Christian herald., February 08, 1884, Page 3, Image 3

CHRISTIAN
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tify him any more than being born
of the Spirit ? for he had a better
opportunity of being acquainted
with John’s baptism than with the
operation of the Holy Spirit of
which the Savior spoke. The truth
is, Nicodemus was ignorant of the
whole matter, not even knowing
that it was necessary to be born
again; hence, the Savior, instead of
mystifying him, was simply telling
. him how this was to be done. In­
stead of being a natural birth, it
was to be a birth of water ana of
the Spirit. It was not by virtue of
his relation to Abraham that, he or
any one else was to enter the king-
3
HERALD.
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succeed. While there we made our
HOMEWARD BOUND.
home, the most of the time, with
Let not the readers of the H er ­
Bro. and Sister Dickinson. They
ald be surprised, when they learn
are indeed warm hearted Christi­
that we are actually on our way’to
ans, and did all in their power to
our home in Wisconsin. This step
make our stay a pleasant one, and
is one we have not decided on in
when leaving Sister D. gave us a
haste. After carefully counting
■ the cost, TormoTinrs; or. puning up, good send off, by filling our lunch
basket with the suhslanlial3"‘0Tllfb,"
and moving from the East to
to make us happy on our long
Oregon, we have decided it is better
journey.
for us not to make the change.
Waitsburg is the home of Neal
The sacrifice of selling out and
Chee th am, now State Evangelist of
moving so far, we are satisfied, is
, ’
Oregon. He was home, on a visit,
‘U* r''rjlwik'v j 'Wir ■
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wïiiïe"we’w1^'theri^''’‘’HB*’i8’’'juBtly
the present time; and besides, al­
beloved by all who know him, and
ways having lived in a cold
has a strong hold upon thé hearts
climate, we greatly fear the effects
of the brethren and people in gener-
of the mild climate of the Pacific
= =ld^ofWaitsburg.----- -
coast on our health. After months
It is with many regrets that we
of experience in Oregon’s mild
feel compelled^ tear ourself away
climate we have fully satisfied our­
from the people of Oregon and
self that cold, dry atmosphere will
Washington Territory. There is no
suit us much better.
country we have ever been in that
We spent the first Lord’s day in
needs good men to labor in word,
January with the brethren in the
and doctrine more than these
city of Portland, preaching for them
States. Nearly everwhere we went
morning and evening. At the
we were- urged to remain, and
morning meeting a gentleman and
move our family to the coast, and
his wife, from the Baptist church,
make that country our home ; and
took membership with the church.
up to almost the last moment we
While, in the city we made our
hesitated to abandon the idea of
home with Bro. and Sister A.
I moving our family.
When we
Blaney, who are pillars in the
came to Oregon we came expecting
church in Portland. He came with
to make a trial of the field and the
his family to Oregon about six
climate, for from three to six
years ago. For many years he was
months, and then if we thought it
identified with the Richmond street
advisable, move our family and
church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and
make it our home. We were a
part of the time was an elder of
little over six months in Oregon
that church. His son, who lives
and two weeks in Washington Ter­
with them, is a prominent young
ritory, and as we before said, have
physician in Portland, and also a
decided there is too much of a sac­
deacon of the chfrch there. At no
rifice to be made in selling out and
place since we cafne to Oregon have
moving so far.
we been made to feel more at home
Notwithstanding our ill health,
than in the pleasant home of Bro.
and Sister Blaney, where we spent a part of the time, while there we
nearly a week resting- from our put in considerable hard work, and
had the satisfaction of seeing about
labors.
On leaving Portland we came to 55 added to the churches under our
Waitsburg, W. T., where we re­ labors. We had the satisfaction of
mained over two Lord’s days, visiting quite a number of the
preaching for the church there on churches in Oregon, and also of
each Lord’s day, and a few even­ seeing the most of the celebrated
ings. We were much pleased with Willamette valley. We found kind
what we saw in Waitsburg, not friends everywhere we went, and-
only of the country and climate, while we feel it is our duty to labor
but also of the people. Our breth­ in other fields we shall feel that we
ren there have just completed a are with them in spirit, and should
very comfortable house of worship, we never have the great pleasure
where they can now hold their of meeting on the shores of time
meetings and worship» God without again,. we shall hope to meet them
being dependent on others for a “in the sweet by and by,” where
house. They have an excellent there will be no more parting.
start in that beautiful little city, This world is indeed largely made
and with such members as the up of meetings and partings, but
Dickinsons, Hollowells, Bruces, over there these will be unknown.
On the morning of Jan. 21st, at
Crawfords and others too numer­
ous to mention, they are bound to 2 a . M., we took the train at Waits
T
on John 3 : 5, says: “ Except a man
be born of water and of the Spirit;
except he experience that great in­
ward change by the Spirit and be
baptized (wherever baptism can be
had) as the outward sign and means
of it.” Also Doctrinal Tracts, pub­
lished n5y“ord‘ermoY'11TO““l!^lTOdi8t,
General Conference understands
this to mean baptism. Bloomfield,
in his Notes in his Greek Testa­
ment, says: “ The purpose of the
next verse seems to be to set forth
tho
regeneration by water and the
Spirit, in order to the attainment
of everlasting salvation ; for that as
the natural.or. animal life depends
on flesh and blood, so does the
spiritual life depend on baptism by
water and by the Spirit.” Whithy
says : “ If a man be not born of wa­
ter : That our Lord speaks here of
baptismal regeneration, the whole
Christian church from the begin­
ning hath always taught, and that
with very good reason.” Dr. Albert
Barns says:. “ Born of water: By
water here is evidently signified
baptism; thus the word is UBed,
Eph. 5 : 29, Titus 3 : 5. Timothy
Dwight says: “ To be born again
is precisely the same thing as to be
born of water and of the Spirit, and
to be bom of water is to be bapti­
zed ; and he who understands the
nature and authority of this insti­
tution,and refuses to be baptized,will
never enter the visible or invisible
kingdom of God.” George Whit­
field says: “ Born of water and of
the Spirit: Does not this verse urge
the absolute necessity of baptism ?
Yes, when it may be had.” We
could quote many other’ authorities
to the same effect. But we only
add that how a man in the face of
all this evidence can say that bap­
tism has nothing to do with the
new birth, is more than we can
comprehend. Our brother evidently
understands the new birth to in­
clude the remission of sins. But
does not Peter say, “ Repent and be
baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remis­
sion of sins ?” Does not Christ say,
“ He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved ?” And does not Paul
teach that we are “baptized into
Jesus Christ ?”
When our speaker succeeds in
showing how a person can be born
again, and thus forgiven, outside of
Christ and his kingdom, he will
then be ajole to prove tp us tlip.t
baptism is not essential to the new
of being made a new creature in
Christ Jesus.
2. If the phrase “ borfi of water”
does not tefer to baptism, but is a
“ technical form of expression for
the flesh,” as contended, then the
Savior says to Nicodemus, “ except
a man be born of the flesh and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of Godf ’ Why, we thought
this was to be a spiritual birth,
and that it is here contrasted with
he natural birth with which Nic-
>demus was acquainted. The weak­
ness of the speaker’s criticism at
this point is very apparent. The
allusion to the passages in Isaiah
and Ezekiel is wide of the mark,
and his idea based upon them is
laughable.
3. The best scholars and writers
from Christ to the present unformly
understand the phrase “ born of
water ” to mean Christian baptism.
Dr. Wall’ the great pedobaptist his­
torian, in his history of baptism,
while speaking of the primitive
fathers says: “ They understood
that rule of our Savior, ‘Except one
be regenerated (or born again) of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God, of
water baptism, and concluded from
it that without such baptism, no
person could come to heaven—and
so did all the writers for these four
hundred years, not one man except­
ed.” And again he says : “ There
is not any one Christian writer of
any antiquity in any language, but
what understands it of baptism;
and if it be not so understood, it is
difficult to give an account how a
person is born of water any more
than born of wood.” Certainly
these writers for four hundred years
some of whom lived only a short
time after the Savior, had aS good
opportunity of knowing the mean­
ing of this language as our modern
critic. John Wesley, in his Notes birth. ’