Is Lutheranism the only way?
No! Jesus Christ is the only way!
However, it is my belief after studying the different branches of Christianity, that Lutheranism comes the closest to following the literal interpretation of the Bible.
I hope that you have found my blog entries interesting. If you do not believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I hope that after reading my blog and reading the Bible, that you will believe in Him. He is the only hope for eternal life.
If you are a Christian of another denomination, I hope that you will study and compare Lutheranism to your current church and let God direct you to the true Gospel of Christ.
God bless!
Slideshow
Monday, October 24, 2011
Are Lutherans too Catholic?
I hear this all the time from Baptists and evangelicals: Lutherans are too Catholic!
During the Protestant Reformation, many excesses of the Roman Catholic Church were abandoned by all Protestants: indulgences, Purgatory, and praying to the saints. Protestants abandoned theses teachings because they were directly contrary to Scripture.
However, some Protestants, took this "housecleaning" too far. Luther complained that these Protestants were "throwing the baby out with the bath water".
Not all doctrines and traditions in the Catholic Church were wrong. The Virgin Birth, the Trinity, the co-equal deity of Christ; all Christians still agree on these fundamental Christian doctrines.
So what about traditions? Was it necessary to throw out all "catholic" traditions?
Some Baptists and evangelicals criticize churches who hold onto the ancient Christian worship service because they believe that all the "ritualistic nonsense" was created by the Roman Catholic Church. This is not true.
If you look at the ancient Christian worship service which is still followed in the Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran, Anglican and Roman Catholic Church you will discover that the majority of the elements of the service can be found in the early Christian churches a few centuries after Christ. This is how your early Christian ancestors worshipped! These traditions were not something cooked up by the Popes of Rome.
Baptists and evangelicals have maintained some "catholic" traditions of their own that they may not realize: pulpits, crosses (even if they don't have a figure of Jesus on them), and communion tables are all hold overs from the catholic worship service. You won't find any of these items mentioned in the Bible!
Christians need to stop criticizing each other over forms of worship. The Bible says that God cares much more about what is going on in your heart than he does the particular customs you follow to worship Him.
During the Protestant Reformation, many excesses of the Roman Catholic Church were abandoned by all Protestants: indulgences, Purgatory, and praying to the saints. Protestants abandoned theses teachings because they were directly contrary to Scripture.
However, some Protestants, took this "housecleaning" too far. Luther complained that these Protestants were "throwing the baby out with the bath water".
Not all doctrines and traditions in the Catholic Church were wrong. The Virgin Birth, the Trinity, the co-equal deity of Christ; all Christians still agree on these fundamental Christian doctrines.
So what about traditions? Was it necessary to throw out all "catholic" traditions?
Some Baptists and evangelicals criticize churches who hold onto the ancient Christian worship service because they believe that all the "ritualistic nonsense" was created by the Roman Catholic Church. This is not true.
If you look at the ancient Christian worship service which is still followed in the Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran, Anglican and Roman Catholic Church you will discover that the majority of the elements of the service can be found in the early Christian churches a few centuries after Christ. This is how your early Christian ancestors worshipped! These traditions were not something cooked up by the Popes of Rome.
Baptists and evangelicals have maintained some "catholic" traditions of their own that they may not realize: pulpits, crosses (even if they don't have a figure of Jesus on them), and communion tables are all hold overs from the catholic worship service. You won't find any of these items mentioned in the Bible!
Christians need to stop criticizing each other over forms of worship. The Bible says that God cares much more about what is going on in your heart than he does the particular customs you follow to worship Him.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Baptism: Is immersion mandatory?
If you haven't read my previous posts then you may be expecting that I will go into detail here about the Lutheran doctrine of Baptism. I won't, except to give the following brief summary:
Having grown up in the Baptist/evangelical tradition, I know that most Baptists and evangelicals think that Lutherans believe that it is the act of baptism that saves them. This is wrong. As discussed in my previous posts, Lutherans believe that it is the Word of God that saves.
The "pagan" adult, someone who has grown up in a non-Christian religion or is an atheist, is saved by hearing the Word of God and believing in Christ as Lord. The new Christian will then follow God's command and be baptized. (He was saved when he believed! He did not have to wait to be baptized to be saved!)
The children of Christian believers are saved at the time of their baptism, but not by the act of baptism itself or by anything magical in the waters of baptism, but by the power of the Word of God spoken during and acting in the baptism.
It is always the Word of God that saves, not any action of man.
That said, I want to focus in this post on the mode or manner of baptism.
Baptists and evangelicals (of Baptist origen) baptize only adults. These adults have previously made a "decison for Christ" otherwise known as being "born again" in which they make a profession of faith in Christ.
Baptism in these denominations has limited spiritual significance: it is solely to fulfill God's command to make a public declaration of their Christian faith. There is absolutely nothing "regenerational" or "covenantal" in the Baptist/evangelical baptism service.
Even though baptism has a very limited spiritual role in these denominations, the manner in which baptism is performed is extremely critical to them: you absolutely must be fully immersed to have a valid baptism. If you have been previously baptized in any other manner, these denominations will not accept your baptism. They will require you to be re-baptized by immersion.
Why are Baptists so strict about the mode of baptism if there is nothing regenerational or covenantal occurring?
Baptists believe that the Greek word for baptism literally means "immersion", so therefore if you are to truly follow God's command to be baptized you must be fully immersed.
The Lutheran Church baptizes by sprinkling, pouring (most common) and immersion. Lutherans believe it is quite probable that Christ was baptized by immersion.
If that is true then why don't Lutherans insist on immersion? Why? Because neither Christ, the Apostles, nor any of the writers of the New Testament insisted on immersion.
Finding enough water in countries along the Mediterranean to immerse people for baptism probably wasn't a big problem. But what about baptizing people in northern Russia in the dead of winter? Before the advent of heated water, were you really going to immerse your converts in freezing water?
What about new converts in the middle of the Sahara or other desert or arid locations? Would you really demand that someone find enough water to fully immerse everyone?
It wasn't always practical!
The mode of baptism in not what is important! It is God's Word acting during the "act" not the mode in which the "act" is performed!
By the way, read the account of the baptism of the Apostle Paul. He was baptized in a house. Do you really think there was a tank inside the house large enough to fully immerse a grown man?
If you believe that all Christian converts must be immersed because the Greek word for baptism only means "to immerse", I would encourage you to look at a great article by a Presbyterian (Reformed) pastor. Lutherans won't agree with everything he says on the meaning of baptism but we do agree on his discussion on the mode of baptism.
http://www.fpcjackson.org...t Theology & Justification/Ligons_covtheology/07.htm
Having grown up in the Baptist/evangelical tradition, I know that most Baptists and evangelicals think that Lutherans believe that it is the act of baptism that saves them. This is wrong. As discussed in my previous posts, Lutherans believe that it is the Word of God that saves.
The "pagan" adult, someone who has grown up in a non-Christian religion or is an atheist, is saved by hearing the Word of God and believing in Christ as Lord. The new Christian will then follow God's command and be baptized. (He was saved when he believed! He did not have to wait to be baptized to be saved!)
The children of Christian believers are saved at the time of their baptism, but not by the act of baptism itself or by anything magical in the waters of baptism, but by the power of the Word of God spoken during and acting in the baptism.
It is always the Word of God that saves, not any action of man.
That said, I want to focus in this post on the mode or manner of baptism.
Baptists and evangelicals (of Baptist origen) baptize only adults. These adults have previously made a "decison for Christ" otherwise known as being "born again" in which they make a profession of faith in Christ.
Baptism in these denominations has limited spiritual significance: it is solely to fulfill God's command to make a public declaration of their Christian faith. There is absolutely nothing "regenerational" or "covenantal" in the Baptist/evangelical baptism service.
Even though baptism has a very limited spiritual role in these denominations, the manner in which baptism is performed is extremely critical to them: you absolutely must be fully immersed to have a valid baptism. If you have been previously baptized in any other manner, these denominations will not accept your baptism. They will require you to be re-baptized by immersion.
Why are Baptists so strict about the mode of baptism if there is nothing regenerational or covenantal occurring?
Baptists believe that the Greek word for baptism literally means "immersion", so therefore if you are to truly follow God's command to be baptized you must be fully immersed.
The Lutheran Church baptizes by sprinkling, pouring (most common) and immersion. Lutherans believe it is quite probable that Christ was baptized by immersion.
If that is true then why don't Lutherans insist on immersion? Why? Because neither Christ, the Apostles, nor any of the writers of the New Testament insisted on immersion.
Finding enough water in countries along the Mediterranean to immerse people for baptism probably wasn't a big problem. But what about baptizing people in northern Russia in the dead of winter? Before the advent of heated water, were you really going to immerse your converts in freezing water?
What about new converts in the middle of the Sahara or other desert or arid locations? Would you really demand that someone find enough water to fully immerse everyone?
It wasn't always practical!
The mode of baptism in not what is important! It is God's Word acting during the "act" not the mode in which the "act" is performed!
By the way, read the account of the baptism of the Apostle Paul. He was baptized in a house. Do you really think there was a tank inside the house large enough to fully immerse a grown man?
If you believe that all Christian converts must be immersed because the Greek word for baptism only means "to immerse", I would encourage you to look at a great article by a Presbyterian (Reformed) pastor. Lutherans won't agree with everything he says on the meaning of baptism but we do agree on his discussion on the mode of baptism.
http://www.fpcjackson.org...t Theology & Justification/Ligons_covtheology/07.htm
Friday, October 21, 2011
Lutheran Churches
In the United States, Lutheran churches can be described as belonging to one of two groups: liberal or conservative.
You can find a good, Gospel-preaching church in both groups but you are more likely to hear sermons on the "social gospel" in a liberal church versus a "personal gospel", which discusses your personal faith in Christ, in a conservative Lutheran church. There are a number of other differences which I will not get into here.
The liberal Lutheran Church is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
The largest conservative Lutheran Church is the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). I and my family attend this church.
For more information about Lutherans and other Lutheran doctrines and beliefs go to the official website of the LCMS: http://www.lcms.org
You can find a good, Gospel-preaching church in both groups but you are more likely to hear sermons on the "social gospel" in a liberal church versus a "personal gospel", which discusses your personal faith in Christ, in a conservative Lutheran church. There are a number of other differences which I will not get into here.
The liberal Lutheran Church is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
The largest conservative Lutheran Church is the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). I and my family attend this church.
For more information about Lutherans and other Lutheran doctrines and beliefs go to the official website of the LCMS: http://www.lcms.org
The Lord's Supper
First off, I want to make something very, very clear: Lutheans do not believe that taking communion/the Lord's Supper in any way, shape or form helps us earn our salvation!
In the the Western Christian world there are three predominate views of the "elements" of the Lord's Supper after they are blessed/prayed over by the priest/minister:
Roman Catholic: only Christ's body and blood are present; no bread, no wine.
Lutheran: Christ's body and blood, as well as bread and wine are present.
Baptist/Reformed: no body, no blood; only bread and wine (or grape juice) are present.
Lutherans believe that when Christ said, "This is my body... This is my blood..." that we should take him literally.
Baptist, evangelicals and Reformed (Presbyterians, Dutch Reformed, and others) believe that these statements were figurative, just as when Jesus called himself "the Door", "the Vine", "the Good Shepherd".
Why do Lutherans not see that Christ was also speaking figuratively when he spoke about the bread and wine of Holy Communion?
Why? Because in plain English...he wasn't!
Read all those references and what do you see:
...the Door
...the Vine
...the Good Shepherd
What do these statements have in common: the non-specific word "the".
If Christ had said, "I am that green door over there", "I am that vine over there on the wall", or "I am this good shepherd, the one upon who's shoulder I am resting my hand", then we would have to understand those statements in a very different way than how Christ actually did say them.
He used the non-specific word "the" to speak figuratively!
"This (bread) is my body....This (cup) is my blood..." is not figurative language!
When the Apostle Paul repeats these statements in his epistles and expands on the church guidelines for conducting the Lord's Supper there is not one trace of figurative language used.
So where do Baptists, evangelicals and Reformed get their doctrine that the Lord's Supper is a symbolic memorial service only? From one phrase, in only one of the Gospels: "in remembrance of me" in the Gospel of Luke.
History shows that Christians had always believed in the real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper since the days of the Apostles until a Reformed theologian, Ulrich Zwingli of Switzerland, in the 1500's, decided to change this doctrine for Reformed Christians. Baptists and evangelicals are descended from Reformed denominations.
What do the Lutherans believe is really going on in the Lord's Supper?
Lutherans believe Christ's words literally. "this" bread and "this" wine really do become, in some supernatural way, the body and blood of Christ. We do not understand how, and we don't feel it is necessary to understand how, to believe in the real presence of Christ.
Do you believe that God created the world in six days? Do you believe that God was in the burning bush when he spoke to Moses? Do you believe that God was in the pillar of fire that went before the children of Israel?
If yes, then why do you have such a hard time believing that Christ can be really present in the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper?
The burning bush was still a bush, but God was really present in it. It was a bush, and it was God.
The pillar of fire was really a burning pillar, but God was really present in it. It was a pillar, and it was God.
If God says He is present in the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper then based on His past track record, we have to believe Him!
He said it. We Lutherans believe it.
Lutherans believe that when we participate in the Lord's Supper that we are not helping to earn our salvation. Not at all. We believe that we are re-experiencing our salvation! When we take Holy Communion we believe that God takes us back over two thousand years ago to the cross on Calvary and we re-experience the breaking of his body and the shedding of his blood. We are not getting saved all over again. We are already saved! Our eternal salvation was secured by the shedding of Christ's blood over two thousand years ago!
The Lord's Supper for Lutherans is a wonderful "feast" where we are spiritually enriched by God's grace (unmerited favor). Some Baptists and evangelicals seem to think that their adult "born again" decision for Christ was a one-time fill up of God's grace.
We Lutherans believe that we are continually enriching our souls with God's grace when we hear the Word of God and every time we partake of our Lord's Supper.
In the the Western Christian world there are three predominate views of the "elements" of the Lord's Supper after they are blessed/prayed over by the priest/minister:
Roman Catholic: only Christ's body and blood are present; no bread, no wine.
Lutheran: Christ's body and blood, as well as bread and wine are present.
Baptist/Reformed: no body, no blood; only bread and wine (or grape juice) are present.
Lutherans believe that when Christ said, "This is my body... This is my blood..." that we should take him literally.
Baptist, evangelicals and Reformed (Presbyterians, Dutch Reformed, and others) believe that these statements were figurative, just as when Jesus called himself "the Door", "the Vine", "the Good Shepherd".
Why do Lutherans not see that Christ was also speaking figuratively when he spoke about the bread and wine of Holy Communion?
Why? Because in plain English...he wasn't!
Read all those references and what do you see:
...the Door
...the Vine
...the Good Shepherd
What do these statements have in common: the non-specific word "the".
If Christ had said, "I am that green door over there", "I am that vine over there on the wall", or "I am this good shepherd, the one upon who's shoulder I am resting my hand", then we would have to understand those statements in a very different way than how Christ actually did say them.
He used the non-specific word "the" to speak figuratively!
"This (bread) is my body....This (cup) is my blood..." is not figurative language!
When the Apostle Paul repeats these statements in his epistles and expands on the church guidelines for conducting the Lord's Supper there is not one trace of figurative language used.
So where do Baptists, evangelicals and Reformed get their doctrine that the Lord's Supper is a symbolic memorial service only? From one phrase, in only one of the Gospels: "in remembrance of me" in the Gospel of Luke.
History shows that Christians had always believed in the real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper since the days of the Apostles until a Reformed theologian, Ulrich Zwingli of Switzerland, in the 1500's, decided to change this doctrine for Reformed Christians. Baptists and evangelicals are descended from Reformed denominations.
What do the Lutherans believe is really going on in the Lord's Supper?
Lutherans believe Christ's words literally. "this" bread and "this" wine really do become, in some supernatural way, the body and blood of Christ. We do not understand how, and we don't feel it is necessary to understand how, to believe in the real presence of Christ.
Do you believe that God created the world in six days? Do you believe that God was in the burning bush when he spoke to Moses? Do you believe that God was in the pillar of fire that went before the children of Israel?
If yes, then why do you have such a hard time believing that Christ can be really present in the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper?
The burning bush was still a bush, but God was really present in it. It was a bush, and it was God.
The pillar of fire was really a burning pillar, but God was really present in it. It was a pillar, and it was God.
If God says He is present in the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper then based on His past track record, we have to believe Him!
He said it. We Lutherans believe it.
Lutherans believe that when we participate in the Lord's Supper that we are not helping to earn our salvation. Not at all. We believe that we are re-experiencing our salvation! When we take Holy Communion we believe that God takes us back over two thousand years ago to the cross on Calvary and we re-experience the breaking of his body and the shedding of his blood. We are not getting saved all over again. We are already saved! Our eternal salvation was secured by the shedding of Christ's blood over two thousand years ago!
The Lord's Supper for Lutherans is a wonderful "feast" where we are spiritually enriched by God's grace (unmerited favor). Some Baptists and evangelicals seem to think that their adult "born again" decision for Christ was a one-time fill up of God's grace.
We Lutherans believe that we are continually enriching our souls with God's grace when we hear the Word of God and every time we partake of our Lord's Supper.
Yes! God saves Babies!
In my last post, I described the position of most Baptists and evangelicals (of Baptist origin) on the subject of the Safety or Salvation of Babies and Young Children.
Here is a brief review: these denominations believe that all babies and young children are under the protection of a merciful God: if tragically they should die, God will take them to heaven.
However, once these children reach the Age of Accountability (approximately age 7-10), the age at which they learn the difference between good and evil, God removes his blanket protection and requires them to make a decision. They must choose to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. This is done by saying the "Sinner's Prayer" or a version of it, in which the child admits he is a sinner bound for hell, repents of his sins, and asks Jesus Christ to enter his heart (soul) and be his personal Lord and Savior.
If this child refuses to "accept Christ" once he has reached this age of knowing good and evil, and happens to die, he will be cast into hell to burn in eternal torment.
As I mentioned previously, this Baptist/evangelical doctrine is based on a reference in the Old Testament regarding King David and his dead son.
Lutherans, on the other hand, don't just believe that God keeps our children safe...we believe that God saves them outright for all eternity!!
What do we base this belief on?
1. The Bible says that sinners are spiritually dead (Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:1)
2. If you are spiritually dead, you can't make any spiritual decisions. DEAD MEN DON'T MAKE DECISIONS! Therefore, it is impossible for you to make a decision for Christ.
3. You don't make a decision for Christ! Christ makes a decision for you!
In Romans 8:29-30 and Ephesians1:4-5 the Bible states that God predestined us to be his children before the world even existed.
Many Baptists and evangelicals want to say that God predistined us based on his knowledge that we would make a decison for Him. Where in the Bible does it say that??
Romans 8:29 states "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate..." It does NOT say, "For whom he did foreknow that would make a decison for him in the future". We should not put words in God's mouth! God doesn't say what criteria He used to choose us so Lutherans believe that we just have to leave that doctrine as a mystery.
4. God quickens (makes spiritually alive) those he has predestined.
(Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:1)
5. Is God limited to only quickening adults?
In Luke 1:15 God gives the Holy Ghost (quickens) an infant the moment he leaves his mother's womb!
This is evidence that God can (and does) quicken, make spiritually alive, infants. Baptists and evangelicals will say that this was a one time, special circumstance. I say, "Prove it!"
6. Under the Old Covenant, how did God tell the Hebrews to bring their children into the covenant? Circumcision (Genesis 17). You could not be part of the covenant without receiving God's mark (verse 14).
Is there anywhere in the Old or New Testament that states that Hebrew children had to make an adult profession of faith to be "saved" or to retain their place in the covenant? No.
So were these Hebrew children automatically on their way to heaven after being circumcised? We don't know. The Bible doesn't clearly say. Possibly, probably, they had to grow up and express faith toward God in the coming Messiah to be saved, to keep their place in the covenant,but even this is not clear from Scripture.
However, Genesis 17: 14 completely excludes the possibility of a non-circumcised male making a profession of faith in the Hebrew God but refusing to be circumcised. No circumcision; no place in the covenant.
7. "And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them...Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Luke 18:15-16
So if infants and little children were of such importance to Jesus...why didn't he spell out clearly how he would save them? Why would he leave them in limbo having to wait until they reach the Age of Accountability to be saved, and possibly being damned to hell if they do not accept Christ immediately upon their "eyes being opened" to the knowledge of good and evil?
8. Do you pray with your young children?
Even two and three year olds can display such a pure and fervent belief in Jesus that puts many adult Christians to shame! Doesn't this faith of a child demonstrate that God has alread quickened them, made them spiritually alive?
9. The Salvation paradigm in the Old and New Covenants never changed!
That's why Jesus didn't spell out a unique way for infants to be saved. Infants of New Testament believers are brought into the New Covenant in the same manner as the children of believers in the Old Covenant; only a new circumcision is used: baptism!
In baptism, God marks our children as his; He brings them into his covenant: He gives them the faith, repentance and belief to be saved just as he does for the pagan adult who believes in Christ. The pagan adult believes and is saved because God quickens him, not because he made a free-will decision on his own. Spiritually dead men don't make decisions!
Neither the pagan adult nor the infant child make a decision to be saved. God makes the decision! Salvation is all God! It isn't the water or the act of baptism itself that saves, just as it wasn't the act of circumcision that saved the Hebrews, but the Word of God acting in the act!
This is how Lutherans and all other Christians since the early church and the apostles brought their children into the covenant. There is no record in the early church of any controversy regarding baptizing infants. The apostles baptized whole households. Do you really believe in a time when contraception did not exist that out of five or so household conversions, none of them had young children??
The New Testament does not specifically mention infant baptism. But an important point for Baptists and evangelicals is this: neither does the Bible prohibit it!
In the Great Commission, Christians are commanded to go into the world and baptize all nations. It does not give an age limit! To state that Christ assumed that the apostles knew that he was limiting this command to adults is adding to Scripture. If God didn't say it, don't assume it!
So which "Infant Salvation" doctrine seems more scriptural?
I believe that the Lutheran doctrines of salvation and infant baptism are much more consistent with Scripture and with the historical record of the early church.
In conclusion, Jesus doesn't want to just keep your little children "safe"; he wants to save them! Suffer your little children to come to Jesus! Give them the "mark" of Christ! You don't have to wait for them to make a decision for Christ, Christ has already made a decision for them! Baptize your babies!
Here is a brief review: these denominations believe that all babies and young children are under the protection of a merciful God: if tragically they should die, God will take them to heaven.
However, once these children reach the Age of Accountability (approximately age 7-10), the age at which they learn the difference between good and evil, God removes his blanket protection and requires them to make a decision. They must choose to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. This is done by saying the "Sinner's Prayer" or a version of it, in which the child admits he is a sinner bound for hell, repents of his sins, and asks Jesus Christ to enter his heart (soul) and be his personal Lord and Savior.
If this child refuses to "accept Christ" once he has reached this age of knowing good and evil, and happens to die, he will be cast into hell to burn in eternal torment.
As I mentioned previously, this Baptist/evangelical doctrine is based on a reference in the Old Testament regarding King David and his dead son.
Lutherans, on the other hand, don't just believe that God keeps our children safe...we believe that God saves them outright for all eternity!!
What do we base this belief on?
1. The Bible says that sinners are spiritually dead (Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:1)
2. If you are spiritually dead, you can't make any spiritual decisions. DEAD MEN DON'T MAKE DECISIONS! Therefore, it is impossible for you to make a decision for Christ.
3. You don't make a decision for Christ! Christ makes a decision for you!
In Romans 8:29-30 and Ephesians1:4-5 the Bible states that God predestined us to be his children before the world even existed.
Many Baptists and evangelicals want to say that God predistined us based on his knowledge that we would make a decison for Him. Where in the Bible does it say that??
Romans 8:29 states "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate..." It does NOT say, "For whom he did foreknow that would make a decison for him in the future". We should not put words in God's mouth! God doesn't say what criteria He used to choose us so Lutherans believe that we just have to leave that doctrine as a mystery.
4. God quickens (makes spiritually alive) those he has predestined.
(Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:1)
5. Is God limited to only quickening adults?
In Luke 1:15 God gives the Holy Ghost (quickens) an infant the moment he leaves his mother's womb!
This is evidence that God can (and does) quicken, make spiritually alive, infants. Baptists and evangelicals will say that this was a one time, special circumstance. I say, "Prove it!"
6. Under the Old Covenant, how did God tell the Hebrews to bring their children into the covenant? Circumcision (Genesis 17). You could not be part of the covenant without receiving God's mark (verse 14).
Is there anywhere in the Old or New Testament that states that Hebrew children had to make an adult profession of faith to be "saved" or to retain their place in the covenant? No.
So were these Hebrew children automatically on their way to heaven after being circumcised? We don't know. The Bible doesn't clearly say. Possibly, probably, they had to grow up and express faith toward God in the coming Messiah to be saved, to keep their place in the covenant,but even this is not clear from Scripture.
However, Genesis 17: 14 completely excludes the possibility of a non-circumcised male making a profession of faith in the Hebrew God but refusing to be circumcised. No circumcision; no place in the covenant.
7. "And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them...Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Luke 18:15-16
So if infants and little children were of such importance to Jesus...why didn't he spell out clearly how he would save them? Why would he leave them in limbo having to wait until they reach the Age of Accountability to be saved, and possibly being damned to hell if they do not accept Christ immediately upon their "eyes being opened" to the knowledge of good and evil?
8. Do you pray with your young children?
Even two and three year olds can display such a pure and fervent belief in Jesus that puts many adult Christians to shame! Doesn't this faith of a child demonstrate that God has alread quickened them, made them spiritually alive?
9. The Salvation paradigm in the Old and New Covenants never changed!
That's why Jesus didn't spell out a unique way for infants to be saved. Infants of New Testament believers are brought into the New Covenant in the same manner as the children of believers in the Old Covenant; only a new circumcision is used: baptism!
In baptism, God marks our children as his; He brings them into his covenant: He gives them the faith, repentance and belief to be saved just as he does for the pagan adult who believes in Christ. The pagan adult believes and is saved because God quickens him, not because he made a free-will decision on his own. Spiritually dead men don't make decisions!
Neither the pagan adult nor the infant child make a decision to be saved. God makes the decision! Salvation is all God! It isn't the water or the act of baptism itself that saves, just as it wasn't the act of circumcision that saved the Hebrews, but the Word of God acting in the act!
This is how Lutherans and all other Christians since the early church and the apostles brought their children into the covenant. There is no record in the early church of any controversy regarding baptizing infants. The apostles baptized whole households. Do you really believe in a time when contraception did not exist that out of five or so household conversions, none of them had young children??
The New Testament does not specifically mention infant baptism. But an important point for Baptists and evangelicals is this: neither does the Bible prohibit it!
In the Great Commission, Christians are commanded to go into the world and baptize all nations. It does not give an age limit! To state that Christ assumed that the apostles knew that he was limiting this command to adults is adding to Scripture. If God didn't say it, don't assume it!
So which "Infant Salvation" doctrine seems more scriptural?
I believe that the Lutheran doctrines of salvation and infant baptism are much more consistent with Scripture and with the historical record of the early church.
In conclusion, Jesus doesn't want to just keep your little children "safe"; he wants to save them! Suffer your little children to come to Jesus! Give them the "mark" of Christ! You don't have to wait for them to make a decision for Christ, Christ has already made a decision for them! Baptize your babies!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Are Babies Sinners?
In my last post, I pointed out the fact that Baptists, evangelicals and Lutherans agree on how an adult "pagan", or nonbeliever, becomes a Christian, is "saved": he or she believes in Jesus Christ. Baptism is not a requirement for salvation.
The big dispute between Baptists, evangelicals (of Baptist origin) and Lutherans is what to believe about how God saves the children of Christian parents.
Are babies sinners? Non-Christians may think this is a ridiculous question but Baptists, evangelicals and Lutherans all agree on this point:
Yes! Babies are sinners!
Why do we believe this? Romans 5:12 explains why: Because of Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden, sin infected Adam and all his descendents, which includes every human being alive today, including babies. This is called "original sin".
What does the Bible say is the punishment for this original sin? Romans 6:23 states "For the wages of sin is death (both physical and spiritual) but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
So if all humans are born with original sin, and the penalty for that sin is physical and spiritual death, babies are under this same judgment as every other human being.
So how do we make sure our babies and young children are safe from eternal damnation? This is a very serious and disturbing question if you are a Christian parent.
How do most Baptists and evangelicals answer the question about how babies are saved from God's judgment for the original sin that they inherited from "Grandpa" Adam?
Most Baptists and evangelicals (of Baptist origin) believe that God does not hold babies and young children accountable for this original sin or any other sins until they reach an Age of Accountability. What is this? The Age of Accountability is the doctrine that a merciful God would not damn an innocent baby or young child to eternal damnation, if they die, because this baby or young child is not old enough to know right from wrong and is not old enough to make a personal decision for Christ.
That certainly seems reasonable and rational. Does it have any basis in Scripture? None whatsoever!
There is no mention of this doctrine anywhere in the New Testament. The only reference adherents of this doctrine can reference is the quote in the Old Testament by King David that he would see his dead child again. That's it. The "safety" of Baptist and evangelical children is built on this one line in the Old Testament.
Why do Baptists and evangelicals believe in this doctrine that has little or no foundation in Scripture, when as denominations they are very emphatic that all Christian doctrine must be based on Scripture?
What I'm going to say next may sound harsh, but I really believe that it is true: Baptists and evangelicals had to "invent" this doctrine to plug a hole in their central belief regarding salvation: that man's salvation can only occur when man makes an adult, informed decision for Christ. Babies and young infants can't make a decision. So to reassure themselves that their young children are safe from eternal damnation, they reach back to the Old Testament, to this one reference, for reassurance.
This is why Lutherans have a real problem with the idea that our salvation is based on our decision: It only makes sense for adults! What about the little children that Jesus spoke so lovingly about in the Gospels? Didn't Jesus include them in his plan of salvation? If the children of God's chosen people in the Old Testament were included in the old covenant why would God create a new covenant in the New Testament that excluded the children of believers?
In my next post I will explain how Lutherans believe that God saves our children and includes them in the new covenant.
The big dispute between Baptists, evangelicals (of Baptist origin) and Lutherans is what to believe about how God saves the children of Christian parents.
Are babies sinners? Non-Christians may think this is a ridiculous question but Baptists, evangelicals and Lutherans all agree on this point:
Yes! Babies are sinners!
Why do we believe this? Romans 5:12 explains why: Because of Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden, sin infected Adam and all his descendents, which includes every human being alive today, including babies. This is called "original sin".
What does the Bible say is the punishment for this original sin? Romans 6:23 states "For the wages of sin is death (both physical and spiritual) but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
So if all humans are born with original sin, and the penalty for that sin is physical and spiritual death, babies are under this same judgment as every other human being.
So how do we make sure our babies and young children are safe from eternal damnation? This is a very serious and disturbing question if you are a Christian parent.
How do most Baptists and evangelicals answer the question about how babies are saved from God's judgment for the original sin that they inherited from "Grandpa" Adam?
Most Baptists and evangelicals (of Baptist origin) believe that God does not hold babies and young children accountable for this original sin or any other sins until they reach an Age of Accountability. What is this? The Age of Accountability is the doctrine that a merciful God would not damn an innocent baby or young child to eternal damnation, if they die, because this baby or young child is not old enough to know right from wrong and is not old enough to make a personal decision for Christ.
That certainly seems reasonable and rational. Does it have any basis in Scripture? None whatsoever!
There is no mention of this doctrine anywhere in the New Testament. The only reference adherents of this doctrine can reference is the quote in the Old Testament by King David that he would see his dead child again. That's it. The "safety" of Baptist and evangelical children is built on this one line in the Old Testament.
Why do Baptists and evangelicals believe in this doctrine that has little or no foundation in Scripture, when as denominations they are very emphatic that all Christian doctrine must be based on Scripture?
What I'm going to say next may sound harsh, but I really believe that it is true: Baptists and evangelicals had to "invent" this doctrine to plug a hole in their central belief regarding salvation: that man's salvation can only occur when man makes an adult, informed decision for Christ. Babies and young infants can't make a decision. So to reassure themselves that their young children are safe from eternal damnation, they reach back to the Old Testament, to this one reference, for reassurance.
This is why Lutherans have a real problem with the idea that our salvation is based on our decision: It only makes sense for adults! What about the little children that Jesus spoke so lovingly about in the Gospels? Didn't Jesus include them in his plan of salvation? If the children of God's chosen people in the Old Testament were included in the old covenant why would God create a new covenant in the New Testament that excluded the children of believers?
In my next post I will explain how Lutherans believe that God saves our children and includes them in the new covenant.
So how ARE you saved?
As we saw in my last post, it is very easy to know that you are saved. Romans 10:9 tells you how to know 100% for sure:
1. Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
2. Confess (declare your faith in) Jesus Christ as Lord (God).
It's that simple!
Now, understanding the details of exactly how God saves us gets more complicated. Why? Because theologians got involved!
Let's look at a couple of examples in the New Testament of sinners converting to Christianity; examples of sinners being saved:
First Example: the Ethopian eunuch
In Acts 8:37 Philip tells the eunuch how to become a Christian: "If thou believest with all thine heart thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
Second Example: The Philippian jailer
In Acts 16:31 The Philippian jailer asks Paul and Silus "What must I do to be saved?" Their response was: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..."
That's it! Believe in Jesus Christ! Is that so hard?
Baptists and evangelicals may be surprised to learn that the Lutheran Church believes that the above converts to the Christian faith were saved when they believed!
Both men were baptized immediately after their conversion, but the Lutheran Church states that they were saved, children of God, upon the millisecond that they believed. If they had died before being baptized they still would have gone to heaven; they still would have been Christians!
The only difference here between most Baptists/evangelicals and Lutherans is that the first group would say that both of these men had made a free will decision for Christ, where the Lutherans would say that they believed because God had predistined them before the world existed to be His children and that he had quickened them upon hearing the Word of God, and upon being quickened they believed. Their decision had nothing to do with it. Spiritually dead men can't make decisions, remember?
However, that is all theology. Practically it doesn't matter whether you believe that you made a decision for Christ or if you believe that you believed because you were quickened (made spiritually alive) by God, the bottom line is that you believed in Christ as Lord. You were saved! Baptists, evangelicals, and Lutherans all agree on this point!
The Lutheran Church believes that, to this day, nonbelievers or "pagans", convert to the Christian faith in the same way as the Ethopian eunuch and the Philippian jailer: they believe in Christ.
A true believer will then follow God's command to be baptized but baptism is not absolutely necessary for salvation.
The real controversy between the denominations begins when we start talking about how a person who grows up in a Christian home and has believed in Jesus since the time he or she could walk and talk, becomes saved.
I will discuss this subject in my next post.
1. Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
2. Confess (declare your faith in) Jesus Christ as Lord (God).
It's that simple!
Now, understanding the details of exactly how God saves us gets more complicated. Why? Because theologians got involved!
Let's look at a couple of examples in the New Testament of sinners converting to Christianity; examples of sinners being saved:
First Example: the Ethopian eunuch
In Acts 8:37 Philip tells the eunuch how to become a Christian: "If thou believest with all thine heart thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
Second Example: The Philippian jailer
In Acts 16:31 The Philippian jailer asks Paul and Silus "What must I do to be saved?" Their response was: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..."
That's it! Believe in Jesus Christ! Is that so hard?
Baptists and evangelicals may be surprised to learn that the Lutheran Church believes that the above converts to the Christian faith were saved when they believed!
Both men were baptized immediately after their conversion, but the Lutheran Church states that they were saved, children of God, upon the millisecond that they believed. If they had died before being baptized they still would have gone to heaven; they still would have been Christians!
The only difference here between most Baptists/evangelicals and Lutherans is that the first group would say that both of these men had made a free will decision for Christ, where the Lutherans would say that they believed because God had predistined them before the world existed to be His children and that he had quickened them upon hearing the Word of God, and upon being quickened they believed. Their decision had nothing to do with it. Spiritually dead men can't make decisions, remember?
However, that is all theology. Practically it doesn't matter whether you believe that you made a decision for Christ or if you believe that you believed because you were quickened (made spiritually alive) by God, the bottom line is that you believed in Christ as Lord. You were saved! Baptists, evangelicals, and Lutherans all agree on this point!
The Lutheran Church believes that, to this day, nonbelievers or "pagans", convert to the Christian faith in the same way as the Ethopian eunuch and the Philippian jailer: they believe in Christ.
A true believer will then follow God's command to be baptized but baptism is not absolutely necessary for salvation.
The real controversy between the denominations begins when we start talking about how a person who grows up in a Christian home and has believed in Jesus since the time he or she could walk and talk, becomes saved.
I will discuss this subject in my next post.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
How do You know that you are Saved?
The answer to this question is very simple. It is found in Romans 10:9
"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
So if you are doubting whether or not you are a Christian, ask yourself these two questions:
1. Do you believe that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead?
2. Do you confess (declare your faith in) Jesus Christ as Lord (God).
If you can say "yes" to both of these questions, then according to God and his Word you are saved. Period.
The number of good deeds that you have done is not mentioned as a criterion.
Reciting the rosary or praying the Baptist/evangelical "Sinner's Prayer" are not mentioned as criteria.
Being baptized is not mentioned as a criterion.
The only criteria for knowing whether or not you are saved, a child of God, a Christian, are listed in the scripture verse above.
Growing up, I was taught that if someone could not tell you the year, month, date, day, and hour of his/her "decision for Christ", then it was impossible for them to be a Christian. They had to know EXACTLY when they had made their decision for Christ.
Stating that one had always believed since being a young child was not sufficient. If you could not prove that you had made an informed "decision" as an older child or as an adult, you were not saved.
According to God's Word this belief is not scriptural and is therefore false doctrine.
"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
So if you are doubting whether or not you are a Christian, ask yourself these two questions:
1. Do you believe that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead?
2. Do you confess (declare your faith in) Jesus Christ as Lord (God).
If you can say "yes" to both of these questions, then according to God and his Word you are saved. Period.
The number of good deeds that you have done is not mentioned as a criterion.
Reciting the rosary or praying the Baptist/evangelical "Sinner's Prayer" are not mentioned as criteria.
Being baptized is not mentioned as a criterion.
The only criteria for knowing whether or not you are saved, a child of God, a Christian, are listed in the scripture verse above.
Growing up, I was taught that if someone could not tell you the year, month, date, day, and hour of his/her "decision for Christ", then it was impossible for them to be a Christian. They had to know EXACTLY when they had made their decision for Christ.
Stating that one had always believed since being a young child was not sufficient. If you could not prove that you had made an informed "decision" as an older child or as an adult, you were not saved.
According to God's Word this belief is not scriptural and is therefore false doctrine.
Dead Men don't make Decisions!
So what is wrong with the "Born Again" Salvation doctrine espoused by most Baptists and evangelicals? (see my last post for an explanation of this doctrinal position).
Here it is: the Bible very clearly states that sinful man is spiritually dead (Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:1).
Sinful man can make a decision at what time he plans to wake up this morning, what he plans to eat for dinner tonight, and who he thinks is going to win the next World Series. But, according to the Bible, sinful man cannot make any spiritual decisions, because he is spiritually dead.
Dead men don't make decisions! Therefore, dead men can't make a decision for Christ!
If you are spiritually dead, you CANNOT make a decision to come to Christ, you cannot make a decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior! It is impossible because the Bible says that you are dead.
This is the big problem with the Baptist/evangelical concept of making a decision for Christ in an adult born-again experience. It isn't scriptural! Where in the Bible does it state: "Make a decision for Christ and thou shalt be saved". Nowhere.
The scripture verses above state that God quickens us (makes us spiritually alive) while we were yet dead in our sins. It doesn't say that we make a decision for Christ and then God decides to quicken us. There has to be another reason then why God chooses to quicken us and make us spiritually alive other than an impossible free-will decision by someone who is spiritually dead!
So if we don't make a decision to choose Christ, how are we saved? And, why, when, and how does God quicken us, or make us spiritually alive? READ ON!
Here it is: the Bible very clearly states that sinful man is spiritually dead (Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:1).
Sinful man can make a decision at what time he plans to wake up this morning, what he plans to eat for dinner tonight, and who he thinks is going to win the next World Series. But, according to the Bible, sinful man cannot make any spiritual decisions, because he is spiritually dead.
Dead men don't make decisions! Therefore, dead men can't make a decision for Christ!
If you are spiritually dead, you CANNOT make a decision to come to Christ, you cannot make a decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior! It is impossible because the Bible says that you are dead.
This is the big problem with the Baptist/evangelical concept of making a decision for Christ in an adult born-again experience. It isn't scriptural! Where in the Bible does it state: "Make a decision for Christ and thou shalt be saved". Nowhere.
The scripture verses above state that God quickens us (makes us spiritually alive) while we were yet dead in our sins. It doesn't say that we make a decision for Christ and then God decides to quicken us. There has to be another reason then why God chooses to quicken us and make us spiritually alive other than an impossible free-will decision by someone who is spiritually dead!
So if we don't make a decision to choose Christ, how are we saved? And, why, when, and how does God quicken us, or make us spiritually alive? READ ON!
Baptist/evangelical Doctrine of Salvation
Growing up in the Baptist/evangelical Christian tradition, I was taught that the way in which a sinner becomes a Christian is as follows:
The sinner hears or reads the Gospel; the sinner makes a decision by his free will to come to Christ; the sinner asks Christ to save him, forgive him of his sins, come into his heart (soul), and become his personal Lord and Savior. Christ then responds by saving him/her.
This is called a "born again" experience. Only adults and children who have reached an age of accountability (they know right from wrong, usually 7-10 years of age) may undergo such a conversion.
All infants and younger children are protected by God from eternal damnation until they reach the Age of Accountability. Upon reaching this age, they must make their own free will decision to accept Christ as their personal Savior in a born again experience as described above.
For Baptists and many evangelicals, baptism (immersion only) is limited to older children and adults who have previously undergone a born again experience and made a public profession of faith in Christ.
So what is wrong with this belief system? It is a belief system based on Christ's saving work on the cross, not on our good works, right?
In my next post I will explain why I believe that Baptists and evangelicals still have not completely freed themselves from the concept that man needs to do SOMETHING to participate in his salvation.
The sinner hears or reads the Gospel; the sinner makes a decision by his free will to come to Christ; the sinner asks Christ to save him, forgive him of his sins, come into his heart (soul), and become his personal Lord and Savior. Christ then responds by saving him/her.
This is called a "born again" experience. Only adults and children who have reached an age of accountability (they know right from wrong, usually 7-10 years of age) may undergo such a conversion.
All infants and younger children are protected by God from eternal damnation until they reach the Age of Accountability. Upon reaching this age, they must make their own free will decision to accept Christ as their personal Savior in a born again experience as described above.
For Baptists and many evangelicals, baptism (immersion only) is limited to older children and adults who have previously undergone a born again experience and made a public profession of faith in Christ.
So what is wrong with this belief system? It is a belief system based on Christ's saving work on the cross, not on our good works, right?
In my next post I will explain why I believe that Baptists and evangelicals still have not completely freed themselves from the concept that man needs to do SOMETHING to participate in his salvation.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Luther was NOT born-again!
I grew up in the Baptist/evangelical branch of Christianity. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior at the age of 9 and shortly thereafter was baptized. I attended church Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, Wednesday evenings, and went on "visitation" most Thursday evenings into my twenties.
I became a Lutheran in my late twenties after reading some of the writings of Martin Luther and realizing that salvation really is by God's grace alone.
Most Baptists and evangelicals have a great deal of admiration for Martin Luther, the Great Reformer and founder of the Lutheran Church. I would bet that most Baptists and evangelicals believe that Martin Luther was a true, born-again Christian. They are wrong!
Martin Luther was born-again but not in the way that Baptists and evangelicals view being born-again.
When Luther was reading the New Testament it struck him like a bolt of lightning that good works cannot earn God's love and approval. Good works do not help complete one's salvation as the Catholic Church had taught him. Luther suddenly realized that God had saved him by God's grace alone!
Luther did not fall to his knees upon realizing this truth of the gospel and ask God to save him. He did not proclaim to God that he was a hell-bound sinner who needed to make a personal decision to ask Christ into his heart to be his Lord and Savior. He did not pray the "Sinner's Prayer". Luther DID NOT have an adult baptist/evangelical "born-again" experience!
Why not? Because Luther knew that he already was a Christian! His realization was not that he needed to do something new to be saved, but that he could stop worrying about doing enough good works to finish Christ's work on the cross in saving his soul. Luther could stop worrying about how long he would be punished in Purgatory for his sins after he died because Purgatory does not exist! This was the incredible truth that Luther discovered in reading Scripture, not that he had to have a born-again experience as an adult.
Martin Luther firmly believed that God, and God alone, had saved him in his infant baptism. Luther believed that it was God in the waters of baptism that saved him, forgave him of his sins, and made him his child. This is when Martin Luther believed that he was born again!
If you are a Baptist or evangelical admirer of Martin Luther I know that that is going to be hard for you to swallow, but it is the truth. If you can find somewhere in Luther's writings where he says otherwise please let me know.
"Baptism is a work," say the Baptists and evangelicals!
Is repentance a work? Is believing a work? If following a command of God is a work then both repenting and believing are works.
Baptism is not a work of man! It is the work of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
The purpose of this blog is not to put down Baptists and evangelicals. They are my brothers and sisters in Christ! The purpose of this blog is to show them from the Bible that their "born-again" beliefs regarding salvation are not based on Scripture. Where in the Bible does it use the language "Make a decision for Christ, and thou shalt be saved."? That kind of language is nowhere to be found in the Bible!
Jesus Christ provides 100% of what is necessary to save us. We don't conduct a transaction with him by bringing our faith, our repentance and our "decision" to the salvation negotiating table. I hope you will find my insights into Martin Luther's teachings as compared to Baptist and evangelical doctrines interesting and helpful in your own faith.
God bless!
Gary
I became a Lutheran in my late twenties after reading some of the writings of Martin Luther and realizing that salvation really is by God's grace alone.
Most Baptists and evangelicals have a great deal of admiration for Martin Luther, the Great Reformer and founder of the Lutheran Church. I would bet that most Baptists and evangelicals believe that Martin Luther was a true, born-again Christian. They are wrong!
Martin Luther was born-again but not in the way that Baptists and evangelicals view being born-again.
When Luther was reading the New Testament it struck him like a bolt of lightning that good works cannot earn God's love and approval. Good works do not help complete one's salvation as the Catholic Church had taught him. Luther suddenly realized that God had saved him by God's grace alone!
Luther did not fall to his knees upon realizing this truth of the gospel and ask God to save him. He did not proclaim to God that he was a hell-bound sinner who needed to make a personal decision to ask Christ into his heart to be his Lord and Savior. He did not pray the "Sinner's Prayer". Luther DID NOT have an adult baptist/evangelical "born-again" experience!
Why not? Because Luther knew that he already was a Christian! His realization was not that he needed to do something new to be saved, but that he could stop worrying about doing enough good works to finish Christ's work on the cross in saving his soul. Luther could stop worrying about how long he would be punished in Purgatory for his sins after he died because Purgatory does not exist! This was the incredible truth that Luther discovered in reading Scripture, not that he had to have a born-again experience as an adult.
Martin Luther firmly believed that God, and God alone, had saved him in his infant baptism. Luther believed that it was God in the waters of baptism that saved him, forgave him of his sins, and made him his child. This is when Martin Luther believed that he was born again!
If you are a Baptist or evangelical admirer of Martin Luther I know that that is going to be hard for you to swallow, but it is the truth. If you can find somewhere in Luther's writings where he says otherwise please let me know.
"Baptism is a work," say the Baptists and evangelicals!
Is repentance a work? Is believing a work? If following a command of God is a work then both repenting and believing are works.
Baptism is not a work of man! It is the work of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
The purpose of this blog is not to put down Baptists and evangelicals. They are my brothers and sisters in Christ! The purpose of this blog is to show them from the Bible that their "born-again" beliefs regarding salvation are not based on Scripture. Where in the Bible does it use the language "Make a decision for Christ, and thou shalt be saved."? That kind of language is nowhere to be found in the Bible!
Jesus Christ provides 100% of what is necessary to save us. We don't conduct a transaction with him by bringing our faith, our repentance and our "decision" to the salvation negotiating table. I hope you will find my insights into Martin Luther's teachings as compared to Baptist and evangelical doctrines interesting and helpful in your own faith.
God bless!
Gary
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