This happens a lot in the Methodist church USA and should be done more often here. I consider this largely due to poor, inadequate teaching on the meaning and purpose of baptism in the MCSA. Since baptism is not repeated in the second part of the text, this seems to indicate that it is secondary to faith.
It is important to clarify this issue especially in light of the rejection/acceptance of infant baptism. The MCSA view of baptism must be placed in the covenant view and is rooted in British Methodism.
THE SCRIPTURAL BASIS OF BAPTISM
It seems that lately the MCSA has been leaning more toward an institutionalized form of Christianity rather than its stated ethos of being mission-oriented and evangelical. This comparison will hopefully demonstrate that different views of baptism are a direct influence of different ecclesiological views of the church, all based on interpretations of texts in the Bible, and should serve to refute the claim that there is only one correct view of baptism in the New Testament. An understanding of this nature should make proponents of different views of baptism more tolerant and accommodating of other views.
FAITH AND ENTRY INTO THE CHURCH
In the case of infants, “baptism is the sacrament of faith, but it requires a community of faith in which each of the faithful can believe” (R.C. Catechism, 1994:320 and 322). This faith is already possessed by the initiate through conversion and it is the testimony given during the baptismal service. Believers' baptism is the ritual that ensures that only people who come from the.
BAPTISM AND SALVATION
Baptism is a sign of God's action that precedes salvation, but it also indicates that the individual must be "saved by grace through faith alone" (Eph. 2v8). Baptism is not an act of salvation, but is primarily a sign of God's preventive saving action. The sacramental component of covenant baptism speaks of God's complete mercy directed toward a response of complete helplessness.
WHO ARE TO BE THE RECIPIENTS OF BAPTISM?
Just as baptism signifies covenant and covenant signifies God's entering into a relationship with men, so baptism signifies God's preventive action to convey saving grace to the individual. If there is an ex opere operato factor present in this understanding, it lies in the view that baptism is a means of grace that carries the possibility of the power of the new birth associated with the individual. The question of how and whether salvation will occur at baptism is a mystery and a possibility.
THE MODE OF BAPTISM
Only children of believers are baptized and are therefore brought into the covenant community, that is, the church. This is the environment in which it is possible for children to receive the new birth and grow in the faith of Christ.
REBAPTISM
On trips to Israel, Baptists and Pentecostals rebaptized in the Jordan River because they wanted to be like Jesus who was baptized in the Jordan. While the history of church life in various denominations is full of constant differences, debates, disputes and divisions regarding the practice of re-baptism, baptism is described in the Bible as "one baptism" (Eph. 4:5). In the 20th century, baptism seems to have once again become a subject of great controversy in the Christian church.
THEOLOGICAL DEBATE DURING THE 20 TH CENTURY
The faith of the church is crucial because it is part of the act of baptism. Robinson's study of New Testament baptism led to the conclusion that the practice of baptism Moreover, there are records of the practice of home baptism, of which there are at least four examples in the New Testament.
HOW IS WATER BAPTISM CURRENTLY UNDERSTOOD IN THE MCSA, AND REASONS FOR ITS POSITION
- THE USE OF SCRIPTURE AS A THEOLOGICAL BASIS FOR BAPTISM
- RECIPIENTS OF BAPTISM
- THE MEANING OF BAPTISM
- BAPTISM, CHURCH AND FAITH
- FAITH AND THE CHURCH
- THE MODE OF BAPTISM
Wesley insisted on the primacy of the Bible: “The Scriptures are the touchstone by which Christians examine all revelation, whether true or supposed. In the case of infants, parents and sponsors who are themselves believers and members of the church…. In both cases, believing adults and their children will be supported by the faith of the Church (MCSA Laws 2000:4-5).
Baptism involves both God's gift and the response to that gift on the part of the baptized and the church (MCSA Minutes, 1989:60). The Church is the creation of the Spirit, and is a holy temple dedicated to the Lord in which the Spirit of God lives and works. If baptism is a sign of preceding grace through covenant, then the Church is both an expression and a vehicle of these two aspects of the Christian faith.
One question is whether baptism should be the occasion when the initiate is made a member of the Church. The demand for faith on behalf of the infant is initially sought by the believing parents. In both cases, the baptized person will be supported by the faith of the church (MCSA Laws, 2000:4).
Baptism includes both the gift of God and the responses to this gift on the part of the baptized and the church.
THE UNACCEPTABLE PRACTICES OF BAPTISM
The sacrament of baptism shall be administered in the church building in the presence of the congregation either at a worship service or at a Sunday school session. They believe that immersion is the New Testament norm, but that it would be impossible to use it in the administration of infant baptism. The fifth issue concerns the place of the Holy Spirit in the initiation rite process.
Covenant baptism in the MCSA has come under criticism from a believer-baptist/Anabaptist lobby in the church, which claims that the MCSA's view and practice of baptism poses a threat to the testimony of the gospel of Christ. The presentation of the baby Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:22-24) was a dedication and Jesus encouraged children to come to him, took them in his arms and blessed them (Mark 10:13), was also references to the practice of devotion. They believe that believers' baptism is more likely to provide spiritual improvement and increase the moral quality of the church that infant baptism cannot ensure.
MCSA is completely convinced of the biblical authenticity of its covenantal view of baptism. The MCSA does not agree that infant baptism leads to a belief in baptismal regeneration of the mechanical kind (MCSA Minutes 1989:61 and 66). The MCSA adopts an inclusive approach regarding the modes of baptism and believes that while the issue of the amount of water is important, it is not paramount.
Regarding requests for rebaptism, the use of a dual approach in the MCSA is not a reason for these requests.
THE POSSIBLE ELIMINATION OF REBAPTISM
THE POSSIBILITY OF DISPENSING WITH INFANT BAPTISM
The arguments made against the practice of infant baptism have not changed over the years and seem to be repeated ad infinitum. Engelsman and others argue that this way of expressing what the church believes about infant baptism is not biblical, and therefore theologically irresponsible. Infant baptism has also been accused of being the catalyst for the promotion of nominalism in the church.
If so, then the MCSA can do well without infant baptism” (Pedersen D, February 1984:12). Shouldn't the MCSA abandon infant baptism because of the perpetuation of these conflicting meanings in the wording of the Order of Service. Is it true that believer-baptist churches do not experience difficulties with baptizing believers while paedo-baptists have difficulties because of the practice of infant baptism.
Removing infant baptism from the equation of covenant baptism would destroy an essential part of MCSA's understanding of biblical covenant. Eliminating infant baptism would also distort the theological significance of covenant baptism in the MCSA view. Infant baptism is thus a sign of God's ongoing movement through the Holy Spirit, seeking the redemption of the people he has created.
Based on biblical, theological, and practical considerations, it is unlikely that the MCSA would be willing to remove infant baptism from its current policy.
THE OPTION OF RETAINING CURRENT POLICY
Baptism is a valuable means of making disciples of children in the name of the Lord Jesus, and God by his (sic) grace is able to regenerate a child from a very early stage, even in combination with baptism itself ( Strawbridge G, 2003: 42). Attwell, in defense of the MCSA's current policy, states that if it is believed that the orders. If there had been a baptism in the name of the Lord previously, this would be a different matter.
Any baptism performed in the name of the Trinity is a legitimate baptism in the eyes of the MCSA. In clarifying the meaning of the MCSA it was said that although baptism is a human act. Baptism is in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
That the Lima text is accepted as an acceptable explanation of the MCSA view of baptism. The role of the Church as an indispensable factor in the education and pastoral care of all who are baptized. It is therefore regarded by the MCSA as an elaboration of the commission requirement in Matthew 28:19ff (MCSA Minutes 1989:63).
Do not reject infant baptism because of the claim that infant baptism does not appear in text and verse form in the Bible. The new covenant is not believed by all to be a total abrogation of the old covenant and certainly not by the MCSA. Their first baptism is symbolically reproduced in the believers' baptismal experience as a confirmation and appropriation of the original baptism.
APPENDIX I
The purpose of the thesis - to make progress in a search for viable alternative baptismal rites towards more inclusiveness and reconciliation among members in the MCSA. Pastors have been thrown out of the church and HUGE numbers of members have left and gone elsewhere. They had to choose between ….) Their understanding of the scriptures or loyalty to the leadership of the church”……….…….About 5 yrs.
The question of baptism has also boiled down to one's interpretation of the authority of scripture. Many of the confirmation children are not baptized - so we have their baptism and a minute later confirm this baptism - why. Dimension, MCSA's official newspaper, back issues from the Cory Library Archives, Rhodes University, Grahamstown.
Mbete A, Article in Dimension Official Gazette of the MCSA, published by the MCSA February 1984, Cory Library Archives, Rhodes University, Grahamstown. Commentary and quotations are extracted from a thesis: "John Wesley's View of the Sacraments: A Study in the Historical Development of a Doctrine" by Reist I., (candidate). Letters to Dimension, Official Journal of the MCSA, published by the MCSA February 1984, Cory Library Archives, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, RSA.
John Wesley's View of the Sacraments - An Examination of the Historical Development of a Doctrine, Wesley Center for Applied Theology.
