[FAITH, REPENTANCE, AND BAPTISM, DO NOT PARDON.]
FAITH changes, purifies or christianizes the heart, or converts the subject in heart. Repentance changes, purifies or christianizes the man in character, or converts him in character. But this is all simply a change in the man, but no change in his relation or state. It is simply preparing the man to enter into a justified state, or a state of pardon. There is no forgiveness of sin in all this. There is no salvation of the soul from sin here. The salvation of the soul from sin, pardon or forgiveness of sins, is as distinct from all the preparation of heart and life, or all the change in the subject, as heaven or earth, as the work of God and the work of man. Man believes, repents, feels and confesses, but God pardons. No believing, repenting, feeling or confessing, saves the soul or pardons. It is God that pardons. Nor does baptism save the soul. It, too, is but the act of the creature; but it is the initiatory rite, consummating or transition act, where pardon is promised in the divine process. The candidate is baptized “into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” All the prophets bear witness of him, that through his name, whoever believeth in him, shall receive remission of sin. His is the only name given under heaven and among men whereby man can be saved. When we come into his name, there is salvation, or forgiveness of sins. As many as have been “baptized into Christ, have been baptized into his death.” In his death, his blood flowed to wash away sin. When man comes into his death, he comes to his blood that cleanses from all sin. When he enters the body of Christ, he comes to the life, to all spiritual blessings in Christ, to the salvation of our God.
[PROTRACTED MEETINGS, EXCITEMENTS. ETC.]
IT has been a question of serious doubt with some of the most excellent on earth, whether the protracted meeting is compatible with the genius of the Christian Institution, and whether more evil does not attend it than good. But from the day we engaged in the service of our Redeemer, to this hour, we have had no doubt of the propriety of protracted efforts for the conversion of men. It is true, these efforts may be made in such a manner; such policies and appliances may be employed and a resort may be made to such means of excitement, as would be wholly unjustifiable. But this may be done on any other occasion, as well as at the protracted meeting, and the fault is not in the protracted effort, but in the means employed.
All efforts made to excite men without enlightening them; to rouse the feelings without informing the judgment; to produce action without the knowledge how to act, are wholly unscriptural, and equally at war with the best interests of mankind. To hold a protracted meeting, while talented orators shall picture to men, in the most startling manner, the sinfulness of sin, the lost condition of man, the awfulness of death, the ineffable bliss of heaven, and the unutterable horrors of hell, without giving any adequate instructions how to obtain deliverance from sin, or the dangers of punishment, and an ultimate admission into the felicities of the eternal state of the blessed, we all admit to be as irrational as unscriptural. Indeed, we can not conceive anything more incompatible with all enlightenment and all revelation, than to awaken the human soul to a sense of its danger, without affording a knowledge of the means of escape. That such, however, is the case in thousands of the revival movements of our times, no intelligent person can deny. Who has not seen the penitent, when the invitation has been extended, come, inquiring, “What must I do to be saved?” and not a man on the ground who could answer the question. Who has not heard the preacher invite, persuade and entreat the sinner to come to the Lord, assuring him that he who seeks shall find—he who comes shall in no wise be cast out—that if any man knocks at the door, the Lord will open to him, and, when persons, induced through such invitation, come seeking the way, not a man present could point it out? We have all witnessed occasions of this kind. Nay, more, we have known such seekers to come, time after time, seeking, honestly and devoutly seeking, but still not finding! Yes, this is not the worst. We have heard the preacher advise them to join the church, that probably the Lord would bless them, that persons had been known to “get religion” after joining the church, etc., etc., and we have known them to take this advice, join the church, and remain for years, seeking all the time, and still failing to find! Every community can testify the same.
Now it is not strange that men should become sceptics, under the influence of such a system as this. It is a failure. It makes false promises, and men try them and find them to be false. Such a system promises, that they who seek shall find, and hundreds, even thousands, have sought—have done, and have done honestly, all the preachers pointed out for them to do, and have failed to find. They know positively that the system is a failure, for they have tried it, and found it to be such. It is precisely what we might expect, that persons trying such a system, seeking and striving honestly for years and not finding, should be brought to doubt that there is any truth or reality in the whole concern; and we have no doubt, that such unenlightened excitement will be chargeable with a large amount of the unbelief, so rapidly increasing in our times.