Doulos 7
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- Jul 10, 2018
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First of all the word baptism is the greek word baptizo which means to dip plunge or immerse. The word for sprinkle is rantizo. the catholics wanted to keep their sprinkling operation so bad that they twisted the word from immerse to baptize so that their error would not be visible to the untrained eye (Revelation 22:18,19).Heb. 10:22
Ezek. 36:25
Nu. 8:7; 19:9, 12-13, 18-21; 31:23; cf. Heb. 9:13
Heb. 9:10, "divers washings" lit. baptisms
Ex. 24:8; Lev. 14:1-7; Heb. 9:19-22
Scripture does not clearly teach immersion. The meaning of baptism points more to our union with Christ and any debates about the "true mode" of baptism makes the focus not Christ but a quantity of water.
"Whether the person baptised is to be wholly immersed, and that whether once or thrice, or whether he is only to be sprinkled with water, is not of the least consequence: churches should be at liberty to adopt either according to the diversity of climates" (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 4.15.19).
Reformed Westminster Standards supports both sprinkling and pouring.
The Reformed believe sprinkling to be either the or a proper mode of baptism from scripture; we understand the picture of the covenant people being sprinkled with the blood of Christ, even as Israel was sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifices when her covenant was established; and of which the Old Testament washings were symbolic, etc. We can demonstrate this exegetically. Whether the baptist agrees with our paedo exegesis is one thing, but I am quite certain that most sober-minded baptists will acknowledge the consistency and legitimacy of paedobaptist, covenantal exegesis.
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