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The Baptismal Formula: Difference between revisions
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This article attempts to answer this question. | This article attempts to answer this question. | ||
=Answer= | |||
===Example #1=== | |||
I attended a baptismal service in Hawaii a number of years ago and was asked to assist in the baptism of several new converts. I was astounded by the baptismal forumula that this pastor used. As the individual was immersed in water (in the ocean) the pastor said these words: | |||
:''I now baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. I baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I baptize you in the name of Adonai Yeshua HaMashiach. | |||
I told the pastor after the service that he had definitely covered all the bases. No one could ever take exception to how he baptized people. | |||
===Example #2=== | |||
I was later at a baptismal service at a Mennonite Brethren church. As each person came to be baptized, they said a few words of testimony regarding their new faith in Jesus and then were asked a series of questions each of which was answered in the affirmative and then they were baptized. The dialogue when something like this: | |||
:''Do you acknowledge that you are a sinner, deserving of eternal punishment, and that you can do nothing to earn God’s favor by your own efforts? | |||
:''I do | |||
:''Do you acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God’s one and only remedy for your sin, and the only provision for your salvation? | |||
:''I do | |||
:''Do you acknowledge that by your identification with Christ by faith you died to sin and were raised to newness of life in Him? | |||
:''I do | |||
:''Is it your intention to live a different kind of life because of your trust in Jesus and the new life He has given you? | |||
:''It is | |||
:''On the basis of your profession of faith in Jesus Christ, it is my privilege to baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” | |||
Given the whole focus on confirming the new convert's faith in Jesus Christ, I have no problem with how this church baptized people. | |||
==Conclusion== | |||
I do not believe that a person baptized in the second example can be excluded from the body of Christ solely on the basis of how they were baptized. The reasons for this are: | |||
#water baptism is not the means of salvation. The basis of condemnation is unbelief only. | |||
#While baptism in the name of Jesus Christ (or a similar variant) is the preferred method of baptism, it is also true that someone that is baptized in the name | |||
==Derivation from a Oneness Christology== | ==Derivation from a Oneness Christology== | ||