O! had I lov'd thee less, my foolish heart This trembling breast for thee. How could I, then, Have ask'd a holier boon, a blessedness, Than heaven's own self, with all its blessed ones, Its rapturous songs of gratitude and praise, From all the toils, and pains, and nameless cares H. M. Dodge. THE greater part of the preceding number was written and prepared in the last week of May, preparatory to our making a short excursion for two weeks. This will explain some omissions in it and the reason of any supposed neglect of our correspondents. EDITOR. Printed and PUBLISHED BY A. CAMPBELL-PRICE, $2,00) PER ANNUM THE MILLENNIAL HARBINGER. No. 8. BETHANY, VIRGINIA: Vol. III. I saw another messenger flying through the midst of heaven, having everlasting good news to proclaim to the inhabitants of the earth, even to every nation and tribe, and tongue, and people-saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgments is come: and worship him who made heaven, and earth, and sea, and the fountains of water.-JoнN. Great is the truth and mighty above all things, and will prevail, TO ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, Editor of the "Millennial Harbinger." WE will now endeavor to interpret and understand the account that we have of the remission of sins and baptism of the Pentecostal Jews, in the 2d chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, agreeably to the foregoing critical remarks and observations of Professor Stuart, William Erskine, and yourself, The miraculous gifts, which were the promise of the Holy Ghost, and which Christ, after he was exalted by the right hand of God, received of the Father, and shed forth upon the hundred and twenty disciples when the day of Pentecost was fully come, in visible and audible appearances, which were seen and heard by the multitude, and Peter's discourse, convinced the Jews that they had crucified the Messiah, whom God had raised from the dead, and made both Lord and Christ--they were pierced to the heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the Apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said unto them, Reform and be each of you baptized on account of Jesus Christ, into the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; for the promise is to you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words he bore his testimony, and exhorted,* saying, Save yourselves from this perverse generation. Then they who gladly received his word were baptized. They gladly received the testimony concerning Jesus Christ, and reformed before they were baptized. Jesus Christ was exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give reformation and remission of sin to Israel: by faith in the testimony they received him, and received reformation and remission, and were justified from all things. Acts v. 31.-ch. xiii. 38. 39. God having given to them reformation unto life, and purified their hearts hy faith, they were baptized into the doctrine of forgiveness of sins, for Christ's sake, and thereby professed to receive and acknowledge forgiveness on account of Jesus Christ, by which they would be saved, (or had the pledge of it,) and had the answer of a good conscience towards God. They were baptized into Christ and put him ou. They renounced the law of Moses for salvation, and acknow 32 ledged Jesus Christ as their lawgiver, guide, protector, and Saviour; bound themselves to be his disciples and followers, and to receive and obey his doctrines and laws, and risqued every thing upon his authority, wisdom, power, goodness, and faithfulness. Having been born of God under the old typical covenant, by being the natural descendants of Abraham, they were born again under the new covenant, by the incorruptible seed, the word of God, which by the gospel was preached unto them by faith in Jesus Christ. You will not, I suppose, differ much from me in giving reformation and remission precedence to baptism. Do you not demand reformation before baptism? or do you administer baptism in order that men may afterwards reform? According to "the ancient gospel" was not penitence before baptism? This question is answered by the first part of the verse, Acts ii. 31. "Repent and be baptized." Did not remission of sins of course follow repentance, or gospel reformation? Has not God always and every where granted remission, of course, to reformation? If so, how can obtaining remission be suspended on the act of baptism, an act dependant on the will and agency of another person, on the act of the administrator, and not on the penitent? These questions settle the matter when correctly answered, and prove that justification or the forgiveness of sin in the case of the Pentecostal Jews, preceded their baptism. If it be not the doctrine of the gospel, that the sins of penitent believers are remitted, through faith in Jesus Christ, or that sinners are justified by faith; then it follows that the grace of God through the atonement of Christ, and a living faith in him, do no more in the forgiveness of sin than to put it in the power of the administrator of baptism, to remit the sins of the believer by baptizing him; and should sickness or any thing else happen to prevent it, and he should die without being baptized, he · would die in his sins. I lately heard of a young man who was in the last stage of consumption, becoming greatly concerned about the salvation of his soul, and was anxious to know what he should do to be saved. A proclaimer of immersion for the remission of sin visited him, and finding him too low to be baptized for the remission of sin, could not say a word to him by way of instruction or comfort; he could not say to him as Paul did to the Jailor, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved," but left him; and afterwards adduced this case by way of argument, in a powerful appeal he made to a congregation, to induce those who believed and had bodily health and strength, and had never been baptized for the remission of their sins, to be baptized lest they be involved in the hopeless condition of the young man. This I think was entirely consistent with the doctrine; and I would advocate it too, for the same reason he did, were to believe that sin is actually remitted in baptism. He did not propose to baptize any one in unbelief, but considered faith of no effect without baptism; I too would urge believers to be baptized, but for a different reason, I must attend a little to the remission of sirs and baptism of the first Gentile congregation, in Acts x, 4. before I conclude this number. 6 I You did not bestow that attention upon the 2d number of Archippus which it demanded, and which was necessary for your understanding it. I am the more particular in attending to the facts and circumstances, which are recorded of the order and manner according to which the gospel was introduced to the Jews on the day of Pentecost, and to the first Gentile congregation, in Acts x. because it is here, as you have observed, that we can find a full and explicit developement of the institution of baptism, and its connexion with faith and the remission of sin, as what is said in the epistles and other remote documents, is by way of allusion, and does not teach the literal import of baptism and remission of sin in their relation to each other. Then we are not to learn from mere allusions, or oblique hints, or fugitive representations, such as appear in the conversation of Christ with Nicodemus, (John iii. 5, 7.) but from the direct and primary discoveries of the Apostles upon the subject. After Peter had delivered a short but comprehensive discourse to Cornelius and household, under the authority of previous revelations made to himself and Cornelius, which occasioned the meeting between them, in which he exhibited the most conclusive proof that Jesus Christ was Messiah and Saviour, and just as he concluded his testimony in the following words: "To him gave all the prophets witness, that whosoever, or every one that believeth on him, shall receive remission of sins through his name," the Holy Ghost fell upon all them that heard the word, and they spoke with tongues, and glorified God. Then said Peter, Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Acts x. 34-48. Were these people in their sins when they received the gifts of the Holy Ghost and glorified God, which occurred before they were baptized? I answer, No; because they had now received the comforter whom Christ had promised to his disciples, and whom the world could not receive; after that they believed, before they were baptized, they were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, Eph. i. 13. In the next chapter, Acts xi. we have this subject made very clear, which records Peter's defence before the Apostles, elders, and brethren against a complaint made by some of the Jewish converts against him, for going to the Gentiles and eating with them. In his defence he rehearsed the matter in order to them as it occurred. He told. them that after he delivered his testimony, "the Holy Ghost fell on them as on us at the beginning" Acts ii. 1-4. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, (Acts i. 5.) John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Hely Ghost. For as much, then, as God gave them the like gifts as he did unto us who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I that I could withstand God? When they heard these things they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." This plainly proves that the Apostles and elders judged that the sins of the Gentiles who believed, were remitted, and that the gifts of the Holy Ghost were bestowed upon them in consequence of it, and in proof of it, before a word was said about baptism, and before they were baptized, they are represented as being in the same state of divine favor that the one hundred and twenty disciples were on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost was poured out upon them. We have further information upon this same subject from Peter. In the apostolic council at Jerusalem, Peter rose up and said unto them, "Men and brethren, ye know that God a good while ago made choice among us that the Gentiles, by my mouth, should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God who knoweth the heart bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost even as he did unto us, and put no difference between us and them, having purified their hearts by faith." And thus by the miraculous gifts of one spirit the Jews and Gentiles were baptized into one body, (Cor. xii. 13.) before either of them had been baptized with water into the name of Jesus Christ, and of course neither of them entered into the kingdom by the ordinance of baptism. When the hundred and twenty disciples in Acts chap. i. verse 15. and Acts ii. 1-4. were baptized in water, the new covenant was not ratified, for the blood of it was not shed, the new kingdom was not set up, and the King was not crowned. And the Gentiles were in the kingdom before Peter commanded them to be baptized, Rom. xiv. 17. through faith they had received the remission of their sins and glorified God by the gifts of the Holy Ghost. The miraculous gifts saved no person who possessed them, but they were the witness and seal of God that those "upon whom he bestowed them were saved by faith and enjoyed the divine favor. They moreover sealed and confirmed the testimony that whoever believed in Jesus Christ received remission of sin, and that he actually does receive it by faith at the moment of believing, without respect to baptism, altogether, as was the case with the first Gentile congregation-and they of course seal the testimony that it is altogether an error to baptize any person in order to obtain remission for sin. I have been thus particular in attending to the case of Cornelius and household in relation to faith, remission of sins and baptism, because they were the first Gentile congregation to whom the gospel was preached, and they are always spoken of and attended to as public characters and as the representatives of the Gentile world through all succeeding ages, in relation to God's order and method of remitting their sins, or of justifying them, and of receiving them into his favor. Hence they are denominated "the Gentiles." Acts 10, 45, ch. 11, 18. And their faith is referred to as a rule and example in all other cases. Acts xv. 7-9, xiv. 23-29. Their case shows that faith in Jesus Christ is the radical principle in the christian character, as it is the principle of communion with God, and of christian union and fellowship. We are justified by faith; but faith is not baptism, as faith in the case of Abraham was not circumcision. Although our sins are not remitted by baptism, it is nevertheless the duty of all who are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, to be baptized into Christ and put him on. In my next letter I will endeavor to show the distinction between the justification of a sinner by faith only, without works, in making |