The Church as Inn for the Weary Pilgrim
Weary travelers have, for some time, stopped at inns for rest. An inn would provide a bath, meal, and good cheer in …
The Two Marks of a Valid Christian Church from J.I. Packer (Concise Theology)
J.I. Packer offers these brief definitions of the two marks of a church: 1.The faithful preaching of the Word of God. This …
Simple Faith or Super Faith? Credible Faith or Incredible Faith? What’s Necessary for Baptism?
Baptist churches often struggle in what amount of faith is adequate before one should be baptized. Some prefer super faith, while others …
The Debate on Baptism that Wasn’t
In the preface to the volume The Glory of a True Church by Benjamin Keach, William Cathcart notes an incident that I …
Catholic Baptists, Baptist Catholics, and Immersion
The Catholic Church recognized immersion as the preferred mode of baptism throughout the majority of their history. To be fair, the church …
’Twas the commission of our Lord – A Baptism Hymn
Here is a little baptismal hymn I found in my research to compile as many hymns on baptism as possible. This is …
A Great Baptism Hymn by a Great Baptist, Adoniram Judson
There aren’t a whole lot of great baptism hymns out there. And when I saw baptism hymns, I mean hymns that are …
Baptism by Immersion and Justification by Resurrection
John Gill on “remission of sins” from Acts 2:38, for the remission of sins; not that forgiveness of sin could be procured …
Did Infants Speak in Tongues?
Joachim Jeremias (Infant Baptism in the First Four Centuries) argues that household baptisms included infants because “entire” and “all” in reference to …
Anglican Revisions on Baptism – Believer’s Baptism as the Preferred Archetype
Beasley-Murray notes in his excellent volume on baptism (cited below) how the Anglican Church revised their liturgy and tone on baptism after …
Infant Baptism Lacking “Direct Proof”
Below is an excerpt from Beasley-Murray’s excellent work (cited at bottom) on baptism, noting the shift of theologians’ apologia of infant baptism …
John Gill on Jesus’ Baptism (Luke 12:50) and the Symbolism of Baptism by Immersion
Luke 12:50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with,…. Not water baptism, for he had been baptized with that already; …
Revivalists and Sacramentalists
I appreciate sacramentalists, but agree with Wilson that they often overstate their case, often making “staggering claims”. I have asked some of …
What do Baptists Make of Deuteronomy 30:6 “…and the heart of your offspring”?
Deuteronomy 30:6 (ESV) — 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that …
Craig Blomberg on Baptism
Craig Blomberg, professor at Denver Seminary, laments the sad state of baptism in most Evangelical churches today. Here is an extended excerpt. …
Baptism and Becoming a Christian
New Testament Scholar, Dr. Robert Stein, has a wonderful journal entry titled, “Baptism and Becoming a Christian in the New Testament”. In …
John Piper on the Particular Benefits Extended to Children of Believers…My Thoughts on Baptist and Reformed Perspectives on Children and Relation to Covenant
Here is an extended quote from John Piper from the following article, “What Did Christ Purchase for Your Children with His Blood?”: …
John Calvin on Immersion Baptism
John Calvin spends Book 4, Chapter 15 of his Institutes dealing with baptism. He spends the following chapter dealing with infant baptism. …
John Calvin, the Credo-Baptist (well, sort of)
One of my contentions with paedobaptism is that a direct analogy is sought with NT baptism and OT circumcision, while generally ignoring …
Anglicans and Credobaptism as the Normative and Archetypal Rite of Initiation
George Beasley-Murray, in his volume “Baptism in the New Testament”, has a wonderful chapter on infant baptism, noting the development of the …
John Stott on Baptismal Efficacy from Romans 6
Found this brief treatment from Stott to be a wonderful explanation of how Paul views baptism: Thirdly, baptism does not by itself …
Baptism and Easter
Pictures: Picture on top left is of a Catholic Baptism (notice that he is standing in a pool of water a full …
My Paedobaptist Children…well kinda sorta
My wife and I lead our children through evening devotions. We use the catechism for theological instruction, some devotional material for “practical …
Martin Luther’s Evolving Theology of Baptism and Paedofaith
Luther’s theology of baptism evolved a bit as he contended against both Rome and the Anabaptists. In 1521 Luther produced a Defence …
John Calvin Contra Rome and the Anabaptists on Baptism
Wright does a wonderful job unpacking the evolution of Calvin’s theology of baptism. Calvin’s movement of faith is comparable to Luther’s, with …
Baptism is the Sign of Full Inclusion into the Covenant Community, and thus the Covenant Meal
As a credo-baptist, I view baptism to be the initiatory rite that brings the convert fully into the Covenant community. Such baptized …
Westminster Assembly Was One Vote Short of Adopting Immersion as Mode for Baptism
The vote was 25-24 in opposition to immersion and if one person changed their mind, things would be different to say the …
Would Westminster Divine, Jeremiah Whitaker, Subscribe to The Federal Vision?
David Wright devotes a chapter to the Westminster tradition of baptism. Interestingly, the drafting of the statement on baptism elicited some discussion …
Martin Bucer, The Federal Vision, and Baptism
I couldn’t help but notice the complexity and confliction in Bucer’s view of baptism and some similarities with the Federal Vision’s statement …
Augustine’s Reflections on His Deferred Baptism
Augustine championed infant baptism, mostly influenced by his anti-pelagian polemics in which he determined baptism as the answer to original sin. It …
4th Century Credo-baptisms
Wright notes a hall of fame lineup of churchmen who were raised in Christian homes and yet not baptized until they were of …
One Baptism (of Repentance) for the Remission of Sins?
Wright notes, Moreover, Cyril tells us that the creed of the Church of Jerusalem acknowledged ‘one baptism of repentance (μετανοίας) for the …
Credo-Baptist Witnesses from The Apostolic Fathers
Wright weighs the testimony in favor of credo-baptism: The directions for baptism in the Didache envisage responsible participants as its subjects. There …
Apostolic Fathers on Infant Baptism
There is little evidence from the Apostolic Fathers on the practice of infant baptism. If anything, the liturgies assume the baptism of …
Who Bears the Burden of Proof on Infant Baptism?
Many paedo-baptists would argue that credo-baptists bear the proof in articulating discontiuity in the Covenant administrations as it involves children and signs. …
The Augustinian Quandary for Modern Paedo-Baptists
Augustine is the one who really cemented a doctrine of paedo-baptism with it’s practice. It is really from this point on that …
What Came First, the practice of infant baptism or a robust defense of the doctrine of “Original Sin”?
Wright suggests that the practice of infant baptism actually stregthened the doctrine of original sin as the church dealt with the Pelagius …
Are We More Divided over Baptism Today than in the Past?
According to Wright, the chasm today over the waters of baptism is wider than in the past. At the same time, it …
David F. Wright on the Baptism of Young Children
Wright concludes his first chapter, “The Origins of Infant Baptism – Child Believers’ Baptism?”, by stating: In the year 381 Gregory Nazianzen …
The Evolution of Baptism in the First 4 Centuries
I have read Ferguson, who is here quoted by Wright, and concur that infant baptism was first given in emergency, and then …
Credo-Baptist Apologies: Fred Malone on Col. 2:11-12 and the Relationship of Circumcision and Baptism
You can access the full pamphlet here. You can purchase the little book here. To summarize, the Christian’s circumcision is that union …
Credo-Baptist Apologies: Paul Jewett on 1 Cor. 7:14
The very thing they most want this passage [1 Cor.7:14] to yield for the “holy” children, namely, the right to baptism, they …
Credo-Baptist Apologies: Ulrich Zwingli’s Frank Admission
Zwingli is no hero to Baptists because he supported the drowning of Felix Manz, however very few are aware of Zwingli’s candid statements …
Credo-Baptist Apologies: “Jesus Ends the Physical Abrahamic Genealogy”
How are we to assess the intertextual relationship between the covenants in relation to baptism and circumcision? One key for me is …
Baptismal Regeneration Conversation
My post on baptismal regeneration has generated some healthy dialogue. I feature it here: Joel says: January 13, 2011 at 6:54 am (Edit) …
Credo-Baptist Apologies: “Who is the ‘church’ according to Luke’s narrative?”
Credo-Baptist Apologies #1 “Who is the ‘church’ according to Luke?” Acts 2:41 (ESV) — 41 So those who received his word were …
Question and Answer: “Does the Bible teach Baptismal Regeneration?”
Does the Bible teach baptismal regeneration, that one is saved by baptism? Well, there are some groups who believe in some nuanced …
A Great Covenantal Credo-Baptist Response to Covenantal Paedo-Baptists
There is a great book that I read some time back, titled “Believer’s Baptism: The Sign of the New Covenant in Christ”. There …
Good Ancient Journal Entry on Water Baptism in the Early Church (chalk one up for the Church of Christ and believer's baptismal regeneration)
Here is the journal article and I have posted my brief thoughts at the very end. BTW, I am not for baptismal regeneration …
Romanian Baptist Pastor Panel and My shared concern over the high number of "re-baptisms" in U.S. Churches
Trevor Wax interviewed a panel of Romanian Baptist pastors, asking some probing questions about catechesis, baptism, and rebaptism. You can find the …