Therefore he passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, sanctifying infants; a child for children, sanctifying those who are of that age . 3 7. Very true. Michael Green attempts to steer a straight, biblical course through the troubled waters of baptism. . Thus Peter declared, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Should people be rebaptized if they join a church that teaches a different form of baptism? Since he was born in a Christian home in Smyrna around the year 140, this means he was probably baptized around 140. “Do you have an infant child? What is the significance of water baptism? Infant baptism of children of the covenant (Reformed) Each view is presented by its proponent, then critiqued and defended in dialogue with the book’s other contributors. Baptism is the Christian equivalent of circumcision, or “the circumcision of Christ”: “In him you were also circumcised with . The analysis endeavors to briefly summarize the main themes of the book followed by a critique measuring the strengths and weaknesses of the work's arguments. . The strengths and weaknesses of these ways of making moral decisions. The first explicit evidence of children of believing households being baptized comes from the early Church—where infant baptism was uniformly upheld and regarded as apostolic. Still others concentrate on baptism in the spirit. If you are looking for a succinct explanation of the paedobaptist position, you will need to look no further than Ferguson’s essay. Who should be baptized? The sacrament of baptism is most assuredly the sacrament of regeneration” (Forgiveness and the Just Deserts of Sin, and the Baptism of Infants 1:9:10; 1:24:34; 2:27:43 [A.D. 412]). He agreed with certain of his fellow bishops that a child is able to be duly baptized as soon as he is born” (Letters 166:8:23 [A.D. 412]). Several times, Ferguson uses the phrase “by parity of reasoning” or “through reasoning,” which helps to shine light on how he arrives at seeing baptism within his covenantal framework, one which has much merit to it, but which (on the issue of baptism) seems to me to impose a foreign paradigm on the text. For children of believers there is no explicit mention of baptism—either in infancy or later. No matter which position you hold, if you are interested in finding out something about the other views, you will find this book to be a good resource. Consider, too, that Fathers raised in Christian homes (such as Irenaeus) would hardly have upheld infant baptism as apostolic if their own baptisms had been deferred until the age of reason. for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”. Infant baptism of children of the covenant (Reformed) Each view is presented by its proponent, then critiqued and defended in dialogue with the book’s other contributors. their understanding and practice of baptism. In seeking common ground among various Christian traditions, he looks first at what Scripture has to say and then assesses the strengths and weaknesses of differing views in that light. 3:21). This poses a problem for Baptists and Bible Christians: On what basis do they require children of believers to be baptized at all? Since others respond for children, so that the celebration of the sacrament may be complete for them, it is certainly availing to them for their consecration, because they themselves are not able to respond” (On Baptism, Against the Donatists 4:24:31 [A.D. 400]). On the other hand, nowhere do we read of children raised in believing households reaching the age of reason and then being baptized. The only explicit baptism accounts in the Bible involve converts from Judaism or paganism. He is the general editor of The Gospel Project, and the author of multiple books, including Rethink Your Self, This Is Our Time, Eschatological Discipleship, and Gospel Centered Teaching. Given the silence of the New Testament, why not assume Christian baptism is only for adult converts? It endeavors to briefly summarize the main themes of the book followed by a critique measuring the strengths and weaknesses of Hall's arguments. I was glad to see the strengths and weaknesses of each view presented well. The strength of this position is that it eliminates any mechanical or magical certainty that the Lutheran or Roman Catholic view might grant baptism. Believe that a baptism is not an assurance of ultimate salvation is the proper mode... They published the Lord ’ s essay for me ( as a form of baptism and.... 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