“The modern debate over infant baptism frequently shows how far removed we are from the debates of the first century. Our debates center around a question like this: ‘Do you mean to say that you think the Gentiles in the first century baptized their infants? Where do you get that?’ In the first century the …
A Circumcised and Baptized Heart Point the Same Direction
“Do circumcision and baptism refer to the same spiritual realities? If they do, and one is required for infants, then the other cannot be excluded because of what it signifies” (To a Thousand Generations, p. 73)
At Least Some . . .
“Under the providence of God and the teaching and leadership of the apostles, circumcision was ‘fading away,’ along with the rest of the cultus of the Old Covenant . . . But while circumcision was fading away, it continued to be practiced by thousands in a way that affected the membership of the visible church …
The Point At Issue
“So if there was Christian circumcision (and there was), and if there were Christian synagogues (and there were), and if the Christians who went to these synagogues were the same believers who circumcised their sons (and they were), then the necessary conclusion is that we know with certainty that some first century churches had infant …
And the Answer is “Sure.”
“‘Myriads’ of Jews had believed. There had been three thousand on the first day alone, so obviously there had to be numerous meeting places for them. James refers to these assemblies of Christian Jews as synagogues. These same Christian Jews, we have established, continued to circumcise their sons, and were organized in a network of …
And Their Baptism Was Sufficient
“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 …