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and uncalled for from the hum an view point. I t was an act of sovereign power and wisdom. The Lord of the vineyard h as supreme au th o rity over th e workers in th e vineyard. When P hilip’s work in th e d esert h ad been accomplished, he was tran spo rted to ano th er field of labor w ith as much abruptness as he had been b rough t to th e desert. H is interview w ith th e eunuch was P rovidentially arranged. When God sends one of H is children on an errand, He prepares all parties concerned. The eunuch accepted Christ as th e resu lt of Philip’s explanation of Scripture and of his own accord,, asked for imm ediate baptism . H is request was complied w ith and he w ent on his way rejoicing. There is no Scriptural precedent for placing a new convert on probation for a longer or sho rter tim e before baptism . Sometimes however in foreign m ission fields it is found expedi en t to do so. The S crip tu ral method seems to be, to ta k e a convert into th e church upon confession of faith as soon as it is made and if he proves unw orthy to exercise church discipline and tu rn him ou t as prom ptly as he was taken in. Conditions have so changed in the modern church th a t it frequently re quires more effort to persuade one to join th e church afte r he has been con verted, th a n it took to induce him to accept Christ in th e first place. A fter he joins th e average church, no m a tte r w h at he may say, do or believe, it is practically impossible to get him out. SATURDAY, July 12. Maitt. 28:16-20. Baptism and the Great Commission. The g rea t commission comes from th e glorified state and is among th e first of th e post-resurrection teachings. This invests it w ith unique au tho rity and gives it a certain precedence over th e teaching of Jesus in H is earth ly life which was to a certain ex teh t ethical and Jew ish. Rom. 15:8. It should hold the highest place in the h e a rt of th e church and all o th er church obligations should be subordinate. It was spoken in “ Gallilee of th e Gen tiles.’’ This fact suggests th e world wide ch aracter and sphere of th e pres en t Gospel election. As th e coming kingdom is to prevail under th e whole heaven, it m u st be proclaimed under th e whole heaven. Matt. 24:14. It seems to have been spoken also to the g rea t body of th e disciples. I t was not confined to th e Apostles. When perse cution scattered th e church, and the
ductive of an inw ard sp iritu al change. I t is reasonable to reg ard belief and baptism in th e relation of antecedent and consequent, accepting th e la tte r as th e evidence of the existence of th e for mer. The Scriptures th erefo re do not set fo rth baptism as a condition of sal vation b u t ra th e r as a te st of obedience and a testim ony th a t saving faith has already been exercised. The Bible says th a t he th a t helieveth and is baptized shall be saved. I t does no t say th a t he th a t helieveth not and is unbaptized shall be condemned. Mark 16:16. THURSDAY, Ju ly 10. Acts 19:1-7. In th e Name of th e Lord Jesu s Christ The twelve disciples whom P aul found a t Ephesus, who had n o t heard of th e Holy Spirit, were re-haptized because Jo h n ’s baptism was pre-Chris tia n and Jewish. The twelve trib es of Israel were baptized into Moses, 1 Cor. 10:2, by th e passage th rough the Red sea, because Moses was th e ir Divinely appointed leader and th e head of the new nation. The national existence began w ith th e deliverance from Egypt and th e crossing of th e sea. I t was fitting th a t they should recognize th e au th o rity of Moses and yield obedience to his commands. Christians are now baptized into th e nam e of th e Lord Jesus Christ because He is th e federal head of th e new fam ily and nation. We recognize H is au th o rity and subm it to H is sovereignty. We p refer to call baptism an ordinance ra th e r th a n a sacram ent. An ordinance is something enjoined. A sacram ent was originally the oath of allegiance which a Roman soldier gave to Caesar. They who hold to th e word sacram ent believe th a t th e ceremony itself is a channel of Divine grace to the soul. There is a constant tendency in hum an n a tu re to make an end in itself th a t which was originally intended to he a means to an end and th u s it defeats the very purpose for which it was originally given. The brazen serpen t was intended by Moses to serve a certain purpose. I t subse quently became a fetich and an idol. The godly Hezekiah w ith pious lcono- clasm broke it to pieces, disdainfully calling it nehu sh tan , a piece of brass. FRIDAY, July 11, Acts 8:26-38. The Eunuch Baptized. The sudden transference of Philip from the S am aritan revival to an unin h ab ited d esert place seems a rb itra ry
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