Couldn’t Help But BlogPosted by Rick on January 18th, 2004
Here is an excerpt from Daniel Erlander’s Baptized, We Live:
Through water God touches a weak and vulnerable crown of his creation and says YES !
-You are incorporated into Christ and into his body, the church.
-You are initiated, adopted into my covenant people.
-You are called! Chosen! Saved! Born again!
-You are forgiven – free to live without excuses.
-You are ordained, set aside to be a minister.
-You are marked with the cross of Christ forever.
-You are given the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Because of Baptism we are Christians. Never does our status before God depend on …
how we feel.
having the right experience.
being free of doubts.
what we accomplish.
our success or our position.
We are Christians because God surprised US. Coming in water, God washed us and grafted us into Christ. Our identity for all the days of our life is set! We are Children of God, priests of the King, disciples of Christ, a servant people, a holy nation, the communion of saints, the followers of the Way, proclaimers of the wonderful deeds of God. Jesus’ story becomes our story. Baptized into his death, we are raised to live as the Body of Christ in the world today.
Yeah, Lutherans don’t believe in baptismal regeneration.
January 22nd, 2004 at 6:53 am
Whoever said Lutherans don’t believe in baptismal regeneration? I’m confused.
January 22nd, 2004 at 10:51 am
Some presbyterians that want to believe Lutherans are good Christians because they don’t believe in baptismal regeneration, but we’re heretics because we do believe in it in some qualified sense.
January 23rd, 2004 at 3:31 am
I fail to see how a good Christian can be consistent and not believe in some form of baptismal regeneration. Furthermore, I struggle with the fact that many who do recognize that Scripture teaches some form of baptismal regeneration are encouraged to drown it in qualifications. Should it not be something we openly celebrate?
January 24th, 2004 at 12:16 am
amen!
January 27th, 2004 at 5:37 pm
Just curious—- Does this theology also teach that the OT rite of circumcision was also regenerational in some sense?
January 29th, 2004 at 3:37 am
Circumcision was certainly not regenerational in the same sense as baptism. Baptism makes us part of the Regeneration, circumcision did not. The Regeneration was yet to occur. Circumcision could never make some a partaker of resurrection life in the same way as baptism does.
Circumcision, however, did change those who were circumcised. It made them into new people. They were brought into a new relationship with the Creator God and marked out as His special people.
Circumcision made someone a member of Israel with all of the associated blessings and responsibilities. Baptism makes us members of the Church. The Church is Israel brought to its full maturity, so there is certainly a clear analogy between circumcision and baptism. However, there are also very clear redemptive historical differences between what circumcision and baptism do.