What I've been doing lately, It's a sin to not be baptized

a)

Things I have enjoyed lately:

- This thing they sell outside my house that is like a giant round youtiao with sweet stuff on it.
- Reading about Vietnam
- Niel Young and Bruce Cockburn
- Free Shepherd’s Conference audio
- Frozen Char Siew Bao

b)

(Not what you might think it's about)

So, I’ve wanted to encourage people over here to get baptized. I’ve lately been reminded that it’s a command, not an option.

But I can’t find many resources online to help. Maybe it’s just what I’ve been reading and seeing lately (in other words, Reformed stuff), but it seems that although many argue, rightly so, over how it should be done, few people are teaching why it should be done. I do not see many championing the truth that Baptism is an important part of the Christian life.

Out of forty years of preaching, John Macarthur has one single resource that explains why someone should be baptized (to be fair, in it he confesses that he has not given it as much weight as it should have). Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s extensive audio/resource page had no relevant resources at all. Finally, I found only John Piper (also a Baptist) to have a few resources available (very few, considering the impressive volume of resources on his desiringgod.org).

When you think about it, the pressure isn’t even on the Baptists. Almost every denomination agrees that if you are a convert who’s never been baptized or sprinkled as a child, you are commanded by the Word of God to be baptized. There’s no controversy! Therefore, even the interdenominational parachurch campus ministry I am a part of (or the other ones) should have some resources on baptism, especially given that they all claim to be committed to the Great Commission (“baptizing them…”).

Well, I am going to do my best over here to get people baptized (in a Church). I strongly encourage you to also do likewise. If you know someone who isn’t baptized, tell them it’s a sin. And tell your pastor that, whether he’s a topical or expositional preacher, his application point should at some point be “repent and be baptized”.

Note: A very famous pastor is trying to get 2000 people to get baptized and join his Church membership this Easter. His strategy involves giving an incentive package, including a free subscription to his magazine and a free photo of the event (where they will be baptized by the top dog himself!). The above comments do not endorse such marketing of Baptism.

Thinking about women, The Other Galatian Controversy

I actually wrote this quite a while ago

After a long vacation, I’m back, and hope to be updating more often. Here is the first.

a)

So, many probably are aware of my appreciation of John Macarthur’s ministry, so when I started reading Twelve Extraordinary Women, I knew it would be Biblical, and maybe a nice, heart-warming devotional book.

However, I have found it to be much more than that. I found in it a very consistent and Biblical Theology of women (womanology?). Woman after woman was chosen by God to occupy a very specific role in redemptive history. I think it made me appreciate that, for God, women are not just secondary characters; as the plot unfolds, the women narrative is rich in its themes of God’s faithfulness and the beauty of hope.

This book was also a great walkthrough of the Old Testament, showing the “scarlet thread” of the promised Messiah being on every page of the Jewish Scriptures. I love when preachers expose the Gospel on every page of the Word of God, and Macarthur is one of those men.

That all said, I highly recommend Twelve Extraordinary Women, even to the average, ordinary man.

b)

Found this blog post. It’s clever, but don’t let its cleverness ruin its message. It is a hard balance to find, but we must have the Apostle Paul’s (or better yet, Jesus’s) remarkable balance of Grace and Truth.

Here’s an excerpt:

If Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians was Published in Christianity Today

Dear Editor:

How arrogant of Mr. Apostle to think he has the right to judge these people and label them accursed. Isn’t that God’s job? Regardless of this circumcision issue, these Galatians believe in Jesus just as much as he does, and it is very Pharisaical to condemn them just because they differ on such a secondary issue. Personally, I don’t want a sharp instrument anywhere near my zipper, but that doesn’t give me the right to judge how someone else follows Christ. Can’t we just focus on our common commitment to Christ and furthering His kingdom, instead of tearing down fellow believers over petty doctrinal matters?

Ed Bilgeway; Tonganoxie, KS

Kind Editors:

I happen to be a member of First Christian Church of Galatia, and I take issue with Mr. Apostle’s article. How can he criticize a ministry that has been so blessed by God? Our church has baptized many new members and has made huge in-roads in the Jewish community with our pragmatic view on circumcision. Such a “seeker-sensitive” approach has given the Jews the respect they deserve for being God’s chosen people for thousands of years. In addition, every Gentile in our midst has felt honored to engage in the many edifying rituals of the Hebrew heritage, including circumcision, without losing their passion for Jesus. My advice to Mr. Apostle is to stick to spreading the gospel message of Christ’s unconditional love, and quit criticizing what God is clearly blessing in other churches.

Miriam “Betty” Ben-Hur; Galatia, Turkey