Prayer and the Ministry of the Word

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Dear Courteous Reader,

The International Mission Board/Wade Burleson crisis of late 2005 and early 2006 drove many of us back to the books for study of the ordinances. During several months of intense reading and discussion, I learned a higher view of baptism than what I had formerly held. This Sunday, God used that high view of baptism to convict a man of sin and convert him to faith in Christ!

As a Baptist, I had always been repulsed by the various iterations of "baptismal regeneration." The Church of Christ and the Catholic Church both hold that a person is "born again" or regenerated in the act of baptism. We Baptists rightly reject this position, which is based primarily on a wrong interpretation of John 3:5

Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

The correct meaning of "born of water" is "born naturally" or "born physically." But these two groups, as well as some others, take "born of water" to mean "baptized in water."

As a reaction against this wrong belief, however, many Baptists too strongly de-emphasize baptism. We act as if "walking the aisle" is the profession of faith, and baptism is something to be done later, at our convenience, if at all. (Please see Dr. VanNeste's excellent article, p.4.) This was the position I held.

In study of the issue, however, I came to understand that baptism, although not regenerative, should always accompany faith in Christ, and should be performed immediately upon conversion. The command is "believe and be baptized." The practice is to be baptized right away. (Consider the experience of the three thousand, the Ethiopian, the Philippian jailer, and Saul/Paul himself.) A person who has come to faith in Christ, and made this known to other believers, should not remain unbaptized for more than a few hours. Certainly there are difficult cases, where physical infirmity or lack of a suitable body of water is an obstacle, but in almost all cases, the new convert should be baptized the same day.

Understanding this biblical truth, I began to reconsider my idea of who should be allowed to share in The Lord's Supper. As a young adult, in ignorant zeal, I had believed that anyone at all could share the Supper. As my understanding matured, I had held that any Christian could take the Supper, even if he had not been baptized. But through study and prayer in 2006, I came to realize that the old Baptist position is right: A man who has refused baptism should not be welcomed into the communion of the church, especially around The Lord's Supper. (See any of the old Baptist confessions of faith, or any of the three versions of The Baptist Faith and Message, found here.)

Although I have held this position for roughly a year, my fellow elder and I had not yet brought ourselves to state this quite so baldly in our worship services. We have been saying that a person who has not "made a good and credible profession of faith" should not take the Supper. Our intention has been not to drive away inquirers with too harsh a position.

Yesterday, however, it was my turn to lead the communion, and I was convicted that I must state the truth. I instructed the congregation (there were first-time visitors present) that anyone who had supposedly believed in Christ, but had not been baptized should not take The Lord's Supper on the grounds that he might be taking it in an "unworthy manner."

As the worshipers came forward to take the elements and form a circle, one man, a first-time visitor, remained in his place near the back, and bent down his head. When the worship service closed, he was still there, crying. I went to him and asked what he was thinking about, but he only shook his head and continued crying. I prayed over him and offered my help when he was ready.

In a few minutes, he spoke to me outside, and told that in those moments, while the rest of the church was sharing The Lord's Supper, he was being converted to Christ! He had attended church off-and-on for years, known most of the facts, and believed in God. But he said that when he realized he was being excluded from The Lord's Supper, he became strongly convicted of sin, and began asking Jesus to forgive him. He testified that he was overwhelmed with emotion "in a good way" and began to cry out to God. Afterward, he felt a kind of peace that he had never felt before. He said that although he had made deals with God before, and promised to quit sinning in this way or that, it had never worked. This time, however, he did not ask God to do anything for him, and did not make any promises to shape up, but just asked God to forgive him of his sins.

I read to him from Peter's Pentecost sermon, that he should be baptized, and he agreed. I told him that he should be baptized the same day, and he agreed to that, too! So, I had the great pleasure of baptizing him in a the pleasant, warm waters of our local lake yesterday evening, praise God!

I offer this account as an encouragement to my brothers. If you are concerned that a high view of baptism, or a hard line on The Lord's Supper will be anti-evangelistic, perhaps that should not be such a concern after all.

Love in Christ,

Jeff