Church hunting that is. Today we visited a beautiful Catholic church. You're probably thinking we are a confused people: Ben goes to a Baptist seminary, works at a Jewish syngagogue, and now we are attending a Catholic church. Actually, we know what we believe and simply attended mass this morning because Ben need to do so for a class assignment. It was the first time he had ever attended mass. I, on the other hand, grew up in the Catholic church. Today was the first time in several years that I attended mass, but I quickly noticed that little has changed. I was able to recall the recitations and when I was to say them. The order of the service was the same. The homily was typical, the building was gorgeous, and the music was beautiful. Several babies were also baptized this morning.
The priest repeatedly mentioned that because these babies were baptized they now had eternal life and the Holy Spirit was now in them. Their sins were washed away, he said. The white garments they wore were to be symbolic of this "new life" they now possessed. The congregation was then asked to renew their baptisms by vowing to live a good life.
As I sat in the service, I couldn't help but recognize how unbiblical the teaching was. My heart goes out to these people because they have good intentions, they are sincere, but they are unfortunately wrong. Baptism does not bring eternal life. Regardless of what the church says, the Bible says that only those who give a profession of faith in Christ are to be baptized. Acts 2:38 says, "Repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Later in Acts chapter 8 the eunuch asks Philip what prevents him from being baptized. Philip responded, "If you believe with all of your heart, you may." The eunuch did accept Christ, and was THEN baptized. A newborn has no understanding of his sin or of of his need for Christ.
Let's keep in mind the purpose of baptism. It does not save you from your sin. It is to be a public statement that you have put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. It is an outward symbol of an inward change. I was baptized as a baby, but in October of 1994 I realized that I needed to be baptized again - this time as a believer in Christ. Baptism comes after salvation, it does not save you.
Baptism is an important step in a believer's life. Though baptism isn't necessary for salvation, I do believe it is necessary that every believer be obedient to the scriptures and be baptized.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Still Hunting
Posted by Kelly Glupker at 6:40 PM
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4 comments:
I came across your blog and was reading your post about Catholics and infant baptism. I was shocked that a "Christian" has the audacity to judge and say that "these people" are wrong. It is not wrong -- what is wrong is how you have interpreted the teachings of the Catholic faith. If you want a clear explanation as to why Catholics baptize infants, go to this website: http://www.americancatholic.org/UpdateYourFaith/answers.asp?QC0389b
There it will tell you that "these people" baptize infants for a reason and don't expect them, but their parents, to fully understand the sacrament. Later on as these baptized children grow up and are indeed capable of understanding the faith, they then go through another sacrament if they wish. So please, before you chastise another religion, be sure you know what you are talking about before you do so.
“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” (1 Corinthians 4:5)
Brutal!
For what it's worth, I'm in Kelly's corner on this one. It doesn't matter WHY Catholics baptize their babies; the problem is that they do, in fact, baptize them. It's like the "faith healers" who think they can make a sick person well by touching the person's head and shouting, "Fire!" It's ridiculous. There's simply no biblical basis for it, and that makes it void, regardless of reasoning or intention. That being the case, it's unfair to accuse Kelly of "judging" Catholicism. She's simply stating that Scripture leaves no room for infant baptism to be considered anything other than a corruption of a God-given practice. So, really, you don't have a problem with Kelly; you have a problem with Scripture. And that's nowhere you want to be, friend. Trust me. I used to be Catholic, too.
Josh
Anonymous,
I do not deny that it is a good thing, a noble thing, to dedicate your children to the Lord and commit yourself to parenting them in a Christ-like manner. However, according to the Bible, this is not the purpose of baptism. Baptism was not intended to be a ceremony where parents commit themselves to godly parenting. The web-site you referred me to said, "To be baptized is to be given new birth and new life." However, the Bible says, "Unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God." (John 3:3) In that same chapter Nicodemus asks, "How can this be?...do I go back into my mother's womb to be born again?" Jesus replies, "Whoever believes in Him will have eternal life." (vs 15). Please note that he does not say, "whoever is baptized has eternal life " Your website also says, "Baptism ushers us into a new era. We no longer need be slaves to sin." The Bible says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (II Corinthians 5:17) This is why the one being baptized ought to be completely immersed, or put under the water. It is a picture of complete cleansing from sin. A baby cannot be completely cleansed from sin without Christ.I am not ushered into a new era because I have been baptized. I am a new creature because I have been saved from my sin by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ - my Savior.
I am not sure how I have misinterpreted the teachings of the Catholic church. The site you recommended explained what I understood the church to believe. I do not wish to argue or offend anyone, but I also do not wish to be silent where scripture is not. Though I may offend for speaking truth, I fear that a greater offense would be to keep quiet about the gospel.
Anonymous, While I do respect your decision to believe whatever you will, I pray that you would study the gospel of John in its entirety and make sure that your FAITH is in JESUS CHRIST ALONE and not in a work or "sacrament". I don't think anyone is interested in a fruitless debate, but I hope you will post more comments to Kelly if you are interested in dialoguing to seek simple Biblical truth (not the traditions of any religious organization).
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