Featured How soon do you baptize?

The local Baptist church has autonomy to make that decision though!

 

While at College, the local church would wait until Spring thaw here in Mi to water Baptize us in the local river! So if saved in Winter, waited until Spring!

 

No, I don't believe that it does.

 

The command is get baptized. There is reasonable expectation that the baptism is as soon as possible. So to not follow that command is, in fact, sin.

Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, it is sin.

 

Baptism is not church policy.

 

That's not biblical either. You can be convinced and you can also be very wrong. I stand on Scripture, not the teachings of a church that thinks they somehow have a mandate to delay a baptism until a certain time despite the fact that cannot be found, or even supported, by Scripture.

 

What if leadership is persuaded and convicted to not water baptize smaller children?
Would that not be sinning going against that?

 

The dividing line is not based on age, but on a credible profession of faith. For example, does the church see the profession of faith of a 5-year old as credible? If so, then baptize. If not, do not. For my part, I cannot imagine thinking many 5-year-olds that I know would understand what they are saying and doing regarding a profession of faith and baptism. But ultimately the decision is not based on "they are 5 years old and not yet 12 years old" but we do not accept the profession of faith as credible. God know hearts, but we can only go by what we see and hear (cf. Luke 3:7-8).

 

The leadership would have no biblical basis for such a position.

 

Our experience was somewhat similar. Though we'd been saved years earlier, only when we began attending a fundamental church in February 1981 did we understand the need for believer's baptism. But the very small church didn't have a baptistry and the St. John River was under 3-4 feet of ice. Several years later I assisted in a baptism ceremony in late September, supporting candidates as they waded 40-50 feet into/from the Fish River (tributary of the St. John) to where it had sufficient depth. Both air and water temperatures were below 50F but waiting until the following spring was not advisable.

 

Related, perhaps interesting to some.

Elder John Leland (1754-1841) encourages us to “never fear the frozen stream.” When he was laboring in Virginia in 1788, he wrote the following hymn, of which he says: “At another time, I had a meeting at John Lea’s, in Louisa, when something seemed to descend on the people, like that which took place at Mr. Hodgers’s, (mentioned before,) but the effects were not so great. The next day there were five to be baptized. The day was very cold. While Mr. Bowles was preaching to the people, I composed the hymn:

Christians, if your hearts be warm,
Ice and snow can do no harm;
If by Jesus you are priz’d,
Rise, believe, and be baptiz’d.

Jesus drank the gall for you,
Bore the Cross for sinners due;
Children, prove your love to him,
Never fear the frozen stream.

Never shun the Saviour’s cross,
All on earth is worthless dross;
If the Saviour’s love you feel
Let the world behold your zeal.

He or someone else added three more stanzas later. The Writings of the Late Elder John Leland, p. 36, 336.

 

They see it as being the Age of Accountability though, as when the child can take personal responsibility!

 

I ended up being water baptized by the Youth Pastor in the corner of the College pool, as roped off that section, and had 5 of us fet dunked!

 

Which is not found in Scripture.

 

I am not disagreeing with you on this issue, but do have to support leadership, correct?

 

Definitely not if they are going against Scripture and the authority given to them by Scripture. With that argument you just made the Protestant Reformation should have never happened.

 

Seems to me that we need to be inquisitive here. John Mac actually baptized a man who presented as a woman wo meeting him prior to the baptism

We need to make sure that they understand the Gospel

JMO

 

What are you referring to?

 

The Youtube machine just showed me this. If it doesn't melt your hearts, I don't know what will!



In answer to the OP, it seems some can't even wait till the pastor has finished talking...

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Yes, I have seen a video about that incident, although I would suggest it supports the view that baptismal preparation doesn't guarantee that the person being baptised is genuinely saved. No pastor can know for sure - it's interesting that Simon the Magician was baptised before he tried to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:13). I have also seen one person baptised after thorough preparation who promptly got sucked into John Crowder's mysticism, and who has now converted to Judaism.

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