(Hebrews 6:1-2) As previously indicated in my earlier posts, to move on to perfection, it is necessary that we are able to be weaned from the rudiments upon which the Christian doctrine is built.
And of laying on of hands. This is the fourth element or principle of the Christian religion.
The Jews practiced the laying on of hands on a great variety of occasions. It was done when a blessing was imparted to any one; when prayer was made for one; and when they offered sacrifice they laid their hands on the head of the victim, confessing their sins,
(Lev 16:21), And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
(Lev 24:14), Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him
(Numbers 8:12).And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites.
It was done on occasions of solemn consecration to office, and when friend supplicated the Divine favor on friend. n like manner, it was often done by the Savior and the apostles.
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry laid his hands on children to bless them, and on the sick when he healed them,( Mathew 19:13),Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.
( Mark 5:23, Matthew 9:18).
In like manner, the apostles laid hands on others in the following circumstances:
(1.) In healing the sick, (Acts 28:8) And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.
(2.) In ordination to office,( 1Timothy 5:22), Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure. (Acts 6:6). Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
(3.) In imparting the miraculous influences of the Holy Spirit,( Acts 8:17-19) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. ( Acts19:6). And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
The true doctrine respecting the design of laying on the hands, is said here to be one of the elements of the Christian religion. The custom of laying on the hands, as symbolic of imparting spiritual gifts, prevailed in the Church in the time of the apostles, no one can doubt. And here is why;
- The apostles were endowed with the power of imparting the influences of the Holy Ghost in a miraculous or extraordinary manner. It was with reference to such an imparting of the Holy Spirit that the expression is used in each of the cases where it occurs in the New Testament.
- It would be observed that the Lord Jesus did not appoint the imposition of the hands of a “bishop” to be one of the rites or ceremonies to be observed perpetually in the Church.
- No one now is entrusted with the power of imparting the Holy Spirit in that manner. There is no class of officers in the Church that can make good their claim to any such power. So the doctrine that the Holy Spirit is imparted at the rite of “confirmation is a form of traditional Christianity which is a fallacy.
- It is liable to be abused, or to lead persons to substitute the form for the thing; or to think that because they have been “confirmed,” that therefore they are sure of the mercy and favor of God. Still, if it be regarded as a simple form of admission to a church, without claiming that it is enjoined by God, or that it is connected with any authority to impart the Holy Spirit, no objection can be made to it, any more than there need be to any other form of recognizing church-membership. It should be noted that it is by one Spirit are we all baptized into the mystical body of Christ and not by joining.
- However every pastor has a right, if he chooses, to lay his hands on the members of his flocks and to implore a blessing on them; and such an act, on making a profession of religion, would have much in it that would be appropriate and solemn.
God bless and Shalom!
AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST 