Excerpt from Christian Baptism: With Its Antecedents and Consequents The important question of Christian Baptism is yet, with many, an undecided question. With many, too, it has been decided wrong, because decided on human authority, or on partial evidence, without personal and proper examination. Neither Christian faith nor Christian character can be inherited, as the goods and chattels of this world. There is no royal or ancestral path to faith, piety, or humanity. Whatever truly elevates, adorns, or dignifies a human being, must be, more or less, the fruit of his own efforts. Five points are necessarily involved in this discussion, essential to a rational and scriptural decision of the question. These are: 1. The action, called baptism. 2. The subject of that action. 3. The design of that action. 4. The antecedents; and, 5. The consequents of that action. These are distinct topics, each of which must be scripturally apprehended in its evangelical import and bearings, before this solemn and sublime symbol can be truly enjoyed in its spiritual influences and importance. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.