Give me one positive command to baptize infants please - Page 6

Semper Fidelis · #**201** (**permalink**) 08-28-2007, 09:38 PM

Sorry Bruce but I have an unanswered question that I want to address.

Quote:

Originally Posted by victorbravo

I think the seed of our different understandings is right here. I agree that as an unregenerate heathen, I could not grasp the "fear and admonition of the Lord", but that doesn't mean that it didn't have an effect. Before I grasped the gospel, I grasped the idea that God must be feared. I even grew to fear a judgment and did all I could to reason my way out of such a thing.

I remember even daring God to come down and reason with me, I'd show him a thing or two! Praise him that he left me alone to my own foolishness.

So, in a nutshell, I take the notion of raising children to fear the Lord as something akin to teaching them the truth of Romans 1. I don't think a child understands without instruction what sin is, what God's law is, etc. They can be raised to understand these things, but it takes preaching and the Spirit to regenerate their mind to the point of holding to them.

I think if I knew for sure that this was the monolithic view of Baptists on this point, Victor, it would be easier to interact with. Be that as it may, it is quite arbitrary to my mind that God is using the means of just "Romans Chapter 1"-like material to train and admonish children. This is my argument with Bill in the other thread about this issue. By presuming they are unregenerate, you (it seems to me) are sensibly advocating that only Romans 1 be preached to them while Romans 6 cannot be rightly used to sanctify them because there is nothing to sanctify - just flesh that has to be regenerated.

I also think this runs aground of what Paul teaches about the nature of knowledge in Romans 10:

Quote:

1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel[a] is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

It is in the nature of unregenerate man to even take something like Romans Chapter 1 and twist that into "do this and live". It is a supernatural gift to actually pursue real righteousness. It's not that the Pharisees disagreed that God was Holy. They didn't argue with Jesus about hell and that men are justly deserving of Hell. They just thought it didn't apply to them.

Semper Fidelis · #**202** (**permalink**) 08-28-2007, 09:41 PM

Bruce,

If you think we ought to close the Baptism forum for a couple of days then let me know. I can make it read only.

Contra_Mundum · #**203** (**permalink**) 08-28-2007, 10:28 PM

Rich,
with all the kissing and sweetness, I don't know what to think. Go Right Ahead, start another thread if ya'll want.

victorbravo · #**204** (**permalink**) 08-28-2007, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SemperFideles

Bruce,

If you think we ought to close the Baptism forum for a couple of days then let me know. I can make it read only.

I think shutting this one down is fine (read only), given the original title has been exhausted into irrelevence

Thanks, Rich, for your response. I think we could probably discuss more fully...another time.