Life; Video gallery; A person may choose to be baptised once they have decided for themselves that they want to live as a Christian. Thanks for posting. I was glad to see the strengths and weaknesses of each view presented well. I am an evangelist and the president of Revival Focus Ministries, an organization for the cause of revival in hearts, homes, churches, and beyond, and for evangelizing. For example, Tony Lane points out one of the weak spots in the Baptist understanding – the baptism of small children: “The problem with this policy is that few small children reject the views of their parents. Great article, John! It is republished on Proclaim & Defend by permission. Jesus said, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). The responses from this simple question have provoked my thinking. Hello, I’m John Van Gelderen. Without Spirit-leadership and Spirit-life, ailments began to show themselves. His blog is focused on experiencing Jesus. Should have thought to quote Rice. However, as a group of churches we would do well to let the Spirit search us to see what might grieve the Lord. Christ’s Love has to be the foundation!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Amazing!—. I grew up in the Independent Baptist context. Praise the Lord for those willing to value the Word of God! Although the book is a wonderful resource, the average layperson may encounter a few challenges with comprehension of some of the scholarly material. READ ONLINE [ 5.98 MB ] Apparently, this imbalance came as an overreaction the rise of Pentecostalism in the early twentieth century. Independent Baptists became wary of emphasizing the Spirit for fear of strange fire in the name of the Spirit. As an evangelist, I do see that there is a definite strength in Independent Baptist churches as well as a definite weakness. Thank the Lord there is still hope. Regarding the greatest strength, for the most part the responses indicated a high view of the Word of God, such as preaching, teaching, doctrine, defending doctrine, Gospel clarity, and then also discipline. Jesus said, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Last week on the Revival Focus Facebook and Twitter accounts, we asked what people considered to be the greatest strength and the greatest weakness of Independent Baptist churches. When an argument is truly biblical, it will be balanced. Is there any true, clear distinction between the Word and the Spirit, as in “emphasizing the Word” or “de-emphasizing the Spirit,” and so forth? Emphasizing the Word without the Spirit leads to deadness. Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ edited by Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn Wright, both professors at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, demonstrates that baptism is the initiation rite into the Christian church since the Scripture regularly connects it with belief and salvation. 1:5). baptism by sprinkling as a regenerative act (Lutheran) * Infant baptism of children of the covenant (Reformed) Each view is presented by its proponent, then critiqued and defended in dialogue with the book's other contributors. John Van Gelderen is an evangelist and the president of Revival Focus Ministries, an organization for the cause of revival in hearts, homes, churches, and beyond, and for evangelizing. Greatest Weakness: De-emphasizing the Spirit. 10:17). Perhaps a topic for each point to defend. Independent Baptists became wary of emphasizing the Spirit for fear of strange fire in the name of the Spirit. Barth's insistence on believer's baptism is connected to the f… When the Independent Baptist movement walked away from the Holy Spirit, we walked away from our leader and our life. Fair point! Another one is that the churches can increase the number of believers. While some may attempt to do this to one factor or the other, a proper view of the Word is inseparable from a proper view of the Spirit, as I have come to understand it at least (Ephesians 5:18; Colossians 3:16). Regarding the greatest strength, for the most part the responses indicated a high view of the Word of God, such as preaching, teaching, doctrine, defending doctrine, Gospel clarity, and then also discipline. Others do. Strengths Malphurs offers many suggestions that deserve consideration from pastors and church leaders today. We need to emphasize both the Word and the Spirit. I believe that if all of the independent Baptist could get a hold of… Read more ». Amazing!—not… in word only, but also in… the Holy Spirit. Some people seem to have little or no problem telling the truth. If it is not something expressly forbidden by scripture, then we have no authority to criticize, let alone condemn or attempt to control other believers. But emphasizing both the Word and the Spirit is dynamic! This is not having experienced no baptism at all, but one who has experienced infant baptism who is now a true believer. Strengths: The charismatic worship view is a movement that has sparked much debate and negative response from many evangelicals in the past 100 years. I’ll add some thoughts of my own here as well. So, while he is on the subject of judgment, Paul points out that each believer is personally accountable to God. Ironically, it’s the desire to stay strong in our “strength” areas that drives us to this weakness. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior and the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the … Praise the Lord for those willing to value the Word of God! Thanks for posting your perspective on this. ... and baptism for believers. Autonomy can enhance flexibility and creativity. This is known as believers’ baptism. Tozer began to warn of an unhealthy exaltation of the Word to the neglect of the Spirit. Paul said to the church at Thessalonica, “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. But emphasizing both the Word and the Spirit is dynamic! We all have strengths and weaknesses. The result of this imbalance may be surprising. The goal of their presentation is to show that baptism is only for those who have professed faith in Christ and that the practice of infant- or paedo- baptism compromises the gospel itself. He believes in order to really live, you must access and experience the very life of Jesus Christ. Later, in the wake of the excesses of the Charismatic movement (not all Charismatics are excessive), the overreaction became pronounced. However, as a group of churches we would do well to let the Spirit search us to see what might grieve the Lord. Regarding the greatest strength, for the most part the responses indicated a high view of the Word of God, such as preaching, teaching, doctrine, defending doctrine, Gospel clarity, and then also discipline. Emphasizing the Spirit without the Word leads to delusion. One response given seems to sum up all the others well: “Greatest strength: holding fast to sound doctrine; greatest weakness: exhibiting Christ-like love.”. Believer's Baptism has a lot of logical problems, and I believe that it's gross error to take that position. 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