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Bunyan's peculiar practice of admitting all the Lord's children to the Lord's table; all such as he hoped were spiritually baptized, without reference to water-baptism, is here directly opposed.
But on a supposition that the word baptize should signify to immerse, and not to purify, another difficulty occurs; for, if it was thought proper or necessary that persons should be initiated into Christianity by water-baptism, in order to distinguish their new state from that of the Jews or Heathens, who then surrounded them, it seems unnecessary for the children of Christian parents, who were born in a Christian community, and whose ancestors for centuries have professed the Christian name.
I would willingly propose this seriously to men, that will be pleased to make use of that reason and understanding that God hath given them, and not be imposed upon, nor abused by the custom or tradition of others, whether this ceremony, if we respect either the time that it was appointed in, or the circumstances wherewith it was performed, or the command enjoining the use of it, hath not as much to recommend it for a standing ordinance of the Gospel, as either water-baptism, or bread and wine, or any other of that kind?
Peyton Randolph is "a venerable man ... an honest man; has knowledge, temper, experience, judgment, above all, integrity; a true Roman spirit." Richard Bland is "a wary, old, experienced veteran at the bar and in the senate; has something of the look of old musty parchments, which he handleth and studieth much. He formerly wrote a treatise against the Quakers on water-baptism."
Nor is it to be considered as any other than a difficulty that the Christian world have known so little about water-baptism, that they have been divided as to the right manner of performing it.
And in his 'Differences about Water-Baptism no Bar to Communion, he thus argues upon that text, 'Here is a baptism mentioned by which they are initiated into one body; now that this is the baptism of water is utterly against the words of the text; for by one SPIRIT we are all baptized into one body. 'It is the unity of the Spirit, not water, that is intended. Bunyan was the great champion for the practice of receiving all to church-communion whom God had received in Christ, without respect to water-baptism; and had he changed his sentiments upon a subject which occasioned him so much hostility, even from his Baptist brethren, it would have been heralded forth as a triumph.
This text does not refer to literal water-baptism, but to the work of the "Spirit," by whom we are inducted into Christ. And since this is the work of the Spirit, it is evident that none but the saved can possibly find admittance into the spiritual body of Christ. Under a different figure Jesus conveys the same truth. Salvation, then, is the condition of membership.
And here it may be remarked, that circumcision and baptism uniformly went together, when proselytes of the covenant were made, or when any of the Heathens were desirous of conforming to the whole of the Jewish law. So that the last opinion of Peter on the subject of water-baptism contradicted his practice, when he was but a noviciate in Christ's kingdom.
Paul mentions these circumstances, by which it comes to light, that he used water-baptism, and he regrets that the persons in question should have made such a bad use of this rite, as to call themselves after him who baptized them, instead of calling themselves after Christ, and dwelling on him alone.
Their harmony was, however, disturbed in 1827, when a number of the most influential among them left the "Orthodox" or old belief and followed Elias Hicks, of New York, who founded what has since been known as Hicksite Friends. The Friends believed in a free gospel ministry, and did not recognize either water-baptism or the ordinance of the Lord's Supper.
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