Baptism: My Teaching and a Few FAQs

[An extra post at no extra charge!]

baptism of JesusJudging 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, many readers have had trouble wrapping their heads around it — which is surely my fault.

But I think recent discussions have shown me a better way of expressing myself. Okay — here it is —

* The traditional teaching of the Churches of Christ is largely correct. We correctly interpret Acts 2:38 and all the other familiar baptism proof texts. Therefore, I teach baptism of believers by immersion into forgiveness of sins — just like Peter preached on Pentecost.

* However, unlike many in the Churches of Christ, I teach that grace applies to baptismal error — in theology or practice. Hence, a failure to be correctly baptized does not damn. Continue reading

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Baptism: Grace and Baptism, Part 1 (The Flat Hermeneutic Problem)

baptism of JesusIn recent discussions about baptism, I’ve mentioned a couple of times that I believe that God’s grace will cover baptismal error. Grace will not, however, cover the absence of faith in Jesus.

I had hoped that the doctrine of grace was well enough understood that this would bring clarity to the discussion. And perhaps it did for some, but it certainly created confusion for others. So let’s talk about grace.

Grace

The classic statement explaining grace is —

(Eph 2:8-10 ESV) 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Grace is “through faith.” Notice the complete absence of baptism from the discussion. No faith, no grace. Continue reading

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Baptism: “Repent” in Acts 2:38

[This is a bit long but doesn’t easily break into pieces. Next post will be Friday (Lord willing), to give time to reflect (and watch football. Roll Tide!)]

baptism of JesusLong-time reader Royce asks in a comment,

True repentance means one turns away from something and toward another. Can anyone explain why “repent” isn’t the key word in Acts 2:38 rather than “baptized”?

Excellent question, and one I’ve been pondering these last few days.

Repent

Consider this. In Peter’s Acts 2 sermon, prior to v. 38, he does not charge the audience with moral failings or failure to obey God’s commands. Rather, he accuses them of failing to recognize Jesus as Messiah and therefore crucifying him. Continue reading

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SOTM: Background, Part 2 (Honor)

SOTMHonor Culture

Social scientists speaks of two kinds of culture: honor (or shame) culture and guilt culture. In the West, most nations and people have a guilt culture. That is, we expect each other to be motivated to do right based on our consciences — our internal sense of right and wrong — and we expect people to do right even when no one else is watching.

Obviously, people sometimes fail to attain to our own standards, but this is how we teach our children, and if we run into people who don’t think this way, we consider them immoral or lacking character.

When we fail to meet our own standards, we feel guilty. We think of ourselves as having violated a universal standard of right and wrong. For Christians, we try to educate our consciences to hold us to the standards we believe God imposes — in secret, in public, whatever. Hence, we live in a guilt culture.

An honor culture is different. We considered this not to long ago in a brief series beginning with this post. In an honor culture, people are governed by what others think of them. The standard is imposed, not by the individual, but by his community, his family, his clan, or even his nation. They have little concern for their own consciences. Continue reading

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SOTM: Introduction and Background, Part 1

SOTMI’m not finished with the series on 1 Corinthians — three chapters to go! — but I need to spend some time on the Sermon on the Mount, or as it’s known in the blogosphere, the SOTM.

My congregation will soon start a series on the SOTM, and I’ve been asked to teach one of the classes. I’ve got to prepare, and I prepare by blogging.

The Lesson Plan

The classes will be based on a book by Randy Harris, Living Jesus: Doing What Jesus Says in the Sermon on the Mount — $9.99 in the Kindle version. The book comes with a DVD of short versions of the lessons being taught by Randy, Living Jesus: How the Greatest Sermon Ever Will Change Your Life for Good ($24.99).

I’m a big Randy Harris fan. I’ve heard him speak many times, and his lessons are always insightful and helpful. Continue reading

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Is Baptism a Work, Part 6B, Part 2

baptism of Jesus3. Does the “gospel,” as the term is used in the Gospels, include water baptism?

No. “Gospel” in the Gospels is a reference to the good news promised by the prophets of the Old Testament, and there is no mention of water baptism in the Old Testament. Continue reading

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Is Baptism a Work, Part 6B, Part 1

baptism of JesusA few days ago, I asked a series of five questions regarding baptism, urging the readers to narrow the discussion to just these five questions.

I had several reasons for doing this, one being in hopes of ending the constant drone of “My verse beats your verse” argumentation — which is a colossal waste of time and energy.

I also wanted to encourage the readers to seek answers from the text rather than their denominational heritage. I mean, when you answer that the baptism is part of the gospel because baptism is essential to salvation and the baptism is essential to salvation because it’s part of the gospel, well, you’re reasoning in circles. (And the Baptist side makes just as many circular arguments.) Continue reading

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Why Can’t We Tell Right from Wrong? Part 4 (A Tale of Two Shepherds)

Once upon a time, there was an old, very wealthy Bedouin. Well, not wealthy by American standards, perhaps, but in his world, by his own standards, quite wealthy indeed, because he lived in a world where a man is measured by the number of his sheep. And he had many sons and daughters — and many, many sheep.

He had so many sheep that one man could not watch them all, and so he called for two of his sons to come before him. He said to them, “I have many sheep, and I cannot watch them all by myself. And so I’ll give each of you a portion of my flock to tend. Keep them fed and watered, safe from wolves, and bring them back here in time for shearing season with an increase in number and in wool. Remember: while I own many things, my most precious possessions are these sheep.” Continue reading

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Merry Christmas! Hallelujah!!

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Magnificat

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