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gospel , in its different stages ; in its progress , from the commencement of ft under the ministry of Christ and his inspired followers , to its final and most glorious issue , in the universal
and everlasting ascendancy ^ of knovvled ^ e , truth , holiness and bliss . * This definition of the phrase , this view of the subject , appears to comprehend and reconcile the varying , and even opposing sentiments of expositors .
, Matt , xxvii . 25 . " Then answered all the people , and said , His blood be on us , and on our children / " There is one sense in which the destruction of the Jewish temple by Titus , and
the overthrow of that state , became a judicial punishment of the nation ; their ambitious desire of a temporal Messiah , led them to reject and crucify Jesus of Nazareth ; and it was exactly the same disposition that brought on their downfal , by means of the restlessness and tumuits , f which provoked the Roman emperor beyond
endurance . Matt , xxvii . 51 . "—behold the vail of the temple was rent in twain , " &c . From the wonders
accompanying the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ , it has been argued , that his nature was superhuman . The argument is utterly destitute of foundation . Who then was the author of those
miracles ? Almighty God , and he alone . For what purpose were they wrought ? Doubtless , in attestation of the mission and the character of his beloved Son . An extraordinary , and , it would seem , a miraculous appearance , marked the removal of Elijah from the world . Shall we , therefore , conclude , that Elijah possessed a superhuman nature and a pre-existent soul ? Yet such an inference would justly follow from the reasoning brought
under our notice . Consistency , indeed , requires the advocates of this opinion to go much further . Why do they stop short in their imaginations , and not exclaim , at once , with Sir Richard Steeie , § " The earth treml > les , the temple rends , the rocks burst , the dead arise : which are the
* Matt . Hi . 2 , v . 19 , viii . 11 ; 1 Cor xv . 24 . t Joseph . D . B . J . lib . vi . cap . ix ( Hudson ) . t 2 Kings ij . 11 . § Christian Hero , ( Oxford , 1802 , ) 71 .
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quick > which are the dead ? Sure nature * all nature , is departing with her Creator . " This , whatever else it be , is not scriptural theology , Matthew xxviii . 19 . * — teach CfAaOvjTEva-aTE ) all nations . " There cannot be a reasonable doubt as to the just rendering , viz . make disciples of , " &c . It is true , we may be
unable to produce from the classical writers am example of this verb being used transitively . But that authority is not requisite , and sometimes may even mislead us , when we are
interpreting the books of the New Testament . In the present case , Acts xiv . 21 , ' * when they had taught many , " [ had made many disciples ] , is sufficient and decisive . Suppose that in these two instances the translation
was , " act [ or conduct yourselvesJ [ or they acted or conducted themselves ] as disciples , " what becomes of the accusatives [_ Wcx . vto . to . eOvyj ikolvov < which immediately follow ? Acts xix . 5 , 6 . " When they heard this , they were baptized in [ into ] the name of the Lord Jesus . And when
Paul had laid his hands upon them , the Holy Ghost [ Spirit ] came on them , " &c . We cannot reason , in fairness , from this case to the effects of Christian baptism in ordinary times . Nor does the New Testament supply
an example of the gifts of the Holy Spirit having been communicated to the members , and , among these , the infants , of households , the heads of which received that initiatory rite : no such gifts were imparted to the family
of Lydia , none to the family of the gaoler at Philippi . In one word , the doctrine of baptismal regeneration finds no support , but the contrary , in the apostolic practice and doctrine . The recent , if it be not the
still-existing controversy on the subject , has not perhaps engaged all the attention which it deserves . There is a large class of readers who satisfy themselves with smiling , or frowning , on the claims of those who take the affirmative of the question . But , whatsoever be thought of the nature and basis of these claims , the matter should not
be so lightly treated . Unscriptural tenets have sometimes been employed as weapons against reli g ious freedom . If baptism be indeeu the channel through which spiritual or moral regeneration flows ; if the rite be
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Remarks on Passages of Scripture . 383
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1823, page 383, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1786/page/15/
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