J. M. Frost - 1916
J. M. Frost. Baptist and Reflector, Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 2, 1915. (154)
As ONE of its characteristics baptism is a physical act with religious character and function, a ”form of godliness” in the fullness of power, if held to its scriptural thought and purpose. Its physical act is in the form of immersion in water, its character the spirit of obedience and worship, its religious functions to serve God in the ways of his appointment. Some count the form of no consequence, and so miss the ordinance altogether; others count the form all there is of it - hold that baptism as immersion is sufficient-and so miss its larger ceremonial meaning and its richer symbolic import. Its form is essential to its observance and right administration, and is largely the expression of its lofty use in ceremony and symbol.
This beautiful Christian ordinance, with a record now of nearly twenty centuries, is a marked feature of New Testament life and history. And throughout it has the command and authority of our Lord, and is conspicuous for its symbolic emphasis of the doctrines of grace and for the power of its ceremonial testimony for things experienced in the heart. For baptism, according to the Scripture, is the figure of salvation through the resurrection of Jesus, and not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God. This unusual combination - God, conscience, baptism - puts baptism out of the ordinary, and sets it among things which are of surpassing greatness. As when given by our Lord a place of efficiency and vital relation to the Persons of the Godhead in the commission, or when assigned a place of distinction by the great apostle in his noble summary of the Christian unities - one body - one Spirit - one hope of your calling - one Lord - one faith - one baptism - one God, the Father of all.
It is scarcely to be wondered at, but rather a further testimony to the greatness of the ordinance, that from the first until now, some have set it out of its sphere and rightful service, or attributed to it more of efficacy than was right or true, or have otherwise missed its meaning or misread its message. Even at the first, as the gospel went abroad on its larger mission, there was need for apostolic correction, for some thought baptism could put away ”the filth of the flesh,” as if to magnify the cleansing power of its immersion, could cleanse the life of sin and eliminate from the flesh tendencies which are wrong and sometimes ruinous. And there are other more modern theories, but scarcely less unworthy, that have claimed for it a sort of magic power unto salvation, washing away or remission of sins, or some ill-defined sacerdotal or sacramental grace.
But as an adequate offset to all this stands the New Testament simplicity of baptism with its standards and ideals. Having tremendous meaning and of great honor, it is yet restricted in its sphere and function-set for lofty mission and purpose, but incapable of doing or serving in others. Baptism has its prescribed form - an immersion in water as to the physical act, and serves its religious function in part at least as the answer of good conscience toward God. The ordinance is not itself the conscience, does not itself possess moral quality, but becomes its voice for the expression of its judgments in behalf of God, and in emphasis of his honor and right to rule. It is remarkable as a ceremonial service, and depends not on its environment but simply on the august character and significance of its message. It is the voice of conscience in baptism-an external physical act giving expression to the deepest, profoundest passion of the human soul. It means God’s claim on the conscience and life - the conscience’s answering the demand, making recognition of God, and avowing its purpose to walk in his statutes and serve him in the ordinances of his love.
Baptism cannot make the conscience pure, but simply serves as its voice, can take no stain of sin from the soul, cannot give a new heart or make us new creatures in Christ Jesus. But the good conscience is the conscience of a renewed heart and marks a work of grace wrought within by the Spirit of God. It is conscience set right and trained in the principles and ways of righteousness. Otherwise one would not come to baptism at all, except through some delusion as to the saving power of the ordinance, or some evil purposes as with Simon Magus, whose heart was not right in the sight of God and who was baptized while still in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. But in such cases it would be no baptism-even though an immersion-only a performance outwardly religious, but having no meaning and could easily become a solemn mockery and a dangerous sacrilege.
This may be counted an ideal too high, but surely it is of the New Testament standard, and worthy of our seeking and following. We need to discriminate both as to our conscience and as to what our conscience would have us do-all the more because of the divided sentiment and the inadequate views concerning the great ordinance. We should set ourselves to have the baptism which God intends and which Christ commanded - the right baptism by the New Testament standard in spirit, form and purpose, and making the answer of a good conscience unto God. Saul of Tarsus is an illustrious example of the conscience before and after conversion, and emphasizes the need of its being made right. He exercised himself in his unsaved condition, to have his conscience void of offense before God and men. He was self-centered, followed the ”dictates of his own conscience” both in worshiping the God of his fathers and in persecuting Christians unto death - followed his conscience, but his conscience was wrong and led him in the wrong way.
But after his conversion all this was changed. His conscience was converted, and trained in the way and service of Christ. He centered all in Christ not only for his salvation and hope, but for the government of his life. Christ’s will and law became his will and law, from the time he met him in the way to Damascus. The love of Christ became the passion of his soul and the supreme law of his life-the one restraining and constraining principle and power. His was the ”good conscience,” and would voice itself for God in whatever way and manner occasion required - whether to be baptized or to give himself as a martyr for a martyr’s crown. This is what a good conscience calls for no less now than then, and should mean as much with us as with the followers of oar Lord in the far-off years. It is a supreme moment when the conscience, under the sway of God’s grace, speaks its word for him; and if baptism be the voice of its expression it gives to the ordinance a standing and rank such as when the angels do his will.
We must not undervalue this because baptism is so often misunderstood and sometimes counted of little consequence. The voice of a good conscience is a voice to be heard and honored, whatever the medium of expression, and the medium of its communication assumes in a way the distinction and glory of the mighty issues involved. God - conscience - baptism, can never be otherwise than of commanding nature and import. Conscience is often called, perhaps generally understood to be, the seat of authority in human character, and yet its dictates are not always obeyed - not even concerning baptism. Nearly everyone knows how it even clamors at times to be heard in other matters, yet its calls are set aside. Its voice is sometimes suppressed by the will in sheer willfulness, sometimes stifled by other passions of the soul, sometimes overpowered by the sweep and drive of bodily appetites and lusts, and sometimes set at naught by outside conditions and circumstances. But in every such case it is more or less the breakdown of man’s moral quality, and the failure of conscience to have its voice heard in the moral realm of thought and life.
The plea of this article is for the right exercise of conscience, that it be true to God in baptism as in other matters, and command the life to his honor and service. For its call is sometimes set at naught, and sometimes the whole affair is counted of no value or consequence. God is not heard, the ordinances of his house are disregarded, or even belittled before men and angels. Why would not his word of rebuke to the unfaithfull priest apply in this case, and with startling emphasis and meaning: ”’For them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed?” For man in dealing with his own conscience is often dealing with God, and stifling its voice may be stifling God’s voice. The question of a man’s baptism may become the point of issue between him. and his God-for the conscience has only made God’s demand and now awaits the man’s answer.
The voice of conscience in baptism then, besides being a recognition of God, means also personal obligation and obedience. It gives great emphasis to that individual character in the service of God, which is everywhere manifest throughout the Scriptures - God dealing with man and man dealing with God face to face.
In the great ordinance man walks as if alone with God, his conscience making its call and his God awaiting his answer. One cannot be baptized or meet the obligation of baptism for another. There is no room for the sponsor in the Christian system, whether by parents or others. The sponsor, so conspicuous in some circles, is unknown in the New Testament or the Old. In baptism each one must answer for himself, precisely as he must repent and believe for himself. God regenerates by units and saves one by one. Conscience is tremendously individual, and its keeping cannot be either assumed by another or committed to another. This is true throughout the whole range of Christian experience and life, and the question of a man’s being baptized cannot be an exception.
Every one must give account unto God for himself in his baptismal vows, no less than in any other phase of life, whether duty or privilege or experience. It is the fundamental principle, without variation and everywhere imperativewe might say, imperious, and cannot be set aside without dishonor to God and detriment, possibly peril, for the man. The experience of two young ladies is recalled as illustrating all this. They were of different communions, brought up in different sections of the country, of excellent home life and culture, and both baptized in infancy as they had been taught. One heard a sermon in which the preacher made the remark rather incidentally - ”every one is answerable to God for his baptism.” It could not be gainsaid, was an arrow between the joints of the harness, and smote her heart with the conviction that she could not answer for what she had received in infancy. The other came face to face with the question of baptism’s being ”the answer of a good conscience toward God,” and felt in her soul that this was not true with her. Both of them after severe and prolonged struggle followed their Lord in personal obedience, were buried with him in baptism upon profession of a personal faith, and lived long and useful lives in his service.
The conscience needs enlightenment and training in a broad, general way, in order to be ready for emergencies and specific questions. A man’s conscience is not unlike his watch, and needs regulating, setting and winding, and sometimes to be done all over in repairs. Sometimes there is a revolution in the conscience that sets everything at a different standard and marks a new course in life. A man follows his watch and yet his watch may lead him astray. There is need for a regulator outside himself. And the answer of a good conscience in baptism stops not with self or with others, but is unto God as the supreme standard, and his Word for regulator and regulation. A man having an important engagement looks at his watch to find it stopped, having run down. He set the hand to the right hour, but when later looking to it for his guide he found the hands standing where he left them. He had forgotten the winding and so it failed him in the time of need. Something like this is all the while occurring with men in dealing with their conscience. Not trained in the usual, it fails in the unusual; not trained for today it goes all wrong in the emergency of tomorrow. There can be no right or safe training in conscience, no laying in store safeguards for protection and government in the affairs of life, except as God is made the supreme standard and his Word the supreme test of its decisions and judgments.
And now this final word concerning baptism and its serving as a voice for the good conscience. It is only when God is back of it all and recognized as ruling the life of the individual in this specific act. Cared for, and intelligently observed after the New Testament plan and pattern, the great ordinance is an education in conscience and individual responsibility. Some fail to see its use or service or exceptional worth, and yet it has educative efficiency because of the great principles which it involves and commands. It makes God supreme in a man’s character and life. It is far away from the question of ”mere form,” and deals with the profoundest questions in moral and religious thought. It sees God on the throne as person and judge of the whole earth, and brings human accountability to the front with mighty and startling emphasis. We cannot rule out these great personal obligations from a man’s baptism, for in this, as he walks in the fear and joy of God, the voice of conscience makes itself known.
Personal baptism means personal salvation preceding, and this again means personal dealing with God in Christ Jesus. It shows God as an individual with the individual man, and Christ as the individual Saviour with the individual sinner - ”My Lord and my God” being the personal conviction of every redeemed soul. He is God of the nation, and God of the family, but first and deepest, the God of the individual, man for man. And salvation is to him that believeth, and obedience is for the one to walk in the way of the Lord for himself for God’s honor and glory. This great truth runs all through the Scriptures from God’s first question to man in his sin - ”Where art thou?” to the final invitation of grace”Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.” This is the basal principle in the whole Christian system, whether of being saved or of right living, whether in our thought Godward, or in our conduct manward. It gives great character to individual obedience, whether ceremonial as in baptism or otherwise in the whole range of walking after the ways of God.
As illustrating its educational power, consider baptism, not in the abstract, but in a concrete case of one coming to the great ordinance for himself. He has found the Saviour and the Saviour has found him. He has the sense of pardon in his soul and seeks with joy the commandments of his Lord. This man for himself, whether accustomed to move among kings and princes or in the humble walks of life, is baptized into the name, - of the Father - and of the Son - and of the Holy Spirit - and so professes his faith in the Unity and Trinity of the Godhead, vows allegiance to each in his Person and office, and pledges his loyalty in baptismal vows as the line between his old life and the new. Nothing can be more sublime or more commanding among men, and its lesson for educational efficiency is reflected with every repetition of the great ordinance in the service of the King. This is individual baptism, the answer of the good conscience toward God - of the conscience renewed and turned in the way to seek his word and to follow his will.