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September 29, 1909. THE PRESBYTERIi
other isms might be given, whereby this version has
sought to break the point and blunt the edge of the
sword of the Spirit, e. g. 2-Tim. 3: 16, and Acts
2: 23. Waynesboro, Ga.
BURIED IN BAPTISM.
By Rev. W. S. Bean.
Our brethren of another denomination insist that
l)iirial in baptism is the only mode; and because the
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uiv sigiiincs uuncti, no unicr iorm is aamissiDie. L.et
us go over the question carefully, with Greek Testament
and concordance in hand.
i. The word "bury" is not used by a single Evangelist
in speaking of the actual disposal of the body of
our Lord. The word used is tithemi, "set, put, lay,
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piacc ; wiiue lviarK nas Katatitliemi, lay down.
2. In no single passage of the New Testament is
the burial of Christ spoken of as having any part in
our salvation. Burial was a proof of the reality of
Christ's death, and thus a means of proving his resurrection.
3. The death of Christ is always set forth as the
means of our redemption. See Romans 5:6-10- "Christ
died for the ungodly" "Christ died for us." "Being
now justified by his blood." "We were reconciled to
God through the death of his Son." Coloss. 1:2i-22.
"You?hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh
inrougn aeatn." Hebrews 2 :g, "We see Jesus?because
of the sufferings of death crowned with glory
and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste
of death for every man." Many other familiar passages
allude thus to our Lord's cross and blood.
4. The death of Christ is commemorated by the
sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Luke 22:19. "This
is my body which is given for you; this do in remembrance
of me." 1 Cor. *11: 26, "Ye proclaim the Lord's
death till he come." The resurrection of Christ is
commemorated by the hallowing of the first day of the
week.
5. In Romans 6:4 and Coloss 2:12, Paul uses a compound
verb, sunthapto, to bury with. So he uses a
compound verb for "planted together" in verse 5, and
"crucified together" in verse 6. In Coloss. 2:11, he
says, "In whom ye were also circumcised with a circumcision
not made with hands, in the putting off of
the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ;
having been buried with him in hanti?m wliprpin "p
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were also raised with him through faith in the working
of God, who raised him from the dead."
In these passages we have a spiritual planting, a
spiritual circumcision, a spiritual cleansing, a spiritual
resurrection through faith. But among all these
figurative expressions, we are required to find a literal
burial of the body in a "liquid grave," and a literal
"rising again"?not through faith, but through the
arm of the baptizer! Neither does Paul say, "We ,are
buried with him by baptism into his burial," but "into
his death." Water is not mentioned in Romans 6 or
Coloss. 2. But can there be baotism without water?
Yes?baptism of the Spirit; see Luke 3:16, where the
Baptist contrasts his baptism with water with the Messiah's
baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
6. Baptism is symbolic of purification. See Acts
l 22:16, "Arise, and be baptized and wash away thy
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OF THE SOUTH. 7
sins." 1 Peter 3:21, "Baptism, not the putting away
of the filth of the flesh but the interrogation of a good
conscience toward God." In John 3:25, the discussion
begun about purifying goes on at once to speak
of baptism.
7. Under the Old Covenant ritual, burial was always
connected with defilement. See Numbers 19:11,
"He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be
unclean seven days." Verse 18: "A clean person shall
take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it
upon the tent and upon all the vessels, and upon the
persons that were there, and upon him that touched
the bone of the slain, or the dead, or the grave." De
filement from the dead was such a fixed idea that the
high priest was not permitted to "go in to any dead
body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother,
nor profane the sanctuary of his God." Lev. 21 :
11-12. Til F.7pWif>l AA OC tllP nripclo rrmio of
dead persons to defile themselves; but for father, or
for mother, or for son, or for daughter, etc.?they
may defile thmselves." How then could the idea of
purification ever be associated with burial, in any
mind trained under the Old Covenant ritual? It may
be said that the New Testament rites had nothing to
do with those of the Old Testament, but this is to
deny the New Testament itself.
8. Two great spiritual truths arc prominent in the
old ritual, redemption by sacrifice, and purification.
The blood of bulls and of goats could not atone for
sin; nor could material water itself wash away sin's
pollution. "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than
snow" is the expression of a spiritual cleansing. Now
these two great fundamental truths were not set aside
nor altered, but fulfilled by the Messiah. His broken
body and shed blood are set before us in the sacrament
of the Lord's Supper. His purification by the
Spirit is set before us in baptism. If purification is
not symbolized by baptism, what has become of it,
under the New Covenant? If burial, under the old
ritual involved defilement, when was it changed to
mean purification under the new covenant? Paul's
discussion in Romans 5, 6 and Colossians 2 Is about
salvation, not about ritual. How can his expression
of "buried in baptism" be taken literally; while his
"planted together," "crucified together," and "circum
cisea witn arc taken spiritually.'* x\ot one ot these
expressions refers to a literal act; but to spiritual un- '
ion with Christ, even to partaking of his death, burial
and resurrection.
Clinton, S. C.
At the celebration of the four-hundredth anniversary
of the birth of John Calvin, which was held in July in
the beautiful city of Geneva, where Calvin did his great
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represented. A number of addresses appropriate to
the occasion were delivered by French, German and
Swiss scholars and theologians. While none of these
probably endorsed the stalwart theology of Calvin, nor
prpn hie puan nrpliri 1 hplipfc fliAtr o ?on
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praise to his genius, his high character and his eminent
services to the world. The corner-stone was laid of a
splendid Reformation monument which is to be erected
in memory of the great reformer.