Posted on 12/07/2009 2:58:05 PM PST by NYer
Of course it's literal...But it doesn't always include water...
The Christian belief that baptism is necessary for salvation is so unshakable that even the Protestant Martin Luther affirmed the necessity of baptism. He wrote: "Baptism is no human plaything but is instituted by God himself. Moreover, it is solemnly and strictly commanded that we must be baptized or we shall not be saved. We are not to regard it as an indifferent matter, then, like putting on a new red coat. It is of the greatest importance that we regard baptism as excellent, glorious, and exalted" (Large Catechism 4:6).
And the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "The Lord himself affirms that baptism is necessary for salvation [John 3:5]. . . .
Why would someone care what your catechism states...Your catecism in a commentary by fallible men on what they perceive the scriptures to say...The question is: What does God have to say about it in His written words...And God did NOT say that water baptism is necessary for salvation...Your catechism is wrong...
Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament [Mark 16:16]" (CCC 1257).
You ought to put that catechism down and see what God says, not man...
Luke 18:15 says, "Now they were bringing even infants to him" (Greek, Prosepheron de auto kai ta brepha). The Greek word brepha means "infants"—children who are quite unable to approach Christ on their own and who could not possibly make a conscious decision to "accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior." Notice what Jesus said: "to such as these [referring to the infants and children who had been brought to him by their mothers] belongs the kingdom of heaven." The Lord did not require them to make a conscious decision. He says that they are precisely the kind of people who can come to him and receive the kingdom. So on what basis can infants and young children be excluded from the sacrament of baptism? If Jesus said "let them come unto me," who are we to say "no," and withhold baptism from them?
Lets look at that passage again...
“15 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
The parallel passage in Matthew 19 reads “13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15And he laid his hands on them and went away.”
Yes, they wanted Jesus to bless their children and infants (”that he might lay his hands on them and pray”). I want the same thing.
As John Gill puts it:
“for of such is the kingdom of heaven;
that is, as the Syriac renders it, “who are as these” or as the Persic version, rather paraphrasing than translating, renders it, “who have been humble as these little children”: and it is as if our Lord should say, do not drive away these children from my person and presence; they are lively emblems of the proper subjects of a Gospel church state, and of such that shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: by these I may instruct and point out to you, what converted persons should be, who have a place in my church below, and expect to enter into my kingdom and glory above; that they are, or ought to be, like such children, harmless and inoffensive; free from rancour and malice, meek, modest, and humble; without pride, self-conceit, and ambitious views, and desires of grandeur and superiority. Christ’s entire silence about the baptism of infants at this time, when he had such an opportunity of speaking of it to his disciples, had it been his will, has no favourable aspect on such a practice.”
There may or may not be an ‘age of accountability’...some point in each individual’s life at which they become capable of knowingly sinning, or not sinning. Then again, maybe not. Scripture is not explicit on this point, so I figure it isn’t something we have any right to be dogmatic about.
Many Baptists churches will have a dedication ceremony, where an infant is brought before the congregation and the parents commit to raising the child to know the Gospel, and the congregation commits to helping, and the pastor lays hands on the infant and prays for him or her...but that isn’t a baptism, either.
And if Jesus meant that they WERE members of the Kingdom of God, he could have baptized them. He did not. Nor did he tell anyone to do so.
If you wish a contrary view, Calvin gives it here in contrast to Anabaptists:
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom32.ii.lxix.html
I find his argument unconvincing. If we are saved by grace through faith, then someone must have the faith for justification. If my faith can save someone else, why shouldn’t I ‘save’ everyone? And if there is some power in baptism, or the faith of a parent, then why have so many who were baptized as infants lived such utterly unregenerate lives?
When Jesus said, “for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven”, did He mean to them belongs the Kingdom, or did He mean that the Kingdom belongs to those who come like a little child? In the end, there must be a way to reconcile these passages with, say, what Jesus says in John 3: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
But since the conflict only exists IF one assumes Jesus meant the infants were born of the Spirit, a new creation, and had received the Holy Spirit, and since Jesus did NOT baptize them...I’ll stick to my belief and practice. My interpretation has no conflict between the passages. Yours does.
John says that though he himself baptizes you with water “for repentance,” the Lord, “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” That did not occur until after Pentecost.
In John 3:5 Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." The early Christians uniformly identified this verse with baptism. Water baptism is the way, they said, that we are born again and receive new life—a fact that is supported elsewhere in Scripture (Rom. 6:3–4; Col. 2:12–13; Titus 3:5).
Thanks much for the ping. Those are great lists.
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