Persons, born again, like Jesus Christ, separate their hearts from the world, and rise to a divine life. That this is the only true construction of the text, may be inferred from a corresponding passage, Rom. vi. 4. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” By spiritual baptism we partake the privileges of Christ’s death. By dying to sin ourselves, as we do in the new birth, we resemble Jesus Christ in his death, who died “to make an end of sin.” As Christ was raised from the grave; so we, not in water baptism, but in regeneration or spiritual baptism, are “raised” to walk in newness of life. Old things are done away; _all_ things are become new. If we have experienced this spiritual baptism, we shall have the Spirit of Christ, We shall be separate from the world of sin, as Christ was in the grave, and we shall like him rise to a holy, a new life. We obey a new master, seek a new way of salvation, act from new motives, to accomplish new designs; we choose new companions, experience new sorrows, and new joys. As if buried, we are separate from our former lives. St. John says, “He [Christ] shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with _fire_.” The Selucians and Hermians understood this literally, and maintained that material fire was necessary in the administration of baptism. Valentinus, like our baptists, rebaptized those, who had received baptism out of the sect, and _drew them through the fire_. Herculian, cited by Clemens Alexandrinus, says that some applied a red hot iron to the ears of the baptized. St. Paul says, we are buried with Christ in baptism. This also has been understood literally; but such persons forget that to be consistent, on their plan, they should continue “buried” three days and three nights, the time Christ lay in the earth. Should any object that this would drown them, the baptist, in his way of treating figures, would have an easy answer, and readily prove that drowning was the very design of baptism. Rom. vi. 4. “We are buried with him by baptism into his death.” We are not merely buried, for this is only a part, any more than sprinkling; but we are buried to death, “buried into his death.” Thus he has scripture for drowning all whom he baptizes, and precisely as much scripture for drowning, as for burying. The very same passage, might he say, which commands burying, commands drowning, commands “death.”