June 26, 2013
Picking and Choosing
A recent discussion on baptism ended with the speaker saying, “Although I don’t have Biblical evidence to
back up my thoughts, it’s my personal opinion that there will be some people in
heaven who have not been baptized.” I’ve really struggled with his comment because
it seems to water down baptism and put it in the area of personal choice. Peter
is very clear, “Repent and be baptized,
every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is
for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our
God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39 NIV) If we set aside baptism as part of
forgiveness of sins, can we also set aside repentance? I can’t imagine anyone saying, ‘It’s my
personal opinion that there will be some people in heaven who have not
repented.’
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----I am in complete accord with your reason for rejecting both of these ideas. But had your recent speaker been better versed, he would have had plenty of evidence. Jesus granted the repentant thief to be with Him in Paradise. The thief was not baptized. Neither were thousands, nay, probably millions who died before Christ arose and the Holy Spirit fell upon men and revealed the way of Christian baptism. They will all be there because they loved and desired what the Lord loved and desired - truth and love and righteousness and faith and hope in the Lord, etc., and all the life these generate. However, simple analysis discovers baptism not to be a preferential matter. The Holy Spirit did not lead Peter to exclaim, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you who want to, in the name of Jesus Christ if you like it, some other if not, for the forgiveness of sins, if you think you have done those sorts of things.” It can not be stated better than you did, “Peter is very clear.”
-----What is it to add to or subtract from the Word of God? “I warn every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” (Rev 22:18-19) Often ancient authors would add such a warning to their works hoping that future scribes would not tamper with their text when copying it. Does the warning extend beyond the scribe’s desk? Written text is only a form of transmitting information from one mind to another. Could it be that the warning is interested in preserving only the form of transmission? To keep just the copying of books unblemished?
-----It is the movement of information from one mind to another that books were ever printed in the first place. The warning is against misrepresenting the Word of God no matter what the form of its communication, spoken, written, art, even acting out examples. Any representation that an idea originates from Scripture when it does not, or that it does not when it does, is to add to or take away from The Book. It is one thing to be uneducated about matters; it is quite a different thing to be a fool in the face of the obvious. “I have applied all this to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brethren, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written…” (I Cor 4:6)
-----The fact that the thief and millions of people before Pentecost, AD33 entered Paradise without being baptized is not a theological statement regarding some non-essential nature of baptism. It is a statement about the conditions of reality, maybe warning us to neither repent before Pentecost AD33 nor repent while nailed to a cross lest you’ll not be able to be baptized. It is precisely the repentant thief’s predicament upon the cross which drives home the good sense of the Ethiopian eunuch’s question to Phillip, “See, here is water! What is to prevent my being baptized?” (Acts 8:37)
-----How tiny is a bit of information? The Higg’s Boson is tiny indeed. But its discovery this year brings enormous change to the knowledge of quantum physics. So also, “Baptism…now saves you…” (I Pet 3:21) is a tiny bit of information. Yet being information, moreover, being Scriptural information, its sense is best not left out of its idea, as the trick is oft wont to be, lest its extractor is left out of Paradise. After all, it is information communicated by God.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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