The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1889, Page 34

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The Fruits of Baptism.

Adapted from the Meditations of John Gerhard.

tion.” Therefore, he who has been baptized
influence of the old Adam; but as he has been

he is a child of God, and therefore an heir of
salvation.

At the baptism of Christ, the voice of the
Father was heard from heaven, saying: ‘‘this
is my beloved Son’’ (Matt. 3, 17), 20 also He
adopts all who believe and are baptized as His
own children. At the baptism of Christ, the
Holy Ghost was present ‘‘like a dove,’’ and He
is present also at our baptism.
imparts to it all its virtue, and, through bap-
tism, grants to believers such ‘‘an unction from

pents and harmless as doves.’”

ration from what we read about the creation of
the world. At the first creation ‘‘the Spirit
of God moved upon the face of the waters”
(Gen. 1, 2), and imparted to them a living
power; and the same Spirit of God is in the
water of our baptism, and makes it a blessed
means for our regeneration.

‘tAs many of.you as have been baptized into
Christ have put on Christ”’ (Gal. 3, 27), and
therefore it is said of the saints who, after their
great tribulations are over, stand around the
throne, that ‘‘ that they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”
(Rev. 7, 14).. The perfect righteousness of
Christ is a robe of glory, and whoever is ar-
rayed in this, has nothing to fear from all the
__ powers of darkness or of sin. :

' At Jerusalem, near the sheep-market, there
E was a pool, and an angel went down at a cer-
tain season into the pool, and troubled the wa-
ter; whosoever then first, after the troubling
of the water, stepped in, was made whole of
whatsoever disease he had (John 5, 2. 4). The
f Ghost comes down and moves it with the pre-
cious blood of Christ, that was shed for us.

At the baptism of Christ, the heavens were
opened, and the gate of heaven is open for us
at our baptism. The Holy Trinity was present
when Christ was baptized. The same Divine
Presence marks our baptism ; and our faith,
through the word of promise, that is united

5 with the water, receives the grace of the Fa-
ier: ther, who adopts us as His children, the merits
"*. © of the Son, who cleanses us from all sin, and
the power of the Holy Ghost, of whom we are
born again.

‘As Pharaoh, with all his hosts, perished i in
the sea, but Israel passed safely over, 80 in bap-
tism, all the hosts of our sins are washed away
cts 22, 16), and. the believer passes on un-
‘harmed, to the promised inheritance in the king-
dom of heaven. The prophet Ezekiel (chap. 47)

Believing soul, think often of "your baptism,
and of the grace which God has thus granted
you. Baptism is ‘‘the washing of regenera-
lives no more as he once did, wholly under the

begotten of God, ‘‘by water and the Spirit,”

It is He that

the Holy One’’ as makes them ‘‘ wise as ser-

We may understand the work of our regene-

The Lutheran Pioneer.

Such people do not know or think how ex-

cellent a thing that is which they despise in so

shameful a manner, or abandon and neglect it

from sheer idleness. They thus greatly pro-

voke the anger of God, for they not only treat

this His Word as the idle wind that passes by,

and let His promises go for nothing in their

behalf, but they also set an evil example and

induce others to follow it, and thus, in effect,

do destroy and abolish all worship whatever.

For even though it were true (although it cer-

tainly is not) that you understood these matters

just as well as our Lord Christ Himself, you

ought to look to the fact that He, too, goes

into the temple for the purpose of praying and

handling the Word of God. Tor this reason

you ought much less to become wearied with

hearing the Word, for you, at any rate, stand

in great need of this preaching. Now, if any
person will not pay any regard to these repre-
sentations, and will not be prevailed upon to
attend the divine service, to honor and respect
the Word of God, willingly to hear and learn
it, I have no further advice to give him.—
Surely, it cannot be a good man that wantonly
neglects these: things. If you can sit day and
night at some banquet, or else prattle and talk
idle gossip with loose companions, there cannot
be anything serious in the way of your sitting
one hour in church, to render God some little
service and promote your own welfare and ad-
vantage. It is also a wholesome discipline, to
think and talk over the sermon and the admo-
nitions, when you come home from church.
By this means the Word is retained in an
honest and good heart and yields abundant
fruit, not only for your own benefit, but also
for your neighbor. - For it remains true: God
has commended to every man his neighbor.
Happy you, if you can win him to attend the
divine service with you and to praise the name
of the Lord.

—_——> + oa oe

saw waters issuing from the sanctuary that were
living and life-giving; and from the spiritual
sanctuary of God, that is the Church, there
still streams forth the life-giving water of bap-
tism. It washes away our sins, and gives health
and life to all to whom its quickening streams
extend.

Reflect, then, O my soul, upon the gifts of
grace that are offered thee in baptism, and as-
cribe.to God the praises of a thankful, believ-
ing heart.

The more freely the grace of God is granted
to us in our baptism, the more necessary it is
that we should carefully watch over the treas-
ure committed to our trust. ‘‘Therefore we
are buried with him by baptism into death;
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead
by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life’’ (Rom. 6, 4).

We are “‘ made whole,”’ therefore we should
sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto us
(John 5, 14).—We are arrayed in a most costly
robe, even in Christ’s righteousness; therefore
we must take heed that it be kept unspotted
from the stains and pollutions of sin. In our
baptism the old Adam has been crucified and
slain; therefore the new man should live in us.
In baptism we have been born again, and re-
newed in the spirit. of our mind; therefore the
flesh should not rule over the spirit. Through
baptism we have become the children of God;
therefore let us walk worthy of such a Father,
pleasing Him in all things. We are temples
of the Holy Ghost;—lJet us then be wholly
consecrated for the indwelling of the Divine
Spirit. We have been taken into covenant
with God; let us then take heed that we never
enter into the service of the devil, and so fall
from our baptismal grace.

O! Holy Trinity, who alone art God, and
hast granted us the grace of baptism, give us
Thy help, that we may stand steadfast therein,
even unto the end. Amen.

—___ + 0-0 >

On Attending the Public Worship.

What is the Tongue For?

“Since God made the tongue, and He never
makes anything in vain, we may be sure He
made it for some good purpose. What is it,
then? asked a teacher one day of his class.

‘‘He made it that we may pray with it,”’ an-
swered one boy.

“To sing with,”’ said another.

‘To talk to people with,” said a third.

To recite our lessons with,’’ replied an-
other.

‘Yes; and I will tell you what He did not
make it for. He did not make it for us to scold
with, to lie with, or to swear with. He did
not mean that we should say unkind or fool-
ish, indecent or impatient words with it: Now
boys, think every time you use your tongues,
if you are using them in the way God means
you to. Do good with your tongues, and not
evil. It is one of the most useful members in
the whole body, although it is sosmall. Please
God with it every day.’?

By Dr. Martm LurHer.

It is an excellent praiseworthy thing to be
in the house of the Lord with devout and pious
men, where God is praised and thanked, and
His Word is considered. Forsooth, you must
be a desperate knave, if you will not present
to God this homage and hear His Holy Word.
It is necessary, therefore, that we be on our
guard, so as not to become lazy and neglectful
as to this duty, as the infamous and surfeited
fellows who delude themselves with the idea
that they have already learned every thing
and are able to preach better than what they
hear; or even as the rest who soon become
disgusted and say: ‘‘Oh, I have heard that
often enough already, what’s the use of hear-
ing this same Gospel all the time; if the min-
ister could preach in a learned and eloquent
way, it might be worth my while to hear him.’

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