Quote:
Originally Posted by Costeon
I think you make a good point, though I am reluctant to use a single passage from a historical narrative, since we have nothing else to help us to know if this was a general practice. (You, of course, may have other passages you base your thought on here.) Admittedly my thinking has probably been shaped a lot by thinking of John's baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. They confessed their sins in the water it seems (Matt 3.6), so it seems to me that's what we would do. Confessing Jesus is Lord is the epitome of a repentant heart. I turn from sin and myself as Lord and confess him as Lord.
But more significantly, since Acts 22.6 speaks of calling on the name of the Lord in baptism and Paul mentions calling on the name of the Lord in Rom 10.13 and connects this with confessing Jesus is Lord, this may be evidence that in the NT they confessed Jesus as Lord in baptism.
Amen. |
That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God is the chief confession of the New Covenant Scriptures. The end of the Gospel of John is key:
These things are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His name (
John 20:31).
If a person doesn't believe these things and so does not openly confess them, they should not be baptized, no matter what else they might say or do. And I think it should be made certain that a person truly believes these things before they get in the water, or, after getting in the water, finding out the baptizee doesn't believe these things, means everyone just wasted their time.
So, even if you go through with the baptism in ignorance, they will not receive the Holy Spirit.
As far as making confession in the water, last fall I baptized a coworker (already filled with the Spirit decades ago) who, before her immersion, wanted to testify and make a confession. She said (paraphrasing here from memory) loudly with a smile "I believe in Jesus. I love Him with my whole heart. He is my Lord and Savior. I'm so excited and happy to be getting baptized."
That's a good confession, if you ask me. So I baptized her in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ afterward. But I would not have baptized her at all had I not already known she was a devotee of the Son of God and believed Him to be the Anointed One, even though she claimed she had already received the Spirit. And that came through lots of talking and administering the Word. As she received the Word, and me as the servant and messenger of the Messiah, it was clear her heart was tender and ready for immersion. In fact, she was the one who brought it up and told me the Lord had shown her she needed to be baptized. I then offered to do it and the rest is history.
Otherwise, yes, call on the Lord Jesus in baptism. Invoke Him and invite Him to the holy bath and petition Him to fulfill the promises of the Holy Scriptures when someone is baptized. But the baptizer should be certain such a confession is legit and make it a matter of importance to find out before leading someone to the water, or else, watch as someone just gets wet, and all leave discouraged.
Years ago, I was praying with a man from Cambodia, raised as a Buddhist, but living as a heathen. God was granting him repentance and he told me he wanted to be baptized. I asked him plainly "Do you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?", to which he replied "Yes", more nodding than speaking. The experience and the tears and what God was doing in His life at that moment made it clear He really did believe what he claimed. So we got him ready, baptized him and he received the Holy Spirit in a few moments after he came up from the water.
The church needs to make sure all the ducks are in a row, as it were, on this stuff, or things become disorderly and unfold in a haphazard way that does not, cannot, and will not, bless and glorify God.
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