Featured Is Baptism the New Circumcision?

I appreciate your responses, Brother.

I am keeping an open mind. I seek the Truth, whereever that may be. I intend to do more studying on the subject. I was raised Baptist. I was a preacher's son. I know the doctrine, I just find the Lutheran position more convincingly sciptural and historically consistent.

I don't think anyone is going to change their position on this issue. Here is a copy of a statement by the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, the second largest Lutheran denomination in the United States, a conservative, confessional Lutheran Church:

How is the Gospel obscured?
The Gospel is obscured by well-intentioned people who
want to encourage a life of good works, and end up making
Christians think that it is by their works that they are saved.
This is a great danger. Through His Word and Sacraments,
Jesus is constantly working in our lives to forgive our sins and
strengthen our relationship with God.God always receives the
credit for our salvation.He is the one working in us.This is not
something we can dur good works are the result of God’s
love in our hearts and lives. Our good works in this life do
not save us,only Christ saves us. Works serve our neighbor
and show to the world that we are grateful for God’s mercy in
our lives.
Another way the Gospel can be obscured is when too much
emphasis is put on an emotional response to the Gospel.Some
Christians believe that unless they have some sort of ecstatic,
charismatic experience,or feel some sort of “spiritual high,”
they are not really Christians. It is truly sad that some people
look into their own hearts for the security that they are children
of God,instead of putting their hope and trust in the objective
work of Christ for them,and in the means God uses to come to
them—His Word and Sacraments.
If we find ourselves beginning to ask, “Am I doing
enough?”or thinking,“It doesn’t matter what I do,for God will
forgive me anyway,”then we are at risk of losing Christ and His
forgiveness.We look always to Jesus and put our hope and trust
in Him.He is our Savior.And,that’s good news!
All blessing,honor, thanks and praise to Father,Son and
Spirit, the God who saved us by His grace. All glory to His
merit! O triune God in heaven above,you have revealed your
saving love.Your blessed name we hallow.
— Dr.A.L.Barry
President
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

 

How do Lutherans believe that we can be assured of our salvation?

On what should we base our assurance of salvation?
Q: On what should we base our assurance of salvation? I know the Word and the promises of the
Gospel are our rock, but how do we distinguish between real faith and mere intellectual assent? I ask
this because many evangelicals make me nervous when they say that if one has doubts about one's
salvation, one is probably not saved, because the Holy Spirit is supposed to provide inner assurance. (I
guess this ties in to the whole Pietist problem.) But in the face of emotional ups and downs, moral
failings, intellectual doubts, and confusion over doctrine, how can one know if one truly has faith in
Christ?
A: Lutherans believe that faith is created and strengthened not by looking inside of one's self (to one's
own faith and/or doubts) but by looking outside of one's self (to God's Word and promises in Christ).
Therefore, assurance of salvation is to be sought by looking to God's Word and promises in Christ (which
create and strengthen the faith through which one is saved), not by looking inward at the strength or
weakness of one's own faith (which creates either pride and false assurance or doubt and lack of
assurance). Anxiety regarding doubts, strength of faith and certainty of salvation are signs of faith
(however weak it may be), not signs of unbelief, since the unbeliever has no concern or anxiety about
doubts, faith or salvation. If you would like to study this issue further, I would recommend Martin
Chemnitz's book on Justification available from Concordia Publishing House (800-325-3040, stock no. 15-
2186).
Usage: We urge you to contact an LCMS pastor in your area for more in-depth discussion.
Published by: LCMS Church Information Center
©The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
1333 S. Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO 63122-7295
888

 

Here is the official position of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod on the Doctrine of Baptism:

Baptism
Baptism and its purpose
Q: Can you please clarify the Lutheran view of Baptism and what is its purpose? Does the child
become a Christian when baptized?
A: Lutherans believe that the Bible teaches that a person is saved by God’s grace alone through faith in
Jesus Christ alone. The Bible tells us that such “faith comes by hearing” (Rom 10:17). Jesus Himself
commands Baptism and tells us that Baptism is water used together with the Word of God (Matt 28:19-
20). Because of this, we believe that Baptism is one of the miraculous means of grace (another is God’s
Word as it is written or spoken), through which God creates and/or strengthens the gift of faith in a
person’s heart (see Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21; Gal 3:26-27; Rom 6:1-4; Col 2:11-12; 1 Cor.
12:13). Terms the Bible uses to talk about the beginning of faith include “conversion” and
“regeneration.” Although we do not claim to understand fully how this happens, we believe that when
an infant is baptized God creates faith in the heart of that infant. We believe this because the Bible says
that infants can believe (Matt 18:6) and that new birth (regeneration) happens in Baptism (John 3:5-7;
Titus 3:5-6). The infant’s faith cannot yet, of course, be verbally expressed or articulated by the child, yet
it is real and present all the same (see e.g., Acts 2:38-39; Luke 1:15; 2 Tim 3:15). The faith of the infant,
like the faith of adults, also needs to be fed and nurtured by God’s Word (Matt 28:18-20), or it will die.
Lutherans do not believe that only those baptized as infants receive faith. Faith can also be created in a
person's heart by the power of the Holy Spirit working through God's (written or spoken) Word. Baptism
should then soon follow conversion (cf. Acts 8:37) for the purpose of confirming and strengthening faith
in accordance with God's command and promise. Depending on the situation, therefore, Lutherans
baptize people of all ages from infancy to adulthood.
The LCMS does not believe that Baptism is ABSOLUTELY necessary for salvation. All true
believers in the Old Testament era were saved without baptism. Mark 16:16 implies that it is
not the absence of Baptism that condemns a person but the absence of faith, and there are
clearly other ways of coming to faith by the power of the Holy Spirit (reading or hearing the
Word of God). Still, Baptism dare not be despised or willfully neglected, since it is explicitly
commanded by God and has His precious promises attached to it. It is not a mere “ritual” or
“symbol,” but a powerful means of grace by which God grants faith and the forgiveness of sins.
Usage: We urge you to contact an LCMS pastor in your area for more in-depth discussion.
Published by: LCMS Church Information Center
©The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
1333 S. Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO 63122-7295
888-843-5267 • [email protected] • www.lcms.org/faqs
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Here is another official statement on the Doctrine of Baptism by the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. You can read more of these statement at the Church's official website: www.lcms.org

Click on "What we believe" and then click on "Frequently asked questions".


Baptism saves? (2 pages)
Q: I believe I understand the LCMS position on Baptism although it seems to lead down a troublesome
path. As I understand you can be regenerated through Baptism and also regenerated by believing in
Jesus, without Baptism, and then later baptized. The Lutheran position forces one to come to this
conclusion of two ways to be saved, although both are by faith alone, just two different means. In Acts
10:44ff they believed and as a result were saved, filled with the Holy Spirit and therefore baptized. Eph
1:3 also speaks of salvation by the work of the Holy Spirit. If Baptism also saves, it must not save
adults since an adult would not say I do not believe but I want to be baptized to get the faith to
believe. If indeed the prooftexts of baptismal regeneration do actually refer to salvation, it must only
be for babies since adults would of necessity believe before being baptized. And if they do only speak
of babies who do not have the capacity to believe, why don't these verses say so. My question then is,
what do you see wrong with my reasoning? You do not have to give me the prooftexts since I have
known them and have studied them and have ready many articles and the catechism both from
Lutherans and others.
A: We are pleased to hear that you have thoroughly studied the Scriptures on the topic of Baptism and
other literature dealing with this subject. Perhaps you are very familiar with the Large Catechism's
treatment of Baptism, but we mention it here because Luther's treatise on infant baptism in this section
is extremely useful. Luther goes to the heart of the foundational theological questions at issue over
against errant understandings of Baptism present among those involved in the Anabaptist movement of
his time.
Perhaps we can make a couple of points that seem pertinent to the issue(s) you have raised. First, as you
have implied in your letter, it seems important to note that while Baptism is God's gracious means of
conveying to human beings His saving grace revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Savior, it is not the only
means. On the basis of the Scriptures we teach that the spoken Word of the Gospel (Rom. 1:16-17;
10:17) and the Lord's Supper (Matt. 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; 1 Cor. 11) are also means of grace. It is no less
a miracle of God's grace at work that an adult should believe by hearing the words of the Gospel, than
that an infant should receive through Baptism the Spirit who creates the very faith by which one
receives incorporation into Christ (Romans 6:4 "We were buried therefore with him by [Greek: the
instrumental dia] baptism..."). Adults who hear the spoken Word and believe eagerly seek to be
baptized, not because it is a human rite symbolic of one's commitment or something to that effect, but
because of what God promises in and through Baptism. It must be remembered that the only
theological distinction between the spoken Word of the Gospel and Baptism is that the sacrament
includes a visible element; hence, our Lutheran fathers commonly spoke of Baptism as "visible Gospel."
The Scriptures distinguish Baptism and the spoken Word, but do not separate them; they are both
means of grace. As you also no doubt are fully aware, we teach that it is not the lack of Baptism that
necessarily condemns, but it is the despising of this precious gift that endangers faith, for God Himself
has instituted it and attached His promises to it.
The Scriptures teach, of course, that there is only one Baptism (Eph. 4:5). There is no indication that God
has limited this blessed means of grace to individuals on the basis of age or levels of maturity. Baptism is
God's act, a divine testimony to what "grace alone" really means, whereby He imparts the blessings of
forgiveness, life, and salvation to individuals, children and adults alike. And as our Lutheran fathers have
always taught, Baptism confirms the grace of God upon adults who have already come to faith, and
strengthens them in their faith, even as the Lord's Supper does.
Page 4 of 14
Usage: We urge you to contact an LCMS pastor in your area for more in-depth discussion.
Published by: LCMS Church Information Center
©The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
1333 S. Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO 63122-7295
888-843-5267 • [email protected] • www.lcms.org/faqs


Wittenberger's comments: Sometimes I think Baptists and evangelicals infer that "grace" and "salvation" are synonymous, one and the same. This is not correct. A sinner receives justifying grace when as an adult he hears the Gospel preached and believes or when an infant of Christian parents is baptized.

Once we are Christians, we receive sanctifying grace when we hear the Word preached and when we partake of Holy Communion. Thus, Lutherans believe that we receive sanctifying grace in the Lord's Supper, not justifying grace. We are already justified by faith.

Grace means: God's unmerited favor and blessings.

God doesn't stop giving Christians his unmerited favor and blessings once you are a Christian. God continues to give sanctifying grace our entire lives.

Yes, in salvation, we receive God's grace, but God's grace is not limited to salvation.

 

Yes, but it is the power of the spoken Word of God at baptism that saves, not the act itself.