I suppose I don't know that it is specifically prohibited. However, in all the examples in the Bible of someone getting baptized, were they not all passed the age of reason, and believers? I just look to the examples that are given.
By denying the literal, intended sense of Jesus' Words, you do injustice to the passage.
HA! Listen to the pot ... :)
My point is that an extreme experience CAN lead to a person falling away from the faith - even a missionary who believes they are strong in the faith. That is why we shouldn't take our faith for granted (or our salvation - which we HOPE for).
I don't think anyone here thinks it is OK to take faith for granted. It is a loving gift that should be appreciated over and over again. That is one of the reasons sanctification is so valuable to us. It helps us to continually be appreciative. In the case above, where someone suffers an extreme experience, who would you say is responsible for the falling away? Is it the free will decision of the individual?
If God came down in glorious form right now, who would disbelieve?
I would assume plenty of people! :) I know I have asked myself a hundred times how people could have witnessed things like the parting of the red sea, and then a short time later organized a full blown orgy! Aren't there plenty of examples like this in the OT? And then, every time I think of myself as being so high and mighty I remember something I have done as a Christian and been put right back in my place. :)
Did you force your wife to love you, or did you prove your love to her and allow her the opportunity to turn to you? Even though you "knew" it was in her best interest to marry you?!
I simply did what God does. I gave her an offer she couldn't refuse. :)
We don't KNOW that, because the Scriptures refer to whole families being baptised. Who knows if that includes an infant or not. I would say that it would be perfectly natural to baptise a baby for a Jewish Christian because of its parellelism to circumcision, as Paul mentions in Col 2.
HA! Listen to the pot ... :)
What's he saying?
In the case above, where someone suffers an extreme experience, who would you say is responsible for the falling away? Is it the free will decision of the individual?
Men and women always have a choice on such matters. They can continue to trust in God, like Job did, or they can fall away like Saul did.
I would assume plenty of people! :) I know I have asked myself a hundred times how people could have witnessed things like the parting of the red sea, and then a short time later organized a full blown orgy!
Well, that's my point when I say that faith can ebb and flow depending on the day of the week or the mood of society. Things today are not guaranteed tommorrow. Who knows what might happen. The Israelites are a good example of this.
I gave her an offer she couldn't refuse. :)
LOL! Sure she could have refused you! But she trusted your word that you would care for her and love her. If she didn't trust in you when you said you loved her, she would have refused. Thus, she DID have free will - by analyzing you and your actions, she determined that you were worth the time. In the same way, we are given a choice with God. We must trust in His promises - promises that are in the future - and sometimes, promises that seem pretty far-fetched in the face of what people experience in the world today (for example, if God is so powerful, why do people suffer - this adds a dimension of doubt to the promise...) Thus, even regarding our relationship with God, WE must make a choice, and believe me, it is not automatic for us!
Regards