Baptism as taught in the Bible and the Prayer Book

Transcribed from the 1865 Hatchard & Co. edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org
BY EDWARD HOARE, M.A., INCUMBENT OF TRINITY CHURCH, TUNBRIDGE WELLS.
“ Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts ; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you , with meekness and fear ; having a good conscience .”—1 Peter iii. 15, 16.
SIXTH EDITION.
LONDON: HATCHARD & CO., 187, PICCADILLY, W. Booksellers to H.R.H. the Princess of Wales. 1865.
BY EDWARD HOARE, M.A., INCUMBENT OF TRINITY CHURCH, TUNBRIDGE WELLS.
Few subjects have occasioned greater controversy than that of baptism, and few have been discussed with greater eagerness. The baptismal service of the Church of England has been a stumbling-block to many without her pale, and been made the basis of the extreme views entertained by many of those within. Some have thought it unscriptural, and have resolved in consequence upon separation from our Church; while others have regarded it as containing the Church’s principles more distinctly than the Articles, and have founded upon it the doctrine of spiritual regeneration as invariably connected with the sacrament. The object of the present tract is to compare the Prayer Book with the Bible: in doing which it will be needless to attempt any statement of the various opinions expressed upon the subject; our simpler and safer course will be to turn at once to the books themselves.
of course must claim precedence, and our endeavour will be to ascertain
I. What is the inward and spiritual blessing connected with the sacrament of baptism in Scripture?
II. What is the nature of the connexion?
I. That there are certain high and rich gifts connected with baptism in sacred Scripture must be acknowledged by all who study it in a childlike spirit. Men may entertain different opinions as to the connexion, and even as to the nature of the gifts, but that there are such gifts it is surely impossible to deny. Few words may suffice to shew that the sum and substance of these gifts is a saving union with our Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 Cor. xii. 13, it is written, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” That these words apply to the inward and spiritual grace of which baptism is a sign and means, lies on their very surface. They are plainly speaking of an inward and spiritual work, for they ascribe it to the agency of the Holy Ghost himself—“By one Spirit are ye all baptized;” while the use of the word “baptized” is proof of a connexion between this inward change and the outward sacrament. The inward grace is the subject of the passage, and this grace is connected by the language with the outward sign. We are, therefore, fully warranted in employing this text as a description of that blessing with which baptism is connected. It does not teach us the nature of the connection, but it does teach us the nature of the gift. And what is this blessing? The formation of a union with Christ Jesus; an engrafting into the living vine; an incorporation amongst the members of His body. The agent who forms this union is the Holy Ghost. “By one Spirit.” And the body with which the union is established is the mystical body of the Lord Jesus Christ; the body of which the Apostle speaks when he says, “And gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church, which is His body.” (Eph. i. 22, 23.)