Differences of Honest Thought

This is the blog that may really make some folks mad and I’m sorry for it.  You can and will disagree if you like and that’s fine (and so you can create your own blogs) but I hope you will think about what I say.

Some issues are important but they don’t make a church heretical.  They aren’t essential to being the church.  They may have major consequences but they aren’t make or break issues.  So what are they?

The Beginning

How did God create the world?  Essential is that God is creator (otherwise we place God in a less than I AM view) but how God created the world is up for debate.  Christians debate how to relate faith and science and it gets hot when this issue comes up but there are many views on creation and not all agree.  Some Christians believe the world is thousands of years old and others have no problem with the earth being millions of years old.  In the as long as we know God is creator it is not essential that we agree on how God did it.

The End

There are many debates on how the world will end.  You can search archieves on this blog site and read what I think and articles about this issue.  Yet if my view and yours differ that is not a make or break issue.  We may agree that the Second Coming is a Christian doctrine but we should realize that there are many views on what this means and how it will happen.  I’m not saying this isn’t important but there is much diverse thought on this issue.

Charismatic Gifts

I believe the excesses of the charismatic movement can lead to some confusion and I’m concerend about it.  I am not a charismatic (I’m Baptist) and yet a church can differ on this issue.  Some churches are charismatic and others aren’t.  I’ve heard some say that if you don’t speak in tongues you aren’t a Christian (this is not a overall view) and this is very wrong.  We all have difference opinions on this issue.  But I would not label an Assembly of God or Pentecostal church as heretical.  I would say we have major/important differences but we are still brothers and sisters in faith.  There are some charismatics that have drifted into heresey but not all.  The prosperity gospel is a dangerous movement that plays with God’s purpose and teaches that God wants you to be healthy and wealthy and this has dangerous consequences in my opinion and violates what salvation is about (eternal life and not raises and good heath). 

Women in Ministry

I believe personally that women can be deacons and pastors.  I know many do not.  This is not an issue to spill blood (not that any are).  Some Christians want to say that those of us who have women deacons are not orthodox and to that I disagree. 

Church Government

Churches have deacons and pastors.  Some have elders.  Some are free churches.  Others are connectional. This is a polity issue and no one system need to tear apart the other denominations.  I prefer my own tradition but I’m not better than yours.

Baptism

Some baptize infants.  Some don’t.  We believe in Believer’s Baptism (see my blog on Baptists) and this is important to me but those who do not are not heretics.  I would argue that those who teach salvation is through baptism or that babies should be baptized to be saved are teaching dangerous doctrine and violating an essential doctrine.  Many who baptize infants do so to dedicate and pledge commitment to raise the child in faith so that the child will one day grow and make a decision for her or himself.  That is a different understanding then the Baptist (mine) but not heretical.  We baptize to show others that we have accepted Christ.  It’s a difference of opinion.  So as long as you don’t see it as salvation or part of salvation then it is not heretical.

Free Will VS Predestination

Some churches stress free will and others are more calvinist and stress predestination.  This is not the forum to debate the finer points of this debate but it has historically been a big one.  My own tribe (Baptists) have both traditions in our history.  Some denominations have stressed free will (Methodists) and others calvinism (reformed and Presbyterians).  While I have strong opinions about this issue and see it is an important issue it is not one that makes the other side a heretic.

Lord’s Supper

Who can take it?  What exactly is going on?  Some say it is a memorial and others something spiritual is happening.  Yet as long as we stress the story/truth behind communion we are on the right track.

I know in all these blogs I’ve left out some issues like prayer and perhaps other issues that are important and I’m not dismissing.  But I just wanted to lay out some food for thought.  I’m sure I forgot some key issues and if you want to mention those to me I’ll be happy to comment on them.

Next week I’m going to talk about Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses.  You may be angry but I see these two groups as heretical.  I’ll talk about each one individually but these are excellent case studies of groups that have doctrines that are clearly against historic Christianity.

Final Comments

I know some people are passionate about their view of creation, the end of the world, or some other issue. I’m not saying your views aren’t important or worth discussion.  I’m just saying that orthodox Christians have mulitiple views over some of these issues.  The previous blog lays out some key doctrines we must hold in common even if we have some issues within that we disagree.  The Christian church has many denominations to practice church the best way we can.  We come together accross denominational lines to do work together.  Some issues though are crucial and must be dealt with.  If someone claim Christ is just another man or that there is no Holy Spirit or that salvation is found in what we do we have a real problem.  As you will see with movements like the Mormon church and Jehovah’s Witnesses some major beliefs are altered, challenged, and completely changed.

One final comment I would add.  The Unitarian Universalist church is an example of historic Christian churches that over time drifted from orthodox teaching.  Some churches became unitarian (denying the Trinity) and others universal (all are saved no matter what) and in time these streams came together.  The UU church today is not a Christian movement and combines many religious traditions within it.  This is an example of what going to far on crucial doctrines can result in.  Another example on the opposite extreme are some strong Fundamentalist churches that make minor issues major all the time and divide over it.  Some fundamentalist churches become very legalistic.  Some make certain Bible translations (usually KJV) or label churches that are different over non-essentials (women in ministry, women wearing pants or make up) and call such Christians heretics!  Many of us know legalistic churches in our communities that spend time blasting everything from how women dress, to television, or that if you belong to certain political parties you can’t be Christian.  And so extremes are always dangerous.  If you ignore the majors you do so to your own danger.  If you major on the minors you can become misguided and forget what you are about.

Blessings,

Derik

What Makes a Church Authentic

What makes a church authentic/orthodox/non-heretical?  What is essential for a church to be in sync with historic Christiainity?  Let’s look at a few key doctrines.

Trinity

Historic Christian churches affirm the Trinity.  God the Father, God the Son Jesus and God the Holy Spirit make up the Tri-uine God.  They are the ‘three in one.’  We do not believe in 3 gods but 1 God shown in three ways.  The Trinity is a mystery.  Attempts to explain and understand this doctrine have been given and all fall short.  In the end we can’t really explain the Trinity but we take this on faith.  God experiences us in three ways.  God the Father created us and is the Great I AM.  Jesus came to bring our salvation as God in the flesh.  And at Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to empower, equip and enable us (the church).  Jesus said he and the Father were one.  He also said there would be another like him (the Holy Spirit) when he left.  There are some groups such as the Jesus name only Pentecostals and others who do not affirm the Trinity.  I am not saying they aren’t Christians (if they know Jesus they can be wrong on a lot of things) but I am saying they are not orthodox.  Again I use the term orthodox to mean right belief and not refering to the orthodox church.

God

See my previous blog but you have to believe in God to be a authentic church.  You can’t be an athiest and be a Christian.  A Christian church should affirm God the Father as Creator, Sustainer, and Above all else.  Within this doctrine there will be questions and issues we debate but the basic belief in God and God as our Author and above All is crucial and key.

Jesus

See my previous blog and all I said there holds here.  You can’t be a Christian church without Jesus.  Jesus is the center of what makes us a church.  We are Jesus people.  We affirm Jesus was real.  We affirm he came to us as totally man but also totally God.  We believe he is divine.  We believe he ministered.   We believe he died for us and rose again and will return.  We affirm his incarnation, death, resurrection and second coming.  We debate the details of course.

Holy Spirit

We affirm the Trinity and therefore the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit empowers the church, equips and enables us.  When we accept Christ the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and we are Spirit led people.  We have gifts and abilities that the Spirit guides and much debate exists on this but the affirmation of the Holy Spirit is key.

Eternity

We believe in eternity.  We believe that the world does not end here but there is more to life.  We talk about heaven and hell but we may debate on how we understand heaven and hell but the basic Christian teaching is that there is eternal life for those who accept Christ (heaven) and hell is defined as separation from God if we reject Christ.  The details are also debated of course.

Salvation and Sin

See my previous blog and all that fits here too.  We are lost and facing separation from God (hell) but Jesus came and died for us and if we accept Christ as our Savior we have eternal life.  We are not saved by works but by faith.  It is nothing we do but what God does.

The Church

If we are the church we believe the church is ordained by God.  People debate on denominations, house churches, etc etc but basically the church is the people.  The greek word for church is ekklesia and it means the assembly.  So we believe that once we accept Christ we belong to the people of God-the church. 

Within the church we do many things and differ on them.  Christians churches have worship and practice various acts such as Communion/Lord’s Supper and Baptism  Some do other things but the church does come together to worship, study, celebrate, and serve.  The details are way up for debate but crucial to being an authentic church is to believe that God desires for the church to function and serve him!

The Bible

We may argue about interpretation issues and how to define or read the Bible but central to Christianity is that the Bible is the book that defines us and from which we are shaped.  If we are a Christian church we don’t do away with the Bible or see it as just a book among other books but it is the Word of God and guides all of Christian faith.  The details lead to discussion, debate, and sometimes serious conflict but to be authentic we have the Bible as central to who we are (solo Bible) and no other book is its equal.  The Bible is the word of God revealed to the people to show us God’s plan for the world.

I probably have left out other issues you might like to talk about but these are some pretty basic Christian concepts.  In my next blog I’ll talkabout some non-essential beliefs (important but do not cause one to be heretical).

Blessings,

Derik

Looking at the Core

I’ve got two blog threads going so I hope I don’t confuse you.  I’m still open to comments about worship (see those blogs).  If you start a conversation on that I’ll be happy to continue talking about preaching, music, worship in the digital age.  But while we wait I’m going to explore theology with you.  So let’s do it!

 

Core Beliefs

First I believe that you can be wrong about a lot of things and be a Christian but to really be a Christian there are some things you have to have right.  We aren’t saved by knowledge and you can believe thse things and not trust them in faith but as you see these are a part of the salvation discussion.

God

You can be an atheist Buddhist but you can’t be an atheist Christian.  It simply doesn’t work.  So you have to believe God is real.  You might have some wrong ideas about God but you can’t escape the reality of God.  You might adopt Christian values and practices and go to church and not believe God but you aren’t a Christian if you do not believe in God.  That’s my humble obvious assessment.

Jesus

You have to believe Jesus exists and is real and not a myth or a fable or allegory.  Christians were called Christians as a negative.  Originally we were called “the Way” but folks started calling us “little Christs” as an insult and the name stuck and is one of pride now.  We are Christians.  We believe Jesus was real and we believe he existed literally on this earth.

Jesus is the Son of God who is the Savior

Some will disagree and say you can believe Jesus was a good man and great teacher but not the Son of God and be a Christian.  But I do not agree with that.  Please feel free to comment and some will not like this idea but I believe that for 2000 years orthodox Christianity (not the Orthodox Church–don’t be confused, but the non-heretical church-there were groups that are deemed heretical- have always declared Jesus to be the Son of God).  It is more than having factual knowledge but to make a faith decision one must understand the decision one is making and this decision is to place one’s life in the hands not of a teacher but of a divine Son of God who died for the world and rose again.  I believe one has to accept:
*Divinity of Jesus

*Death of Jesus

*Resurrection of Jesus

*Purpose of Jesus

One has to accept that Jesus is the Son of God, who came, lived, died for us, and rose again.  That the purpose of Jesus is to save us.

Having said that I know there are many atonement theories that describe how this happened.  There are many details that people argue about.  And I believe you can have many understandings of how this worked and be a Christian.  So however we understand or don’t understand it happened this is essential.

We are Sinners needing Saving

Once we believe in God and believe in Jesus we need to understand we are lost and need salvation.  A drowning man will drown if he doesn’t know he is drowning.  We have to understand this and admit we are lost.  Admit we are sinners.  I once read it like this…

Admit you are lost.

Believe in Christ.

Confess your faith.

There are those who want to add works to the mix but I believe we are saved by faith in Christ alone (a cry of the Reformation…although I’m not saying only Protestants are saved).  Someone may be confused and think that they have to add something else and I’m not going to debate that such a confused person is really lost.  Again they may be confused but if they have trusted in Christ as their savior that is what saved them.  Even if they think that baptism was also necessary they would NOT be correct on that point but the main thing is that they have trust in Christ for their salvation and found eternal life through Christ.  But if the person is depending on works to get them to heaven I would have concerns about the validity of their decision.  Saving faith is placing one’s trust in Christ and not one’s self.   Part of finding salvation is letting Christ save us and not thinking we can do it.  Still a person might be saved by doing this and be confused about some things.  This is splitting hairs and confusing so please don’t misread me.   I would counsel a person to make sure they are trusting in Christ and not themselves and that they need to make sure they’ve done that. 

This is a basic outline of salvation.  The book of Romans is a great book to study as you seek this as are many other writings of Paul.  Studying the Gospels will show you more about Jesus and his plan and purpose. But in a nutshell I would say that for us to be saved it is essential that we believe in God, believe in Jesus, admit we are lost and sinners, and trust in Christ to save us because we know he is the Son of God who is able to save us and give us eternal life.

I think that is the core of a saving knowledge.  We can’t do it by ourselves and being a member of a church, being baptized, and coming from a Christian family doesn’t do it.

Now once we’ve trusted in Christ and know Christ what type of church or faith would be ‘orthodox’ and necessary to be a part of classic Christian believe?  And what are issues we might debate and not be as crucial.  That is what we’ll discuss next!

Blessings,

Derik

So What is Central to Our Faith and What Isn’t?

The word “orthodoxy” means “right belief.”  The word “orthopraxy” means “right behavior.”  So much time is spent talking about behaviors and practices that might violate the Christian faith, but what about our beliefs?  In the early days the church had groups that pushed issues (such as the divinity of Jesus) and councils hammered out what was orthodox and what wasn’t.  These days folks don’t really talk as much about belief and heresey.  Heresey is a believe that violates basic Christian belief.  So what is heretical?  What is orthodox?  What is essential?

Has we discuss this topic we have to determine what is essential for orthodox Christian belief.  We know there are many denominations who differ on various issues such as infant baptism, Free will vs Predestination, church polity/government, and so on.  We don’t label those denominations heretical (nor should we) but sometimes there are groups that orthodox Christians might label as heretical.  In a future blog I’ll talk about some of those.  But generally Baptists and Methodists don’t call each other heretical. 

For purpose of understanding heresey vs orthodoxy I think we have to look at this as core beliefs that are essential and beliefs that are debatable where agreement may not be possible.

So what are the ‘core beliefs’ and what are the ‘debatable issues’?

Also one has to determine what is essential to being a Christian and what may not be essential for salvation but is crucial to being orthodox.  For example, does a person have to have a correct view of the Trinity to be saved?  Or can a person trust in Christ and accept Christ and be saved but still be incorrect about major doctrines as well as minor ones?

So you can see this discussion is going to be interesting.

So let’s take a deep breath and jump into the theological waters.

Blessings,

Derik

Worship in the Digitial Age

What will worship look like in the 21st century? In previous years we’ve debated ‘contemporary’ worship vs ‘traditional’ worship. Of course traditional depends upon your tradition. To some traditional means hymns and choirs and to another it is robes, candles, and more liturgy. Contemporary tends to be praise songs to soft rock sounds. Willow Creek and other mega churches paved the way for contemporary worship discussions today. Much of the worship in ‘contemporary’ worship is designed for the ‘broadcast age’ (see my previous blog). Now that we are in the digital age how will this shape itself? I’m not sure. Only time will tell. I just know that worship has become an interesting and conflicted part of the church. When I first went into ministry (1990) really all I knew was singing hymns and preaching (typical small town Baptist church). My entire ministry has been done while going to worship conferences and trying to learn what ‘new’ worship is like and watching it constantly change.

I’d love to hear from some folks who are in the ‘digital age.’ Those of you born in the last 18 years and have lived with technology what is it that helps you worship? What worship elements speak to you? What ‘style’ of music engages you? What turns you off during worship? I believe this is greater than technology. It isn’t just a discussion of whether we should use power point in worship. The way we learn and the world we are born in shapes how we perceive the world and how we think. So in a digital age what is speaking to you in worship? What about those of you over 18? I ask the same questions. If you respond to this blog (and please please do) just give me your age please. That will help us understand where you are coming from. So bloggers I need your input. Talk to me about worship!

Blessings,
Derik

Dealing with the Digital Age

The times they are changing.  Bob Dylan sang that and now that’s decades old.  Times are always changing.  For the church we are in a time of rapid change and transition.  Old loyalities and ways of doing things are changing.  The video clips I added show how fast and amazing things are moving.  I’m a generation raised on TV but watching a new generation raised on the Net.  The changes I’ve seen since I graduated high school in 1990 are so fast and mind blowing.

Still the issue is more than just technology.  It’s more than churches learning to use computers or having power point.  That is a part of it but it is far more than that.  The age we live in shapes how we learn, experience, and do things.  During the broadcast age we learned by observing and watching things happen before us.  Our attention spans shortened and we needed instant this or that.  We were shaped by the way TV shaped us through our entertainment, news, etc.  This digital age is very different.  It is very interactive and the world is flat (see the book “The World is Flat”).  You can get on line and have a best friend around the globe who you can talk to every day.  Kids play video games each day with scores of others from around the world like “World of Warcraft” (and they pay to do it).  They design web sites and make money in creative ways.  They create global communities on Facebook or Myspace.  They are creating and learning at rapid paces.  The amount of information now available at the finger tips is far beyond anything we’ve ever seen.  They are exposed to other ideas and worldviews daily. 

Just think about Wikipedia.  Wikipedia is a site that the users create.  Users write and edit and police the entries.  And studies show that it stays really accurate.  They filter who gets on but people can be allowed on to shape the site.  This shows that our kids are used to a participatory way of doing things.  They are not content with sitting back and watching people do it for them.  They are used to doing it!  A word I heard recently is called “prosumer.”  It means producer consumer.  They produce their own stuff.  You can go on line and create your own movies (you tube) or write a book and be self published and sell it on Amazon (lulu). 

How will this shape the church?  Digital age folks who come to church will want to be in a church that allows them to have hands on participation and to be involved and not just sit back.  Worship in a church that is shaped by the digital age will have to look for ways to involve the people who don’t want to be an audience.  They are used to creating movies, etc and so they will want to be a part of shaping what happens in the church.

I think this is exciting!  We have an opportunitiy to become churches that are creative, unique, and relevant.  I’ve read studies that say 50-70 percent of current churches will die in the next few decades and this is a reality.  Many churches simply are not reaching younger folks and when the point of no return passes (the leaders pass away with no one to lead or pay the bills) they will die.  But God is not going to die.  Some churches who deal with the challenges rather than run will not only survive but thrive.  New churches will also be born and they too will be a part of the changing times.

I’m excited still because I believe God will use churches that want to be alive to do great ministry.  There are many who need the gospel and we have a story that the nations still need.  Yet we have to be ready to adjust and face the future/present.

How might such a church look?  Imagine a church that—

*Writes and creates (produces) it’s own music rather than buying all music from places that do not know the people who sing them.  The styles will be diverse and contextual to the community that writes them.

*Produces Bible studies, VBS, and programs that fit who they are and were they are.

*Has a thriving media ministry- web, blogs, interactive learning on line, etc.  Many schools have online academies/studies why not churches?  Imagine an on-line Sunday School!  This isn’t to replace SS.  People today want community (Visit a coffee shop sometime) and a church will have Bible studies, worship, and so on but this can be intergrated with the blogs, on line programs, etc.  A Sunday School class might have an interactive web site that after the lesson the people can continue the conversation, share prayer concerns, and develop a community.  Then when they gather weekly they will already be in the process of growing and developing a stronger community.

This media church will develop videos for teaching and worship and interact with media resources in the world. 

*Be glocal (global and local).  Mission wise it will do hands on missions and not just send money to mission agencies but do both.  With the ‘flat world’ we live in a local church can have friendships and partnerships with a church across the globe.  Music and other worship elements will be diverse and represent other cultures as we learn from one another.

The old battles of a tradtional worship service vs a contemporary one may be a thing of the past.  The churches of the future will probably be very diverse and not a ‘one size fits all.’  I envision a church that uses hymns, praise songs, bluegrass, contemporary, etc as it fits the context of the people.  I see creativity in preaching, drama, Bible studies, etc.  I see folks gathering to sit around and share their concerns and study God’s word but who don’t just want to do it for forty minutes and then wait seven days to start a new conversation but who want to carry the lesson on daily.

So churches do not have to fear.  There is work to do but there has always been work to do.

Missionaries who go overseas learn the language of the new people, the culture, and prepare themselves to adapt to the new age.  Kids born in the digital age are saavy.  We are the ‘digital immigrants’ and the ‘digital missionaries’ and so like missionaries we have much to learn but with God’s grace the journey can be thrilling.

While doing this we can’t leave behind those of different times.  We will have to continue offering ministries and using methods that speak to others but we can also help introduce and excite others to this new phase in the journey of life.  Many of us ‘immigrants’ are already learning and experiencing the digital age.  We just need patient teachers.

Blessings,

Derik

Another Video RE: Digital Age

Here is another video regarding the digital age (This one is longer but very interesting):

The Challenge of the Digital Age

The world went through the oral age (where we mainly were a spoken society- many folks couldn’t even read).  We then shifted to a print age (thanks to the printing press).  And then we entered the broadcast age (thanks to TV).  Now we are in the digital age (computers/net/texting/tect).  The world is changing and changing fast.  It is more than just more and different technology.  It is changing how people think, act, etc.  Check out this video and see what you think.

I Wanna Be a Clone??

The scientific community has been buzzing for years regarding cloning. Sci fi movies show people being cloned all the time. I saw this one movie where if your pet died you could take DNA to the mall and have it cloned and back home before the kids got home from school! Clones in the movies look and act just like the original. In the movies they even think alike (although since we’ve only cloned animals like sheep we really don’t think that real clones would think alike). When it comes to faith I don’t want to be a clone! Years ago a Christian artist wrote a song called “I Want to be a Clone” where he poked fun at those who mimic and act the same. Being a clone doesn’t work. For Baptists it goes against our very fiber.

The truth is that as Baptists we are anti-clone folks. We don’t want the church to be a place that forces everyone to think and act alike. We really do want people to come together and be a church and bring our diverse abilities and ideas with us. We do have standards and we do teach the Bible. We keep the major stuff the major stuff. Yet we know there are places where we are simply going to differ. Over the past run of blogs I hope you see just that. There are Baptist traits and then there are things that are simply not make or break issues.

Baptists have taught the “Priesthood of the Believer” doctrine from the beginning. In the OT the high priest went into the Holy of Holies for the people to take an offering for their sins. Jesus died and rose for our sins. The veil on the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom. Through Christ we can have access to God. While we may have ministers we do not have access to God that you can’t have. Baptists also believe this means each member has a right and responsibility to go to Scripture to study and learn and ‘make up our own mind.” The fact that we believe in Believer’s Baptism shows this. Individuals are accountable to God! This means Baptists split, fuss, and have lively debates. Sadly most of our debates these days involve personality and carpet color and not theology.

Awhile back I argued about whether denominations matter. Maybe the official structure of a particular denomination is not crucial to God’s work or maybe it is. But what I think is important more than whether we have an office in a city that we send money too (while organization makes effectiveness possible) I’m more concerned that the tradition that gave birth to the denomination continues. I believe Anglican, Wesylan, Baptist, and other traditions bring so much to the kingdom of God and even if every Baptist denomination folded tomorrow and sold their properties I do hope the tradition that gave birth to them will continue. I am a Christian first and then a Baptist. I know folks who belong to other denominations but who came up in a different one and they will tell me they carry that tradition with them in their new home.

I love being Baptist. I like how we do church. I find it to be a way to stress freedom, do mission work, and serve God. It isn’t the only way. It isn’t perfect. Other traditions offer so much. But for me this works. I hope we can better understand who we are so we can be as effective as we can. I do think we all need to learn to work together better. We need to reach out and hold hands with brothers and sisters in other Christian traditions to help our communities.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the Baptist blogs. I hope they have challenged you or given you food for thought. I hope that you will ponder them a bit. Perhaps the background will send you out to do some research of your own. I’ll probably return to this theme but this series should stand as a way to provide conversation.

If you want to know more email me. I’m posting some teaching podcasts on our sermon player on our church web site (you can link through that or through the sermon link on this page) and have some classes on being Baptist added. A few more classes will be added as we continue this series for two more weeks at our church. There are some other topics you might interesting as well.

Blessings,
Derik

What’s the Big Deal with Baptism?

Baptists get our name from one thing we are big at doing– baptizing. Baptism doesn’t belong to Baptists though. The New Testament shows us John the Baptist baptizing for repentance. Jesus comes along and asks to be baptized despite the fact that he never sinned. He does this to show us something important. He is kicking off his ministry and he is setting a new direction that the Christian church would follow. The early Christians would baptize others to bring them into the church and it became an important part of the church. At times in history candidates for baptism had to wait for a long time to study and prepare and then be baptized often at Easter. As the church became organized and with the high death rate for infants folks began to worry about the fate of those who died without being baptized. Baptism seemed to be tied more and more with being Christian. The reformation strengthened the belief that salvation is by faith alone. Yet the Reformers typically kept infant baptism. The Radical Reformers did away with it and stressed believer’s baptism. In the 1600s Baptists would also practice believer’s baptism. The amount of water was not the issue. In fact pouring was done before immersion but it was the fact that a person had accepted Christ and chosen to be baptized. Baptism to Baptists is a symbol of what God has done and is not necessary for salvation.

So a few points that Baptists would stress today–

*Baptism is for believers. We do not baptize infants. Some denominations baptize infants today and it is a promise to raise that child in the faith and the child has confirmation later to make his/her decision for Christ. We do not do this. Some baptists do have child dedications which have no special eternal changes but are a way for parents to promise to raise the child in faith. But we only baptize those who have chosen to accept Christ. Some have age requirements that a candidate must be a certain age but must don’t. Children are baptized but we should always strive to make sure the child has an understanding of what he/she is doing.

*Baptism is not a part of salvation. When the thief on the cross asked Jesus to remember him Jesus said that “today” he would be in paradise. He was never baptized. When we read the Scripture we believe that salvation in the NT is not of waters “lest anyone should boast.” If baptism saved then that is something we can do and that isn’t Biblical. We believe you are saved only by trusting in Christ.

So why be baptized? Why do we do it through immersion (taking someone completely underwater)? If I can go to heaven without it why do it? Baptists believe it is a visible symbol that should others what has happened internally. We have had our sins washed away by the grace of Christ. We are dead in our sins and risen in Christ. The baptism symbolizes that and is commanded by Scripture. Baptists have two ordinances (two set aside practices that are used to symbolize) and this is one (the other is the Lord’s Supper). Unlike Roman Catholics we believe the Lord’s Supper is also a memorial/symbol and represents Christ’s blood and body but is not literal (Catholics believe it is). Baptism is also a symbol.

So we do it because Jesus said so and because it is part of our Christian practice. We do it to be a testimony to others to the decision we have made. It bears witness to our decision and those who watch see the work of God in our lives and may follow suit (this is why we don’t need private services but need to keep it public). In early days it was done in creeks and lakes for practical reasons but it also served as a great testimony. Most Baptists have baptism pools to do this in side the building but it is a part of our worship service and is public.

I compare it to graduation. When you complete the 12th grade you are done and can go to college. You don’t have to attend the ceremony. They could mail you the diploma. If you lose the diploma you are still a graduate! You go to do two things. First you go to celebrate. Second you go to be a witness to your community that you graduated. Others see it and know they can too. So we are baptized to celebrate!!! Second we are baptized to bear witness!!

Baptist churches baptized through immersion and by believer’s baptism. However one controversy we’ve struggled with and still struggle. What about those who want to join from other churches and are already baptized? If they are baptized in the same way we do it most Baptist churches will accept them by statement of faith. Some will not unless it was a Baptist church (this goes back to a movement called Landmarkism) and do not accept baptism from any other church. Most are not that strict. If it is a Baptist church the other church sends a letter stating that the person is a member in good standing and the new church accepts them. If that church does not exist or something else has happened the person by his/her statement is generally accepted.

But what about those who were baptized by infants? Most Baptist churches insist that while the person may be a Christian that since we do not see infant baptism as baptism that the be baptized. Folks sometimes say we are forcing them to be ‘rebaptized’ while others say the previous baptism is not a baptism. Debate on how to discuss this continues. Some Baptist churches will go ahead and accept the person baptized as an infant by a statement of faith even though they themselves do not baptize infants. Many churches disagree with this but there are both examples in Baptist life. Many churches will be careful to not insult the person who was baptized as an infant and see that a valuable part of their journey but still insist on baptism not because it wasn’t a Baptist church but because it wasn’t believer’s baptism.

Baptism is an important part of the Christian life. I believe it is Biblical, important, and a great statement of faith to the world. I do not believe one has to be baptized to be saved. We are saved by accepting Christ. We are not saved by church membership, baptism, being good, or coming from a Christian home. It is by trusting Christ alone. Having said that I believe we should then be baptized to celebrate and to show others that they too can come follow Christ. It symbolizes that new creature we have become. Jesus washed our sins away!

Blessings,

Derik