Baptism

 Doctrinal Study

Baptism

 

 I.      Mode of Baptism

 A.    Various modes of Baptism

 1.    Immersion – In this view, a person must be completely covered by water to be baptized properly.

 2.    Sprinkling (Aspersion)

 3.    Affusion (pouring)

 4.    A few groups believe that one must be immersed three times (trine immersion), and some believe that the one baptized must face downward.

 5.    Some groups will accept any mode of baptism, for they believe that the mode is relatively unimportant.

 B.    The Biblical Mode of Baptism is Immersion

 1.    If baptism is primarily a symbol of the believer's identification with Christ in his burial and resurrection, then the mode should correspond as nearly as possible to that symbol (Romans 6:4.)

 2.    The primary meaning of the Greek verb βαπτιζω (baptizo) is “to immerse” or “to dip.” (This is evident without a knowledge of the Greek from such passages as John 3:23, Acts 8:38, and Mark 1:10.)

 II.   Why should we be baptized?

 A.    It is not necessary for salvation!

 1.    There are those who teach it is necessary.  This teaching is known as Baptismal Regeneration.  (Their proof text is Acts 2:38.)

 2.    Baptism adds nothing to our salvation.  When we trust in Christ, we cannot be any more saved or less saved than we are at the point of our conversion.

 B.    We are to be baptized as an act of obedience

 1.    Baptism is the Divinely prescribed means for our public identification with Christ.

 2.    We are identified with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.  (Immersed, you are identified with Christ in His death and burial – Raised from the water, you are identified with Christ in His resurrection.)

 3.    Baptism is also a testimony of “Positional Truth”  (Ephesians 2:6, 1:6, 4:22-24.)

 4.    Baptism is a picture of what God has provided:

 a)    salvation

 b)   power over the old sin nature

 c)    alive unto Christ

 III.            Who should be baptized?

 A.  In the book of Acts, there are eight specific cases of baptism recorded.  Let's carefully observe the candidate for baptism:

 1.    Acts 2:41

 2.    Acts 8:12

 3.    Acts 8:36-38

 4.    Acts 9:18

 5.    Acts 10:44-48

 6.    Acts 16:30-34

 7.    Acts 18:8

 8.    Acts 19:1-5

 B.   It is apparent from the study of the New Testament that “Christian Baptism” is believer's baptism.  Those who were baptized were believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 C.   Should Christian children be baptized?

 1.    Only if they understand the Biblical teachings on the subject.  Not all the theological implications, but they should realize that

 a)    Baptism is not part of salvation.

 b)    Baptism is for believers

 c)    Baptism is a way of showing that you believe Jesus died and rose again for your sins.

 2.    The decision belongs with the child, under the guidance of the parents.

 D.  Baptism of Infants

 1.    “Bodies of believers practice baptism, holding that children are in a covenant relationship to God through their believing parents.  Most of these groups do not teach that the baptized children will automatically grow up to be Christians, but that when they reach the age of accountability, they must make a profession of faith for themselves.”  Handbook of Christian Truth.

 2.    Many Baptists dedicate infants in a ceremony.  They do not, however, baptize or sprinkle them – they simply offer a prayer of dedication.

Abortion

 

Abortion
A Doctrinal Supplement

Introduction

·         THE ISSUE:

u          The issue is very simple.

u          Either an unborn child is a human being or else it is not.

u          If it is a human being it deserves protection by the law of the land and is already protected by the law of God.

When Does Life Begin?

·         Psalm 51:5 "Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful FROM THE TIME MY MOTHER CONCEIVED ME."

·         Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I FORMED YOU IN THE WOMB I knew you, before you were born I sanctified you."

·         Life begins when God creates life in the womb through the miracle of conception.

·         It is false to claim that no one knows when life begins and dishonest to argue that abortion does not kill a human being.

Are Unborn Children To Be Regarded As Human?

·         Luke 1:41-44 “And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is THE CHILD IN YOUR WOMB! But why this is granted to me, that the MOTHER OF MY LORD should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the BABY LEAPED IN MY WOMB for joy.

o   In fact, Mary was only a few days or weeks in pregnancy when she visited Elizabeth. Take note of common usage of motherhood before birth in "maternity clothes," "childbirth," "woman with child." We do not say "fetal clothes, fetalbirth, woman with fetus."

o   Both common sense and Scriptures equate the unborn as children.

·         Exodus 21:22-25 “If men fight, and hurt A WOMAN WITH CHILD, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life …”

o   This passage establishes the fact that God’s Old Testament law treated the unborn child in the same way as a born child. If this passage only dealt with an injury to the woman, that situation covering bodily injury had already been treated. What makes this case different is that it is a "woman WITH CHILD" so that two persons need protection from bodily harm.

·         The Bible speaks of the unborn as children and offers them the same protection as the born. 

Are the Unborn Truly Human Persons?

·         Luke 1:44 "The babe in my womb LEAPED FOR JOY."

·         "And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who WAS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY GHOST." -- The Apostles’ Creed, a confession of our Christian faith.

·         The Bible speaks of the unborn as having feelings of joy which implies faith and therefore a soul.

·         We confess that Jesus became a man from the moment of his conception.

 

Are Some People Better Off If They Are Not Born?

·         But what about birth defects?

u          Like many of the pro-choice arguments, this argument begs the question by assuming that the unborn is not fully human. 

u          If the unborn are fully human, then to promote the aborting of the handicapped unborn is no different morally than promoting the execution of handicapped people who are already born.

Why Not Allow Abortions For Causes Like Rape Or Incest?

·         Deuteronomy 24:16 "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin."

·         Deuteronomy 22:25 "If out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die."

·         Genesis 38:15,27,29-30 "When Judah saw Tamar, … not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, ‘Come now, let me lie with you.’...When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb...He was named Perez. Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out and he was given the name Zerah."

o   Matthew 1:1,3 "A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David...Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar.“

·         Genesis 19:36-38 "So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him BenAmmi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today."

·         Pregnancy due to rape and incest does not change the fact that another life has been conceived and therefore comes under God’s prohibition against murder. God punished the guilty and spared the victim. Abortion kills the victim and frees the guilty. 

 

Can’t We Do With Our Bodies As We Like?

·         Exodus 20:14 "You shall not commit adultery."

·         Ephesians 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."

o   What a paradox!!! In the state of Texas, a minor girl can get an abortion without parental consent, but must have permission to have her ears pierced!

·         Genesis 9:6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed…”

·         Luke 23:41 "We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this Man has done nothing wrong."

o   Much confusion has been caused by the insistence by some that to be anti-abortion or pro-life means that one must also be against capital punishment and nuclear armaments. There is a vast difference between the killing of an innocent baby through abortion and the execution of person who brought this punishment upon himself by his own choice and action.

·         We have the right and duty to control our bodies in a moral way. We do not have the right to control, harm or kill someone else’s body. An unborn child is a separate body even though it rests within another body. Boys obviously cannot be part of the female body of their mothers. 

But If It Is Legal Isn’t It Right?

·         Act 4:19 "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God."

·         Isaiah 5:20 "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil."

·         Exodus 1:15-21 "The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives... ‘if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.’ The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live...

·         Making something legal does not necessarily make it right. Laws sanctioning abortion, and other evil activity does not make those morally right. 

What Should A Christian Do About All This?

·         James 4:17 "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins."

·         Proverbs 31:8,9 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."

·         A Christian is compelled to speak up and to fight against abortion, the murder of the unborn. God’s Word demands nothing less!

How to Talk About Abortion

·         People will claim that the abortion issue is complex.  It is not.

·         There’s only one question to answer in the abortion debate: What is the unborn?

o   Imagine that your child walks up when your back is turned and asks, "Daddy, can I kill this?" What is the first thing you must find out before you can answer him?

o   You can never answer the question "Can I kill this?" unless you've answered a prior question: What is it?

·         If the unborn is not a human being, no justification for abortion is necessary. However, if the unborn is a human being, no justification for abortion is adequate.

The SLED Test

·         “What’s the difference between a human being and a human person? Abortion advocates typically cite one or more characteristics they believe make a human being a person.

u          Size, Level of development, Environment, Degree of dependency.

Size

·         A four-year old is smaller than an adult, but we can’t kill her because of that.

·         A human being’s value is not based on their size. She’s still equally a person even though she differs in that characteristic.

·         If we can’t kill the four-year old because she’s smaller, then we can’t kill the unborn because she’s smaller either.

Level of development

·         The unborn is also less developed than a born human being. 

·         A four year-old girl can’t bear children because her reproductive system is less developed than an adult woman.

·         We can’t disqualify an unborn child from personhood for the same reason we can’t disqualify the four year-old.

Environment

·         The unborn is located in a different environment than a born human.

·         How does your location, though, affect your value? 

·         An astronaut who spacewalks in orbit is in a radically different environment than a person on the planet, but that does not affect his personhood.

·         A one foot journey through the birth canal doesn’t magically change a person’s value.

Degree of dependency

·         The unborn is dependent upon the mother’s body for nutrition and a proper environment.

·         But, newborns and toddlers still depend upon their parents to provide nutrition and a safe environment.

·         No human being – regardless of size, skin color, level of development, race, gender, or place of residence – should be excluded from the community of human persons.

·         This view of humanity is inclusive and wide open to all, especially to those who are small, vulnerable, and defenseless.

 

Acknowledgements:  This study based on materials from:  Dr. Richard Keltner, Mesa Hills Bible Church; Christian Life Resources; Summit Ministries; and Greg Koukl, Stand to Reason