12/24/2022 0 Comments Luther's baptismal regenerationIs Baptism necessary for salvation? Read and judge for yourself whether this is truly Reformed (i.e. biblical) or obviously heretical. According to Luther’s Large Catechism on Baptism:
1) It is necessary to be water baptized for salvation. Luther states, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved… For to be baptized in the name of God is to be baptized not by men, but by God Himself. Therefore although it is performed by human hands, it is nevertheless truly God's own work… God's works, however, are saving and necessary for salvation, and do not exclude, but demand, faith…” BUT the entire testimony of Scripture, from beginning to end, is that God saves sinners through faith alone, apart from circumcision, water baptism, or any kind of works. Romans 4 says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Then “he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised.” If you are going to call water baptism “a work of God,” then you have no reason not to call circumcision the work of God, since they are both covenant signs from God and they both picture salvation (Col 2:11,12). Thus, you contradict what Romans 4 says about justification by faith TRULY ALONE apart from rituals, by mis-categorizing an obvious work of man as “a work of God.” To cite only a few more passages: John 6:29 says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” It is faith alone, given by God’s work in the heart, that saves. Again, Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith — and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God…” It is faith, given by God, that saves. Again, Paul directly opposes “putting faith in the flesh” — all human achievements and religious rituals — for the obtaining of salvation, in Philippians 3:4. In truth, the actual saving work of God is through the Spirit’s INTERNAL, INVISIBLE regenerating work, by which He makes alive a dead sinner and gives him faith to believe (Jn 1:13; 3:6; Titus 3:5). And the Holy Spirit uses ONLY ONE means to regenerate: the preaching of the gospel (Ac 4:12; Ro 10:8,17; 1Co 2:2). And His work then evidences itself in: Abraham (who was saved in NO different way than anyone else in all history was saved; Ro 4:3,11), the faith of the thief on the cross (Lk 23:42), the Jews’ repentance (Ac 2:37), the Gentiles’ conversion (Ac 10:47), Lydia’s faith (Ac 16:14), and on and on and on; every one of them received salvation through faith alone apart from rituals of any kind. The New covenant ritual of water baptism follows only after salvation has taken place, in order to celebrate the work of God in the person’s heart. 2) The thing to which faith clings is water baptism, and not Christ alone. Again, Luther: “…faith must have something which it believes… Thus faith clings to the water, and believes that it is Baptism, in which there is pure salvation and life… [The thing to which faith clings] shall and must be something external... as indeed the entire Gospel is an external, verbal preaching.” To be ABSOLUTELY precise with the language in order to dispel this foolishness of trying to mischaracterize the gospel message: We do not cling, in some impossibly abstract sense, to the gospel message as if it is itself anything. We actually cling to Christ, whom the gospel is about. And we certainly do not believe in some mystical water to save us; we believe in the risen Saviour who is the propitiation for our sins (1Co 2:2). If Paul were to hear Luther chatter in this way, he rightly would have rebuked him thus: “Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Gal 3:1-3). 3) Reciting a formula of some words mentioning God over the waters of baptism is enough to transform the water into “saving, divine water.” Luther again: “[Baptism] is not mere ordinary water, but water comprehended in God's Word and command, and sanctified thereby, so that it is nothing else than a divine water; not that the water in itself is nobler than other water, but that God's Word and command are added… Where the name of God is, there must be also life and salvation… for by the Word, such power is imparted to Baptism that it is a laver of regeneration as St. Paul also calls it (Titus 3:5)… it is Baptism in which there is pure salvation and life, through the fact that it is embodied in the Word and institution of God, and the name of God inheres in it.” Ignorant of the fact that God uses water metaphorically to speak of spiritual cleansing — salvation (Eze 36:25; Jn 3:5; Jn 13:8,10; Ac 22:16; 1Co 6:11; Titus 3:5), Luther thinks that the actual water gains some mystical property because the word of God is somehow infused into it. But in regard to the actual word of God, Romans 10 says, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, the word of faith which we are preaching. Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” So then, salvation is a spiritual act of God, and the means of salvation is also spiritual and internal. And the only means is through repenting and believing in Christ. And the physical ritual makes ZERO contribution to salvation (Jn 6:63). 4) If you ever doubt your salvation and become afraid, you know where to look to for assurance: that one time you got baptized. Luther: “When our sins and conscience oppress us, we strengthen ourselves and take comfort and say: Nevertheless I am baptized; but if I am baptized, it is promised me that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both in soul and body.” On the contrary, water baptism, the Sinner’s Prayer, or any other treacherous thing to which people cling for assurance, has power to save them as much as reciting some words about Jesus had in saving the sons of Sceva from getting beat up by demons (Ac 19:15,16). But infinitely worse than getting beat up by demons is finding yourself on judgment day among the many who have stacked up a lot of religious achievements yet who will be utterly rejected for lack of true faith in Christ (Mt 7:22,23). If you ever lack assurance, you don’t look to some past event when you did something. You look to God’s word and thoroughly examine yourself in light of it (2Co 13:5). Are you loving God, obeying His commandments (Jn 14:15), hating and overcoming sin more and more (Ro 7:24; 1Jn 2:10), growing in humility and gratitude toward God (1Jn 2:13,14), hungry for God’s word and truth (1Pe 2:2; 1Jn 1:6), does your faith stand firm after trials (Ro 5:3,4; 1Pe 1:7)?
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CategoriesAll Discourse Doctrines Gospel Humour NT Commentaries OT Commentaries Tactical Life Date
August 2023
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