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low after justification," therefore, justification (according to our church,) is before baptism. But we "receive remission of sins" [or justification] by "spiritual regeneration (oflice of baptism;) therefore, manifestly, spiritual regeneration goes before baptism.

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Again, good works do spring out necessarily “of a true and lively faith;" and along with faith, go before baptism. But these are no good works before regeneration, as the 13th Article expresses; therefore regeneration again must go before baptism. It states that "works done before the grace of Christ and the inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ." The "grace of Christ and the inspiration of his Spirit" manifestly include regeneration. Dr. M. admits that "receiving "the Holy Ghost" (Article 16,) is equivalent to the regeneration of baptism. [18.] The result, then, is this: works done before regeneration are not pleasant to God;" but works done before baptism may surely be "pleasant to God;" therefore regeneration must be before baptism. But why are not works, which are "done before the grace of Christ," or regeneration, pleasant to God? The answer is manifest. Works done before the "new birth," are done from a corrupt nature, and from corrupt motives; therefore, they are not done as God has willed and commanded them to be done," and have of course nature of sin." But the article answers, asmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ;" that is, works done before regeneration "do not spring of faith in Jesus Christ." But faith and good works are required before baptism; and are

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often exhibited a great while before baptism is administered. In St. Paul, this was three days, as Dr. M. declares, [43.] In such persons as St. Chrysostom and St. Austin several years of works. and grace elapse before baptism; and in our day, not unfrequent examples of very eminent faith and piety are found long before they are baptised. But it is quite conclusive, both from the nature of the case and the plain construction of this article, that works done before regeneration" are not pleasant to God;" therefore nothing can be more evident than that wherever good works are, there regenerais. But they are always required by the church; and sometimes found before baptism. In those cases, then, it is demonstrative that regeneration goes before baptism.

Dr. M. and many others contend, that both regeneration and justification are effected by baptism, and of course are subsequent to it. But if "good works follow after" regeneration and " justification," and regeneration and justification follow after baptism, it is manifestly impossible that "good works" could, in any instance, go before baptism. But faith and good works do go before baptism, which is inconsistent, unless good works can be both before and after themselves.

"The worthily receiving" the sacraments; the "faith and rightly," and "rightly receiving" them, [Articles 25, 26, 27,] are all "good works," as well as" repentance and faith," which the Homily says is itself "full of good works." But these [according to the design of the church] must necessarily go before baptism. But we see that good works cannot go before the grace of Christ, and inspiration of

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his Spirit, [Article 13,] that is, regeneration. Then, if regeneration only follow baptism, and these "good works" only follow regeneration, these good works cannot go before baptisin; but we have just seen, that they must go before baptism, which is absurd. There is something very remarkable in the dilemma to which the notion is reduced, which makes faith and repentance go before baptism, and “the grace of Christ," or regeneration, to follow after it; namely, this works done "before the grace of Christ," or regeneration, are not "pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Christ.” Then, most manifestly, the "faith of Christ" cannot exist before the "inspiration of his Spirit," or regeneration, otherwise "good works" might spring of faith before "the grace of Christ;" for we have seen that faith cannot be without good works;" they necessarily spring out of it." Faith in Christ then, must needs come after the " grace of Christ," as it is itself the work of his Spirit and his gift. Indeed, it is most manifest that faith must follow or accompany regeneration or "new birth;" for before the new birth," there can be no new life, (unless a person can live before he is born.) But faith itself is new life, for it is a lively faith," (Arlicle 12.) And the Homily on faith calls it a

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godly virtue." Here, then, we have this double and treble absurdity; namely, regeneration or "new birth," going before faith, as the root or parent out of which it springs; yet faith going before baptism, as necessary to the effects of it. But a grand effect of baptism is regeneration, so that regeneration is both the parent and the offspring of faith; and faith, in its turn, is both the parent and offspring of rege

neration. For faith (on this supposition) must go before baptism, but after regeneration; but regeneration goes after baptism; then, faith must go after baptism, as it follows regeneration, which goes after baptism; so that faith must exist before baptism, yet not till after baptism, as well as before regeneration, yet not till after regeneration. Again, regeneration likewise goes before faith, as the parent of it; but faith goes before baptism, and is the life of that. Then regeneration, which goes before faith, must needs go before baptism also. But by the supposition, regeneration follows baptism; therefore, we have regeneration before baptism, and after baptism; before faith, and after faith. So likewise of baptism. Baptism goes before regeneration, and after faith; but regeneration goes before faith as its parent; then baptism, which goes before regeneration, must also go before faith. But the supposition is, that it goes after it: so that baptism is both before faith and after faith. So again, baptism goes after faith; but faith goes after regeneration; therefore baptism goes after regeneration. But the supposition is, that it goes before it. Baptism, then, goes both before and after regeneration : so that we arrive at a very complex and ridiculous absurdity; namely, that of faith, regeneration, and baptism, each mutually going both before that which is before itself, and behind that which is behind itself, so that each exists two steps before it exits; and yet does not exist when it does exist, but till two steps afterwards.

To avoid these manifest absurdities, we need only resort to the true idea which our church has given us of baptism; namely, by making it the sign or Evidence, and not the cause of regeneration.

The 27th Article states baptism to be " a sign of regeneration or new birth," and in no sort so much as intimates that regeneration is effected by baptism, or at all flows from it. The sign of any thing necessarily pre-supposes the existence of the thing of which it is the sign; but cannot, consistently with common sense, be the cause and sign of the same thing. The cause goes before, but the sign or evidence follows after. The same thing, then, cannot be both cause and evidence, unless it is both before and after itself. The scope of the article naturally, and I may say, necessarily, implies, that regeneration, and all the blessings of the covenant of grace are pre-supposed. It never once intimates the least idea that they, any of them, begin to be after baptism. It does not once speak of their existence, as commencing with, or depending upon baptism. There is not one idea, originally and primarily resting upon baptism, as a spiritual blessing, which is connected with salvation. It is 66 an instrument" by which they that "receive baptism rightly are grafted into the church." This is very clear and correct. The church cannot know them as her members, before they are admitted according to her rites. But being supposed to be rightly "grafted into the church," the blessings of the covenant are not supposed to commence or begin with this public act of ingrafting. Not a syllable is said about "forgiveness of sins, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost," as now by baptism beginning to take place; nor is there the least reason from this article to suppose that they do. They are not described as now conferred; but as "signed,"

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