“The debate in the early church was not whether the Jews should stop circumcising their sons; it was whether the Gentiles had to start. The decision of the Jerusalem council was not that individual Gentiles did not have to be circumcised. If circumcision had been required of them, it would have obligated them to live …
Not Credo Circumcision
“The advent of Christ did not result in Jewish parents starting to wait until their children made a profession of faith before they were circumcised. The Jewish Christians did not suddenly switch to ‘believer’s circumcision'” (To a Thousand Generations, p 65).
Jewish Boys Still Included
[Concerning Acts 21:18-25] “A false report concerning Paul and his teaching had in the Jerusalem church before Paul had. This report was that he taught Jewish Christians to cease circumcising their infant sons” (To a Thousand Generations, p. 62).
The Evangelical Center
“Consequently, we are never to look for salvation in mere externals like physical circumcision or water baptism. We cannot manipulate Him through the things that we can do on the outside. The Lord is sovereign in salvation. From the time of Abraham until now, it has been clear that only He changes the one thing …
Water Does Not Replace the Word
“In 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul makes a special effort to show that water baptism is not to be included as a part of the gospel. ‘For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lesty the cross of Christ should be made of no effect” (1 …
Taking Their Controversy Into Account
“This objection misses the point that Peter is making. The issue with Cornelius and his household was not whether they were old enough to receive water baptism, but whether they were Jewish enough. If this household had contained an infant, the members of the ‘circumcision’ who were there would not have objected to baptism on …
An Objective Christ
“It is of course true that real religion is concerned with the state of the heart, and not with whether a man has jumped through all the right ceremonial hoops. When a man believes the covenant promise he points away from himself . . . To look away from the heart to an objective Christ …
Baptism Points Away
“The meaning of Abraham’s circumcision was not, ‘Abraham got saved.’ Rather, it was, ‘Salvation will come to the world!’ It is true that Abraham was personally saved, and that he was saved by faith. But he was saved because he believed in the objective promise — that is, in the coming Christ . . . …
The Impossibility of Silence
“The marriage covenant is always a picture of Christ and the church, and has been so from the beginning. It will either be a lying picture or a true one, but a man and a woman are always speaking of Christ” (To a Thousand Generations, p. 39).
Parallels and Contrasts
“Confronted with the gross and unbelieving history of the Jews, the baptist must say the Old Testament record of the disobedience of the Jews does not apply to our situation, and that to compare them is to compare apples and oranges. But this means he must therefore explain why the New Testament draws parallels where …