Bible Question:
Hi Doc, I would like to receive your comments spiritually and humanely. Thanks. |
Bible Answer: Hi, FytRobert... All of those activities of the church that are specifically prescribed in Scripture are what the old divines called a "means of grace." In other words, they are activities by which God has promised and decreed (of positive and sovereign institution) to channel His grace. Of course, they are specifically for the Body of Christ, the Lord's chosen ones, those redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb. Therefore, we deem that Baptism (the topic of our discussion) has no efficacy for the lost -- they simply get wet. Consequently, we cannot state that something "happens" when a believer is Baptized. Instead, it reflects something that has already "happened" spiritually in regeneration. It is "to be unto the party baptized, a sign of his fellowship with Him [Christ], in His death and resurrection; of his being engrafted into Him; of remission of sins; and of giving up into God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2;12; Galatians 3:27; Mark 1:4; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:4)" (1689 LBCF 29:1) In Him, Doc |