The Subject of Baptismal Regeneration

In the Old Testament, the Israelites were seen as people who failed to listen to God’s commandments. Despite knowing beforehand that they would be punished for their disobedience, they still continued to commit sin. God tried to deter their misbehavior by promising them many blessings, but it worked to no avail. Due to the insubordination of the Israelites, He made sure that the promises He made to them would be withheld and that they would face consequences.

Infant Baptism is a manmade tradition, within a misrepresentation of justification and sanctification, where water can purify one’s soul for eternity without the admission or acceptance of Christ Jesus as God. Even Spurgeon “quoted from the Catechism of the Church of England, proving that the church teaches that it is through infant baptism the infant is made a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven. He quoted from the liturgy of the ceremony itself to further prove that the church did indeed teach that children are regenerated though baptism.” “Spurgeon also pointed out that no outward ceremony can save anyone. This can be easily proven by the facts: thousands who were baptized as infants have lived wanton, godless lives, proving that they were never children of God. Nor does the Bible teach that someone else can have faith for another; parents cannot

God’s redemption plan in the Old Testament foreshadows His redemption plan in the New Testament. The physical redemption of the Hebrews is that of the spiritual redemption Christians experience through Jesus Christ. Everything in the Old Testament Tabernacle points the Israelites to Jesus Christ, which follows the Order of Melchizedek. These components of revelation inform understanding of God’s progressive revelation of redemption and have an important impact on individual faith.

Connection: The biblical story, Jonah and the Whale, is an example of Baptism. God gave Jonah a job, but he set off in another direction. Suddenly, there was a storm. The boat was tossing in the middle of the sea. No one on the boat knew what to do. Jonah knew that the storm was because of him. God was with him. Everyone prayed for forgiveness and they threw Johan into the water. The storm immediately stopped. God heard Jonah’s prayers and sent a fish to rescue him. Jonah lived in the fish’s stomach for three days. He prayed to God for help. When it was safe, the fish spit Jonah out onto the land. Jonah was cleansed when he returned back to the land. Being tossed into the water was symbolic. He was reborn after the incident.

He says of Jewish proselyte baptism, “It appears that the import of this practice was both purifactory-Gentiles were generally considered to be ritually unclean and in need of purification- and initiatory. Also, proselyte baptism conveyed the notion of a conversion to a new kind of life, which involved the proselyte’s acceptance of the ‘yoke of the Torah.’ Hence, the initiation represented a commitment, as well as bestowing certain benefits.”(12) This lines up with the thesis of the book and supports a need for the historical recovery and significance of the believer’s baptism as this serves as a foreshadow of what would be implied through baptism after confession of salvation in the believer. Chapter one also covers the gospels of the cannon and shows that the majority of the referenced materials regarding baptism were about the role and baptism of John the Baptist. It further shows how John’s baptism was a way of preparing the people to accept and receive Jesus Christ through repentance. This chapter also covered the baptism works of the disciples and the coming baptism promised by Christ regarding the baptism through fire found in the book of Acts. No evidence was provided in any of these instances that would support or validate infant baptism, which agrees with and confirms the author’s thesis. Instead, this chapter shows how baptism worked in the role of

However, Christ’s resurrection ensures our regeneration. We have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Peter explicitly connects Jesus’ resurrection with our regeneration or new birth (1 Peter 1:3-4). When Jesus rose from the dead, he had a new quality of life, a “resurrection life” in a human body and the human spirit that were perfectly suited for fellowship also obedience to God forever. In his resurrection, Jesus earned for us a new life. Notably, we do not receive all the new “resurrection life” when we become Christians, for our bodies remain as they were, still subject to weakness, aging, and death. But in our spirits, we are made alive with new resurrection power.

Often held as a rite of passage and entrance into the Christian church, baptism is much more than just symbolic ritual. Baptism was commanded by Jesus Christ in the Great Commission recounted in the book of Matthew. Even though we are simplistically called to be obedient by being baptized the Christian church has long debated the aspects of this ordinance. Denominations are divided on the basic meaning, types and modes of baptism even two thousand years after the founding of the Christian church. Just as the other ordinance, the Lord’s Supper, congregations find themselves at odd with tradition, biblical interpretation and even individual understanding. However, the simple message of this awe inspiring act can be explained out of the

Baptism serves a vital role in the development of Christianity as a living religious traditions in most denominations. It is the ritual used in the

It is to be administered in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and allows believers to participate in the death and resurrection of Christ, which is revealed in Romans 6:4: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the death through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life”. Baptism has origins with of John the Baptist as described in the Gospels, available through the recounts from Paul.

No further reports are made within the Gospel on the life of Jesus until eighteen years later, at which point, it is stated that Jesus appears before John the Baptist on the Jordan River seeking baptismal. At that time, John was calling people to the River for the purpose of repenting their sins and become sanctified and through immersion in the river they would become spiritually purified. John was reluctant to perform this ceremony on Jesus, under the premise that he (Jesus) is believed to be without sin; however, it was Jesus that insisted. One interpretation behind this, as Fisher explains, is that this was seen as Jesus’ “consecration to God as the Messiah” (Fisher pg. 290). An additional theory offered, is that he (Jesus) was undergoing this ceremony of baptismal on behalf of all mankind. Lastly, is it said that the baptism was

I disclosed to Javier and Makayla there was a youthful family who had a young child deciding whether their child should be dedicated or not. I expounded that baptism is best optically discerned when analyzed with the Old Testament ceremony of circumcision as an example. Wesley perceives through Scripture that circumcision was made as a sign of the contract God made to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 17:7-8). Baptism is the “appropriates this covenant relationship with God.” Consequently, the contract blessings relished through circumcision are kenned through immersion.

All Christians know about the Great Commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, English Standard Version). In that command, Jesus tells us to baptize in the name of the Trinity. What does the word “baptism” mean? Baptimsa and sometimes baptismos, the Greek word origin of “baptism”, can translate to “immersion” or “bathing” without any religious implications (McGowan, 2014). Nearly every Christian church practices baptism with a religious implication; however, they do not agree on God’s activity in, the qualifications for admitting a person to, and methods of administering baptism. For instance, many churches do not baptize people until they become adults and make a profession of faith, while others encourage baptizing an infant soon after they are born. The practices and philosophy for baptism changed throughout its use in the New Testament, the Early Church, and the Medieval era.

It is used only fourteen times in the entire New Testament (eg. Matt 3:1, Luke 7:20). With these terms clarified from the original Greek, it is important for us to examine the major questions and positions surrounding baptismal regeneration. We find that baptismal regeneration has a long history: one that began shortly after the Apostolic Age (circ.

Several decades after Jesus’ accession and promised return, many early Christian communities struggled to reconcile what they considered a delay in Christ's return, with the hope that he will return soon. In waiting for the elusive triumphal return, believers found themselves in a quandary. On one hand, they diligently worked to faithfully fulfill the evangelical command given by Jesus upon his departure, experiencing growth and expansion. While on the other, they longed for his return, hoping for deliverance from the ills of the world. This was a difficult and confusing time for the community of believers, having a missionary period within the evolution of Christianity, experienced the effects of an underdeveloped theological framework

The New Testament highlights resurrection and living a life of faith and purity. Those who commit themselves to God and are in union with the Lord work towards God’s grace and a divine fate. However, for those who live a life of sin and mock God, he turns his back to leave them to lead their lives in sin and ultimately