One In Jesus

Third point: I’m not arguing that there’s a missing verse that says “faith alone,” and I’m not under the influence of Martin Luther’s German translation. Rather, verses that say things like “everyone who believes” will be saved should be read as referring to “everyone who believes.” And Luther didn’t slip those everyones into the text.

(PS — As a matter of history, Luther’s insert of “alone” (in Luther’s German, it’s “alone” allein not “only” nur) in Rom 3:28 is simply not and never has been the basis of the Zwinglian position that faith is sufficient to save prior to baptism. Luther’s own defense of his translation makes for an interesting read, as well as an excellent introduction to the challenge of dynamic and formal equivalence in translation.) Continue reading →

Second point: I know each and every Church of Christ proof text on baptism. So do the other readers. Please don’t insult me or the other readers by filling the comments with quotations of the very familiar baptism texts. (I’ve also read nearly every Church of Christ book and tract on the subject.)

Here they are (all in the NIV) —

(Matt. 28:19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit … . 

(Acts 2:38) Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  Continue reading →

Justification

Baptism

I’ve written so much and so long on baptism that I really just want to hit the high points. Of course, when it comes to baptism, there are a lot of high points.

First point: It is my view that salvation and baptism normatively occur simultaneously. I believe that the Spirit is normatively received at the moment of water baptism. However, I do not believe that God is bound to damn when this rule is violated. In fact, I’m confident that all who have genuine faith in Jesus (as we’ve defined “faith” in the previous posts) will be saved. Continue reading →

Chris asked this question in the comments:

Jay, what exactly does it mean to “call upon the Lord.” What Greek word is used here to denote this action? Is it a prayer? A plea? An appeal? Is it an outward display at all?

If someone said “so and so called upon the name of the Lord.” What’s the first thing one would think of?

Rom 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Acts 2:21 “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Acts 22:16 “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.”

Chris,

Very interesting questions. Thanks for asking. Here’s a rough, preliminary sketch of an answer. Continue reading →