BAPTISM
4062 Washing Away Sins?
Question: Please explain Acts 22:16, “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”
Answer: This verse does not teach that the washing away of Paul’s sins was to be accomplished through his being baptized. He is commanded to do three things: (1) arise, (2) be baptized, and (3) have his sins washed away. The verbs are all aorist imperatives. They are followed by the participle “calling” which may modify all three verbs, meaning that Paul called on the name of the Lord simultaneously with his rising, being baptized, and having his sins washed away. This doesn’t yield good sense, however, and therefore it seems best to take the participial phrase as instrumental in usage.
Other examples of this use may be seen in Acts 16:16; Matthew 6:27; I Timothy 1:12. The text would then read, “Rise up, be baptized, and wash away your sins, by calling on the name of the Lord.” It is the “calling on His name,” not the rising up or the being baptized, that brings forgiveness.
4063 Roman Soldier’s Oath
Early Christians called baptism a “sacramentum,” which is the Latin word for the Roman soldier’s oath of absolute devotion and obedience to his general.
4064 John Sung Baptized Again
John Sung was asked to baptize at Peniel Mission Church in Hongkong. “But I have never been baptized by immersion myself.” Therefore on his request, missionary Rev. Reiton baptized him first, and he in turn baptized 21 women and 12 men!
4065 Two Thousand Baptisms
Approximately 2,000 persons participated in a mass baptism, April 17, 1971, under the direction of ministers from Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California. The gigantic baptismal service was performed in the Pacific Ocean at Corona del Mar.
—Christian Life
4066 Charlemagne Gave Shirts
It was the deplorable practice of Charlemagne to force all those he conquered to become Christians. Into the rivers and lakes near the battlefield he drove his defeated enemies to be baptized. Thus thousands of Saxons were made to profess the Christian faith. Naturally it did them little good for they did not know what they were pledging and they had no desire to accept it.
One scheme Charlemagne hit upon to persuade the Saxons to be baptized peacefully was to give every convert a clean, white shirt. So numerous were the requests for these shirts that the supply ran out, and the newly-baptized began receiving instead a coarse yellow shirt. This was not so attractive, as we gather from the disdainful remark of a Saxon chieftain who was offered a yellow shirt: “I have been baptized already twenty times and received white shirts. I refuse to be baptized any more and will have nothing to do with a religion that is so stingy with its clothes.”
4067 Health Menace?
Baptism was castigated as “health menace” and “a senseless and dangerous rite” in the weekly pro-atheist broadcast of Moscow Radio. The Communist commentator said, “Thousands of babies died of pneumonia following christening ceremonies and that “weak hearts” and “weak lungs” in adults had been traced to baptism in their early years.”
4068 Civil Baptism
The republicans of France, who already had civil marriages and civil funerals, introduced civil baptisms. At a village in the Indre-et-Loire, the mayor officiated, and poured white wine on the child’s head, pronouncing the words, “Pierre Victor, I baptize thee in the name of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. Vive la Republique!”
4069 Presbyterian and Baptist Modes
A Presbyterian and a Baptist minister were discussing baptism. After a beautiful dissertation on the subject by the Baptist minister, the Presbyterian minister asked if the Baptist considered a person baptized if he was immersed in water up to his chin. “No,” said the Baptist.
“Is he considered baptized if he is immersed up to his nose?” asked the Presbyterian.
Again the Baptist’s answer was “No.”
“Well, if you immerse him up to his eyebrows do you consider him baptized?” queried the Presbyterian.
“You don’t seem to understand,” said the Baptist. “He must be immersed completely in water—until his head is covered.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along,” said the Presbyterian, “it’s only a little water on the top of the head that counts.”
—Speaker’s Sourcebook
4070 Save The Children
The Save the Children Fund in London, England, has come up with a novel fund-raising scheme: the sale of small bottles of Jordan water for christenings. The only problem with the scheme is that some of the containers are recycled medicine bottles bearing the stern warning, “Keep away from children”.
—Prairie Overcomer
4071 Baptizing The Pocketbook
Dr. R. E. Neighbour was in the baptismal pool with a railway engineer. The pastor was ready to proceed with the baptismal service. “Wait!” whispered the engineer; “I forgot something. I want to return to the robing room, and get my pocketbook and let you baptize it with me!” Oh, that more of our pocketbooks were “baptized.” O, that more of God’s children were taking with seriousness their financial responsibilities to God’s work !
4072 Disposable Robe
A new convenience for immersionists is being advertised. It is called Bapto—a disposable baptismal robe. The complete kit includes a cloth to keep water out of the nose, a paper towel for drying, and a plastic bag in which to put everything after the ceremony.
—Pastor’s Manual
4073 Rings In Baptism
Cleanliness may have been forgotten in the rush to godliness in some of Nashville’s Baptist churches. Last month the city health department ordered churches to clean up their baptistries because of the danger of bacterial infection.
According to Dr. Joseph Bistowish, the department director, some churches empty their baptistries only once every month or two. That, says the good doctor, is not enough. So he ordered staff inspectors to wade in with bacteria-sampling equipment and to look particularly for green slime on the baptistry walls. Excessive bacteria could transmit skin disease and even Salmonella or typhoid, he warned.
4074 Flogging Rector
Archdeacon Sinclair tells a good story of the famous Dr. Keate, headmaster of Eton. He was a disciplinarian that earned a nickname similar to that which will ever cling to that other great schoolmaster, Bushby, of Westminster, and was called “Flogging Keate.”
Finding one morning a row of boys in his study, he began, as usual, to flog them. They were too terrified at the awful little man to remonstrate till he had gone halfway down the row, when one plucked up courage to falter out: “Please, sir, we’re not up for punishment—we’re a confirmation class!”
“Never mind,” said Dr. Keate, “I must be fair all around, and it will do you good.” So he went on through the row as usual!
THE LORD’S SUPPER
4075 Oriental Custom
In Oriental lands, once a friend had accepted a drink of water from another, there was an unwritten understanding that they should ever be friends. This was also true of the breaking of bread.
4076 Renewing The Oath
Roman soldiers were required, as far as possible, to return to Rome once a year from wherever garrisoned to renew the oath of allegiance to the Emperor. The soldiers of every nation must salute the Roman colors from time to time or be guilty of treason.
Attendance at the Lord’s Supper is the Christian’s salute to the blood-stained banner of the King of Kings.
4077 To Eat Together
To eat together in the East was at one time a sure pledge of protection. A Persian nobleman was once sitting in his garden, when a man prostrated himself before him, and implored protection from the rabble. The nobleman gave him the remainder of a peach which he was eating, and when the incensed multitude arrived, and declared that the man had slain the only son of the nobleman, the heartbroken father replied, “We have eaten together; go in peace,” and would not allow the murderer to be punished.
—E. Cobham Brewer
4078 Rite Of Brotherhood
The Africans have a practice or custom which is called the rite of brotherhood. When two natives wish to make a particularly solemn pact or when they wish to seal their deathless friendship, they go through the following significant ceremony. They sit with crossed knees facing each other. They build a fire and roast the heart of a sheep or lamb. Each takes a half and gives it to the other, dips his half of the heart in the blood and eats it. The other does the same.
From that moment they believe they become part of each other. A good turn done to one, is a good turn done to the other.
4079 Memorial To A Crushed Lamb
On a little church in Germany stands a stone lamb which has an interesting history: When some workmen were building the roof, one workman fell to the ground. His companions hastened down expecting to see him killed. But he was unhurt. A lamb was grazing below when he fell on it, crushing the lamb. He was so grateful that he made an image of the lamb in stone and placed it on the building as memorial.
4080 On The Lord’s Table
Here Paul speaks of the communion service as “the Lord’s table.” The Lord Himself is host at this spiritual feast. You will notice that Paul throws this concept of the Lord’s table into contrast with the table of devils. It seems that some Corinthians had left the communion service to eat food that had been offered to idols. Regardless of their motives, these Christians were opening the whole movement to criticism from unbelievers. It was charged that Christians had a dual allegiance—that they were hypocrites.
What is important for us is that the Christian says by his presence at communion, “I am in fellowship with Christ.” If a man is really in fellowship with Christ, he cannot be in fellowship with demons. If a man has really been to the table of the Lord Jesus, there are also some things he cannot touch.
One of the great statues of Christ is that carved by Thorwaldsen. After creating his masterpiece, he was offered a liberal commission to carve a statue of Venus for the Louvre. His answer: “The hand that has carved the form of Christ could never carve the form of a heathen goddess.”
—David S. McCarthy
4081 Legend Of The Cup
The ancient legend of the Holy Grail tells how Joseph of Arimathea, who got permission from Pilate to take the body of Jesus down from the cross and bury it, caught in a golden cup which Christ had held at the Last Supper the blood which flowed from a wound in his side. This cup he carried to Glastonbury, on an island in Somerset in England.
There he formed an order of Knights whose work it was to protect the precious blood. The chief of these knights was made their king. At certain times the king unveiled the golden cup that held the precious blood, at which times a glorious and radiant light fell on the faces of all who stood about, filling them with rapture and enduing them with strength from on high. Only the pure in heart could look upon the cup and behold the wondrous light which streamed from the precious blood.
—C. E. Macartney
4082 Not The Presbyterian Table
When the American army under the command of Gen. Washington lay camped in the environs of Morristown, N. J., the Lord’s Supper was to be administered in the Presbyterian Church of that village. In a morning in the previous week the General visited the house of the Rev. Dr. Jones, then pastor of that church, and thus accosted him:
“Doctor, I understand that the Lord’s Supper is to be celebrated with you next Sunday; I would learn if it accords with the canons of your church to admit communicants of another denomination?” The Doctor rejoined, “Most certainly; ours is not the Presbyterian table, General, but the Lord’s table; and hence we give the Lord’s invitation to all his followers, of whatever name.”
—Walter Baxendale
4083 Napoleon’s Happiest Day
During the sunshine of his prosperity, Napoleon thought but little of God and religious duties. But when his power had been broken, and he was an exile at St. Helena, he began to see the vanity of earthly things, and became earnest and attentive to religion.
“Sire,” said a questioner to him, “allow me to ask you what was the happiest day in all your life? Was it the day of your victory at Lodi? at Jena? at Austerlitz? or was it when you were crowned emperor? Or the day on which you entered Vienna, Dresden, or Berlin in triumph?” “No, my good friend!” replied the fallen emperor, “It was none of these. It was the day of my first communion; that was the happiest day in all my life!”
4084 Wailing For 24 Years
The writer has been reading the Memoirs of Thomas Boston. He was one of the Marrow Men in Scotland and the pastor of Ettrick two hundred years ago. When he became pastor of Ettrick he found such carelessness of life among the members, and such gross indifference to the ordinance of God, that he refused to allow the Lord’s Supper to be administered for the first three years of his pastorate. Then, at the first Communion, he gave tokens only to fifty-six persons whom he deemed ready to come to the Lord’s table.
Twenty-four years later he again held Communion. After three days of preaching and preparation, on the Saturday afternoon, he, and his elders, gave tokens to 777 persons to commune the next day. The Communion to them meant putting away sin, and renewing their covenant with their Lord, and experiencing His grace in their hearts. Those Communion seasons were to them times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.
—United Presbyterian
4085 No Contamination In Chalice
The communion chalice, sometimes criticized as a spreader of disease, gets a relatively clean bill of health in a report published in the old established British medical journal, The Lancet.
Three women scientists who conducted an investigation said the risk is slight. They wanted to find out to what extent bacteria are passed along with the common cup as it goes from person to person.
One important factor, they reported, is that it is wine that is drunk from the cup. The wine is about 14 percent ethyl alcohol, they said, which is enough to kill some bacteria within two minutes and others within ten.
Furthermore, if the chalice is wiped with a clean cloth between communicants, the number of germs is usually reduced by about 90 percent.
The study recalls the observations of the Apostle Paul, who warns against eating the bread and drinking the cup in an unworthy manner and notes with regard to violations, “That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” (I Cor. 11:30)
—Christianity Today
4086 “Coca-Cola In Communion”
The Baptist Standard reports that two churches in Texas have used Coca-Cola as a substitute for grape juice in the communion service. One communicant is reported to have said, “The use of Coke instead of grape juice made me experience the Lord’s Supper in a new and wonderful way. I sincerely believe Christ was with us that day.”
4087 Warnings On The Communion
I was supplying the pulpit of a church in New England and had just finished the evening message. A young man with an open Bible came over and began questioning me about this puzzling passage. Since he was often conscious of shortcomings at the communion table, he wanted to know if these verses applied to him. His question was a good one. What does it mean to partake of these emblems in an unworthy way?
For one thing, the Apostle Paul is talking about a man who has no sense of the greatness of what he is doing. He does not appreciate the sacred meaning of the Lord’s Supper. He engages in the practice without reverence, failing to grasp the love these emblems stand for or the obligations laid upon him.
And we may also look at the problem another way. The church is the Lord’s body, too. Paul had just been talking about those who divide the church by their spirit of division and class distinction. Could Paul have had in mind those who are at variance with their brothers?
But these verses are never intended to shut out the sinner who recognizes his need of forgiveness. To the man who truly loves God and his fellow Christians, the promise is “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.”
—David S. McCarthy
4088 Friday Became Thursday
On one occasion, in 1147, Pope Eugene III reached Paris on a Friday. Since Friday was a fast day, and to enable the people properly to celebrate his entry into the city, Pope Eugene III decreed that Friday was Thursday.
4089 Partridges Became Fish
A Spanish bishop, who was traveling on a Friday, stopped at an inn and sent the waiter to buy some fish. Since no fish was to be found, the waiter bought two partridges, and the Bishop asked him to cook them and to serve them to him for lunch. The waiter, who had bought them to be cooked on Sunday, was quite stunned by the request, and as he served them to the bishop, he reminded him that on Friday it is forbidden to eat meat.
Whereupon, the Bishop said to him: “I eat them as if they were fish.” But since the waiter was baffled by his reply, he added: “Don’t you realize that I am a priest? Which do you think is a greater miracle, to change bread into the body of Christ or partridges into fish?” Then he made the sign of the cross, commanded that the partridges be changed into fish, and ate them as such.
—Italian Renaissance