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[This book provides a solid
refutation of the false doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration. The book is
copyrighted; however, it is out of print and the copyright is over 50 years old.
"Some say, why stir up trouble about a question of such minor importance as Baptismal
Regeneration. Is a so-called door to heaven a small issue? Spurgeon says, 'For
of all lies which have dragged millions down to hell, I look upon this (Baptismal
Regeneration) as being the most atrocious.' ..What
must I do to be saved?... the answer shall be Not Through a Legalistic System of
Water and Works, but through a genuine new birth, wrought in the sinner's heart
by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. V.L Petersen, 1947]
Baptismal Regeneration
and the Use of Vow
in Luteranism, Catholicism, Judaism
(An exposure of the Hagar System of Works,
a heresy that has damned millions of souls)
V.L. Petersen
© 1947
PRINTED BY
WILSON PRESS
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
CHAPTER II
Testimony From The Intermediate Stage Between The Old And New Testament Concerning
Baptismal Regeneration
John's baptism and the baptism of Jesus give us,
SOURCE, DESIGN and even MODE of baptism-Practical application of John's baptism and the
baptism of Jesus.
John's Baptism and the Baptism of Jesus.
The subject of baptism meets
us at the very outset in the New Testament. Baptism is a very important matter inasmuch as
it is a command of God, and must not be ignored. Standing right at the threshold of the
New Testament dispensation we find two remarkable witnesses as to the source, purpose and
design of baptism. Jesus tells us that John got his baptism from heaven, just where we
would expect it to come from. Now that God had given a new symbol from heaven, should we
not expect an interpretation of this symbol?
The basic teaching as to the
meaning of the baptism of John, I shall leave to the schools of theology. My main purpose
in the mention thereof is to show that the character of John and Jesus absolutely
precludes the application of the regenerative power of baptism to them. If baptism
regenerated, then here is where we ought to see some evidence thereof. Note then, that
John was "filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb"-a long time
before he received his baptism. The point I want to make is this:
If the first two great
witnesses to baptism,-and all that John baptized could also be included, for he baptized
only such as-repented -were not saved by it, then baptism as we first meet it in Scripture
takes its place with all Old Testament types and figures as we have seen in our study:-A
symbol only, not a Saviour. Remember, not a single one of the great church bodies dispute
this but Rome and her followers, the Episcopal Church and the Lutheran Church. If the
first two great witnesses to baptism did not need it as a saving medium while they were
laying the very foundation for the New Testament dispensation, why should anyone building
on that foundation need it?
I am well aware that John's
baptism is not considered real New Testament baptism, and as such should not be considered
here. Let us beware, lest in seeking to make this baptism fit certain theories, we do not
so explain it away, as to make of it all a meaningless show; and of the baptism of Jesus
just a cheap vaudeville act that had no particular meaning. If the Son of God coming from
heaven, and His special forerunner, John, sent to establish God's eternal plan of
salvation, could act so lightly, then the Modernists are right when they call it all a
huge mistake.
Although not wishing to build
on it as an argument, nor dogmatically declare it as such, we would, before leaving this
subject, like to submit our findings, and humbly place these beside the findings of
others, for your candid consideration.
It is a deep conviction with
the writer that the baptism of John is full of meaning, and fits beautifully into this
intermediate stage. Jesus says: "all things written through the PROPHETS shall be
accomplished upon the Son of Man." John was one of these prophets. Again Jesus tells
us what the prophets had written: "He shall be delivered up . . . and they shall
scourge and kill him: and on the third day he shall rise again." Thus John's
ministry, including his baptism, could have but ONE main purpose,-the same purpose that
all symbols had had for 4,000 years, e.g., to set before us the great message concerning
the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and our relation to it.
John baptized unto
repentance, that is, "as far as" to repentance, or "to the extent of'
repentance as the dictionaries have it. Jesus speaks of repentance as, "he that
loseth his life." Under John's preaching, when people repented or died to self life,
then John took them and baptized them, or buried them as the word implies. Now this was as
far as John went because he ministered under the old dispensation: The law as we know,
"made nothing perfect," that is, did not bring out the full picture of
salvation. They saw only in part. John's message was the same as that of all the prophets,
that Jesus was to die for our sins, and that man should now die to his old self, inasmuch
as God had from eternity reckoned our old man dead with Christ. This repentance towards
God then is the FIRST STEP in our salvation,–the step they saw most clearly under the
old dispensation. When, therefore, people repented or reckoned their old life dead, they
had to be buried in the likeness of Christ, who slew our old man on the cross and buried
him in the grave. Thus John simply demonstrated the meaning of this new symbol as far as
the repentance part of salvation is concerned. He showed the meaning of baptism in its
relation to our getting the righteousness of Christ, but only the first step thereof.
Christ was to complete this matter. We have then the following simple facts concerning the
baptism of John:
ITS SOURCE: John's baptism came from heaven, Mark 11:30.
ITS DESIGN: Matt. 3:11, "I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance." As
we have seen in our study so far this symbolizes the repentance, the dying-to-self part of
salvation. Now Mark 1:4, "John came preaching the BAPTISM of repentance," and
Luke 3:3, "and He came-preaching the BAPTISM of repentance," etc. gives us much
added light. Both of these writers tell us that John came preaching a BAPTISM, (Note the
emphasis on baptism by placing it before repentance). This baptism John spoke of was
"of repentance," i.e. a baptism or burial resulting from repentance occasioned
by repentance. Since true repentance implies both death and burial of the old self, we see
how the Holy Spirit's word arrangement fully verifies our findings: When a person truly
repents he gives up his old life unto death. Dead people must be buried. Thus John
preached about a baptism or burial which resulted from a repentance or dying to self. As a
death necessitates a funeral, so true repentance necessitates a baptism or burial.
ITS PURPOSE: The purpose of John's baptism is seen in Luke 7:29-30: "And all the
people when they heard, and the publicans, JUSTIFIED GOD, being baptized with the baptism
of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected for themselves the counsel of God,
being NOT baptized of him." God slew our old man on the cross and buried him with
Christ. For them the question now became, had He dealt justly? The Publicans said yes, for
they knew they were sinners deserving of death. When they repented they acknowledged this,
giving up their old life in death and burial. The self-righteous Pharisees and lawyers did
not see their sins and consequently would not repent and accept baptism. When we repent
and are baptized or buried in baptism, we justify God in having slain our old man and
buried him with Christ.
IT'S MODE: As we have seen, John's baptism did not affect repentance, for John baptized
only such as had previously repented. He baptized only "unto" or "as far
as" to set forth the true meaning of repentance, symbolically, which we have seen to
be death and burial. When Jesus came to be baptized He completed what John had begun
relative to baptism, and thus together they set forth symbolically the three basic facts
of the gospel, the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Thus we see how the mode
required to set forth death and burial must be immersion. The mode grows naturally out of
the nature of salvation.
Jesus came now to be
baptized-the purpose as stated was, "to fulfill all righteousness." He came then
to show the fulfillment of something already begun, for this the Word implies. Some say it
was to fulfill the requirements of Mosaic law. This could not be inasmuch as there was no
command in the Mosiac law concerning baptism. No, the purpose of Jesus' baptism was to
complete the baptism of John as a typical ordinance, and no man can make more than a
typical ordinance out of the baptism of Jesus no matter how hard he tries. The old types
sought to show us this as only types and figures can. Now a new typical ordinance had been
introduced from heaven, namely, baptism. Jesus simply shows us how this ordinance points
to more than His death and burial as John showed-it also prefigures our union with Him in
His resurrection, for only as our resurrected Saviour did He reveal to us the full
righteousness of God in Himself. Thus John's baptism shows us our union with Christ in His
death and burial, the first step in salvation-The first step in getting the righteousness
of God in Christ. Christ's baptism shows us our union with Him also in His resurrection,
thus bringing to light the glory of our full righteousness in Christ.
Seen in this light, John's
baptism and the baptism of Jesus are not just a meaningless show, nor is there anything
essentially new or mysterious about them. Like other symbols had done for thousands of
years, they simply reveal more clearly than ever the blessed power of death, burial and
resurrection of Christ, and our relation to them. Thus both John and Jesus join hands with
all the prophets who had gone before them in proclaiming the blessed Gospel of the death,
burial and resurrection of Christ, and the relation of this new symbol baptism to this
great salvation.
Practical Application of John's Baptism and the Baptism of Jesus
When a repentant sinner accepts
Christ as his Saviour, God reckons to him all the blessed results of the saving power of
Jesus. The sinner in turn accepts this, or reckons this to be true of himself. Under the
Holy Spirit's enlightenment this becomes a blessed experience which brings peace and a
good conscience. The saved sinner in obedience to God's command gives God an answer in
baptism as to how he got a good conscience. As he enters the baptismal waters to be
buried, he confesses that he died with Christ and now is buried "with Him through
baptism unto death;" and this is his assurance that his sins are really put away by
Christ. Then as he arises from his baptismal grave he confesses to God and all the people,
"that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we
also might walk in the newness of life." Thus he confesses to God and the people that
because of his union with Christ by faith, he is now "a new creature: the old things
are passed away; behold, they are become new."
If we know that our sins have
so been put away, and know that we have been raised with Christ in His resurrection, then
how willing we should be to go God's way in baptism, that we might give a proper and
complete testimony to God and the people as to how we were saved. Why all this argument
about mode? Does not the mode grow out of the nature of salvation? Could there, in fact,
be but one right mode? To the author, at least, though he does not wish to be taken in an
unchristian spirit, sprinkling appears so basically inadequate. It fails so utterly to
bring out the full picture of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ in the sight of
men. How do you think it must appear in God's sight? When Jesus slew our old man on the
cross, He also quickly put him away, then how about it when we reckon our vile old man
dead with Christ? Do you think it will suffice to leave so vile a corpse lying around? We
would not sprinkle a corpse with a handful of sand and consider him buried. Why should we
not gladly and without argument seek to put away our old man as much like the real putting
away as possible. As one man told me just as I was writing this: "If I had not been
taught otherwise as a child, I would never so much as have even thought that there was any
other mode in baptism but immersion as I read the Scriptures for myself."
The question of baptism then,
becomes a simple question of giving a true-to-fact testimony of the death, burial and
resurrection of Jesus in our actions as well as with our words. Many are they who would
rather die than give a false testimony to Jesus with their lips, yet when it comes to
baptism they are quite unwilling to give the right testimony, though they know full well
what to do. Should any sacrifice on our part even be considered, when we realize the
sacrifice of Christ for us? May the Lord help us to give also a right testimony in
baptism.
CHAPTER III - Testimony from the New
Testament
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