Category Archives: Sacraments

These are addition comments I posted in response to Price’s questions about John the Baptist’s (JTB) baptism. I find these discussion fascinating because (a) they’re about God, Jesus, and the Bible and (b) they push me into unfamiliar territory, forcing … Continue reading →

So where does faith fit into the picture, if at all? Well, to a Jew, faith and repentance were inseparable concepts. How can you love your Father and not obey him? How can you trust God’s promises and refuse to … Continue reading →

Price asked, Were the disciples of Christ baptizing in the same manner as John the Baptist and his disciples ? If so, wasn’t that baptism just an outward expression of a repentance, changing of their ways ? Seems so. How … Continue reading →

[Reposted from January 2015, with some updates.] Judging from the comments, it would be helpful for me to lay out what I teach about baptism again. It’s not complicated, but because it’s unfamiliar to most within the Churches of Christ, … Continue reading →

c. Although Leon Morris found no evidence that “water” was used as a metaphor for birth in koine Greek, he found plenty of evidence that “water” is used as a metaphor for conception. “Water” may be connected with procreation. This … Continue reading →

b. Baptism is very much in the context. John 1:19 ff. discusses the baptism of John. Indeed, in 1:26, John the Baptist says “I baptize with water” and in 1:33, John says that Jesus “will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” … Continue reading →

[There was a section by this name in the original Born of Water, but I entirely rewrote it.] Now, as we’ve seen, there are plenty of passages that teach that if you have faith and are baptized, then you are … Continue reading →

In the Churches of Christ, it’s long been taught that souls are cleansed when we contact the blood of Christ in baptism. Very typical is this from Jeffrey Asher[1] – I submit that the Scriptures teach the blood of Christ … Continue reading →

We’ve all experienced our own Exodus, our own escape from slavery, our own defeat of the armies of the enemy, our own entry into the protection and leadership of God – through baptism. And this tells us how to live … Continue reading →

Over the next few days, I’m going to post some new material written for the new edition of Born of Water. Most Americans have a Western mindset, born of the Enlightenment and, long before that, the Greek philosophers. We think … Continue reading →