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sage which at first sight appears to sanction baptism by water , completely and - unequivocally excludes it from being" a Christian institution . cc Go , make disciples of all nations , baptizing them into the name of the Father , i >( his Son , and of his Holy Spirit /* I take the word € i baptize " in its true sense of € * plunging-. "
Observe , then , our Saviour does not say , " Go , make disciples of all nations , plunging' them into water , in the name of the Father , of his Son , and of his Holy Spirit /* but simply , " plunging them into the name of the
Father , of his Son , and of his Holy Spirit / ' Which is to this effect : * ' Go , convert the nations of the world , and plunge them , not like John the Baptist , in the gross element of water , but into a far nobler , more refined
and beneficial element—the knowledge of one God , and that under the endearing character of a Father , to the destruction of all superstition and idolatry—the knowledge of his Son , as the messenger of his love to bring ljfe and immortality to light—the
knowledge of his Holy Spirit , producing in you , and in the persons con * verted by you , the fruits of righteousness , and enabling you to work miracles in attestation of the great truths you reveal and proclaim to the world . " In other words , €€ Go not to baptize in water the nations of the earth , but
to reform them by preaching the gospel to them . " Now this interpretation receives confirmation , if it need any , from two vouchers who could not have been mistaken , I mean John the Baptist and the Apostle Paul . For with
regard to the first of these it is an exact fulfilment of his own testimony : " He that sent me to baptize with water , the same said unto me , Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him , the same is
he which baptizeth with the Holy Spirit . " John i . 33 . With respect to the apostle of the Gentiles , it is nQt to be supposed for a moment that our Lord gave him a commission different from that which he had
alread y given his other apostles . On the contrary , it is morally certain that the commission which he gave both parties was precisely the same . Let u grante d , then , that Jesus thus commanded the Apostle Paul : " Go ,
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and make disciples of all nations , plungiug them into the name of the Father , of his Son , and of his Holy Spirit . ' * How was the apostle to understand this command ? Did he understand it as enjoining the obligation of water baptism , or as setting it aside altogether and enjoining the
initiation of the Gentiles in the principles of the gospel ? The apostle himself answers the question : " He sent m ^ not to baptize , but to preach the gospel . " Can any language , any comment , , be more unequivocal and decisive }
I shall now subjoin a few remarks on the mode in which Mr . Gilchrist thought fit to animadvert on these arguments . " In Dr . Jones ' s communication I expected to find , * says he , " a fourth theory of anti-bap
tism , wholly new and unheard of whereas the hypothesis of Dr . J ., if I do not very much mistake , is essentially the same as that of Robert Barclay ... In him there is a plainness of speech , a matter-of-fact and logical appearance , and withal a consistency about his affirmations
admirably fitted to convince the judgment . If Robert Barclay fail , can Dr . J . Jones hope to succeed ? " The purport of this representation is the following : " Dr . Jones ' s arguments are not new ; they have been urged by a far abler and more convincing writer , and they have failed . They cannot therefore succeed when retailed on
the second hand ; and the loss of novelty and force imparted to them by a superior mind , renders even an attempt to refute them unnecessary /* On this I have only one word to say . If any of my readers will compare my arguments with those of Barclay , he
will find Mr . Gilchrist ' s assumption to be a total misrepresentation , and that as a convenient and plausible shift for declining to refute what he was not competent to do . If a century ago these arguments had been brought to light and made public with all the force , brevity and
simplicity which I have given them above , an enlightened Christian could at this time of day hardly be found , who considered the childish practice of plunging in water as an ordinance of the Christian religion . They are , however , at length made known , and the knowledge of them must gradually
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Dr .. Jones in Reply to Mr . Gilchrist on Perpetuity of Baptism . 605
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v oiu xxi . 4 i
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1826, page 605, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2553/page/33/
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