tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3936245629054062839.post5175363501093749937..comments2016-06-01T14:25:22.630-05:00Comments on Jesus is Covenant: 61 - More from the journeythe vernerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14039089317350743380noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3936245629054062839.post-8837012781733528902016-06-01T14:25:22.630-05:002016-06-01T14:25:22.630-05:00Your paragraph on baptism brought some thoughts to...Your paragraph on baptism brought some thoughts to mind. Churches of Christ have been very insistent that adult baptism by immersion is necessary for salvation. In this comment, the word “adult” includes anyone who has reached the so-called age of accountability. <br />We’ve been overly concerned about whether the correct formula is said over the baptismal candidate: “I now baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of your sins.” We can’t leave anything out of the rite of baptism; if we do, it’s not valid. Yet the book of Acts tells us that people were simply baptized in the name of Jesus. If “for the forgiveness of sins” is left out of the formula is the act void of any salvific force, or is it merely an empty ritual. In the past, people seeking membership in the church were required to be immersed as adults for the forgiveness of their sins. This was true of people who had been baptized by sprinkling or pouring, but it was also true of people who had been baptized as adults in other denominations where the baptism formula did not include “for the forgiveness of sins.” Many churches of Christ are now admitting into membership people who were baptized by immersion as adults; the exact formula is no longer an issue. I do not know whether baptism by sprinkling or pouring is being accepted by some churches of Christ. In any case, the biblical norm is adult baptism by immersion. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01209309499974117486noreply@blogger.com