THE BIBLE AND THE CHURCHES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20420, 23 November 1929, Page 16

THE BIBLE AND THE CHURCHES.

(Published by Arrangement.)

CHRISTIAN UNITY: BAPTISM AND REDEMPTION. No. in. BY BEB.EAN CHRIST ADELPHIAX. It is a principle of Divine revelation that God's purposes are hid or concealed "lest the wicked should understand." When Christ commanded His apostles to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, He made a stipulation that " they who believed and were baptised should be saved" (Mark xvi., 16).This stands good until Christ sets feet again on the earth. .The form of baptism is hid, but sufficiently obvious for the " wise to understand." In the early centuries of the Christian era sprinkling with water was unknown, the mode of baptism being immersion or burial in water, which is upheld by the authorised version of the Holy Scriptures, as the "following references abundantly prove. John the Baptist commenced his ministry by a river, because there, was "much water there" (Matthew iii., 5-6; John iii., 23). When Jesus was baptised He " came up out of the water" (Matthew iii., 16;' Mark i., 9-10), afterwards paying that, except a person is " born" of water, they could not enter the kingdom of God (John iii., 4). Paul is unmistakably clear in describing baptism by the symbol of a " burial"—" baptised into Jesus Christ," " baptised into death," " buried with Him by baptism . into death" (Romans vi., 3-4), " buried with Him in baptism" (Colossians, 2-12).. Baptism was restricted solely to intelligent believers, no case of infant baptism being recorded (infants are incapable of belief), and would be a refutation of Christ's words: "He that believeth and is baptised" (Mark xvi., 16). Infant sprinkling or christening is a corruption of the true baptism, and was brought in after the fourth century-. The present generation of Christ: i n ot be held responsible for the f: *£■' mof infant sprinkling, only inv as they "allow- the deeds" of their -_,efatb<jrs, by still clinging to it in doctrine and practice, as it is not based on the foundation .of Christ, the apostles or prophets. Untold millions of the human race have been deceived through blindly following' the clergy in their church ritual of infant regeneration instead of " searching the Scriptures" for themselves, like the Bereans of old time (Acts xvii., x., 11). to see " whether these thing were so." The true Bible ritual of Baptism (immersion or burial in water),' would form a solid foundation for Christian unity, provided it is not associated with the false dogmas of immortal soulism, trinitarianism, a superhuman devil, etc.

.• < a * s f « s The Christ-fan formula of baptism' practically means the "blotting out" or "wash, ing away" of past sins (Acts ii., 38, iii., 19, xx., 22-16), and is also a symbolic representation of that ultimate " blotting out" or " taking away" of sin which Paul describes as the " redemption of the body" (Romans viii,, 23). What philosophy terms the " law of nature" tha Bible designates the *' law of sin and death;" also, the word redemption implies that the human body is hampered by a physical principle which was no part of God's original creation. This principle of decay or corruption that goes on continually from the cradle to the grave is what Paul terms, " sinful flesh," or " sin in the flesh" (Romans viii., 3), the " sting of death" (I. Corinthians, xv., 56), and has the power of death (Hebrows ii., 14), and entered thg world by the first man—Adam and Eva (Romans v.). These truths are connected with the " gospel of the kingdom of God," dispensation commenced by Jesus and His apostles, which does not cease until finality is reached with the return of Christ to the earth and the " setting up" of God's universal kingdom or em. pire on the ruins of all existing Governments (Daniols ii., 44). Christ's teaching by precept and example is to the effect that baptism, both by water and spirit, is absolutely necessary for salvation, and without the two "births" a person can. not enter the kingdom of God (John iii., 5). The "birth "of water" by baptism is a foretaste or symbol of the real and gonuine " birth of spirit" at the return of Christ, which means the " redemption of the body" from the corrupting " law of sin and death" (brought about by thg first heads of the human race), and made equal to the angels (Luke xx., 36), after the example of Christ Himselfon" Hi? resurrection day (Luke xxiv., 31)*

Rcador, in the space of a short article like this it is only possible to give an outline (a volume could bo written on the subject), but with a knowledge of the Scriptural baptism, the fables and wrong doctrines of the Churches —immortality of the soul, the trinity, a superhuman devil and Satan, infant sprinkling in lieu of baptism, etc.—would disappear like mist before the sunj also the erroneous teaching of smaller denominations —Church of Christ, Seventh Day Ad. ventists, Bible students' associations, Plymouth Brethren, etc., concerning tho devil and satin in chapels, and at " street corners" (harassing struggling tradespeople) with their talk of the grace of God without tho 'Gospel of the kingdom of God; also the wrong views and teaching of some Christadclphian sects, who maintain that there was no change in Adam's body or substance after his sin, and who cannot perceive tho difference between the " very good" body that God created (Genesis i., 31) and the " vile," deathful body it became by sin (Philippians iu., 21), and who (like some in tl\e first century) " need to be taught again which be the first principles of the oracles of God" (Hebrows v., 12). The />nly safe course to make your " calling and election" sure is to " search the Scriptures for yourself and associate with those wno can prove their standing in the one faith (Ephesians iv.j 5) of the first baptism and final redemption (Hebrews ix.) T.