The relation of baptism to the remission of alien sins

Preface

It is thought that there is at present a demand for a restatement of the teaching of the Scriptures on the subject of the remission of sins. For quite a while there has been a tendency among the disciples to clothe this question in the garb of mere sentimentalism, and neglect the plain teaching of the word of God on the subject. If any question is clearly and plainly set forth in the New Testament, it is the matter of the pardon of the sins of an alien sinner. To ignore or compromise the conditions, in whole or in part, upon which God has promised to forgive sins, is to be disloyal to the King of kings and Lord of lords, and handle the word of God deceitfully. Teaching that is calculated to lead people to believe that their sins are pardoned before they obey the gosj)el of Jesus Christ — before they comply with the conditions of pardon as they are given in the gospel dishonors Christ, makes

4 PREFACE.

void^the word of God, and leads people to a false hope. It is the business of the ministers of Christ to preach His word and not their own. They have a special and definite commission which tells them to say to the people, ''He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved," and loyalty to Him requires persistent fidelity to this commission. ''If ye love me, ye will keex) ^y commandments," said the Master, and we do well to give heed to His words.

Those who preach in the name of the Christ are not authorized to load their commission down with explanations and modifications, in accommodation to the whims of such as do not propose to accept salvation on the plain terms of the gospel. Nor are they empowered to tell what the Lord will do in cases where "honest mistakes" are made. This is a matter that God has set within His own authority, and He will do right about it; but He has not delegated His ministers to tell what He will do. Their business is to preach the gospel and offer salvation to men on the terms of the commission as given by the Savior and illustrated in the teaching and practice of His apostles. Revealed things belong to us,

PREFACE. O

and when we give due attention to these, we will have no time left to devote to meddling with secret things that belong to God. ''Let him that hath my word, speak my word faithfully," saith Jehovah, and the Holy Spirit says, ' 'Preach the word.- ' The gospel, in its provisions for human salvation, is perfectly plain, and all that its gracious Author asks of His ministers is to preach it faithfully and fully. All efforts to explain it are like efforts of a lightning bug to help the sun shine at noon on a clear day! Explanations of the gospel are usually obscurations of it. Preachers should preach the gospel and tell people what to do to be saved according to its terms, and leave all untaught questions to be settled by the Judge of all the earth.

The following pages aim to set forth the unveneered teaching of the word of (xod on the subject of which they treat. They make no effort to tone down or blunt the plain declarations of divine truth. They are willing to let God speak for Himself, and to allow His words to go to the people just as He uttered them. They make no effort to lead perishing souls to expect salvation before they reach the promises of the gospel.

6 PREFACE,

They aim to impress upon tiie minds of men the solemn truth that they have no promise of salvation till they obey the gospel of the Son of God- The words that our Lord spoke are to judge those who hear them, in the great day of final accounts, and the writer does not care to be responsible for the slighting of those words by any human being. He wants his skirts to be free from the blood of all men. The word of God should not be bound by human speculations and philosophies. Encumbering the gospel with these things is like galvanizing pure gold. Let it have free course that it may run and be glorified.

J. B. Briney.

Moberly, Mo., May, 1902.

Part I. Chapter L

WHAT THE SCRIPTURES SAY OlST THE SUBJECT.

"No man can prove from the Bible that baptism has no important connection with salvation; and no man can prove that by neglecting it, he will be as likely to obtain the divine favor as he would by observing it." — Dr. Albert Barnes.

"And to such indeed (i. e. believers) we readily grant baptism is to be administered in order to their salvation, according to the terms of the gospel." — Dr. John Gale.

Dr. Barnes is the Presbyterian commentator who wrote Barnes' Notes, and Dr. Gale is the English Baptist who so ably reviewed Dr. Wall's History of Infant Baptism. The reader will find abundant support for the former's negative statement, and the latter' s positive declaration, in the following Scriptures:

"John came, who preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins." — Mark 1 : 4.

''And he (John) came into all the region round about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins." — Luke 3:3.

"Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." — Matt. 28:19.

"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned." — Mk. 16:15-16.

"And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins: and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." — Acts 2:38.

"And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." — Acts 22: 16.

"We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein? Or are ye ignorant, that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death." — Rom. 6:2-4.

"But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor. For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ."— Gal. 3: 25-27.

''But when the kindness of God our Savior, and his love toward man, appeared, not by works done in righteous, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior." — Tit. 3: 4, 5.

"In which (spirit) also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water: which also after a true likeness doth now save you, even baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." — 1 Peter 3:19-21.

The teaching of these passages as regards the

10 TPIE DESIGN OF BAPTISM.

purpose of baptism, is so clear and unambiguous that it almost seems like a reflection upon the intelligence of the reader to enter upon the work of explanation; and there would be no occasion for such work, but for the existence and effect of certain theological tenets that stand opposed to the obvious import of these scriptures. In view of such tenets I feel justified in calling particular attention, by way of emphasis, to the plain and necessary meaning of the foregoing declarations of the word of God.

It is always best to begin at the beginning, and hence I start with the first two passages cited above, which show the design of John's baptism. The substitution of "unto" in the Revised Version, for ''for" in the Common Version, is a great help to the student of the English Scriptures, who is in search of their true meaning. The word ''for" is ambiguous, and may refer to an accomplished fact on account of which something else is to be done, or to an end to be gained by doing something else. Therefore "for" is undecisive of the question as to whether baptism looks back to remission as already accomplished, or forward to remission as an end to be attained.

But ''unto'' removes all ambignity and obscurity, for it is a word that always looks forward to a point to be reached, or a result to be obtained. It never suggests a backward look, nor does it express the idea that the point or end involved has already been reached or passed. John preached the baptism of repentance ''unto'' the remission of sins, thus teaching the people to look forward to remission as something to be reached through baptism. This explains the conduct of the people in confessing their sins in baptism. It was natural for them to confess in baptism the sins whose remission they were taught to look for through baj)tism. So far as John's baptism is concerned it was certainly for the remission of sins.

This is the proper place to notice a passage that is frequently used in opposition to the idea that "unto" and the Greek word {eis) that it translates, look forward to an end to be attained. "I indeed bajjtize you with (in) water unto {eis) repentance." — Matt. 3 : 5. It is claimed by some that in this case the preposition looks back to repentance as already accomplished, and that the baptism was on account of the repentance. If this

12 THE DESIGIN^ OF BAPTISM.

contention were well-founded it would only prove that this case is an exception to the rule as regards the telic force of the preposition. That this is the rule, no competent critic will call in question. Lexical authority on the subject is represented by Prof. Thayer, who says: ''It denotes the end." The following from Dr. Winer gives what the Greek grammarians understand in regard to the matter: ''Used tropically, of ideal relations, it denotes any aim or end." This author further says : ' 'In treating of prepositions i t is necessary, in the first place, to seize with clearness and precision the true primary meaning of each from which all its applications emanate as from a common centre, and to trace back to this all the various shades of meaning the preposition may have assumed." The primary meaning of eis is "into," as all scholars know; and to this signification it is perfectly easy to trace the secondary meaning "in order to." In its primary meaning the preposition carries one into something in connection with a verb of motion, that one was not in before; and in its secondary meaning as applied to an end, it leads to the possession of something that one did not possess

V before. The transition is easy, natural, and obvious. But it is not possible to trace "because of" as a secondary meaning of eis, to "into" as its primary meaning. There is no sort of logical connection between the two — nothing in one to suggest the other. Anj^ alleged meaning of the preposition that cannot be traced to its primarj^ meaning by a logical connection, is no meaning at all. It follows, therefore, that "because of" is not a true meaning of eis.

From the foregoing reasoning it follows with force that "because of" is not a meaning of the preposition that is translated "unto," and hence John did not say : "I indeed baptize you because of repentance." But does eis retain its telic force in this passage? If so, then John said, "I indeed baptize you in order to repentance." In his great commentary on the New Testament Dr. Meyer, commenting on this passage, says : ''eis metanoian (unto repentance) denotes the telic reference of the baptism, which imposes an obligation to repentance." Dr. Bloomfield, in his Greek Testament with English Notes, says : ' 'The eis denotes purpose. This is a brief phrase, adverting to the solemn engagement entered into by the baptized, to 'cease to do evil, and learn to do well.''' Dr. Harper, of the University of Chicago, replying to a question as to the force of eis in Matt. 3:11, and Acts 2:38, after saying that there is strictly no grammatical reason why the preposition should not look backward in these passages, continues as follows : ''But the telic force is so much more common and so much more obvious in these latter cases, that the writer would probably have chosen some other form of expression, less open to misunderstanding, if he had desired to express the idea you express." Dr. John A. Broaddus, than whom the Baptist church of America, has not produced a greater scholar, writes of this passage as follows: ''Unto repentance. The most natural way to understand this preposition, with its case {els, unto), in Greek, as in English, would be 'in order that you may repent.'" A little further along, after stating that some urge that the preposition here must "denote the occasion or ground of the baptizing," he say' s : "But it is best to adhere, if possible, to the common and most natural sense 'in order to.' " These distinguished scholars see nothing in this passage to keep them from understanding "unto" {eis) in its usual or telic sense.

CHAPTER II. Christ's baptism

Having seen that John's baptism was unto (in order to) the remission of sins, let us proceed to inquire into the purpose of Christ's baptism as it is presented by the Master Himself in the Great Commission. Here the matter is presented in a very clear and strong light. "Baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." This makes it perfectly plain that the baptism of the commission puts its subjects into a relation with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that they did not previously occupy. When a man goes into a house he changes his relation to the house completely. He now enjoys its protection from cold and storm, and in various ways benefits come to him from the house that were not his before. It is the same as regards the matter now under consideration. When a proper subject is baptized he comes into a relation to God and Christ and the Holy Spirit

IS that he did not sustain to them before, and receives and enjoys the blessings that grow out of this new relation. That one of these blessings is remission of sins is obvious. One who is pardoned is justified, sanctihed, adopted, saved, and can come into no new relation to God in this world. Hence remission comes in assuming this new relation.

But this is made plainer in the following statement: ''He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." According to all rules of interpretation and laws of language this puts salvation after baptism, — makes salvation an end to be reached by a believer through baptism. A wealthy man dies and leaves a will which says, "Every resident of the town who can read and write, shall have one hundred dollars." No argument is needed to show that a person must be able to read and write in order to have any claim upon a hundred dollars under this will. Of a productive country it is said, ''Every one who sows and reaps shall have bread." Here it is perfectly plain that both sowing and reaping are necessary to the procurement of bread. There is absolutely no room for doubt or misunderstanding in these matters. But these statements are no plainer, no less ambiguous, than our Savior's declaration concerning salvation. It as certainly comes after faith and baptism as the hundred dollars come after reading and writing, and the bread after sowing and reaping. But salvation includes remission of sins, and hence baptism is for the remission of sins to a believer. If this may be disputed, then no proposition can be made in human speech that may not be disputed.

This is the will or covenant of the Lord Jesus Christ by which He makes provisions for the salvation of sinners, and it is presumption to expect salvation short of compliance with the terms of the will. It is proper and important to ascertain when this will went into effect. It is a well known fact that wills do not become operative till after the death of their makers, and Paul applies this general principle to the will or covenant of Christ : ''For where a testament is (in force), there must of necessity be the death of him that made it. For a testament is of force where there has been death : for doth it ever avail while he that made it liveth?" — Hebrews

9 : 16, 17. This new covenant or will that makes provision for the forgiveness of sin in Christ Jesus, was not set up, — did not go into eflfect,— till after His death. While a man lives he can dispose of his property as he pleases, but nothing that he does in this way can affect in any degree the distribution of his property under his will after his death. While he lives he may give one child a horse, another a piano, another a house; bat when he dies these acts are not precedents as to the distribution of his property under his will. Whoever gets property now must get it according to the terms of the will.

Christ had power on earth to forgive sins, and He could do that on any condition or on no condition, as it might please Him in the exercise of His sovereign right. He could say to one, ''Thy sins are forgiven," and to another, * 'Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." But what He said or did then has no bearing on the question of our inheritance under the will or covenant that came into force after His death. We are to consult the will and inherit, if at all, according to its terms and provisions. It is not for us to determine how we will be saved. That is a matter that rests exclusively in the authority of the Savior. It is our privilege to decide whether we will be saved or not, and if we conclude to be saved, we must apply to Jesus Christ to know how we are to be saved. The information thus sought is contained in the will or covenant that was sealed with His blood. The question is not, How did He save poeple while He was here with them in the flesh? But, How does He save people now ? The answer is contained in His will, ''He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." This is positive, plain, and unambiguous, and ought to be satisfactory. He who is not willing to be saved on these terms is not in a condition to be saved at all.

Does the clause in this will which says, ''But he that disbelieveth shall be condemned," in any way modify the statement that has just been under examination? It can have no modifying effect whatever on the conditions of salvation as expressed in the other clause. It is very well

known that while the occurrence of an event mav

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depend upon many conditions, the absence of one condition may and often does prevent the contemplated result. The production of corn depends upon seed, soil, rain, sunshine and cultivation; but the absence of a single one of these conditions will cause an utter failure. Let us apply one of the foregoing illustrations a little further: ''Everj^ one who sows and reaps shall have bread; but every one w^ho sows not shall go hungry." While two conditions are expressed as necessary to the procurement of bread, the expressed absence of but one condition results in hunger. The absence of the other condition is implied, for reaping depends on sowing. Precisely so of the question in hand: baptism depends upon belief, and of course one who does not believe will not be baptized. People are not supposed to be seeking how to be lost, but how to be saved; and those who are seeking the way of salvation, have to do with that part of the covenant which provides for salvation.

Chapter III, The Question In The Light Of Apostolic Teaching And Practice

Remission of sins was never preached in the name of Jesus Christ till after His resurrection and glorification, and this is in striking harmony with the fact that His final will concerning salvation did not go into effect till after His death. In proof of this statement the following words of the Master are cited: ''Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." — Luke 24 : 48, 47. John and Jesus both preached remission of sins, but not in the name of Christ, nor did either of them begin from Jerusalem. TV hen the Lord made His wull He put it into the hands of the apostles and made them the executors thereof, instructing them to remain in Jerusalem until they should be endued with power from on high. A prophet had foretold that ''out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem," and now the Lord instructs those who have His will in charge to remain in Jerusalem till they should be divinelj^ qualified to infallibly promulgate His law, and for the first time and far all time preach repentance and remission of sins in His name, beginning from Jerusalem.

Finally the day of Pentecost came, and with it came the promised endnement of the apostles with power from on high, and they declared that the same Jesus whom the people with wicked hands crucified, had been made both Lord and Christ. The discourse carried conviction to many hearts and brought forth the query, "What must we do?" Of course this question had reference to the remission of the sins of which they who asked it had been convicted. The foil owing answ^er was given: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." — Acts 2: 38. This is the answer to the most important and thrilling question that ever fell from human lips, and it embraces the first i)roclamation of repentance and remission of sins in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that was ever made in the world. The question is plain. Is the answer plain? The Holy Spirit was speaking for all time to come and to all the generations of men that were to be born. He was using words upon which the destiny of the world was to hang, — words involving human interests for time and eternity. If there has ever been a time in human history when an answer to a question of profoundest interest, should have been plain, unambiguous, and easy to be understood by people of ordinary intelligence, that Pentecost day was such a time. That answer was not to ride the waves of time for a little while and then go down into oblivion forever. It was to ring through the ages till the end of time, and thrill the hearts of men to the remotest generation. It was not meant simply for the philosopher, the scientist, the man of letters; it was intended also for the artizan in his shop, the laborer on the street, the reaper in the field, the unlettered man in his hovel or wherever found. It was to go to men and women in all stations and conditions in life. Did the Spirit speak so as to be understood everywhere, through all time, and by all responsible people? Or did He use words that can only be understood by the learned few? Did He use words in their ordinary and most known signification? Or did He use them in some occult or cabalistic sense? thus leaving inquirers in doubt and perplexity. These questions readily suggest their own answers.

The Holy Spirit meant to give a plain answ^er to this interesting question, and the words of the answer must be taken in their usual meaning; and when so taken they necessarily convey the idea that the people were told to repent and be baptized in the name of Christ, that they might receive the remission of their sins. This inspired interpretation of the will of Christ shows that repentance is implied in the clause, ''He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." The covenant of Christ provides that a baptized penitent believer shall receive the remission of his sins. The gospel promises salvation, to such an one, and no man has any right to promise it to any one of a different class. Let us analyize this answer: ''Repent, and be baptized." Who? "Every one of you." In what name? "In the name of Jesus Christ." For what lourpose? ''Unto the remission of your sins." What will follow this? '•And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Believers asked the question, and they were told to do two things, to do them in the name of Christ, and to do them unto the remission of their sins? The wayfaring man can understand this, for there is no uncertainty about it. It is as plain as language can make a thing. It will not do to say that the people w^ere told to repent and be baptized because their sins were already remitted, for the simple reason that it would be out of place and contrary to reason to tell pardoned people to rei3ent because they were pardoned! In addition to this the remission of sins furnishes no reason why any one should be baptized.

A patient takes medicine because he is sick The sickness furnishes the reason for taking the medicine, and everybody can see it. A man eats because he is hungry. That hunger furnishes the reason for eating, is perfectly plain. But no one can see any reason for being baptized, in the fact that one's sins are remitted. The relation between repentance and baptism on the one side, and remission of sins on the other, is indicated by the Greek preposition eis, and it is eminently proper to examine the use of that little word in the New Testament. There is only space for a few illustrative passages. ' 'Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many unto {els) remission of sins."— Matt. 26:27, 28. The force of this example is plain. The idea that Christ shed His blood because of the remission of sins is out of the question. It is manifest that His blood was shed in order to the remission of sins. "Offer the gift that Moses commanded, for {eis) a testimony unto them." — Matt. 8:4. ''Till he send forth judgment unto {eis) victory." — Matt. 12 : 20. "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for {eis) a testimony unto all nations."— Matthew 24:14. "And they gave them for {eis) the potter's field."— Matthew 27 : 10. "That also which this woman hath done shall be spoken of for {eis) a memorial of her."— Mark 14:9. "Behold, this child is set for {eis) the falling and rising up of many in Israel." — Luke 2 : 34. "Let down your nets for {eis) a draught."— Luke 5:4. "The same came for {eis) a witness." — John 1 : 7.

"To {eis) this end was I born, and to {eis) this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." — John 18: 37. ''Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that {eis) j^our sins may be blotted out." — Acts 3 : 19. ''And grant unto thy servants, that with all openness they may speak thy word, by thy stretching forth thine hand for (e/^) healing." — Acts 4:29, Davidson's Translation. ''And he promised to give it to him for {eis) a possession." — Acts 7:6, same translation. ''Th}- i3rayers and thine alms are come up for {eis) a memorial before God." — Acts 10: 4, same translation. "So then Grod has given repentance unto {eis) life to the Gentiles also." — Acts 11:18, same. "For to {eis) this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness," etc. — Acts 26:16. "Through whom we received grace and apostleship, unto {els) obedience of faith among all the nations." — Rom. 1:5. "Wherefore also it was reckoned unto him for {eis) righteousness." — Rom. 4 : 22. "For with the heart man believeth unto {els) righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto (m) salvation." — Rom. 10 : 10. "For he is a minister of God to thee for

{eis) good." — Rom. 13:4. ''Which (wisdom) God foreordained before the worlds onto {eis) our glory." — 1 Cor. 2:7. ''Wherefore tongues are for {eis) a sign."— 1 Cor. 14:22. ''For to {eis^ this end also did I write." — 2 Cor. 2:9. ''For godly sorrow worketh repentance unto {eis) salvation."— 2 Cor. 7:10. "Which (authority) the Lord gave for {eis) building you up, and not for {eis) casting you down." — 2 Cor. 10:8. ''Even as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for {eis) righteousness." — Galatians 3:6. "In whom ve also are builded together for {eis a habitation of God in the Spirit." — Eph. 2:22. "And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, unto {eis) the work of ministering, unto {eis) the building up of the body of Christ."— Eph. 4:11,12. "The things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto {eis) the progress of the gospel." — Phil. 1 : 12. "The one do it of love, knowing that I am set for {eis) the defence of the gospel." — Phil. 1 : 17. "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to {eis) the which also ye were called in one body. — Col. 8: 15. ''Whom I have sent unto you for (eis) this very purpose, that ye may know our estate." — Col. 4 : 8. ''To {els) the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father."—! Thess. 3:13. "God chose you from the beginning unto (els) salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." — 2 Thess. 2:13. "For an ensample of them v^^iich should hereafter believe on him unto (els) eternal life." — 1 Tim. 1:16. "From a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make the wise unto (eis) salvation*" — 2 Tim. 3:15. "And let our people also learn to maintain good works for (eis) necessary uses." — Tit. 3:14. "And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for (eis) a testimony of those things which were afterward to be spoken." — Hebrews 3:5. "And in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for (eis) confirmation."— Heb. 6: 16. "By faith Abraham, when he w^as called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for (eis) an inheritance," — Hebrews 11:8. "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for