The fundamentalist Baptist denomination that I grew up in taught me that any person who believed that he was saved in his infant baptism absolutely could not be saved. They were not a Christian and were destined for hell when they died.
This meant that all Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Eastern Orthodox, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists and all other infant-baptizers were not Christians and would burn in hell for all eternity.
I am very happy to hear from Pastor Stephen Cavness that the largest Baptist denomination in the world, the Southern Baptist Convention, does not agree with this belief.
But what if the fundamentalists are right? What if the rest of us are wrong? An eternity burning in the flames of hell is a pretty dreadful outcome for an incorrect decision on how one becomes a Christian!
If the fundamentalists are right then salvation occurs as follows:
You, as an older child or as an adult, realize that you are a sinner bound for hell. You pray to Christ to forgive you of your sins (repentance), you express your faith in him alone to give you eternal life, and you ask him to be your Lord and Savior. You pledge to follow his will for your life as outlined in the Bible. In essence, you pray the "Sinner's Prayer".
Why not cover our bases and just do this???
Here is my recommendation for the "Lutheran Sinner's Prayer":
"Dear Lord Jesus,
My Lutheran Church has told me that you saved me in my infant baptism. My Lutheran Church has told me that you saved me by the power of your Holy Word spoken at my baptism, not by my decision, or the decision of my parents, to be baptized.
My soul and conscience are deeply troubled that there exists the possibility that my Lutheran Church could be wrong on this teaching.
Therefore, at this very moment, I admit that I am a sinner, lost and bound for hell and in need of your saving grace and mercy. If I am not saved, a Christian, I ask you to save me right now. Forgive me of my sins, and help me to live my life according to your Holy will. Amen."
Now, if you are reading this you may think that I'm trying to be sarcastic or humorous. I'm not. I'm dead serious. As a father, I intend to have my children who are now four and two years old pray this prayer when they are old enough to understand what they are saying.
Why not? I'm not going to risk my childrens' eternal destiny on refusing to say one simple prayer. Why take the chance?
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Wow! This prayer troubles me. I was raised LCMS and was 'born again' inside this church (my LCMS). However then we joined a nondenominational church. When one of my kids, raised in the nondenom, came to me and said she was saved even tho she was living in sin, it really made me think. After all she had prayed the sinners prayer when she was younger she reminded me, so of course she was 'covered'. I am currently churchless and rethinking LCMS.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up an excellent point: once someone is saved do they have an automatic “ticket” into heaven no matter what they do?
DeleteThis concept is called by some, including Baptists, “Eternal Security”, and by other Calvinists such as Presbyterians, “Perseverance of the Saints”.
I’m not going to attempt to explain all the theology behind this concept but basically the belief is that once God saves you or has made you one of the “elect” you cannot lose your salvation.
The fundamentalist Baptists that I grew up with would explain it like this:
The Bible says that Christ will “never leave you nor forsake you” so it is impossible to become “unsaved”. So, someone who undergoes a true “born-again” conversion experience as an older child or adult has absolute security in his salvation and will go to heaven when he dies no matter what.
The Lutheran Church rejects this concept. Lutherans belief that Christians who trust in Christ do not need to do good works out of fear of losing their salvation, their salvation is secure. But the Lutheran Church warns Christians not to take their free gift of salvation for granted and willfully live a life of sin. Scripture in several locations indicates that there are persons who have “tasted of the Holy Spirit” but then are damned. (See my post entitled “Is the Doctrine of Eternal Security a License to Sin?” for more scripture references.)
So how would fundamentalist Baptists and some evangelicals view a professing Christian’s willful ongoing state of sin and rebellion against God? They would quote the verse that says “by their fruits you will know them” and suggest that that person probably never really believed in the first place. They never were saved!
So both Lutherans and fundamental Baptists/some evangelicals would question the “salvation” status of the willfully sinning “Christian”, but one group would warn that he may be in danger of losing his salvation, and the other group would warn that he probably wasn't really saved to begin with! Both groups would advise that “Christian” to re-evaluate his faith.
Different theological explanations, but you end up at the same result: unsaved!
I do not intend to teach my children that once they are baptized OR once they pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” they are then free to live like the devil for the rest of their lives.
I currently pray with my four and two year old every night at bedtime. At the end of our prayers I say the following,
“Forgive us today of our sins, Lord Jesus, and help us tomorrow to be a light of hope to the world.”
I will encourage my children to recognize DAILY that they are sinners, saved only by the grace of God, and to pray DAILY to their Savior for “thy will be done” in their lives.
I was interested in your story as I first came to trust in Jesus when I was a Jehovah's Witness, and after that I attended a Baptist church for a time. Now He is calling me to the Lutheran church. This post, though, makes it look as though you don't understand what Baptists or Lutherans teach and are mocking both. I feel it does nothing to clear up ignorance and misunderstandings between denominations, and that saddens me.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry that you feel that I am mocking both Baptists and Lutherans. That certainly is not my intention.
DeleteI believe that orthodox Lutheran churches are the closest denomination we have today to the early Christian/Catholic Church. I am definitely not mocking Lutheranism. I am a follower of Luther, who was a follower of the early Church Fathers, who were followers of the disciples of the Apostles, who were the followers of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As far as Baptists are concerned, my purpose is not to mock them. My purpose is to CONVERT them! Since I grew up Baptist, I understand their thinking better than someone who is a "cradle Lutheran". I am hoping that my connection to them will better assist in helping them to see that their sixteenth century doctrines of symbolic Baptism and symbolic Lord's Supper are false teachings. I am praying that God will use me to assist them in returning to the true, orthodox Faith.
I know that it is not politically correct in polite, contemporary, Christian circles to call out other Christian brothers and sisters on what we believe to be their false doctrines. However, I don't think you will find that sentiment in the writings of the Apostle Paul or the Apostle Peter.
I pray that God will give me the courage to preach the true Gospel boldly, and at the same time, give me the humility to speak with brotherly love and compassion.
Thank you for the reply. I think that part of the disconnect I have with this post is that I attended an independent Baptist Church. They taught the sinner's prayer, but also that it was possible for someone to say that prayer and think that they are saved when they really aren't. Also, I know that Lutheran's teach "believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved" just like some Baptist pastors. They don't teach that baptism alone saves, or that someone is condemned if they die on their way to their baptism, for example... that is why I feel that this post seems to feed into misconceptions.
ReplyDeleteExcellent comments.
DeleteLutherans do NOT believe that baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation. For instance, I was saved when I believed in Christ and repented of my sins at age nine while still a fundamental Baptist. The Lutheran Church is in full agreement that I was saved when I believed, not when I was baptized a few months later.
Lutherans believe it is always God that saves, and he always saves though the power of his Word, whether it be at the time that an adult hears the Gospel and believes/repents or when the infant child of Christian parents is brought to the waters of Holy Baptism. Neither he water nor the decision to be baptized nor the adult's "decision" to believe saves anyone. It is always God's decision who to save and when to save them.
Just reading this one post, I can see how you would get a false impression of Lutheran beliefs. Please read the first five or six posts on this blog to get a better picture of my Lutheran beliefs.
God bless you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. Oops. I commented under two different google accounts. :) Elephant Family = Shadesofgrey