SALVATION.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4714, 15 February 1884, Page 2

SALVATION.

(To the Editor of the Evening Star.)

Sic,—Kindly allow me a little space in your widely circulated journal to answer " Justice's" epistle. He says, *' I think no person should say others are in error unless they speak truth themselves." I admit that I credited Luke with the commission, "He that believeth &c," but I did it unwittingly-; there is no untruthfulness in that. Tour readers will find the commission in Mark XVI, 15th and 16th verses, just as I gave it. The same with reference to the other mistake, it waa an oversight, but makes no difference whatever in what I am contending for, viz.: That under all the dispensations, whatever instructions were given to man had to be implicitly carried out, or else God's dis - pleasure was invoked. In reference to the question in "Justice's " letter, '- He that believeth on me, as the Scriptures hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water—(But this spake he of the Spirit which they that believeth on Him should receive ; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified)." Now I believe in rightly dividing the Scriptures and not giving answers to inquiries out of a dispensation that has passed. That promise of Christ was fulfilled on the first Pentecost after He arose from the dead. The Holy Spirit was poured out, on that day, and the twelve Apostles, mostly ignorant fishermen, spake in all languages under its influence. This was the commencement of the Christian dispensation. Let " Justice " read it for himself—Acts, 2nd chapter., The commission was carried out as Christ commanded before He a3cjnded to Heaven; the Gospel preached; about 3COO believed, wanted to know what else to do, wore told to repent and be baptised, and they should receive the Holy Spirit. The same answer was given to all inquirers after that. Take just two cases, important ones, to prove that Faith and Baptism are joined together in the plan of salvation. The case of the Apostle Paul—Acts, 9th chapter:—Paul is on his way to Damascus to persecute Christ's followers; Paul falls to the earth, and hears a voice saying, " Saul, Saul, why persecutest; thou Me ? " Paul says, " Who art thou, Lord ? " "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutes^," &c. Saul, trembling, said : "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" "Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." Jesus tells him, you see, what he must do—not."" You may do it if you like or leave it undone." Baptism was one of those things; for the account says (18th verse) "He arose and was baptised." The first household of Gentile converts is still more fcmphatiC:— Cornelius was a just man,-who feared God •, God answered his prayers, and tells him by an angel to send for Peter, who would tell him what to do; Peter comes, preaches Jesus Christ |o him and his household—they believe -the Holy Spirit fell on them—they spake with tongues. Now, surely they are all right, they need not be baptised in water, the teachers of our day would, have said; but not so God's ambassador. Peter said, " Can any man forbid waiter that these should not be baptised.which have received the Holy Spirit as well as we, and he commanded them to be baptised in the name of the Lord." (Bead the whole chapter, it is too long . to quote). Your readers will see that after Jesus left the earth His commission was carried out even in the most extraordinary cases of conversion. The Bible, which is God's Word, always has faith and baptism together—l did not join them, With regard to repentance, the Bible is full of if. Jesus says: " I tell you nay, c but. except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish." Jesus sent his twelve disciples, and. they went out and preached that men should repent—Mark 6th, 12th verse. We have all committed sin ; we must repent before God will accept us. The passage "Justice" quotes does not refer to man's repentance, Of course, as "Justice" says, where there is obedience there is no need of repentance, but all have disobeyed, for the Book says we have all sinned and oome short, so wo must repont of sin before we come to God. The passage " Justice " quotes from (Hebrewsliin reference to leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ was written to Christians who had been baptised, so does not refer to those who have not put on Christ, nor does it teaoh that we may expect perfection in this state, nor perfection in knowledge by a fresh revelation from God. The perfection there spoken of was a perfection in the knowledge of Christ/because the Apostle is here speaking of knowledge of our belief in the resurrection, in "the judgment, &c,; we are not to stop at these truths, but to go on learning more. In the days Paul is speaking of, when he says, " We know in part," &c , " Justice " must remember the New Testament was not in the hands of Christians as we have it 5 there were only some of the letters to churches, which the Apostles wrote. The churches had to depend on inspired teachers; but we are in a different position —we have the New Testament in writing. All inspiration and working of miraelea

ceased when the Apostles Hied and those whom they had given the Spirit's gifts to by the laying on of'hands and imparting the Holy Spirit. The canon of Scripture is now complete—we have all revealed to us in God's Word. I believe in the Bible prophets, but not in prophets oow v Paul's last words to the Ephesiau Elders were, " I commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to givo you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified." That is all anyone needs. The adviue of Gamaliel is whatldo take—to letallspeak ( notto anr-oy any, nor persecute any, but.to let all, like the Apostle was doiug^ when 'Gamaliel made use-of those words, try to show people where they are wrong, and lead them to 'what the Master says. The Apostles or Christ never let people's teaching alone, they opposed the Jew's, the heathen's, and and all false teaching. So must we do, but not persecute the people. True I .charity is as Paul says—"Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth." The words of Christ are the truth ; so true charity is speaking in accordance with them. I hope " Justice " will speak according to the truth, then he will have to oppose false teaching if he wishes to be faithful to his Master.—l am, &c, C. A. Wood.