Subject: Do Jesus and Paul agree on salv by faith |
Bible Note: Niclac, I do not see what you see the scripture "clearly says about baptism." You are interpreting the passages according to your theology and training rather than seeing them literally as the sacraments they are with the water and the Spirit being connected with the Spirit as the efficacious and and the water as the instrumental means of grace. The case of Cornelius is clearly a unique case and even that is subject to some interpretation. See also Acts 21:16, where Paul says, descibing his own baptism, Annaias said " Why delay? Get up, be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name." See also Acts 9:17-19. Other similar foreshadowing examples of matter and spirit working together for a healing are Naaman bathing in the river Jordan. If he did it your way he would have insisted God heal him without the bathing in the river and then he would have bathed in the Jordan as a public display of his belief and obedience. Fortunately he took better advice than his own counsul. See also the blind man whom Jesus cured by spitting and making mud that he put on the man's eyes. In either of these cases was it God or the water that healed. Obviously God, but He worked through matter. And that is not even to touch on the typology and forshadowing of baptism seen with Noah and the Flood and the crossing of the Red Sea. See 2 Peter 3:18-22 and 1 Cor 10:2. God did the work, but He used the physical matter of His creation to accomplish His saving work. One should think of the Incarnation in a similar manner. Why did God take on flesh to accomplish do His salvific work? We Catholics are rather old fashioned in some things and perfer to follow the biblical pattern seen in both Testaments. Surely you can respect that if not agree with it at this point. Emmaus |