FUNDAMENTALS OF THE FAITH: BAPTISM PART 4. Randy Broberg 2005

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1 FUNDAMENTALS OF THE FAITH: BAPTISM PART 4 Randy Broberg 2005

2 2 Peter 1:12 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.

3 Baptism Review Orthodox vs. Roman Catholics Roman Catholics vs. Lutherans Lutherans vs. Reformed Reformed vs. Baptists Baptists vs. Pentecostals

4 What? Baptism Review Symbol of washing, purification, death/resurrection and new birth How? Immersion When? Immediately Whom Believers

5 Who Must Perform Baptism? Acts 8:36, 38 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him

6 Where Baptize? Acts 8:36, 38 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him

7 Is Baptism The New Covenant Circumcision?

8 The parallel between infant circumcision and infant baptism is obvious and perfect. Presbyterian website

9 Scotts signed the National Covenant in This National Covenant asserted national sovereignty, but pledged loyalty to the King. promised to defend the Church of Scotland from Anglican novations and to uphold Presbyterianism, called for the abolition of bishops Strong identification with Covenant theology, elect, chosen people, new Israel, salvation, etc. Signers attacked those who didn t. Aberdeen and its seminary attacked and seminary students forced to sign or be killed. National Covenant, 1638 "...the LIVING GOD, THE SEARCHER OF OUR bless our desires and proceedings with a happy success; that religion and righteousness may flourish in the land, to the glory of GOD, the honour of our King, and peace and comfort of us all."

10 LESLEY'S MARCH. When to the kirk [church] we come, We'll purge it ilka [every] room, Frae [from] Popish reliques, and a' [all] sic [such] innovation, That a' [all] the world may see, There's nane [none] in the right but we, Of the auld [old] Scottish nation. Played by the Scots army when it marched into England under Alexander Lesley, Earl of Leven, in 1640, 26,000 strong.

11 Genesis 17: Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." 9 Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner-those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

12 Galatians 3: Consider Abraham: He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: All nations will be blessed through you. 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 10 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law. 11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, The righteous will live by faith. 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, The man who does these things will live by them. 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

13 Galatians 3:27 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

14 Colossians 2: For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.,,, 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

15 Romans 4:11-12 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

16 Ephesians 2: And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 4But God,, 5even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh--who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands-- 12that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. 19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,.

17 Paedo-Baptist Arguments From Silence

18 Argument From Silence Though the New Testament does not argue for infant baptism, it does not argue against it. Surely if Jesus or the apostles had intended to abridge the privileges of Jewish parents who under the Abrahamic covenant included their children as part of the congregation of Israel, then such a command would have been issued. Otherwise it was only natural to assume that infant baptism would be practiced under the New Covenant since baptism was the rite of initiation into the Church, even as circumcision was the Jewish rite of initiation into the congregation of Israel. Further, there is not a single instance in the New Testament where any teenage or adult son or daughter of Christian parents was ever baptized! Presbyterian website

19 The First Generation Argument it should be remembered that the converts to Jesus Christ recorded in the Book of Acts were first-generation Christians--except that we are told some households were converted which undoubtedly included children. This unique missionary situation of the first Christians would mean that adult baptisms in the Book of Acts would be prominent, but this is not an effective argument against infant baptism since adults were obviously the ones who needed to be evangelized since there were no Christian parents until the Christian message had been received into the world.

20 Infant Baptists Hermeneutic Proof-texting is the fundamentalist approach of trying to find isolated verses of Scripture which supposedly will state explicitly and literally what we are supposed to believe as true doctrine. The proof-texting approach tries to interpret the various texts of Scripture with a kind of literalism. But biblical hermeneutics is more than skillful and analytical dissecting of isolated text; it is the art of seeing behind the words and discovering (intuiting) the depth of meaning; it is experiencing the whole context of meaning beyond the mere isolated text.

21 Lacking Bible Texts, Infant Baptists Turn To Tradition & Theology If one uses a proof-texting approach, then there are many, many things which we as Christians have no basis for believing. Where in Scripture are we told that Jesus is truly God and truly man in one person with two wills? Where in Scripture are we told that God is three eternal persons with one essence? The orthodox doctrines of the incarnation and trinity are based on theological reasoning on the whole context of Scripture. Where in Scripture are we told that Sunday explicitly is to replace Saturday as the day of worship? Yet this is a tradition which clearly dates back to apostolic times and is done for good theological reasons. The New Testament is in an important sense a qualified continuation of the OT. Jesus resurrection is the NT equivalent of the Exodus event. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost signified the internalizing of the kingdom of God first situated in Canaan Land, the place of God s abode. The Passover Feast was a prototype of the Lord s Supper. The NT Church is the fulfillment of the OT congregation of Israel. Circumcision was the Jewish rite of initiation into the congregation of Israel even as baptism is in the NT. Why shouldn t Christian parents then baptize their infant children even as ancient Israel practiced infant circumcision?

22 Our Understanding Not the same as Reformed concept. Sign of what God has already done (new birth). Seal of confirmation and encouragement to candidate (an aid to deepened faith). Sign of a relationship that already exists. Pledge of lifelong commitment. Community support and accountability. Testimony/Witness

23 GBC STATEMENT OF FAITH God has established two ordinances for the church to observe: baptism, which is undergone once as a sign of the new life in Christ after a person has confessed faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and the Lord's Supper, which is to be observed regularly to call into remembrance the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on our behalf, until He returns (Acts 2.38,42; 1 Corinthians ).

24 GBC CONSTITUTION It is not required that a person be rebaptized to become a member. However, if the prospective member was only baptized as an infant, or for some reason there is a question about the validity of the original baptism, the prospective member shall be encouraged to be baptized as a believer.

25 GBC CONSTITUTION Water baptism is symbolic of the Christian s spiritual union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4). According to the Biblical pattern, a new Christian is to be baptized after conversion at the earliest convenient time as an expression of personal faith in Christ and membership in the church. Full immersion is the preferred method, consistent with the New Testament practice A believer who regards his infant baptism as valid, will not be required to undergo baptism as a condition of membership. However, he will be encouraged to study the Biblical principles involved in the hope they will be persuaded to be baptized as a believer.. The candidate for baptism should demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of sin, repentance, substitutionary atonement, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Particular care should be taken to ensure that the candidate understands the meaning of baptism as an important act of obedience and outward profession, but is not a condition of salvation. In addition, those conducting the interview should look for the fruit of faith and repentance as expected in the life of a believer.. Children who seek baptism must meet the same requirements as adults. Baptisms shall be conducted under the supervision of the Elders.

26 Why Baptism Matters 1. A Doctrine that Divides 2. The Effects of getting it wrong: 1. Sacramental View 2. Covenantal View 3. Believers View 3. Regulative vs. Normative Principle

27 Five Different Approaches to Guide Worship 1. We may worship only in a way commanded for the New Testament assembly. 2. We may worship only in a way commanded for the Old Testament and/or New Testament assemblies We may worship only in a way warranted or sanctioned by the New Testament. 4. We may worship only in a way warranted or sanctioned by Scripture (Old and New Testaments). 5. We may worship in any way not prohibited by Scripture. Regulative Principle--numbers 1-4. Normative Principle--number 5

28 Presbyterian Regulative Principle the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture Westminster Confession

29 Baptism For the Dead? 1 Corinthians 15:29 Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?

30 Questions To Consider What s your method of determining what you believe? Have the Presbyterians violated the Regulative Principle?