Question About Baptismal Regeneration

[jinc1019]

What am I missing here?

My understanding of Lutheran baptism is that with the water and the Word, the objective promises made by God are made a reality, which is to say that when an infant is baptized, he or she is granted the promise of salvation through faith. How can I, a Christian, know I am saved? I can look to my baptism. Because I was baptized, I can know God gave me faith so long as I don't resist. Because I know I have faith, I know I am saved through the work of Christ on the cross.

If all that's accurate and true, why are there people who are baptized, never have faith, and then come to faith later on in life? For instance, I was baptized as an infant, but I never once, not as long as I can remember, believed in Jesus until much later in life. It doesn't seem at all like God gave me faith in my baptism.

I suppose you could argue that I resisted until I finally came to faith. But I don't ever recall resisting. I don't ever recall believing in the slightest. It seems to me that I never had faith and then suddenly did (after a long process of studying, praying, etc.), and this all occurred many, many years after baptism.

I could be misunderstanding something here, so please feel free to correct me.

 

[jinc1019]

And by the way (since this often comes up), I am not challenging the Lutheran belief, I'm simply trying to understand what Lutherans believe about baptism, using my own experience as a way to help get the point across.

 

[Tangible]

Because Baptism is not the end, it's the beginning. The mandate given by Christ is to make disciples by baptizing and teaching. Those baptized as infants or small children must be properly instructed in the faith, through formal and informal training and through observation of those around them working out their own salvation. Without such training and instruction the seed of faith planted through Baptism may soon wither and die or be snatched away by the evil one.

 

[jinc1019]

Because Baptism is not the end, it's the beginning. The mandate given by Christ is to make disciples by baptizing and teaching. Those baptized as infants or small children must be properly instructed in the faith, through formal and informal training and through observation of those around them working out their own salvation. Without such training and instruction the seed of faith planted through Baptism may soon wither and die or be snatched away by the evil one.

Ok. It sounds like you're saying a person in the situation I described did have faith after baptism but then lost it. Is that right?

 

[Tangible]

Ok. It sounds like you're saying a person in the situation I described did have faith after baptism but then lost it. Is that right?

It's possible. We can't know for certain if someone has faith in Christ or not in such a situation. Only God knows. In those who are young or mentally challenged faith in Christ may not be a conscious faith. Since faith is a gift from God he alone controls who he gives it to. Not being aware of having faith in Christ does not necessarily mean that someone doesn't have faith in Christ.

Also, we must be very careful that we do not require of ourselves or others a recursive type of faith, that is, faith in faith. Many Christians fall into the trap of having faith in their faith instead of faith in Christ and what he has fully accomplished for us. Recursive faith is never at rest. It is always looking for signs and confirmation of itself, whether that be in pious behavior, good works, great knowledge or emotional experience. Recursive faith always points back to our own selves and how we behave, what we know or how we feel. Faith in Christ, however, simply looks to Christ and rests in the fact that he has already accomplished everything necessary for our salvation.

 

[jinc1019]

It's possible. We can't know for certain if someone has faith in Christ or not in such a situation. Only God knows. In those who are young or mentally challenged faith in Christ may not be a conscious faith. Since faith is a gift from God he alone controls who he gives it to. Not being aware of having faith in Christ does not necessarily mean that someone doesn't have faith in Christ.

Also, we must be very careful that we do not require of ourselves or others a recursive type of faith, that is, faith in faith. Many Christians fall into the trap of having faith in their faith instead of faith in Christ and what he has fully accomplished for us. Recursive faith is never at rest. It is always looking for signs and confirmation of itself, whether that be in pious behavior, good works, great knowledge or emotional experience. Recursive faith always points back to our own selves and how we behave, what we know or how we feel. Faith in Christ, however, simply looks to Christ and rests in the fact that he has already accomplished everything necessary for our salvation.

Thanks for this. I appreciate it!