believers alone, Matt., xxviii., 19 ; Mark, xvi., 16 ; Acts, ii., 38. Since, therefore, faith was required in the adult who sought to be baptized, but those who had no faith were ordered to be circumcised, it follows that the two rites were different in their character, and that those might be properly circumcised who could not lawfully be baptized. As, then, an unregenerate adult might be circumcised, an unregenerate infant might receive circumcision ; but as an unregenerate adult might not be baptized, an unregenerate infant ought not to receive baptism. As repentance and faith are not necessary qualifications for the Jewish rite with reference to adults, the infant, like the adult, might receive it without them ; but as they are necessary qualifications for the Christian rite with reference to adults, the infant, like the adult, must not receive it without them. If there be such an analogy between circumcision and baptism that infants may be baptized because infants were circumcised, the analogy must extend to every class. Baptism being the substitute for circumcision, and administered on the same condi- tions, if any one class has a right to baptism because it had a right to circumcision, then all classes have a right to baptism which had a right to circumcision. Since infants have a right to baptism because Jewish infants were circumcised, then unregenerate adults, servants of Christians or heathens living with them, 168 INFANT BAPTISM with all their children, have a right to baptism, he- cause all these classes had a right to circumcision. Persons of every character and their children may be baptized, because persons of every character with their children were circumcised. But this is mani- festly false, since adults must not be baptized except on a credible profession of repentance and faith. The analogy, therefore, is false ; and as ungodly adults may not be baptized because ungodly adults were circumcised, so infants may not receive the Christian rite because infants received the Jewish rite. It is, however, further argued, that as piety en- titles an adult to baptism, and infants may be re- generated by the Spirit of God, the contrary to which we can not know, they are also entitled to baptism. But this seems to me strange reasoning. Baptism being appointed for believers, an adult should be ad- mitted to baptism as soon as the evidences of his faith become apparent : so, then, because an adult may be baptized upon a credible profession of faith, we are to baptize infants when such a profession is impossible. You may not baptize an adult till you have reason to believe that he is regenerate ; why, then, do you baptize an infant when you have no evidence whatever that he is so ? Infants are born with a corrupt nature ; facts prove that even the children of believers often remain unregenerate ; and unregenerate infants are no more suitable subjects of baptism than unregenerate adults. And since in- fants are not capable of affording proof that they are regenerate, they must be treated as unregenerate. If infants are to be baptized because some among them may possibly be regenerate, then a crowd of NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCI.=?[ON. I(i9 Hindoos or Chinamen listening to a missionary in Calcutta or Hong Kong ought likewise to be bap- tized because some among them may also be regen- erate. But if this conclusion is false with respect to a crowd of adults, it is equally false with reference to a crowd of infants. Since faith is the revealed condition of baptism, no persons should receive it till they afford proof that the condition is fulfilled ; and as no infant can afibrd that proof, no infant should be baptized. Further, baptism in the New Testament was the voluntary act of those who were baptized ; but cir- cumcision was a law which the persons designated could not without punishment neglect. " The con- sent either of Abraham or of his family was not asked. The compliance of some of them, to wit, such as were infants, was impossible. That of many others in his household was probably never yielded, either knowingly or voluntarily. Yet upon all these was the seal placed by the divine command, under a penalty for omitting it, no less than excision. In the same manner was it placed upon the whole na- tion of Israel, and upon all the strangers who were within their gates." — Divight, v., 330. As, then, circumcision was forced by a terrible penalty on the adult, it might be given to the un- conscious infant ; but as baptism was always the voluntary act of the adult, it ought not to be given to an unconscious infant who can not assent to it. Further, it has been argued, that if infants may not be baptized because faith is necessary to bap- tism, infants can not be saved because faith is neces- sary to salvation. But the cases are not parallel. 170 INFANT BAPTISM Infants can be saved without faith, because Ood can give them regeneration, which is equivalent to faith ; but they are unfit for baptism, because baptism is a profession of faith, and they are capable neither of making a profession of faith, nor of any thing which is equivalent to it. It is a fallacy to infer what man, who is ignorant, may do, from what God may do who is omniscient. He can give an infant salva- tion, because he sees in the infant all that prepares a believer for salvation ; but man may not give an infant baptism, because he can not see in the infant the grace which fits a believer for baptism. As in- fants are generally unregenerate, and we can never know what cases are exceptions, unregenerate infants ought not to be injured by being baptized as regen- erate. Salvation depends upon faith in the adult, and on regeneration, which is equivalent to faith in the infant ; and as infants are capable of regenera- tion, they may be saved. But baptism depends upon the manifestation of faith or of regeneration ; and as infants are incapable of this manifestation, they may not be baptized. 2. The circumcision of infants under the law af- fords no warrant for the baptism of infants in the Christian Church, because the signification of cir- cumcision is different from the signification of bap- tism. Circumcision, being enjoined upon all chil- dren and servants in the Jewish nation, could not imply either a profession of faith or a knowledge of truth ; it was, therefore, simply a token of the cove- nant unto which God had entered with them. These are the words of the Almighty : " This is my cove- nant, which ye shall keep between me and you, and NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 171 thy seed after thee. Every male (1:5; ^D) among you shall be circumcised . . . and it shall be a to- ken of the covenant between me and you," Gen., xvii., 10, 11."^ As circumcision was intended to signify the circumcision of the heart, the renuncia- tion of all sin (Rom., ii., 28, 29 ; Col., ii., 11 ; Deut., X., 16 ; xxx., 6), it was enjoined upon chil- dren and servants to show that God required this renunciation of sin by all the covenanted people. It was the token that they must be a holy people to obtain his blessing (Deut., vii., 6 ; xiv., 2, 21 ; xxvi., 1 9 ; xxviii., 9) ; but it involved no profession of piety, and was no sign of existing religious character. With respect to Abraham, indeed, Paul has said, " He re- ceived the sign of circumcision, a seal of the right- eousness of the faith which he had, yet being uncir- cumcised," Pwom., iv., 11. But this statement was made by the apostle with reference to Abraham alone, and certainly did not describe the force and effect of circumcision with respect to his posterity generally. When Abraham was seventy-five years old, he left Haran by faith, Heb., xi. He was, therefore, justified by faith then. Ten years later in his life the Almighty said to him, '« Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them : so shall thy seed be. . . . And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness," Gen., xv., 6. When, therefore, God enjoined the rite of circumcision, he had been many years a justified believer ; see Gen., xvii., 1,2. How, then, was faith reckoned to him for righteousness ? * IDT does not mean a child, but simply a male. See verse 23. Also, i., 27 ; vi., 19 ; xxxiv,, 15 ; Exod., xii., 5, &c. 172 INFANT BAPTISM " Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision ; 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. God renewed his covenant with him because he was a behever ; and the token of the covenant was the seal or mark that he was accepted as such. But this was obvi- ously untrue of the majority of those who were or- dered to receive the token of the national covenant. Neither to the infants, nor to the servants of the Jewish nation generally, was circumcision " a seal of the righteousness of the faith which they had, yet being uncircumcised," for neither the infants, nor the servants generally, could be looked upon as jus- tified believers before their circumcision ; but to them it was simply what God declared it to be, a token of the covenant into which God had entered with them. Gen., xvii., 11. " We admit," says Mr. Wilson, "that circumcis- ion was not a seal of personal righteousness to any except Abraham." — P. 399. "It is perfectly plain tha,t Abraham's family were not all believers in the evangelical sense, nor indeed in any sense, at the time when this seal was affixed to them, for some of them were infants. It is equally plain that the great body of his descend- ants were also not believers when they were circum- cised, they, too, being almost all infants. The con- clusion is, therefore, irresistible, that circumcision was not and could not be intended to be a seal set by God upon the actually existing evangelical faith of those who were circumcised, because a part of those who were first circumcised by the immediate NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 173 command of God, and almost all those who were circumcised afterward, were, at the time of their cir- cumcision, unpossessed and incapable of this faith." — D wight, v., 331. Neither infant nor servant received circumcision in virtue of their piety nor of the piety of their par- ents, but simply as Israelites or servants of Israel- ites. The covenant with Abraham and his sons was similar to the covenant made by the Almighty earlier with Noah and his sons. Circumcision, the token of the Abrahamic covenant, was similar to the rainbow, which was the token of the covenant with Noah (Gen., ix., 8, 9, 12, 13); and as the rainbow, though the token of God's covenant, impli- ed no profession of religion in the sons of Noah and their children, so circumcision, though the token of the Abrahamic covenant, implied no profession in the sons of Abraham and their children. The rite involved no profession of piety in any one, but was simply a token of the covenant into which God had entered with them. All these infants and servants of Israel were within the covenant before they re- ceived its token. Parents might be ignorant or wicked, but that did not affect the claim of their children. The son of Shimei had the same right as the son of David to the token of the covenant ; the son of Manasseh no less than the son of Josiah. Neither children nor servants made any promises, but they had a right to the token of the covenant, because they were already within the covenant by birth or position. But baptism, as we have seen, involves a profession of faith, so that it could be said of all those rightly baptized that they were buried 174 INFANT BAPTISM with Christ, and with him rose to a new life through faith, Rom., vi., 3, 4 ; Col., ii., 12. The circumcision, therefore, of the adult servant, involved neither knowledge nor profession ; the bap- tism of the adult convert involves both. The cir- cumcision of the servant was a token of the repent- ance and service which God demanded of him ; the baptism of the adult convert is a seal of the right- eousness of faith which he had, being yet unbaptized. One was the act of a person doomed to excision if he disregarded it ; the other is a free act of faith and love. This being the difference between the two rites with respect to adults, we may see that infants might receive the one, but may not receive the oth- er. If the ignorant and unregenerate adult was obliged to receive the token of the national cove- nant, the unconscious and unregenerate infant might receive it ; but since the ignorant and unregenerate adult may not receive baptism, the unconscious and unregenerate infant ought not to receive it. Since the servant, who professed nothing, received circum- cision, the child also, who professed nothing, might receive it ; but since the adult may not be baptized without professing repentance and faith, the child, who can not make that profession, may not be bap- tized. 3. We may further learn that the circumcision of infants was not meant to sanction the baptism of infants, from the difference in the two communities to which these two rites admit those who receive them. Circumcision was the rite by which the circum- cised person entered into the possession of the rights and privileges of a Jewish citizen, while others could NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. -175 have very little intercourse with the chosen people. The Jews reckoned it " an unlawful thing for a man that was a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation," Acts, x., 28. He who received circumcision might associate with them freely, re- ceive the Passover, offer the sacrifice of the law, as- sist in all their festivals, and generally become en- titled to all the privileges of the national covenant. But to become a citizen of that nation required no more spirituality than to become a citizen of En- gland. As an Englishman is bound by his oppor- tunities of knowledge and improvement to serve God, so an Israelite was bound to serve him ; but as a man does not cease to be an Englishman because he is irreligious, so neither did a descendant of Abraham, or a circumcised servant, cease to be a citizen of the favored nation on that account. Notwithstanding their advantages, the nation was corrupt and per- verse from the beginning. A large part of those who were rescued from Egypt perished in their un- beUef. Century after century, resisting all warn- ings, they continued to worship idols, till they were driven into captivity for their sins. When they were restored from Babylon, it Avas only to renew the proofs of their incurable imgodliness, till they consummated their rebellion against God by reject- ing the Lord Jesus Christ, and were cast off. Cora- pared with the Church of Christ, they are like Ha- gar the bond- woman compared with Sarah the free- woman. While the Israelite is, like Ishmael, a bond- servant to be cast out, the believer is, like Isaac, the son of promise, a joint-heir with Christ, Gal., iv., 25—31. Instead of beinsr the Church of God, as 176 INFANT BAPTISM some have thought, the Jewish people are often in Scripture termed ''the world," John, i., 10 ; iii., 19 ; vii., 7; viii., 23; xv., 18, 19; xvi., 20; xvii., 14. In the days of the apostles they continued to fill up the measure of their sins till the wrath of God fell upon them (1 Thess., ii., 16), and they have long since been cast off (Gal., iv,, 30 , Matt., xxi., 43), never again to share in the privileges of the people of God except by coming, as the heathen also may come, into the Church of Christ by faith, Rom,, xi., 23-26. But baptism admits to communion with the Church of God. That Church is composed of the children of God (Heb., xii., 23), is Christ's body (Eph., i., 22, 23), the temple of the Holy Ghost (Eph., ii., 21, 22), the household of God, Eph., ii., 19. Each particular Church of Christ, if faithful, is to a great extent a part of the universal Church ; its members are generally saints and faithful breth- ren, Rom., i., 1 ; 1 Cor., i., 2 ; Eph., i., 1 ; Phil., i., 1 ; Col., i., 2. All who are not saints and faith- ful brethren are false to their own profession ; false brethren come in privily (Gal., ii., 4), creep in una- wares (Jude, 2), and to be put out as soon as known, 1 Cor., v., 11, 13 ; 2 Cor., vi., 14-18 ; Gal., v., 12 ; 2 Thess., iii., 6, 14. All the members of each Church are saints by profession, and ought to be so in reality. Hence, when a person was admitted by circum- cision to communion with the corrupt nation, that transaction was according to the divine law ; but when a person is admitted by baptism into a corrupt church, the transaction is against the divine law. NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCIiSION. 177 It may be objected, that as the members of a church ought to be saints, so ought the members of the Jewish nation to have been ; and the corruption of the nation then was as much contrary to the will of God as the corruption of a church now. But the question before us is not the duty of individuals, but the difference between the nation and the Church, viewed as communities owned by. God, into which persons were to be introduced, according to the di- vine law, by circumcision and by baptism. When the nation became corrupt, it remained still the cov- enanted nation, because it was composed of the de- scendants of Abraham, and it Avas owned by God as such. Still, therefore, in the most corrupt times, were infants and servants to be introduced into it by circumcision. But when a church becomes corrupt, it is no longer owned by Christ, and his saints are to shun it. According to the will of God, therefore, during the continuance of the national covenant, per- sons were to be introduced into communion with the Jewish nation by circumcision, when God loiew that it would be generally corrupt. But, according to his will, persons are to be introduced by baptism into communion with churches only when they are sound and faithful, when they are generally composed of saints and faithful brethren ; and, further, baptism gives, by Christ's appointment, to each baptized per- son, the right of fellowship with all the purest church- es throughout the world, the right of communion with all saints. The qualifications, then, for admission to the one community must be very different from those required for admission to the other. For admission to citizeu- M 178 INFANT BAPTISM ship among the Jews, it was enough to be a descend- ant of Abraham, or a slave of his descendant. For admission to the communion of saints, it was neces- sary to profess to be — and, since false profession is odious to the Almighty, it is necessary to be — a pen- itent believer, a saint, a child of God. To the one community all conformists might be admitted by cir- cumcision ; to the other, all penitent believers may be admitted by baptism. Since infants might be conformists, they might be Jewish citizens by circum- cision ; but since they can not be known to be pen- itent believers, they must not be admitted to the communion of saints by baptism. The difference in the two communities marks the difference in their respective members. Each must admit members suitable to itself, and no others, lest it should be de- teriorated. A person might be fitted for admission into the one, and not fitted for admission into the other. And this was the case with infants. The nation of Israel was as distinct from the Church of Christ as an infant school is distinct from the House of Commons. And we may no more argue that an infant is fitted for admission into an association of Christian believers because he was fitted for an as- sociation of Jewish citizens, than we may argue that he is fitted to become a member of Parliament be- cause he is fitted to be member of a class in an in- fant school. Any infant might become a Jewish citizen ; a child of God alone can become a mem- ber of his Church ; and the divine appointment of infant circumcision can afford no sanction for the baptism of infants. 4 . The circumcision of infants affords no sanction NOT WARRANTED BY CIRCUMCISION. 179 for the baptism of infants, because of the different effects which are said in Scripture to flow from these two ordinances. Circumcision, being the initiatory rite which in- troduced to the external privileges of the Abrahamic national covenant, was a token of the covenant, i. e., a sign that God required repentance and piety in those whom he promised to bless. But, when right- ly received, it secured neither salvation, nor grace, nor pardon, nor any spiritual blessing beyond those which were external. It gave great privileges and blessings of an external kind, but nothing beyond. " What advantage, then, hath the Jew, or what profit is there of circumcision ? Much every way : chiejiij because that unto them were committed the oracles of God,''' Rom., iii., 1, 2. The chief bless- ing afforded by the national covenant being the pos- session of the oracles of God, it still left the Israel- ites in bondage, slaves rather than children of God (Gal., iv., 3, 25); it did not exempt from the curse of the law (Gal., iii., 10); it did not save from ju- dicial obduracy (John, xii., 39, 40 ; Isa., vi., 9, 10); it ended to many, who misused its privileges, in de- struction. Gal., iv., 30; Lev., xxvi., 14, &c. Baptism, on the other hand, when rightly receiv- ed, being the true profession of a death unto sin, and a new life of faith and devotedness to God through Christ by the Spirit, was the bath of regeneration (Titus, iii., 5), was accompanied by the remission of sins (Acts, ii., 38 ; xxii., 16), was the act of putting on the righteousness of Christ (Gal, iv., 27), and ended in salvation, 1 Pet., iii., 21 ; Mark, xvi., 16. The quahfication for rites with effects so different 180 INFANT BAPTISM could not be the same. It is seen, at once to be most improbable that the rite sealing the external privileges of the law should be administered on the same terms with the rite sealing the spiritual and eternal blessings of the Gospel. It is exceedingly improbable that there should be the same required qualifications for blessings so exceedingly diverse. Can we think that nothing more should be asked to put a man into the position of a royal prince (1 Pet., ii., 9) than is asked to put him into the position of a bond-servant ? Gal., iv., 7, 25. But more is ask- ed. To be put in possession of the external bless- ings of the national covenant, it was enough that a man was the bond-slave of a descendant of Abra- ham ; to be put into possession of the spiritual and eternal blessings of the new covenant, a .man must be a penitent believer. Circumcision expressed that a man was a slave in the nation of Israel ; baptism expresses that a man is a believer in Christ. To be admitted to circumcision, a man must prove his servitude ; to be admitted to baptism, a man must prove his faith. Hence it follows that infants were capable of the one rite and are incapable of the other. Like the slaves of Israel, they could be placed un- der the instructions provided by the law ; but, un- like penitent believers, they are incapable of receiv- ing the truths of the Gospel. And the divine ap- pointment of circumcision for infants, whereby they were placed under the Mosaic discipline, is no sanc- tion for the baptism of infants, whereby they would be recognized as members of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. The foregoing remarks show how impossible it is NOT WAHRANTED BY OIRCUMClSlOiV. 181 to ^i'gue for the divine appointment of inflmt baptism from the divine appointment of infant circumcision. The two rites are so distinct, that persons who are fitted to receive the one are utterly unfitted to re- ceive the other. Designed for different classes, bear- ing different significations, admitting to different communities, and attended with difterent results, the first might properly admit those who were excluded by the second, and the second properly exclude those who were admitted by the first. Circumcision was enjoined upon all the descendants of Jacob, and their servants, whether they were godly or ungodly ; bap- tism was offered to no adults except regenerate be- lievers. Circumcision involved no profession of faith, and all the servants of Israelites were obliged to re- ceive it upon pain of excision ; baptism expressed the faith of the baptized person, and was, his volun- tary act. Circumcision admitted to the privileges of a favored but corrupt community which was about to be cast away ; baptism admitted to the commun- ion of saints. Circumcision introduced to external means of improvement, as festivals, sacrifices, and communion with the chosen nation ; baptism was the seal of pardon, regeneration, and salvation. Every reader can see at once that nnregenerate infants might be circumcised, because capable, as well as unregenerate adults, of conformity to the law ; but unregenerate infants should not be bap- tized, because they are utterly excluded, so long as they remain unregenerate, from all the privileges and blessings of the Gospel. Circumcision accora- phshed for the unregenerate infant all that it was intended to accomplish ; but baptism accomplishes 182 INFANT BAPTISM for the unregenerate infant absolutely nothing. The circumcision of the unregenerate infant was a bless- ing to him, because it introduced him to a moral and religious training ; but the baptism of the unre- generate infant is a mischief to it, because, while it adds nothing to his means of instruction, it deludes him with the mockery of a pretended adoption into the family of God, which may hinder him from seek- ing a real adoption. The TJnlaivfulness of Infant Baptism proved frmn. the Analogy between Circumcision and Bap- tism. Further, while the dissimilarity between circum- cision and baptism shows that the administration of the one to infants does not justify the administration of the other to them, the same thing is proved by the real analogy between these rites. As both are initiatory rites of religious systems, and both are tokens of divine covenants, so both are ordered to be applied to those who are previously within the covenants. All those who were admitted to circum- cision were first within the covenant of which it was the appointed seal. As God made a covenant with the descendants of Jacob, with their children and slaves, irrespective of religious character, he ordered them to receive the token of his covenant ; and as he has made a new covenant with all believers, he has ordered them also to receive the token of the cove- nant. No one was permitted to receive the token of the first covenant, whether child, slave, or stran- ger, who was not first within the covenant ; and, by analogy, no one ought to receive the token of the NOT \VARRANTi:j> BV CIRCUMCIrilOA'. 183 second covenant who is not first within it ; and as infants can not be shown to be within the second covenant, because they can not be shown to be be- lievers, so, by the analogy of circumcision, they ought not to receive its token. The Unlaivfulness of Infant Baptism proved from the Fact tliat Circumcision did not introduce In- fants into the Abrahamic Covenant of Grace. But the covenant which God made with Abra- ham contained further promises. Let us recall the words : "As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations," Gen., xvii., 4. "In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed," Gen., xii., 3. "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice," Gen., xxii., 18. Upon which promises the Apostle Paul has made the following comments : " The promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith ; for if they who are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect. . . . Therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace, to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed ; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations," Rom., iv., 13— 17. "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 184 INFANT bAPTlrfM are blessed with faithful Abraham,'' Gal., iii., 8, 9. " To Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not. And to seeds, as of many ; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ," Gal., iii., 16. It was here promised to Abraham that Christ should be his descendant, that the nations should believe in Christ, and that, believing, they should be blessed in him. They should be no longer under the curse of the law (Gal., iii., 10), but be blessed with faith- ful Abraham (Gal., iii., 8, 9), pardoned, adopted, sanctified, preserved, and brought to eternal glory through faith. Thus the promises made to Abra- ham contained two distinct covenants, the one made with his natural posterity, the other with his spir- itual posterity ; the one left its subjects in bondage, the other led its subjects to adoption ; the one fur- nished temporal advantages and means of instruc- tion, the other secured salvation ; the one was a conditional legal covenant, the other was an uncon- ditional covenant of grace. His spiritual posterity, as such, had no part in the first of these covenants ; his natural posterity, as such, had no part in the second. All these spiritual blessings were promised, not to Israelites, but to believers ; not through the law, but through faith. '= For the promise that he should be heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the right- eousness of faith. . . . Therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace, to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed ; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is writ- ten, I have made thee a father of many nations," NOT VVARRAMEU BY ClRCUMCltilOiV. 185 Rom., iv., 14, 16, 17. The blessings of the na- tional covenant were to be obtained by obedience to the law, Exod., xix., 6 ; Lev., xxv., 18 ; xxvi., 3, 4 ; Ps., Ixxxi., 8-14 ; Isa., i., 19, 20. They were there- fore conditional, they might be forfeited, and they were so (Isa., Ixv., 15 ; Matt., xxi., 43 ; Gal., iv., 30), <* because the law worketh wrath" (Rom., iv., 15), only serving to manifest the corruption of men, and to expose them to the punishment of dis- obedience. If, therefore, obedience had been the condition of the covenant of grace, believers would not have been blessed, because, still imperfect in obedience, they would have forfeited their blessings, and " faith would have been made void ;" but as the covenant was absolute, as God said, " I have made thee a father of many nations," " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed," therefore it was to be secured by faith alone, that it might be of mere mercy, so that it might be fulfilled to all believers. " 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. . . . Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. . . . Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many ; 18G INFANT BAl'TlriiM but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant that was confirm- ed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, can not disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be by the law, it is no more of promise ; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore, then, serveth the law ? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. ... Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise," Gal., iii., 7—29. As God had promised to bless the Israelites if they were obedient to his law (Exod., xix., 5, 6 ; xxiv., 7,8), the Judaizing Christians maintained that obe- dience to the law of Moses, which was part of the national covenant, was necessary to salvation (Acts, XV., 1,5; Gal., iv., 9, 10, 21 ; v., 1-4) ; and Paul corrected their error by declaring that the covenant of grace made with Abraham on behalf of all be- lievers, four hundred and thirty years before that the giving of the law completed the national covenant, secured salvation by grace through faith to all be- lievers. Thus the blessings of the Abrahamic na- tional covenant were promised to works, and the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant of grace were promised to faith. The national covenant was made "with all Israelites, believers, as such, having no share in it ; and the covenant of grace was made with all believers, Israelites, as such, having no share in it. The natural descendants of Abraham were under the law, which still left them, though possessed of NOT WAllRANTEl) BY ClKCUMClSluX. l67 great privileges, liable to apostasy and excision ; and his spiritual descendants were under the covenant of grace, v^diich secured their eternal salvation. " It is writtem, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bond-maid, the other by a free-woman. But he who was of the bond-woman was born after the flesh ; but he of the free-woman was by promise. Which things are an allegory : for these are the two covenants, the one from the Mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem, which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. . . . Now we, breth- ren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. . . . Nevertheless, what saith the Scripture ? Cast out the bond- woman and her son ; for the son of the bond-woman shall not be heir with the son of the free-woman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond-woman, but of the free," Gal., iv., 22—3 1 . The Jewish nation, then, according to Paul, was typified by Hagar ; the Church of God within the nation was typified by Sarah. Unbelievers in the Jewish nation were typified by Ishmael ; believers, whether Jew or Gentile, were typified by Isaac. The nation was the object of the Abrahamic na- tional covenant ; the Church of God within and without the nation was the object of the Abrahamic covenant of grace. The national covenant was made with Jews as Jews, the covenant of grace was made with Jews and Gentiles as believers. The privileges of the first covenant were attained by birth, the privileges of the second by a new birth. 188 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WAURANTED BY Faith alone was no introduction into the first, de- scent alone was no introduction into the second. Many Gentiles who triumphed in Christ were ex- cluded from the one ; all the Jews who rejected Christ were excluded from the other. Cornelius had no part in the one, Caiaphas none in the other. There were thus in the Jewish nation two commu- nities, the one of the circumcised descendants of Abraham, without faith, who w^ere in bondage ; the second of the believing descendants of Abraham, who were children of God ; the one within the na- tional covenant by descent, the other within the spiritual covenant by faith. When, therefore, cir- cumcision was administered to the Jewish infant, it was a token of the Abrahamic national covenant, within which the infant was placed by birth, but no token of the Abrahamic covenant of grace, within which the infant was not placed till it became re- generate by grace. Circumcision marked the infant as a citizen of the chosen nation, and within the national covenant, but did not mark it as a member of the Church of God, or show it to be within the covenant of grace. Now, as circimicision left the infants of the chosen nation outside of the covenant of grace, it can not prove that infants are within the covenant of grace now. On the contrary, as each Jew who was then born within the Abrahamic national covenant could obtain an interest in the Abrahamic covenant of grace by faith alone, so by faith alone must men obtain an interest in it now. Jew and Gentile are here alike. Both may be born to great providential and spiritual advantages, but both must be new-born to obtain a share in the THE PROMISES TO GODLY PARENTS. 189 spiritual and eternal blessings of the new covenant. Grace is not matter of inheritance ; the infants of regenerate persons are not therefore regenerate, and those of whose regeneration we can have no proof ought not to receive the seal of regeneration. Faith must be developed and professed before baptism, which is its token, can be rightly administered ; and the circumcision of infants is no proof that they should be baptized. Section III. Infant Baptism not ivarranted by the Promises of God to Godly Parents. Some excellent men derive the duty of baptizing infants from the promises which God has given in his word to the children of godly parents. The priv- ileges of such children have been stated by two estimable authors lately in the following terms : <' The promises made to the children of believers are exceeding rich and numerous. . . . See, then, in virtue of these promises, the true position of the children of believers before the Lord. They are par- takers of covenant love, pronounced an heritage of the Lord, and blessed by him, with explicit prom- ises of the Holy Spirit and a new heart, under the Savior's express testimony. ' Of such is the king- dom of heaven,' already from infancy admitted by cir- cumcision into the Jewish Church, and pronounced holy by an inspired apostle. . . . How good is the Lord I Meeting the strongest wishes of parental love, he entails upon the posterity of his people the grace of his covenant. . . . The salvation of the in- fant of the believer is assured. ... If such prom- ises of spiritual blessings already belong to children, 190 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WARRANTED BY on what ground can the sign and seal of the prom- ises be withheld from them ? If the greater be given, why shall the less be withheld ? St. Peter argued most forcibly respecting Cornelius and those who heard the word with him on whom the Holy Ghost had fallen. ' Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we V So we may argue in the case of infants. They are partakers of the prom- ise ; let us show our faith in that promise by giving them its appointed sign. The repentance and faith which is requisite for the adult previous to baptism, is in the case of the infant supplied by the promises of grace and of the Spirit to them." Another ex- cellent author thus continues : " Baptism has ever been considered by the Church of Christ as that in- itiating sacrament by which the child receives the solemn investiture of his privileges as a believer in Christ. . . . Invested with the high distinction of a member of Christ, his parent will teach him that this is no futile designation, that his privileges are real and substantial. . . . This Christian parent looks upon his child really as a member of Christ, endeav- ors to invest him with all the privileges to which he is entitled as a child of God, and considers that he has an unquestionable title to the inheritance of glory. . . . With what a sincere effusion of holy gratitude will the faithful parent, sponsor, and be- liever unite in those expressions of praise, ' We give thee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, first, that it hath pleased thee to regenerate this infant with thy Holy Spirit.' Not to confer on him the sign only, but the thing signified also ; not to impart the THE PROiMISES TO GODLY PARENTS. 191 seal only, but to bestow an earnest of the! blessings sealed ; not only to wash the child with the out- ward emblem of water, but inwardly to communi- cate the grace of the Holy Spirit which cleanses from sin. Secondly, ' To receive him for thine own child by adoption.' Not merely to give him a Christian name, and to enroll liim nominally among thy children, but really and truly to receive him into thy family of grace as thine own adopted child, of which thou hast given an assurance by regenera- ting him by thy Holy Spirit. ' And to incorporate him into thy Holy Church,' to which body he is as vitally united by faith as the member constitutes a part of the body. And this child is now dead to sin, living unto righteousness, and is buried with Christ in his death. . . . Unless in a judgment of faith and charity this child is a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven ; unless he is a lively member of the Church ; unless he is really regenerated by the Holy Spirit, received as God's own child by adoption, and incorporated into the holy Church ; unless, in an- swer to the faithful prayers of himself (the sponsor), the parents, and the Church, the Holy Ghost is sanctifying him as one of the elect people of God, and being one so truly blessed, he shall ever remain in the number of his faithful and elect children, with what hope of success could a Christian man accept the office of a sponsor?" Believing all this, the sponsor is urged to address the child thus : " As you are now a child of his adoption, you are at all times acceptable to him, and his ear is ever open to hear you. . . . Remember what blessed privileges you 192 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WARRANTED BY were admitted to at your baptism. You were first made a member of Christ. . . . Now I expect the evidences that you are as truly incorporated into, or become a member of Christ's mystical body, as that my arm or my leg are a part of this my natural body. ... As you were at your baptism made a member of Christ, you were, in virtue of this con- nection with Jesus Christ, then made the child of God also. As God is his Father, so he is now your Father ; not by nature, but by adoption and grace. And being a child of God, you are an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven. If a child then, an heir, heir of God, and joint-heir with Christ, enjoying the privilege of a child, heaven is given you as your ev- erlasting inheritance. God regards you as a portion of his Son, a member of his very body ; and with the love wherewith he loves him, he loves you also." As all faith must rest upon the promise of God, and every expectation which is beyond the promises of God is presumption, not faith, let us now consider what ground is afforded by the word of God for con- sidering children as entitled to baptism, because they are, through the promises of God, members of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. The promises which these pious Psedo- Baptist authors adduce are the following : I. " I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, vis- iting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments," Exod., XX., 5, 6 ; Deut., v., 9 ; Exod., xxxiv., 7 ; Numb., xiv., 18. "Know, therefore, that the Lord thy THE PROMISES TO GODLY PARENTS. 193 God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations," Deut., vii., 9. " The mercy of the Lord is from ev- erlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children ; to such as keep his covenant, and to those who remem- ber his commandments to do them," Ps. ciii., 17, 18. «' My righteousness shall be forever, and my salva- tion from generation to generation," Isa., li., 8 ; see, also, 6. " His mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation," Luke, i., 50. If these were promises to the children of believers, no age is specified, and it would prove nothing re- specting the conversion and baptism of infants. But there is no reference to children in them. If they related to children, they would declare that God shows mercy to the whole posterity of each believer as long as the world shall last ; consequently, that aU the descendants of any pious men in past ages now alive are within the covenant of grace. The extravagance of this interpretation shows that it is false ; and if so, then these passages speak nothing of children, but declare that God is unchangeably gracious, as long as the world lasts, to all who love, fear, and obey him. They contain an invaluable assurance to all believers, but are misapplied when they are interpreted of children. II. God has sometimes shown special mercy to children. When Korah, Dathan, and Abiram per- ished for their rebellion, the children of Korah died not, Numb., xxvi., 11. When Jonah was angry at the preservation of Nineveh, God said to him, -N 194 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WARRANTED BY " Should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, where- in are more than six score thousand persons that can not discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle?" Jonah, iv., 11. But if God spared the lives of these children, this is no proof of their salvation. And if he has shown mercy to children, he has also shown just severity toward them. While the children of Korah were saved, the children of Dathan and Abiram perished, Numb., xvi., 27, 33. If the children of Nineveh were saved, those of Sodom and Gomorrah perished in the fire, and those of the whole world in the flood, Gen., xix., 24 ; 2 Pet., ii., 5. And if the compas- sionate mention of the children of Nineveh shows that children may be baptized, then the compassion- ate mention of the cattle must show the same thing of them. All such texts, therefore, prove nothing respecting the regeneration and baptism of infants. III. Various promises have been made to the children of Abraham : " All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed forever," Gen., xiii., 15 ; see XV., 5j 18. "I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their gener- ations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee," Gen., xvii., 7 ; see, also, verse 19. "The Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them," Deut,, x., 15. "When thou shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice ac- cording to all that I command thee, thou and thy children, with all thine heart and with all thy soul , . . the Lord thy Gtid will circumcise thine heart THE PROMISES TO GODLY PARENTS. 195 and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul, that thou niayest live," Deut., xxx., 2, 6. These promises were conditional, not ahsolute ; they secured external blessings, but not grace ; they left the children to which they referred unconverted and unblessed ; they have issued in the rejection of the nation for their sins, and therefore they can con- vey no promise of grace to the children of believers, nor establish the right of such children to baptism ; and when they are explained to declare that the children of believers shall have grace and salvation, they are misapplied. IV. Various promises have been made of perpet- ual blessings to the Church of Christ, among which are the following : " Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear ; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child ; for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. . . . All thy children shall be taught of the Lord ; and great shall be the peace of thy chil- dren," Isa., liv., 1,13. '^Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not ; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not ; for the des- olate hath many more children than she which hath an husband," Gal., iv., 26, 27. "It is written in the prophets. And they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me," John, vi., 45. " The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith 196 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WARRANTED BY the Lord. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord ; my Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever," Isa., lix., 20, 21. It is obvious that these and similar promises, which are made to believers as the children of Zion in successive generations, speak nothing whatever of the transmission of piety from father to son ; they declare the perpetuity of the Church, as Matt., xvi., 18, but are totally silent respecting the natural de- scendants of believers. And if they are interpreted to declare that piety shall descend from father to son in unbroken succession to the end of time, they are misapplied, and facts palpably contradict, not the promises of the Almighty, but the misinterpretation of them. No instances of such hereditary godliness descending in families from the apostolic days to our own can be adduced. V. Another class of promises are those which are made to the children of believers according to the election of grace. Among these are the following : " Fear not, O Jacob, my servant ; and thou, Jesh- urun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour wa- ter upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground : I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy oflspring. And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water-courses. One shall say, I am the Lord's ; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob ; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the THE PROMISES TO GODLY PARENTS, 197 Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel," Isa., xliv., 2—5. This promise is made to the elect nation, the peo- ple of God, the Church of God among the Jews. — Vitringa, Barnes, &c. I will assume that the seed spoken of are not the spiritual children of the Church, as Vitringa argues (see Isa., xxviii., 22 ; xliii., 5 ; liv., 1, 13; Rom., ix., 6-8; Gal., iv., 25), but the children of believers. — Alexander, Barnes, &c. Then it is evident, 1 . That the blessing is not prom- ised to all the children, but to "one" and "another" (5), according to the sovereign grace of God, to the elect of God (Rom., ix., 6—8 ; xi., 5—7, 28) ; and to baptize all the children of believers, as though all were thus chosen, is to overlook and to dishonor this sovereignty of God. 2. There is a promise that the elect children of believers shall make a profession of religion (5), but there is no promise of regeneration in infancy. To baptize infants as regenerate is, therefore, wholly beyond the promise ; to receive youthful believers to profess their faith by baptism is exactly according to the promise. 3. There is a promise that God will bless the children of believ- ers, but the means are not specified ; and to assume that infant baptism is the mean is to assume the question under discussion, and to prescribe means and times to God. " Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. . . . The child shall die an hundred years old . . . As the days of a tree are the days of my people, and my elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble ; for they are the seed of the blessed of the" 198 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WARRANTED BY Lord, and their offspring with them. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock," &c., Isa., Ixv., 17, 20, 22- 23, 25. 1 . This promise is to be fully accomplished when the latter-day glory is come ; when he v/ho dies at the age of one hundred years will be accounted a child, when men live as long as the oak and the ce- dar, and when wild beasts become as the lamb. 2. Even then God is sovereign to elect whom he will, and all the children of believers will not be blessed (Rev., xx., 8, 9) ; nor is it said that even the elect will be blessed in infancy. To baptize, there- fore, children now on the ground of this promise would be a manifest misinterpretation of it. *' It shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions, and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit," Joel, ii., 28, 29. " 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. For 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," Acts, ii., 38, 39. Upon this verse some argue that, as the promise of the Spirit is to the children of all be- lievers, they may receive baptism as the sign of that superior gift ; but observe : 1 . The apostle here ad- dressed the multitude as believers or not. If as be- lievers, then he baptized the three thousand simply TUE rROiMIcJES TO GuDLV PAREXT.S, 199 as believers ; and as their children are not mention- ed, they were not baptized, and, consequently, the children of believers ought not, as such, to be bap- tized. 2. If he addressed them not as beUevers, but as unconverted, then the promise was only theirs con- ditionally, that is, they would receive the promised gifts of the Spirit if they believed. See verse 38. In such case the promise was only conditional to them, and therefore only conditional to their chil- dren ; the Spirit was ofiered to them upon their be- lieving. 3. The children could only receive the promise in the same sense as the parents ; and as the parents would experience the promise only upon believing, so their children could experience it in the same way alone. It was not made absolute to par- ents, why then to their children ? It was made to those parents alone who believed ; why not, then, to those children who believed ? As believing parents could receive the Spirit, so would believing children and no others. As the promise was made to chil- dren, so it was to slaves and to the heathen (Joel, ii., 28, 29) ; "to all afar off," Acts, ii., 39 ; Isai- ah, Ivii., 19 ; Eph., ii., 13. And if it included all the children, it no less included slaves and heathens, all of whom should be baptized no less than the in- fants of believers. 4. If it be objected that the apos- tle limited the promise to those among the heathen who should be called, not merely invited (Matt., xx., 16), but called by grace (Rom., viii., 28, 30 ; 1 Cor., i., 23, 24 ; 2 Peter, i., 10), I answer that the promise is equally limited to the "called" multitude and their "called" children. All among the Jew- ish multitude, among their children, and among the •200 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WARRANTED UY heathen who would believe, should receive the ful- fillment of the promise, and none others. There is here no promise to all the children of believers, nor any specification of the time when even the elect should be blessed ; and to baptize all the infant chil- dren of believers as regenerate upon the authority of these two texts, is to misinterpret them. 5. If children are included with their parents in the cov- enant of grace, then not the Jewish children alone, who are here mentioned, are included, but the chil- dren of all other believers ; but the apostle express- ly says that the promise belongs to those Gentiles only, whether adults or children, who are called. Consequently, the promise belonged to those children of Jewish believers who were called by grace, and to no others ; and the passage contains no promise of grace to the children of believers as such. If the promise is made to all who are called by the Gospel, as Matt., xx., 16, it is only made to children on condition of believing ; or if it be given to those who are called by the Spirit (see Pv^om., viii., 28, 30 ; 1 Cor., i., 24 ; 2 Peter, i., 10), then the promise is indeed absolute, but limited to those who are " called" children, as well as others, and speaks nothing of children generally. Similar remarks must be made on Rom., xi., 28 : "As concerning the Gospel, they are enemies for your sakes, but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes." As the majority of the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were " enemies" and abandoned to destruction (Matt., xxi., 43 ; John, xii., 39, 40 ; Gal., iv., 30 ; 1 Thess., ii., 16) — but there was an THE I'KOMISErf TU (iODLV PARENTS. 201 elect few blessed for their sakes (John, vi., 44, 45, 64, 65 ; Rom., xi., 1—7) — so God may bless whom he will among the children of behevers. No one may presume upon his birth (John, i., 12, 13 ; Luke, iii., 8) ; and to baptize ail the children of believers as regenerate, is to dishonor the sovereignty of God, and involve both parents and children in dangerous delusion. VI. There are other encouraging declarations and promises to animate parents to use all means for the salvation of their children, of which the following are the most important : Children are a blessing from God to his servants. *< Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord," i. e., a heritage from liim ; " and the fruit of the womb is his reward," Psalm cxxvii., 3. " Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thy house, thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Lo, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord," Psalm cxxviii., 3, 4. Since children are given to behevers as a blessing, parents, if they do their duty, may expect to derive comfort from their children, and not sorrow. A blessing is ;gromised upon a godly education. " Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," Eph., vi,, 4. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it," Prov., xxii., 6. " Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him," Prov., xxii., 15. " Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest ; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul," Prov., xxix., 17. 202 IxNFAlSiT BAPTISM NOT WARRANTED BY"' When, therefore, Christian parents educate their children carefully, in faith, with much prayer, they may expect their conversion. The children of consistent Christians are often blessed. " The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked, but he blesseth the habitation of the just," Prov,, iii., 33. Parents, children, and servants, all obtain a bless- ing often in the house of a consistent Christian, who sets a good example, and rules his family according to the directions of the word of God. " I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth, and his seed is blessed," Psalm xxxvii., 25, 26 ; Psalm cxii., 2. "A good man leaveth an inheritance unto his children's children," Prov., xiii., 22. See, also, Matt., vi., 33 ; Heb., xiii., 5 ; 1 Pet., v., 7. A Christian is under the care of God, cultivates the social and civic virtues which lead to success in life, recommends them to his children, so that often he leaves them at his death thriving in the world through their industry, sense, and moral worth, with the blessing of God. " The just man walketh in his integrity ; his children are blessed after him," Prov., xx., 7. Ex- ample, authority, instruction, influence, affection, prayer, bring a blessing upon his children, which lasts when he is dead. Such means God has intimated that he will bless. " I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the THE PROMISED TO (JODLY PARENTS. 203 way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment ; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of hira," Gen., xviii., 19. " They shall be my people, and I will be their God. And I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them and of their children after them," Jer., xxxii., 38, 39. All these promises and declarations show that pious parents often bring both temporal and spiritual blessings upon their children, but they do not say one word about infancy ; on the contrary, they inti- mate that the blessing is to be imparted to the fam- ily through patient and consistent painstaking in doing good, through instruction, discipline, example, and prayer. Hence there have ever been except cases standing painfully out to warn parents against neglect and presumption. David certainly could not mean that all the children of all righteous persons are blessed (Psalm xxxvii., 26), for he was eminent- ly pious himself (1 Kings, xv., 3, 5) ; yet his son Amnon was murdered by his brother Absalom for the crime of incest, 2 Sam., xiii., 29. Absalom was killed in an attempt to dethrone and kill his father (2 Sam., xviii., 14) ; and his son Adonijah was executed as a traitor, 1 Kings, ii., 24. Solo- mon certainly could not think that all the children of just men are blessed after them (Prov., xx., 7), for his son Rehoboam was ungodly (2 Chron., xii., 1, 14) ; and it is evident that he expected that his son w^ould prove himself a fool, and bring mischief upon himself, Eccles., ii., 17-19. It is impossible to look at the sacred history without seeing how often the children of godly men have been ungodly. 204 INFANT BAPTIBM NOT WARRANTED BY Ham, the son of Noah, brought a curse upon his family (Gen., ix., 24, 25); Esau, the son of Isaac, was ungodly (Gen., xxvi., 34 ; xxvii., 41 ; Mai., i., 3 ; Heb., xii., 16) ; the sons of Jacob conspired to murder their brother Joseph ; Nadab and Abihu, two of the sons of Aaron, were cut off in their sin (Lev., X,, 1); the sons of Job were unlike their father (Job, i., 4, 5) ; " the sons of Eli were sons of Belial" (1 Sam., ii., 12); Samuel's sons were unrighteous judges (1 Sam., viii., 3) ; Jehoram, the son of pious King Jehoshaphat, was a wicked prince (2 Chron., xxi., 6) ; Ahaz, the son of Jotham, was wicked (2 Chron., xxvii., 6 ; xxviii., 1,2); Manas- seh, the son of Hezekiah, was outrageously wicked (2 Kings, xxi. ; 2 Chron., xxxiii.) ; and Jehoiakim, the sonof Josiah, was hkewise ungodly, 2 Kings, xxiii., 37. With these and similar instances in view, what sober person can think that God has promised to re- generate the children of believers generally ? These promises contain no such assurance. One excellent author accounts for this lamentable fact that godly parents are often cursed with ungod- ly children in the following manner : "It is true that children, when they come to age, may, by per- sonal unbelief and disobedience, fall from this grace, giving another painful example of the stubbornness of evil against all God's gracious dealings ; but let God be true, and every man a liar. No experi- enced Christian, who knows himself, will charge the fault of ungodly children on God's failure in his own promise, but rather on his own or his children's un- belief and inconsistencies. He will with his whole soul clear God, however he condemns himself or his THE PROMISES TO GODLY PARENTS. 205 own offspring. ' If a covenanted people break their part of the covenant, they shall know his breach of promise ; that is, that he is not obliged to perform what he had promised, and would have performed, if they had performed their duty toward him.' " — Bickersteth, 109, 110.=* Children, then, it seems, may remain unregen- erate : 1st, through the inconsistency of even expe- rienced Christian parents ; 2d, through their own unbelief and inconsistency ; and so both parents and children may experience God's breach of promise. In truth, the defects of even very eminent and very pious parents so often cause this failure (of which many painful examples occur to me at this moment), as to make the breach of promise much more fre- quent than its fulfillment. Comparatively few chil- dren manifest early piety, and numbers grow up from a thoughtless childhood to an irreligious manhood, so that it is utterly improper to assume that these promises are generally fulfilled, when they are de- pendent upon conditions which a large proportion of pious parents are proved, by the facts, not to have kept. It is asserted that God has promised to re- generate the infants of believers, if those believers are not inconsistent, as he promised that the people of Israel should be a peculiar treasure to him if they would obey his voice (Exod., xix., 5) ; but if pious parents are inconsistent, as Israel was disobedient, * Is not this statement too much like John, ix., 2? Does it not imply that God punishes children with the loss of baptismal bless- ings for the sins which he foresees that they will after commit ? Or does the excellent author mean that the children are indeed regenerate, but afterward fall away ? An opinion which I am un- willing to ascribe to him. 206 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WARRANTED BY the parents forfeit tlie promises made to them, as the nation forfeited the promises made to it. And how can any parent, with moderate sobriety of mind, claim and rest upon these promises, which he knows that his own inconsistency may defeat ? "What amount of consistency may be necessary to secure the regeneration of his infant, he knows not ; but he knows that many eminent Christians have had un- regenerate children, and that he has many faults. Under these circumstances, has he not more reason to expect the breach of the promise than its fulfill- ment, and more reason to defer the baptism of his child as probably unregenerate, than cause to bap- tize it as probably regenerate ? But, indeed, this statement sweeps away the whole doctrine of infant baptism, with its imaginary fabric of baptismal privileges ; for, since the regeneration of the child is suspended, not only on the faith and consistency of the parent, but also on the subsequent faith and consistency of the child, the inconsistency of either party securing the breach of the promise, how do the children of believers differ from all other children ? If the children of believers are unbeliev- ing and inconsistent, the promises are no more, it seems, fulfilled to them than to any other children ; and if the children of unbelievers are believing and consistent, they are certainly as much accepted in Christ as the children of believers ; so that there is, in this respect, no difierence between these two classes, and there is no more reason to baptize the children of believers than the children of unbeliev- ers. Since the fulfillment of the promises depends upon the faith of the children, they may be wholly THE PROMISES TO GODLY PARENTS, 207 abortive ; and since this may often happen, how can it be right to baptize children as regenerate when we have too much reason to think that, Hke many others in similar circumstances, their subsequent un- belief and inconsistency Avill prove them to be unre- generate ? There are in Scripture great promises and en- couraging truths addressed to parents who will do th^r duty to their children. Since children are de- clared to be a blessing from God to his servants, it is not his will that they should be a source of shame and sorrow to them, Psalm cxxvii., 3 ; cxxviii., 3, 4. A good education is declared to be generally successful (Prov., xxii., 6 ; xxix.. 17 ; Eph., vi., 4); God is ready to bless them (Isa., xliv., 2—5) ; they are often blessed, Psalm xxxvii., 26 ; Prov., iii., 26 ; xiii., 22 ; xx., 7. Prompted by natural affection, and sustained by grace, many parents have educated their children with great success. Like Hannah, they have devoted them to God from their infancy (1 Sam., i., 28), heartily desiring that they should glorify him in life, death, and eternity ; and, influ- enced by this desire, they have " sought first the king- dom of God" for their children as well as for them- selves. Matt., vi., 33. With this aim they have se- lected their books, their companions, their schools, the ministers by whom they should be instructed, and the pleasures by which they might be gratified. Being themselves godly, their principles sound, their tempers amiable, their habits dutiful, their conversa- tion Christianlike, their friends pious, their examples have given effect to all other means which they have employed for the improvement of their children, and 208 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WARRANTED BY each has illustrated the inspired saying-, " The just man walketh in his integrity ; his children are bless- ed after him," Prov., xx., 7. Such parents have instructed their children early and thoroughly in the way of salvation. They have made them to see their depravity by nature and practice, their guilt, danger, and helplessness. Then they have declared to them the love of God, as man- ifested in nature, providence, and redemption. They have often explained to them the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, who has saved his people from the pun- ishment due to their sins by suiTering in their stead, and the condescension of the Holy Spirit who con- verts and sanctifies such guilty sinners. They have thus unfolded to them the free and full salvation provided for penitent believers by the love of the Triune God, and have urged them to accept it. To this end, also, they have urged them to read the word of God, with other useful books, and early to delight in secret prayer. They have taken pains to let them hear instructive and awakening preaching, and to give them the advantage of pastoral instruc- tion in Bible classes, or in other ways under faithful ministers. In this manner they have instructed them in the truths of the Gospel. But, further, successful parents have taken care to govern as well as to instruct their children, watch- ing over their habits as well as forming their opin- ions. While avoiding capricious, tyrannical, and un- wise commands, they have required entire, prompt, and cheerful obedience, and have, at the same time, been indulgent to troublesome infirmities, and severe toward every species of immorality. In all these THE PROMISES TO GODLY PARENTS. 209 eflbrts they have been anxious to place them with such teachers and companions as, instead of neutral- izing the influences of home, would confirm them. Such parental government has often formed lasting habits, according to the well-known sayings of Solo- mon : " Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest ; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul." " Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it," Prov., xxix., 27 ; xxii., 6. These and all other means, however, to be suc- cessful, must be combined with a strong and opera- tive sense of the need of divine grace in the whole process of a Christian education. No parents can of themselves secure the salvation of their children, who, when they are converted, '• are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God," John, i., 13. Without the aid of the Spirit, efforts to convert sinners are fruitless, 1 Cor., iii., 6. And he converts whom he will, be- stowing his favor freely on those who merit nothing, James, i., 18 ; Phil., i., 12, 13. Hence parents must give effect to all other means by frequent prayer, to which habit the promises are very large, Matt., vii., 7, 8 ; John, xiv., 13. Intercession has often been blessed by the Almighty, Gen., xviii., 23 ; Exod., xxxii., 14 ; Numb., xiv., 20. He has graciously heard parental intercession (Gen., xvii., 20) ; inter- cession is agreeable to him (James, v., 16); and especially when two parents unite to pray for their children, they may look for his blessing, Matt., xviii., 19. When a Christian education has been con- ducted thus, very often have the following promises received an ample fulfillment : "I will pour my O 210 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WARRANTED BY Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring, and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water- courses. One shall say, I am the Lord's ; and another shall call him- self by the name of Jacob ; and another shall sub- scribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel," Isa., xliv., 3—5, To what affectionate parent will these terms, upon which alone a blessing can be secured for a family, seem hard ? Great blessings are usually gained by great labors. " In all labor there is profit. . . . The soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing, but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." By no less exertion can parents bless their children. About regeneration in infancy these texts speak nothing, and if infant baptism be founded upon them, it has no scriptural foundation. And of this many parents who sprinkle their children seem to be instinctively aware, notwithstanding the contrary instruction of many of their ministers. For thus an excellent au- thor complains, imputing to unbelief the just and unavoidable conclusions of their understandings : " They do not consider the child as thus regenera- ted, adopted, and incorporated, and therefore they do not plead the promise for a blessing on their educa- tion of him as devoted to God, or call upon him as one invested with so high privileges as a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the king- dom of heaven, to walk worthy of his high calling. . . . Neither baptismal blessings nor baptismal vows are distinctly presented to the mind of the child, and his baptism has no practical purpose. . . . The child grows up without any consciousness of his baptismal THE PROMISES TO GODLY PARENTS. 211 eiijo)nnents or privileges ; and the Church, not merely the professing, but the spiritual Church . . . exercises no faith in the promise, and presents no prayers for its accomplishment toward him. Thus, even among the pious, baptism is little more than a dead letter, promises without plea for their fulfillment, vows without concern to discharge them, a ceremony ac- quitting them from subsequent interest, a sign signi- fying nothing." — Budd, 11, 12. But let it be remembered that all faith must rest upon the promises of God, lying between presump- tion and distrust. Distrust expects too little, pre- sumption expects too much ; faith behoves all that God has said, and expects all that God has prom- ised. To doubt that a blessing will follow Christian education is distrust, because God has promised it ; to assume the regeneration of children in infancy is presumption, because God has not promised it. Mis- applied promises have often led to presumption. When Savonarola, at Florence, agreed to test the truth of his doctrine by walking through the fire, because God has said, " When thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned," he was presump- tuous. When Mr. Fletcher, of Madeley, in his youth, tried to dry up the puddles in his road by prayer, because Christ has said, " All things what- soever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matt., xxi., 22), he was presumptuous. When, in our own day, a number of serious persons attempted to speak in unknown tongues, and to heal the sick by a touch, because Jesus had said that such signs should accompany faith in him, they also were presumptuous, Mark, xvi., 16, 17. And so it 212 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WARRANTED BY seems to me that to baptize children as regenerate, assuming their regeneration without any warrant, either from Scripture or from facts, is no less pre- sumptuous. As no error is innoxious, so this, I fear, leads parents in many cases to substitute the excited devotion of a short half hour for the patient labor of years. It is so pleasant to the indolent and worldly to believe that a few prayers and a momentary de- sire to commit a child to the care of God may accom- plish its regeneration and salvation, and so easy thus to extinguish the salutary fears for its welfare which would have led to a careful Christian education, that this misapplication of the promises of God is, I fear, extensively injurious. Section IV. Baptism of Infants not ivarranted by the Blessmg tvhich Christ pronoivnced upon lit- tle Children. Many think that the practice of baptizing infants is authorized by the blessing which Jesus pronounced upon the little children who were brought to him. The following is the narrative of the transaction by Mark, Matthew, and Luke : "And they brought young children (infants, Luke, xviii., 15) to him, that he should touch them (put his hands on them and pray. Matt., xix., 13). And his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it he was much displeased, and (having called them to him, Luke) said unto them. Suffer the little children to come unto me, and for- bid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN. 213 enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them," Mark, X., 13-16. Of those who brought these infants to Christ we know nothing. They might be parents or other friends, pious or still unconverted ; but, having the children under their charge, they brought them to Jesus to receive his blessing and the benefit of his prayers. Although the disciples of Jesus had bap- tized many converts (John, iii., 22, 26 ; iv., 1), these persons did not bring their children to be baptized, which may lead us to think that infants were not admitted to baptism by our Lord, but that they might receive his benediction ; and when they sought the presence of Jesus for this purpose, they were re- proved by the disciples for so doing. This affords evidence that our Lord did not then sanction infant baptism ; for, had he done so, the disciples would not have reproved those who were fulfilling a cus- tomary duty, but would have known it to be his will that infants should be brought to him. Baptism, then, being unthought of by any of the persons con- cerned, the apostles blamed these friends of the chil- dren for seeking to disturb him by their requests for infants and little children, who were beneath his notice. At which Jesus was much displeased, and, calling the children to him, he took them up in his arms, blessed them, and said, " Suffer the little chil- dren to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God." Here four questions meet us. 1. What our Lord meant by " the king- dom of heaven." 2. What is meant by the expres- sion that the kingdom is "of" any persons. 3. Who 214 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WARKANTED BY are the persons indicated by the word " such." And, 4. How these words were adapted to show the disci- ples that they had unjustly sought to prevent the children from being brought to Christ. 1. The "kingdom" means generally, if not al- ways, the reign of God over men by his Spirit in earth and in heaven. It does not describe his prov- idential rule over all worlds and all beings, but his spiritual rule over his chosen people, begun on earth and completed in heaven, as the following texts suf- ficiently evince : " From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," Matt., iv., 17. " When he was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. . . . Behold, the kingdom of God is within you," Luke, xvii., 20, 21. " The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost," Rom., xiv., 17. " The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power," 1 Cor., iv., 20. " The Father hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light ; who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son," Col., i., 13; see, also, Matt., xvL, 28 ; Heb., xii., 28 ; 1 Thess., ii., 12 ; 2 Thess., i., 5, &c., &;c. 2. The expression " of such is the kingdom" — rojv ToiovTG)v egtIv 7] (iaatXeia — means, not that the kingdom is composed of such, but that it belongs to such, it is theirs. The following passages are exact- ly parallel : "Of them is the kingdom, avToJv ea^ CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN. 215 rlv Tj (iaaiXeia, Matt., v., 3, 10. << Of thee is the kingdom, gov earlv rj (SaaLXeia,'' Matt., vi., 14. It is common in the New Testament to speak of the kingdom of heaven as a possession. God is said to give it (Luke, xii., 32) ; believers inherit it (Matt., XXV., 34 ; 1 Cor., vi., 9, 10 ; xv., 50 ; James, ii., 5) ; they receive it (Mark, x., 1 5 ; Luke, xviii., 1 7 ; Heb., xii., 28) ; it belongs to them, Luke, vi., 20. In harmony with which passages this text declares that the kingdom belongs to those whom he men- tions. 3. The persons indicated by the word " such" are those who, through grace, are childlike persons, such as little children are, and not the children them- selves. This is shown by the use of the word " such," roLovrol, in the following passages : " With many such parables, i. e., parables like these, spake he the word unto them," Mark, iv., 33. "Many other such like things ye do," Mark, vii., 8, 13. "Moses in the law commanded us that such, rag roLavrag, persons of this character, should be stoned," John, viii., 5. '• They which commit such things, rd roL- avra, i. e., things like these, are worthy of death," Rom., i., 32. " Receive him, therefore, in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such — rovg roLovrovg, persons of this character — in reputation," Phil., ii., 29 ; see, also, Rom., ii., 2 ; 1 Cor., vii., 28 ; Gal., v., 21, 23 ; 1 Tim., vi., 5. In all these cases the word '• such," with or without the article, does not mean the persons or things previously spoken of, but persons or things like them, including them or not, as the case may be. Hence, in this text, the word '* such" must mean persons like children, not the 216 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WARRANTED BY children themselves. Had our Lord meant to de- clare that the kingdom belongs to children, he would have said either, " Suffer the little children to come unto me, avTCJv yap eariv tj jSaaLXela, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven;" or else, " Suffer these chil- dren to come to me, for of such children, Totovroiv TraidLCJV, is the kingdom." But since he neither specified the children nor said that the kingdom he- longed to them, it is plain that he meant all children should be suffered to come to him, because the king- dom of heaven belongs to persons who are like them. Since our Lord declares that children should come to him because the kingdom of heaven "belongs to such," if by " such" he meant the children, then the kingdom belongs to all children ; it belongs to them, therefore, either before they are brought to Christ, and is the reason why they are to be brought, or else it belongs to them after they are brought. If the former sense be preferred, it follows that all chil- dren are indiscriminately possessed of the kingdom ; for the children in the text are distinguished from no other children except by the fact that they were brought to Christ. Their parents might be godly or ungodly, they might be brought to Christ against the wishes of their parents, and yet they were already possessed of the kingdom of heaven. All children, therefore, are, before coming to Christ, the subjects of grace and the heirs of heaven, and yet, at the same time, they are "children of wrath" (Eph., ii., 3), which is absurd. If it be objected that these were the children of believers, I answer, the statement is wholly destitute of evidence ; for it is neither said that the persons CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN. 217 who brought them to Christ were their parents, nor whether, if they were their parents, they were be- hevers. But assuming, without any proof, that they were the children of behevers, unless it be maintained against Scripture (John, i., 12), and against innu- merable and undeniable facts, that all the children of all believers are regenerate in infancy before be- ing brought in any sense to Christ, then it can not be said of such children that the kingdom of heaven is theirs ; for none except believers are the subjects of that kingdom, as the following passages testify : " Except your righteousness shall exceed the right- eousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven," Matt., v., 20. " Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God. . . . Except a man be born of wa- ter and of the Spirit, he can not enter the kingdom of God," John, iii., 3, 5. " Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his own dear Son," Col., i., 13, It may be thought that children are here said to possess the kingdom, not before being brought to Christ, but after being brought to him. Then we have to ask Avhether any can now be brought to Christ as those children were ; and if the kingdom belongs only to those brought in the arms of their parents or nurses to Christ, whether the statement has any application now ? Assuming, however, that to ask our Lord to bless children, or to bring them to be baptized, is the same thing as bringing them 10 him, then the statement is, that all children for whom any persons pray, or whom any persons bring 218 INFANT BAPTISM NOT WARRANTED BY to be baptized, are regenerate children, possessed of divine grace and heirs of eternal glory — a conclusion, the extravagance of vi^hich is unhappily exposed by the myriads of " baptized infidels, baptized world- lings, baptized ignorants, baptized formalists, bap- tized profligates, who walk as enemies of the cross of Christ." — Bucld, 76. But let us understand our Lord to say that per- sons who are like children are the subjects of his king- dom, and all is plain. Little children are humble and dependent, teachable and patient of reproof, sim- ple, free from art ; such are the dispositions which Christ requires in his disciples, which grace imparts to them, and in having which they are blessed. " Be clothed with humility ; for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble," 1 Peter, v., 5. " Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the king- dom of heaven," Matt., v., 3. " Except ye be con- verted, and become as little children, ye shall not en- ter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, there- fore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven," Matt., xviii., 3, 4. "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." And this our Lord immediately explained to be his meaning, saying, " The kingdom of heaven be- longs to such. Whosoever shall not receive the king- dom of God as a little child, he shall not enter there- in ;" that is, " All who are like children will possess the kingdom of heaven, and no others ; for no one can be a subject of Christ except he becomes, through grace, poor in spirit, humble, teachable, guileless, and submissive as a little child." The 15th verse is ex- planatory of the 1 4th. Since every one must receive CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN. 219 the kingdom of God as a little child, persons who are like little children alone possess that kingdom ; "of such is the Idngdom of God," Admitting, further, what can not be admitted, that the w^ord " such" must include children, though it does not exclude others who resemble them, then the text must state that all those who are designated by the word " such," children or adults, receive the kingdom on the same grounds. Now, since the adults receive it because they have the dispositions of little children, children must receive it too, not because of their birth, or of the prayers of others, but in virtue of these same dispositions. But as adults obtain these dispositions through regenerating grace, and they are the evidence of faith and godliness, while little chil- dren have them naturally, without faith or godliness, they can not of themselves prove that children pos- sess the kingdom of heaven, because, with all their tempers toward their parents and others, they are still, "by nature, children of wrath," Eph., ii., 13. It follows that they can only thus be blessed because these dispositions are very favorable to instruction, and that, when parents and others train up children in the fear of God, with faith and prayer, God very often blesses it to their conversion. This is, indeed, fact. And it may well encourage parents to cheer- ful labor for the conversion of their little children, but declares absolutely nothing respecting infant re- generation, and affords not the shghtest warrant for infant baptism. 4. This statement was well adapted to show the disciples their fault in endeavoring to prevent little children from coming to him. Instead of despising 220 INFANT BAPTISM, them as young, he so loved their humility, simplici- ty, teachableness, sincerity, and submission, that he would admit no one into his service without these dispositions ; and if these dispositions are so dear to him in all, how could he fail to love them in little children ; how be without a tender sympathy for these little ones in their weakness, and a benevolent wish to bless them ? And these feelings our blessed Lord still retains. Although the doctrine of infant regeneration is contrary to Scripture and refuted by facts, and the baptism of infants is unauthorized and mischievous, yet children may early receive the bless- ing of conversion. Although the friends of these children did not ask for baptism, nor did Jesus grant it, still he blessed them without baptism. And when Christian parents seek by instruction, government, and example, to lead their little children to believe in Christ, and ask him by frequent prayer to bless them, he often blesses them now ; whether, like the children in the text, they are unbaptized, or, like the children of this country, they have passed through the form of religious sprinkling. There is much in the text against infant baptism, but there is more to encourage parents to a godly training of their chil- dren. Section V. Argument from 1 Corinthians, \'\i., 14. Some, in their attempts to justify the baptism of infants, have much relied upon the following passage in the first epistle to the Corinthians : "If any broth- er hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away ; and the woman which hath a husband that believeth ARGUMENT FROM 1 COK... vii., 14. 221 not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. 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."=^ In the Corinthian Church, some heathens who had become Christians, but whose husbands and * 'Hyiaarat yap 6 uvrjp b aircarog tv ry yvvaiKi, kgI Tjyiaarai i] yvvT] 37 aTTLcrrog kv r^ avdpl ■ sirel upa ra rsKva vfiuv uKadaprd koTLy vvv 6t liyid eariv, 1 Cor., vii., 14. " 'Hyiaarat, is made holy ; dyla^u, to render uy'tov, to make clean, to render pure." — Robinson. " To render and declare any thing pure and lawful." — Schleus7ier. "To purify." — Liddell. Heb., ix., 13 ; 1 Tim., iv., 5. 'Ev -77, kv TO), kv, " by means of." — Robinson. Matt., ix,, 34 ; Acts, iii., 25 ; iv., 9 ; Gal., iii., 8 ; Heb., i., 1. " 'Ev, through, when a mean or cause is assigned." — Matthice. " ^Ettei, otherwise." — Grotius, Bengel, Robinson. " ^EtkeI here is otherwise, as often among Greek authors." — Grotius. " It may be rendered * otherwise' when the clause answering to 'if it be not so' is left out." — Matthioi. 'AKuOapra, Acts, x., 13-15, 28 ; xi., 7-9. Any one is ciKadap- Tog with whom a Christian may not innocently associate. 'A/cd- daprog, NDD unclean. Lev., v., 2 ; vii., 19 ; xi., 4, 5 ; Numb., xix., 22; Deut., xiv., 7, 8, 10, 19. " A man was called XDD and d/ca- •• T daprog, who was expelled from intercourse with the Jews, or one from familiarity with whom the Jews thought that they must wholly abstain." — Schleusner. 'Ayiog must here be the opposite of uKadaprog, and therefore pure, not defiling, and therefore lawful. " 'kyiog, pure." — Lid- dell. "Pure, clean." — Robinson. 1 Cor., xvi., 2. Niiv 6e. " ^vvl, now, is not here added to mark the time, but has the force of opposition, as vvv, now, is taken afterward, vii., 14 ; xii., 20 ; and vvvl, now, afterward, xii., 18 ; 15, 20. So nunc vera is often used by Cicero." — Grotius, on 1 Cor., v., 11 ; John, viii., 40 ; xviii., 36 ; Rom., vi., 22 ; vii., 6 ; xv., 23, 25 ; xvi., 22 ; 1 Cor., v., 11 ; xii., 18, 20; xv., 20; Gal., iv., 9; Eph., ii., 13; v., 8 ; Col., iii., 8 ; James, iv., 16 ; Heb., ii., 8 ; ix., 26 ; xi., 16 ; James, iv., 16, &c., &c. 222 INFANT BAPTISM. wives remained heathens, doubted whether it was lawful still to live with their idolatrous partners. When God gave Eve to Adam, he blessed their marriage. Gen., i., 27, 28 ; ii., 18.=^. The reason why he gave but one wife to Adam was, that the evils of polygamy being avoided, their children might be trained up in godliness, Mai., ii., 14, 15. Could this blessing rest upon a Christian living with a heathen ? When God gave his law to Israel, each Israelite was forbidden to marry a heathen, Deut.,vii., 1—6. When such marriages took place, the Israelites were corrupted by them, and punished for them, Jud., iii., 5—8. Ezra forced those who liad married heathen wives in his day to renounce them (Ezra, ix., 1, 2, 6-10, 12, 14); and Nehe- miah acted in a similar manner, Neh., xiii., 23—25. At the time when this epistle was written, Jews thought it "an unlawful thing for them to keep company or come unto one of another nation," be- cause they considered heathens to be unclean. Acts, X., 28. Christians, therefore, might naturally ask themselves whether they could lawfully and piously live with heathen partners, and whether those heathen partners were not to them " unclean." The Apostle Paul, with whose doctrine the Corinthians were fa- miliar, taught that Christians should have no famil- iar association with the heathen (2 Cor., vi., 14), and allowed no marriages with them, 1 Cor., vii., 39. Ought not, therefore, the Christian husband to leave his heathen wife, and the Christian wife to leave her heathen husband ? Was not such marriage, * " Liberi vestri sunt O'lli^D^ recti, mundi, Deo grati." — Gro- tius. ARGUMENT FROM 1 COR., vii., 14. 2'23 though valid according to human law, unlawful be- fore God, impure and unholy ? Ezra, ix., 1 1 ; Acts, X., 28. The apostle decided that it was not. In the first Epistle to Timothy, Paul has said, " Every creat- ure of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving ; for it is sanctified, i. e., made pure and lawful to the Christian, by the word of God and prayer," 1 Tim., iv., 4, 5. As, then, all kind of food was made pure and lawful to the Christian by a godly use of it and by prayer, so the heathen husband was made pure and lawful to the Christian wife by her godly and prayerful asso- ciation with him, and the heathen wife was made pure and lawful to the Christian husband by his godly and prayerful association with her. In each case the union became pure and lawful, because, like the food, it was made so by the godly use of it, the thanks and the prayers of the Christian partner. It was holy, that is, pure, like the "holy kiss" of the Corinthian Church (2 Cor., xiii., 12) ; it was " un- defiled" (Heb., xiii., 4), because agreeable to the will of God.=^ Were it otherwise, their children, as the children of an unlawful union, would be, like the heathen, unclean, and they could no more ask a blessing on them than a person living in adultery could ask a blessing on the. children of adultery. For God once said to Israel, " I am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children * " As the use of food is sanctified by prayer and giving of thanks (1 Tim., iv., 5), i. e., is rendered acceptable to God, so is the marriage union, on account of the piety which the Christian partner exercises in that relation. Apud Hebrceos dicitur uxor viro sanctifiCdLtx per arrham, scripturam concubitum, i. e., fieri le- gitima conjux."— Grorms. 224 INFANT BAPTISM. unto the third and fourth generations of them that hate me," Exod., xx., 5. And when the IsraeUtes fell into idolatry, he said of the whole nation, " I will not have mercy upon her children, for they are the children of whoredoms," Hos., ii., 4. For " the curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked," Prov., iii., 33. But, on the contrary, the children of these mixed marriages were not to be looked on as unclean, and the Christian parent might ask God's blessing on them. By this argument the apostle both satisfied the conscience of a Christian parent, whose parental love would lead him speedily to rec- Qo-nize the truth of so comfortable a doctrine, and rendered him patient when he saw his wife adhering to idolatry, as the partner of his life whom the di- vine law bade him to bear with, to cherish, and, if possible, to convert. The passage has, therefore, no reference either to baptism or to the spiritual char- acter of the children spoken of, declaring simply that they were, with reference to the law of God, as well as with reference to the law of man, legit- imate children. But if this interpretation be wholly rejected, and any other substituted which the words may bear, it is abundantly clear that the holiness here ascribed to children is not such as could entitle them to bap- tism. It has been said that the holiness of the children means simply that they are become Christians, and that the uncleanness spoken of is paganism, because pagans were esteemed by the Jews unclean. Let us, then, substitute these words for the words of the text, as their equivalents. " The unbelieving hus- ARGUMENT FROM 1 COR., vii., 14. 225 band is made a Christian by the wife, and the un- believing wife is made a Christian by the husband. Else were your children pagans, but now are they Christians.' Here it is said, 1. That a heathen remaining a heathen is made a Christian; 2. That if a heathen remains a heathen, his children must be heathens; 3. That if a heathen is made a Chris- tian, but still remains in reality a heathen, his chil- dren become Christians : all which is simply ridic- ulous. If, on the other hand, we leave the sense of the terms unclean and holy as indefinite as any one can desire, it remains apparent that the holiness spoken of in the text can not entitle the children to baptism. First, as the children of the heathen hus- band are said to be holy, so is he said to be holy ; and if their holiness entitles them to baptism, his holiness must entitle him to it. To make this more certain, it is here declared that their holiness de- pends on his ; if he is unclean, they are unclean ; if he is holy, they are holy. Their holiness being there- fore simply the result of his, can not be greater than his ; they are holy just as much as he is holy, and no more. But he remains an infidel and a heathen : they have, therefore, no more holiness than an infi- del ; and unless an infidel is, as such, entitled to baptism, his children, as such, are not entitled to it. To build the right of infants to baptism on this foundation, is to destroy, not establish it. All writ- ers are not candid enough to own this, but some who are keen advocates of infant sprinkling have owned it. I will only quote the opinion of Mr. Barnes, as one of the latest. P 226 INFANT BAPTISM. " This passage has been often interpreted, and is often adduced to prove that children are 'federally holy,' and that they are entitled to Christian bap- tism on the ground of the faith of one of the par- ents. But against this interpretation there are in- superable objections. 1. The phrase 'federally holy' is unintelligible, and conveys no idea to the great mass of men. It occurs nowhere in the Scriptures, and w^hat can be meant by it r 2. It does not ac- cord with the scope and design of the argument. There is not one word about baptism here, not one allusion to it ; nor does the argument in the remot- est degree bear upon it. The question was not, whether children should be baptized, but it was, whether there should be a separation between man and wife where the one was a Christian and the other not. Paul states that if such a separation should take place, it would imply that the marriage was improper, and of course the children must be regarded as unclean. When one party is a Chris- tian and the other not, shall there be a separation? No, says Paul ; if there be such a separation, it must be because the marriage is i7nproper, because it would be wrong to live together under such cir- cumstances. What would follow from this ? Why, that all the children that have been born since the one party became a Christian must be regarded as having been born while a connection existed that was improper, unchristian, and unlawful, and of course they must be regarded as illegitimate. But, says he, you do not believe this yourselves. It fol- lows, therefore, that the connection, according to your own views, is proper. This accords with the BAPTISM OF HOUSEHOLDS. 227 meaning of the word unclean, aKadapra ; the word will appropriately express the sense of illegitimacy, and the argument, I think, evidently requires this. It may be summed up in a few words : ' Your sep- aration would be a proclamation to all that you re- gard the marriage as invalid and improper. From this it would follow that the offspring of such a mar- riage would be illegitimate. But you are not pre- pared to admit this — ^you do not believe it. Your children you esteem to be legitimate, and they are so. The marriage tie, therefore, should be regard- ed as binding, and separation as unnecessary and improper. ... I believe infant baptism to be proper and right ; but a good cause should not be made to rest upon feeble supports, nor on forced and unnat- ural interpretations of the Scriptures." — Bar7ies. Section VI. Baptism of Households. "We find in the New Testament three instances recorded in which whole households were baptized. The first is the baptism of Lydia and her household at Philippi (Acts, xvi., 15) ; the second is that of the jailer and his household at the same place (Acts, xvi., 33) ; and the third is that of the household of Stephanas, 1 Cor., i., 16. From which instances it is inferred that the baptism of families was the general practice of the apostles, that the infants in these families were baptized, and that, therefore, in- fants ought to be baptized now. The following considerations show these inferences to be erroneous : 1. In John, iv., 53, we read of a nobleman whose son, lying sick at Capernaum, was cured by the 228 INFANT BAPTISxM. word of Jesus. " So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said unto him, Thy son hveth, and himself beheved and his whole house." In Acts, x,, 2, we read of Cornelius that he was " a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house." In Acts, xvi., 34, it is record- ed of the jailer of Philippi, " He rejoiced, believing in God with all his house." In Acts, xviii., 8, it is said, " Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, be- lieved in the Lord with all his house." And in 1 Cor., xvi., 15, St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, «' Ye know the house of Stephanas . . . that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints." Thus three households are said to have been bap- tized, and five households are said to have believed. If, then, because three households were baptized with their heads, households generally, including infants, ■were baptized when their heads were baptized, so, because five households believed with their heads, households generally, including infants, believed when their heads believed. If it be objected, respecting the five believing households, that either they contained no children, or else that children were excluded from the state- ment as being incapable of faith, I reply respecting the three baptized households, either they contained no children, or children were excluded from the statement as being incapable of the faith required in baptism, and therefore unfit to receive the rite. The meaning of the word " household" must be as com- prehensive in the second series of instances as in the -first. If children were included in the first, they BAPTISM OF HOUSEHOLDS. 229 are included in the second ; if they are excluded from the second, they are also excluded from the first ; and, consequently, the baptism of the three house- holds contains no proof that the infants within them, or that any infants, were baptized by the apostles. This single consideration destroys the supposed proof that the apostles baptized infants, derived from the baptism of three households by Paul. But let us further consider what is said of these households. If the jailer was baptized with all his house, " He rejoiced, believing in God with all his house" (Acts, xvi., 34) ; if all his family were baptized with him, all believed with him, and with him " exceedingly rejoiced." Like him, they were baptized as believ- ers, none of them, therefore, being infants. If the household of Stephanas was baptized by Paul when he was at Corinth, A.D. 51 (1 Cor., i., 16 ; Acts, xviii., 8—11), six years afterward we find him de- claring, in his letter to the Corinthians, A.D. 57, " I beseech you, brethren (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first-fruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints), that ye submit yourselves to such and to every erne that helpeth with us and laboreth," 1 Cor., xvi., 15, 16. Whatever their SiaKOvla, or ministry, might be, the Corinthians were called to submit to them as godly ministers ; and it is there- fore clear that they were a household of believers, and not of infants, M^hen they were baptized six years before ; and the baptism of this household affords no proof that Paul ever baptized infants. The third baptized household was that of Lydia : of them it is not said that they believed, but neither 230 INFANT BAPTISM. is it said that there were any infants ; and it would obviously be wrong to rest the propriety of baptizing infants upon the assumption that there were infants in that one family, when it is not asserted in the narrative. In truth, it is improbable that there were any infants in it ; for Lydia was either a mar- ried woman whose husband was alive, a widow, or unmarried. If her husband was alive, he was either at Philippi or elsewhere ; if at Philippi, he was not baptized, because, when the household was baptized, his name was not mentioned (15). Her husband, then, remaining an unbeliever, could she ask several Christian preachers to be his guests? (15). Or could she call his house hers without mention of him to these strangers ? It is therefore clear that she was not living with a husband. 2. As she was of the city of Thyatira, i. e., she was probably a citi- zen of that place, generally resident there, she was come to Philippi to sell purple cloth. Now is it conceivable, considering heathen morals, Asiatic manners, and the depressed state of women both among Jews and heathens, that her husband would remain elsewhere, and allow his wife to hire a house and carry on business in a foreign city without him ? 3. She was therefore either a widow or unmarried. If she was unmarried, there were no baptizable in- fants in her household ; if she was a widow, it is highly improbable that there were any such infants. But, in all cases, she must have had assistants in the business and servants who formed her household, and these were now baptized with her as believers. If it be supposed improbable that the whole family thus at once believed, I must remind the reader that BAPTISM OF HOUSEHOLDS. 231 when the nobleman of Capernaum believed, his house believed with him (John, iv., 53) ; so did the house- hold of the jailer (Acts, xvi., 34) ; and so did that of Crispus, Acts, xviii., 8. The household of Lydia, therefore, affords no more evidence that infants were baptized by the apostles than the households of the Philippian jailer and of Stephanas. Lastly, since the baptism of these three house- holds can only afford a presumption that infants were baptized on the supposition that the whole households were baptized, and since there is no more evidence that they contained infants than that they contained children of all ages and servants of all characters, it follows, that if the infants were bap- tized, the children and servants of all ages and char- acters were baptized too. And the baptism of these three households by Paul is a proof that the apos- tles and ministers of Christ baptized children and servants of all ages and characters in all families in which the head of the family was baptized, without any regard to their attainments or state of mind, which is absurd. With these considerations in his view, who can believe that the baptism of three households by Paul affords any countenance to the practice of infant baptism ? If three households are said to have been baptized, five are said to have believed. Of the three baptized households, two are expressly declared to be composed of believers ; in the third there is reason to believe there were no infants ; and the bap- tism of households, if it justifies the baptism of in- fants, must justify the baptism of boys, young men, and servants of all ages and characters. 232 INFANT BAPTISM. Section VII. Argument in Favor of Infant Bap- tis7n, from the Fact that there are no Instances in the Neiv Testament of the Children of Chris- tian Parents heing laptized upon their own Pro- fession of Faith. This argument has been stated in the following terms : " The term adult baptism is used with two difierent applications, one denoting the ordinance as administered to a Christian convert from another faith, the other embracing the case of children, who, having grown up under Christian training, are bap- tized on the profession of their faith in Christ." "No case of adult baptism, in the sense in which it is re- pudiated by us and maintained by our opponents, occurs in all the word of God." " Adult baptism, as the feature of their system, is utterly unknown to apostolic practice." " Does the Baptist complain that the period of Scripture history is too short to produce instances of the adult baptism which alone can uphold his theory ? We reply, these instances must be of very slow growth, if the lapse of sixty or seventy years is insufficient to produce one of them." — Wilson, 501. I admit that there are no instances recorded in the New Testament where the persons baptized are said to be the children of believing parents ; but ev- ery candid person will admit that there was no rea- son to expect such a record, even on the hypothesis that believers alone were baptized in the apostolic churches, when the history of any apostolic church does not extend over a period of ten or more years ; because, according to the practice of Psedo-Baptist PRACTICE OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 233 churches, children are not baptized upon the faith of their parents after the age at which they can themselves believe, i. e., after the age of jfive or six years, and few young persons before the age of fif- teen or sixteen years would be sufficiently establish- ed in Christian principles to be admitted to make public profession of faith themselves. If, therefore, at the time when a Church was formed, children were above five years of age, according to the ac- knowledgment of all, they should be baptized upon their own profession. Our whole inquiry is restrict- ed, therefore, to those who were at the time that the Church was formed under six years of age ; and as few young persons would be admitted to make a public profession of their faith before the age of six- teen, we could look for the baptism of no believers being children of believers, till, at the earliest, after the Church had existed ten years. 2. Since all believers were to be baptized as a matter of course, the baptism of the believing chil- dren of believers would not be noticed, except in re- markable cases. 3. We can expect no record of the baptism of the children of believers when other baptisms are not mentioned, the baptism of the whole Church being every way more remarkable than the baptism of a few members who had received a Christian education. The silence, then, of the New Testament respect- ing the baptism of the believing children of Chris- tians in any church, is no argument against the cus- tom of baptizing such children, when either the his- tory of the Church does not extend over more than ten yearsj or the cases of such believing children 234 INFANT BAPTISM. were not remarkable, or when there is no mention whatever of baptism in that church. Tried by these rules, the silence of the New Testament respecting the baptism of the believing children of Christians is consistent with the fact of those baptisms in all the apostolic churches. The Church of Jerusalem was formed A.D. 33, and the Epistle to the Hebrews was written by the Apostle Paul about A.D. 62, that is, nearly twenty- nine years after Pentecost ; there was, therefore, time for the baptism of many children of believing parents. But Paul never exercised his ministry in that Church, would know nothing of the details of its particular baptisms, and does not mention any case of baptism within it ; nor does the historian Luke mention any which took place after the day of Pentecost. If, therefore, the silence of the New Testament respecting the baptism of the believing children of believers is a proof that they were not baptized, its silence respecting the baptism of infants and the baptism of converts is a proof that they were not baptized. And this is the Church of whose his- tory we know the most. The argument, therefore, against the baptism of the believing children of Christians proves, if valid, that there was no bap- tism whatever in the apostolic churches, and is there- fore false. Nevertheless, let us glance at the notices in the New Testament of other churches. The Church of Antioch was founded A.D. 41 (Acts, xi., 42), and no baptisms are mentioned ; the churches of Galatia were formed A.D. 50 (Acts, xvi,, 6), and the epistle to these churches was writ- ten A.D. 51: we have no further mention of them. PRACTICE OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 235 There was, therefore, no opportunity, within the time of the Scripture record, for the baptism of the beheving children of Christians. The Church of Colosse was formed, perhaps, A.D. 50 (Acts, xvi., 6), perhaps later ; the Epistle to the Colossians was written A.D. 62 ; there was no time, therefore, for the baptisms in question. Paul had no knowledge of the details of the Church, and no occasion to mention the baptisms of any individuals. The Church of Philippi was formed A.D. 50, Acts, xvi. The last visit of Paul to it took place A.D. 58, Acts, XX., 6. The epistle to that church was written A.D. 62. So that there was neither time for the baptisms in question, nor any occasion for mentioning them if they had occurred. The Church of the Thessalonians was formed A.D. 51, Acts, xvii., 1. The epistles to the Thes- salonians were written A.D. 51 and 52, and we have no later notices of that church, so that there could be no mention of the baptisms in question with reference to it. The first visit of the Apostle Paul to Corinth was A.D. 51 ; the first epistle to that Church was writ- ten A.D. 57, the second A.D. 58 ; within the space between the earliest and latest notice of that church in the New Testament there could be no such bap- tisms. The Church of Ephesus was formed A.D. 55 (Acts, xix., 1—10); the Epistle to the Ephesians was written A.D. 61 ; there was, therefore, no op- portunity for any such baptisms within the space of the sacred record. The Church of Rome was unknown to the Apos- 236 INFANT BAPTISM. tie Paul when he wrote his epistle, A.D. 58. When he was at Rome, A.D. 62 (Acts, xxviii.), he was a prisoner. The narrative in the Acts mentions no baptisms whatever, nor do the notices of Rome by the apostle himself in any of his epistles mention them. The churches of Asia Minor were formed between A.D. 50 and A.D. 55 (Acts, xvi., 6, 7; xix.,1-10); and the First Epistle of Peter was written A.D. 65, from Babylon, 1 Pet., v., 13. The short space be- tween these two dates does not afford occasion for such baptisms ; and if it had, how should the apos- tle know them at that distance ? In these church- es, within the time of the sacred record, there was no probability of such baptisms, and no opportunity for mentioning them. Lastly, the epistles of James, John, and Jude make no mention of any baptisms whatever. In all cases, the silence of Scripture respecting the baptism of the believing children of Christians is sufficiently accounted for. In some cases there was no time for such baptisms within the period of the New Testament notice of the Church, in others there was no mention of any baptisms. In the first of these cases there could be no record of such baptisms, because there was no opportunity for the baptisms themselves. In the second case, if the silence of Scripture respecting this class of baptisms is a proof that they did not take place, then its silence respect- ing all baptisms is proof that they also were never performed. But if so, the churches of Galatia, An- tioch, and Thessalonica were unbapti^ed ; if, on the contrary, these churches were baptized, although PRACTICE OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 237 there was no record of their baptisms, so might the beheving children of parents be baptized without there being any record of it. So, also, if the silence of Scripture respecting these baptisms in any church be an argument against their existence, so the silence of Scripture respecting the Lord's Supper is an ar- gument that they never received it. And if these arguments are clearly false, so is that which reasons, from an analogous silence, that there were no bap- tisms of the believing children of believers. But is it equally easy to account for the total si- lence of Scripture respecting the baptism of infants ? Few, in the short periods embraced by the New Testament notices of different churches, could have been baptized as believers who had Christian parents, but within the same period there must have been many infants of such parents. The Church received no perceptible enlargement from the first of these classes ; but if infants were baptized, they must in a few years have formed the majority in each church. Is it possible that their baptisms should be wholly overlooked ? When it was recorded that three thousand were baptized on the day of Pentecost, could the remark- able fact that three hundred or four hundred chil- dren, if not more, were baptized with them, be over- looked if it had really happened ? In the narrative of the conversion of the Samaritans, it is recorded that women were baptized as well as men (Acts, viii., 12) ; if their children had been also baptized, could this important fact have been overlooked ? At the formation of the Corinthian Church, " Many of the Corinthians," it is said, "believed and were bap- 238 INFANT BAPTI3M. tized ;" but not a word is said of their children, Acts, xviii., 8. This silence respecting the baptism of infants af- fords the stronger evidence that infants were not then baptized, because, had they been required to be baptized, the churches needed information on so many points respecting it. The rule respecting the baptism of believing children of Christians was plain — they were to be baptized as all others ; but what was to be the rule adopted by the churches for the baptism of infants ? Were the infants of true be- lievers alone to be baptized, or the infants of all bap- tized persons alone, or the infants of heathens ? At what age were children to be baptized on their own profession of faith ? Were infants to be baptized as already regenerate through the faith of their parents, or were they to receive regeneration through bap- tism ; or, without receiving regeneration before or after baptism, were they to be received as catechu- mens ? Might infants be baptized without any pledge from their friends that they should have a Christian education, or must such a pledge be given ? When believers were baptized, they were baptized for the remission of sins, and their baptismal confes- sion of Christ saved them : were these effects to fol- low the baptism of infants ? On these and similar points the churches much needed information, if they were to baptize their infants, and on these points they did not receive from one apostolical epistle the least ray of light : they were left absolutely and entirely to conjecture. And, lastly, after parents had bap- tized their children, what could be more useful or more necessary than to recall to Christian parents PRACTICE OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCHES. 239 the stipulations which they had made for their chil- dren at the time of their baptism ? Yet this is not once done. Not unfrequently are the members of churches reminded of their own baptism, with the duties implied in that solemn act ; but never once in the New Testament does one of the writers re- mind any one of the churches of their dedication of their children in baptism. The duties of parents to children are enforced in several epistles, but among these duties the obligations entailed on them by the baptism of their infants are never once adverted to. These facts are incompatible with the supposition that the apostles baptized infants, and therefore prove that infants ought not to be baptized now. To the foregoing evidence let me add the follow- ing passage in the First Epistle of Peter, addressed to the churches of Asia Minor : " Baptism doth now save us ; not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the inquiry after God of a good conscience, avvEidriaecjg dyadrjg eTrepdorrjiia elg Oedv," 1 Pet., iii., 21.* According to this passage. Christian bap- tism is the seeking after God with an earnest and * " 'Errcpcjraw {to xPV'^'VPi-Ov, tov Qebv), to inquire of, to con- sult." — Liddell. It is the word used by the Septuagint for B^^l> to seek, e.g., Ezek., xx., 1, 2; and for Sxti^» to inquire after; Deut., iv., 32; Josh., ix., 14 ; Jud., i., 1 ; 1 Kings, xiv., 37; Isa., XXX., 2. ''E.nepuTau dg rcva is to inquire after any one, as eire- puTTjae Aal3ld elg eipijvqv 'lo)a(3, Kal elg elpTJvrjv rov ?mov, 2 Sam., ii., 2 ; therefore eTTEpuTaeiv elg Qebv is to inquire after God, and iKepuTTjfxa et'f ©eov is an inquiry after God. In a similar sense it is used in Dan., iv., 17, for j a demand ; and the inquiry after God of a good conscience is the inquiry after God made by any one, 1. with sincerity and uprightness, Acts, xxiii., 1 ; xxiv., 16; 2 Cor., i., 12; 1 Tim., i., 5, 19; iii., 9 ; 2 Tim., i., 3; Heb., xiii., 18 ; 1 Pet., iii., 16 (a good conscience being opposed to a de- 240 INFANT BAPTISM. upright mind, and with the sense of pardon through the blood of Jesus Christ ; and the apostle describes the churches of Asia Minor as saved by this baptism. But this is evidently the baptism of believers, not the baptism of infants ; for how, in that case, can bap- tism be the " seeking after God with a good con- science ?" In all these churches, the only baptism recognized by the apostle is such a baptism as in- volves the seeking after God with a good conscience, and such as leads to salvation (Isaiah, Iv., 6, 7 ; Matt., vii., 7), that is, the baptism of believers. Now these churches were founded between A.D. 50 and A.D. 55 (Acts, xvi., 6, 7 ; xix., 1, 10), and the Epis- tle of Peter was written about A.D. 65. If infants were baptized during these fifteen years, a part of each church, and in some cases, perhaps, the larger part, would be composed of members baptized in in- fancy. How, in such case, could the apostle, when speaking of baptism, entirely overlook the baptisms of so many ? But he does completely overlook them, and speaks of the baptism of them all as though it had been in every case the baptism of believers. One of the latest writings in the New Testament recog- nizes nothing in the churches but the baptism of be- lievers. The last time that baptism is mentioned by any apostle, his words indicate that all the bap- tized, whether adult converts or the children of Chris- tians, were believers, who, in baptism, heartily sought the Lord, and who, in so doing, were saved. Is this compatible with the practice of infant baptism in the apostolic churches ? filed conscience, Tit., i., 5) ; and, 2. with a sense of pardon through the blood of Christ, Heb., li., 14 ; x., 2, 22. PRACTICE or THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 241 Section VIII. Argument on beJialf of Lif ant Bap- tism, from the Practice of the Churches i?i the first Three Centuries. Another proof that the apostles practiced infant baptism has been sought in the practice of the church- es during the first three centuries. The argument has been stated in the following terms : " According to the theory of the Baptist brethren, baptism alone was the order of the day in the age which immedi- ately succeeded the apostolic. What followed ? Infant baptism. At all events, its introduction must have had some date ; and the later that date, its struggle with adult baptism must have been the more severe, and a record of the struggle the more certain." " Our opponents can not detect among the fathers of these centuries the origin of infant baptism. They denounce it as an abuse, a subver- sion of the law of Christ, a substitution of human device for the ordinance of God. Strange, that of the origin of an abuse so radical, so prevalent, and so permanent, no record should be found. The ex- tent to which infant baptism is known to have pre- vailed in the third century is to us unaccountable on Baptist principles. If adult baptism, in their sense of the term, was alone apostolic, how came infant baptism in so short a time to be the practice, not of one church, but of all the churches?" — Wilson, 526-539. I reply. That we may conclude the baptism of infants to be a corruption in the churches unknown to the apostles, 1. Because there is no mention of it till the third century. 2. Because the corruption Q 242 INFANT BAPTISM. of infant communion was as early and as extensive as that of infant baptism. And, 3. Because the ori- gin of both corruptions was obviously identical. First, there is no mention of infant bcqytis^n till the third century. If there be, we may surely find it in the pages of the learned Bingham, who did his best to uphold this practice. Now the only testi- monies which he cites from authors of the first two centuries are the following : •' Clemens Komanus, who lived in the times of the apostles, though he does not directly mention in- fant baptism, yet says a thing that by consequence proves it. Speaking of Job, he says, « Though he was a just man, yet he condemns himself, saying, There is none free from pollution, though his life be but the length of one day.' " Therefore, infants were baptized in the time of Clemens I I — Bing- ham, iii., 158. Justin Martyr, A.D. 148. "Many men and many women, sixty and seventy years of age, who, from their childhood, have been disciples to Christ, continue uncorrupted."* Because Justin says that God was pleased to convert many children by his grace, therefore infants were baptized in his day I ! Bardesanes Syrus, cotemporary of Justin, says, " The man that is regenerated by water, and born again to God, is thereby freed from the weakness of his first nativity, which comes to him from man ; and so he is made capable of salvation, which he could not otherwise obtain. For so the true prophet * noA/loi TLveg Kal rroTiTiai i/^rjKOVTOv-ai /cat ^.fSdoixrjKovTovTai ol EK TTaiduv kixadrjTEvaav tu XpiarC), d^dopoi dia/j.ivovat.—' Apol, ii., p. 62 ; Bing., iii., 160. PRACTICE OP THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 243 has testified with an oath, saying, • Verily, I say unto you. Except one be born again of water, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' " Therefore, in the time of Bardesanes, infants were undoubtedly baptized I I IrcncEns was born about A.D. 97 ; was a disci- ple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John. He wrote about A.D. 176, "Christ came to save all persons by himself ; all, I say, who by him are born again unto God, infants, and little ones, and boys, and youths, and elders. Therefore he passed through each age, being made an infant for infants, sanctify- ing infants ; among little ones a little one, sanctify- ing those of that age also," &c.* Irenseus says that some infants are born again through Christ, and sanctified by him ; therefore, all infants were bap- tized in his day ! I Tertullian, Avho was born A.D. 160, and died A.D. 220, wrote about the beginning of the third century, as follows : " According to every one's con- dition, disposition, and age, the delay of baptism is more advantageous, especially in the case of little children. Our Lord says, indeed, * Do not forbid them to come unto me.' Let them come, therefore, when they are grown up ; let them come when they can learn, when they can be taught whether it is they come. Let them be made Christians when * " Omnes venit per semetipsum salvare, omnes, inquam, qui per eum renascuntur in Deum, infantes et parvulos, et pueros, et juvenes, et seniores. Ideo per omnem venit aetatem, et iiifantibus infans factus, sanctificans infantes ; in parvulis parvnlus, sanctifi- cans banc ipsam habentes setatem," &c. — Irenceus, lib. ii., 39; Bingham, iii., 164. 244 INFANT BAPTISM. they can know Christ."* Tertullian says, Let bap- tism not be administered to httle children, not a syl- lable being uttered by any previous writer to intimate that they were baptized ; therefore the baptism of infants was universal in the time of Tertullian I ! Until the time of Tertullian, therefore, that is, dur- ing the whole second century, there is no record of infant baptism ; and in Tertullian' s time, the only proof that it was beginning to be practiced was the argument of Tertullian against it. But Origen, who lived in the third century, shows that it had become the practice of his day by the following expressions : " Infants are baptized for the forgiveness of sins." " And because by the sacra- ment of baptism the pollutions of our birth are laid aside, therefore even little ones are baptized." " The Church hath received from apostles the tradition that baptism should be given even to little ones."! The practice which was growing in the time of Ter- tullian was become general in the time of Origen. This is the whole of the evidence in favor of in- fant baptism up to the third century. During the first two centuries there is no symptom of it, not a line written in its favor. Early in the third century * " Pro cujusque personse conditione ac dispositione, etiam aetate cunctatio baplismi utilior est praecipue tamen circa parvu- los. . . . Ait quidem Dominus, Nollite illos prohibere ad me venire, veniant ergo durn adolescunt, veniant dum discunt, dum quo ve- niunt docentur ; fiant Christiani, dum Christum nosse potuerint." — Tertullian de Baptismo : Bingharn, in., 165. t " Parvuli baptizantur in remissionem peccatorum Et quia per baptismi sacramentum nativitatis sordes deponuntur, propte- rea baptizantur et parvuli. . . . Ecclesia ab apostolis traditionem suscepit etiam parvulis baptismum dare." — Origen: Bingham, iii., 167. PRACTICE OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 245 Tertullian opposed it, and later iu the same century Origen speaks of it as an established custom. These facts seem to me to justify the judgment of Suicer : " For the first two centuries no one received baptism except those who, being instructed in the faith and imbued with the doctrine of Christ, could testify that they believed : on account of those words, ' He that believeth and is baptized.' Afterward the opinion prevailed that no one could be saved without being baptized."* II. Since it is asked how it was possible for in- fant baptism, if it was indeed a corruption intro- duced subsequently to the age of the apostles, to be- gin so early, become so universal, last so long, and occasion no record of its origin, I answer, that infant communion, which all admit to be a corruption, was introduced as early, became as general, lasted for centuries, and grew up as silently. Of this let us now see the proofs. 1. The practice of giving the Lord's Supper to infants grew up early in the churches. "It is be- yond dispute that as she (the Church) baptized in- fants, so she immediately admitted them to a par- ticipation of the Eucharist as soon as they were bap- tized." — Bingliam, v., 313. "It is frequently mentioned in C>^rian, Austin, Innocentius, and Gennadius, writers from the third to the fifth cen- tury." — lb., iii., 290. * " Primis duobus saeculis nemo baptismum accipiebat nisi qui in fide instructus, et doctrina Christi imbutus, testari posset se credere, propter ilia verba, ' Qui crediderit et baptizatus' fuerit. Postea opinio invaluit, neminem salvare posse, nisi qui baptiza- tus fuisset." — Suicer in Bmgham, iii., 157. 246 INFANT BAPTISM. 2. " Cyprian often mentions it as the common practice." — Ih., v., 313. "The author of the * Constitutions,' in his invitation of the faithful to the communion, bids mothers bring their children with them." " The author under the name of Dionysius says that children were admitted not only to baptism, but to the Eucharist." — lb., v., 314. 3. Like infant baptism, this lasted long in the churches. " If this matter needed proof, we might insist upon that known practice and custom in the ancient Church of giving the Eucharist to infants, which continued in the Church for several ages. Maldonat confesses that it was in the Church for six hundred years ; and some of the authorities just now alleged prove it to have continued two or three ages more." — Bingham, iii., 290. "As soon as the ceremonies of baptism were finished, men were admitted to a participation of the Eucharist. And this was observed not only with respect to adult persons, but children also, and this continued to the ninth century." — lb., 332. "This custom was not abrogated in France till the twelfth century." — lb., 316. " It continued somewhat longer in Ger- many and Switzerland." — lb., 316. "And pre- vailed in the Greek Church down to the fourteenth century." — lb., 317. 4. Like infant baptism, infant communion was thought to have apostolic sanction, '•' It were ab- surd to think that the whole primitive Church, Greek and Latin, from St. Cyprian's time, should give the communion to infants without imagining any manner of necessity from any divine command to do it." — lb., 316. PRACTICE OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 247 Both these corruptions, which were equally early and extensive in the churches, which lasted for many centuries, and grew up equally in silence, were found- ed on similar reasons. Children were admitted to the Lord's table because it was thought that they could not bo saved without it. St. Austin says, " They are children, but they be- come partakers of his table that they may have life."=^ And Pope Innocent argues for the necessity of bap- tism to infants from the necessity of their eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of Man.f And there was the same opinion respecting the ne- cessity of baptism to the salvation of infants. Ori- gen says, " Infants are baptized for the forgiveness of sins." " Infants are baptized ; because, except one be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of heaven. "| St. Cyprian and a council of sixty-six bishops determined that an infant comes to baptism " the more easily to re- ceive forgiveness of sins, because they are not his own, but other men's sins which are forgiven him." Upon which Mr. Bingham remarks, " Here we have both the practice of the Church and the reason of it together. Infants were baptized because they were born in original sin, and needed baptism to * " Infantes sunt, sed mensae ejus participes fiuntut habeant in se vitam." — Augustine: Bingham, iii., 314. t " Parvulos aeternae vitae praemiis etiam sine baptismatis gratis donari posse, per fatuum est nisi enim manducaverint sanguinem ejus non habebunt vitam in semetipsis."— i>inoce7i< .• Bingham, iii., 315. t " Baptizantur parvuli. Nisi enim quis renatus fuerit ea aqu4 et spiritu non potest intrare in regnum coelorum." — Origen: Bing- ham, iii., 167. 248 INFANT BAPTISM. cleanse them from the guilt and pollution of it." — Bingliam, iii., 169. The origin of the two corruptions in the churches is now apparent. All churches tend to spiritual de- cay, as each individual Christian does ; and the de- terioration, too natural to all churches under any circumstances, was accelerated to these early churches by their situation. Surrounded by vice, ignorance, and superstition, with fisw copies of the Scriptures, and few other useful books, it was too easy to be tainted by the prevailing evils of their day. As piety decreased, their value for the forms of their religion might increase ; and the sacraments, which at first were expressions of faith, became, in the gen- eral estimation, the channels of converting grace. The emblems of the body and blood of Jesus be- came, in the view of multitudes, his body and blood ; the sign of regeneration was now believed to be its source. To this exaggerated view of the value of the sac- raments the clergy would be favorable, because, as they alone dispensed these elements, they thus be- came themselves the dispensers of divine grace ; and the opinion of the clergy had the more weight with the churches, because they were probably almost the only educated portion of the Christian community, as, indeed, they were long after in the feudal king- doms of Europe. Thus the clergy aided the popu- lar delusion. Meanwhile, passages which speak in exalted terms of the value of baptism, when it is the public expression of a saving faith, were supposed to speak of the intrinsic efficacy of the rite itself To receive the Lord's Supper was to eat the flesh and PRACTICE OP THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 249 to drink the blood of the Son of Man, and thereby to secure eternal life (John, vi., 53—55) ; and bap- tism was supposed to regenerate. Up to that time believers alone were baptized ; but now two things naturally followed from this state of opinion. As the sacraments were thought to save those who re- ceived them, worldly and unconverted men sought to receive them as nearly as possible to the hour of death ; when they could entail little self-denial, and when their saving effects could not be neutrahzed by subsequent sins. Many, therefore, postponed their baptism, like Constantino, to the hour when death seemed to be approaching. On the other hand, these sources of salvation could no longer be justly withheld from infants. Unless children, like others, were born of water and the Spirit, they could not, as men supposed, enter the kingdom of God, and baptism would regenerate them ; how could baptism be refused to them without cruelty ? Un- less children, like others, ate the flesh of Jesus and drank his blood, they had no life ; and to eat his flesh would secure their everlasting life : what minister could refuse it to them ? And so the ad- mission of children to the sacraments was the nat- ural corollary of the doctrine that the sacraments were intended to save men. This is the explana- tion of the origin of infant baptism given by Suicer, who says, " The doctrine of the necessity of baptism to salvation was not the doctrine of the first two ages, but only an opinion taken up afterward ; upon which foundation the practice of infant baptism was introduced into the Church." — Bingham, iii., 163. The general prevalence and long duration of in- 250 INFANT BAPTISM. fant baptism appear thus to be no arguments for its authority or lawfuhiess. The practice of infant com- munion crept into the churches as early, prevailed as extensively, endured for centuries, triumphed as silently, and was embraced on the same grounds. The one bears exactly the same authority as the other. If the churches are bound to maintain in- fant baptism, they are bound to sanction infant com- munion too. If they have done right in discontin- uing infant communion, they must have equal liber- ty to discard infant baptism. And so Mr. Bingham, in effect, judges : "As no church," he says, "now thinks herself under any obligation to give the Eu- charist to infants, because the primitive Church for eight hundred years did so, so neither does any church judge herself bound to give confirmation to infants from the same example." — Bingham, iii., 296. And if both infant communion and infant con- firmation have been generally repudiated, notwith- standing the general practice of the early church- es, so infant baptism, which is strictly similar, and sprang up from the same motives, ought to be re- jected, notwithstanding that it has the same gener- al practice to sanction it. Section IX. The Argument in favor of Infant Baptism derived from the Niimher of those who practice it. The argument in favor of any doctrine from the numbers who support it is extremely uncertain. In very many instances truth has had to struggle against majorities. There were very few Christians and many heathens when the apostles, aided by God, NUMBER WHO PRACTICE IT. 251 undertook to evangelize the world. Even now two hundred and fifty millions of professed Christians are few when compared with seven hundred millions of idolaters and Mohammedans. Of these professed Christians not one third are Protestants. Of these Protestants, how few profess to believe the great doc- trines of grace ; how few support Bible and mission- ary societies ; how few condemn the union of the Church with the State ; how few are Congregation- alists ; how few are true believers I " Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruc- tion, and many there be which go in thereat : be- cause strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." If Baptists are few, so have other classes been few, which have maintained, or do maintain, unpop- ular truths. In investigating the evidence for any doctrine, we should not dwell too much upon the numbers on either side, nor even upon, what is of more consequence, their character and talent, but rather ask the direct proof from Scripture, and the reasonableness of the doctrine itself. Truth has often been found for a long time with the few against the many, though the many must eventually yield to it. But the numbers of those who maintain that be- lievers alone ought to be baptized, as compared with those who hold any other specific doctrine respect- ing Christian baptism, is not so small as is often as- sumed. Compared with all other evangelical churches, the number of Baptist churches may be few. But when all Psedo-Baptists are grouped into one multi- tude on pne side, in opposition to the Baptists on 252 INFANT BAPTISM. the other, the contrast is superficial and delusive, the grounds upon which one class support infant baptism being so contradictory to those advanced by another class as to afford strong presumption against the truth of the doctrine which they jointly maintain. The doctrine that believers ought to be baptized is maintained by almost all the Christian world upon the same grounds, namely, that Christ has commanded it, and that it was practiced by the apostles. All classes of Psedo-Baptists agree with Baptists in this ; but when we examine upon what the belief of infant baptism rests, we find no such consent among those who practice it. The direct evidence for it in the New Testament so completely fails ; the arguments on its behalf, derived from the baptism of three believing households, from the ho- liness of a union between a Christian and an unbe- liever in certain circumstances, from the kindness of Jesus to little children, and from the promises to parents, are so weak, that though most Psedo-Bap- tist writers adduce them as subsidiary to their argu- ment, few would venture to rest their cause upon them. The main grounds upon which the practice rests, and without which it would be discontinued, are thus stated by different classes. Many of the An- glican Psedo-Baptists, and many Episcopalians of the United States, would probably describe them thus: " Sacraments are effectual signs of grace and God's good-will toward us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us," Art. 25. " Baptism is a sign of regeneration or new birth, whereby, as hy an m- NUMBER WHO PRACTICE IT. 253 strument, they that receive baptism rightly are graft- ed into the Church," Art. 27. " The inward and spiritual grace in baptism is a death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness ; for being by nature born in sin, and the children of wrath, we are here- by made the children of grace. There are required in persons to be baptized, repentance whereby they forsake sin, and faith whereby they steadfastly be- lieve the promises of God made to them in that sacrament ; but infants are baptized, because they promise both repentance and faith by their sureties; which promise, when they come to age, themselves are bound to perform." — See Church Cat. " Bap- tism is a sacrament ; and if so, it must convey the grace annexed to it whenever no obstacle is placed in its way by the unworthiness of the recipient. For this has been the notion of the whole Christian Church, that the sacraments are not bare signs, but do convey that also which they signify. Since, then, infants are incapable of opposing any obstacle, we must believe that the grace of baptism, a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness, is hereby conferred upon all who are brought to be ingrafted into their Savior by baptism. . . . And since infants are all alike incapable of opposing the divine benefit, and the willfulness which they might hereafter show has no place there, and God in his word has given us no ground for making any distinction between them, we must conclude, as the whole ancient Church did, that the benefits of holy baptism are, by virtue of the sacrament itself, and of the divine institution, imparted to all infants." — Tract 67. All infants being thus worthy recipients, Canon 68 254 INFANT BAPTISM. consistently enacts, " No minister shall refuse or de- lay to christen any child that is brought to the church to him upon Sundays or holydays to be christened. And if he shall refuse to christen . . . he shall be suspended by the bishop of the diocese from his ministry by the space of three months." Anglicans then rest the right of infants to baptism mainly upon the fact that in some sense or other it regenerates them. Against this both Presbyterians and Congrega- tionalists properly protest. According to them, the doctrine of baptismal regeneration is " unscriptural, false, and injurious to the souls of men." " That baptism is not the means of regeneration, appears from the evidence afforded by analogy, by the char- acter of the Gospel, by experience, by the statements and by the omissions of God's holy word." " The common tendency of this doctrine is to lead men to value the material form of religion more than its spiritual essence ; to dispose them to rely on what is done for them by frail and sinful men, rather than on the wisdom and power of Him who is most holy and most merciful ; to foster the presumption of those who are satisfied with themselves, and to de- prive of hope the humble penitent. This is not the tendency of the glorious Gospel of our God and Savior." — Godivin, Zll , 396. Presbyterians, therefore, and Congregationalists, sometimes state the grounds of infant baptism thus : " Before the coming of Christ, the covenant of grace had been revealed, and under that covenant there existed a divinely instituted connection between children and their parents ; the sign and seal of the NUMBER WHO PRACTICE IT. 255 blessings of the covenant was, by divine appoint- ment, administered to children, and there can be produced no satisfactory evidence of this connection having been done away." — Wardlaiv. " If it be necessary that adult persons should make a profession of godliness in order to their own admission to baptism, then undoubtedly is it neces- sary in order to their children being baptized on their account ; for parents can not convey to their chil- dren a right to this sacrament by virtue of any qualifications lower than those requisite in order to their own right, children being admitted to bajotism only as being, as it loere, 'parts and members of their parents. And besides, the act of parents in offering up their children in a sacrament, which is a seal of the covenant of grace, is in them a solemn attending that sacrament as persons interested in the covenant, and a public manifestation of their ap- proving and consenting to it, as truly as if they had then ofTered themselves up to God in that ordinance. Indeed, it implies a renewed offering up themselves with their children, and devoting both jointly to God in covenant ; themselves ivith their children' as parts of themselves." — Jon. Edwards's Works, vol. i., p. 476. Thus this class of Psedo-Baptists found the right of infants to baptism upon their relation to their parents, children being, as it were, parts of their parents, and therefore within the covenant of grace because their parents are. But many of the Congregationalists state their reasons for infant baptism in terms like the following : «' The principal argument for restricting baptism to 256 INFANT BAPTISM. the cliildren of believers is founded upon the opinion that as the ancient sign of the covenant wsls admin- istered to the seed of Abraham in testimony of his faith (the covenant being made v^^ith him and with his seed), so the modern sign of the covenant is to be administered to the seed of beUevers on account of the faith of their parents. . . . The argument in favor of the transmission of the sign of the Christian covenant from the believing parent to his children, founded upon the transmission of the sign of the Abrahamic covenant through the hereditary line of succession in the posterity of Abraham, fails in al- most every particular. . . . The general opinion that baptism is substituted for circumcision as a kind of hereditary seal of the covenant of grace, appears to be ill sustained by scriptural evidence, and to be ex- posed to some very serious, if not absolutely fatal objections A respected writer, indeed, says, ' Under that covenant there existed a divinely insti- tuted connection between children and their parents ;' but of this connection, which appears to me to be the hinge of the whole argument, he offers, so far as I can find, no satisfactory evidence, nor even any evidence at all. The sign of the Abrahamic cove- nant was given to every child, as it appears to me, on account, not of his immediate connection with his parents, but of his remote connection with the head of the covenant. . . . Ahaziah was circumcised, not because he was the son of the wicked Ahab, or the more wicked Jezebel, but because he was of the covenanted lineage of the faithful Abraham. . . . The privilege, then, is resolved into the connection between Abraham and his posterity, and no other NUMBER WHO PRACTICE! IT. 257 seems to be recognized in tlie Abrahamic covenant. . . . The argument of the Abrahamic covenant, if it apply at all, applies to the grandchildren of believers as well as to their children, and so on to the third and fourth generations, and through an infinite se- ries. ... In all arguments which assume any dis- tinction of privileges among children on account of the faith of their parents, we must disclaim all partic- ipation." — Halley, 530, 531, 536, 537, 539, 533. Repudiating, then, the supposed connection be- tween parents and children as a spurious ground on which to rest the practice of infant baptism, many Congregationalists would state its grounds thus : " There are those who baptize all applicants what- soever, provided the application does not appear to be made scoffingly and profanely, and all children offered by their parents, guardians, or others, who may have the care of them. . . . The first class main- tain that baptism is exclusively the privilege of true believers ; the second, that by virtue of a covenant relation between parents and children, it belongs also to the children of believers ; the third, that as no restriction is imposed on baptism in the New Testa- ment, none ought to be imposed by the ministers of the Gospel. . . . Our commission is to disciple as many as we can by baptizing and by teaching them. . . . Adhering to the literality of the commission, we admit no exceptions, either in the baptizing or the teaching, regarding the extent of our abihty as the only limit of our obedience." — Halley, 496, 497, 578. But to these a larger class of Presbyterians, with some Congregationalists, would reply, respecting such R 258 INFANT BAPTISM. indiscriminate baptism, " What is the amount of its value to the children of unbelievers ? what the ben- efit they derive from it ? ... I regard these state- ments as not only unscriptural, but perilously so to the constitution and character of the New Testament Church, as tending, if consistently followed out, to un- dermine and destroy it as a spiritual and separate com- munity. . . . The principles avowed, if fairly followed out, go far to obliterate the distinction between the Church and the world. ' ' — WarcUmv, 290,291,284. " A full induction of instances warrants the con- clusion that the New Testament knows no adult baptism irrespective of a credible profession of faith. . . . Dr. H. is of course entitled to hold and defend his opinion, and we are equally entitled to affirm that one more utterly unfounded we have seldom met with." — Wilso?i, 375. Besides, then, the opinion of the Baptists, there are three distinct and incompatible opinions upon which infant baptism is made to rest by three great classes ; and although no accuracy can be attained on these points, yet let us make an approximate esti- mate of the number of churches espousing these dif- ferent opinions in Great Britain and America. Baptist Churches Anglicans and Episcopalians maintaining that baptism in some sense regenerates children Presbyterians maintaining that children are to be baptized on account of the faith of their parents Congregationalists maintaining that baptism should be indiscriminate to all children . . 1,825 13,000 7.130 950 3.000 3,744 2,570 1.300 8,955 13,950 6,744 3,870 These figures, though not accurately stating the NUMBER WHO PRACTICE IT. 259 present numbers of the cliurclies in Great Britain and the United States, and still less the numbers of these denominations throughout the world, are yet accurate enough to illustrate the argument in favor of infant baptism derived from numbers. According to this argument, which I am oppos- ing, the Baptists are wrong in their peculiar opinion, because a majority of Christians are against them. If this be true, then any other class must be in er- ror when the majority are against them. Anglicans and American Episcopalians, who number 13,950 churches, must be wrong when they found the right of all infants to baptism on the idea that baptism regenerates, because 19,569 churches of Presbyte- rians, Congregationalists, and Baptists reject that idea. The 6744 Presbyterian churches must be in error when they declare that the children of believ- ers have a right to baptism in virtue of the faith of their parents, all other children being excluded, be- cause 26,775 churches of Episcopalians, Congrega- tionalists, and Baptists deny the transmission of that right from the parent to the child ; and the 3870 Congregationalist churches, which advocate the in- discriminate baptism of infants, as a corollary of the indiscriminate baptism of adults, must be in error, because they are opposed in this notion by 29,649 churches of Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Bap- tists. May not, then, the Baptists reply with con- fidence to those who say to them, " You are wrong, because you are opposed by the majority," You are all in the same predicament ? Baptismal regener- ation, the Anglican foundation of infant baptism, is erroneous, because it is opposed by the majority of 260 INFANT BAPTltiM. Christians. The transmission of the rights of the parent to the child, the Presbyterian foundation, is erroneous, because opposed by the majority ; and the right of all serious adult applicants to baptism, which is the Congregational foundation, is no less errone- ous, because no less opposed by the majority. And if Baptists are in error in their peculiar views be- cause they are a minority, so Episcopalians, Presby- terians, and Congregationalists are all in error, be- cause they also are severally minorities. But further ; since, according to this doctrine, a minority must be in the wrong, a majority must, consequently, be in the right ; and Baptists appear, upon closer investigation, to be in the right on this ground. 1. All hold, with Baptists, that unbap- tized believers ought to be baptized. 2. A majority hold, with them, that baptism does not regenerate. 3. A majority hold, with them, that the faith of the parent is not the foundation of the child's right to baptism. 4. A majority hold, with them, that the right of all adults to baptism is not the foundation of the baptism of infants ; and, 5. A majority hold, with them, that the promises to parents, the baptism of households, the alleged holiness of the children of a Christian parent, and the blessing pronounced upon some little children by our Lord, are not sufficient grounds for infant baptism. Although, therefore, the majority deny the Baptist conclusion, the major- ity admit the Baptist arguments from which that conclusion legitimately follows. The Baptist argu- ments, tried by this test of majorities, are sound, and therefore the legitimate conclusion from those argu- ments must be sound also. NUMBER WHO PRACTICE IT. 261 Nay, tried by this test, the whole doctrine of in- fant baptism must fall ; for that doctrine, if true, must rest upon some foundation ; but by this test it has none. The direct evidence from the New Test- ament is thought by the majority to be insufficient, and therefore is so. Baptismal regeneration, for the same reason, is no foundation for it ; and a supposed covenant with believing parents, and a supposed right of all sincere applicants to baptism, are, by the same test, equally exploded. No foundation of infant bap- tism can be adduced which the majority of Chris- tians do not repudiate ; that doctrine has, therefore, no foundation ; and the Baptists must ^be right in rejecting it. A majority of Christians, indeed, uphold infant baptism ; but, since their arguments for it are mu- tually destructive, their common conclusion must be invalidated. Most persons superficially look no fur- ther than the common conclusion ; but what is the value of a conclusion built on contradictory reason- ings ? No majority can make it plausible. If all agreed in the proofs of the divine institution of infant baptism, then their authority would be more formi- dable to their dissentient brethren. But how stands the case ? One class believes that infants ought to be baptized because baptism regenerates ; which rea- son being erroneous, the practice of infant baptism, if built on that alone, must be erroneous too. A second class believes that infants ought to be bap- tized because they are included with their parents in the covenant of grace ; and this reason also being erroneous, infant baptism, if built upon it, must be likewise erroneous. A third class believes that in- 262 INFANT BAPTISM. fants ought to be baptized because all applicants ought to be ; and since this reason also is erroneous, if infant baptism rests upon it, it must be likewise erroneous. Since, then, each of these false reasons is unable to sanction the practice, all of them to- gether are unable to sanction it ; and infant bap- tism, which remains without a single solid founda- tion, must be treated as an error, though upheld by the conclusion of the majority. CHAPTER IV THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. Being created to the end that we may love and serve our Creator, we have, on the contrary, rebell- ed against him. For this we must obtain pardon through the Lord Jesus Christ, who has borne the sins of all believers in his own body on the tree, 1 Pet., ii., 24 ; 2 Cor., v., 21. But as those only re- ceive the forgiveness of their sins who trust in Christ, all men need the influence of the Holy Spirit, through which alone they can obtain saving faith, John, iii., 16,36; Bom., iii., 19-28; John, vi., 44; Acts, ii., 47 ; xi., 21 ; xiii., 48 ; 1 Cor., iii., 5. All are thus called to give themselves up to the service of God the Father, through faith in God the Son, by the aid of God the Holy Spirit ; to die to sin, and begin a new life of devotedness to the Triune God ; to yield themselves up to God their Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, and King ; to the Lord Jesus Christ, their Pv^edeemer and Mediator ; and to the Holy Spirit, their Sanctifier : to consecrate themselves to the Triune God. All this must be done openly. Since God is our Father, we must honor him as such ; since the Lord Jesus Christ has died to save us, we must confess him before men ; since the Holy Spirit has convert- ed and sanctified us, we must acknowledge his work. 264 THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. Hence, some solemn and public profession of faith in the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, naturally fol- lows from a real subjection of heart to the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit. The Church of Christ, likewise, which is the society of Christ's disciples, ought not to receive into fellowship as brethren those who would disgrace it either by false doctrine or by a discreditable life. Each Church, therefore, should ask some public profession of faith and of consecration to God from all its members be- fore they are admitted. Both these objects are se- cured by the appointed rite of baptism. As Christ will confess us openly before the universe if we are his true disciples (Matt., xxv.), so we ought to own him openly before men, Matt,, x., 32. We must confess him every where, before all men, through our whole lives ; and it is right that we should enter on this life by a public and solemn act of profession. Baptism is that appointed act. Each Christian con- fesses Christ at the Lord's Supper ; but this Supper, while expressing faith and discipleship, does not dis- tinctly express either the renunciation of sin or con- secration in a new life to the Triune God. In the Supper, likewise, the whole Church confesses Christ, and each believer is undistinguished from the rest ; but baptism is an individual and often a solitary act, in which, before the Church and before the world, each convert avows his repentance and faith. By his burial in water he professes to die to all sin as Christ died for it, to renounce it wholly and forever. And in his rising from the water he professes to be- gin a new spiritual life, as Christ has risen from the grave to a life of glory. And as he is baptized THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 265 '< unto the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost," he thus professes his consecration to the service of the Triune God, his Maker, Redeem- er, and Sanctifier. By faith, expressed in baptism, each sincere con- vert confesses Christ so as to wash away his sins (Acts, xxii., 16), to receive pardon (Acts, ii., 38), to put on the robe of Christ's righteousness (Gal., iii., 27), and to secure salvation, 1 Pet., iii., 21. And as he confesses Christ, he will be confessed by Christ at the last day. Matt., x., 32 ; Rom., x., 8-10. I. Let us now consider the influence which the baptism of a believer is likely to have upon himself, upon the Church of which he becomes a member, and upon spectators. It is a solemn moment when a person thus, be- fore the assembled multitude, professes, by a sym- bolical act more expressive than words, to renounce all sin, to die to it as Christ died for it, and to rise again to a new life of universal holiness, consecrated forever to the ennobling and joyful service of the Triune God. Christians dishonor Christ and injure themselves when they permit those with whom they live and act not to know that Christ is their master and his word their rule. Such concealment tempts to sinful compliances with the world ; but even if these are escaped, that concealment is an injury to the cause of Christ. He has himself said, "He that is not with me is against me," Matt., xii., 30. And the truth of this is evident : he who is indifferent to Christ, and does not trust in him, declares by his conduct to the world that they may do without Christ, despises his sacrifice, denies his claims, justi- 266 Tx4E EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. iies universal disbelief, and is therefore his enemy. He who conceals his faith does in effect nearly the same thing. Thought by others to be an unbeliever, and yet esteemed for his social virtues, he leads oth- ers to think that they, like him, can be good enough without Christ. But when a believer is immersed unto the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, to show that he dies to sin and rises again to a new life, consecrated to God through Christ by the Spirit, then no one can mistake his principle ; he becomes avowedly a follower of Christ. After this act all men have a right to say to him, " By your own solemn deed you are bound to put off ev- ery inconsistent habit, to renounce every unchristian temper, to eradicate every fault, to live in all things according to the will of God." By this act he has made it the duty of all his fellow- Christians, with whom he associates, to admonish, warn, animate, encourage, approve, love, and pray for him as a brother. A thousand checks to sin and a thousand aids to godliness are that day assumed. Faith, hope, and love are likely to be confirmed. Henceforth, more bold in Christ's service and more decided in principle, he is likely to be more useful in the world ; and in after-life, how often must this deliberate act of self-dedication to God recur to his thoughts to re- pel temptation and to strengthen every holy princi- ple within him ? If the nerves of the timid may be shaken by the solemn act of dedication to Christ which fills stronger believers with holy joy and gratitude that they are permitted thus to honor him, this very tremor is calculated to impress indelibly on their minds the THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 267 engagements into which they then entered, and to render their after-course more devoted and more con- sistent. To witness the baptism of a believer must be useful to members of the Church. Another soul is rescued by Almighty grace from perdition, and the Church may share with angels in their joy over a repentant sinner. Another soldier enlists in Christ's army, and his fellow-soldiers may renew their reso- lution to fight the good fight of faith. At that sight experienced Christians must revive their old impres- sions when they first gave themselves to the Lord ; backsliders, moved to compunction at witnessing a faith so contrasted with their faithless wanderings, may repent ; young Christians must rejoice to admit companions like themselves to the brotherhood of the saints ; and the prayers and praises of many must ascend as an acceptable sacrifice to God. But there are other spectators there who are like- ly to derive benefit from the scene. Baptism is cal- culated to check those worldly and frivolous persons who might inconsiderately ask admission to a church. A person who intends to continue in sin could not like thus solemnly to renounce it ; and, without in- tending to lead a new life, would not wish publicly to profess such intention. Conscience would thus keep many from joining the Church when no secular advantages are connected with it, and when admis- sion must be sought by a deliberate and public false- hood. But others would rather feel themselves strongly impelled to seek such admission. How can careless persons see one of their acquaintances re- nouncing sin. and becoming a servant of Christ, ad- 268 THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. mitted to the fellowship of saints, and welconaed by many Christians as a brother, without feeling grieved and alarmed that they have no such place among Christ's disciples ? Belonging to no church, and making no profession of faith in him, how can they think themselves members of the universal Church for which he gave himself to death, and which he loves with an everlasting love ? Especially on such an occasion may the children of pious parents feel their condition as unbaptized. Dedicated to God from their infancy, and trained in his ways, they have received instruction and exhortation from their parents ; they have worshiped with believers, and seen Christian examples from their childhood ; and now, while other young persons are baptized as be- lievers, and welcomed by the Church, they are with- out baptism, without profession of faith, without a place in any Christian church, without even a Chris- tian name. Is it the fear of the world, or the love of pleasure, or habitual frivolity, which hinders ? Whatever it be, they do not confess him, and have no reason to think that he will confess them, Matt., X., 32. They appear to be unregenerate, and if they die so, will probably be excluded from the Church triumphant, as they now are from the Church on earth. This may well urge many to seek decision of principle, and give themselves up to the Lord. Children in the various schools connected with the Church may be no less impressed when they see some of their companions turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, while they remain impenitent and unsaved. If any per- sons are convinced of sin, and begin to seek salva- THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 269 tion, what can be more proper to decide their wa- vering minds than to see a joyful decision of mind in some who were lately as far from piety as them- selves ? And if any who are young and gay think religion to be gloomy, and plead for a little longer indulgence, what is more likely to convert them than to see others as young as themselves, as cheerful, and perhaps more intelligent, scorning the servitude to frivolous pleasures, make a joyful surrender of themselves to the service of God, aided by the pray- ers of hundreds, and cheered by the affectionate sym- pathy of all the children of God ? But, besides the influence which the baptism of an individual must have on various classes, the Church derives no small advantage from the insti- tution generally. The mixture of the Church and the world has been one of the most fatal evils which have hindered the progress of the Gospel. Baptism is in some degree a preventive of this evil. I have already noticed that few worldly persons, without strong inducements of a worldly kind, would wish to make so solemn a profession of self-dedication to God falsely. But, should they wish to do so, it is not in their power. The Church, which is the judge of the qualifications of candidates for membership, has no right to admit any one to membership if the baptismal profession would be palpably false. Or- dered to put away from themselves each wicked person, they are virtually forbidden to receive such (1 Cor., v., 11—13), and are therefore bound to re- quire from each candidate a sound creed and irre- proachable conduct. It is not the business of one man to read the heart of another, nor ought church- 270 THE EFFECTri OF BAPTISM. es to pretend to decide upon the conversion of each candidate for baptism, but they may require evan- gelical views and godly habits from each ; and this requirement manifestly tends to keep the churches pure. When a church is thus composed of members vv^ho have all made this solemn profession, they may refer to it with powerful effect in all their church meetings and in their intercourse with one another. I know not how other churches can apply with any confidence or force the apostolic references to bap- tism, but those churches which are composed of per- sons baptized as believers may stir each other up by the words of Paul, " Know ye not that so many of us as have been baptized unto Christ Jesus have been baptized unto his death ; therefore we are bur- ied with him by baptism unto death ; that, like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the I'ather, even so we also should walk in newness of life ; for if we have been GVjKpvTOt,^ connected in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. . . . Buried wdth 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," Rom., vi., 3—5 ; Co]., ii., 12. Each has a right to expect from all that they mor- tify every sinful temper, and live in the practice of all godliness, because they all entered the Church with this profession. Neither this nor any other rite can secure the spirituality of a church, nor even hinder its defec- tion. A thousand other influences are in operation * ** '2,vfi(pvo[j.aL, to be naturally or necessarily connected, dA- T^.ri'koLg elg tv, elq ravro" — Liddell. THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 271 simultaneously with this. Should a church practice infant baptism, it may, notwithstanding the noxious tendency of this error, abound in piety ; and no less a church, which is sound in its view of baptism, may be unsound in doctrine and relaxed in discipline, its members without spirituality, and its services with- out life. But among the means which tend to pre- vent such declension in churches, baptism clearly holds a place. Assuming, then, that a church is flourishing in knowledge and in grace, the duty of repelling from membership those who have not pro- fessed, either at baptism, or from mistaking our Lord's commands vvdth respect to baptism in some other way, their repentance, faith, and dedication to the service of God, would be fulfilled, which would maintain the purity of the Church, and the world would see a Christian society separated from itself, not more by their evangelical views than by their consistent godliness. II. On the other hand, the effects of infant bap- tism have been very opposite. 1. Its first effect is to abolish almost entirely in any church and in any nation the baptism of believ- ers. It is not an addition to the baptism of believ- ers, but supersedes it ; because, when a nation adopts the profession of Christianity, almost all its children are baptized, and there remain no adults unbaptized. The consequence is, that all the effects of the bap- tism of believers vanish with it. A baptism of ded- ication, not sanctioned by Christ, and of which no instance is found in the New Testament, has abol- ished the baptism of profession instituted by Christ, and alone declared to be practiced by apostles. The 272 THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. intense emotions with which converts might give themselves in baptism to the service of the Redeem- er are precluded ; and the Church, the congregation, the world, lose the impressions which might be de- rived from witnessing the act by which believers, lately turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, surrender themselves to the service of the Redeemer. Christ's baptism, with all its blessings, is set aside to introduce another bap- tism derived from false analogies and forced infer- ences, of which neither Christ nor his apostles have said one word. Through the baptism of uncon- scious infants, the solemn, affecting, and salutary baptism of repentance, faith, and self-dedication to God has nearly vanished from the churches. 2. What have the churches gained by this sub- stitution ? I can find no benefit whatever derived from infant baptism by infants, or their parents, or the churches, or the world. Infants altogether un- conscious are thus dedicated to God, falsely by un- believing parents, and sincerely by parents who be- lieve. In the former case, parents sin by an act of hypocrisy ; in the second, they do what they would do without baptism, and no more. But what does the infant gain ? "Without baptism he might re- ceive parental training, be placed under a pious mas- ter, listen to earnest preaching, join in the prayers of the congregation, associate with godly friends, be instructed at a good school, become a member of the pastor's Bible class, and attend the prayer meetings of the congregation. From what means of instruc- tion is the unbaptized child of Christian parents ex- cluded which would be open to the baptized child ? THE EFFECTS OF BxYPTISM. 273 Under the Mosaic economy, which was exclusive, cir- cumcision admitted the child to the temple-worship, to the teaching of the rahbins or priests, to the Pass- over and other festivals, to association v,dth the cho- sen people, to the use of all the means of instruction then in the world, from which the uncircumcised were excluded ; but under the Christian economy, which is. meant for the world, there is no such ex- clusion. The unbaptized child has all the advant- ages which were possessed by the circumcised child, and many more ; nay, further, he has all the advant- ages possessed by the baptized child. In no re- spect does the first differ from the second, except that he does not bear a name which by itself is de- lusive and worse than worthless. The unauthor- ized baptism of infants can not be shown to render to them any service whatever. It renders no ad- vantage to their parents. By the complete subjec- tion of a child to the will of his parents, by his im- ploring helplessness, by his docility and artlessness, by the sacred trust which God has put into the hands of his parents, by the parental love with which he has implored them, are they bound and urged to dedicate him from his infancy to God, to instruct and train him for God, and guide him by precept and example to the knowledge and love of his Maker. Can baptism add any thing to these obhgations ? Does it in fact ? Even parents who have sprinkled their children feel the force of these natural motives day by day a thousand times more than they do the influence of that religious sprinkling. Pious parents do not need this new inducement to educate their children well ; ungodly parents can not feel its force. S 274 THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. On the other hand, the actual practice of Paedo-Bap- tist churches too clearly proves that the churches themselves take very little interest in the ceremony. Baptism, except as far as superstition has invested it with imaginary spiritual power, seems to me to have dwindled into a formality. Yet even this formality is fraught with the ele- ments of positive mischief. For since all who are baptized are in some sense disciples (Matt., xxviii., 19), all baptized infants are thought to become Chris- tians. The Anglican churches say of them that they are " members of Christ, children of God, and inher- itors of the kingdom of heaven." — Church Cate- chism. " The visible society which God was pleas- ed to institute among men . . . since the day of Pen- tecost, has consisted of baptized families enlarging to many baptized nations." — M'Neile's Lectures, 14. "It is undeniable, that in Scripture the visible com- pany of the baptized is called the Church," — Ibid.y 18. In the baptismal service, each Anglican minis- ter says of each child brought to him to be sprink- led, " We receive this child into the congregation of Christ's flock ;" and adds, " This child is regen- erate, and grafted into the body of Christ's Church." Whereupon he further says, "We yield thee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased thee to regenerate this infant with thy Holy Spirit, to receive him for thine own child by adoption, and to incorporate him into thy holy Church." " Once united in the sacrament to Christ, the child becomes mystically or sacramentally one of that body of which Christ is the head. . . . The formal mystical union takes place individually at the moment, and in the THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 275 act of the mystical washing away of sin." — Hoare on Baptism, 262. All this the children within the Anglican estab- lishment are subsequently taught by the Catechism. Each child in all the parish schools, and in every Anglican family throughout the whole land, is taught to say, in answer to the question, " Who gave you this name ? My godfathers and godmoth- ers in my baptism, wherein I was made a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven." Hence the children grow up to think themselves Christians, and their parents think them the same. The Church and the world are inseparably blended ; the Church swells into the nation, the nation becomes the Church. " We hold," says Hooker, " that seeing there is not any man of the Church of England but the same man is also a member of the commonwealth, nor any member of the commonwealth Avhich is not also of the Church of England . . . one and the same multitude may in such sort be both." — Book viii. By this means interminable confusion has spread over the churches. The Church is in the New Testament Christ's bride, which he intends to pre- sent to himself without fault (Eph., vi., 25—27), the company of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven (Heb., xii., 23) ; but now there is a new society, unknown in the New Testament, which men call " the visible Church," another body of Christ, another bride, composed of baptized nations. The churches which were composed of those alone, who were in reality, or in appearance, saints and faithful brethren, are now composed of all who were sprinkled 276 THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. in infancy without their own consent or knowledge, of all opinions and of all characters. So we hear of Christian nations and Christian Parliaments, with- out any reference whatever to character, or even to any explicit profession, solely in virtue of this infant sprinkling. Sometimes, also, we hear* of " good Christians" and of " bad Christians." The passages of Scripture which urge Christians to separate from the world have lost their >meaning. There is no " world" in England ; the " world" is the Church ; and Christians must not separate from the Church. Scripture insists upon the necessity of a new birth ; but with what force can its appeal come to those who have been already in baptism *' regenerated with the Holy Spirit ?" — Baptismal Service. The awful warnings of Scripture to the uncon- verted are limited to heathens and Jews ; the priv- ileges exclusively belonging to saints are ascribed to all who bear the Christian name. By this unhap- py practice of infant baptism, all distinctness of warning is banished from many pulpits. I have heard men appealed to in the pulpit as "Chris- tians living in known sin ; Christians neglecting the Bible and prayer ; Christians ungodly in heart and life." Addressed as Christians, they could not think that they needed a complete change. A develop- ment of latent grace, the revival of a dormant piety, was all that they could require. Already regener- ate Christians, enjoying the intercession of Christ for them, and subjects of the common influences of the Spirit, a little improvement at the close of life would surely suffice to save them. An indistinctness of this kind is often perceptible THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 277 in the pulpits of Anglican ministers, who reject the notion that baptism generally effects the spiritual regeneration of infants. Baptism must do some- thing ; it must make the children in some sense Christians, " members of Christ, children of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven." And that is enough to enfeeble fatally all appeals to the unconverted. But infant baptism has very natural ly led to the worse notion of baptismal regeneration ; to the notion that the one spiritual regeneration nec- essary to salvation, and which is itself the source of salvation, is accomplished by baptism. Since the Scriptures declare that persons are to be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts, ii., 38), that they should be " baptized and wash away their sins" (Acts, xxii., 16), that they are '' buried with Christ, and rise with him" in baptism (Col., ii., 12), that the baptized "put on Christ" (Gal., iii., 27), and that they are "saved" by baptism (1 Pet., iii., 21) — if these passages are applied to infants, it is very difficult to avoid the conclusioi\ that they are re- newed and justified in baptism. Believers being required to exercise faith before they come to bap- tism, it is easy to understand, with reference to them, that baptism is in all these cases put for the profes- sion of faith — for that real faith which, being proved by confession, is the work of the Spirit, and secures remission of sins ; but as infants are incapable^ of faith, if these passages apply to them, they must ex- press the 'results effected by their baptism, in other words, their baptismal regeneration. By this doc- trine baptized nations are regenerated and justified in infancy ; there is no such thing as a regeneration 278 THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. effected by the Spirit of God through his word, James, i., 18 ; 1 Pet., i., 23. Except in very rare cases, none are justified by faith, for they are justi- fied in infancy. And the following tractarian doc- trine triumphs : " The sacraments, not preaching, are the sources of divine grace." — Tracts, vol. i., p. 4. " They are the only justifying rites or in- struments of conveying the atonement." — Tract 90, p. 46. " Regeneration in baptism is the very spirit and essence of the vi^hole teaching of the Church." — Plain Words, p. 21. '• The two sacraments of the Gospel are those v^^hich directly communicate Christ to the soul." — British Critic, July, 1843, p. 51. "In baptism itself two very different causes are combined, the one God himself, the other a creat- ure which he has thought fit to hallow for this end." — Pusey Tract, 67. " Pvegeneration is the being born of water and of the Spirit, or by God's Spirit again moving on the face of the waters, and sancti- fying them for our cleansing, and cleansing us there- by." — Ibid. '' And is not this fundamental error," says a pious Anglican writer, " the mighty mischief which is now desolating our Church ? All the evils which have ever been ascribed to the doctrines of grace, with all their perversions and all their misapprehensions, must sink into insignificance when compared with those which daily and palpably issue from the asser- tion of the general efficacy of baptism in all who partake of that rite." " As Bishop Jewell asserts, Verily, to ascribe felicity or remission of sin, which is the inward work of the Holy Ghost, unto any manner of outward action whatsoever, it is a super- THE EFFECTS OF BAPTISM. 279 stitioiis, a gross, and a Jewish error." " Thus eon- founding circumstantials with essentials, all the mis- chiefs of delusion follow, and the Christian body, thus feeding on wind instead of wholesome nutri- ment, is starved, and faints, and decays." — Bucld, 9, 10, 6. But, so long as infant baptism continues to be practiced, this " gross superstition," this " mighty mischief," must continue, because it springs necessa- rily from the application of the scriptural statements respecting the baptism of believers to the baptism of infants ; and while infant baptism lasts, there be- ing only one baptism enacted by Christ, they must be so applied. CHAPTEPv V. PRACTICAL INFERENCES. Section I, Some Reasons ivhy a Person ivho re- nounces PcBclo- Baptism, after having made a Profession of Religion, ought to he baptized. . There are two things in baptism, the form and the reaUty : the form is immersion in water ; the reahty is a profession of repentance and faith, of which the form is significant. One who was sprink- led in his infancy has not, in his passive reception of that rite, either compUed with the form or fulfilled the reality of baptism : he has not been immersed, and he has made no baptismal profession of faith. He is, therefore, unbaptized ; and any one who in these circumstances renounces the practice of Psedo- Baptism as erroneous, knows that he is so. As there is no instance in the New Testament of any person who was converted to Ciirist after he commissioned his disciples to baptize, coming to the Lord's table unbaptized, a person who should do so now would place himself in a situation unlike that of all the Christians during the ministry of the apos- tles. It is safer to conform to the apostolic custom, and to attend the Lord's table as baptized rather than as unbaptized. A person sprinkled in infancy may, indeed, have REASONS FOR BAPTISM. 281 professed his faith in Christ by coming to the Lord's table, and in other ways, but he has never made a baptismal profession of faith according to Christ's commands both implied and expressed, Matt., xxviii., 19 ; Mark, xvi., 16 ; John, iii., 5 ; Acts, ii., 38. His confession of Christ in one appointed way seems to be no valid reason for neglecting to confess him in another concurrent way, which is no less un- equivocally prescribed. Like the Psedo-Baptist, the Quaker might profess his faith in Christ in word and deed, be avowedly a disciple of Christ, and openly seek fellowship v.dth his people. Like Mr. J. J. Gurney, he may have defended the Gospel by his pen, promoted it by his preaching, and illustrated it by his Christian virtues ; and yet, when such a man recognizes that Christ has enjoined upon all his fol- lowers to^he end of time the baptism of water as emblematic of the baptism of the Spirit, he is held by all evangelical churches bound to honor Christ by complying with his command to be baptized. Every Christian minister would advise him to be baptized ; every convert to the doctrine of water baptism in such circumstances complies with the command. It is not because, then, for the first time he professes to believe in Christ. His faith may have been active, his conduct devoted for years, but he has learned a command of Christ with which he was before unacquainted, and he wishes to fulfill it. He is baptized, although he has long professed his faith in Christ, because he wishes to honor the ordi- nance of Christ. Now what is the difference be- tween his case and that of the person who, after a similar course of discipleship, renounces Psedo-Bap- 282 PRACTICAL INFERENCES. tism ? Both are equally unbaptized, and both have openly served Christ. There is no difference be- tween them in this matter. Why should the one be baptized and the other remain unbaptized ? Why should all ministers and all churches claim this act of obedience from the one disciple, and not equally demand it from the other ? Upon this point, the reason which our Lord as- signed for his baptism by the hands of John seems to me conclusive. The following is the narrative of the transaction: " Then cometh Jesus from Gali- lee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me ? And Jesus an- swering, said unto him, Suffer it to be so now ; for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness," Matt., iii., 13-15. " There was no particular precept in the Old Testament requiring this, but he chose to give the sanction of his example to the baptism of John as to a divine ordinance." — Barnes. "Nor could it be more efTectually shown how great an honor is due to the rites instituted by God, than when Christ himself commended their use to us by his own example." — Grotius. He came unto John to be baptized, " that he might honor John's ministry, acknowledge his com- mission to baptize, and might confirm the institution of baptism by water," saying, " Thus it becomes us, me, and my disciples according to my example, to fulfill all righteousness, to do whatsoever is just, fit, and requisite in our circumstances. It becometh every messenger of God, and even every follower of REASONS FOR BAPTISM. 283 mine, to observe every divine appointment, and to honor every divine ordinance." — Benson. " We may learn from this example of Christ that being baptized with the Holy Ghost will excuse none for contempt or neglect of baptism by water, because it is the revealed will of God that all the members of his Church should come under that ordinance ; so, as there is a fulfilling of righteousness in our case as well as in Christ's ... he that erreth through ignorance will correct his error upon better informa- tion." — Poole. " They who are of greatest attainments in gifts and graces should yet bear their testimony to insti- tuted ordinances by an humble and diligent attend- ance upon them, that they may give a good exam- ple to others." — Henry. " We never find that Jesus spoke of himself in the plural number, and must, therefore, allow that he meant John also and all the servants of God in a subordinate sense. It became Christ, as our surety and our example, perfectly to fulfill all righteousness ; and it becometh us to walk in all God's command- ments and ordinances without exception." — Scott. When the Quaker, on recognizing the doctrine of water baptism, after, it may be, years of Christian profession, is baptized, he fulfills an act of righteous- ness after this example of Christ. Exactly in the same degree does each unbaptized disciple of Christ, who is baptized, fulfill it : in honoring baptism, he honors Christ who has instituted it ; and this seems exactly the point of obedience which his example was intended to enforce. Undoubtedly it should lead his followers generally to honor all his ordinances; 284 PRACTICAL INFERENCES. but that which it especially teaches is that when, like him, they have no need of baptism, they should, like him, honor it. Our Lord was now thirty years of age, perfect in holiness, and openly serving God in all holy obedience, yet neither his age, nor his character, nor his zeal and piety, known to all who knew him, hindered him from setting this example to others of respect for baptism as an ordinance of God. If, therefore, any persons have made a pro- fession of religion as many years as Jesus had, but are still unbaptized, they may see in his conduct the course which they ought to take. Baptism, as an ordinance of Christ, ought to be honored by all his disciples, and how can the unbaptized honor it ex- cept by being baptized ? In studying the example of Christ, we further learn to consider the influence which our example may have on others. Baptism, as a profession of faith appointed by Christ, being of great importance to the Church, it is necessary that it should be earn- estly commended to the attention of unconverted persons, whose consciences it is well calculated to awaken to a wholesome activity : all such ought to begin their religious profession by being baptized. But with what effect can unbaptized persons urge the duty of baptism on others ? Actions teach more than words; and if those who hold the immersion of believers to be the only baptism appointed by Christ do yet remain unbaptized, the world in general must judge that they also may safely remain in the same condition. You urge upon some young Chris- tian the duty of baptism, but he may answer, " Why should I encounter the self-denial of baptism, since REASONS FOR BAPTISM. 285 you have escaped it ?" There is a difference be- tween the cases, I admit ; but will those who wish for a plea by which they may escape a self-denying duty recognize this difference ? If not, then your neglect of baptism will confirm theirs. Especially ought this last consideration to weigh with ministers whose office it is to lead men to a baptismal profession of faith. " It becomes us to countenance and encourage every thing that is good by pattern as well as precept. Christ often men- tioned John and his baptism with honor, which, that he might do the better, he was himself baptized. Thus Jesus began first to do and then to teach, and his ministers must take the same method." — Henry. A minister ought to be baptized, first, that he may be able effectually to recommend baptism to those who are converted through his ministry from a life of ungodliness to a life of faith ; secondly, be- cause those who wish to be baptized by him might feel a doubt as to the validity of baptism by an un- baptized minister, and might fear to receive baptism at his hands unless he were baptized. It is, moreover, well known that many churches admit to the Lord's table none who are unbaptized. In my opinion, this practice is erroneous ; but as it is sanctioned by the practice of nearly all Christian churches, because nearly all reject unbaptized per- sons from the Lord's table, it should be respected as the result of conscientious conviction rather than be treated as an offense. With these churches, there- fore, each person agreeing with them respecting the doctrine of baptism ought to be in communion, if he can be so without compromise of principle. Now, 286 PRACTICAL INFERENCES. since communion with them in the Lord's Supper no more impUes a sanction of their exclusive prac- tice than a similar communion with a pious church within the Establishment, or with a pious Presby- terian church, or with a pious Wesleyan church, would sanction the particular opinions of these churches, it ought to be sought ; and the more so, as their brotherly intercourse with Christians of more liberal views tends to render them more lib- eral. But it can only be obtained by baptism ; and the act of baptism being in itself right, it must be also right to enter into communion with such churches in this way. Considerations of this kind have so weighed with hose who have studied this question, that of all the ministers who are known to have renounced the doc- trine of Psedo-Baptism, very few, I suppose, could be found who have not been themselves baptized. On the other hand, I know nothing which can be alleged against this course except that it is calcula- ted to excite prejudice, and thereby lessen usefulness. But this is, when well considered, an argument in its favor. For why should the act of baptism ex- cite more prejudice than the maintenance of the cor- responding opinion ? The reason is, because the act teaches the doctrine more publicly and more influen- tially. If you avoid baptism, others will avoid it ; if you accept it, others will accept it. But these are reasons for your baptism, and not against it. There remains nothing else to allege against it, except that it may expose you to some measure of contempt ; and if you think of the cross of Christ, you will not shrink from this lighter cross. REASONS FOR FREE COM.MUNION. 287 Section II. Reasons for Free Communion. As many Baptists, knowing that infant sprinkling is not the baptism enjoined by Christ, and that Pas- do-Baptists are therefore unbaptized, think that they ought not to be admitted to the table of the Lord in Baptist churches, I will now state some of the considerations which appear to establish an opposite conclusion. Like the strict Baptists, I believe each person who has been merely sprinkled in infancy is unbaptized, because the external act of baptism is immersion, and that act is meant to be a profession of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The person sprinkled in infancy has neither been immersed, nor has he made, through his reception of the sprinkled water, any profession whatever of discipleship ; he is, therefore, wholly unbaptized ; and it is regarding him simply as an unbaptized believer that I advocate his right to a place at the Lord's table in a Baptist church. It is of no moment to the settlement of this question whether Psedo-Bap- tists would repudiate or not the proposal to admit them to communion with Baptist churches as unbap- tized. We have only to examine truth and duty. If they claim the admission of the validity of their baptism, we are obliged to refuse their claim, because truth does not allow it ; and if they would not wish for communion with us on those terms, we must still advocate it because truth demands it. "Our con- duct on such questions should not be governed by affection any more than by disaffection, but by a re- gard to the revealed will of Christ." There are many Psedo-Baptists who love and serve 288 PRACTICAL INFERENCES. the Lord Jesus Christ. They are his members, his servants, his soldiers, his friends. They maintain his authority, promote his cause, copy his example, obey his precepts, and live for his glory. They love him, and are therefore loved by him (John, xiv., 21), and to each of them he will say at last, " Well done, good and faithful servant . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord," Matt., xxv., 23. Why ought not Baptists to own them as brethren ? All who are the servants of Christ ought to be own- ed as such. If he honors and loves them, it is not his will that their fellow-servants should dishonor them. God has made them his children by adop- tion and grace, and can not be pleased to see that while they are owned by him they are disowned by their brethren. It must be right to own the work of the Holy Spirit wherever it is accomplished, and to choose those for our friends whom he has chosen to be his temples, 1 Cor., vi., 19. It is according to nature and grace too, that the sheep of the same flock, under the same shepherd, should walk together and feed together in the same pastures, John, x., 16. Brothers ought to sit down together at their Fa- ther's table (John, i., 12 ; Gal., iv., 4, 5 ; Matt., xxiii., 8) ; servants in the same household ought to be in friendly association (Heb., iii., 6 ; Gal., vi., 10) ; and soldiers of the same army ought to be united, Eph., vi., 10-17 : 1 Thess., v., 8. What their circumstances dictate the word of God likewise enjoins. To all his disciples, without ex- ception, Christ has said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to an- other," John, xiii., 35. They must therefore so man- REASONS FOR FREE COMMUNION. 289 ifest their mutual affection by brotherly fellowship that all men may know it. Not for the apostles only, but for all believers, has Christ thus prayed : " Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word ; that they all may be one, as thou. Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us ; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me," John, xvii., 20. Their union, therefore, must be so mani- fested by brotherly fellowship that the world may see it and be converted by it. Hence the Apostle Paul, adverting to the differences of opinion which divided the Christians at Rome, wrote to them, and, through them, to all real Christians : " Him that is weak in the faith, receive ye, but not to doubtful dis- putations," Rom., xiv., 1. If the Jewish Christian had not light enough to throw off the Jewish ordi- nances as abolished in Christ, he was not, therefore, to be repelled from communion with those who had more knowledge ; nor should the strong dispute with him, except as he sought it, and as just occasions were presented, respecting his peculiar views. If, likewise, the Psedo-Baptist has not light enough to throw off the Jewish ordinance of infant circumcis- ion, but must revive it in infant baptism, he is not to be repelled from communion with those to whom God has given more knowledge in this matter. " Re- ceive ye one another," continued the apostle, " as Christ also received us, to the glory of God," Rom., XV., 7. We are called to receive all Christ's disci- ples, notwithstanding their errors, as Christ has re- ceived us, notwithstanding ours. , If we must not openly acknowledge them because of some defects in T 290 PRACTICAL INFERENCES. knowledge, why should Christ accept ns, notwith- standing greater defects ? The great ground of this open reception, this free brotherly intercourse, is stat- ed by St. Paul in these words : " Let not him that eateth not, judge him that eateih, for God hath re- ceived Mtii,'" Rom., xiv., 3. In other words, let not the Baptist who can not baptize infants condemn pious Psedo-Baptists who do baptize them, because their faithful profession and their holy life prove that God has received them ; and those who are accept- ed by God as his beloved children are surely good enough to be welcomed by erring and sinful follow- ers of Christ as beloved brethren. All this is, indeed, granted by the advocates for strict communion. '•'■ Elsewhere and in all other things," is their lan- guage, " we own as brethren and honor godly Psedo- Baptists, but we must not admit them to the table of the Lord." " If I have any thing," says one of them, "■ like Christian love in me, I feel it toward all those in whom I perceive the image of Christ, whether they be Baptists or Pcedo-Baptists, and my refusing to commune with them at the Lord's table is not because I consider them as improper subjects." — A. Fioller. " We do receive our Psedo-Baptist brethren in the sense of the apostle. . . . We work with them in the common cause of Christ, in prayer, in missionary, Bible, and religious tract meetings ; we pray for them, and esteem them highly-in love for their work's sake ; we rejoice in their spiritual prosperity ; we preach for them, and they for us ; and we would with great pleasure receive them to the table of the REASONS FOR FREE COMMUNION. 291 Lord, if we had authority from the Sacred Volume for so doing ; but we conscientiously believe we have not." — Primitive Church Magazine, June, 1849. According to this doctrine, Peedo-Baptists are " brethren," yet must not sit down with their broth- ers at the table of their Elder Brother, Heb., ii., 11. As "brethren," they are Christ's disciples, and there- fore commanded by him to eat and drink in memo- ry of him (Matt., xxvi., 26), but they must not eat and drink with their fellow-servants. They are wel- come guests to their Lord, but are repelled by their fellow-guests. Elsewhere they are owned to be brethren, but the chief sign of brotherhood must be withheld from them. They may lead the prayers of their fellow-Christians, and they may instruct the Churches as enlightened and holy ministers of Christ ; yet in that ordinance which is specially appointed to be a sign of the communion of saints and the unity of the body (1 Cor., x., 17), they must be put out, as though they were not members. What a spec- tacle is thus afforded to the world, who see with con- tempt that the most earnest followers of the Redeem- er can not even commemorate his death together I When the saints of Jesus are thus put out of the communion of any of his churches, are not those who put them out treading in the steps of Diotrephes (3 John, 10), though with a different spirit ? No : it is replied, '•' We are willing to receive all who appear to have been received of God to the or- dinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. . . . But we can not divide the one from the other with- out dispensing with an institution of Christ." But this is no reception of them. They can no more 292 PRACTICAL INFERENCES. force their convictions than you can ; and therefore you say to them in effect, Unless you will forego what you believe to be a duty, the baptism of in- fants, and accept us as authoritative expositors of Christian doctrine, we must expel you from our so- ciety, when we commemorate the dying love of our Lord, and meet as brethren in his name. That there is "an instituted connection between baptism and the Lord's Supper," I freely admit ; and it is no less clear, that after the institution of baptism by our Ldrd, no person who refused to be baptized was ever admitted in any Christian church to that supper. But neither of these facts afford reason for the rejection of Psedo-Baptists, as such, from it. Baptism being the appointed rite by which believers then professed their repentance and faith, no one could then refuse it without willfully disobey- ing the commands of Christ, and no willfully disobe- dient person could be admitted to the communion of saints ; but as the unbaptized person was then ex- cluded from the Lord's Supper, so he was excluded from every other act which would mark him to be a Christian brother. He could not take the lead in their social prayers ; he could not preach to the gathered Church ; he was not recognized as a min- ister of Christ ; he was not owned even as a brother. These facts abundantly show the difference between his case and that of the godly Psedo-Baptist now. "While the one could neither preach nor pray in pub- lic, the other is invited by strict Baptist churches to do both. While the one was esteemed a disobedient unbeliever, the other is owned by them to be a godly minister of Christ. To reject the one from the table REASONS FOR FREE COMMUNION. 293 of the Lord was consistent, to reject the other appears to be grossly inconsistent. If the Psedo-Baptist be a disobedient unbeHever, reject him from the Lord's table, and also from every other function and privi- lege exclusively appropriate to believers ; if he be an obedient believer, admit him to these functions, but with them admit him also to the Lord's table. But how can the godly Psedo-Baptist be excluded on these terms ? He is no more a disobedient un- believer than the strictest of the Baptists who would exclude him. The reason why he is a Psedo-Bap- tist is, that he believes the baptism of infants to be according to the will of Christ. What person was ever excluded from the Lord's Supper in the apos- tolic churches for doing all that he believed, after searching of the Scriptures and listening to apostles, to be according to the will of Christ ? What up- right and earnest believer was ever in those days ex- cluded ? What member of one church was refused communion with the members of another ? In what apostolic church were ever such men as Baxter, Howe, and Flavel, Doddridge and Whitfield, Ed- wards and Payson, Fletcher, Martin, Brainerd, and Chalmers, men full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, walking with God and laboring for Christ, refused such communion ? It was reserved for worse days to see so strange a spectacle. W^hat if these good soldiers had not taken the oath of allegiance to their king in the exact manner in which Baptists take it, still it was taken. What if they had not put on their king's uniform just as Bap- tists put it on, yet they wore it. The Baptist has professed his allegiance to Christ at baptism, the 294 PRACTICAL INFERENCES. J Psedo-Baptist has professed it at the Lord's Supper. Both wear the king's uniform, but the one assumed it at the earlier rite, the other more irregularly at the later rite. If the one in baptism professed to die and rise with Christ, the other in the Supper " showed forth the Lord's death," 1 Cor., xi., 26. " The Scriptures," says Mr. Fuller, " lay great stress upon confessing Christ's name before men (Matt., X., 32), and baptism is one of the most dis- tinguished ways of doing this. When a man be- comes a believer in Christ, he confesses it usually in words to other believers ; but the appointed way of confessing it openly to the world is by being baptized in his name. If, therefore, we profess Christianity only in words, the things professed may be genuine, but the profession is essentially defective." Now, since confession is so necessary, and the Psedo-Baptist can not confess him by baptism because he believes it to be wrong, but earnestly desires to confess him in the Lord's Supper, is it not inconsist- ent in those who insist so properly on the value of confession to say to a Christian, Because you can not confess him in one way, we will hinder you from confessing him in another ? If, indeed, to admit him to the table were to dis- pense with the command of Christ, and to sanction the neglect of baptism, he must not be admitted ; but this can not be, because he is admitted by the churches who practice free communion, on the ground that he is a believer who keeps the commands of Christ, honors baptism, and believes that he has been baptized. I own that he is unbaptized, but his case is totally difi'erent from the case of a person refusing REASUNS FOU FREE COMMUNION. 295 to be baptized in the time of the apostles : they knew that they were disregarding a divine command, he believes himself to be fulfilling it ; they refused bap- tism because they despised the authority of Christ, he refuses it because he respects that authority. 1 do not adduce this consideration to show that the Church must receive all candidates for communion as qualified if they think themselves to be so, since the Church must be the ultimate judge of the qual- ifications of all who seek communion with it ; but I adduce it to show that the Paedo-Baptist is not dis- qualified. A loyal, loving, and obedient believer, who obeys the commands of Christ as far as he knows them, why should he be excluded ? He is unbap- tized, it is true ; but his neglect of baptism is sim- ply an error ; and if a faithful, loving, and obedient believer, who studies and follows the Scripture, is to be excluded from communion for an error which does not touch the great doctrines of the Gospel, where is the exclusion to stop ? Arminians and Calvinists must not hold communion together, nor Presbyteri- ans, Anglicans, and Independents, nor Millenarians with ante-Millenarians, nor members of establish- ments with members of free churches, nor Free-com- munion Baptists with those who advocate strict com- munion, nor any believer with any other whom he beHeves to be in error. No members of any church can receive the Lord's Supper together. Churches must be scattered, and nothing remain but a sick- ening and noxious individuality, the churches being reduced to a chaos of disconnected units. Let it further be observed, that the reasoning which could prove that unbaptized persons must 296 TRACTICAL INFERENCES. not, under any circumstances, be admitted to the Lord's table, must equally prove that they must not, under any circumstances, be owned as brethren. If you sanction their error by admitting them to the Lord's table, you must sanction it no less by all fra- ternization with them ; and since we must never do evil that good may come, all persons, according to this doctrine, must exclude from their fellowship all whom they imagine to be in error ; and, unless they be themselves infallible, must allow all their fellow- Christians equally to excommunicate them. Since this absurd conclusion follows from the doctrine that in admitting saints as such to the communion of saints we sanction their errors, it follows that this doctrine is false. Saints may be admitted to the table of their Lord without sanction of their errors ; and Pffido-Baptists may come to it without any dis- honor done to the sacrament of baptism. There is another objection to open communion, which has been urged in the following terms : " Thousands of persons, who from their early days have been taught 'and do now believe that by being sprinkled they were made members of Christ, chil- dren of God, and inheritors of the kingdom of heav- en, might, but for this error, have been seeking sal- vation from a right quarter. . . . Can it be rooted up too soon ? . . . Are our open-communion breth- ren going the right way to work to root it up, and not rather rooting baptism out of the Church ?" When any doctrine is at once popular and false, an exclusive policy upholds it. Investigation would expose it, and must therefore be prevented ; and as men do not like to be excluded from society, if that REASONS FOR FREE COMMUNION. 297 exclusion can be attached to a denial of the popular error, men will avoid investigation to escape the consequences of an inconvenient sincerity. But ex- clusiveness is extremely impolitic when a doctrine is unpopular and true. Nothing is more favorable to the progress of such a doctrine than investigation, and whatever promotes investigation extends the be- lief of the doctrine. Now the doctrine of believers' baptism, as opposed to infant baptism, is exactly in these circumstances, and whatever promotes investi- gation will extend that doctrine. Which course, then, tends the most to encourage investigation, close communion or open ? By the one, eminent Chris- tians are treated as heretics, disobedient to the law of Christ, and aliens from his Church ; by the oth- er, they are welcomed as brethren. The former must irritate and repel them ; the latter can not but attract their regard. By the exclusive system they are shut out from communion, not with the churches of Christ, which they might dread, but with a small minority of those churches, which they may be tempted to despise. By the one, the advo- cates of the truth appear liberal and fraternal ; by the other, they repel their brethren, by seeming il- liberal and unbrotherly. The one course would lead many to study their opinions, as those of enlighten- ed and liberal persons ; the other would induce many to reject them at once, as leading to a practice so unamiable, repulsive, and unwarrantable. In another way this practice of close communion may still more powerfully obstruct the doctrine of believers' baptism. If I mistake not, it must injure the spirit of the churches which practice it. How 298 PRACTICAL INFERENCES?. can they so separate from those with whom they are commanded to be openly one without serious loss ? John, xvii., 20, 21. How can they so value the rite of baptism as to repel from their communion those who have the faith and devotedness which the rite expresses, and not sufler by it ? At least, they must be much tempted to overvalue the form of re- ligion, and to undervalue the reality ; to " pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin," and to " omit the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith," Matt., xxiii., 23. This exclusion of holy men seems a palpable disregard to the work of the Spirit in Paedo-Baptists, tempts Baptists to overvalue themselves on account of baptism, and if it impairs the spirituality of the Church, must hinder the con- version of sinners. But let all consistent believers be admitted to communion, then irritation may sub- side, prejudice be diminished, the piety of the Bap- tist churches become attractive, the doctrines of bap- tism be examined candidly, and many may be con- verted to it. There is, however, one more very serious objection to open communion, which ought to be fairly met. Let us hear Mr. Fuller : " The grand cause of the Church's having been corrupted, so as to become apostate, was its being mingled with the world. Piedo-Baptism first occasioned this fatal mixture, and national establishments of religion completed it. The one introduced the unconverted posterity of be- lievers, the other all the inhabitants of a country, considering none but pagans, Jews, and deists as un- believers. The one threw open the door, the other broke down the wall. It is manifestly thus that the REASUNt; FOR FREE CUMMUNION. 299 Church and the world have been confounded, and will always be confounded, more or less, till Psedo- Baptism is no more. If you admit Psedo-Baptists to communion, you will not be able for any continu- ance to secure your own principle, that none but real Christians should be admitted." The reason assigned for this opinion is, that in Psedo-Baptist churches, baptized children are considered as mem- bers of the visible Church, and that they are, there- fore, admitted too easily to the Lord's table. But, assuming the truth of this statement, at least with reference to establishments, let us recollect that few inconsistent communicants from Pasdo-Baptist churches would desire occasional communion with Baptist churches, nor could their presence injure these churches ; and with respect to members, each church has the means of preventing the alleged evil in its own hands ; for although it may not repel from its communion Psedo-Baptists as such, it has yet the right to ask from all who are candidates for com- munion credible proofs that they are true disciples. To be communicants in the Establishment ought to be no barrier to communion with any other church, but it is also no sufficient title to such communion. Each church may, if it will, require from candidates the profession of their faith and testimonials to their conduct. The profession thus required may be ex- actly that which would be made in baptism ; and if the Church dread the appearance of sanctioning disobedience to a command of Christ, each Psedo- Baptist candidate may be required distinctly to pro- fess that he refuses to be baptized only in obedience to what he believes, after examination, to be the will .300 PRACTICAL INFERENCES. of Christ. The required discipline of the Church may thus be preserved, and all true believers be ad- mitted to communion ; but, on the other hand, to exclude from communion the best men in the coun- try on the ground that they are unbaptized, must make both baptism and Church discipline odious to multitudes. For consider the real character of this exclusion. Those only are ordered in the word of God to be excluded who are heretical in doctrine (Gal., v., 12), who are vicious in their practice (1 Cor., v., 11,13), who are schismatical in temper (Rom., xvi., 17), who injure their brethern (Matt., xviii., 17), or who are openly disobedient to the commands of Christ, 2 Thess., iii., 14. But you exclude, in company with all these, some of the most loyal, the most act- ive, the bravest, and the most loving disciples of Christ. They may, like Enoch, walk with God ; like Abraham, sacrifice all that is dearest to them to serve him ; like Moses, trample under feet the world's most alluring bribes ; like Paul, consecrate noble faculties with untiring ardor to the cause of their Redeemer ; and yet, because they are Psedo- Baptists, you will exclude them from the table of their Lord. You do this because they will follow what they believe to be the will of Christ, the mean- ing of his command, and the practice of his apostles ; you do this because they do just what you do your- selves ; since you will baptize believers alone, bet cause you think that Christ requires it, and they v^dll baptize infants, because they think that he re- quires it. You do this, therefore, on a principle which would justify their exclusion of you ; which REASONS FOR FREE COMMUNION. 301 proscribes all communion among believers, and would substitute submission to human authority for entire, unlimited submission to the authority of Christ. -This can not be right ; a more brotherly course is demanded by the plain precepts of Scripture, by the clear proofs of faith and love in Pasdo-Baptist breth- ren, by the duty of independent judgment inculcated on all, Rom., xiv., 5, 23. And to admit the saints of Christ as such to his table, to demand no other terms of communion than such as are terms of sal- vation, to welcome as brethren all whose doctrine and conduct prove them to be so, and to invite all evangelical churches to this manifested unity, is at once to extend the true doctrine of baptism, and to promote the progress of Christ's kingdom in the world. CONCLUSION. A FORM OF BAPTISMAL SELF-DEDICATION TO GOD, Lord God Almighty, I accept with humble gratitude, as a sinner who has deserved eternal death, and who can not cease to deserve it, the rich, free, and eternal salvation which thou in thy goodness hast provided for me. 1 look to thee, O God the Father of our Lord Je- sus Christ, to save me from the punishment of sin and its power ; from the curse which thy law has justly pronounced upon me, from my own faults, from all temptation, and to bring me to a life of holy bliss in heaven, because thou hast promised all this to those who come to thee, as I now do, through Christ. In dependence upon the merit of thy Son Jesus Christ, upon the aid of thy Spirit, and on thy truth, I look to thee for the eternal salvation of my body and of my soul, and I humbly accept thee as my chief good to all eternity. O God the Son, my Pvedeemer, who didst expiate my sins by thy death, thou wast made sin for me, that I might be made the righteousness of God in thee ; thou hast redeemed me from the curse of the law, being made a curse for tne ; and having rescued me from eternal death by thy death, thou dost now live to bring me to eternal life. Believing in thy power and love, I trust to thy merit and intercession to secure for me the favor of God, to impart to me CONCLUSION. 303 thy Holy Spirit, to enrich me with all the blessings of the new covenant, and to prepare me for heaven. Thus I accept thee as my only and all-sufficient Savior. Through Christ I likewise thankfully receive thee, O God the Spirit, to be my Sanctifier. For his sake thou dost dwell with those who believe on him, and believing on him, I look to thee to teach me all needful truth, to incline my heart to what is just and right, to set my affections on God and on spirit- ual things, to direct and control my will, to form my character, to sanctify me wholly, to preserve me through all temptations, and to bring me into the presence of my Redeemer in glory. Thus I heartily accept thee, O God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, as " my shield and my ex- ceeding great reward." And I humbly trust, ac- cording to thy promises, to be made happy by thee for both worlds. On the other hand, being so blessed and favored, I, as a redeemed and pardoned transgressor, desire to make a public profession of faith in thee, and publicly to dedicate myself to thy service, accord- ing to Christ's appointment, by immersion. Before which public act, I do now, therefore, first dedicate myself to thee in secret. First, I renounce all sin forever. By my sins I have displeased and dishonored thee. They have checked my efforts to improve my character, they have hindered me from doing good, they have injured ray peace and usefulness ; they have been my dis- grace, and but for thy mercy they would have been my ruin. I have been unreasonable, corrupt, and 304 CONCLUSION. ungrateful in disobeying thee, and am brought by nature and by practice to such a condition that noth- ing but the blood of Jesus Christ can blot out my guilt. Thou hast so hated sin that thou hast sen- tenced sinners to eternal death; and unless Jesus Christ had suffered for it, they could not have been saved. It is unnatural, depraved, and rebellious, exposing them to thy just wrath and curse. It has occasioned the death of Christ ; it has made the world hate him ; it opposes his dominion ; he came to rescue us from its power ; and he feels an irrecon- cilable hatred to it. It is contrary to the nature and the influence of the Holy Spirit, by whom it is progressively destroyed in each believer, and by whom it must ultimately be destroyed throughout the world. It is worse in thy children than in others, because they must sin against clearer light, and repeated promises, after experiencing the aids of grace, and after tasting the pleasure of obedience. I therefore desire to forsake it forever, and hence- forth to do, say, and think nothing which is contrary to thy will. As Christ died for my sins, and was buried in the grave, so shall I be buried in the water, in token that I die with him to the sins which caused his death, that I may never again serve sin. At the same time, I mean by thy help to lead a new life. As Christ rose from the grave, so shall I rise from the water to a nobler and better life than before. Thou didst not givo my faculties to be wasted in aimless inactivity, but rescued from active corruption to be employed in all that is useful and ennobling. Henceforth my opinions and judgment of things being formed by a supreme regard to thy CONCLUSION. 305 will, I desire to cherish every right principle ; to pursue every honorable and useful end ; to do what is just and true, what is humane and benevolent ; to set my affections on all that is the most worthy to engage them ; to love all that are good ; to seek holiness and heaven ; to live for eternity and for thee ; to be directed in all things by thy word ; to be conformed to the example of Christ ; and to aim at being perfect, as my Father in heaven is perfect. As Christ my Redeemer is in heaven, I will set my affections there ; as he is holy, just, and good there, I will endeavor to be so here ; as he glorifies thee there, I w^ill seek to glorify thee here ; as he loves believers, I will love them ; and as he is head over all things to the Church, I will live to serve the Church. Thus, by thy help, I will rise with Christ to- a new life. Further, as I am about to be baptized unto the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, that is, to profess by immersion that I am thy worshiper and servant, I now consecrate myself to thy service forever. I give myself unreservedly to thee, O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, relying on thy mercy to accept me through Christ, and on the aid of thy Spirit to enable me to adhere to my resolu- tion. Thy will, O God, shall be mine. I mean to please thee in all things. I count thy enemies my enemies, thy friends my friends. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? Only make me know thy will, and by thy help I will do it. Thou art my owner, and to please and serve thee shall be my highest end. TT 306 CONCLUSION. I give myself also unreservedly to thee, my gra- cious and loving Savior, who art one in nature, de- sign, and feeling with thy Father. As thou Jiast lived and died for me, I wish to live for thee ; and as thou wilt give me glory in heaven, I desire to give thee glory on earth. Before long I hope to see thee in thy kingdom ; meanwhile may I love, serve, trust, and delight in thee as my ever-present Re- deemer. To obey thy commands, to copy thy ex- ample, to promote thy cause, to help thy servants, to honor thee in the use of all my faculties, posses- sions, and time — all this is my fixed intention, by the aid of thy Spirit. Thou hast bought me by thy blood : I am thine. Further, I give myself to thee, O Holy Spirit of God. It is my desire and purpose to be led by thy teaching, and to be conformed to thy will. May thy holy influence surround me wherever I may be. May I never grieve thee by neglect or sin, by hard- ness or unbelief ; but may I be immersed in a flood of light and love, as the three disciples were im- mersed in the bright cloud on the mount of trans- figuration. May I be baptized in thee ; pervade all my faculties, consecrate my whole being to thy- self. Since I have thus been enabled to believe, O Lord God, and am about to profess my faith by immer- sion unto thy name, I look to thee to fulfill the promises which thou hast made to me in thy word. Jesus, when on earth, said, " He that believe th and is baptized shall be saved." Pvcceive me, therefore, now, and own me at the last day as one of thy par- doned and accepted children. Thy apostle once said CONCLUSION. 307 to an anxious multitude, " Repent, and be baptized for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Repenting of all my sins, and being about to be baptized in token of that repent- ance, may I have the assurance that my sins are re- mitted, and be sealed with the Holy Spirit of prom- ise. To the end my righteousness will be like filthy rags, and each day I must need thy forgiveness. Now, therefore, I desire, by being baptized in the name of Christ, to express my entire dependence on his merit and mediation, to assume by faith the robe of his righteousness, and to be one of those of whom the Apostle Paul has said, " As many of you as have been baptized into Christ Jesus have put on Christ." Look on me as one who depends on him alone ; let his righteousness be imputed to me, and let it hide from thee all my guilt. Thus engaged in thy ennobling service, with a happy assurance that I am thy adopted child, may I have that joy and peace in believing which, in the case of others, has followed an open confession of Christ. As, on the day of Pentecost, the three thou- sand who were baptized were filled with gladness ; as the jailer and his family rejoiced, believing in thee on the night of their baptism ; and as the Ethiopian treasurer, after receiving baptism, went on his way rejoicing, so may I, in thus putting on the uniform of Christ as his soldier, experience such joy and peace in believing as all the trials of life shall not be able to destroy. In this profession may I, through thy grace, be steadfast to the end of my life, and daily grow stronger in faith as nature decays. 308 CONCLUSION. As I am about to be received into the communion of saints as the member of a Christian Church, as- sist me to live answerably to this privilege. Make me to love my brethren, and to be loved by them in return. Never may I sow discord among those whom divine grace has united, but, on the contrary, be a peace-maker among those whom human infirm- ity separates. Never may I envy the gifts and graces of my companions, but feel humble gratitude to thee for every manifestation of thy goodness to them or to myself Make me according to my ability to pro- mote the happiness of the Church of which I shall form a part, cheerfully sharing in every evangelical labor, contributing to every work of benevolence, and uniting my prayers with the prayers of thy Church for a copious efiiision of thy Spirit upon us all. Finally, may the memory of this solemn baptism refresh me during all my future course. If ever I am tempted to backslide, may these solemn vows occasion deep contrition, and recall me to fidelity ; and whenever I reflect that I have thus heartily consecrated myself to thy service, may I feel disposed to renew this act of consecration with more entire devotedness and with more triumphant faith. Now unto thee who art able to keep me from falling, and to present me faultless before the pres- ence of thy glory with exceeding joy, to thee, the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, do- minion and power, both now and ever. Amen. THE END. 0tanbarb lUorks IN THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK. Harper's Illuminated and Pictorial Bi- ble, including the Apocrypha. With Marginal Read- ings, References, and Chronological Dates. To which are added, a Chronological Index, an Index of the Subjects contained in the Old and New Testa- ments. Tables of Weights, Coins, Measures, a List of Proper Names, a Concordance, &c. Superbly Em- bellished by 1600 Historical Engravings by J. A. Ad- ams, more than 1400 of which are from original De- signs by J. G. Chapman. Also, a Series of rich Il- luminations in Colors, comprising Frontispieces, Presentation Plate, Family Record, Title-pages, &c. 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