David Miller wrote: > I agree completely. Some of these passages are > the very ones that I had shared with you previously.
Judy wrote: > I don't recall you sharing these... We are starting to talk in circles, so perhaps we should just let it rest for now. When you do not consider carefully what I have shared, then we cannot communicate very well. You asked me if I could share more than one verse for a theology of the work of regeneration through baptism. So, I shared the following passages: Acts 2:38-41 KJV Acts 8:12 KJV Acts 22:16 KJV Romans 6:3-6 KJV Galatians 3:26-27 KJV 1 Peter 3:21 KJV Later you wrote: > So... 1 Peter 3:21 must be understood in the light > of the following: > Colossians 2:11, Romans 6:3-8, Galatians 3:27 To which I responded: > I agree completely. Some of these passages are > the very ones that I had shared with you previously. Then you replied: > I don't recall you sharing these... Notice that two of these passages (Romans 6 and Galatians 3) are the same ones that I shared with you to show the link between baptism and regeneration. Romans 6 associates baptism with being baptized into Christ's death. It uses the term "buried with him by baptism." It speaks of our old man being crucified with him, the same analogy that Peter uses in speaking of how Noah was saved by / through / via water. It then speaks of the resurrection and being raised with him. Galatians 3:27 says, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." So it associates baptism with putting on Christ. Therefore, baptism is more than just a symbolic thing. There is an inward work that takes place when you have the mix of repentance, God's Word, faith, and baptism. David Miller wrote: >> None of these passages teach that baptism is only >> an outward symbol of an inward experience that had >> already taken place sometime before. Judy wrote: > The implication is there - It symbolizes the death, > burial, and resurrection of Christ. We certainly don't > die physically down there as he did on the cross and > we don't go from the water to a tomb physically do we? > So it is a symbolic representation of this reality. > I have to wonder if how many who go under the water > these days realize what it is all about. We agree that baptism has much symbolism. That is not the problem. The problem is when you relegate baptism to merely being symbolic, then baptism loses all its power. The implication of these verses is that there is something powerful going on with baptism, that it is much more than some outward symbolism of some past inward event. If baptism is merely a symbolic outward expression and not meant to do anything inwardly, then nobody will enter baptism with faith and none of these teachings of Scripture concerning the inward work of baptism will be true in their lives. It becomes a self fulfilling teaching of sorts in the same way that when people are taught that Jesus does not heal anymore, then they do not experience healing. I think we have talked enough on this subject. Let him who has ears to hear, hear. Let him who would remain ignorant be ignorant still. I see no need to strive over this topic. Peace be with you. David Miller, Beverly Hills, Florida. ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
