NEW ARTICLE
Do Romans 6:3-4 and Galatians 3:26-27 Refer to Spirit Baptism?
It is a tragedy of heart-breaking proportion that some otherwise credible scholars will go to such outlandish lengths to defend cherished theological theories. They hurl exegetical caution to the wind and adopt absurd views that are wholly without substance. No better example can be mentioned than the desperate attempts that some make in attempting to avoid the connection between the commanded rite of water immersion and the forgiveness of sins. No responsible Bible student believes there is some magical power in water to wash away sins. The blood of Jesus Christ is the agent of cleansing power resident in God’s plan of redemption (Hebrews 9:14a).
It is undeniable, however, that the saving efficacy of that blood is accessed by faith when one submits to the command to be immersed “for the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 2:38; cf. 22:16). This is not salvation by meritorious works; it is salvation by obedience (Hebrews 5:9). One novel approach of fairly recent vintage is the idea that the baptism of certain texts involves no water at all; rather, it is a “Spirit” baptism.
For example, a few sectarian scholars contend that the baptism of Romans 6:3-4 and Galatians 3:26-27 is not water baptism, but Spirit baptism. One writer says, of Paul’s statement in Romans, that some:
take Romans 6:3 to refer to water baptism, but the problem with that is that it seems to suggest that baptism saves. However, the New Testament consistently denies baptismal regeneration.”
A similar argument is made concerning the Galatian passage (Walvoord and Zuck 1983, 461, 600). The position is false. Consider the following:
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EDITOR’S CHOICE
False Charges Against Creationism
When one encounters an ideological position with which he disagrees, there are several possible reactions. He could reflect honestly upon the new idea, carefully research it, and give it an honest evaluation. That certainly would be the noble thing to do. Then again he might, if the viewpoint makes him uncomfortable, simply ignore it, hoping it will go away.
On the other hand he may, as a result of intense philosophical bias, immediately reject it with a vengeance. In such a case, it is possible that one may so despise a teaching that he will caricature it. That is, he will present it in an absurd light so that, hopefully, he can deter others from even giving it consideration.
Unfortunately, this latter approach has been demonstrated repeatedly in the modern creation-evolution controversy. Evolutionists (and religionists who have been influenced significantly by them) constantly misrepresent biblical creationism in the effort to bolster their own faltering cause. In this article, I propose to highlight some of these spurious attempts to discredit the biblical teaching regarding the doctrine of creation.
Charge: Creationists believe that the world was created in 4004 B.C.
Response: John Lightfoot (1602-1675), a Hebraist of Cambridge University, once suggested that the creation events of Genesis 1 transpired the week of October 18-24, 4004 B.C., with Adam being made on October 23 at 9:00 in the morning (Ramm 1954, 174). For this speculation, of course, there is absolutely no support. Nevertheless, this incident has been resurrected repeatedly by evolutionists (both atheistic and theistic) in an attempt to discredit modern creationism. There simply is no validity to this charge or tactic. What creationists do contend is this:
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