4. CONFESSION OF FAITH

      In the early days of Christianity it would appear that candidates for membership in the church made a confession of their faith before witnesses. In 1 Tim. 6:12-16 we are told that Timothy made it and also that Jesus acknowledged the fact. This was not called "a" but "the" good confession as though it were used in a special sense. Peter certainly made this confession. (Matt. 16:16). Paul in Romans 10:10 says that "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." That confession was that Jesus was Lord. Here it is linked with salvation and again we see it in association with the idea of avoidance of the threat of death that is over the sinner.

      In Acts 8:37 (A.V.) there is a verse which does not appear in the revised text, because it lacks sufficient early manuscript support but it does show that as early as the second century a scribe must have written it into a copy of the Acts as the accepted practice of the day, that is, the candidate for baptism was asked if he believed in Jesus as the Christ. On the answer being given in the affirmative he was baptised.

      This open confession is not to be confined to a declaration made before baptism. Jesus spoke of the necessity for it in life when He said, "everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, him will I confess before My Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 10:32). Following the confession by Peter, Jesus said, "Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in His glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." (Luke 9:26). Paul tells the Philippians that God, because of what Jesus did in the Incarnation and in His death, has "exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2:11).

      We are not asked to make an acknowledgement of our faith in the words of a creed written by men. All that the confession involved in the early days was that an indication be given of faith in Jesus as the Christ the Son of the living God.

5. BAPTISM

      In Christian churches while there is general agreement in regard to the meaning and need of faith, repentance and loyalty to Jesus, there is not the same degree of agreement relating to baptism. Nearly all churches will agree to the need for baptism as an act of, or in, obedience, but there is a difference of opinion in relation to its meaning--what it is and what it is for.

Why Should We Be Baptised?

      We present three reasons not necessarily in order of merit nor are all the reasons exhausted by them.

      (a) Jesus is our great example and we are called upon to follow Him. God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Him as Messiah and in the course of his ministry he was commanded to baptise the people. (John 1:33). Jesus as man considered that He should "fulfil all righteousness" and so came to Jordan in obedience to the command. If Jesus, the best man who ever lived, gave obedience in this way should not we also give obedience? He is our example.

      (b) Jesus commanded it. He said to His disciples, "All authority is given unto Me in heaven and in

earth, Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." (Matt. 28:19, 20). In John 3:36 (R.V.) we are told that "He that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life." That the disciples trained by him understood it as a command is seen in that they later baptised people. We remember He commanded it for all. The disciples were to teach or disciple the nations baptising them. Mark 16:16 has the words, "the whole creation." No one is ruled out. It is a commandment applying to all who are taught.

      (c) A third reason is that it is for the "remission of sins." These are not our words but the words of the New Testament. (Repent, and be baptised every one of you for the remission of your sins." (Acts 2:38). Ananias instructing Saul of Tarsus concluded with the words, "And now why tarriest thou? arise and be baptised and wash away thy sins calling on His name." (Acts 22:16). In addition Peter, writing in relation to Noah's salvation through water added, "which also after a true likeness doth also save you even baptism." (1 Pet. 3:21). There is then good reason f or baptism.

How Are We Baptised?

      What happens in true baptism? It is on this that Christian churches differ in practice. Some practice sprinkling, some on occasion pouring and some immersion or burial in water. Which is correct or are all correct? We believe that an immersion or burial in water was the original practice and the following are our grounds for so believing.

      (a) The New Testament records are consistent with immersion but not with sprinkling or pouring. Briefly examine the evidence. John the Baptist baptised in Jordan which was a river. He also baptised in Aenon near to Salim "because there was much water there and they came and were baptised." (John 3:23). "Much water" and a "river" give some guide but neither is needed where only sprinkling is done. Mark 1:10 tells us that "straightway coming up out of the water He (Jesus) saw the heaven rent asunder." One doesn't need to go down into the water in order to be sprinkled. Read carefully the story of the Ethiopian especially Acts 8:34-39, and you will see that "they came to a certain water." "They both went down into the water." "And when they were come up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip." The "going down into the water", and the "coming up out of it" are hardly consistent with sprinkling. Paul in writing to Christians reminds them that they were "buried by baptism." (Rom. 6:4 and Col. 2:12). By no stretch of the imagination can we think of sprinkling or even of pouring as a burial. Only in immersion are we buried and this entirely fits Paul's words in Rom. 6:1-11. Jesus used the word figuratively when speaking of the suffering He was to undergo in connection with His passion. (Mark 10:38). Was that only a sprinkling of suffering or was He immersed in it? To ask the question is to answer that. Sprinkling as a meaning does not satisfy.

      (b) Then there is the dictionary meaning of the word. The word baptise is really a Greek one which has not been translated but taken, over into English like so many other words we have. In the Greek dictionary the meaning is given as "to dip," "dip repeatedly," "dip under." There are two other Greek verbs which mean, the one to sprinkle (Rantizo), and the other to pour (Cheo) but these are never used in our New Testament in relation to our baptism. It is true that the Holy Spirit was said to be poured out but the resultant effect was that the apostles were immersed or overwhelmed in the power and presence of that Spirit.

What Does Baptism Mean?

      Baptism as a burial has a very beautiful meaning which is altogether lost in a mere sprinkling. Read again very carefully Rom. 6. Paul tells us we are buried. Now it is the dead who are buried. He makes it clear that those who were buried had died to sin (v.2). We can die to anything. If we die to anything it is not then characteristic of us. One can be dead to music or art or to higher branches of mathematics--one does not live in that world. When we truly repent we die to sin and in this sense we say, "We do not intend to live any longer in that world or in sin. We intend to do the right." That old self that had sinned dies in that act of repentance and is then properly buried. But the burial is momentary for we are raised up again "to walk in newness of life" (v. 4). Here then is the lovely meaning set out so dramatically and realistically in our baptism. It is burial, preceded by death to sin, and followed by a resurrection to a new life--the Christian life. Our baptism sets out in a dramatic way what takes place in our hearts.

Who May Be Baptised?

      If it is for the remission of sins it cannot apply to infants who have not sinned. In the Commission as in Matt. 28:19, it is to be preceded by teaching or a discipling. In Acts they were told to repent. Infants are not capable of repentance and have no need of it. The Ethiopian and the Jailor were instructed before baptism. "Many of the Corinthians hearing, believed and were baptised." (Acts 18:8). Jesus received infants into His arms and said, "Suffer the children to come unto me" but there is no hint of baptism there nor in any other text in conjunction with infants. There is no command in God's word for the baptism of infants and there are no examples of such. In fact there is no text from which we may securely infer that infants were baptised. Household baptisms are appealed to but to say there were infants or children too young to believe in those households is wholly assumption. This is especially so when we note that baptism is for the forgiveness of sin and associated with repentance and faith. Besides that, the so-called baptism is usually only a "sprinkling" which however solemnly observed is not a burial and cannot possibly be preceded by a death to sin.

      Folk who may properly be baptised are those who repent of their sins and openly accept Christ as Lord.

      Yet when a man has done all this he must remember, as Paul so often insisted he should, that it is by the grace of God we are saved. Or as he put it to Titus, "He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit which He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour." (Titus 3:4-7).

      In the Greek New Testament the word used for church was a common Greek one used of and for assemblies--gatherings of people. It was used by the Greeks to denote any such convened or called-out group. It was used of the mob at Ephesus (Acts 19:32). But the word was taken early to denote the church. It was applied to the church in general and to local groups and groupings. Jesus said, "I will build my church." (Matt. 16:18). He then is the builder and to use another figure He is also the foundation. (1 Cor. 3:11). He is also described as the head of the church. (Eph. 1:23; 4:15 and Col. 1:18). In a mystical sense the church is His body through whom He now works. If we think of what the incarnate Son of God did when clothed with a human body we may then carry over the idea of God now working through His

church which is made up of men and women consecrated to His service. In the epistles we have constant reference to the church and the churches.

How Did People Come Into The Church?

      Jesus promised He would build His church. In Acts 5:11 the term is used of the disciples. On the day of Pentecost there was a great in-gathering of three thousand and we are told that the Lord added to them those who were being saved. It is the saved who make up the real membership of the church and we have already seen how people were or are saved. It is because of what Jesus has done as Saviour, and as men had faith, repented and were baptised. (Acts 2:37-42). There is no indication of anyone's admission to the church in any other way. (See Rom. 3:24; 5:1; 6:1-4 and Gal. 3:26, 27 etc.). No one can be a Christian without belonging to the body of Christ. "We are members of His body" (Eph. 5:30) and "members one of another." (1 Cor. 12:12-31).

What Is The Church For?

      The church as the body of Christ is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and that means that the Holy Spirit dwells in each individual member. (1 Cor. 3:16, 17 and 6:19). In the church there is a diversity of ministry and service as the members offer themselves to be used and directed by the Spirit. God in the Holy Spirit works through the whole church as such and through individual members. The church is the great evangelising agency of God. The Commission is to all believers, though originally given to the smaller company. The church though a great fellowship of people saved unto life eternal is not in existence simply for its own salvation and pleasure. We are saved to serve and to save others. The church is a living thing which if it does not fulfil its function will die. Some members do die and others take their place as with the cells in the human body. The body as a whole will never die for Christ said of it "The gates of Hades will not prevail against it." Dying in one place it comes to life in another. The purpose of its life is to bring life to the world of men through the preaching of the Word.

The Unity of The Church

      The church today is apparently divided. This is a sin and we should avail ourselves of all the opportunities to answer the prayer of our Lord "That they all may be one." Churches of Christ have always pleaded for such unity and with Thomas and Alexander Campbell have declared that "The Church is essentially, intentionally and constitutionally one." "We are all members of one body," Paul said. Any unity acceptable to all Christians must surely be upon the basis of the word of God. This is "The Restoration Plea" of which we speak. Churches of Christ do not claim to be a separate denomination but are a movement pleading for the uniting of all Christians upon the basis of the New Testament.

      Human creeds, however suitable for the times in which they were made are believed to be divisive and should not be made conditions of entrance to the church. Our faith is in a person, who is Christ the Son of God.

      Some churches believe they are guided by the Holy Spirit and on that ground hold that they are entitled to alter and to amend certain things. This is often stated in relation to Infant Sprinkling. It is said that the tradition of the church led by the Holy Spirit empowers them to thus amend the original word. To us this seems a dangerous principle to adopt for it has already led to division and can be used to justify any departure from the scripture. Our interpretation of John 16:13 is that the promise was made primarily to the disciples who would be guided into

the truth as Jesus had already enunciated it to them. In another place He said that the Spirit would "bring all things to their remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14:26). We may be led of the spirit in an interpretation but we would not think that any new direct truth is being given to the church. If so by what norm shall we judge it? If we grant that new truth is imparted, how shall we determine in a particular case if it is or is not truth? The Church has been divided over this very issue. We plead for a return to the New Testament. Here we find the things necessary for salvation, the things essential.

      There are two ordinances of the Church: Baptism of which we have already spoken and The Lord's Supper.

Old And New Testaments

      The Bible is a very wonderful book of revelation and contains the story of creation and of God's guidance of men as they allowed him over a very long period of time. There is much history within it. This shows how God gradually revealed His will to men. This God could do only as men were prepared and willing to receive it. We speak of this as Progressive Revelation. The perfect and final revelation came in Jesus Christ.

      It is important to note in our reading of the Bible that there are Old and New Testaments; that there are old covenants or contracts or agreements between God and men and that there is a new Covenant. It is of the utmost importance that we distinguished between the old Law or Covenant made through Moses with a nation which has been abolished, and a New Covenant sealed with Jesus' blood. The new takes the place of the old. (Eph. 2:12-17; Col. 2:13-15; Heb. 8:6-13). This new Covenant is not with a nation but with all men who are prepared to enter into that new covenant relationship. It is potentially universal. Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of God's will to men and of a wonderful salvation. It shows us a perfect way of life here on earth as well. If we read our Bibles intelligently we must clearly distinguish between the Old and the New. It is in the New Testament that we find clearly revealed the Father God. This is through the Son Jesus Christ. "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father."

The Bible Inspired

      It is the book the writing of which was inspired of God. It makes the claim to be God's word and men who wrote its parts often make the claim that what they wrote is the word of God. The prophets often used the phrases, "Thus saith the Lord" and "The word of the Lord came unto me saying." And in the New Testament appeal is frequently made to the old Testament. So Jesus said, "It is written" and "Ye err because you know not the scriptures." Paul wrote to Timothy "All Scripture is inspired of God" (2 Tim. 3:16. R.S.V.), and added that "it was profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." Peter said, "Men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." (2 Peter 1:21).

"Some Things Hard To Understand"

      The Bible should be read with understanding. There is no value in merely reading words. Although it begins with the story of creation and ends with a picture of the new creation, the new heaven and the new earth, it does not follow that all in between is in time sequence. The teaching of the prophets of the Old Testament needs to be taken in the light of the history of the kings and the nations in whose days it was given.

      We can understand them only as we read them superimposed upon the national and world background. Scholars are now able to furnish

us with much of the background story and this makes the teaching and preaching of the prophets to come alive. They were primarily preachers to the men of their own times. Then when we come to the New Testament the letters or epistles should be read in the light of the current happenings in the newly formed church. Some of these happenings are found in the Acts but it takes both the history in Acts and the references in the letters and some knowledge of Roman history to furnish us with the most lively story in all its parts.

      Acts helps us to, better understand the letters and the letters help us to fill out the detail in Acts. It is also more helpful to read the Bible in a newer translation such as the Revised Standard Version rather than in the somewhat archaic Authorised Version.

Unity of The Bible

      There is an underlying unity in the Bible in spite of the fact that it is made up of sixty-six books written by many different authors over a long period of time. In the beginning it tells of the fact of sin and follows that through, both in the stories of individuals and nations, but there was also the promise of a Messiah or Deliverer who in the fulness of time appeared in the person of Jesus who was the Christ. He was the nation's hope, though tragically unrecognised. But He became the Saviour of all those who would receive Him. "God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him." (John 3:17). Having completed the story of salvation or redemption through faith in God's Son the Bible concludes with the prophecy of the creation of new heavens and the new earth. It is a thrilling story which when read intelligently makes sense showing, as it does, the purposes of God in creation and the means used to effect such through Jesus Christ, the Lord of Life and Glory.

H. J. PATTERSON--

      After securing the College of the Bible Diploma in 1917, H. J. Patterson proceeded to the Melbourne University where he graduated M. A., after gaining Final Honours in the B. A. degree. He subsequently served the churches at Ascot Vale, Gardiner, Balwyn and is now at Hartwell, Vic. For seven years he was Lecturer and Principal in succession to A. R. Main at Woolwich Bible College. During that time he also served the church as preacher at Lane Cove, N.S.W. For over a year he lectured in New Testament at the College of the Bible, Glen Iris, and for well over a decade he contributed a Prayer Topic column for the "Australian Christian."