Justin Taylor over at Between Two Worlds recently inteviewed Tom Schreiner regarding baptism and a new book he has edited entitled, ” Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ.”  The interview contains a mixture of theological and practical (as is ussually the case these two are inseperable) questions and answers regarding baptism.  What struck me as I read it was that we normally do not see baptism as important as we should in light of the New Testament.  Here are a couple of quotes from the interview.

How would you define “baptism” biblically? 

I think the New Hampshire Confession of 1833 defines baptism beautifully. “We believe that Christian Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, into the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost; to show forth, in a solemn and beautiful emblem, our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life.”

If you don’t need to be baptized as a believer in order to be saved, why is it so important? If this is a non-essential doctrine, is it really worth debating and dividing over?

I would refer readers here to my answer above. Baptism is important because it is associated in the NT with the saving events of Christ’s death and resurrection. It is “the” initiation rite into the Christian church, and hence it is not “optional” or “insignificant.” I don’t believe that baptism in and of itself saves, and someone may be a Christian and not undergo baptism because he or she misunderstands what Christ requires. In any case, believer’s baptism is important because it relates to our understanding of the nature of the church. The church is composed of regenerate church members (or at least it should be). Those who baptize infants compromise the purity of the church because they allow into the church those who are unregenerate, for baptism in the NT always follows faith.

It seems to me that in the NT, baptism followed almost immediately after a profession of faith–with little time for instruction, confirmation that their faith was genuine, etc. Yet it also seems to me that those churches that practice instant baptisms upon initial professions of faith also seem to produce a lot of nominal Christians. What are you thoughts?

That’s a great question and it doesn’t have an easy answer. I think we have to consider the difference between the NT era and our culture in the United States. In the NT the Christian faith was clearly distinct from the culture, and hence baptism was a dramatic indication that one had given his life to the one true God and to Jesus Christ. Baptism was not culturally acceptable but distinguished someone remarkably from their culture. When we think of our culture today, we know that it is more and more post-Christian. Still, baptism is part of the cultural landscape. Many people in our culture mistakenly identify being an American with being a Christian. Therefore, I think it is wise to instruct converts in our context before immediately baptizing them. In that way we can discern better whether someone’s profession of faith is genuine. I would advise, therefore, that a new convert be introduced in new member’s classes (our church has five) to the essential doctrines of the church and the Christian faith. In addition, we have two elders interview each candidate for membership to ensure they understand the gospel before they are baptized and join the church.

Josh recently pointed out this quote by David Powlison that was posted on a blog by the name of Vitamin Z.  It comes from a chapter in Sex and the Supremacy of Christ entitled, Making All Things New: Restoring Joy to the Sexually Broken.  I know it was helpful for me to remember my need for patience with others in light of God’s great patience with me.

Too often our practical view of sanctification, discipleship, and counseling is shortsighted. If you memorize and call to mind one special Bible verse, will it clean up all the mess? Will prayer drive all the darkness away? Will remembering that you are a child of God, justified by faith, shield your heart against every evil? Will careful self-discipline and a plan to live constructively eliminate all failure? Is it enough to sit under good preaching and have daily devotions? Is honest accountability to others the decisive key to walking in purity? These are all very good things. But none of them guarantees that three weeks from now, or three years, or thirty years, you will not struggle to learn how to love rather than lust. We must have a vision for a long process (lifelong), with a glorious end (“the day of Jesus Christ”), that is actually going somewhere (today). Put those three together in the right way,and you have a practical theology that’s good to go and good for the going.

Look at church history. Look at denominations. Look at local churches. Look at people groups. Look at families. Look at individuals. Look at all the people in the Bible. They all have a history and keep making history. Things are never finished. No one ever says, “I’ve made it. No more forks in the road. No more places I might stumble and fall flat. No more hard, daily choices to make.” Look at yourself. Life never operates on cruise control. The living God seems content to work in his church and in people groups on a scale of generations and centuries. The living God seems content to work in individuals (you, me, the person you are trying to help) on a scale of decades, throughout a whole lifetime. At every step, there’s some crucial watershed issue. What will you choose? Whom will you love and serve? There’s always something that the Vinedresser is pruning, some difficult lesson that the Father is teaching the children he loves (John 15; Hebrews 12). It’s no accident that “God is love” and “love is patient” fit together seamlessly. God takes his time with us.

The book book with this chapter in it can be accessed at the link above or theoriginal audio message can be accessed here. 

9Marks Ministries is a helpful and biblical ministry lead Mark Dever and focused on Church reform.  They put out a monthly newsletter online and it is ussually packed full of good articles on theology, church life, and leadership.  Their most recent issue contains a collection of articles on friendship, hospitality and small groups. Below I have listed the title of several of the articles with a quote from each one. 

Befriending Timothy

The universe operates according to a cause-and-effect framework. When matter is acted upon, change happens. When a match is struck, fire flares. When food cooks, hungry stomachs grumble. And when a pastor befriends a young man, the kingdom advances.

This last equation might seem simplistic. But God doesn’t need us to conduct mass evangelistic rallies or dream up growth plans with S-curves. He simply calls wise men of God to befriend young men and disciple them for ministry. When God’s shepherds invest in young Christian men by befriending them, the young men will be transformed. When they are transformed, they are hungry to minister to others.

Using Small Groups to Cultivate Fellowship

We view small groups as a means of allowing the congregation to shepherd and disciple each other, within the bounds of pastoral oversight (Eph. 4:f11-13). They facilitate relationships for mutual edification.

They are not support or counseling groups, and they are not pure study groups. Rather, they are used to cultivate spiritual fellowship together, a fellowship informed by Scripture and pursued through prayer, study, and interpersonal reflection.

We take care to ensure that small groups are neither a substitute nor a competitor with the church as a whole. Rather, they are an extension of it, a particularization of the whole community. This is particularly important in today’s church culture, where many Christians are accustomed to thinking of the small group, rather than the church, as their primary spiritual community. It’s possible to be a biblical Christian without

A Meal Says More Than You Think

So here I was, tasked with giving a three minute devotion on hospitality, but finding myself overwhelmed not by the number of times the word is used, but by the contexts in which it is located: Romans 12 and the basics of the Christian life; 1 Timothy and a necessary attribute of church leaders, male and female; 1 Peter 4 and how to prepare for the end times. Amazing.  

By practicing hospitality, especially among non-Christians, we demonstrate the very character of the God who has invited deeply-indebted sinners to the eternal feast of salvation. In that sense, we provide a living picture of the gospel. No, it is not the gospel. It is a small picture that both points toward, and draws the heart of the recipient toward, the gospel of God’s un-repayable work of salvation for us in Christ. Hospitality communicates, and entices non-Christians and weaker Christians toward the gospel! And doing this should be understood as a basic of the Christian life.

 It might be beneificial to pick just one of the articles to read and in that case I would recommend “A Meal Says More than You Think.”  The area of hospitality is one we can certainly grow in both as a church and as individuals.  Enjoy.

Yesterday I listened to this sermon by John Piper on the gospel and the glory of God (click on “listen” and you can either listen to it online or download it).  His revised title was “God is the Gospel,” and I beleive this message was the foundation for his book by that title. 

The essence of the message is this- the gospel is about God being glorified and us gaining God (the best and most glorious treasure to gain).  All the things that we think of as good in Christianity and theology- propitiation, sanctification, heaven, etc.- have value because they give us and are about God.

As a church we talk alot about the gospel- and well we should- and yet in this Piper gives us helpful encouragement to remember that the goal and beauty of the gospel is God Himself. 

One last New Years post.  Justin Taylor posted this Puritan prayer a couple of days ago that is found in the collection of Puritan prayers entitled, “The Valley of Vision.”  May our hearts express this same dependence in the coming year.

Length of days does not profit me
except the days are passed in thy presence, in thy service to thy glory.

Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains,
sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from thee,
but may rely on thy Spirit
to supply every thought,
speak every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire
to show forth thy praise,
testify thy love,
advance thy kingdom.

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my harbor,
(with) thee, O Son, at my helm,
(with) thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.

Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to thy calls,
my heart full of love, my soul free.

Give me thy grace to sanctify me,
they comforts to cheer me,
thy wisdom to teach,
they right hand to guide,
thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge,
thy presence to stabilize.

May thy fear by my awe,
thy triumphs my joy.

Tim Pickard preaches on 2 Timothy 2:2.

The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

 

 2 Timothy 2:2 [41:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Brad pointed out to me the following quote from a blog he reads and it is a perfect summary of one of my resolutions for the new year.  The quote comes from the puritan pastor Thomas Brooks in his book, “The Unsearchable Riches of Christ.”

You must meditate and dwell upon what you read; otherwise your pains and mine will be lost. The more any man is in the contemplation of truth, the more deep and firm impression is made upon his heart by truth. Heavenly meditation brings out the sweetness that is in divine truths. Not those who get most–but those who keep most, are richest. So not those who hear most, or read most–but those who meditate most, are most edified and enriched.

You must also practice and live out what you read. To read much and practice nothing–is to hunt much and catch nothing. Ah! what cause have most to sigh, that they have heard so much, and read so much–and yet done so little!

You must also pray over what you read. Many read much, and pray little, and therefore get little by all they read. Galen writes of a fish called Uranoscopos, that has but one eye, which looks continually up to heaven. When a Christian has one eye upon his book–the other should be looking up to heaven for a blessing upon what he reads!

While I enjoy reading, I find it far too easy to think little and to think lightly about what I read.  Worst of all, I can tend to do this with Scripture.  In light of this sin I trust in God’s forgiving and transforming grace for the coming year.

While New Years resolutions can be rather trivial and meaningless the coming of a new year can be a helpful opportunity to thoroughly examine one’s life and reevaluate one’s direction. While I can’t say that I have kept all of the goals I set for 2006, I am thankful for the process of evaluation and the change that was wrought in my life by God’s grace. Carving out an hour or two to do this can help us see sin in our lives and areas where we need to grow in the coming year. 

 Here are a couple of resources that might be helpful if you decide to do this.

      Donald Whitney- “Ten Questions to Ask on the Start of a New Year or on Your Birthday“- Whitney gives the ten questions below and then adds 21 others you can view within the article.

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

A friend of mine, Sean Higgins, has entered a post entitled, “Four Identifiers of Christ-like Resolutions“, which also is quite helpful even in bullet form. 

1. They Deal with Sin

2. They Depend on the Cross

3. They Demand Living by Faith

4. They are Directed by the Book

One other thought in light of Sean’s comments: In doing this we must guard against this  congratulating ourselves in self-righteousness or seeking to be perfected by the flesh. This is an opportunity to work out our salvation in light of the fact that Christ has saved us and God is working in us.