If baptism saves I don't understand how baptizing babies could be efficacious. It seems to say that the baby is saved because of the faith and actions of their parents, and not their own faith and love for God. How does that make sense?
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If baptism saves I don't understand how baptizing babies could be efficacious. It seems to say that the baby is saved because of the faith and actions of their parents, and not their own faith and love for God. How does that make sense?
And of the unborn child ? What is their condition? I say they are all with the Lord regardless of their lack of water baptism. Blessings.If baptism saves I don't understand how baptizing babies could be efficacious. It seems to say that the baby is saved because of the faith and actions of their parents, and not their own faith and love for God. How does that make sense?
If baptism saves I don't understand how baptizing babies could be efficacious. It seems to say that the baby is saved because of the faith and actions of their parents, and not their own faith and love for God. How does that make sense?
Grace is an unmerited gift from God. Are you implying that somehow the individual has to be able to do something to receive His Grace?If baptism saves I don't understand how baptizing babies could be efficacious. It seems to say that the baby is saved because of the faith and actions of their parents, and not their own faith and love for God. How does that make sense?
Another thing to consider is that because we are made of matter, matter plays a role in our salvation. In fact, God the Son became man to share the human experience. He hungered, slept, and even cried at the tomb of Lazarus. Orthodox, Coptic, Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran all see baptism as well as the Lord's Supper and for others, anointing in oil or icons etc. playing a key role here. If we were simply spiritual beings, there would have never been a need for circumcision or paint the doors with the blood of the lambs during the Passover. But God chose to include material means as part of his plan of salvation. So the sacraments include a material component as well as a spiritual one.
From a Lutheran perspective faith is always a gift, something God gives, creates, works, and strengthens. The phrase we use is Extra Nos, "from outside ourselves". Faith is extra nos. Faith isn't something we do, or create in ourselves, faith doesn't arise from the intellect or our reasoning faculties. Faith is from God who gives and works faith in us by His own word (Romans 10:17).
Thus we say and believe, that whenever and wherever God's word is, God is doing something. This is what it means when Lutherans speak of "Word and Sacrament" as "Means of Grace". When we use "Word and Sacrament" we are not saying there is one thing "Word" and then another thing "Sacrament"; we mean one thing "Word and Sacrament". And we call these "Means of Grace" because we believe, and believe Scripture teaches, that God uses means, there are certain things which God has promised to work and act through, to be gracious to us. To speak His promises, to give us assurance in His promises, to give us faith and hold us and keep us and strengthen faith in us.
So, naturally, the preaching of the word is means of grace. When the word is preached, that is when the Gospel is preached, it isn't dead but living, it is a living thing that has power, God's power to save all who believe (Romans 1:16), "from faith to faith, ... 'the just shall live by faith'" (Romans 1:17).
That same word, the promises of God which are ours in Christ, are there too connected to water in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. If it were just water, it'd just be getting wet. But since the water is united with God's word, His promises, then it is no longer just ordinary water, it is Baptism, and thus as St. Peter says, "this baptism now saves you, not as the removal of dirt from the body, but as the pledge of new conscience before God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 3:21), even as Jesus Christ said that there is new birth "by water and the Spirit" (John 3:3-5), or as Paul says in Galatians 3:27, we have "put on Christ" in baptism.
God is the one who is active in Baptism, God is right there working, creating, strengthening faith.
That means that the faith which saves the baptized infant isn't the faith of their parents/sponsors, it isn't the actions of the one who officiates, or the actions of the parents/sponsors. Baptism doesn't save ex opere operato ("from the working of the work itself") but saves because of God's word which creates and works faith. That means the baptized infant has faith. It is the faith which the infant has which freely justifies them before God, and thus they are indeed truly and really saved, truly justified on the basis of Christ's finished and perfect work, and it is through faith alone.
It doesn't matter if a grown man of 80 years is baptized, or if a baby of 8 days is baptized. God's grace is still God's grace, the Gospel is still the Gospel, the atoning and perfect work of Christ is still still the perfect work of Christ, and faith is still faith.
The only difference is that there is a greater likelihood that an 80 year old has the ability to express that faith with some amount of reason and learned language skills--but it is not reason which saves, it is not the ability to understand or articulate or do something ourselves that saves. It is God's grace alone, through faith alone, which God alone gives, on account of what Christ has done alone.
If we are saved by grace alone through faith alone on Christ's account alone, then we don't get to gate keep God's gracious power to save and then try to take credit ourselves; as though we have anything to boast about, because we don't. We don't even get to take credit for our faith.
-CryptoLutheran
water itself can only accomplish a physical washing "not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience" (1 Peter 3:19-22) so baptism is an abstract value similar to that of circumcision. Colossian uniquely links circumcision and bapstism together in Col 2:9-12If baptism saves I don't understand how baptizing babies could be efficacious. It seems to say that the baby is saved because of the faith and actions of their parents, and not their own faith and love for God. How does that make sense?
I don't see anywhere in Scripture baptism defined as a "public declaration of faith." Baptism is never spoken of as an event for the eyes of the audience. If it was the case, baptism is a "public declaration" then we would expect to find verses speaking about baptism linked to individuals who witness the baptisms to be the focus of the text or the testimonies of individuals to be the focus of the text.I believe that baptism is something that a believer has to choose to do and is meant to act as a public declaration of faith.
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If baptism saves I don't understand how baptizing babies could be efficacious. It seems to say that the baby is saved because of the faith and actions of their parents, and not their own faith and love for God. How does that make sense.
We commend them to the mercy of God, and only God knows.And of the unborn child ? What is their condition? I say they are all with the Lord regardless of their lack of water baptism. Blessings.
We commend them to the mercy of God, and only God knows.
Blessings
Thanks for the info!The salvation of children isn't contingent on a denial of sacramental grace or efficacy. John Calvin himself reconciled both. He saw that Jesus blessed children, so he concluded that children that died young had been elected for salvation, dying in a state of blessedness.
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