The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church | Page 8

which the Word of God connects with baptism, we must be careful to obtain the true sense and necessary meaning of its declarations. It is not enough to pick out an isolated passage or two, give them a sense of our own, and forthwith build on them a theory or doctrine. In this way the Holy Scriptures have been made to teach and support the gravest errors and most dangerous heresies. In this way, many persons "wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction." On this important point our Church has laid down certain plain, practical, safe and sound principles. By keeping in mind, and following these fundamental directions, in the interpretation of the divine Word, the plainest searcher of the Scriptures can save himself from great confusion, perplexity and doubt.
One of the first and most important principle, insisted on by our theologians and the framers of our Confessions, is that a passage of Scripture is always to be taken in its natural, plain and literal sense, unless there is something in the text itself, or in the context, that clearly indicates that it is intended to convey a figurative sense.
Again: A passage is never to be torn from its connection, but is to be studied in connection with what goes before and follows after.
Again--and this is of the greatest importance--Scripture is to be interpreted by Scripture. As Quenstedt says: "Passages which need explanation can and should be explained by other passages that are more clear, and thus the Scripture itself furnishes an interpretation of obscure expressions, when a comparison of these is made with those that are more clear. So that Scripture is explained by Scripture."
According to these principles, we ought never to be fully certain that any doctrine is scriptural, until we have examined all that the divine Word says on the subject. In this manner then we wish to answer the question with which we started this chapter: What is written as to the benefits and blessings conferred in baptism?
We have already referred to the commission given to the Apostles in Matt, xxviii. 19. We have seen that in that commission our Lord makes baptism one of the means through which the Holy Spirit operates in making men His disciples. In Mark xvi. 16, he says: "_He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved._" In John iii. 5, he says: "_Except a man_"--_i.e._, any one--"_be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God_." In Acts ii. 38, the Apostle says: "_Repent and be baptized every one of you for the remission of your sins._" Acts xxii. 16: "_Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord._" Romans vi. 3: "_Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Christ, were baptized into His death._" Gal. iii. 27: "_For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ._" Eph. v. 25-26: "_Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word._" Col. ii. 12: "_Buried with Him in baptism, wherein ye are also risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God._" Tit. iii. 5: "_According to His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost._" 1 Pet. iii. 21: "_The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us; not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ._"
These are the principal passages which treat of the subject of baptism. There are a few other passages in which baptism is merely mentioned, but not explained. There is not one passage that teaches any thing different from those quoted.
All we now ask of the reader is to examine these passages carefully, to compare them one with the other and to ask himself: What do they teach? What is the meaning which a plain, unprejudiced reader, who has implicit confidence in the Word and power of God, would derive from them? Can he say, "There is nothing in baptism?" "It is of no consequence." "It is only a Church ceremony, without any particular blessing in it." Or do the words clearly teach it is nothing more than a _sign_--an outward sign--of an invisible grace?
Look again at the expressions of these passages. We desire to be clear here, because this is one of the points on which the Lutheran Church to-day differs from so many others. Jesus mentions water as well as Spirit, when speaking of the new birth. "Make disciples, (by) baptizing them." "Be baptized for the remission of your sins." "_Be baptized and _wash away thy sin._"