assembled in the synagogue of Antioch, Paul said,-Be it known unto you that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses.' Replying to the inquiry of the Philippian jailer, Paul said,- Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.' Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Unto him that worketh not but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.' In these texts, belief or faith is set forth as the only condition of pardon or justification. Very emphatically is this stated in the last quoted text. Perhaps it may be said that the allusion in these verses is to the rites of the Old Testament economy. But where is the authority for limiting the principle they enunciate, though the allusion should have primarily been to the ceremonies of the past dispensation? To me these passages exclude the rites of Christianity also as a ground or condition of salvation. But the point upon which I wish to concentrate attention is, -If the apostles, at various times and to various parties represented believing in Jesus, without baptism or any other act of obedience, as the condition of a sinner's justification, are we not thereby taught, however much more certain passages may seem to involve, that faith is a condition which, when fulfilled, secures, independent of every other mental or corporeal act, the pardon of sins-the justification of the soul? If not, I cannot understand why the apostles did not invariably and perpetually conjoin baptism with faith when expounding the terms of acceptance with God. Had either you or I been in their place, and held that baptism was equally a term of salvation with faith, we should not have severed the two when answering such a question as the Philippian jailor's. But the apostles have not been careful to conjoin the two; the opposite seems the case. Notwithstanding such passages, then, as Mark xvi. 16, and Acts ii. 38, we must conclude that Scripture warrants the idea that faith is the only term of salvation. Though we read-'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,' we also read-' Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved;' but we never read-He that is baptized shall be saved. How then are we to account for reading-Believe and be saved, and for never reading-Be baptized and saved, if baptism is as much a term of forgiveness as faith?

J. M.

Our good brother thinks Mark xvi. 16 and Acts ii. 38 do not warrant our deduction that baptism is to the believer heaven's certificate of forgiveness. Here a sovereign proposes the forgiveness of certain rebels, and determines that on their receiving the tidings he sends them and being immersed, they shall be saved. The deduction seems to us inevitable, that their baptism is to them the royal certification of their forgiveness; that is, they have but to refer to the terms of the proclamation, and to the fact of their having obeyed them, to arrive at the conclusion in their own mind, and in the judgment of all others, that this ordinance of the King certifies the remission of their past sins; they cannot doubt this without doubting the veracity of the Sovereign. The King has pledged himself in the terms of the proclamation to the forgiveness of the immersed believer, and therefore is it a necessary conclusion that obedience carries the assurance of forgiveness.

But our correspondent says, 'these texts represent baptism as an antecedent, and not as a consequent of salvation or forgiveness; and that, if it be heaven's certificate of salvation, it follows that forgiveness was bestowed by God, and possessed by the believer, before baptism.' Here lies our brother's mistake. He forgets that a certificate is not of force as respects the party, till it is delivered and possessed. A legal instrument, certifying the liquidation of a certain claim, may lie in the authorised place of safety, waiting delivery; but it is only on possession of the document that it becomes to the party concerned a certification in his favour. Till he has fulfilled the previous term or terms of the law in the case provided, he has no right to possession, and till possession, the instrument certifies against him, not in his favour. Suppose that his attention were directed to the document, and to the importance of his having legal possession of it, a most natural question with him would be, What is it for? and the correct reply would be, For the remission of this claim against you. And if he were to say, Does this remit the claim? the proper rejoinder would be, It declares or certifies to you and all concerned the remission of it. So in ordinary language we have no hesitation in saying that a receipt is for the remission of debt, meaning not that it remits it, but shews or certifies its remission. But without possession, the party is not legally free. The idea of certification is therefore most plainly that of Mark xvi. 16, and Acts ii. 38. J. M.'s difficulty in assigning to baptism a definite and consistent place in the structure of Christianity, arises partly from the abovenamed, and partly from the mistake following; for he says, 'If bap tism be in the same sense as belief essential to salvation, we should expect to find the primitive preachers invariably and perpetually uniting baptism with faith when expounding the terms of salvation.' But he forgets that the first quotation he gives, intimating the terms of salvation, is one in which neither the word faith nor the word baptism occurs- -'Repent, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. According to such a rule of uniformity, this passage would make neither faith nor baptism necessary to salvation. He forgets that the same words need not always be used in expressing the same thing, and that variety of circumstance renders variety of language both advisable and necessary. Faith is not mentioned in Acts ii. 38, but who does not perceive that it is implied? Neither faith nor baptism is named in Acts iii. 19, but who will affirm that both are not included in the command given?

The next mistake is the idea that this and the quotations following make for faith alone-that in them belief is set forth as the only condition of pardon or justification.' When Paul said, ' By Jesus all the believing are justified,' he did not specify terms at all, he simply named the justifier as that Jesus whom these Jews refused, and the characters whom he justifies, literally the believing or faithful. Belief as an act is not mentioned. Our correspondent is too well informed not to appreciate the distinction. Then as to the jailer, the command given required a course of believing-a course explained in the speaking of the word of the Lord to all that were in the house, the immediate results of which were that all in the house believed, were immersed, and rejoiced. This, not faith alone: faith and bap tism are not severed here, as J. M. supposes.

That Abraham believed God, and that his faith was counted to him for righteousness,-and that in like manner unto him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness, is a cardinal principle, and the glory of the gospel. We do not say that the not working in these verses refers only to the rites of the Old Institution, but to all acts without or prior to faith. Whatever the working be, it matters notsince without faith it cannot please God. Faith first, therefore, is the order. Faith is the only right mental state for man in respect to God, and hence both the wisdom and grace of that gospel which produces faith, and that arrangement which, whensoever produced, accounts righteousness to the believer. The gospel brings him into a right state, and therefore accounts him right, or righteous. But this state is one of life-action, and the instant the person is brought into it, his cry to his Saviour is, 'Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?' It is that faith which worketh-energizes by love, and this being so, it is contrary to every true conception of it to call it 'faith alone'faith without that obedience which the gospel requires. It is entirely away from the scope of the passages quoted, to say that they 'exclude the rites of Christianity as conditions of salvation.'

We therefore do not admit that the apostles' at various times, and to various parties, represented believing in Jesus without baptism, or any other act of obedience, as the condition of a sinner's justification.' That they represented faith as a primary condition is clear; that they represented it as an efficient, energising cause is also plain; that a person believing upon or into Christ begins to have new experiences, views, emotions, that he finds the peace and love of God, the joy and hope of the Spirit shed abroad in his heart, we rejoice to acknowledge; but that these new-born experiences are developed, maintained, and perfected by obedience to the gospel, is equally patent. We are nowhere taught that faith is a condition which, when fulfilled, secures, independent of every other mental or corporeal act, the pardon of sin, the justification of the soul. It lays hold of pardon, but does not secure it independent of every other mental or corporeal act; it secures it ultimately, through an expressly specified chain of mental and corporeal acts. If we walk in the light, as God is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.' 'Ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth.' 'He is become the author of eternal salvation to all those who obey him.'

Our brother is wrong in supposing it to be either wise or necessary, invariably and perpetually to conjoin baptism with faith in expounding the terms of salvation. Even though the apostles had always had to speak to persons in precisely the same stage of progress, this invariable and perpetual sameness would neither have been advisable, nor admissable, when the Holy Spirit, knowing the variety of circumstance, and modes of thought amongst men, supplied them with a corresponding variety of appropriate terms. We find the terms of salvation in many passages where neither the one word nor the other occurs. It is only in specific cases that the most specific statement of terms is proper. The apostolic statements of terms will always be found the most apposite to the case in hand. There are terms appropriate to every stage-to the careless the word is Hear!

-to the despiser, Beware!-to the awakened, Believe!-to the convicted, Repent!-to the believing penitent, Be immersed/-to the baptised, Be faithful and so on.

The oversight of this has led J. M. to conclude with the question, "How are we to account for reading, Believe and be saved, and for never reading, 'Be baptised and saved?'" As we have shewn, the command to believe was followed by the baptism of the believer, so that it is wrong to represent the command as one excluding baptism, And besides this we do read, Be baptised and be saved, as in the case of the already believing, but as yet unbaptised Saul. Why tarriest thou? arise and be baptised, and wash away thy sins, calling on (yourself) the name of the Lord.' The truth is, salvation is one perfect whole, complete only in all its parts, and thus it is that we find salvation affirmed of every item of the faith, of hearing, knowledge, faith, repentance, confession, baptism, prayer, obedience, holiness, perseverance, &c., &c. If we have faith named where baptism is not, so have we baptism where faith is not; but everywhere in the Christian Scriptures the faith that saves implies obedience, and the obedience that saves implies faith. What God has joined together, let not man put asunder.'

ED.

Indwelling of the Spirit.-We have received so many communications respecting the query and reply of December, that to insert them all is impossible. Some brethren have quite misunderstood the question, while others have written for explanation; these we have answered by letter. We should this month have inserted one or two of the fullest and most forcibly penned objections, but that our space was fully preoccupied. We hope to give so important a subject all attention.

Entelligence.

THE BROKEN PLEDGE.-The following we have just heard as quite authentic:-A young man in Manchester living like many others without God, and having no hope in the world, was laid on a bed of sickness; there he vowed to God, that if he were restored to health he would surrender to the gospel. He recovered, but no repentance followed. He shortly after was visited with renewed affliction. Again he vowed, and again he broke his pledge. A third time he was laid low, a third vow of reformation was recorded, a third recovery ensued, and a third breach of promise was consummated by a fourth visitation. But now the pains of hell got hold upon him. He could vow no more. As his friends surrounded his bed, he adjured them to pray for mercy; to retire each to a separate room to invoke the divine Being on his behalf. Each went; but none could pray; as the attempt was made, there occurred to each as he knelt alone, wisdom's warning words; 'I will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.' Not a prayer ascended; friend after friend tremblingly left his room, entered the lobby, and looking fearfully and silently at each other, all were horror-struck; when on entering the young man's room, there pealed wildly forth from his dying lips

the terrible sentence-'I will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh.' And thus he died.

'SMALL AND DESPISED.-A Morisonian minister, in lecturing on the Pilgrim's Progress, enlightened his auditors, three Lord's day evenings past, with the information that Bunyan belonged to that small and despised people called the Baptists. Had the learned! lecturer provided himself with a shilling almanack, he would have found the small and despised people to outnumber his own sect a thousand fold--he would have discovered, that while the followers of Mr Morison may number four thousand, there are as many millions of immersed believers in the world; and this too, that while the number of the former is being continually lessened as they give themselves to the study of the law of Christ, the latter are augmenting exactly in proportion as the Scriptures are circulated and searched. But of this the sectarian clergy are willingly ignorant.'

EXOTIC MISSIONARIES.-The Wesleyans purpose sending ten missionaries additional to the eighteen they have now in India. 'It will require £10,000 for the expense of outfit, and £4,000 per annum for the support of the ten.' Exotics are generally expensive and sickly. The house for the palm tree in Edinburgh cost six thousand pounds for rebuilding. A tiger imported into England a few weeks ago cost £400, and the first night of its presence in the menagerie dispatched a lion that had cost £300. Mr Cassidy, late Free Church Missionary in Bombay, who gave up his connexion with that church in order to obey the Saviour in baptism, told us, it was his solemn conviction, that the India missions had largely failed through the high caste standing of the missionaries-that they are much too great' for the poor natives,-that the latter have not confidence to open their minds to them, that the preachers must follow the example of the Saviour and his apostles, who put themselves on a level with those to whom they preached. But here natives who live on one or two pice-a penny or twopence a-day, are to be converted by palefaces that cost £500 a year each to their subscribers.' A tenth of this would be more than abundance for a native preacher. Why not employ them, if there be 107,000 native Christians in India?

REV.' TURNED 'OvR.'-The Melbourne Medley informs its readers of its purpose to disuse the appellation Rev., and to substitute the contraction Ovr. from Overseer, in writing of and to ministers, or pastors of churches. We commend the resolution of Brother Service.

BAPTISMS.-Dysart, Fife. Two young men put on Christ in immersion on Lord's day, Dec. 6.-Nicolson Street Hall, Edinburgh. Three young persons having received Jesus as the Lord Messiah, were baptised into his name, two of them on Lord's day, Dec. 13, and one the following first day. May they and all such run with perseverance the race set before them, looking unto Jesus the Leader and Perfecter of the faith.

Printed by J. Taylor, Edinburgh.