There are several reasons to be opposed to baptismal regeneration. I'll mention just one to begin:
Baptism is analogous to the OT covenant sign of circumcision. Those who were circumcised in the OT were included in the covenant, but they were not regenerated by their circumcision. They were regenerated only by the working of the Spirit through faith in the circumcision of the heart. Baptism, likewise, does not itself regenerate apart from the Holy Spirit working through faith.
Thanks
@Tree of Life I am in full agreement with you've said, but if that's the case, let's just open up the actual text of Scripture rather than just referring to it. First off, regarding the Abrahamic covenant, and circumcision being the sign.
Genesis 17:9–11 (ESV)
9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.
Obviously to those who were the descendants of Abraham, the physical sign of circumcision would be the mark of them being truly a member of the covenant people of God, as is analogous of baptism under the New Covenant in Christ. I would agree that the outward act of either circumcision or baptism has no power to save us, but what of the consequence of rejecting the outward act? Wouldn't you agree that also the consequence of rejecting circumcision is analogous to rejecting baptism?
Genesis 17:14 (ESV)
14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin
shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
Is it really too big a leap to make to suggest that we cannot be spared from the eternal wrath of God against sin, whilst at the same time being outside of His covenant people? Whilst I fully agree that it is an underlying spiritual truth that holds the power of salvation, namely the shed blood of Christ for the sins of the world, what gives us confidence that blood has been truly applied to our own lives?
In a similar way, during the Passover when Israel was led out of Egypt, God attached a physical element to His promise to spare their firstborn while not sparing the firstborn of those outside the covenant. And whilst it was the promise of God that held the power, it was the physical element ordained by Him that connected His people to His promise. It was not sufficient to simply "have faith" they would be spared from His wrath.
Exodus 12:13 (ESV)
13 The blood
shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
The blood on the doorposts was a tangible sign given to those who would trust in His promise to spare them by His grace, not ancient GPS co-ordinates that God needed to guide His hand. They were clinging to the promise of God by embracing the sign He had attached to it.
So too with baptism under the New Covenant. We know and believe that the wrath of God will fall on this world at His appointed time. We know and believe that all those in Christ shall be spared His wrath on That Day. But what tangible sign are we to embrace in order to cling to the promise of God? In light of the fact that we daily know deep in our bones that we are sinful goats to the core, on what basis do we trust that on that Final Day, when the sheep are separated from the goats, that we personally shall be numbered with the sheep? How do we truly know that the underlying spiritual truth that holds the power of salvation, will be applied to us personally right when it counts? What sign has God given to us to embrace, that when the sky recedes like a scroll and all eyes see Christ returning with His angels and all the saints to judge the world, that we shall stand before God and be called His good and faithful servant?
Colossians 2:8–15 (ESV)
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For
in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and
you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11
In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh,
by the circumcision of Christ, 12
having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Romans 6:3–11 (ESV)
3 Do you not know that
all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We
were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7
For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
To my knowledge, there is no other sign given in the New Testament that directly correlates to the spiritual truth of us being found in Christ, having already been united with Him in death, that we may also be united with Him in eternal life. In other words, baptism saves us because it is the tangible sign ordained by God and given to us, that directly connects us to the redeeming work of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Isn't it typical of sinful man to seek to try and find his own way instead?
