Baptism according to the Scriptures; being a plain Scriptural account of this much debated and abused subject and not according to exclusive immersionists

Preface

Some time ago the writer’s attention was called to a leaflet which had been circulated in a Methodist community and which had this question conspicuous¬ ly displayed: “Were you scripturally baptized, or were you sprinkled?” As all can see at a glance, the purpose of this leaflet was to create a question mark in the minds of Methodists and thus open a way for the work of the proselyter. Children of immersionists are continually nagging children of affusionists about “sprinkling.” The time has come for all affusionists to know the truth and be able to give a “Thus saith the Lord” for the mode of baptism. If affusionists were to stoop to such methods and.issue a leaflet for free distribution with the question, “Were you scripturally baptized, or were you dipped?” the immersionists would throw up their hands in holy horror and accuse the affusionists with “fight¬ ing.” The affusionists have never “fought” over this subject except in defense of scriptural baptism when the immersionists have pushed themselves forward by means often, that were utterly unbrotherly and unchristian.

The question of water baptism can never be settled outside the Bible. The. writer of this booklet has conformed to this idea throughout and has so ar¬ ranged the Scriptures that any one may get the scrip¬ tural view in small compass concerning this much abused and debated question. It has been written

BAPTISM.

with that large number in view to whom the immersionists make their appeal.

No apology is made for using the King James ver¬ sion in these chapters. This version has been part and parcel of the very life and thought of the English people for hundreds of years. The “common people” will hear it gladly. So mote it be.

The Author.

INTRODUCTION FROM THE SCRIPTURES.

Is the Bible an authority and sufficient guide on the study of water baptism?

“Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salva¬ tion.” (Discipline.)

Psalm cxix. 105: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Psalm cxix. 99, 100: “I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies ar# my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.”

John v. 39: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

2 Timothy iii. 15-17: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine , for reproof, for correction , for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect , thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

2 Peter i. 20, 21: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpreta¬ tion. For the prophecy came not in old time by the

BAPTISM.

will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

2 Timothy iv. 1-4: 11 1 charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort * with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth , and shall be turned unto fables

Isaiah viii. 20: “To the law 1 and to the testimony:* if they speak not according to this word , it is because there is no light in them"

Exclusive immersionists are hard pressed when they are forced to go to heathenism and men’s theories for proof of their dogma. Greek verbs and particles and lexicons have never settled the ques¬ tion of water baptism. Suppose we turn to the Bible, which should be the “rule of our faith and practice,” and let it settle the question.

“Let God be true, though every man a liar.”

CHAPTER I. The Old Testament Church an Affusion Church

1. When and where was baptism first administered? And by whom?-

1 Corinthians x. 1, 2: “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant , how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; arfd were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”

2. Was this baptism by immersion or affusion?

Exodus xiv. 16, 21, 22, 29: “But lift thou up thy

rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. . . . And

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind 'all that night, and made the sea dry land , and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea. upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. . . . But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea.”

Exodus xv. 8, 19: “And with.the blast of thy nos¬ trils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were con¬ gealed in the heart of the sea. . . . For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.”

Hebrews xi. 29: “By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land.” Where was the cloud ?

Numbers xiv. 14: “For they have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them , and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.”

The Bible leaves no question as to the mode of this baptism:

Psalm lxxvii. 16-20: “The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad. The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”

This mode of affusion became the law of the Old Testament Church:

Numbers viii. 5-7: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of puri¬ fying upon them.”

Numbers xix. 9, 13, 17-19: “And a man that is clean sh&ll gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children

ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES.

of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin. . . . Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him , he shall be un¬ clean; his uncleanness is yet upon him. . . . And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel: and 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 a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave.”

Hebrews ix. 19: “ For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water , and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people .”

Psalm li. 7: u Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

Psalm lxxix. 9: “Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name’s sake.”

Seven hundred years after Moses:

Joel ii. 16: “Gather the people, sanctify the congre¬ gation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.”

How did they “sanctify” a “congregation”?

Hebrews ix. 13: “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean , sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh.”

. Eight hundred years after Moses we find:

Isaiah lii. 15: “So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.”

One thousand years after Moses sprinkling was still in use:

Ezekiel xxxvi. 25: “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you , and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.”

In Christ’s day the same manner of purifying was in use:

John ii. 6-8: “And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews , containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, . . . Draw out now , and bear

unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.”

3. Were there any infants and small children included in this first baptism which the Lord himself performed?

Exodus xii. 37, 38: “And the children of Israel j ourneyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them.” '

Numbers iii. 39: “All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward , were twenty and two thousand.”

1 Corinthians x. 2: “And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”

ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES.

Joel ii. 16: “Gather the people, santify the congre¬ gation, assemble the elders, gather the children , and those that suck the breasts .” To “sanctify” a “con¬ gregation” was to “sprinkle” it. (Hebrew ix. 13.)

4. What was the design or purpose of the Old Testa¬ ment baptism?

(1) It was the setting apart to a new service.

1 Corinthians x. 2: “Were all baptized unto Moses.”

Numbers xix. 9: “It shall be kept for the congrega¬ tion of the children of Israel for a water of separation.”

Numbers xix. 13: “That soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him.”

Numbers xix. 20: “ The water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him.”

Exekiel xxxvi. 24, 25: “For I will take you from among the heathen; and gather you out of all coun¬ tries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you , and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.”

(2) It also prefigured the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

1 Corinthians x. 2-4: “And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”

Joel ii. 28, 29: “And it shall come to pass after¬ ward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon. the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit.”

Acts i. 5: “For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”

Acts ii. 16, 17: “ But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh.”

1 Corinthians xii. 13: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body , whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit .”

ERRORS OF EXCLUSIVE IMMERSIONISTS.

1. That water baptism originated with John the Baptist, or at least during the latter years of the Old Testament history as Proselyte baptism.

If the Bible is a “sufficient guide,” it forever settles the date of the origin of water baptism. (See 1 Cor. x. 1, 2.) “Baptized unto Moses.” This Red Sea baptism was the first we have on record and was the largest. The Lord himself was the administrator. Surely it was done right.

2. That the Red Sea baptism was a type of immer¬ sion. That the passage through the sea was between walls of water and over the people was the wet cloud which typified a complete submergence.

Let us see about that. First, “the depths were con¬ gealed [stiffened or frozen] in the heart of the sea.”

ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES.

(Ex. xv. 8.) Secondly , at least six times the Scriptures tell us that the Israelites walked on “dry ground” in the midst of the sea. (See passages quoted above.) It is true that the walls of water were on either side of them, but they never touched them; and that the cloud was above them, but it never came in contact with the people. The only thing the people did touch was the ground, and it happened to be “dry.” Who ever heard of an immersion on “dry ground”? The “clouds poured out water,” says the Book (Ps. lxxvii. 17), and it was the only water that touched the people, and it was not enough to wet the ground. That doesn’t look like a dipping, does it? There was an immersion immediately following the Lord’s baptism, that of Pharaoh’s hosts who never re¬ turned to tell the tale; and, unlike the latter-day.immersionist, the Egyptian historians never boasted about “getting it right.”

3. That infants and small children are not subjects of baptism. Did the Lord draw a line at the Red Sea and say that those not old enough to “repent and believe” must remain on the Egyptian side of the sea while their parents and all other adults submit to baptism and cross over? The logical conclusion of the modern immersionists would lead to such an act on the part of the Lord. What says the Book? “All passed through the sea; and were all baptized.” (1 Cor. x. 1, 2.) How many were baptized? The Book says there were “about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them.” And of the tribe of Levi alone “all the males from a month old

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and upward, were twenty and two thousand.” (Num. iii. 39.)

Now if there were as many women and children as men, there were more than a million people who passed through the Red Sea, and of that number there must have been at least 200,000 children whom the Lord baptized along with their parents. If the exclusive'immersionists insist on the Red Sea baptism as a type of immersion, why do they not immerse their children also? Echo answers, “Why?”

The Lord set the example by baptizing the infants by affusion when “the clouds poured out water” on the people, and the Old Testament never left the in¬ fants and children out, but continued to follow the Lord’s example by taking them in and incorporated “sprinkling” as the mode of baptizing and cleansing the people.

To be familiar with the Old Testament Church gives the only true background and key to the under¬ standing of the New Testament Church and its ordinances, for the one dovetails into the other.

CHAPTER II. Baptism of John the Baptist

Who was John the Baptist?

Luke i. 5: ‘‘There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.”

Luke i. 13: “But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.”

Luke i. 80: “And the child grew, and waxed strong .in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.”

As a son of a priest he was necessarily brought up versed in the law and its ordinances.

Did his commission authorize John to change the ordinances of his Church or to make new laws?

Isaiah xl. 3: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

Matthew iii. 3: “For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The Voice of one cry¬ ing in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

If he had changed either the law or ordinances , would the Pharisees and Sadducees have submitted to his baptism?

Matthew iii. 7: “But when he saw many of the 2 (17)

Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

Being the son of a priest, and whose commission did not authorize him to change the law,

How and Why Did John Baptize?

He certainly administered according to the ritual of his Church.

1. How did he perform the rite of baptism?

John i. 19-21, 25: “And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. . . . And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizeth thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?”

Why did these Jerusalem officials think John was the Christ?

Because he came baptizing, and this was to be one of the marks of the promised Messiah.

Isaiah lii. 15: “So shall he sprinkle many nations.”

As the Lord had baptized one nation at the Red Sea, so the Christ was to baptize “many nations.”

How did the Lord baptize that nation?

Psalm lxxvii. 17: “The clouds poured out water.”

Ezekiel xxxvi. 25: “Then will I sprinkle clean water unto you.”

Matthew xi. 7: “And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What

ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES.

went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?”

On approaching the place of baptizing the people could see the “reed” or hyssop being shaken over the multitudes, as John was baptizing them, as if shaken by the wind.

2. Why did John baptize?

(1) “Baptism of repentance.” Setting apart to a new order.

Numbers viii. 7: “And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: sprinkle water of purifying upon them.”

Numbers xix. 20: “The water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.”

Matthew iii. 1, 2: “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

(2) To prefigure the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew iii. 11: “I indeed baptize you with water

unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost , and with fire.”

Luke iii. 16: “John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.”

Acts i. 5: “For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”

Where John Baptized: Three Places Besides Jordan.

1. He began in the “wilderness.”

Isaiah xl. 3: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness .”

Mark i. 4: “John did baptize in the wilderness .”

John x. 40: “And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized.”

2. Next the Jordan River.

Matthew iii. 5, 6: “Then went out to him Jerusa¬ lem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan, confess¬ ing their sins.”

3. ^Bethabara beyond Jordan” (John x. 40).

4. “A^non near to Salim.”

John iii. 23: “And John also was baptizing in A£non near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.”

Question for the “ much water ” brethren: Why did John have to go from the river Jordan to find much water? Had the river gone dry?

The Baptism of Jesus by John.

Why was Jesus baptized?

1. “To fulfill all righteousness.”

Matthew iii. 15: “And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him.”

Matthew v. 17-19: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES.

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but who¬ soever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

2. To enter upon his priesthood.

Luke iii. 23: “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age."

Numbers iv. 35: “From thirty years old and up¬ ward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.”

Hebrews iv. 14, 15: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

Hebrews v. 4, 5, 10: “And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee. . . .

Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.”

Leviticus viii. 30: “And Moses took of the anoint¬ ing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron , and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons’ garments with him; and sanctified Aaron , and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.”

Leviticus viii. 12: “And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron s head , and anointed him, to sanctify him.”

Luke iii. 21, 22: “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that, Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him , and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”

John i. 32, 33: “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom . thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him , the same is he which bapfrzeth with the Holy Ghost.”

Moses anointed Aaron and his sons to the priest¬ hood by pouring the anointing oil upon their heads. The Father anointed his Son to be the “faithful high priest” by anointing him with the Holy Spirit.

ERRORS OF EXCLUSIVE IMMERSIONISTS.

1. They claim to “follow Christ in baptism” when they are dipped, and assert that affusionists are not baptized, but “sprinkled.” Some of them go so far as to put a painting on the wall, back of the “baptismal pool,” of the river Jordan in such a way as to make it appear that the one being dipped is in the river. Others place the words “Buried with Christ in baptism” over the pool and back of the pulpit so that the audience cannot fail to see them every time people meet for worship. These are unscriptural deceptions and substitutions for what they cannot prove by the Bible.

Christ was the last of the priests, and one cannot follow him in baptism any more than one can follow him in any other of his official acts. Christ was not baptized for an example, but to follow an example himself as the Scriptures above indicate.

2. They claim that the phrase “went up straight¬ way out of the water” can mean nothing but “coming out from under the water.”

As every honest man will tell you, the word “straightway” means “immediately” and nothing more. The words “went up” plainly indicate that the action was that of Jesus without the aid of John the Baptist. If Christ had been dipped, John would have brought him up. The words “up out of” re¬ late to action after baptism and were no part of the rite itself. “With” denotes the “how.” Stick to the Book.

3. They claim that the words “in Jordan” settle the mode of baptism to be “to dip, to plunge, to immerse.”

Fortunately we have the Scriptures themselves as our guide. We will let them explain these very words instead of taking a dipping vat as the meaning.

Joshua iii. 8, 13, 15, 17: “And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. . . . And it shall

come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the

BAPTISM.

waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap. . . . And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the hrim of the water , (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest). . . . And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.”

Joshua iv. 16-19: “Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan . And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the cove¬ nant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place. . . . And the people came up

out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month.”

Here we learn what scripture means by the words “down into” and “up out of” Jordan. None of the Israelites touched the water except the “priests that bare the ark,” and only the “soles of their feet” touched it. “In Jordan” therefore means anywhere in the bounds of high water mark. The people that John baptized were inside these bounds, and perhaps the “soles” of John’s feet were “in the brink of Jordan,” as he passed along before the people baptiz¬ ing them “with water.”

CHAPTER III. Baptism on the Day of Pentecost

What was Christ's commission to his Church?

Matthew xxviii. 19, 20: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”