I might add that this writing is by no means beautiful. Or grammatically correct. Or to everyone's liking.
I am writing this so that I can be an active writer and sort out all of the jumbled ideas in my head--specifically concerning faith and other moral issues.
Being able to logically order my thoughts and collect the argumentative statements of others is helpful to me because it allows me to really process all of the different opinions and determine which are theologically accurate.
This is challenging. This is fun. This is growth.
I hope that none of you mind my babbling over here :)
Monday, May 27, 2013
Late Night "Ponderings" of a Protestant
My mind is almost absolutely shot. I have been helping a friend polish a graduation speech before 9:00 AM Seattle time. If that is not enough, I am a Protestant who just attended a Catholic Vocation Bible School session.
I am honestly not sure why I keep putting myself in these positions. Yes, they are uncomfortable and sometimes frustrating, but I honestly feel that I have been led to them. They stretch my faith, and my understanding of the faith of others. Usually, I'm a pretty quiet kid, but tonight (for whatever reason), I decided to speak up.
The leader at this particular session spoke about several topics including how baptism is necessary for salvation.
I disagree. Strongly.
In my views, and from my understanding of what is in the Bible (not the Catechism, not another random ritual) is that baptism is very different from being saved.
If a person wants to be baptized, it means that he or she is making a profession of faith. He or she is saying that he or she believes in the Lord Jesus, and he or she is going to have a different life because of his or her beliefs.
Being saved means that a person accepts Jesus into their heart. The person understands that we all fall short of being perfect, and we need someone to save us from the fiery depths of hell. In order to obtain salvation, all that is necessary is to confess our sins to Jesus Christ, and tell Him that we trust that He has washed us clean from our impurities. Then, if we really have the Spirit in us, our lives will have fruit-it will be obvious that we have been changed through the grace and power of Christ Jesus. All we need in order to be saved is our faith that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins.
According to some, this unfortunately is not enough.
My views stand with the support of many passages in Scripture. However, because Scripture is so full of paradoxes, it can be tricky to try to figure out what might be the true answer. Don't get me wrong-truth is NOT!!!!!! NOT!!!!! NOT!!!!!! relative. There is only one truth. In fear of sounding cocky, I will shyly admit that I think that I have the truth.
Luke 23:39-43 says this: "One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
The man who was dying alongside Jesus made a profession of faith. After he made his profession of faith, Jesus said that the man would join him in Paradise (heaven). Was there a baptism? No, there was not. However, my dear Catholic friends had a response to that. They said, "There's this thing called baptism by blood or fire, where if someone dies with the intent of being baptized they are considered baptized. God is merciful. He would never deny someone graces they desire and intend to receive."
To which I responded, "How can you know that that man intended to be baptized?" She said, "He saw Christ as Savior. The natural response is to follow the example He gave. He was baptized and called us to do the same and to follow in His foot steps." It's a good response, but I still don't think that it is accurate.
To save on time, I really just want to bring up two more of my supporting verses. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." If you look more closely a second time, then you will notice that it says that whoever "believes" shall have eternal life. There is no mention of baptism being necessary.
The other verse I would like to point out comes from the book of Ephesians. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." From what I understand, baptism is a work. It is not necessarily something that means a person is truly saved. The little study note in my Bible sums it up very well by saying this: "Salvation is not by works. If it were, then those who are saved would get the glory. Salvation is not based on works, but the good works Christians do are the result of God's new creation work in them."
I have come to the conclusion through study and prayer that baptism is not the "ticket to heaven" so many people are looking for. Rather, when a person is truly saved, then he or she will desire to be baptized and make a profession of faith. This profession of faith will be evident in the life of this young person because the young person will "bear fruit" in his or her life.
To sum this up, baptism is not necessary for salvation. However, in many cases, people choose to be baptized because of their salvation experience. Baptism alone will not determine whether a person goes to heaven or hell.
I am honestly not sure why I keep putting myself in these positions. Yes, they are uncomfortable and sometimes frustrating, but I honestly feel that I have been led to them. They stretch my faith, and my understanding of the faith of others. Usually, I'm a pretty quiet kid, but tonight (for whatever reason), I decided to speak up.
The leader at this particular session spoke about several topics including how baptism is necessary for salvation.
I disagree. Strongly.
In my views, and from my understanding of what is in the Bible (not the Catechism, not another random ritual) is that baptism is very different from being saved.
If a person wants to be baptized, it means that he or she is making a profession of faith. He or she is saying that he or she believes in the Lord Jesus, and he or she is going to have a different life because of his or her beliefs.
Being saved means that a person accepts Jesus into their heart. The person understands that we all fall short of being perfect, and we need someone to save us from the fiery depths of hell. In order to obtain salvation, all that is necessary is to confess our sins to Jesus Christ, and tell Him that we trust that He has washed us clean from our impurities. Then, if we really have the Spirit in us, our lives will have fruit-it will be obvious that we have been changed through the grace and power of Christ Jesus. All we need in order to be saved is our faith that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins.
According to some, this unfortunately is not enough.
My views stand with the support of many passages in Scripture. However, because Scripture is so full of paradoxes, it can be tricky to try to figure out what might be the true answer. Don't get me wrong-truth is NOT!!!!!! NOT!!!!! NOT!!!!!! relative. There is only one truth. In fear of sounding cocky, I will shyly admit that I think that I have the truth.
Luke 23:39-43 says this: "One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
The man who was dying alongside Jesus made a profession of faith. After he made his profession of faith, Jesus said that the man would join him in Paradise (heaven). Was there a baptism? No, there was not. However, my dear Catholic friends had a response to that. They said, "There's this thing called baptism by blood or fire, where if someone dies with the intent of being baptized they are considered baptized. God is merciful. He would never deny someone graces they desire and intend to receive."
To which I responded, "How can you know that that man intended to be baptized?" She said, "He saw Christ as Savior. The natural response is to follow the example He gave. He was baptized and called us to do the same and to follow in His foot steps." It's a good response, but I still don't think that it is accurate.
To save on time, I really just want to bring up two more of my supporting verses. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." If you look more closely a second time, then you will notice that it says that whoever "believes" shall have eternal life. There is no mention of baptism being necessary.
The other verse I would like to point out comes from the book of Ephesians. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." From what I understand, baptism is a work. It is not necessarily something that means a person is truly saved. The little study note in my Bible sums it up very well by saying this: "Salvation is not by works. If it were, then those who are saved would get the glory. Salvation is not based on works, but the good works Christians do are the result of God's new creation work in them."
I have come to the conclusion through study and prayer that baptism is not the "ticket to heaven" so many people are looking for. Rather, when a person is truly saved, then he or she will desire to be baptized and make a profession of faith. This profession of faith will be evident in the life of this young person because the young person will "bear fruit" in his or her life.
To sum this up, baptism is not necessary for salvation. However, in many cases, people choose to be baptized because of their salvation experience. Baptism alone will not determine whether a person goes to heaven or hell.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)