Evangelical Free

What would you do if you joined the Evangelical Free (EFCA) with your family and your children all get married to people in the EFCA and your child's new mother-in-law wants your grandchild to be infant baptized by an EFCA pastor who believes in infant baptism? How do you deal with that as a Baptist believing in believers immersion baptism?

 

I agree it's no biggie if the parents agree against infant baptism.

However if the mother-in-law convinces your son/daughter in-law and your child to have your grandchild infant-baptized, then would you regret having raised your kids in the Evangelical Free church?

 

If the child grew up believing that infant baptism was salvic (many do, and otherwise why do it?), then the child would not belive in Christ's work alone for salvation. It's the same conflict found in all infant baptism.

The Ev. Free church says this potential confusion is a "minor" issue.

If I believe "a random stone on the ground" saves me, or partially saves me, or helps me get into heaven, is that a saving faith? Shouldn't I be tought clearly that such a belief is not saving faith?

Why keep this in "silence" and call it a "minor" issue? Why not teach against error? Why stay in silence?

Salvation is about where you will spend eternity. If that isn't major, what is?

Sorry if this offends anyone but doesn't God expect us to speak the truth in love, not falsehood in love, or "silence" that leaves the door open for falsehood in love?

It seems like the Ev. Free church wants to love people and avoid the painful confrontation for those entrenched in infant baptism. But is that true love to leave people in potential confusion about potentially erroneous parts of beliefs on salvation?

 

It seems that the majority of people in the EFCA do not know about the EFCA's position of "silence" on false doctrines of baptism (found in the book "The Significance of Silence" by Arnold T. Olson) because it is never preached or tought in the church. Rather the principle is practiced in silence very carefully by those who do know about it.

All who are ordained in the EFCA are required to read the book "The Significance of Silence" by Arnold T. Olson. But because the book calls for silence, not much more is said about it beyond the small minority who know about it.

Some of those who do know about it are former Lutherans and even some Catholics, who have been told that if they want to switch churches, the EFCA will be more accepting of their current beliefs. And indeed they are.

As liberal agendas are invading Lutheran and other large church denominations, there are refugees leaving those denominations seeking a new home that is more Biblical. The EFCA is a logical choice for a Lutheran who believes infant baptism is salvic, may be salvic, or is at least a good insurance policy, or is keeping peace with the family.

Newcomers to the EFCA who came from the Lutheran church have to decide if they should go against family tradition and refuse to have their infants sprinkled.

I know people who are members of a Lutheran church who attend an EFCA church. They refuse to give up membership in the Lutheran church because they still hold beliefs from that church and/or because it would upset the family traditions to give up membership in the Lutheran church. But they attend regulary in the EFCA church. Some seek infant baptism for their infants. The large majority do not.

The EFCA serves as a bridge from Lutheranism to Baptistic beliefs, for those not ready to make the leap instantly into a Baptist church.

Worship styles do not impact salvation. However faith does impact salvation. So the question is not regarding issues that are not salvic like Worship styles. The question is on issues that are salvic, and about speaking out with clarity on man-made ideas that are not salvic. The EFCA stays silent on what is wrong, false doctrine. They only teach what is right and hope that will be good enough.

Thus they avoid the conflict and do so out of love and for the sake of unity. However, some times they may leave an unsaved person unsaved, and lost. That lost person may feel betrayed some day.

So if a Baptistic believer joins the EFCA and their children fall in love with and marry the children of former Lutheran's who are still clinging to infant baptism, then the conflict might appear in the open. At that point it might be too late for a Baptist parent to influence their child who is totally in love with person whose family holds to an infant sprinkling belief.

Of course the act of sprinkling does not condem anyone to hell. A false faith and belief in false doctrine that any man-made act is salvic and trusting, resting, relying in that man-made act, could polute true salvic faith and make it non-salvic at some point.

The risk is probably remote but ever present, that a Baptist person attending and EFCA might end up seeing their grandchildren sprinkled in the EFCA church. How do other Baptists feel about this concern?



My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device nor creed;
I trust the Ever-living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea;
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

My heart is leaning on the Word,
The written Word of God,
Salvation by my Savior's name,
Salvation through His blood.

 

Thank you Salty for your Biblically based advice and encouragement.