Theology That Bites Back
Both sacraments that God gave us were given to point us to Christ. They are not intended to make a statement about the condition of the person receiving the sacrament. Rather, they create a covenantal obligation for the recipient of the sacrament to live a life that points—by faith—to the same thing that the sacrament …
As we come to baptize this child, we are called to remember that baptism is primarily God’s testimony, not our own testimony. In the waters of baptism, God is declaring that Jesus is the Christ, that He is the way of true salvation, and that those who bear the mark of His testimony are obligated …
We live in an individualistic age, and because of this we have come to believe that it is not possible to have any of our loyalties assigned to us. We believe (somehow) that in order to obligated to anything, we need to have chosen it ourselves. This is true on some occasions, as when a …
We are accustomed to think that baptism is a statement that we make. And while there is a sense in which this is true, the foundational reality is that it is a statement that God makes. It is a statement of ownership, of possession. It should be obvious that in the case of infants, we …
In order to baptize anyone, we must have warrant from the Word of God to do so. We are not to do anything on the basis of what any mortal says—whether it is the person being baptized, or the parents of the child being baptized. No mortal can give us a warrant for baptizing anyone. …
Regardless of when the sacrament of baptism is performed, the only effective catalyst that can make it efficacious for blessing is faith—living, breathing, active, evangelical faith. Otherwise we are just applying a dead sign to dead sinners. Otherwise we are just sprinkling water on the headstones in a cemetery. Otherwise we are just engaging in …
Sermon Video Introduction: This is a remarkable period in the history of our congregation. We have never seen growth like this before, and all of us are getting used to the new situation. Of course, ...
At the very beginning of the creation, the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the deep, over the face of the waters. Here, in the new day of the new creation, He is doing the same thing, yet again, hovering over the water. We are not superstitious and we do not trust in …
In the New Testament we are taught that baptism is a sacrament of death and resurrection. All who are baptized are baptized into the Lord’s death (Rom. 6:3), and all who die with Him are also raised with Him. We are raised to life for our justification (Rom. 4:25). Thus coming to the waters of …
Today we are conducting baptisms in two forms, both credo and paedo. The fact that we do this might lead some to think that we have baptism in two kinds—but this is not the case at all. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph. 4:5). Many believe that baptism is a signpost or …
