The Meaning of Holy Baptism (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Meaning of Holy Baptism

A second reason arises from the condition of things within the Church of England itself. Our Lord ordained two Sacraments of the Gospel, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Neither in any recorded words of His nor in any official formulary of the Church is there a hint that one of these is to be placed in a position of greater importance than the other. Yet, through the Operation of various causes, it has resulted that the Lord's Supper is thought a great deal more about than Baptism. One cause is unavoidable. Baptism takes place but once in a man's life; he receives the Lord's Supper many times. That which he does constantly in mature life he naturally thinks more about than that which is done to him once in his infancy. The other chief cause is to some extent avoidable, and therefore those who permit it to operate cannot be exonerated from all blame. The introductory rubric to the Baptism Service for Infants distinctly says that it is most convenient that Baptism should not be administered but upon Sundays and other Holy Days, when the most number of people come together. These are precisely the occasions when it is now generally found to be most inconvenient (in the modern sense of the word) to administer Baptism, and the Sacrament 18 therefore very commonly relegated to week-days or quiet intervals on Sundays. The result is, that there are many in our so-called Christian England who are almost ignorant of the ceremonies of Baptism. What matters more is, that there are many regular Churchpeople in all ranks of society who have only very vague ideas, if they have any ideas at all, about the inner meaning of Baptism. The following chapters are an attempt to explain that meaning in simple and untechnical language. Their object is, first of all, to enable Churchpeople to understand for themselves what was done for them when they were baptized and, secondly, to enable them to pass that knowledge on to the numerous thoughtful and inquiring men and women who unfortunately do not usually take any part in the public worship of God.

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