Marquette Co., Wis by John Matteson

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 30, 1875

Marquette Co., Wis.

By John Matteson

During the past month, I have labored in Chicago, Racine, and Raymond. Our brethren in Chicago lost five members in the storm of the 19th of April. That was the night when those who say they are Adventists and are not, professed to be waiting for the glorious appearing of our Lord. Yet we know some who carefully locked their stores and put the keys into their pockets when they went out to meet the Lord. On returning, they were glad to find everything safe.

These time-setters are in general the bitterest enemies of the law of God. They are not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. They advocate also trine immersion. Mr. Thurman has written a book on this subject. He assures us that all the Jews were baptized unto the Father in the cloud. (The Bible says they were baptized unto Moses. 1 Cor. 10.) This was their first immersion. Afterward, says Mr. Thurman, John the Baptist baptized all the Jews, without an exception, in the river Jordan. This was the second dipping, which was unto the Son. Finally, on the day of Pentecost, the apostles immersed the believing Jews unto the Holy Spirit. Therefore, says Mr. Thurman, we Gentiles must also be dipped three times to make out one baptism or dipping. Yet not with intervals of 1500 and 3½ years.

Having laid this curious foundation, they can see very clearly that Matt. 28 teaches three dippings in one dipping or baptism, and not one baptism in three names.

I think nothing so clearly shows the error of trine immersion as those texts which speak of being buried with Christ by baptism into his death. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death,” &c. We cannot be baptized or immersed into the Father’s death; for the Father has never died. Neither can we be planted with the Holy Spirit in the likeness of his death nor be raised in the likeness of his resurrection; for the Holy Spirit has never died, neither has he been raised from the dead. Christ only has died for our sins, therefore we can only be buried with Christ by baptism into his death. But this burial or immersion can be performed in the name of the Father and Holy Spirit as well as in the name of Christ.

We had some additions in Chicago to make up for the loss. Four believers were baptized into the death of Christ. Seven new members were added to the church. Several others have commenced to obey the truth. The church was encouraged and edified by the grace of God.

The 4th and 5th of this month we had quarterly meeting in Oakland. Friends from abroad came in and the house was filled. A Norwegian brother and his wife were buried with Christ in baptism.

Next Sabbath we visited Bro. Decker, who was preaching in the tent at Oxbow, Rock Co., sixteen miles from Oakland. It was rather cold, yet a goodly number of hearers gathered on the Sabbath and evening following. First-day forenoon, about three hundred came together. They listened with good attention to the word preached. After this meeting, one brother was baptized.

In the afternoon, we attended the Methodist preaching and class-meeting. The preacher warned his hearers against observing days and months, and seeking salvation through the law. After the sermon, the members spoke freely in the class. Most of them were in favor of the Adventists. One was in doubt which day we ought to keep, but wanted to know the truth. Another had fully decided to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, whatever be the consequences. Another, a lady, had been full of prejudice, but it had all passed away. She had found that the Adventists loved the same Jesus whom she loved. Others spoke of the second coming of Christ being near and rejoiced in the fact. All who had been in the tent assured their class-leader that they had found food for their spiritual life there as well as in their own meetings, and they wanted to praise God for all the light he would give them.

We remarked that our hope of salvation is in Christ alone, and that there is no other name given under heaven whereby men can be saved; that the law of God is not given to us as a means of justification, but to show what is right and wrong; that as far as the Sabbath is concerned, the Methodists observe exactly as many days in a week as we do. We keep one day holy as a Sabbath, and they keep one also. I stated that we would not debate this question, but every one could search for himself; that, for convenience, we would rather have the first day the Sabbath than the seventh; but it was our conscientious conviction that the seventh day was the only holy Sabbath of the Bible; and for this reason we could not omit to keep it holy; that we all had one God and Father, one Saviour, one Bible, and one Heaven, where God would gather all his dear children. Therefore, we ought to love one another, to bear with one another, and to be followers of God as dear children. The Spirit of God was in our midst, and all seemed to be edified.

In the evening, a large congregation gathered in the tent. Some Irish Catholics came to disturb us. Several of them were under the influence of liquor. They made considerable noise during the meeting; but Bro. Decker dealt very kindly with them, and this checked them somewhat. After about half an hour of noisy demonstrations, they left without injury to the tent. There is a good prospect of raising up a church in this vicinity.

I am now in the vicinity of Harrisville, where some Danish families desire to be instructed in the truth.

John Matteson.

Sept. 17, 1875.