man, not even to an apostle, bishop, elder, or minister, but to God only, and used but once in the Bible "Holy and reverend is his name.' e." a Therefore what right has any man to assume this title.

This, then, was a perfect organization. In every congregation there were bishops or elders to oversee the church and labor for its spiritual welfare—to settle its difficulties, strengthen the weak, encourage the timid, seeking to restore those who had wandered away from the fold, and to build up all in the most holy faith.

And they had deacons to superintend the temporal welfare of the congregation and to care for the needy; and ministers or evangelists bearing news of life and salvation to the world, planting new congregations and enlarging the borders of Zion. They were "to preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine." The officers of the New-Testament church consisted of these three distinct classes and no more. It had no archbishops, cardinals, prelates, and no pope claiming political and ecclesiastical power. Thus it will be seen that no church that differs with the original one in officers and organization can be identical with the New-Testament church. b 2 Tim. iv. 2.

a Ps. cxi. 9.

CHAPTER XXXIII

CHURCH ORDINANCES

The Ordinances and Their Observance. The Lord's Supper. The First Day of the Week. Christian Baptism. All Monumental.

We next call attention to the ordinances. In order to give a description of any religious body it is necessary to know its ordinances. Some bodies differ materially in this regard. Some religious organizations sprinkle water upon those who would become members, while others immerse them in water, and this is sufficient to distinguish the organizations, if in other respects they are alike. The apostolic church observed one important ordinance which distinguished it from all other religious bodies. Once only, in the annals of religion or in the history of the world, was it recorded that a religious body celebrated the death of its founder. While birthdays of the great, of kings and founders of kingdoms and empires have been celebrated, never before was the day celebrated upon which a benefactor died. Such, however, was the fact in regard to the founder of the Christian Church. This important ordinance is called the "Lord's Supper," "the Breaking of Bread," and "The Communion of the Blood of Christ and of the

Body of Christ."a And Christ told His disciples to do this in remembrance of Him. There is one fact connected with the founder of this church that partly, if not wholly, accounts for this singular, interesting, and important ordinance, and that is, He died the great antitype, prefigured by every victim that had bled on patriarchal or Jewish altar. He came in the fulness of time and laid down His life as a sacrifice for the sin of the world; for, "without the shedding of blood is no remission." His death, then, was the noblest act of divine love. He died that man might have life; He died that man might not fear to die; He died that death might be disarmed and the gloom of the grave dispelled, that man might rise from its dust and ashes to endless life. It was, therefore, ordained that His death should be celebrated rather than His birth; for this great work of redemption was not accomplished until from the cross He exclaimed, "It is finished." And, therefore, to His death Christians will ever cling as the foundation of their brightest hopes. For only through His death His subjects expect to live again and enjoy the mansions He has gone to prepare.

The Church of Christ celebrated the day upon which the Son of God triumphed over death. We are informed that " upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them."b But upon what first day did they celebrate His death? It was upon the first day. We are nowhere informed in the Scriptures that they made a I Cor. xi. 20, x. 16; Acts xx. 7. b Acts xx. 7.

any difference in Lord's days; they were all alike, hallowed by the same great event and held sacred to its commemoration. When God commanded His ancient people, Israel, to remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy, they did not remember one day in every three or four months and keep it holy, but they remembered all of them and kept them holy. If when God commanded Israel to remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy he meant every Sabbath Day, then when it is affirmed that the disciples came together on the first day of the week to break bread, it is just to conclude that it meant on every first day of the week. The phraseology is the same in both cases. This being true, and it has not been disputed, we ask, Can any of the modern churches claim to be identical in practice with the Church of Christ when they celebrate the Lord's death only three or four times in each year? In accordance with the example of the early believers in Christ, Christians should now observe every first day of the week in memory of the resurrection of Christ.

a

We now observe that there is no scriptural authority for calling the first day of the week, Sabbath. The Jews observed the last day of the week, or the seventh, and Christians the first day. The Jews remembered the Sabbath Day to keep it holy as a sign. And Christians met on the Resurrection Day to commemorate the death of Christ. While the Sabbath is set forth in the Fourth Commandment under Moses, it is nowhere imposed upon Christians under Christ.

• Ex. xxxi. 17.

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a

The Lord arose upon the first day of the week and in the evening of the same day he appeared unto his disciples. The next first day (eight days later) they were again together, and He came into their midst. On Pentecost (the first day of the week), the Holy Spirit descended, and the Christian Church was founded. Paul gave coinmandment to the Galatians and Corinthians to lay by in store when they came together on the first day of the week; and Luke tells of the church at Troas, which came together on the first day of the week to break bread. And we read that John, the revelator, was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. It was therefore the custom and uniform practice of the churches of Christ to observe the first day of the week, or Lord's Day, and not the Sabbath, or seventh day, and there is no commandment or teaching substituting the Sabbath for the Lord's Day. Some, however, say if Christ's death is observed every first day of the week such observance will become too common. Christ died as often as

He arose. The one event cannot become more common than the other. Why commemorate His resurrection and not "show his death till he come ?"g

The next ordinance to which we direct attention is that of Christian baptism. It has been heretofore shown that this was the consummating act in entering the Kingdom of Christ or His Church. In regard to the importance of baptism we observe that it is the