l other brethren
besides the elders were present. The subjects were now discussed from
the Scriptures. Brother--maintained that no one was born again
except he was baptized, no one had a right to say his sins were
forgiven, except he were baptized, and also that the apostles were
not born again until the day of Pentecost. Whilst seeking to defend
these unscriptural statements, he also affirmed that our Lord Himself
had been born again at His baptism, and that the last three years of
His life He had not been under the law, but had ceased to be under
the law when He was baptized. I had been accustomed during the eight
days that I had been going in and out among the brethren to hear all
sorts of unscriptural statements, into which they had fallen through
laying an undue stress upon baptism, and especially through
considering baptism as a covenant into which God enters with the
believer; but when now the foundation truths of the Gospel were also
attacked, when of our Holy Lord it was said that he was born again at
his baptism, (which made Him out to be like one of us), and when it
was said that He had not been under the law during the last three
years of His life;--I saw it needful first of all to see whether we
were agreed about the foundation truths of the Gospel. But as we had
now been together from five to half-past seven in the evening, and as
at half-past eight the public meeting began at which I had to speak,
I proposed to separate and to meet again on Friday afternoon from
five to seven. This was done, I now first of all pressed the first
points. Brother--stated in the presence of the elders and six or
seven other brethren, that he had made an unscriptural statement, and
that our Lord needed not to be born again. I then went to the other
point, whether the Lord was under the law up to the time when He died
on the cross, or only up to the time when He was baptized. Many
passages were brought forward to show that our Lord was under the law
up to the last moments of His earthly life, which is clear from Gal.
iii. 13, Phil. ii. 8, Heb. x. 1-13, and many other passages. At last
he was convinced about this also and acknowledged his error. But many
other points, equally unscriptural, he was unwilling to renounce,
such as, that baptism is a covenant with God, and that there cannot
be forgiveness of sins except individuals have been baptized after
believing. He also maintained that I was sinning in breaking bread
with unbapt