An interesting post and discussion that really highlights the differences in view whether baptism is a sacrament or an ordinance.
SACRAMENT. A sensible sign, instituted by Jesus Christ, by which invisible grace and inward sanctification are communicated to the soul.
An ordinance is a “prescribed practice.” It is something that has been prescribed and ordered by Jesus Christ and practiced by the Church. An ordinance is something that the Church practices because Jesus Christ has told her to do so.
I don’t claim any particular expertise in the type of Protestantism that believes in baptism as an ordinance, but my understanding is that those who practice that do not believe that any grace is communicated through baptism, rather that it is a public affirmation following a conversion experience. (If I’m wrong, I’m wrong out of ignorance, not out of maliciousness, so please correct me)
My question is for those Protestants who believe baptism to be a sacrament (vice an ordinance): do you accept the validity of a baptism performed by a group that believe it’s an ordinance (and not a sacrament)?
My corner of Protestantism, which sees Baptism as a sacrament, will accept any Trinitarian Baptism as valid. Catholic? Baptist? Methodist? All good. It is the efficacy of the water and the work of the Holy Spirit that is important, not the individual's understanding at the time of the actual ceremony that matters.
Oneness Pentecostal? Mormon? You get a redo.
That's close enough...
My question is for those Protestants who believe baptism to be a sacrament (vice an ordinance): do you accept the validity of a baptism performed by a group that believe it’s an ordinance (and not a sacrament)?
Water baptism is not a requirement...We (the group that I run with) do not accept nor deny any baptism...That's between the believer and God...
While some churches require baptism before becoming a member of their church, others don't...
I support the idea of baptism before church membership since that shows the rest of the church that you have chosen to trust Jesus Christ as your Savior...
If your baptism is based on that premise, a baptism from anywhere is good...Otherwise, you need to get re-dunked...
The distinction between sacrament and ordinance, it would seem to me, is the direction of the act: a sacrament is when God empowers through the action, while in an ordinance, God responds to the action.
If Baptism is an ordinance, then it would of necessity have to be a conscious choice of the baptized, since otherwise there would be nothing to which God could respond. In that case, the Baptists and their fellow travelers would be correct: baptism would have to be an act of a person who has chosen to repent and believe the Gospel.
If Baptism is a sacrament, however, then it would have to be the conscious act of the baptizer, since God would be working through the act. In other words, the baptizer would engage in an act which s/he clearly intends to be a baptism (as opposed to, say, a shower, or diving), and an infant, who is incapable of repentance, would thereby obtain God's grace and sanctification based on the faith of the parent (cf. Acts 16:33).
That would not necessarily mean, however, that the baptizer would have to grasp the totality of what God was doing in order for the sacrament to occur, since God does not need us to understand His actions in order to act.
So if baptism is a sacrament, and Rev. Baptistminister thinks it is an ordinance, God's action in the sacrament would be no less, because God is not constricted by our misunderstanding of His actions--for which we can thank Him, since all of us misunderstand His actions some of the time.
And I would take it one step further, though it is off the topic here. If the Real Presence of Christ is in the bread and wine of communion, then it is there, regardless of whether the institutor and/or the partaker believe it to be there. When I receive communion from my LCMS pastor, he and I believe that the Presence is there. That Rev. Baptistminister does not accept the Presence in communion is of no account: God is not limited by our lack of understanding, for which I thank Him, since I am sure I have a lack of understanding of most, if not all, of what He does. What "saves" Rev. Baptistminister is that he, when he institutes communion in his church's worship, does not desecrate the elements, but treats them with respect--he may not follow the divine liturgy or use a chalice pall, but his (mis?)understanding of communion as an ordinance leads him to act in ways that demonstrate his willingness to meet God there, and God shows Himself in ways that would surprise the minister, were he to truly understand them.