Baptism
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The one who administers the ordinance of baptism should seek to
make it an occasion of solemn, sacred influence upon all spectators.
Every ordinance of the church should be so conducted as to be uplifting
in its influence. Nothing is to be made common or cheap, or placed
on a level with common things. Our churches need to be educated
to greater respect and reverence for the sacred service of God. As
ministers conduct the services connected with God’s worship, so they
are educating and training the people. Little acts that educate and
train and discipline the soul for eternity are of vast consequence in the
uplifting and sanctifying of the church.
In every church, baptismal robes should be provided for the candi-
dates. This should not be regarded as a needless outlay of means. It
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is one of the things required in obedience to the injunction: “Let all
things be done decently and in order.”
1 Corinthians 14:40
.
It is not well for one church to depend upon borrowing robes from
another. Often when the robes are needed, they are not to be found;
some borrower has neglected to return them. Every church should
provide for its own necessities in this line. Let a fund be raised for
this purpose. If the whole church unite in this, it will not be a heavy
burden.
The robes should be made of substantial material, of some dark
color that water will not injure, and they should be weighted at the bot-
tom. Let them be neat, well-shaped garments, made after an approved
pattern. There should be no attempt at ornamentation, no ruffling or
trimming. All display, whether of trimming or ornaments, is wholly
out of place. When the candidates have a sense of the meaning of the
ordinance, they will have no desire for personal adornment. Yet there
should be nothing shabby or unseemly, for this is an offense to God.
Everything connected with this holy ordinance should reveal as perfect
a preparation as possible.
After Baptism
The vows which we take upon ourselves in baptism embrace much.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit we are buried
in the likeness of Christ’s death and raised in the likeness of His
resurrection, and we are to live a new life. Our life is to be bound up
with the life of Christ. Henceforth the believer is to bear in mind that