I offer a controversial claim: Baptizing babies by sprinkling or pouring does not comport with the typological function of the floodwaters of God’s judgment in the Old Testament. Rather, I contend that, by understanding typology and this...
What comes to mind when you hear the word Baptist? I asked this question online, and to no great surprise I received an array of answers. Some think of an energetic church choir with colorful robes. Others think of solemn, even stuffy Sunday...
The baptism of the Holy Spirit has been a subject of debate and much discussion among Christians over the years. What exactly does it mean to be baptized in the Spirit? Is it a distinct event that occurs after conversion, as some maintain, or an...
Most everyone knows the Great Commission by heart: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19). But why make disciples, and why baptize using that...
Virtually all Christians practice some form of baptism. In fact, Paul mentions our universally experienced baptism among those things that demonstrate our unity as believers: “one body and one Spirit … one hope … one Lord, one faith, one baptism...
Peter J. Leithart explores the meaning of baptism and how those baptized form a beautiful picture of Jesus and a “present-tense” sign of the gospel.
1. Ezekiel 36:25–26 And I will sprinkle on you pure water, and you will be clean from all of your uncleanness, and I will cleanse you from all of your idols. And I will give a new heart to you, and a new spirit I will give into your inner parts, and...
The pastor had been preaching a series of messages through 1 Peter. When it was time for 1 Peter 3:14–22, he sincerely announced, “We’re going to skip this section since it’s just too strange.” He was right and wrong that day. As odd as it is, this...
Baptist Roots Where did Baptists come from and, historically, what are their beliefs? The majority of historians agree that today’s Baptists were derived from three major sixteenth-century streams: Particular Baptists, General Baptists, and...