Baptism is a spiritual and sacred ordinance; it is the literal and visible phase of the new birth. Baptism is the ceremony whereby the individual becomes married to Christ. The "old man" to whom the person has been married is dead, and is now buried, and the baptismal candidate is married to another, even to Christ. He takes Christ's name, is baptized into Him, becomes one with Him, and therefore in his experience he is first taken to the cross and there becomes crucified unto the world (Gal. 6:14), in order that Christ may live in him. When this has taken place in the life of the individual, the result will be that he seeks those things which are above; he will not set his affections on things on earth, but on things above, because he is dead, as far as the former relationship is concerned, and his new life is now hid with Christ in God.
After being taken to the cross, and the world is crucified unto him and he unto the world, and he has entered into the resurrection experience, whereby he lives an entirely new life, then he is taken a step farther, and made to sit with Christ in heavenly places. In experience, he now sits at Christ's right hand, which is a place of victory, peace, and joy; and we read, "Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy: at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore." Ps. 16:11. The one who is married to Christ and is permitted to sit with Him in heavenly places, will have so much real joy and pleasure that nothing which the world can offer will have any appeal. He who is exalted to such a position will not desire to exchange it for any place which the world has to offer. The person who is baptized into Christ, and has "put on Christ"—enthroned Christ will seek to glorify Christ in all that he does.
The first point in considering what constitutes thorough instruction is, therefore, the necessity of placing in the forefront all that is involved in individual relation to Christ, which baptism primarily signifies.
Second, candidates for baptism should have thorough instruction in all points of faith. Our doctrines are important; they comprise a message to the world known as "the advent message," and without these doctrines there would be no "advent movement." The peculiar points of the message should be thoroughly understood before baptism is administered, such as the Spirit of prophecy in its relation to the advent movement, the tithing system, health reform, dress reform, the ordinance of humility, denominational organization, et cetera. It is an injustice to any person to bring him into the church before he has been made acquainted with all the doctrines peculiar to our church.
But doctrine without divine power is of little worth. "Those who teach unpopular truth today must have power from on high to combine with their doctrine, or their efforts will be of little account."—"Testimonies," Vol. IV, p. 378. "Truth is of no value to any soul unless it is brought into the inner sanctuary, and sanctifies the soul."—"Christ Our Righteousness," p. 99. "A theoretical knowledge of the truth is essential. But the knowledge of the greatest truth will not save us; our knowledge must be practical. . . . The truth must be brought into their hearts."—Ibid. "In the lives of many of those whose names are on the church books there has been no genuine change. The truth has been kept in the outer court. There has been no genuine conversion, no positive work of grace done in the heart."—Id., pp. 100, 101. "The five foolish virgins had lamps (this means a knowledge of Scripture truth), but they had not the grace of Christ."—Id., p. 103. But Christ is "the way, the truth, and the life." He is the embodiment of truth—the truth personified. He that knows Christ, will obey from the heart that form of doctrine which has been revealed to him.
As the third point, therefore, in determining what constitutes thorough instruction, there must be recognition of the principle that to be truly baptized into Christ involves abiding in Christ and walking as Christ walked.
God has given this people much light. The Spirit of prophecy speaks of it as "the accumulated light of the ages." Hence there is much light to be walked in by those who become Seventh-day Adventists. If this light becomes merely a set of rules to live by, and the truth itself does not become a living, sanctifying power in the life, one of two things is sure to happen,—either the individual who has the light will break the rules, or else the rules will break him. There is only one way to avoid this, and that is to have the rules written in the heart by the creative power of the Holy Spirit.
If one will indeed accept Christ as that covenant of a new and better way, the law will be written in his heart, and he will keep the law gladly, willingly, lovingly, instinctively. The commandments will not be a set of negative rules, but a positive force in his life. He will keep the law without having to rein himself up for the purpose of doing so.
If the spirit and truth of the Sabbath are written in one's heart under the light of the third angel's message, he will become a true Sabbath keeper. He will not lean to Jewish extremes, neither will he manifest nominal Sabbath-keeping laxness, as is so often manifested in the lives of Seventh-day Adventists. There will be a power within the heart that guides and keeps in the right way. "When we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, we shall have no relish for sin; for Christ will be working with us."--Id., p. 121.
If one has the righteousness of Christ imparted as well as imputed, he will naturally fulfill the law of righteousness, for "the righteousness of Christ. . . is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God."—Id., p. 36.
If one has the Spirit of God in his life, he will bear the fruits of the Spirit as naturally as a fig tree bears figs or a rose bush bears roses. He will do it without thinking; it will flow naturally from his life. We read:
"Thus it is with the truly righteous man. He is unconscious of his goodness and piety. Religious principle has become the spring of his life and conduct, and it is just as natural for him to bear the fruits of the Spirit as for the fig tree to bear figs, or for the rose bush to yield roses. His nature is so thoroughly imbued with love for God and his fellow men that he works the works of Christ with a willing heart."—"Bible Sanctification," by Mrs. E. G. White, p. 12.
If "a man is converted to God, a new moral taste is created; and he loves the things that God loves; for his life is bound up by the golden chain of the immutable promises, to the life of Jesus."—"Christ Our Righteousness," p. 122. "The hungry, thirsty soul will continue to hunger and thirst as long as it partakes of these unsatisfying pleasures. But those who drink of the living water will thirst no more for frivolous, sensual, exciting amusements. The ennobling principles of religion will strengthen the mental powers, and will destroy a taste for these gratifications."—"Testimonies," Vol. IV, p. 579.
True conversion, then, is the most important thing. This involves consecration, and consecration will mean righteous and faithful living. For example, a truly consecrated person, under the light of this message, will naturally be a faithful tithe payer, because the underlying principle of one is the same as that of the other,—the recognition and acknowledgment of God as the owner of all; that all belongs to Him—body, mind, talents, life; members of body,—eyes, ears, mouth, lips, tongue, cheeks, stomach, appetite, hands, feet, et cetera.
In the cleansing of the leper, which is typical of the cleansing from sin, the blood was first put on the ears, hands, and feet, and then the oil was applied. The consecrated person, under the light of this message, will eat and drink to the glory of God. He will walk in the light that has come to this people in such rich measure, this "accumulated light of the ages." He will recognize that his tastes and appetites belong to the Lord, and that the adorning of the body must be in harmony with the plain teaching of the word. Consecrated ears will not be open to the words of the evil one who seeks to lure into paths of sin; consecrated eyes will not look upon evil; consecrated feet will not take one onto the dance floor or to other questionable places; consecrated hands are not used in card playing. All physical members of a consecrated person are yielded as instruments of righteousness.
In summing up the matter, we may say that thorough instruction of candidates for admittance to the church, is based on the primary steps in conversion:
1. Repentance.
2. Confession and forgiveness of sin.
3. Imputation and impartation of righteousness.
4. Consecration.
5. Sanctification.
Then the next phase of thorough instruction embraces the steps of growth in the Christian life; for as in the natural birth, the babe in order to grow must have food, pure air, sunshine, and exercise, so in the spiritual birth there must be:
1. Feeding on the word,—a desire for the sincere milk of the word.
2. Receiving more and more of the Holy Spirit, the breath of spiritual life in the soul.
3. Bask in the sunshine of His presence,—walking in advance light.
4. Spiritual exercise,—working fos the salvation of others.
5. Faithfulness in availing oneself of all the means of grace whereby to grow in grace and in the knowledge o our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Battle Creek, Mich.
