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 of other religions. (T. C. R. n. 678.) These signs may be compared to the different flags by which different nationalities are distinguished. The flag may wave over a national fortress, a legislative hall, a literary institution, the merchant's warehouse, the millionaire's mansion, or the pioneer's log-cabin; but in all cases its significance is the same, however those who fling it to the breeze may understand or misunderstand the constitution of their country, its principles, policy, or laws. And baptism is the revealed or divinely appointed sign of the Christian religion. It is not a sign of the receiver's degree of spiritual enlightenment, or of his advancement in moral or religious life; not a sign of how he understands Christianity, or of his measure of fidelity to its revealed truths, any more than the national flag waving above my roof is a sign of my degree of political intelligence, or of how well or ill I understand the constitution and laws of my country. Neither is it, as some seem to think, a sign of any particular doctrinal system, however true or false. No: it is simply a sign that those receiving it belong to the great body of religionists known as Christians; that they profess the Christian religion, accept the Sacred Scripture as the Word of God, and purpose to govern their lives according to its teachings.

That this is the plain teaching of the heavenly doctrines no intelligent receiver of them will pre-