Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

baptism

Are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper Only for Churches?

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baptismThat’s question 4 in this book:

John S. Hammett. 40 Questions about Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. 40 Questions. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2015.

(I love the 40 Questions series. It’s clear, concise, and thoughtful.)

So it is proper to baptize a child in, say, a bathtub in a family’s private home? Or to observe the Lord’s Supper when hanging out with a few Christian friends at the beach? Or for a Christian school to practice baptism or the Lord’s Supper in chapel? Here’s how Hammett concludes his answer to the question “Are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper Only for Churches?” (p. 44, formatting added): [Read more…] about Are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper Only for Churches?

5 Baptist Distinctives

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BaptistThree Baptist historians recently teamed up to write a textbook on Baptist history:

Anthony L. Chute, Nathan A. Finn, and Michael A. G. Haykin. The Baptist Story: From English Sect to Global Movement. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2015. 46-page PDF sample.

In the final chapter they unpack five Baptist distinctives:

  1. Regenerate church membership
  2. Believer’s baptism
  3. Congregational polity
  4. Local church autonomy
  5. Religious freedom

Here’s a six-minute interview with the authors:

See also Jason Duesing’s review.

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

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bauderThis 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.

bauderTOC

Excerpts: [Read more…] about Kevin Bauder’s “Baptist Distinctives and New Testament Church Order”

Progressive Covenantalism: A Via Media between Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism

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gentry-wellumLast week I finished plowing through this ambitious 848-page book:

Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum. Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012.

The book argues for a via media between covenant theology and dispensationalism that the authors call progressive covenantalism (similar to new covenant theology).

Wellum and Gentry routinely distinguish their view from each of the two major systems in a distinctive way: [Read more…] about Progressive Covenantalism: A Via Media between Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism

A Test Case for How to Put the Bible Together: Baptism

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Christians disagree—sometimes sharply—on how themes unfold in the OT and NT. Here are a few examples:

  1. the old covenant and new covenant
  2. law and grace
  3. Israel and the church
  4. promise and fulfillment
  5. type and antitype
  6. the Sabbath and Lord’s day
  7. circumcision and baptism

People cannot study such issues in an isolated way without raising larger biblical and theological structural issues. The hermeneutical spiral is complicated, and the way people approach such issues reveals how they put the Bible together. That’s why, upon the recent recommendations of some friends, I spent several hours this afternoon carefully reading the following essay:

BaptismStephen J. Wellum. “Baptism and the Relationship Between the Covenants.” Pages 97–161 in Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ. Edited by Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright. NAC Studies in Bible and Theology. Broadman & Holman: Nashville, 2006.

(Note the free PDF.)

This essay by Wellum, who is “neither Dispensational nor Covenantal (in the paedobaptist sense of the term)” (p. 123n44), is a fine example of what it looks like to approach an issue like baptism responsibly in light of Bible’s storyline.

What follows is an outline of Wellum’s essay with quotations from the introduction and conclusion. (I’ve added the numbering.) [Read more…] about A Test Case for How to Put the Bible Together: Baptism