An Introduction to Christian Baptism
Paperback: 16 pages
Publisher: Blue Banner Productions
Author: W.J. Seaton
ISBN-10: 0951148427
ISBN-13: 978-0951148426
Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.2 x 0.1 inches
Weight: 10 ounces
Description:
It is clear from the commission of our Lord Jesus as recorded in Matthew 28:19-20 that the making of disciples among all the nations is a primary duty of the Christian Church. It is equally clear from that same passage that in conjunction with the making of disciples, baptism into the name of the Triune God was to be practiced as a simple initiatory rite by which those disciples were to be visibly and openly identified and constituted members of the Christian Church.
However, this elementary initiatory rite, the significance of which should be as clear and simple to explain to men as are the terms of becoming a disciple, has become shrouded in exegetical confusion, covenantal complexity, and sacramental mystery. Since God is not the author of confusion, the cause of this condition must be sought in some other source other than God speaking in His own self-authenticating and self-interpreting Word.
In this masterful primer on the subject of Christian Baptism, Mr. Seaton goes to the heart of this state of confusion by asserting that if the initial starting point in seeking to understand the biblical teaching on baptism is wrong, then all of one’s thinking that follows the erroneous starting point will be wrong as well. Mr. Seaton asserts (and I believe rightly so) that, “It is the New Testament that contains God’s full revelation concerning baptism and, therefore, all the findings and pronouncements of the Church of a later age must be judged in the light of that New Testament revelation. This rule of interpretation is absolutely basic to a right understanding of Christian baptism, and this rule must be satisfied and applied if we would ever have a conscience ‘void of offence’ on the baptism question.”
I am convinced that if people would lay aside human traditions and approach the subject of baptism with this proper starting point, they would find the biblical teaching on baptism both clear and uncomplicated. The questions addressed in this booklet concerning who should be baptized, how they should be baptized, and why they should be baptized, are answered by the data supplied in the New Testament. These answers do not need complex theological deductions and inferences in order to carry our judgment.
May God bless the reprint of this monograph that more and more of the people of God who now embrace the one Lord and one faith, will increasingly embrace the one baptism instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ.
–Pastor Albert N. Martin
