We Stand for Baptism!

There are a great many labels thrown around about this subject: believer's baptism, infant baptism, Spirit baptism, etc.  But Christians, specifically Lutherans, don't stand for any of these in particular.  We stand for Baptism, plain and simple, in all of its Biblical glory.

You might object that Lutherans are always talking about the importance of baptizing infants, and this is true.  But to reduce the Sacrament to this argument is too simplistic.

Baptism is commanded by Christ for the making of disciples (Matthew 28:19).  It is not optional.  And there is only one baptism, as Saint Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:5. 

With this one baptism the Holy Spirit washes away our sins (Titus 3:5), and unites us with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3-5), effectively guaranteeing our own resurrection to glory on the Last Day.

This is all done by the work of God.  We have nothing to do with it.  It is an objective application of the grace of God directly to our lives.

Faith is important in baptism.  Faith receives the gift.  Baptism, by God's power, elicits faith from the newly regenerated person, faith in Christ Jesus.

Yet faith does not make the baptism valid.  Then it would depend upon me and my strength of faith, rather than on the power of God.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism!  Here we stand!

[Tomorrow: We stand for the Lord's Supper!]  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reflections on the Fall of a Pastor

Image
Tullian Tchividjian, the well known pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, has resigned his position.  According to his own statement both he and his wife committed adultery.  This disqualifies him from the pastoral office.  He has willingly acknowledged his affair and peacefully stepped aside. It is a sad day when a pastor must resign his call for any reason, but especially for living an immoral life.  Tchividjian's case gives a great deal of pause for Lutherans in particular since he was highly influenced by Luther's writings and those of contemporary Lutheran scholars such as Robert Kolb.  Tullian, in recent years, has sought to clarify the proper distinction of Law and Gospel in his own preaching as well as to spread that teaching to a wider audience. As Lutherans we have a high view of God's Word in general and of the Gospel in particular.  When a Lutheran pastor falls into temptation does he really need to resign?  Can he not simply be forgiven and reinstate
Read more

One Thing Ken Ham Didn't Say, but Should Have

Tonight came the debate between Ken Ham (creationist) and Bill Nye (evolutionist).  All things considered I thought it was a good debate, a debate from which the people who plan out presidential debates could learn a great many things. There was one point toward the end where the moderator, who also did a fine job of remaining neutral, asked the two men questions gathered from the audience.  One question in particular caught my attention.  It was directed at Ken Ham. He was asked if there were any evidence that could be given that would convince him that the Biblical account of creation was false.  I do not recall his exact answer, but effectively he said "no".  No evidence could shake him in his conviction that God created the world in 6 days. As a Christian, as a 6-day creationist, I was disappointed in this.  Mr Ham did not have the questions beforehand.  He did not have the advantage of hindsight (which I have now).  So I don't want to be too hard on him.  But t
Read more

Why the Resurrection is the Only Answer that Matters

There seem to be some people who are confused as to why the resurrection of Jesus can make or break the argument for a young earth.  On the surface this is not obvious. Why do Christians care how many days it took to create the earth?  I don't.  It could have taken God half a second.  I could have taken Him 40 trillion years.  Why do Christians (myself included) put stock in the fact that Genesis 1 states that it took 6 days? Because Jesus Christ says that the Law and the Prophets (Genesis included) point to Him.  He endorses the Old Testament on several occasions, including a quote of Genesis 2 when discussing marriage and divorce. Because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, a clear indication that the claims He made about Himself were true, including His endorsements of the Old Testament.  Jesus rose from the dead showing His followers that He really was the Son of God. If Jesus did not rise from the dead we are, as Paul says, to be pitied above all people.  The resurrection
Read more