Back to Restoration Movements Overview Baptism

Walter Scott, the ancient gospel, baptism for the remission of sins, and the five-finger exercise.

Restoration Movement preaching gave baptism a new prominence through Walter Scott. Beginning in 1827 at New Lisbon, Ohio, Scott announced that the ancient gospel could be presented in the order of the New Testament: faith, repentance, baptism, remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. This five-finger exercise became the movement's most famous evangelistic tool, and Acts 2:38, repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, became its centerpiece. Scott's Gospel Restored of 1836 set the ancient gospel and the ancient order in print, and mass conversions followed across the Western Reserve.

Restoration ClaimThe New Testament order of salvation is faith, repentance, and baptism; baptism is the point at which penitent believers receive the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Main ReceiptsWalter Scott, The Gospel Restored (1836); Alexander Campbell, The Christian System (1835); The Christian Baptist and Millennial Harbinger on baptism.

Live DisputeOther Protestants taught that baptism follows conversion as a sign; the reformers insisted baptism is integral to the remission of sins, a claim that divided them from much of Protestantism and later among themselves.

Component Map

6 pieces that have to be kept distinct.

Walter ScottA former Presbyterian and associate of the Campbell reform, Scott became the movement's evangelist and the chief preacher of the ancient gospel.

The Ancient GospelScott began preaching at New Lisbon, Ohio, in 1827 that the gospel could be presented in the order of the New Testament: faith, repentance, and baptism.

Baptism for RemissionActs 2:38, repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, became the movement's centerpiece: baptism is where the penitent believer receives remission.

The Five-Finger ExerciseScott's simple memory tool presented the gospel in five propositions: faith, repentance, baptism, remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel RestoredScott's 1836 book gave the ancient gospel and the ancient order their fullest statement and became a classic of the Restoration Movement.

Evangelistic ResultsScott's preaching produced mass conversions from 1827 onward and gave the movement its most effective missionary method.

Receipt Trail

Start here before drawing conclusions.

The Gospel Restored (1836)Scott's classic statement of the ancient gospel propositions and the plan of salvation.

The Christian System (1835)Campbell's systematic chapter on faith, repentance, baptism, and the Holy Spirit.

Millennial Harbinger selectionsCampbell's essays on baptism and the remission of sins in the 1830s.