"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" Matthew 28:19.

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts 2:38.

"Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 20:21.

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23.

"For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." Romans 7:9.

"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Romans 6:6.

"Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him." Romans 6:8.

"Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4.

NOTE: "This passage cannot be understood unless it be borne in mind that the primitive baptism was by immersion." --Conybeare and Howson's Life of Paul, on Rom 6:4, page 587, people's edition.

"For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." Romans 6:5.

"Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." Colossians 2:12.

NOTE: The principal object of the ordinance of baptism, then, is to show the faith of the recipient in the operation of God in raising Christ from the dead. After repenting of his transgressions of God's law, one must believe that although Christ died for sin, He was again made alive, to plead in the sinner's behalf. Then the ordinance of baptism is received to show to others that the candidate really believes in what is claimed to be necessary -- the burial and resurrection of Christ. The ordinance also shows one's faith in the resurrection of all the dead, based on the resurrection of Christ.

"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Galatians 3:27.

NOTE: That is, they have acknowledged Him in a public way. One may have espoused Christ before his baptism; but the act of baptism is the public ceremony which witnesses to all that the candidate has put on Christ. After that he will be regarded in a different light than before. He will have all the privileges of the Lord's house, by virtue of his public action, because his act has shown his faith, and his union with Christ.

"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?" Acts 8:36.

"And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Acts 8:37.

"And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him." Acts 8:38.

NOTE: "It is needless to add that baptism was (unless in exceptional cases) administered by immersion, the convert being plunged beneath the surface of the water to represent his death to the life of sin, and then raised from this momentary burial to respresent his resurrection to the life of righteousness. It must be a subject of regret that the general discontinuance of this original form of baptism (though perhaps necessary in our northern climates) has rendered abscure to popular apprehension some very important passages of Scripture." --Conybeare and Howson's Life of Paul, pages 401, 402, people's edition.

The names appended to the foregoing note are those of eminent clergymen of the Church of England. Such an admission from this source, should carry some weight in favor of immersion, though we do not consider the "discontinuance of this original form of baptism," necessary even "in our northern climates."

"One Lord, one faith, one baptism." Ephesians 4:5.

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." Acts 2:41.

"And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said (the number of names together were about a hundred and twenty)." Acts 1:15.

NOTE: Should the query arise, how so many as three thousand could be immersed in one day, it may be met by the fact that so large a number were present to administer the ordinance. Had only one half of those present (sixty) engaged int he work of baptizing, each would have been obliged to immerse but fifty person to make up the number, which would have occupied only about an hour's time.

"And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Acts 22:16.

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Mark 16:16.

NOTE: Then one must be able to believe before he can be a subject for baptism. This would exclude infants.

"And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway." Acts 16:33.

"And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house." Acts 16:32.

"And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house." Acts 16:34.

NOTE: There were, then, none in the jailer's household too young to have the gospel preached to them, and to believe the message of truth prior to their baptism.

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." Colossians 3:1.

NOTE: There can be only one way to determine whether or not one has done wrong, and that is by some revealed rule of duty. Had Satan and the angels violated no law, there could have been no wrath manifested toward them, from the fact that they would have remained in harmony with God's revealed will. Sin is the same in all ages. What is wrong now, was wrong then and visa versa. It would be as wrong in the eternal ages to come, to go contrary to the revealed word of God, as it is now.

"What shall we say then? is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Romans 7:7.

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12.

NOTE: If it is the law that works wrath, and that was visited upon man from the first because of the course of Adam, it certainly follows that the law was present to enforce the penalty.

"For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come." Romans 5:13,14.

NOTE: That is to say, until the law was spoken on Sinai, sin was in the world. Then to enforce his point, the apostle says: "Sin is not imputed where there is no law." But was sin imputed back there? He has said in the previous verse that death came in consequences of sin, Then sin was set to the account of those people, which proves the existence of the law at that time

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