- Faith is essential. Just for the record virtually every major branch of Christianity believes that faith is essential for salvation (and grace too, of course). Baptism does not stand alone. Faith is required for salvation for most all Christians.
- One verse does not cancel out another verse. This may seem self-explanatory, but you’d be surprised how easy this is to forget. Again, it is acknowledged by most major branches of the Church that the Scriptures do teach us that we need faith for salvation (John 3:16 comes to mind). However, what if there was a verse that said we need to be baptized for salvation (we'll just keep this hypothetical for now)? If the Scriptures are from God they cannot contradict one another (for instance, God could not say “Jesus Christ is God and Jesus Christ is not God”). All the verses of Scripture must be included into any analysis and none can be simply “ignored.” We do not choose any verses, because by choosing verses we are acting on a belief that some verses are more or less true than others and this is not possible with God.
- We need to avoid false dichotomies. A dichotomy is a division or separation of two things that are generally opposites or incompatible. Sometimes a dichotomy is true (for example Christ said, “You can’t serve both God and money”), but sometimes people make a false division; they split two (or more) things that actually compliment each other (for example, “which child do you love most?,” or “you cannot be a good citizen and a good Christian” would be examples of false dichotomies of sorts). For example, the Bible tells us we are saved by many things…
- By believing in Christ (Jn 3:16; Acts 16:31)
- By repentance (Acts 2:38; 2 Pet 3:9)
- By baptism (Jn 3:5; 1 Pet 3:21; Titus 3:5)
- By the work of the Spirit (Jn 3:5; 2 Cor 3:6)
- By declaring with our mouths (Lk 12:8; Rom 10:9)
- By coming to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4; Heb 10:26)
- By works (Rom 2:6, 7; James 2:24)
- By grace (Acts 15:11; Eph 2:8)
- By his blood (Rom 5:9; Heb 9:22)
- By his righteousness (Rom 5:17; 2 Pet 1:1)
- By his cross (Eph 2:16; Col 2:14)
None of these things can be ignored.
All of these things are essential. They are all working together, they are all part of the whole. It would be a bad idea to pit “the work of the Spirit” against “the blood of Christ.” It would be foolish to say we needed “the knowledge of the truth” but that we did not need “the grace of God.” So would it be foolish to believe that we need “faith in Christ” but not “baptism”
if indeed the Scriptures teach baptismal regeneration.
But do the Scriptures
really teach baptismal regeneration? That is what I hope to explore next…finally.
"One verse does not cancel out another verse."
ReplyDeleteThe way I think about it is that the Bible should be understood as one simultaneous whole. Like a car, all the parts work differently, but all comprise a harmonious whole. So for example, the brakes slow the car, while the motor does the opposite. Neither cancels out the other, and they are both essential.