When speaking about Baptismal regeneration, the question is often asked: What about someone who isn’t Baptized, but believes? Can they be saved? There are some important distinctions we need to make when answering this question. There is a difference between something being a relative necessity and an absolute necessity. A relative necessity is something that is necessary in […]
For the first 1500 years of the church’s existence, the answer would have been a unanimous “yes” to this question. However, since the Reformation, especially in the contemporary evangelical church, baptism is viewed primarily of a symbol, rather than a sacramental act of God. There are, broadly speaking, two different views of what the Sacraments […]
One of the most contested aspects of Lutheran theology when talking to people tends to be the concept that infants have faith. Luther vigorously upheld the ancient practice of infant baptism against the anabaptist movement, and also sought to uphold baptismal efficacy. An objection which he often encountered was that since salvation is by faith […]
Peter J Leithart’s “The Baptized Body” is a fascinating read. Coming from the controversial “Federal Vision” movement, Leithart seeks to infuse a high sacramental theology into Reformed Christianity. His argument comes primarily through exegesis, though with a strong dose of Calvin references. Leithart argues that contemporary Reformed Christianity has deviated from both the Biblical and […]
I received the following question which I think deserves a response since it is so commonly asked: Hey, I just started watching your video “Just and Sinner: What is the doctrine on the two kindoms?” And you mentioned that if someone were to commit a crime to someone else, and they went to the pastor for […]
I got a recent comment on an old post which I felt was worth responding to with a new post because these are some very commonly asked questions: 1) You said one can be justified by faith alone without needing to be baptize (at least in some special cases). Can you provide instances of these? The typical […]
