Thursday, November 07, 2024
Does this mean believers baptism only?
Andrew Millsom
Although, as Herman Bavinck notes, when a church and pastor concentrate outwardly on evangelism their baptisms will usually be baptisms of new converts (and their children by a inference), and when a church concentrates on maintaining the status quo, it will pretty much only do infant baptisms), nevertheless,
the parents of a child being baptised should themselves be believers and the person administering baptism should themselves be believers in order that the expression of unity (one baptism) should be related directly to the "one Lord, and one faith" in Ephesians 4.
The issue, (as Bavinck notes in Reformed Theology, and "the Future of Reformed Churches") is whether a church is evangelically focussed or not. The issue is commitment by the session and church to the one Lord and one Faith.
Although, as Herman Bavinck notes, when a church and pastor concentrate outwardly on evangelism their baptisms will usually be baptisms of new converts (and their children by a inference), and when a church concentrates on maintaining the status quo, it will pretty much only do infant baptisms), nevertheless,
the parents of a child being baptised should themselves be believers and the person administering baptism should themselves be believers in order that the expression of unity (one baptism) should be related directly to the "one Lord, and one faith" in Ephesians 4.
The issue, (as Bavinck notes in Reformed Theology, and "the Future of Reformed Churches") is whether a church is evangelically focussed or not. The issue is commitment by the session and church to the one Lord and one Faith.
# posted by Groseys messages @ 7:33 AM 
