BAPTISM

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 258, 29 July 1939, Page 8 (Supplement)

BAPTISM

What The Bible Teaches

LECTURE IN 1.0.0. F. HALL The eleventh lecture of the series under the title of “Turned unto Fables” was delivered last Sunday evening in the 1.0. F. Hall, Allen Street, Wellington, die subject being “That Baptism is not Essential for Salvation, or that InfantChristening is Bible Baptism—a Fable. The speaker said that the expression “Turned unto Fables” was to be found in a prediction from the Godinspired pen of the Apostle Haul, “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine . . . they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Tim. 4: 3-4.) The object of the present series of lectures was to show that this prophecy was literally fulfilled by the unseriptural doctrines of the Churches of Christendom This was very ably demonstrated by the late Mr. Robert Roberts in his book, "Christendom Astray" (18 chapters, 326 pages), which was offered free to anyone sufficiently interested to make application for it. Upon investigation it would be found that many “fables" were current on the subject, of baptism. Two of them would be refuted that evening—the “fable ’ that baptism was not necessary to salvation and the “fable” that infant-christeni»g was Bible baptism. That baptism was essential for salvation was proved by the words of Christ in Mark 16: 15-16, “Go ye int* all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be condemned. Here Christ said who would be saved and who would be condemned. There were some who snid that the unbaptised would not be condemned because Jesus did not say, “He that believeth not and is not baptised shall be condemned. It should be readily ,seen, howevet. that the words "and. is not baptised’’ would be superfluous for “he that believeth not’ would obviously not be baptised. Belief Must Precede Baptism. It would be seen from the words of Jesus in Mark 16: lu-16. that beliefbelief of the Gospel—must precede baptism. It logically followed, that newborn infants could not be subjects of the baptism appointed by Jesjis. In every record of baptism in the New Testament it was revealed that belief preceded baptism as Jesus had appointed As an illustration Acts 8: 12 was referred to —“When they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ they were baptised, both men and women. Here one read of believing men and women being baptised not unbelieving infants being sprinkled. Another pointed reference occurred in Act 18: 8, “Many of the Corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptised." In this passage reference was made to the three obvious stages —hearing, believing, baptism. Additional confirmatory passages were Act 2: 41, Acts 8: 37. Acts 10, Acts 16: 14, Acts 16,: Baptism Immersion, Not Sprinkling. It was stated that the ordinance of baptism itself was immersion in water. To say that sprinkling could be baptism was not only etymologically incorrect but also a direct contradiction of the plain teaching of the Holy Scriptures. The word baptism was not an English word. It had been transferred, not translated, into the English language from the Greek. The Greek original was "baptizo" and had this word been translated no misunderstanding could have occurred for the meaning of “baptizo" was “to.dip, plunge or immerse.” Baptism,- therefore, was immersion, not sprinkling. The plain teaching of the Bible harmonized perfectly with that conclusion. Paul, in speaking of baptism in Romans vi. 3-4, associated it with a burial. His words were, “Therefore we are buried with Him (Christ) by baptism into death.” Jesus Himself was baptised, and his baptism was a burial-—an immersion in water — for the inspired record stated, “Jesus, when He was baptised, went up straightway out of the water” (Matt, iii, 16). Another clear reference existed in the case of Philip and the eunuch recorded in Acts (iii. 27-39. It would be seen, therefore. that the baptism appointed by Christ for salvation was a bodily immersion in water following a belief of the Gospel.

Further Aspects of New Testament Teaching.

“Several other aspects of New Test ament teaching concerning baptism were referred to. Jesus had said to Nicodemus. "Ye must be born again," which lie exemplified by saying, "Except thal a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God"' (John iii, 3-8). It was by baptism that a man was “born again . . . 'of 'water." for then lie received “a remjs- ' s'iotrof sins" (Acts ii, 38, Acts xxii, 16), and rose 'from tile wafers of baptism t.o “walls in newness of life" (Rom. vi, 3-6). lie was then.no longer "in Adam” but "in Christ," as Paul clearly taught, "As many > of you as have lieen baptised into Christ have put on Christ . . . and if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs, according to the promise" (Gals, iii. 27-29).. Baptism then was the God appointed means of becoming related to .. JisiiM Christ. Jesus, therefore, as has - been shown, made baptism a condition of salvation.. Thoqe who submitted to it took* refuge "in Christ,” those who did not remained in their natural state —“in Ailnm"--and Paul had followed Christ in making the issue perfectly dear, “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (I Cor. xv, 22). CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCHES “Truth” was the subject of the lessonsermon in all Churches of Christ, Scientist, on Sunday, July 23. The golden text was John xvii. 11, 17, "Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. . . . Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth." Among the stations which comprised the leswon-sermon were the following from the Bible: “For we .wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities,, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness iu high places" (Eph. vi, 12) • Also cited were the following passages from the Christian Science textbook, “Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures,” by Mary Baker Eddy: "Marvels. calamities, and sin will much more abound as truth urges upon mortals its resisted claims; but the awful daring of sin destroys sin and foreshadows the triumph of truth. God will overturn, til! ‘He come whose right it is.’ Longevity is increasing and the power of sin diminishing. for tlie world feels the alterative effect of truth through every pore” (p. 223).