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BAPTISM.
By Rev. Edmond La Vergne.
In the work of the ministry I have
met with quite a number of families the
head of which is a Presbyterian and the
wife a Baptist.
In one of these families I was shown
a Baptist book in which the doctrine of
immersion is explained. The title of the
book is: "Church Members' Guide for
Baptist Churches, by Rutherford, Atlanta."
This guide book says:
"Immersion is the only valid baptism,"
and regarding the baptism of infants
.says:
"Baptists finding repentance and faith
preceding baptism believe it to be contrary
to the word of God to administer
it to unconscious babes." The book also
.says: "Immersion signifies the death and
resurrection of our Lord."
I have written this article for the hene
lit of persons who have been sprinkled
in order to show them that they have
been duly baptized, according to the
Scriptures, and that their mind may be
at perfect peace on that score.
Baptism Does Not Teach the Death and
Resurrection of Our Lord.
Our Baptist brethren lay great stress
<on baptism by immersion because, according
to their view, John the Baptist
inaugurated this baptism, and also because
our Lord was baptized in Jordan.
If we read Scripture carefully, we
will find that John the Baptist had been
baptizing for some time in the Jordan
before Christ came, himself, to be baptized
by John.
Now how could John the Baptist teach
the death and resurrection of Christ
when the Savior had not yet appeared'
it jonn nad preacned the death and resurrection
of the Messiah, whom the multitude
had not seen yet, certainly the
Jews would not have understood him.
Then later when Christ came and John
said: "Behold the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sin of the world," it is
not possible that John immersed our
Lord to teach the death an<J resurrection
of Jesus. A little later on, we And even
John doubting whether Christ was the
Messiah, when he sent his messengers to
enquire, "Art thou he who should come
or shall we wait for another?"
Moreover the disciples of Christ also
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yet, of the death and resurrection of
their Master. Why even when they found
the tomb empty, "For as yet they knew
not the scriptures that he must rise again
from the dead." John 20:9.
Now, how could John the Baptist and
the disciples immerse to teach the death
and resurrection of Christ when they
knew nothing as yet about the death and
resurrection?
ijut we Know tnat Jonn did not immerse
in order to teach the death and
resurrection of the Messiah, because
John himself tells us the meaning of his
baptism:
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SOUT
"And I knew him not, but that he
should be made manifest to Israel, therefore
am I come baptizing with water."
(John 1:31.)
"Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven
is at hand." (Matt. 3: 2.)
Nothing is here even intimated about
the death and resurrection of Christ.
Our Baptist friends lay great stress
on the words "in Jordan." This does not
imply that there was an immersion of
the entire body.
The little preposition "in" is used very
loosely both in the Greek and the English
languages, and it seems to me a serious
matter to build a creed upon such a feeble
foundation and to teach that whoever
has not been immersed has not been baptized.
The word "in" is used in m?nv wnv?
For example, we say: He is in the mountain.
That does not mean that he is immersed
in the mountain.
Again we say: He is in the sun. That
does not mean he is in the great orb of
light, not even that he is immersed in
the light, but that the light is shed on
him.
Again we say: He is in distress. That
does not imply that he is immersed in
distress.
Further, in the water, or in Jordan,
does not positively mean immersion. If
a child wishes to w^ide in the stream
how does he express himself, "May I go
in the water?" or "May I go in the river?"
The child simply takes his shoes and
stockings off and begins to wade kneedeep
in the stream; he is in the water,
but not under the water.
John, we know, baptized in Jordan;
also at Enon, because there was much
water there. This manner of using the
streams and pools can be very easily explained:
At that time there were no facilities
in the synagogues for baptizing converts;
moreover, had there been such facilities
John, who was a child of the desert, and
the apostles who were mostly fishermen,
could not have used the synagogues
which were reserved for the Levites and
Priests and other high officials of the
Jewish Church. John and the apostles
had not studied in any of the Rabbinical
schools: thev could not thprofnpo
ister in any Jewish synagogue.
This being the case, what would prevent
them from using the streams of Palestine,
free to all; this mode would be
in keeping with the surroundings, with
their position in the world, and also with
the desires of their own hearts.
Thus they used the 6tream and pools
because it was more expedient, natural,
and easy.
The mode of baptizing was no doubt
practiced in the following manner: John
would wade a few yards from the shore,
peraaps going nnee aeep into 1De Water
and requesting all those who desired to
be baptized to leave their sandals on the
bank and to wade to the place he was
standing In the water; then taking a
handful of water from the running stream
he would sprinkle it on the head of the
convert.
The position of the convert was thus
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highly symbolical. It meant this: With
his feet in the water and his head sprinkled
with water, it signifies that the con
vert was thus washed from head to foot.
John the Baptist and the disciples thus
fulfilled the prophecy in Gzekiel: "Then
shall I sprinkle clean water upon you."
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If our Baptist friends insist upon immersion,
as the only mode of baptism,
can they tell us when this prophecy of
sprinkling will be fulfilled?
The Greek word "baptizo" does not
mean to immerse; its true and simple
meaning is "to wash."
Thus we find the expression in the Old
Testament Ps. 51:2, 7. Wash me thoroughly
from mine iniquity. Wash me
and I shall be whiter than snow. Ps. 51:7.
And the passage quoted above: Then
shall I sprinkle clean water upon you and
ye shall be clean (washed).
But there is a passage In the scriptures
which shows directly that baptism means
the washing away of sins (and not the
death and resurrection of Christ).
Acts 22:16: "And now why tarriest
thou? Arise and be baptized and wash
away thy sins, calling on the name of
the Lord."
This baptism was not in Jordan, nor
at Enon, but in the City of Damascus
and did not mean the death and resur
recuon or Christ but only the washing
away of sin.
In the Baptist guide book mentioned, I
notice that our immersionist brethren lay
great stress on the baptism of the eunuch
by Philip. Here is the passage:
Acts 8:38: "And he commanded the
chariot to stand still, and they went down
both into the water, both Philip and the
Eunuch, and he baptized him. And when
they were come up out of the water, the
Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip."
Of all the passages in the Bible, I think
this is the best one I could bring forward
to show that there was no immersion at
all, and our Baptist friends in invoking
so strongly this passage, are undermining
their own doctrine.
Let us examine the passage.?
"And they went down both into the
water." Now if Baptists claim there was
an immersion of the whole body, then
both Philip and the eunuch went botb
under the water, because the text says
clearly that "they went down both into
the water, both Philip and the Eunuch,"
and after botb going into the water, then
Philip baptized him. This is absurd.
Is it not more reasonable to explain the
passage in this way: The chariot stopped
at a pool of water near the roadside.
They both took off their sandals, and
wading both into the water, Philip took a
handful and sprinkled it on the head of
the eunuch, after which they came up
out of the water. *
Let us consider now the case of the
three thousand who were baptized on the
day of Pentecost.
If three thousand persons were i?*
mersed, allowing say, two minutes t?T
each convert to be dipped under t&e I
water, it would take one apostle ffour I
days and four nights to immerse ibem
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