Changes

"Believers' baptism" is set forth by Anabaptists and Baptist groups such as the Mennonites, as a testimony to an already existing saving faith in the atoning sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ offered once for all time for sins on the cross,<ref>Romans 1:17; 3:22-26; 5:8-11; Colossians 1:20; 2:18-23; Hebrews 1:3; 10:12.</ref> in accordance with the doctrine that man is justified by faith apart from works of the law, the law being the ritual ceremonial law of Moses. They utterly reject as [[superstition]] the doctrine that the ritual of water baptism saves by regeneration, that "baptism doth also now save us".<ref>1 Peter 3:21; Ephesians 2:8-9</ref> According to the doctrine of credobaptism, without faith there is no salvation, for "without faith no one can please him",<ref>Hebrews 11:6; see Hebrews 6:11-12; </ref> and it is evident that the unborn, newborn, infant, baby, child in arms who cannot walk, cannot exercise faith in the Lord and believe in him for salvation before they have the capacity of intelligent choice to be able to recognize Jesus as Lord and choose by the unmerited power of the gift of God to have faith in him alone. Thus, according to the credobaptist doctrine, baptism does not save us, but a confession of faith working through love,<ref>Galatians 5:6; James 2:17, 22, 24 and 26.</ref> and infants too young to understand are not capable of performing charitable works of love, "before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good".<ref>Compare Isaiah 7:16 and 2 Peter 3:9. This passage in Isaiah seems to be the closest reference to what some believe to be a biblical teaching on "the age of innocence", of children "below the age of innocence" who will not be condemned to hell if they die before being baptized, being already saved by the blood of Christ because they are innocent of any sin, and do not have understanding to know how to choose the good and refuse evil.</ref> According to apologists for credobaptism, salvation is declarational, by a sincere profession of belief in Christ. By the prompting of the inward witness of the Holy Spirit convicting the sinner of sin which merits only the wrath of God and the just judgment of condemnation to hell, the need for salvation in Christ is acknowledged and confessed. This is '''declarational salvation'''. By repentance for sin and confessing faith in Christ as merciful Lord and Savior and receiving him into their heart, by which the grace of salvation is received ''ex opere operantis'' "by the act of the doer" in "opening the door of faith to the Lord that he might come in",<ref>Compare Revelation 3:20.</ref> the practice of declarational "believers' baptism" which follows upon a confession of faith in Christ is simply nothing more than a faithfully obedient symbolic act of witness to having already been saved by the received and exercised gift of repentance unto saving faith in the Lord, as a sign of being given to God, through professing faith in the single sacrifice of his Christ for sins which he offered once for all time,<ref>Hebrews 10:12; Jude 3.</ref> performed by the complete burial of full immersion in water in answer to Christ's command to be baptized, [http://biblehub.com/greek/907 '''βαπτίζω''' ''baptizo'' "immerse".] "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."<ref>John 3:16</ref> The emphasis is on believing, and babies are incapable of belief. Parents who believe in credobaptism alone raise their children in the Christian hope that one day they too, "knowing how to refuse the evil and choose the good",<ref>Compare Isaiah 7:15-16</ref> will repent of their sinful state in Adam,<ref>1 Corinthians 15:22; Romans 5:12-19.</ref> and choose Christ as their own personal Savior and Lord of their lives by declarational salvation, and be baptized in fulfillment of his word to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins ''ex opere operantis'', on the assurance of a faith based on the fundamental doctrinal principle of ''[[sola scriptura]]''. Some urge use of the [[sinner's prayer]] as a guarantee of genuine repentance of sin unto complete salvation by a sincere reciting of a formula of profession of faith in Christ. Many of these also believe that once one has truly accepted Christ as Lord and Savior they are eternally assured of a personal salvation which can never be rescinded, revoked or forfeited, forever. This too has been condemned as a kind of legalistic requirement of a work performed by the person in order to merit salvation, and as a departure from a simple, trusting faith for redemption and salvation; moreover, it has also been condemned as promoting [[Antinomianism]] and [[Licentiousness]].<ref>Romans chapter 6; 2:6-10; 8:12-17; Galatians 5:13-26; 2 Peter 2:1-3, 9-22; Jude 4-19.</ref> Among those who profess credobaptism, the parents of children who have reached the age of understanding worry if their children have not yet decided to accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior in some form of public profession of faith before others.<ref>See Luke 12:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:11-13.</ref>

"Believers' baptism" is set forth by Anabaptists and Baptist groups such as the Mennonites, as a testimony to an already existing saving faith in the atoning sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ offered once for all time for sins on the cross,<ref>Romans 1:17; 3:22-26; 5:8-11; Colossians 1:20; 2:18-23; Hebrews 1:3; 10:12.</ref> in accordance with the doctrine that man is justified by faith apart from works of the law, the law being the ritual ceremonial law of Moses. They utterly reject as [[superstition]] the doctrine that the ritual of water baptism saves by regeneration, that "baptism doth also now save us".<ref>1 Peter 3:21; Ephesians 2:8-9</ref> According to the doctrine of credobaptism, without faith there is no salvation, for "without faith no one can please him",<ref>Hebrews 11:6; see Hebrews 6:11-12; </ref> and it is evident that the unborn, newborn, infant, baby, child in arms who cannot walk, cannot exercise faith in the Lord and believe in him for salvation before they have the capacity of intelligent choice to be able to recognize Jesus as Lord and choose by the unmerited power of the gift of God to have faith in him alone. Thus, according to the credobaptist doctrine, baptism does not save us, but a confession of faith working through love,<ref>Galatians 5:6; James 2:17, 22, 24 and 26.</ref> and infants too young to understand are not capable of performing charitable works of love, "before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good".<ref>Compare Isaiah 7:16 and 2 Peter 3:9. This passage in Isaiah seems to be the closest reference to what some believe to be a biblical teaching on "the age of innocence", of children "below the age of innocence" who will not be condemned to hell if they die before being baptized, being already saved by the blood of Christ because they are innocent of any sin, and do not have understanding to know how to choose the good and refuse evil.</ref> According to apologists for credobaptism, salvation is declarational, by a sincere profession of belief in Christ. By the prompting of the inward witness of the Holy Spirit convicting the sinner of sin which merits only the wrath of God and the just judgment of condemnation to hell, the need for salvation in Christ is acknowledged and confessed. This is '''declarational salvation'''. By repentance for sin and confessing faith in Christ as merciful Lord and Savior and receiving him into their heart, by which the grace of salvation is received ''ex opere operantis'' "by the act of the doer" in "opening the door of faith to the Lord that he might come in",<ref>Compare Revelation 3:20.</ref> the practice of declarational "believers' baptism" which follows upon a confession of faith in Christ is simply nothing more than a faithfully obedient symbolic act of witness to having already been saved by the received and exercised gift of repentance unto saving faith in the Lord, as a sign of being given to God, through professing faith in the single sacrifice of his Christ for sins which he offered once for all time,<ref>Hebrews 10:12; Jude 3.</ref> performed by the complete burial of full immersion in water in answer to Christ's command to be baptized, [http://biblehub.com/greek/907 '''βαπτίζω''' ''baptizo'' "immerse".] "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."<ref>John 3:16</ref> The emphasis is on believing, and babies are incapable of belief. Parents who believe in credobaptism alone raise their children in the Christian hope that one day they too, "knowing how to refuse the evil and choose the good",<ref>Compare Isaiah 7:15-16</ref> will repent of their sinful state in Adam,<ref>1 Corinthians 15:22; Romans 5:12-19.</ref> and choose Christ as their own personal Savior and Lord of their lives by declarational salvation, and be baptized in fulfillment of his word to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins ''ex opere operantis'', on the assurance of a faith based on the fundamental doctrinal principle of ''[[sola scriptura]]''. Some urge use of the [[sinner's prayer]] as a guarantee of genuine repentance of sin unto complete salvation by a sincere reciting of a formula of profession of faith in Christ. Many of these also believe that once one has truly accepted Christ as Lord and Savior they are eternally assured of a personal salvation which can never be rescinded, revoked or forfeited, forever. This too has been condemned as a kind of legalistic requirement of a work performed by the person in order to merit salvation, and as a departure from a simple, trusting faith for redemption and salvation; moreover, it has also been condemned as promoting [[Antinomianism]] and [[Licentiousness]].<ref>Romans chapter 6; 2:6-10; 8:12-17; Galatians 5:13-26; 2 Peter 2:1-3, 9-22; Jude 4-19.</ref> Among those who profess credobaptism, the parents of children who have reached the age of understanding worry if their children have not yet decided to accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior in some form of public profession of faith before others.<ref>See Luke 12:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:11-13.</ref>

The [[Council of Trent]] made clear the Catholic position on the sacraments including infant baptism by condemning with ''[[anathema]]'' the proposition that the sacraments have no power to bestow grace and that faith alone suffices.

The [[Council of Trent]] made clear the Catholic position on the sacraments including infant baptism by condemning with ''[[anathema]]'' the proposition that ''the sacraments have no power to bestow grace and that faith alone suffices''.<br>[http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/dxa.htm The Council of Trent. Seventh Session. First Decree and Canons. On the Sacraments. [Denzingeer] (clerus.org)]</ref>

If faith is act of righteousness <ref>1 John 3:7; James 2:20-26; Romans chapter 4.</ref> exercised by the believer in obedience to Christ's command "have faith in God",<ref>Mark 11:22.</ref> and obedience to his commandment "believe also in me",<ref>John 14:1</ref> and if the "gift of repentance"<ref>Acts 11:18</ref> is exercised according to Peter's command to "Repent, and be baptized every one of you",<ref>Acts 2:38</ref> and "with the mouth confession is made unto salvation",<ref>Romans 10:10b</ref> then faith and repentance are also works, something which men do, even if only in their hearts,<ref>Compare the [[good thief]] on the cross, who only had faith in Jesus, but acted by explicitly professing his faith, an act that was followed by the promise of Christ, "Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." Jesus did not say this to him before he made his act of faith. Luke 23:39-43. Proponents of credobaptism emphasize that this man was not baptized but was saved, demonstrating that faith not baptism saves. Catholic theology sees in this an evidence for "baptism of desire" in which the souls of those who are deprived of all opportunity to avail themselves of the ordinary means of entering the kingdom of God through salvation by water baptism commanded by Christ Jesus in John 3:5 are not deprived of salvation by extraordinary means provided by the Father through Christ, whose Spirit knows the hearts of men. Romans 2:12-16; 1&nbsp;John 3:23; 1&nbsp;Corinthians 2:9-16; Hebrews 4:12-13.</ref> and man is saved by the work of faith and repentance unto salvation. But it is not a work of man, but the work of God.<ref>Philippians 2:13.</ref> On the basis of this concurrence of belief in the enabling work of God in the souls of mankind, those theologians engaged in interfaith dialogue seek common ground for unity among Christians by means of clarification of meanings and definitions of terms that may differ superficially in speech but not in the substance of their genuine [[semantics|semantical content]], in a spirit of honest ecumenism, even while many remain cautious and alert against the danger of [[syncretism]] by any suggestion of compromise with the purity of the Gospel and the context of the whole of the teaching of the Bible. Sincere Christian believers are very careful of [[specious reasoning]] which appeals to [[Cafeteria Christianity#Proof texts|proof texts]] to promote a doctrine which deviates from the whole context of the Bible. Like the Beroeans of Acts 17:10-12.

If faith is act of righteousness <ref>1 John 3:7; James 2:20-26; Romans chapter 4.</ref> exercised by the believer in obedience to Christ's command "have faith in God",<ref>Mark 11:22.</ref> and obedience to his commandment "believe also in me",<ref>John 14:1</ref> and if the "gift of repentance"<ref>Acts 11:18</ref> is exercised according to Peter's command to "Repent, and be baptized every one of you",<ref>Acts 2:38</ref> and "with the mouth confession is made unto salvation",<ref>Romans 10:10b</ref> then faith and repentance are also works, something which men do, even if only in their hearts,<ref>Compare the [[good thief]] on the cross, who only had faith in Jesus, but acted by explicitly professing his faith, an act that was followed by the promise of Christ, "Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." Jesus did not say this to him before he made his act of faith. Luke 23:39-43. Proponents of credobaptism emphasize that this man was not baptized but was saved, demonstrating that faith not baptism saves. Catholic theology sees in this an evidence for "baptism of desire" in which the souls of those who are deprived of all opportunity to avail themselves of the ordinary means of entering the kingdom of God through salvation by water baptism commanded by Christ Jesus in John 3:5 are not deprived of salvation by extraordinary means provided by the Father through Christ, whose Spirit knows the hearts of men. Romans 2:12-16; 1&nbsp;John 3:23; 1&nbsp;Corinthians 2:9-16; Hebrews 4:12-13.</ref> and man is saved by the work of faith and repentance unto salvation. But it is not a work of man, but the work of God.<ref>Philippians 2:13.</ref> On the basis of this concurrence of belief in the enabling work of God in the souls of mankind, those theologians engaged in interfaith dialogue seek common ground for unity among Christians by means of clarification of meanings and definitions of terms that may differ superficially in speech but not in the substance of their genuine [[semantics|semantical content]], in a spirit of honest ecumenism, even while many remain cautious and alert against the danger of [[syncretism]] by any suggestion of compromise with the purity of the Gospel and the context of the whole of the teaching of the Bible. Sincere Christian believers are very careful of [[specious reasoning]] which appeals to [[Cafeteria Christianity#Proof texts|proof texts]] to promote a doctrine which deviates from the whole context of the Bible. Like the Beroeans of Acts 17:10-12.