"He that believeth" (that is, he that hath faith) "and is baptized
shall be saved" (_Mark xvi_. 16), was the emphatic assertion of our
Savior. Again, we find that man came under condemnation by refusing
obedience to this commandment:
"But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against
themselves, being _not baptized_ of him" (_Luke vii_. 30). So the world
of today will, in the end, find themselves under condemnation for
refusing to obey this principle of the gospel.
"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he _cannot_ enter the
kingdom of God." (_John iii_. 5).
Paul, writing to the Hebrews, says: "Therefore leaving the principles
of the doctrines of Christ, let us go on unto perfection: not laying
again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward
God, of the _doctrine of baptisms_ and of laying on of hands." (_Heb.
vi_. 1-2). Here are four principles all classed together, all equally
important, all {314} equally necessary, and all required at our hands
by those fixed and eternal laws of truth and justice, by which the
worlds are governed, and by which we may return back into the presence
of God, and dwell with the just and true and the pure of all ages.
The fourth step necessary for man to take while in this state of
probation, is to receive