As a Roman Catholic who is studying the bible I feel the Holy Spirit is guiding me into truths. I can no longer believe in purgatory, the immaculate conception or the authority of the pope. Our church hierarchy is so corrupt. Thank you Pastor Bryan for your clear teachings. I long for the simplicity of the gospel. I realized my heart and mind has changed when I argued recently with Catholics on the sufficiency of Christ's death on the cross for our salvation. Say a prayer for me as I struggle with a decision that must be made soon.
Sister I would encourage you and I am praying for you in this-that the Catholic Church has the authority of Christ through the Apostles-2 Thes. 2:15 tells us to follow all that the apostles pass on in scripture and in tradition. The protestant reworkings of ancient Christian faith sound reasonable to a "modern, western " mind but remember that the church created the scriptures, not the reverse. No Christians in the early church ever taught that scripture was the sole authority for faith but that the CHURCH-the universal and eternal community of believers wh make up the Body of Christ-IS the pillar and ground of faith, 1 Tim 3;15. This church did not become something else and your Catholic ancestors did not live their deep faith, suffer and die in vain but to include you in the eternal sacrifice of Christ. I pray that the Lord send you a wise and learned Catholic or Orhodox believer who can help you with your struggle. I can tell you that peter was chosen to lead the church on earth and that the apostles intended their authority to continue forever-Matthew 16:18 and remind you above all that we alone-Catholic and Orthodox alone believe in and still reveal the True and Real Body and Blood of Yeshua in the Eucharist-not a memorial alone, not just spiritually present or an incidental that is of minor importance-John 6 (and thse who did not believe Yeshua could make Himself into bread and wine walked away and he never explained Himself differently as He did other times such as with Nicodemus and the "born again" text) but the real opening to the Holy Spirit will be for you to find a community of believing, on fire Catholics who live the faith. Our faith without works is dead, period. We must have both and let them feed one another as we feed and heal the world. What other church is doing that as your Catholic church does? God bless and strengthen you and may our Blessed Mother and all the Ancestors and Saints pray with you!
I'm a baptist pastor and this has been one of my biggest struggles with Lutheran doctrine on this subject. Thank you for bringing a clarity to this that I haven't seen before.
As I read the Bible, I believe that Jesus teaches that babies can have faith, but most everyone online say believers’ baptism cannot include infants because they cannot believe. Praise God that you make this so simple according to the Word. Just because we don’t understand how they believe doesn’t mean that they do not. Doesn’t faith in God require us to believe so many things that cannot be understood? I guess that’s why they call it faith😌 Thank you so very much for posting this!!
Another good one... Joel 2:15-16 “Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; 16 gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even NURSING INFANTS. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.”
How does that text state infants returned to the Lord with all their heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rended their hearts and not their garments? (Joel 2:12-13a). It only highlights the priests doing so: Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord , weep and say, “Spare your people, O Lord , and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’" v17. Of course other people in the congregation could have done so, but because the text highlights the priests, I think that still shows at least that they had a greater responsibility for the whole congregation before God than the infants had.
Thank you for this clear explanation. It is interesting that even today I was engaging in dialogue with a brother who made the assertion that "baptism does not save". It was really a great encouragement to engage in defense of the faith, opening the scriptures and simply allowing God's word to speak. I asked him, if baptism is the first act of obedience (law) upon expressing faith, then what are we to do with the infants and children who cannot speak of that faith given to them by God? If they cannot express their faith, then what do we do with anyone who cannot reason their faith? I'm excited that this weekend, I am bringing my 2 youngest children for baptism in the Lutheran Church we started attending. God be praised!
Scripture's clear that God's judging actual sin, so with those who can't speak of that faith who die before or without getting the chance to, they rise in the resurrection along with everyone else, and because they haven't commited actual sin, they aren't blotted out of the book of life, and are saved by Jesus.
@@ETBrothers Because of original sin every single one of us is sinful. There's no such thing as not having a chance to sin. The only one who lived without sin is Jesus.
How beautiful your greek writing is! Very good video. The best. I'm Greek and the greek language is my mother tongue. Bryan's explanation of the words is accurate. We still use the same words with these meanings in our everyday life.
9:50 "well, do you have faith while you are asleep?" Ha! Love it. Reminds me of "pray without ceasing" 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV. Also, "Rejoice always" (v. 16). And, "Give thanks in all circumstances" (v. 18). The only way those go on is that JESUS is now and continually at the throne of GRACE - the "mercy seat"! Our ,Great High Priest" is there as we sleep, and also when we wake. Rev. 3:21. Glory to God in the Highest, and PEACE to His people. God be praised!!!
Wow, studying Lutheranism now. And I'm being convinced more and more to go to a church. Currently attending a non denominational. But seeing all this truths. I love this❤
Hi Pastor! I love listening to your teaching from scripture and your sense of humor. I wish I had known about you when I was living in Denver. Anyway, I have been wrestling with these questions for over a year now. I am going to be baptizing my daughter (who is going to be 5) at Easter time. Can you address a few questions that are unclear to me? A) I accept that a baby can have faith, but how do I know if a child DOES have faith? Should we baptize a child that doesn’t have faith? B) Can you explain what baptismal regeneration is? If a baby doesn’t have faith, does the sacrament give the child faith? Why don’t we get a fire hose and baptize everyone? C) I recognize that scripture teaches that baptism saves us. How can I be sure (as a parent) that my child will be saved? Thanks again for all you do!
Jordan, You can only baptize a believer. Mk, 16:16 He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned. If the individual does not believe then they just got wet and are not baptized into Christ.
Gary Scalf, your making the assumption that infants, toddlers, and small children can’t believe, and therefore shouldn’t be baptized, but that’s the point he’s try to make in the video, is that there is evidence that they can: “At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;” Matthew 11:25 ESV. Also, the argument that you have to believe first and then be baptized comes from a misunderstanding of the translation: “believe and be baptized” is not necessarily in sequential order, neither does it necessarily show priority based on syntactical order, because the Greek language does not work like that. Finally, faith does not come from us, the ability to believe comes from God alone: “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3 ESV Consider this: The scales did not fall from Saul’s eyes until He received the Holy Spirit when Ananias Baptized him; Paul was given faith in Jesus by divine intervention, not by his own reasoning or will.
When Faith is 💯 about what God imputes upon a person and the substance He provides in their life rather than some mere mental conclusion, infant faith is really not an issue at all. It’s not about our promise to God, it’s about His promise to us.
Thank you again Pastor, for your faithful instruction, and your patience with all of us. Theology is not boring, it is FUN! And this just keeps proving the point Godspeed sir!
Matt 22:37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. I figure theology is loving God with our minds!
I've had people tell me, "Faith can't be given to someone. It's a choice." Would it be correct to say that faith is always given... that it is something that a faithful object bestows?
We can only come to faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. Not by my works or decisions lest man boast . Salvation is free, therefore their is nothing I, or you have to do to be saved. Jesus said from the cross "It is finished", he didn't add and now you go do this or that period, end of his proclamation.
Thank you again 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻✝️✝️✝️❤️❤️❤️☺️☺️☺️I will teach my little sister from a young age to believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus!!! And imma also teacher her to believe in the father which is God!!’
Given that #MuhScience proves that even preborn babies can learn language, and given that God's Word is efficacious, we must hold that babies can have saving Faith. All the more so, we should treasure the comfort given by His Means of Grace.
The thing I really struggle to get my head round is how do we know that a baby has faith? If a baby can have faith it can also not have faith. How does a parent know if their baby has excepted the gospel or rejected it?
Well Peter says in Acts 2 that the promise to have your sins forgiven is for you and your children. So it stands to reason that at least the children of believers also believe.
Just to add to the other response: The reason children of believers are considered to also believe, is that the parents promise to raise them as believers. Infant baptism is also a promise (covenant) on the part of the parents to raise the child Christian. If the child grows up and falls away later, that's their choice. Just like those who had a conversion experience and where baptized as adults also sometimes fall away. The question isn't "Am I guaranteed that this person will go to heaven or not?" it's "Does this person outwardly appear to be a part of Christendom?" Children of believers are part of Christendom by default. Adult converts are part of Christendom because they have been initiated into Christendom (via profession of belief and baptism). We can't ever truly know someones heart, that's for God alone.
If we can have original sin, can't we also have original faith? I have really very early memories. I remember not knowing how to read or write but scribbling letters to Jesus and burying these letters under a tree with my little plastic shovel and fully believing Jesus read them. We're babies, and we cry out to have our needs met and believe this works, even if we don't know how it works. Even on day one. Maybe that's what God wants us to do, to reach out to him and believe and know it will work for our betterment.
John the Baptist had and demonstrated faith from his mother’s womb. (Luke 1:15, 41) He still studied the Scriptures before going into the wilderness. A psalmist had faith from birth. (Psalm 71:5-6) He had to learn to proclaim God's wondrous deeds. Timothy had faith in the Gospel from infancy. (2 Timothy 3:15) He still discipled under Paul. David had faith from birth. (Psalm 22:9) He still needed Samuel to anoint him with the Holy Spirit. God made the infants of Palm Sunday able to express their praise. (Matthew 21:16) They still received baptism as well as discipleship at Pentecost.
If Acts: 2:38 is true, where it says to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, then the question becomes, how can a baby repent? Also, why would a baby repent when we know a baby is not capable of committing a sin? I don’t find anywhere in the Bible where a baby was ever baptized. A baby is pure and without sin, and baptizing them would serve no purpose other than getting them wet.
A baby is pure & without sin? A baby is not capable of committing sin? 🤔 ROMANS 3:23 KJV "For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" God says through the Apostle Paul that ALL have sined. So there you go, babies can sin & do sin, babies need salvation, and as the pastor showed from many passages in the Bible that babies can believe. If you don't agree with that than take it up with God.
@@danbratten3103 Just curious……just what sin could a newborn baby possibly have? As Jesus said in Matt. 19:14, “suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto me, for such is the kingdom of heaven” .Also, Matt. 18:3, “Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven”. Sinful babies? They are innocent little beings! And as the Bible says, “for such is the kingdom of heaven” There is no scripture saying a baby has sin, and there is no scripture that talks about a baby being baptized.
@@billryan4811 Since the Fall, every human being, with the exception of Jesus Christ, is guilty of Original Sin. Even David admits in Psalm 51:5. How about Matthew 18:6 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to SIN, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea." So there's 2 more examples for you from the Bible. As to the claim that there is nothing in the Bible saying to Baptize babies; Colossians 2:11-12 "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." So Paul is showing us that baptism replaces circumcision. Wait a minute...Genesis 17:10- 12 "10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed." So the Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul, says Baptism replaces circumcision. Yet God said that male babies were to be circumcised 8 days after birth. So the Bible does show that babies are to be baptized. Want more proof? Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost". Christ says "All Nations". And remember in that time male babies were considered of more value than woman! So if women were to be baptized & male babies were of more value, they along with female infants, were baptized. Let's also remember that Paul in his letters tells the believers what to do, BUT he also states things that were not to be done. He never said not to Baptize babies. And the early church fathers, after the Apostles, also testify to baptizing babies.
@@danbratten3103 Again, I say that no where in the Bible are babies baptized. Baptism took the place of circumcision? Wow! I think you’ve got those two things mixed up. Baptism began in the New Testament, so anything you bring up in the Old Testament is old law and we don’t live under it anymore. Baptism is being buried with Christ and rising up in newness of life with all of our sins washed away. No where is sprinkling used in the Bible for baptism, as well as no babies being baptized. And no, baptism doesn’t come from circumcision. And Matt. 18:6 talks about a child who believes in Christ. A little newborn doesn’t have the ability to believe anything more than when it’s hungry or in pain. To think otherwise, especially that a baby sins, or is born with sin, is not biblical and to say it is is adding to the word of God, and I think we both know what the punishment of that is.
@@billryan4811 So you must not have watched this video, because the Pastor has shown many verses that say in the original language that little children and yes, babies can believe and have faith in Christ. I have shown from the Bible that ALL HAVE SINNED. I have shown you that Paul says Circumcision has been replaced by baptism. Let me ask you this. Is baptism something you do, or is it something God does to us? And 1 more thing to bring to your awareness. No where in the Bible is there an "Age of Accountability".
Just something to consider: Falling away from the faith after infant baptism isn't phenomenon unique to pedobaptists. People who have conversion experiences and get baptized as adults have also fallen away from the faith, yet credobaptists don't doubt the importance of altar calls and conversion experiences. If anything, this sad reality is evidence of poor discipleship in pedobaptist and credobaptist churches alike.
I don’t agree with infant baptism. I don’t think there is a case for it from the scriptures. The one thing I know for sure having studied with Lutherans and my best friend is Lutheran is that you’re not going to change the mind of a Lutheran about this or anything else still shared with the Roman Catholics . Is means is 😂
No. Babies. Cannot. Believe. Youth. A child can believe. You're mixing up predestination due to God's omniscience with cognitive abilities. Infant means child often. Magick water does not save. But hearing the word and acting on that word and that belief is what instils faith, and the profession of our mouths and obedient baptism by immersion is what we are called to do. Ex Lutheran. Jesus did not baptize the children or infants that came to him.
Without the Immacualate conception you have no Jesus, no sacrament of the Lord's Supper/Eucurhist. The Lord's Supper as one of the sacraments Jesus instituted at the Passover meal with the deciples, one part being Heavenly the spoken word and the earthly part being the consecrated Bread and Wine. Going back to the earthly inception of the immaculate conception you have the Heaven part being the seed of the Holy Spirit, and the earthly part being the egg of the Virginia Mary, who upon his birth wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the feed Manger. What a wonderful display of whom Jesus would become and deliver through his death and resurrection the very Bread of Life. Pastor Bryan, feel free to correct and or elaborate on this beautiful picture/story of the baby in the Manger to the same baby in our Lord's Supper now a crucified and risen Man.
My explanation won't be very good but hopefully it helps. (F)aith and (B)aptism both need to be present for (S)alvation (Mark 16:16) but are interchangeable in sequence. F+B->S is the same as B+F->S. In other words faith can precede baptism (Mark 16:16, believe and be baptized) and baptism can precede faith (Matthew 28:19-20, notice how baptism comes before teaching the commands). Combine this with 1 Peter 3:21 (along with the passages explained in this video) and you end up with the doctrine of infant baptism. It's one of the mysteries of scripture, like Holy Communion or the Trinity or the person of Jesus; but I thank God that it is real nonetheless even if I don't understand how it works. God bless.
@@redmikey24 those verses in Matthew doesn't mention faith though... If we read it in order it's; 1. Make disciples, 2. Baptizing them (who is them? Is it not disciples?), 3 Teaching them (is this someone else? No, it's also disciples). In Luke it's only talking about repentance, but that surely includes faith and baptism. "and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." - Luke 24:47 ESV. John also talks about forgiveness of sins (20:23). Based on these texts, repentance is apparently also really important alongside faith and baptism. How does this align with infant baptism?
Vanessa Loy What sins could a baby possibly have to repent of? And, just the idea of a baby repenting makes me chuckle just a bit....Another question would be, if a baby dies before they are baptized, of which there is no mention of anywhere in the Bible, will they go to hell? Such odd teachings! To think that a baby has sinned is a totally ridiculous statement to me. That, along with the baptizing of babies is not scriptural. It just isn’t in the Bible! Just another in a long line of man made rules......
@@billryan4811 false - entire households were baptized in the Bible. Included in the household are servants/slaves. Are babies not members of their households? Are they alien to the families they are born into? Are the babies of servants/slaves not included as part of the household? I think you might want to revisit this. 1. Cornelius' Household (Acts 10) 2. Lydia's Household (Acts 16) 3. The Philippian Jailer's Household (Acts 16) 4. Crispus’ Household (Acts 18) 5. Stephanas’ Household (1 Corinthians 1)
Bryan Wolfmueller. Ps 71: 5--6 doesn't say anything about infants believing. There is no such Biblical teaching of infant baptism. When Acts 2: 39 mentions "Children" the Greek word is, "Teknon". Children from the age of understanding right up to a good old age. If it was infants, the word would have been, "Brephos". Babes, little ones and child. means Figuratively of those young in the faith None of those scriptures that you gave, prove infant baptism. The Bible doesn't say John the Baptist believe from his mothers womb. God. MO is, Hear and understand and believe the gospel. Mk 16: 15-16. Choose to be born again. Acts 2: 38. Then choose to be baptized. Mk 16: 16. How can an infant believe those things??.
The belief that infants should not be baptized because they cannot understand, is also a tradition, one that is rooted in the anibaptist movement; as for eisogesis vs exegesis, the arguments made in this video were the definition of exegetical because he took what was said in scripture and applied it to doctrine, not the other way around.
My faith doesn't go away when I go to sleep, when I awaken it has remained with me watching over me as I sleep. Are you saying then that we only have faith during our awake hours? I need my faith 24/7!
This video reassured me that thru my studies for the past 40 years I am correct that babies should not be baptized before one can confess a belief in the Gospel. This is a Catholic teaching not a Biblical one.
@@only1gumpy941 *Argument from ancient Roman demography and Scripture for infant baptism:* _Premise 1:_ The scriptures say the Apostles *baptized* no less than 5 Roman Empire *households* and a crowd of 3000 men, women, and specifically *"children."* Peter excludes no age range with this word. _Premise 2:_ Roman Empire *households* had 6-9 *children* per woman, and nearly always had babies in the house. Crowds of families include children and babies. _Conclusion:_ The Apostles *baptized small children.* Scheidel, Walter. "Demography", in W. Scheidel, I. Morris and R. Saller, eds., The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 38-86. 1. The crowd of 3000 men, women, and children. (Acts 2) 2. Cornelius' Household (Acts 10) 3. Lydia's Household (Acts 16) 4. The Philippian Jailer's Household (Acts 16) 5. Crispus’ Household (Acts 18) 6. Stephanas’ Household (1 Corinthians 1) *Argument from ancient geopolitics and Scripture for infant baptism:* _Premise 1:_ Every single region and language where one or more Apostles set foot practices infant baptism. _Premise 2:_ Some of these regional churches had almost no contact at all with one another during the lifetimes of the Apostles, or for centuries later. (e.g. Between Roman Emp., Persian Emp., India) _Conclusion:_ These regions did not each independently invent infant baptism. All learned the practice from the Apostles, who baptized regional households. Origen noted that all of the far flung geographic churches in the entire Christian world baptized infants. Today these ancient regional churches that practise infant baptism include the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, Armenian Apostolic Church, Assyrian Church of the East. Each of these churches were home and place of death to one or more Apostles. Several of these regional churches had almost no contact with each other at all, especially the Persian Empire churches with the Roman Empire churches. It's unlikely that each geographical region, speaking it's own languages, using it's own forms of worship, listening to it's own preachers, and only rarely interacting with other groups each invented infant baptism independently. Rather, they all learned infant baptism from the example of the Apostles who baptized entire households. Matthew 3:16 In baptism, the Father claims the Son. The Spirit rests on the Son. Matthew 21:25 Mere water baptism is a gift from Heaven. Matthew 28:19 Make disciples by baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and by teaching. Mark 1:4 Mere water baptism = repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark 16:16 *Baptized believers are saved, unbelievers condemned.* Luke 7:29 Even water baptism is a public declaration that God is righteous. Luke 7:30 *Rejecting even mere water baptism = rejecting God's purpose for you.* John 1:31, 33 John knew beforehand that God would reveal the Christ through baptism. Acts 2:38 *Repentance and baptism = forgiveness and the Spirit.* Acts 2:39-41 3000 bachelors, virgins, wives, husbands, and *children of all ages received forgiveness and the Spirit in baptism.* The smallest can't have decided to repent in a mature way, but they were not excluded. Acts 8 Many early church Bible readers saw a distinction between the Spirit's invisible gift of repentance/forgiveness and the Spirit's visible gift of leadership/ordination. Philip the Evangelist could baptize but not bestow spiritual authority. Only the apostles could do that. Acts 22:16 *Baptism washes away sins.* Romans 6:3, 4 *Baptism is death to sin, death with Christ, and newness of life in Christ.* 1 Corinthians 1 Baptism must not turn into hero worship, cliques, and factionalism. 1 Corinthians 12:22, 13 On the contrary, baptism is unity in the one Holy Spirit in Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:29 Even superstitious baptism declares the resurrection of the dead. Galatians 3:27, 28 Baptism clothes every member of the body of Christ in equality. Ephesians 3:5 There is one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. Colossians 2:11 Baptism is a works-free death, a cutting off of the flesh. Colossians 2:12 In baptism, God raised you with Christ through faith. Hebrews 6:1-2 *Baptism is a basic foundational creedal teaching. You can't say you believe in Jesus while rejecting his basic teachings.* 1 Peter 3:20 Noah was saved by water, not from water. The flood waters washed away much evil. 1 Peter 3:21 Baptism now *saves you! Baptism = assurance* of a good conscience before God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
@@Mygoalwogel I enjoyed your lengthy explanation. I definitely agree baptism is great and washes away sins. But I'm still unsure when it comes to infants... You forgot to add some things the text said about those being baptized; 1. They were cut to the heart and asked what they should do. (Just a side note: the promise was for the listeners children, but also for those far off in the same way, in conclusion as many as God calls to Himself. So for this to work out, the same way the children are called, the same way those far off have to be called, I think. And that creates some issues.) 2. They were exhorted by Peter to act on what He preached. 3. They were told to "save themselves". 4. Those who received Peter's words were baptized. 5. They devouted themselves to the Apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 6. Awe came upon them. 7. They were together and had all things in common. 8. They received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. If babies were doing all of these things, it's obvious that they were baptized. But if they were excluded from any of Luke's "they" here, you can't say it's certain they were baptized, I think.
Also, at least in Cornelius' house, if Luke also included infants when writing, that would have meant the infants were speaking in tounges and exalting God 😊
As a Roman Catholic who is studying the bible I feel the Holy Spirit is guiding me into truths. I can no longer believe in purgatory, the immaculate conception or the authority of the pope. Our church hierarchy is so corrupt. Thank you Pastor Bryan for your clear teachings. I long for the simplicity of the gospel. I realized my heart and mind has changed when I argued recently with Catholics on the sufficiency of Christ's death on the cross for our salvation. Say a prayer for me as I struggle with a decision that must be made soon.
Amen sister I really hope you're doing good
Sister i pray you found the truth and are doing well.
Sister I would encourage you and I am praying for you in this-that the Catholic Church has the authority of Christ through the Apostles-2 Thes. 2:15 tells us to follow all that the apostles pass on in scripture and in tradition. The protestant reworkings of ancient Christian faith sound reasonable to a "modern, western " mind but remember that the church created the scriptures, not the reverse. No Christians in the early church ever taught that scripture was the sole authority for faith but that the CHURCH-the universal and eternal community of believers wh make up the Body of Christ-IS the pillar and ground of faith, 1 Tim 3;15. This church did not become something else and your Catholic ancestors did not live their deep faith, suffer and die in vain but to include you in the eternal sacrifice of Christ. I pray that the Lord send you a wise and learned Catholic or Orhodox believer who can help you with your struggle. I can tell you that peter was chosen to lead the church on earth and that the apostles intended their authority to continue forever-Matthew 16:18 and remind you above all that we alone-Catholic and Orthodox alone believe in and still reveal the True and Real Body and Blood of Yeshua in the Eucharist-not a memorial alone, not just spiritually present or an incidental that is of minor importance-John 6 (and thse who did not believe Yeshua could make Himself into bread and wine walked away and he never explained Himself differently as He did other times such as with Nicodemus and the "born again" text) but the real opening to the Holy Spirit will be for you to find a community of believing, on fire Catholics who live the faith. Our faith without works is dead, period. We must have both and let them feed one another as we feed and heal the world. What other church is doing that as your Catholic church does? God bless and strengthen you and may our Blessed Mother and all the Ancestors and Saints pray with you!
LCMS is the Apostolic Evangelical Catholic Church.Simple, original Christianity.
Amen sister 😍👩 keep your faith in Christ alone and the Scriptures Alone 👍🏼 Catholics shall never understand the spiritual importance of God 👍🏼
I'm a baptist pastor and this has been one of my biggest struggles with Lutheran doctrine on this subject. Thank you for bringing a clarity to this that I haven't seen before.
It is such an encouragement that our God's grace is for the little ones
As I read the Bible, I believe that Jesus teaches that babies can have faith, but most everyone online say believers’ baptism cannot include infants because they cannot believe. Praise God that you make this so simple according to the Word. Just because we don’t understand how they believe doesn’t mean that they do not. Doesn’t faith in God require us to believe so many things that cannot be understood? I guess that’s why they call it faith😌 Thank you so very much for posting this!!
Believer’s baptism is a mainstream doctrine but not accurate
Thank you Pr. Wolfmueller!!!! What a wonderful video explaining infant faith!
This is a reason to start reading the Bible out loud when your baby is in the womb and continuing once he or she is born!
Another good one...
Joel 2:15-16
“Blow the trumpet in Zion;
consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16 gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
gather the children,
even NURSING INFANTS.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.”
How does that text state infants returned to the Lord with all their heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rended their hearts and not their garments? (Joel 2:12-13a). It only highlights the priests doing so:
Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord , weep and say, “Spare your people, O Lord , and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’" v17.
Of course other people in the congregation could have done so, but because the text highlights the priests, I think that still shows at least that they had a greater responsibility for the whole congregation before God than the infants had.
Thank you for this clear explanation. It is interesting that even today I was engaging in dialogue with a brother who made the assertion that "baptism does not save". It was really a great encouragement to engage in defense of the faith, opening the scriptures and simply allowing God's word to speak. I asked him, if baptism is the first act of obedience (law) upon expressing faith, then what are we to do with the infants and children who cannot speak of that faith given to them by God? If they cannot express their faith, then what do we do with anyone who cannot reason their faith? I'm excited that this weekend, I am bringing my 2 youngest children for baptism in the Lutheran Church we started attending. God be praised!
Scripture's clear that God's judging actual sin, so with those who can't speak of that faith who die before or without getting the chance to, they rise in the resurrection along with everyone else, and because they haven't commited actual sin, they aren't blotted out of the book of life, and are saved by Jesus.
@@ETBrothers Because of original sin every single one of us is sinful. There's no such thing as not having a chance to sin. The only one who lived without sin is Jesus.
Praise be to God! Same here :)
Babies were circumcised by the command of God. It was the OT covenant and how they became part of the nation of Israel.
Thank you! Encourages me even more to continue to speak of Jesus to babies. I appreciate the translation of the Greek words.
How beautiful your greek writing is! Very good video. The best. I'm Greek and the greek language is my mother tongue. Bryan's explanation of the words is accurate. We still use the same words with these meanings in our everyday life.
Sometimes the translation of sof something of another language have different way to understand
9:50 "well, do you have faith while you are asleep?" Ha! Love it. Reminds me of "pray without ceasing" 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV. Also, "Rejoice always" (v. 16). And, "Give thanks in all circumstances" (v. 18). The only way those go on is that JESUS is now and continually at the throne of GRACE - the "mercy seat"! Our ,Great High Priest" is there as we sleep, and also when we wake. Rev. 3:21. Glory to God in the Highest, and PEACE to His people. God be praised!!!
Thanks PRBW! I've heard the verses before, but never with the Greek explained. It really shines a bright light on the subject. Keep up the Gudewarkis.
This is a beautiful discussion. Thank you for the notes at the end. It’s very helpful.
Children not infant's children are from 5 years old to 15
Nah.
This is beautiful. I’m watching this as I hold my 5 month old granddaughter
Wow, studying Lutheranism now. And I'm being convinced more and more to go to a church. Currently attending a non denominational. But seeing all this truths. I love this❤
Great Video Pr. Wolfmeuller! I'm saving this one! I also love Psalm 22:10 as an example!
I think he didn't mention it, as it's a prophecy of Jesus also.
Love this clear teaching :-)
Today, this has become my favorite video on UA-cam.
This is so important.
Hi Pastor! I love listening to your teaching from scripture and your sense of humor. I wish I had known about you when I was living in Denver.
Anyway, I have been wrestling with these questions for over a year now. I am going to be baptizing my daughter (who is going to be 5) at Easter time. Can you address a few questions that are unclear to me?
A) I accept that a baby can have faith, but how do I know if a child DOES have faith? Should we baptize a child that doesn’t have faith?
B) Can you explain what baptismal regeneration is? If a baby doesn’t have faith, does the sacrament give the child faith? Why don’t we get a fire hose and baptize everyone?
C) I recognize that scripture teaches that baptism saves us. How can I be sure (as a parent) that my child will be saved?
Thanks again for all you do!
Jordan, You can only baptize a believer. Mk, 16:16 He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned. If the individual does not believe then they just got wet and are not baptized into Christ.
Gary Scalf, your making the assumption that infants, toddlers, and small children can’t believe, and therefore shouldn’t be baptized, but that’s the point he’s try to make in the video, is that there is evidence that they can: “At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;”
Matthew 11:25 ESV.
Also, the argument that you have to believe first and then be baptized comes from a misunderstanding of the translation: “believe and be baptized” is not necessarily in sequential order, neither does it necessarily show priority based on syntactical order, because the Greek language does not work like that.
Finally, faith does not come from us, the ability to believe comes from God alone: “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 12:3 ESV
Consider this: The scales did not fall from Saul’s eyes until He received the Holy Spirit when Ananias Baptized him; Paul was given faith in Jesus by divine intervention, not by his own reasoning or will.
When Faith is 💯 about what God imputes upon a person and the substance He provides in their life rather than some mere mental conclusion, infant faith is really not an issue at all. It’s not about our promise to God, it’s about His promise to us.
Thank you again Pastor, for your faithful instruction, and your patience with all of us. Theology is not boring, it is FUN! And this just keeps proving the point
Godspeed sir!
Matt 22:37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
I figure theology is loving God with our minds!
Excellent Pastor!
I've had people tell me, "Faith can't be given to someone. It's a choice." Would it be correct to say that faith is always given... that it is something that a faithful object bestows?
Well, I don't think I'd call God an object, but Ephesians 2 does say that our faith is a gift from Him.
We can only come to faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. Not by my works or decisions lest man boast . Salvation is free, therefore their is nothing I, or you have to do to be saved. Jesus said from the cross "It is finished", he didn't add and now you go do this or that period, end of his proclamation.
Really well-done. Love these videos.
Thank you again 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻✝️✝️✝️❤️❤️❤️☺️☺️☺️I will teach my little sister from a young age to believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus!!! And imma also teacher her to believe in the father which is God!!’
Given that #MuhScience proves that even preborn babies can learn language, and given that God's Word is efficacious, we must hold that babies can have saving Faith. All the more so, we should treasure the comfort given by His Means of Grace.
HnyCrispr Can they have saving repentance?
@@vanessaloy1049 Define saving repentance please.
@@etheretherether Can they admit to being a sinner and repenting before God of their sins?
The thing I really struggle to get my head round is how do we know that a baby has faith? If a baby can have faith it can also not have faith. How does a parent know if their baby has excepted the gospel or rejected it?
Well Peter says in Acts 2 that the promise to have your sins forgiven is for you and your children. So it stands to reason that at least the children of believers also believe.
Just to add to the other response: The reason children of believers are considered to also believe, is that the parents promise to raise them as believers. Infant baptism is also a promise (covenant) on the part of the parents to raise the child Christian.
If the child grows up and falls away later, that's their choice. Just like those who had a conversion experience and where baptized as adults also sometimes fall away.
The question isn't "Am I guaranteed that this person will go to heaven or not?" it's "Does this person outwardly appear to be a part of Christendom?" Children of believers are part of Christendom by default. Adult converts are part of Christendom because they have been initiated into Christendom (via profession of belief and baptism). We can't ever truly know someones heart, that's for God alone.
If we can have original sin, can't we also have original faith? I have really very early memories. I remember not knowing how to read or write but scribbling letters to Jesus and burying these letters under a tree with my little plastic shovel and fully believing Jesus read them. We're babies, and we cry out to have our needs met and believe this works, even if we don't know how it works. Even on day one. Maybe that's what God wants us to do, to reach out to him and believe and know it will work for our betterment.
I remember believing in Jesus as young as two. Is there a cut off age? Did I commit a sin by believing too early?
Zamofad: No way. Matthew 11:25. btw- I hope I spelled your moniker correctly. With such small print, I wasn’t sure. 😁
@@alephnaught8343 : Got it. Thanks.
Great video Pastor
Did you ever get a new camera, brother? Im astounded at how many videos and times youve had to say "come on focus". I laughed.
Thank you for your video. Question: If babies have faith at baptism, why is confirmation necessary?
John the Baptist had and demonstrated faith from his mother’s womb. (Luke 1:15, 41) He still studied the Scriptures before going into the wilderness.
A psalmist had faith from birth. (Psalm 71:5-6) He had to learn to proclaim God's wondrous deeds.
Timothy had faith in the Gospel from infancy. (2 Timothy 3:15) He still discipled under Paul.
David had faith from birth. (Psalm 22:9) He still needed Samuel to anoint him with the Holy Spirit.
God made the infants of Palm Sunday able to express their praise. (Matthew 21:16) They still received baptism as well as discipleship at Pentecost.
Magnificent may God bless you
Thanks P.W .
If Acts: 2:38 is true, where it says to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, then the question becomes, how can a baby repent? Also, why would a baby repent when we know a baby is not capable of committing a sin? I don’t find anywhere in the Bible where a baby was ever baptized. A baby is pure and without sin, and baptizing them would serve no purpose other than getting them wet.
A baby is pure & without sin? A baby is not capable of committing sin? 🤔
ROMANS 3:23 KJV "For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" God says through the Apostle Paul that ALL have sined. So there you go, babies can sin & do sin, babies need salvation, and as the pastor showed from many passages in the Bible that babies can believe. If you don't agree with that than take it up with God.
@@danbratten3103 Just curious……just what sin could a newborn baby possibly have? As Jesus said in Matt. 19:14, “suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto me, for such is the kingdom of heaven” .Also, Matt. 18:3, “Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven”. Sinful babies? They are innocent little beings! And as the Bible says, “for such is the kingdom of heaven” There is no scripture saying a baby has sin, and there is no scripture that talks about a baby being baptized.
@@billryan4811 Since the Fall, every human being, with the exception of Jesus Christ, is guilty of Original Sin. Even David admits in Psalm 51:5. How about Matthew 18:6 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to SIN, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea." So there's 2 more examples for you from the Bible.
As to the claim that there is nothing in the Bible saying to Baptize babies; Colossians 2:11-12 "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." So Paul is showing us that baptism replaces circumcision. Wait a minute...Genesis 17:10- 12 "10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed."
So the Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul, says Baptism replaces circumcision. Yet God said that male babies were to be circumcised 8 days after birth. So the Bible does show that babies are to be baptized. Want more proof? Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost". Christ says "All Nations". And remember in that time male babies were considered of more value than woman! So if women were to be baptized & male babies were of more value, they along with female infants, were baptized.
Let's also remember that Paul in his letters tells the believers what to do, BUT he also states things that were not to be done. He never said not to Baptize babies. And the early church fathers, after the Apostles, also testify to baptizing babies.
@@danbratten3103 Again, I say that no where in the Bible are babies baptized. Baptism took the place of circumcision? Wow! I think you’ve got those two things mixed up. Baptism began in the New Testament, so anything you bring up in the Old Testament is old law and we don’t live under it anymore. Baptism is being buried with Christ and rising up in newness of life with all of our sins washed away. No where is sprinkling used in the Bible for baptism, as well as no babies being baptized. And no, baptism doesn’t come from circumcision. And Matt. 18:6 talks about a child who believes in Christ. A little newborn doesn’t have the ability to believe anything more than when it’s hungry or in pain. To think otherwise, especially that a baby sins, or is born with sin, is not biblical and to say it is is adding to the word of God, and I think we both know what the punishment of that is.
@@billryan4811 So you must not have watched this video, because the Pastor has shown many verses that say in the original language that little children and yes, babies can believe and have faith in Christ. I have shown from the Bible that ALL HAVE SINNED. I have shown you that Paul says Circumcision has been replaced by baptism.
Let me ask you this. Is baptism something you do, or is it something God does to us?
And 1 more thing to bring to your awareness. No where in the Bible is there an "Age of Accountability".
Just something to consider: Falling away from the faith after infant baptism isn't phenomenon unique to pedobaptists. People who have conversion experiences and get baptized as adults have also fallen away from the faith, yet credobaptists don't doubt the importance of altar calls and conversion experiences.
If anything, this sad reality is evidence of poor discipleship in pedobaptist and credobaptist churches alike.
Fr your th0eology is very much suitable thanks
Monergism
Am from 🇪🇹 Ethiopia.i have been learn for some months.
Only an anabaptist would give this video a thumbs down.
No Gude Im pretty sure there are others
It is sad too. It is such a great teaching
This Video will at least hit 1k views.
Thank you
🤯see, this is all clear to me now because you used the original language to differentiate.
I believe this.
❤🙏☝️Thank You! GBY!
I don’t agree with infant baptism. I don’t think there is a case for it from the scriptures. The one thing I know for sure having studied with Lutherans and my best friend is Lutheran is that you’re not going to change the mind of a Lutheran about this or anything else still shared with the Roman Catholics . Is means is 😂
No.
Babies.
Cannot.
Believe.
Youth. A child can believe.
You're mixing up predestination due to God's omniscience with cognitive abilities. Infant means child often.
Magick water does not save. But hearing the word and acting on that word and that belief is what instils faith, and the profession of our mouths and obedient baptism by immersion is what we are called to do. Ex Lutheran.
Jesus did not baptize the children or infants that came to him.
If a baby dies without baptism they will go to heaven
But if your child is 13 years old and his parents are living like devil's and they all dies they all are lost dammed parents need to get saved
Without the
Immacualate conception you have no Jesus, no sacrament of the Lord's Supper/Eucurhist. The Lord's Supper as one of the sacraments Jesus instituted at the Passover meal with the deciples, one part being Heavenly the spoken word and the earthly part being the consecrated Bread and Wine. Going back to the earthly inception of the immaculate conception you have the Heaven part being the seed of the Holy Spirit, and the earthly part being the egg of the Virginia Mary, who upon his birth wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the feed Manger. What a wonderful display of whom Jesus would become and deliver through his death and resurrection the very Bread of Life.
Pastor Bryan, feel free to correct and or elaborate on this beautiful picture/story of the baby in the Manger to the same baby in our Lord's Supper now a crucified and risen Man.
But... Does belief needs to procede baptism at all?
My explanation won't be very good but hopefully it helps. (F)aith and (B)aptism both need to be present for (S)alvation (Mark 16:16) but are interchangeable in sequence. F+B->S is the same as B+F->S. In other words faith can precede baptism (Mark 16:16, believe and be baptized) and baptism can precede faith (Matthew 28:19-20, notice how baptism comes before teaching the commands). Combine this with 1 Peter 3:21 (along with the passages explained in this video) and you end up with the doctrine of infant baptism. It's one of the mysteries of scripture, like Holy Communion or the Trinity or the person of Jesus; but I thank God that it is real nonetheless even if I don't understand how it works. God bless.
@@redmikey24 those verses in Matthew doesn't mention faith though... If we read it in order it's; 1. Make disciples, 2. Baptizing them (who is them? Is it not disciples?), 3 Teaching them (is this someone else? No, it's also disciples).
In Luke it's only talking about repentance, but that surely includes faith and baptism. "and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." - Luke 24:47 ESV.
John also talks about forgiveness of sins (20:23).
Based on these texts, repentance is apparently also really important alongside faith and baptism. How does this align with infant baptism?
How do babies repent of their sins?
Vanessa Loy What sins could a baby possibly have to repent of? And, just the idea of a baby repenting makes me chuckle just a bit....Another question would be, if a baby dies before they are baptized, of which there is no mention of anywhere in the Bible, will they go to hell? Such odd teachings! To think that a baby has sinned is a totally ridiculous statement to me. That, along with the baptizing of babies is not scriptural. It just isn’t in the Bible! Just another in a long line of man made rules......
Bill Ryan Which is why I don’t support infant baptism.
@@vanessaloy1049 Jesus was born a baby under the law to redeem babies under the law. Galatians 4:4-5
@@billryan4811 false - entire households were baptized in the Bible. Included in the household are servants/slaves. Are babies not members of their households? Are they alien to the families they are born into? Are the babies of servants/slaves not included as part of the household? I think you might want to revisit this.
1. Cornelius' Household (Acts 10)
2. Lydia's Household (Acts 16)
3. The Philippian Jailer's Household (Acts 16)
4. Crispus’ Household (Acts 18)
5. Stephanas’ Household (1 Corinthians 1)
Adults are no better than the babies if we do not tell them about Jesus!!!
If you think infants believe, you are doing it wrong. Really wrong.
Do you deny the fact that John the Baptist had faith before he was born?
No such thing as baby baptism.
Bryan Wolfmueller. Ps 71: 5--6 doesn't say anything about infants believing.
There is no such Biblical teaching of infant baptism.
When Acts 2: 39 mentions "Children" the Greek word is, "Teknon". Children from the age of understanding right up to a good old age.
If it was infants, the word would have been, "Brephos".
Babes, little ones and child. means Figuratively of those young in the faith
None of those scriptures that you gave, prove infant baptism.
The Bible doesn't say John the Baptist believe from his mothers womb.
God. MO is, Hear and understand and believe the gospel. Mk 16: 15-16.
Choose to be born again. Acts 2: 38.
Then choose to be baptized. Mk 16: 16.
How can an infant believe those things??.
What is psalm 71:6 about?
How could you argue that John the Baptist did not believe in the womb when the Holy Spirit was upon him?
Tradition plus eisegesis equals poor exegesis.
The belief that infants should not be baptized because they cannot understand, is also a tradition, one that is rooted in the anibaptist movement; as for eisogesis vs exegesis, the arguments made in this video were the definition of exegetical because he took what was said in scripture and applied it to doctrine, not the other way around.
How can you have faith when you're asleep? What an absurd analogy.
If you died asleep as Christian you go to hell?
@@romaslivnot if you know Jesus
So you say your faith ends when you are sleeping?! Not if you have true faith!
My faith doesn't go away when I go to sleep, when I awaken it has remained with me watching over me as I sleep.
Are you saying then that we only have faith during our awake hours?
I need my faith 24/7!
Why are you always wearing black longsleeve?
Maybe it’s cold.
This video reassured me that thru my studies for the past 40 years I am correct that babies should not be baptized before one can confess a belief in the Gospel. This is a Catholic teaching not a Biblical one.
only1gumpy darn those apostles and their baptism of infants.
Knight George the apostles never baptized infants.
@@only1gumpy941
*Argument from ancient Roman demography and Scripture for infant baptism:*
_Premise 1:_ The scriptures say the Apostles *baptized* no less than 5 Roman Empire *households* and a crowd of 3000 men, women, and specifically *"children."* Peter excludes no age range with this word.
_Premise 2:_ Roman Empire *households* had 6-9 *children* per woman, and nearly always had babies in the house. Crowds of families include children and babies.
_Conclusion:_ The Apostles *baptized small children.*
Scheidel, Walter. "Demography", in W. Scheidel, I. Morris and R. Saller, eds., The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 38-86.
1. The crowd of 3000 men, women, and children. (Acts 2)
2. Cornelius' Household (Acts 10)
3. Lydia's Household (Acts 16)
4. The Philippian Jailer's Household (Acts 16)
5. Crispus’ Household (Acts 18)
6. Stephanas’ Household (1 Corinthians 1)
*Argument from ancient geopolitics and Scripture for infant baptism:*
_Premise 1:_ Every single region and language where one or more Apostles set foot practices infant baptism.
_Premise 2:_ Some of these regional churches had almost no contact at all with one another during the lifetimes of the Apostles, or for centuries later. (e.g. Between Roman Emp., Persian Emp., India)
_Conclusion:_ These regions did not each independently invent infant baptism. All learned the practice from the Apostles, who baptized regional households.
Origen noted that all of the far flung geographic churches in the entire Christian world baptized infants. Today these ancient regional churches that practise infant baptism include the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, Armenian Apostolic Church, Assyrian Church of the East. Each of these churches were home and place of death to one or more Apostles. Several of these regional churches had almost no contact with each other at all, especially the Persian Empire churches with the Roman Empire churches. It's unlikely that each geographical region, speaking it's own languages, using it's own forms of worship, listening to it's own preachers, and only rarely interacting with other groups each invented infant baptism independently. Rather, they all learned infant baptism from the example of the Apostles who baptized entire households.
Matthew 3:16 In baptism, the Father claims the Son. The Spirit rests on the Son.
Matthew 21:25 Mere water baptism is a gift from Heaven.
Matthew 28:19 Make disciples by baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and by teaching.
Mark 1:4 Mere water baptism = repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 16:16 *Baptized believers are saved, unbelievers condemned.*
Luke 7:29 Even water baptism is a public declaration that God is righteous.
Luke 7:30 *Rejecting even mere water baptism = rejecting God's purpose for you.*
John 1:31, 33 John knew beforehand that God would reveal the Christ through baptism.
Acts 2:38 *Repentance and baptism = forgiveness and the Spirit.*
Acts 2:39-41 3000 bachelors, virgins, wives, husbands, and *children of all ages received forgiveness and the Spirit in baptism.* The smallest can't have decided to repent in a mature way, but they were not excluded.
Acts 8 Many early church Bible readers saw a distinction between the Spirit's invisible gift of repentance/forgiveness and the Spirit's visible gift of leadership/ordination. Philip the Evangelist could baptize but not bestow spiritual authority. Only the apostles could do that.
Acts 22:16 *Baptism washes away sins.*
Romans 6:3, 4 *Baptism is death to sin, death with Christ, and newness of life in Christ.*
1 Corinthians 1 Baptism must not turn into hero worship, cliques, and factionalism.
1 Corinthians 12:22, 13 On the contrary, baptism is unity in the one Holy Spirit in Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:29 Even superstitious baptism declares the resurrection of the dead.
Galatians 3:27, 28 Baptism clothes every member of the body of Christ in equality.
Ephesians 3:5 There is one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.
Colossians 2:11 Baptism is a works-free death, a cutting off of the flesh.
Colossians 2:12 In baptism, God raised you with Christ through faith.
Hebrews 6:1-2 *Baptism is a basic foundational creedal teaching. You can't say you believe in Jesus while rejecting his basic teachings.*
1 Peter 3:20 Noah was saved by water, not from water. The flood waters washed away much evil.
1 Peter 3:21 Baptism now *saves you! Baptism = assurance* of a good conscience before God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
@@Mygoalwogel I enjoyed your lengthy explanation. I definitely agree baptism is great and washes away sins. But I'm still unsure when it comes to infants... You forgot to add some things the text said about those being baptized;
1. They were cut to the heart and asked what they should do.
(Just a side note: the promise was for the listeners children, but also for those far off in the same way, in conclusion as many as God calls to Himself. So for this to work out, the same way the children are called, the same way those far off have to be called, I think. And that creates some issues.)
2. They were exhorted by Peter to act on what He preached.
3. They were told to "save themselves".
4. Those who received Peter's words were baptized.
5. They devouted themselves to the Apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
6. Awe came upon them.
7. They were together and had all things in common.
8. They received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.
If babies were doing all of these things, it's obvious that they were baptized. But if they were excluded from any of Luke's "they" here, you can't say it's certain they were baptized, I think.
Also, at least in Cornelius' house, if Luke also included infants when writing, that would have meant the infants were speaking in tounges and exalting God 😊
ALL BABIES BELIEVE IN JESUS.
I know this video is going to be popular a little bit. I want to be the first comment. WAIT I AM! :)
First comment~