An essay on the remission of sins / by A. Campbell.

  • Alexander Campbell
Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on the remission of sins / by A. Campbell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Now, as soon as, and not before, a disciple, who has been begotten of God, is born of water, be is born of God or of the Spirit. Regeneration is, therefore, the act of being born. Hence its connexion always with water. Reader, reflect—what a jargon, what a confusion, have the mystic doctors made of this metaphorical expression, and of this topic of regeneration. To call the receiving of any spirit, or any influence, or energy, or any operation upon the heart of man, regeneration, is an abuse of all speech, as well as a departure from the diction of the Holy Spirit, who calls nothing personal regeneration except the act of immersion.* Some curious criticisms have been offered, to escape the force of the plain declaration of Jesus and his Apostles upon this subject. Some say, that the words, Except a man be born of water and Soirit,” are not to be understood A 7 literally. Surelv, then, if to be born of water does not mean to be born of water, to be born of the Spirit must mean something else than to be born of the Spirit. This * That John iii. 5. and Titus iii. 5. refer to immersion, is the judgment of all the learned Catholics andProtestants of every name under heaven. The authors and finishers of tha Westminster creed,—one hundred and twenty- one divines, ten Lords, and twenty Commissioners of the Parliament of England, under the question 105, “ What is Baptism? quot,e John iii: 5. and Titus iii. 5. to prove that baptism is a washing with water, and a sign of remission of sins. Micliaelis, Horne, Lightfoot, Beveridge, Taylor, Jones of Navlaiid, Bishop Mant, Whitby, Burkit, Bishop Hall, Dr. Wells, Hooker, Dr. G. Ilidley, Bishop Ryder:—but why attempt a list of great names. There are a thousand more assert it. Bishop White says, that “regeneration, as detached from baptism, never en¬ tered into any creed before the 17th century. Whitby, on John iii 5. says, “That our Lord here speaks ofbaptismal regene¬ ration, the whole Christian church from its earliest period has invariably taught.' Our modern “great divines ’’ even in America have taught the same. Timothy Dwight, the greatest Kabbi of Presbyterianism the New World has produced, says vol. iv. pp 300,301. “ to be born again, is precisely the same thing as to be horn of water and the Spirit.”—“To be born of water is to be baptized.” And how uncha¬ ritable !—He adds, “He who, understanding the nature and authority of this insti¬ tution, refuses to be baptized, will never enter into the visible nor invisible kingdom of God. vol. iv. p. 302. So preached the president of Yale. George Whitfield, writing on John iii. 5 says, “Does not this verse urge the absolute necessity of water baptism? Ves, when it maybe had. But how God will deal with persons unbaptized, ire cannot tell. vol. iv. p. 355. I say with him, we cannot tell with certainty. But I am of opinion, that when a neglect proceeds from a simple mistake or sheer ignorance, and when there is no aversion, but a will to do every thing the Lord commands, the Lord will admit into the everlasting king¬ dom those who by reason of this mistake, never had the testimony of God assuring them of pardon or justification here, and consequently, never did fully eryoy the salvation of God on earth. But I will say with the renowned president of Yale, that “he who, understanding the nature and authority of this institution refuses to be baptized, will never enter the visible nor invisible kingdom of God.” By the “ visible and invisible kingdom,” he means the kingdom of grace and glory.' He adds oil the same page, “he who persists in this act of rebellion against the'autho¬ rity of Christ will never belong to his kingdom. vol. iv. p. 302. John Wesley asserts that “by baptism we enter into covenant with God, an everlasting covenant, are admitted into the church, made members of Christ, made the children of God. By water as the means, the water of baptism, we aie regene¬ rated or born again.'—[Preservative, pp. 140—159.1
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