1912 Watch Tower - A2Z.org

elieve that they have made a huge mistake! Perhapsall the heathen who have not been baptized did not go tohell and are not still there roasting! Perhaps the Presbyterians,Congregationalists, Methodists, Lutherans, RomanCatholics, Episcopalians, etc., are not in hell for similarinsufficiency of water!Perhaps, after all, it has been a mistake that ourBaptist friends have been excluding others from theircommunion table--claiming that, not being completelyimmersed in water, these are not members of the trueChurch of Christ, not eligible to heaven, etc. It is certainlytime that our dear Baptist brethren became establishedwith definite ideas about baptism, or else they shouldtake that particular word from their denominational name.The foregoing suggestion from the Daily Expressrespecting the baptism of infants is an outgrowth of thegeneral misunderstanding of the subject of baptism.The Bible teaches clearly enough that Christians arebaptized into the Church, which is the Body of Christ,but nowhere does it say that it is the water baptism whichinducts the believer into Christ. On the contrary, it mostexplicitly declares that the real, true baptism is baptism"into Christ's death." To be immersed into Christ's deathplainly enough means to have a participation with theRedeemer in the death which He died--death to self-will,death to earthly hopes and aims and prospects. Onlysuch as are thus immersed into His death will be in Hislikeness in the resurrection. "If we suffer with Him, weshall reign with Him"; "If we be dead with Him, weshall live with Him."--Rom. 6:4-6; Col. 2:12;2 Tim. 2:12,11.If our Baptist brethren come to see what the truebaptism is, they will all the more appreciate the waterbaptism as merely a symbol of the true immersion. Ourbaptism into Christ's death inducts us into the MysticalBody of Christ, which is the Church, whose names arewritten in heaven.--Eph. 1:22,23; Heb. 12:23.Throughout this Age some Presbyterians, Methodists,Baptists, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians and others havehad this real baptism into Christ's death, and accordinglyhave had their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life.These constitute the members of the One Church. Someof them were confused on the subject of baptism andused sprinkling--incorrectly, unscripturally. Others usedimmersion unscripturally--the Disciple friends thinkingit the same as the Jewish baptism practised at the firstadvent of our Lord, for the remission of sin and for bringingIsrael back into harmony with the Law Covenant.Others used water immersion improperly instead ofthe real immersion into Christ's death. The true view ofthe subject shows that we all in the past have been moreor less in error. Humiliating as this fact is, it needs tobe learned if we would make any progress.YET ANOTHER LESSON