Does the UCC have a dominant theology about salvation?

[NetSpiker]

I understand that the United Church of Christ is very diverse, but does it have a dominant theology about salvation? By "dominant" I mean something that the majority believe in. Are the majority of people in the UCC Calvinists, Arminians, Universalists or something else?

 

[rayodeluz]

From the UCC website. Hope this answers your question.

God's plan of salvation

 

[NetSpiker]

That sounds pretty much consistent with any theology.

 

[I <3 Abraham]

Well, take it up with the book of Ephesians, that's where we got that from.

 

[Yessica]

I heard that the UCC believes that physical baptism is necessary for salvation?

If so, this is quite contrary to other to the Gospel of the Apostle Paul.

I extract an article from this link: Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? | Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry

Would you kindly help me clarify on the view of UCC on this?

by Matt Slick

One of the most nagging questions in Christianity is whether or not baptism is necessary for salvation. The answer is a simple, "No, water baptism is not necessary for salvation." [bless and do not curse]But you might ask, "If the answer is no, then why are there verses that say things like '...baptism that now saves you...' (1 Pet. 3:21) and '...Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins...' (Acts 2:38)?"[bless and do not curse] These are good questions and they deserve a good answer, so we will look at these verses later.[bless and do not curse] But for now, the reason baptism is not necessary for salvation is because we are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:8), not by faith and a ceremony (Rom. 4:1-11).[bless and do not curse] You see, a religious ceremony is a set of activities or forms peformed by someone.[bless and do not curse] In the Bible circumcision was a ceremony where one person performed a religious rite on another person.[bless and do not curse] Likewise, baptism is also a ceremony where one person performs a religious rite on another person.[bless and do not curse] But, we are saved by faith alone and anything else we do, including ceremonies, will not help.

If we are saved by faith, then we are saved by faith when we believe, not when we get baptized, otherwise we are not saved by faith.[bless and do not curse] Furthermore, if baptism is necessary for salvation then anyone who receives Christ on his deathbed in a hospital and who also believes Jesus is God in the flesh, who died and rose from the dead for his sins,[bless and do not curse] etc., would go to hell if he doesn't get baptized before he died.[bless and do not curse] This would mean that we were not justified by faith because if we were, then the person would be saved.[bless and do not curse] Also, if baptism is necessary for salvation, then all babies who die go to hell since they weren't baptized.[bless and do not curse] Remember, when someone says that baptism is necessary, there can be no exceptions -- otherwise it isn't necessary.

Now, in order to more thoroughly look at this issue, I need to lay a foundation of proper theology, and then I'll address some of those verses that are commonly used to support the idea that baptism is necessary for salvation.

God Works Covenantally

First, you need to understand that God works covenantally. [bless and do not curse] A covenant is a pact or agreement between two or more parties. [bless and do not curse]The New Testament and Old Testament are New and Old Covenants. The word "testament" comes from the Latin testamentum which means covenant. [bless and do not curse]So, the Bible is a covenant document. [bless and do not curse]If you do not understand covenant you cannot understand, in totality, the issue of baptism because baptism is a covenant sign.

If you do not think that God works covenantally then look at Hebrews 13:20 which says, "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,..."[bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse]The Eternal Covenant is the covenant between the Father and the Son before the creation of the world, whereby the Father would give to the Son those whom the Father had chosen. [bless and do not curse]That is why Jesus says things like, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away," (John 6:37).[bless and do not curse] And, "And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day," (John 6:39).[bless and do not curse] And, "I pray for them. [bless and do not curse]I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours," (John 17:9).

If you fail to understand that God works covenantally and that He uses signs as manifestations of his covenants (rainbow, circumcision, communion, etc.) then you will not be able to understand where baptism fits in God's covenant system.

Second, you need to know what baptism is. [bless and do not curse]It is a ceremony that represents an outward representation of an inward reality. [bless and do not curse]For example, it represents the reality of the inward washing of Christ's blood upon the soul. [bless and do not curse]That is why it is used in different ways. [bless and do not curse]It is said to represent the death of the person (Rom. 6:3-5), the union of that person with Christ (Gal. 3:27), the cleansing of that person's sins (Acts 22:16), the identification with the one "baptized into" as when the Israelites were baptized into Moses (1 Cor. 10:2), and being united in one church (1 Cor. 12:13). [bless and do not curse]Also, baptism is one of the signs and seals of the Covenant of Grace that was instituted by Jesus.


Third, the Bible says that it is the gospel that saves. [bless and do not curse]"By this gospel you are saved..." (1 Cor. 15:2).[bless and do not curse] Also, Rom. 1:16 says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."[bless and do not curse] Neither of these verses, which tell us what saves us, includes any mention of baptism.

What is the Gospel?

It is clearly the gospel that saves us, but what exactly is the gospel? [bless and do not curse]That too is revealed to us in the Bible. [bless and do not curse]It is found in 1 Cor. 15:1-4: "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. [bless and do not curse]By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. [bless and do not curse]Otherwise, you have believed in vain. [bless and do not curse]For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."[bless and do not curse] The gospel is defined as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. [bless and do not curse]Baptism is not mentioned here.

Paul said that he came to preach the gospel, not to baptize: "I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. [bless and do not curse](Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) [bless and do not curse]For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel..." (1 Cor. 1:14-17). [bless and do not curse]If baptism is necessary for salvation, then why did Paul downplay it and even exclude it from the description of what is required for salvation? [bless and do not curse]It is because baptism is not necessary for salvation.

Additionally, in Acts, Peter was preaching the gospel, people got saved, and then they were baptized. [bless and do not curse]Acts 10:44-48 says, "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. [bless and do not curse]The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. [bless and do not curse]For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. [bless and do not curse]Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? [bless and do not curse]They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.' [bless and do not curse]So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. [bless and do not curse]Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days." [bless and do not curse]These people were saved. [bless and do not curse]The gift of the Holy Spirit was on the Gentiles and they were speaking in tongues. [bless and do not curse]This is significant because tongues is a gift given to believer

Some think that the baptism corresponds to the Ark because it was the Ark that saved them, not the floodwaters. [bless and do not curse]This is a possibility, but one of the problems is that this interpretation does not seem to stand grammatically since the antecedent of Baptism is most probably in reference to the water, not the Ark.

But, water did not save Noah.[bless and do not curse] This is why Peter excludes the issue of water baptism being the thing that saves us because he says, "not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God." [bless and do not curse]Peter says that it is not the application of water that saves us but a pledge of the good conscience. [bless and do not curse]Therefore, baptism here most probably represents the breaking away of the old sinful life and entrance into the new life with Christ -- in the same way that the flood waters in Noah's time was the destruction of the sinful way and, once through it, known as entering into[bless and do not curse]the new way.[bless and do not curse] Also, Peter says that the baptism is an appeal of a good conscience before God. [bless and do not curse]Notice that this is dealing with faith. [bless and do not curse]It seems that Peter is defining real baptism as the act of faith.

Acts 22:16, "And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name."

Is the washing away of sins done by baptism, the representation of the circumcised heart (Col. 2:11-12) which means you are already saved, or is it by the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:14; Rom. 5:9; Eph. 1:7)? [bless and do not curse]Obviously it is the blood of Jesus and the washing here refers to the calling on Jesus' name.

Rom. 6:4, "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

Because the believer is so closely united to Christ it is said that the symbol of baptism is our death, burial, and resurrection. [bless and do not curse]Obviously we did not die -- unless, of course, it is a figurative usage.[bless and do not curse] And that is what it is here.[bless and do not curse] The figure of baptism represents the reality of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.[bless and do not curse] It is a covenant sign for us.[bless and do not curse] Remember, a covenant sign represents the covenant.[bless and do not curse] The covenant sign of baptism represents the covenant of grace which is that covenant between God and the Christian where we receive the grace of God through the persons

 

[rayodeluz]

I heard that the UCC believes that physical baptism is necessary for salvation?

If so, this is quite contrary to other to the Gospel of the Apostle Paul.

I extract an article from this link: Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? | Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry

Would you kindly help me clarify on the view of UCC on this?

I've heard that some Church of Christ members believe this, but I haven't heard this about the UCC (the CofC and UCC are different).

 

[Yessica]

Thank you.

Would you please explain to me the difference between CoC and UCC?

 

[rayodeluz]

Thank you.

Would you please explain to me the difference between CoC and UCC?

I know extremely little about the CoC, so I can't answer this question. The one thing I have heard (and this may be wrong) is that the CoC is pretty conservative. I don't know if the CoC has a website explaining their beliefs, but you can find info on the UCC at www.ucc.org

 

[Bob Carabbio]

The "Church of Christ" has developed from the concepts of Alexander Campbell, and is a hyper-legalistic/hyper-fundamental group that DOES teach Baptismal regeneration (but denies it).

The "UNITED Church of Christ" is an ULTRA-liberal "Conglomerate denomination" formed by the union of several churched, including the Evangelical United Brethren, Reformed Lutheran, and Congregational denominations.

It has NOTHING in common with the Campbellite churches - which are divided into the Non-Instrumental Church of Christ, the Instrumental Church of Christ, and the "Disciples of Christ" (Christian) groups.

 

[Luke_1989]

The "Church of Christ" has developed from the concepts of Alexander Campbell, and is a hyper-legalistic/hyper-fundamental group that DOES teach Baptismal regeneration (but denies it).

The "UNITED Church of Christ" is an ULTRA-liberal "Conglomerate denomination" formed by the union of several churched, including the Evangelical United Brethren, Reformed Lutheran, and Congregational denominations.

It has NOTHING in common with the Campbellite churches - which are divided into the Non-Instrumental Church of Christ, the Instrumental Church of Christ, and the "Disciples of Christ" (Christian) groups.

Adding to the confusion is that the UCC is closely partnered with the Campbellite Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), although the DOC has largely abandoned many of Campbell's ideas and looks very much like the other sisters of liberal protestantism in America today.