A gracEmail subscriber inquires, "Is there biblical or historical mention of proselyte baptism among the Jews? What did a Gentile do to become a proselyte?" Another subscriber asks for information about pre-Christian Jewish washing ceremonies, and how those who first heard John the Baptist and Jesus would have understood the significance of baptism in that light. * * * The Rabbis formulated a procedure for receiving Gentile proselytes, including sacrifice, immersion and circumcision (of males). We cannot know for sure when these rules began, since the Babylonian Talmud which reports them was … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2012
BAPTISM AND DISCIPLESHIP
A gracEmail subscriber in the Northeast writes that she believes that we are saved by the grace of God and the actions of Jesus -- not by anything we do here on earth. She also understands Scripture to teach that baptism is for believers and that it is by immersion. "How I can embrace any others as Christian siblings," she asks, "and still teach credibly what I see as biblical baptism?" * * * Jesus commissioned his people to make disciples of all nations, to baptize those disciples and to instruct them in his ways (Matt. 28:19). A disciple is an apprentice, a personal … [Read more...]
DEFINING CONVERSION (TWO GRACEMAILS)
In reading the Book of Acts, I am impressed that Dr. Luke most frequently reports what we call conversions by saying that people "believed" or "believed on the Lord." Sad to say, I do not know any folks today who regularly talk that way. Most evangelicals say that people "got saved" or "accepted Christ." Others report that people "obeyed the gospel," "were baptized," or "became members of the church." Luke does not use any of those terms by themselves in the book of Acts to report conversions during the first gospel generation. What must one know in order to "believe on" the Lord Jesus? … [Read more...]
OUR DEATH WITH CHRIST
A gracEmail subscriber in the Northwest writes: "In Romans 6, Paul seems to tie baptism to our death with Christ, then speaks conditionally about our resurrection with him. Please comment." * * * The gospel tells us that Jesus died on the Cross, then arose from the dead to live again (1 Cor. 15:1-4). To live again after death is to live outside the limit of Sin's jurisdiction, for Sin has no power beyond the grave (Rom. 6:6-7). Because Jesus died and lived again -- and because he did so as our representative -- his people also died and arose with him (2 Cor. 5:14-15). Thus freed from Sin's … [Read more...]
ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM (1)
A sister in California asks what Paul means in Ephesians 4:5, when he says that there is "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." This gracEmail concerns the "one Lord." * * * The "one Lord" common to all Christians is Jesus Christ, God's Son, our substitute and Savior. Jesus' saving work included both his life of perfect human obedience in our place ("dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne," as the hymn rightly puts it), and also his atoning death for our sins. We are saved by Jesus' life (Rom. 5:10). Jesus lived out God's will fully in his human … [Read more...]
FAITH REFUSING BAPTISM?
A gracEmail reader in Arizona asks, "Do you believe that the 'sinner's prayer' can be an appropriate and sufficient substitute for baptism by someone who believes the gospel, as a personal transaction event of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Has such a person truly believed if they leave out water baptism as a part of their response to the gospel message?" A person truly trusts (believes) and truly repents on the inside -- in the heart, where none but God sees precisely what is present. We read, for example, that "God, who knows the heart, bore witness" to what he saw … [Read more...]
FAITH MORE THAN INTELLECT
A gracEmail subscriber in Australia suggests that believing in Jesus might not be sufficient since James 2:19 says the demons also believe and tremble. This subscriber suggests that a life of obedience is also necessary to please God. * * * We might be using "believe" in different senses (it has more than one, you know), and therefore be talking past each other. When James says that the devils "believe," he explains that they accept the academic proposition that there is one God. He does not mean that the demons put their trust in God or entrust themselves to God as their … [Read more...]
FAITH — ITEM OR ATTITUDE? (2)
A gracEmail subscriber asks, "Must we merely believe to be saved, or do we also have to obey God? Some say that faith is enough by itself, and others say that faith in the Bible includes obedience." * * * The Churches of Christ, in which I was nourished from birth and from which I now serve as my home base, early went astray on this point. Not uncommonly, our own feeble efforts at obedience stole the spotlight from God's work of salvation accomplished in Jesus. Just this week I listened to a set of sermon tapes in which the speaker based salvation wholly on our … [Read more...]
FAITH — ITEM OR ATTITUDE? (1)
A gracEmail subscriber asks, "Must we merely believe to be saved, or do we also have to obey God? Some say that faith is enough by itself, and others say that faith in the Bible includes obedience." * * * If we think of "faith" as something we do, one item in a checklist containing other items as well, we are ripe for the error of thinking that we contribute something to our reconciliation with God, whether it be one item (faith) or several (repentance, baptism, etc.). The fact is, while all these things are commanded and are to be expected, not one of them contributes … [Read more...]
CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD
A gracEmail subscriber asks the meaning of the biblical expression "calling on the name of the Lord." * * * Calling on the name of the Lord means crying out to God for help or rescue, or in reverence and worship (1 Kings 18:24; Psalm 116:17; Isaiah 12:4). The ancient biblical story says that in the days of Adam's grandson Enosh "men began to call on the name of the Lord" (Gen. 4:26). The name "Enosh" means "humankind" or "mortal." Those who recognize their creaturely frailty are the people who cry out to God. From a Christian standpoint, calling on God's name often means crying out to God … [Read more...]
