Kevin Bauder’s “Baptist Distinctives and New Testament Church Order”

September 14, 2012 by Andy Naselli

This book explains Baptist principles and some related issues:

Kevin Bauder. Baptist Distinctives and New Testament Church Order. Schaumburg, IL: Regular Baptist, 2012.

As usual, Kevin is clear, logical, and (usually) compelling.

Excerpts:

If a baptism is not valid, then it is not really a baptism at all. (p. 36)
According to Baptists, people who have been subjected to sprinkling or pouring have not been baptized at all. (p. 45)
A person who has once received baptism as a profession of faith should never submit to a second baptism. (p. 54)
Usually a pastor will administer the elements [at the Lord’s Table], but in principle the church could appoint any brother to perform this task. . . . The same is true of baptism. One need not be ordained in order to baptize. . . . [T]he validity of the baptism does not depend in any sense upon the personal qualifications of the administrator. . . . Nor must one be ordained in order to preach in a Baptist church. (p. 81)
Baptists usually stop short of concluding that plural eldership is a Biblical requirement. (p. 105)
[C]ertain conclusions can be drawn [about 1 Tim 2:11–15]. First, 1 Timothy 2:12 does not forbid women from teaching or even discipling men outside of the public gatherings of the church. . . . Second, 1 Timothy 2:12 does not forbid women from teaching children or other women within the public assembly. . . . Third, the verse forbids a kind of teaching that is tied to exercising authority. . . . Fourth, this verse has nothing to say about women exercising nonecclesiastical authority in non-church settings. (pp. 115–16)
The notion of women as deacons would probably seem less jarring if the office of deacon were properly understood in terms of service rather than leadership. (p. 120)
Scripture presents two possible rationales for civil disobedience. The first is that citizens must disobey the law when it either requires them to do evil or forbids them to do good. The second is that they may disobey the law (though they are not required to do so) when a particular law or directive violates the higher laws of the land. (p. 140)