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of the iufant, and by this means to initiate them
into the Church in their infancy. But the Protest
ant churches are not willing to admit what their
mother has always admitted, that they do not get
their authority from the Scriptures, for infant
sprinkling ; but they contend that Christ’s Church
was built on the old Jewish church as a founda
tion, and they were initiated into that church bv
circumcision ; and baptism is in lieu of circumci
sion. And as infants were circumcised, infants
ought to be baptized. Then of course sprinkling
and pouring are substitutes for circumcision, and
uot baptism.
Now (rends, don’t be astonished when I tell
you that I do not believe this doctrine, nor do I
believe that those who preach it believe it them
selves. If they do, they act very inconsistently.
Now friends, let me ask you one or two plain, sim
ple questions, and answer them candidly. Hoping
that you will,l proceed. First, if a Jew were to come
to one of your churches for membership, would you
let his circumcision pass for baptism? or would you
have him baptized ? O yes, of course we would
have him baptized. This, no doubt, has been the
practice of all the Pedo-Baplist churches. Now,
don’t you see, my friends, that you preach one
thing and practice another? But how are we so
inconsistent? you may ask. How, indeed! Did
you not say that baptism was in lieu of circum
cision, and answered as a substitute for it ? O
yes, but what of that ? Why surely, if baptism is
only a substitute, the thing itself would do better ;
that is, circumcision would do better in its own
place than any substitute possibly could. But be
fore we leave this point, let me ask you one more
question. Who gave you the right to break God’s
covenant that he made with Abraham, by altering
its ordinances? The Jews tried that kind of ex
periment, and how did they come out ? Read and
see. But again : if your church, as you call it, is
only a continuation of the old Jewish church, why
do vou call it a branch of the Christian church, or
a part of Christ’s Church ? You will perhaps, ask
me is it not the same ? I answer no ; by no
For if it had been the same, Christ never would
have preached the doctrine in our subject. “Re
pent and believo the gospel.” This is the doctrine
that was preached by John the Baptist, the fore
runner of Christ. Now, can any sane man on
earth say that it was not necessary to preach that
doctrine to the Jewish church ?: Surely not. But
perhaps you may say it was not preached to the
Church, but to those that were not in the church.
Then it must have been to the Gentiles, and not
to the Jews; for I have no reason to believe that
there was one Jew on earth that was not a mem
ber of the Jewish church, as it was common for
them to join that church at eight days old, without
repentance. For faith and repentance were not
necessary to membership in the Jewish church
then or now. But they were required to be cir
cumcised, and could not be members without it;
but they can joiu now, without circumcision,
with sprinkling or pouring in lieu of it, without
faith or without repentance. So, ujon the whole,
if I am left to judge by its fruit, I do not think
SOUTHERN BAPTIST MESSENGER.
they belong to the Jewish nor the Apostolic churchy
for they are not, nor will not be, governed by the
law of the former, nor the ordinances of the latter •
Who are they ?. But were not some of the Jews
good enough for membership without repentance ?
I answer that they were all good enough for
membership in the Jewish church, and some of
them were, no doubt, good enough for membership
in the gospel church, so far as goodness was con
cerned ; but as good as they were, or might have
been, they were required to repent and believe
the gospel. By this we discover the difference be
tween the law and the gospel ; and what a vast
difference there is in their leaching. The law
taught them that they were under the law, and
being under it as subjects of the Law-Giver, they
were required to observe it to the very letter and
spirit without any reserve or modification. See
Gen. xvii. 9. “And God said unto Abraham,
Thou shalt keep my eovenaut therefore, thou and
thy seed after thee, in their generations.” Read
on to the eleventh verse, and you will see the law
of circumcision ; and you will also find that they
were not allowed to have anything in its place as
a substitute, neither were they allowed to have the
privilege of passing by it unnoticed, as a non-essen
tial. Now if you think they had that right, read
the fourteenth verse of the chapter referred to above,
“And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of
his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be
cut off from hi* people; he hath broken my cove
nant.” I hope you will bear this in mind, as it is
typical, and every type must fill its place, as we
have already seen. And again, it could not be al
tered, nor was to be, until the end was accom
plished that be designed should he, as he said, “The
sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law
giver from between his feet until Shiloh come, and
unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”—
Gen. xlix. 10. Now Sfhiloh has come, and the
sceptre must depart from Judah, as the term of
office has expired ; therefore he has no power to
make laws, nor any power to enforce them. But
unto Shiloh shall the gathering of the people be,
for he is sovereign King. Then of course he is
the only Law-Giver. Yes, he is the mighty God,
the evetlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. There
fore the Jews were called upon to turn away from
Judah to Christ the Shiloh, “repent,” turn away
from the law of circumcision, or the old covenant,
for it is now a dead letter ; therefore it can profit
them nothing. Aud inasmuch as the Jews could
no longer be benefited by the observance of it, 1
cannot tell how we the Gentiles can expect to
be benefited by it when we never were under that
covenant of works ? But I think I can see the
great necessity of repentance, that is, turning away
from it to a belief of the gospel.
But we must notice a difference between the
Jews as a national Church, and the Church of
Christ as spiritual. We stated above that some
Jews were good enough for membership in the
gospel Church. We will mention one or two of
that number who were waiting for the consolation
of Israel. “ And behold there was a man in Jeru
, salem whose name was Simeon, and the same man
was just and devout, waiting tor the consolation of
Israel; and the Holy Ghost was upon him.”—Luke
ii. 25. Now notice the thirty-sixth verse, and you
will see there was a widow, whose name was Anna
that served God night and day. We doubt not
that there were many more devoted servants of God
at that time, who were ready when the Savior ap
peared, to repent —to turn from their laws and cus
toms, and receive him and believe the gospel. But
there was another class of members that belonged
to the Jewish Church that were not devoted ser
vants of God, but were more devoted to sin and
Satan. Though they had received the sign of cir
cumcision, it was only in the flesh, and not in the
heart, which is necessary for membership in the
gospel Church. By this we may see the great
difference between legal and evangelical repentance;
a legal repentance which is a mere work of the
law, and the effect of conviction of sin by it, which
in time wears off and comes to nothing ; that is, it
shows them a sense of danger and fear of wrath,
and at most, only produces a partial and external
reformation. It may, however last long enough to
get them into some church, if they are at a pro
tracted meeting when it happens; but it may
soon be said of them, ‘They'are fallen from grace.”
But what a sad mistake that is. What! lose
something they never had ! or fall from a thing
that they never were under! Ono ! but they cer-r
tainly have fallen from something ; if not grace,
what is it ? Why, they have only fallen from a
pretension of works. But there is another kind of
repentance which is produced by a different cause,
and baa quite a different effect; we will call it evan.
gelical repentance. Th\a kind of repentance is
produced by a godly sorrow ; then of course th©
godly sorrow is the cause, and repentance the ef
fect that is produced as a natural consequence.—
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation
not to be repented of. 2 Cor. vii. 10. This sorrow
is produced iu the heart by the Spirit of God taking
up his abode there. Then of course there is life
in the soul, and where that life is there is light,
and light gives them a true knowledge of God iu
his beauty and holiness. It also gives the creature
that exercises it a knowledge of himself as a lost
and ruined sinner against a pure and holy God. It
therefore produces in him a conviction of sin, and
a sorrow for it, and an humble confession of it, and
also a perfect hatred of it. No wonder then that
he is praying, mourniug, weeping, reading, and
trying all the means in his power to get rid of that
burden of soul that has been produced in him by a
true knowledge of sin, and find a love to God ; for
when a sinner begins to hate sin, he begins to love
God, and not before ; as it is impossible for a per
son to love God and sin at the same time. “And
we have known and believed the love that God
hath to us. God is love ; and he that dwelleth in
love dwelleth in God, and God iu him. Herein is
our love made perfect.” —I John iv. 16, 17. This
kind of repentance is durable,'lasting as long as
life itself. This is the kind of repentance that
Christ is exalted to give to all his children; and
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